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.”
28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
This well-known parable is the third of three parables within a single section of Matthew’s gospel. All the parables raise the question of rightful authority to interpret and proclaim God’s word. All three call for obedience, a change of heart, and bearing fruit in one’s life. But the parable of the Great Wedding Feast extends the teaching to indicate a time for obedience and choosing is approaching. The inheritance of Israel may be squandered, the Gentiles invited in - but they too must answer the call to obedience and faithfulness - and dress themselves in the robes of righteousness.
Like all parables, it is to speak to the heart of the hearer. Are you dressed and ready for the invitation?
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
Parable of the Great Banquet by Brunswick Monogrammist (circa 1525) National Museum, Warsaw | Public Domain
29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
Over the three previous Sunday gospels we have heard parables of sons, servants and invited guests doing (or not doing) what the father, master, or king asks of them. They were all parables of the Kingdom of God. In today’s gospel we have a controversy story between Jesus and religious leaders about paying taxes to the secular kingdom of Rome. It is a story about image, trust, loyalties, and about being a faithful religious person in a secular world. In other words, a story for our times.
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
The Tribute Money, Peter Paul Rubens (1610–1615), Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Public Domain PD-US
The Kingdom of God
In the first reading for this Sunday we have an interesting intersection between the secular and the sacred - God calling the Persian King, Cyrus, as his “anointed.” In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, God is using Cyrus to return the people of Israel from captivity in Babylon back to Jerusalem. It is God’s message to the people that the true King still reigns, is in control, and fulfills his promises that they would be returned. This is another act in the play of God’s kingdom coming to fruition as the world awaits the true King. And this is Good News.
30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
In our gospel reading for the 30th Sunday, a scholar of the law tested Jesus by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” The test goes to the heart of the Mosaic law, and as such, it is appropriately raised by a scholar. But the “gotcha” was to see if Jesus would “rank” the laws since the scholars held that such a view was to assume the mind of God. In addition, choosing one command of the law over others carried the risk that other teachers, who might have made a different choice, could accuse Jesus of belittling the importance of some other equally scriptural principle. Any answer must risk pleasing some at the expense of alienating others. Keep in mind the leaders were already suspicious they believed Jesus came to abolish the law (Mt 5:17).
Nonetheless, Jesus chooses two commands centered on love
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
The Pharisees Question Jesus (Les pharisiens questionnent Jésus), James Tissot | 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum, PD-US
Love / Agape
Jesus chose two commands centered on love. But in English, the word “love” is one of the vaguest words in our language, as it primarily refers to a feeling that happens to a person. You can “love” your mom and “love” pizza. In the New Testament, “love” or "Agape" refers to a way of treating people that was defined by Jesus himself: seeking the well-being of others regardless of their response. Watch the video below to learn more about “agape” love.
The Solemnity of All Saints
The Beatitudes
The gospel for this Sunday is the "Sermon on the Mount", actually only the portion known as the Beatitudes. The disciples are gathered, but so too are people in general who have come to hear Jesus speak. The nature of the audience raises a basic question: what are the Beatitudes? Are the general ethic that God asks of he People of God? Is is a message about discipleship? Martin Luther thought it was an impossible demand like the Old Testament Law.
As always, a lot going on in the gospel reading. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and take a moment on the back porch with the Word of God. Some think it is a description of the millennial kingdom for when Jesus returns. There is not shortage of views of "what they are." And then we arrive at thee question of "what do they mean?"
As always, the living Word of God has a lot to ponder. Grab your favorite beverage and take some time of the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Gospel
Detailed Commentary
Image credit: Cosimo Rosselli Sermone della Montagna, 1481, Sistine Chapel, Public Domain
32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
Here in the last weeks of Ordinary Time the readings from the Gospel of Matthew are focusing on the future, with emphasis especially on the theme of judgment - and our being vigilant and prepared for the coming of the Lord. This Sunday’s gospel is The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).
In this parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to ten young women awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom for a wedding. Five are wise and prepared with enough oil for their lamps, while five are foolish and unprepared. When the bridegroom finally arrives, the wise virgins enter the wedding feast, but the foolish ones are left out. But we only know that at the end.
Right at the beginning of the parable, Jesus tells us that five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The reason why he tells us this from the onset is that we cannot tell this just by looking at them. All ten have come to the wedding; all ten have their lamps aglow with expectation, all ten, presumably, have on their bridesmaid gowns. We would never guess from appearances that half were wise and half foolish.
At the beginning of the life of faith, you cannot really tell the followers of Jesus apart. They all have lamps; they are all excited about the wedding; they all know who to sing, “Lord, Lord.” Deep into the night, when we spot some persons attempting in vain to fan a dying flame to life, we begin to distinguish wisdom from foolishness.
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
Greek Fresco, "Bridal Chamber", iconreader.wordpress.com, CC-BY
The First Letter to the Thessalonians
In the gospel parable of the Ten Virgins, each one possesses oil lamps, which were common sources of light in the ancient world. Oil symbolizes illumination, guidance, and the presence of God's Word. The psalmist describes God's Word as a lamp to one's feet and a light to one's path (Psalm 119:105). One might well argue that to have a full measure of oil in the allegorical sense is to have let the light of Christ illuminate, guide and help you prepare for this life and the next. The point is simply that readiness, whatever form it takes, is not something that can be achieved by a last-minute adjustment. It depends on long-term provision, and if that has been made, the wise disciple can sleep secure in the knowledge that everything is ready. And it all needs to rest on a sure foundation.
That is a central part of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians:
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thess 4:14-15)
Take a few moments to watch this overview video on 1 Thessalonians.
33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
The Parable of the Talents takes up the question which that of the wise and foolish bridesmaids left unanswered from last Sunday: what is ‘readiness’? While the bridesmaids might be said to be passively waiting, here in this parable, it is not a matter of passively ‘waiting’, but of responsible activity, producing results which the coming ‘master’ can see and approve. The period of waiting was not intended to be an empty, meaningless ‘delay’, but a period of opportunity to put to good use the ‘talents’ entrusted to his ‘slaves’. It is a theme that is clearly present in the account of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servant.
Even though “talent” in our text refers to a large sum of money, I also think that we can use it to refer to abilities that God has given us and how we use them while we are waiting for Jesus' return. We need to consider them as gifts from the gracious God and we need to consider that what we do with them becomes our gift to God. The parable is not a gentle tale about what Christians do with their individual gifts and talents, as helpful as that may be, but a disturbing story about what Christians do or do not do with the gospel as they wait for the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
The Parable of the Talents by Willem de Porter, 17th century, National Gallery of Prague, PD-US
The Apocalypse
As we reach the end of Ordinary Time our gospel readings are more and more ominous with images of death, doom, and destruction! It’s the apocalypse! But what exactly does that mean? The Bible is filled with dreams and visions about human history coming to a climax, and they’re usually packed with intense imagery and strange symbols. In this video, we’ll explore the meaning of the word “apocalypse” in the Bible, and we’ll learn some basic steps for reading this literature with more wisdom and insight.
Take a few moments to watch this overview video: