Bible on the Back Porch
Reading, pondering and studying God’s Word is sometimes best done “on the back porch.” Each week we will try to offer something for you and your “back porch time.”
Current and Upcoming Sunday Readings
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Year ABC
Exaltation of the Cross
September 14th is the traditional day to celebrate the finding of the true cross – when it falls on a Sunday it is celebrated in place of the Ordinary Time Sunday. The readings from the Book of Numbers and the Gospel of John are reminders that the deepest meaning of the cross is healing and that we are called to “behold the cross” and raise our eyes inadoration. In the same way during the Mass, when the priest calls out “Behold the Lamb of God…” we reminded to look to our Savior, sacrificed that we may be healed and saved.
Take a moment and consider all that theses readings offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary plus an additional Commentary on the larger Johannine Reading
Moses and the Brazen Serpent | Esteban March (1610-1668) | Banco Santander Collection, Madrid | PD-US
25th Sunday, Year C
The Scheming Steward
In each of the parables of Luke 16 the beginnings are similar: these was a rich man. In our gospel the rich man returns after hearing a report of some of a scheming steward. The parable has been a problem for interpreters. What are we to make of the end of the parable when the schemer is commended for his actions which seem to us as so plainly dishonest. Is he commended for wise decision making when push-came-to-shove? Is it meant to be irony? Are we meant to be “schemers” for the Kingdom of God?
Take a moment and consider all that Jesus’ parable has to offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
Parable of the Unjust Steward | A.N. Mironov | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0
26th Sunday, Year C
The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus
In each of the parables of Luke 16 the beginnings are similar: these was a rich man – this week is no different. Outside the door of the Rich Man is poor Lazarus “who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table” The parable is told is two parts: this life and a scene from the life to come. Our choices as well as our silence has consequences. The Word of God is with us in the here and now – it is sufficient but must become action… procrastinators beware. There is a lot going on.
Take a moment and consider all that Jesus’ parable has to offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
The Poor Lazarus at the Rich Man’s Door | James Tissot, 1886–1894 | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US
27th Sunday, Year C
The Mustard Seed
In each of the parables of Luke 16 the beginnings are similar: these was a rich man. What is common to those parables is that neither was an exemplar of either faith or service. In Luke 17, Jesus begins to explore those ideas with his disciples. They seemed daunted at the prospect and ask for more “faith.” Do they know what they are asking? Jesus tells them that God can work wonders with any level of faith – even as small as a mustard seed. They need to trust that and then “do” what they have already been commanded: service.
Take a moment and consider all that Jesus’ parable has to offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
The Exhortation to the Apostles | James Tissot | ca. 1890 | Brooklyn Museum NYC | PD-US
28th Sunday, Year C
Ten Lepers
The telling of this encounter seems straight forward: (a) Jesus encounters a group of lepers on the road to Jerusalem, (b) they ask for his mercy, (c) they are cured, but (d) only one returns to thank Jesus and that one is a Samaritan. A simple miracle story, yes? A narrative about faith as the foundation of healing? Such simple summaries, even if true, miss several key aspects of the encounter and the chance to reflect further on our own life of faith in Jesus.
Take a moment and consider all that Jesus’ parable has to offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
Jesus Healing Ten Lepers | James Tissot, 1886 | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US
29th Sunday, Year C
An Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow
This parable is a twin of the parable of the neighbor in need (11:5-8). Both are used to illustrate the importance of persistence in prayer. Both present a person in need persistently pressing a request, and both parables call for reasoning from the lesser to the greater: If a neighbor or an unjust judge will respond to the urgent need and repeated request, then will not God also respond? It is an argument from lesser to the greater by which Jesus affirms the faithfulness of God – He will assuredly act on behalf of the righteous. But it is also about persistence in the face of injustice.
Take a moment and consider all that Jesus’ parable has to offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
Братья Белоусовы (Палех), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
30th Sunday, Year C
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Jesus addressed his parable to “those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” In the well known parable of the Pharisee and a Tax Collector in prayer, we are offered two sides of the same coin: prayer and righteousness. The cast includes two very different people from very different circumstances offering very different prayers. There is a lot going on in what seems like a simple story of contrasts.
Take a moment and consider all that Jesus’ parable has to offer. Do it from the comfort of your back porch!
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
The Pharisee and the Publican | Tissot, 1886 | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US