Commentary

1B Advent

Pastoral resources from the National Catholic Reporter

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REFLECTIONS

• Fr. Eamon:  Always be ready
• Fr. Clement: We need to be alert tot he coming of the Lord
• Sr. Mary: God’s ongoing advent into our lives

FOCAL THEMES

• Life Recovery: Uncertainty about timing / difficulties in recovery
• Theology of Work: Cycle B Gospel readings are from Mark

BIBLE STUDY

• Sermon Writer: What I tell you, I tell all: Watch
• Agape: Be alert and watch for the coming of the master!

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REFLECTIONS

• Fr. Eamon:  The return from exile
• Fr. Clement: A call upon God to come down again to save
• Sr. Mary: God as father and redeemer

FOCAL THEMES

• Life Recovery: Faith and patience
• Theology of Work: Work’s ultimate meaning

BIBLE STUDY

• Sermon Writer: We are clay, and you our potter
• Agape: God our redeemer

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COMMENTARY

Life Recovery: Bringing hope to others.

BIBLE STUDY

• Agape: Come O Lord to save us

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REFLECTIONS

• Fr. Eamon:  Waiting for Christ’s second coming
• Fr. Clement: We are gifted by Christ as we await his coming
• Sr. Mary: Understanding Paul’s writing

FOCAL THEMES

• Life Recovery: Confronting others about their failures
• Theology of Work: Spiritual resources available

BIBLE STUDY

• Sermon Writer: I always thank my God concerning you
• Agape: Fellowship with Christ while waiting for his return

First Reading

1B Advent

CREDIT: Bishop Robert Barron  (November 30, 2008 Podcast)

RELATED:  Our first reading for this first Sunday of Advent gives us the master image of God as the potter and we, his creatures, as clay. St. Irenaeus said that God’s provident direction of our lives is easy as long as the clay of our hearts remains supple and moist. Trouble comes only when we allow the clay to harden.

O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands. — Isaiah 64:7

IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

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We have not seen any God like you!

• The first reading was written after the Israelites returned from exile and resettled in Judah.
• The people were discouraged by widespread poverty, dissension among their leaders, and the overwhelming task of rebuilding the ruins.
• The prophet challenges the Israelites to persevere at their task.

SOURCE: Our Sunday Visitor

REFLECTIONS

IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

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Fr. Clement Thibodeau

A call upon God to come down again to save

FIRST READING—The reading comes from a longer passage (Isaiah 63:7 to 64:12), really a psalm where the prophet calls upon God to spare the people who have lost everything. They are in exile in Babylon; the Temple has been destroyed; Jerusalem is in ruins. Only if God sends his love again can this people be ready to receive God in their midst once more. The prophet confesses the sins of the people. They have stayed in their sins a long time. They are like those who are radically unclean among whom they live now. Even their good works are like a soiled garment. They have no stability and no rootedness. No one prays anymore. They reap the rewards of the wickedness they have sowed. But, God is their father,is he not? Did God not mold them like a potter molds a valuable piece of pottery? There ishope for them since it is the God who made them who will now rescue them.

© 2017 Portland Diocese / Father Clement D. Thibodeau. Used with permission.

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Sr. Mary McGlone

God as father and redeemer

FIRST READING—Today’s selection from one of Isaiah’s prayers of lament begins with a phrase we may too often take for granted, thereby missing its profound implications. Isaiah says, “You, Lord, are our father.” That declaration says as much about the people of Israel as it does about God. This statement modified everything the people would think about themselves as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This redefined them as something other than related clans or the nation Moses led out of Egypt. When Isaiah declared that God was their Father, he defined them as a people united by a spiritual bond that originated in God and God alone. Whether or not they were related by tribe, whether or not they could call themselves a nation with territory or governance, whether or not they shared a common language, the very core of their identity came from God’s relationship to them as their father. They were who they were because of their shared relationship to the God who gave them being, who guided their life together and called them to be a people.

In the very next breath, Isaiah says “You are our redeemer.” That called to mind the myriad of times that God rescued this people from Egypt and from other enemies throughout their history. In Isaiah’s worldview, God controlled history. Isaiah laments that God had allowed this people to wander – not the wandering of the desert, that long learning period that prepared them to enter the holy land, but wandering away from God. Calling on God as their Redeemer reminds them that God, and God alone, can be trusted. They know this from their history. As redeemer, God and God alone can rescue them from what they have brought on themselves. The gist of this part of the prayer begs God to act like the God they know. Their hearts have become hardened, but God can break through that. The cry, “Rend the heavens and come down!” is a way of saying “Remind us of who you are! Re-instill in us the fear of the Lord that trembles at your greatness. Make us your people!”

Underneath this lament Isaiah knows that God’s love and faithfulness are deeper and more powerful than the people’s sin. They may be delivered up to their guilt, they may be suffering the consequences of their sin, but God is still their father. God’s grace will win out because God is the potter and they are the clay.

As we begin Advent, Isaiah invites us to join him in lament, to recognize our own communal wandering from God. He reminds us that when we avoid being mindful of God, even what we think of as our good deeds end up being like “polluted rags,” a sham rather than the works of a humble and sincere heart. Isaiah speaks this entire prayer/poem in the first person plural. As he prays, he identifies with his own people in all their sin and all their potential. He invites us to do the same, to take responsibility for who we are as a people and a Church, to admit the ways in which we are wandering far from God’s ways and to ask for God’s grace and an awareness of God’s presence.

©2017 National Catholic Reporter. All Rights Reserved. Sr. Mary McGlone is a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. 2017 Reflections, 2020 Reflections can be read at National Catholic Reporter website.

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Fr. Eamon Tobin

The return from exile

FIRST READING—The 66 chapters of the Book of Isaiah contain the work of three prophets who lived at different times. Today’s reading is from “Third Isaiah” and deals with a very difficult time in Israel’s history: their return from the Babylonian exile. When the exiles return, they find their land has been pillaged,and Jerusalem, including the Temple,has been destroyed.

They blame God for allowing them to wander from his ways. They long for a new entrance of God into their lives(“Return for the sake of your servants….”)They are clay and entreatGod the Potter to refashion them again into the people he wants them to be.

©2020 Fr. Eamon Tobin. Used with permission.

LECTOR TIPS

IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

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Paul J. Schlachter

For you have hidden your face from us.  I hear an urgent appeal filled with grief.  The people have become withered like leaves, carried away by the wind.

And yet they do not give up hope.  Return for the sake of your servants.  No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds.

The prophet asks God for a theophany as in the days of Moses and Elijah.  Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you.

He expresses deep feelings, in the name of a people whose ambitions had been frustrated, even trampled upon, by the empires of history.  Over the years I have witnessed and shared the private griefs of those forced to leave their country, those whose homes have been destroyed by hurricane and await long promised relief, those who have lost their spouse or parent or child to the ravages of war.  Why do you let us wander?  How can I read these words without feeling?

I read this lengthy passage once during a liturgy in Costa Rica, doing it in such a way that the homilist was obliged to comment on it.  Given a confession charged with such sincere emotion, it was not hard for me to read with feeling.  At times like that I came to understand that proclamation in its fullest sense includes reception of the word as well as effective delivery.

Central theme: At the beginning and end of the passage I hear the prophet affirming God: You are our Father.  There must be a reason why we never hear the word “believe” in the Hebrew Testament.  God’s abiding love for Israel is as self-evident as the rising of the sun every day.  To talk about faith, in the face of such an overwhelming presence, is to insult God.

Message for our assembly: If our faith comes too easy for us, then something must be lacking in it – something more needed, as Jesus said to the young man.  Israel in its anguish and its enduring hope will remind us that our faith must be grounded in God’s will, carried out in God’s own time.

I will challenge myself: To imitate the invincible trust of the people of Israel, leading the congregation through the depths of misfortune, the silence and self-doubt, to the true God who is always with us – Emmanuel.

READ MORE by Paul at Lector Works

Greg Warnusz

INTRODUCTION FOR LISTENERS:

After two generations in exile in Babylon, the Jews were allowed to return to their home in Judah. They believed they had been sent to exile as punishment for their sins. They were repentant and hopeful. The third prophet to bear the name Isaiah speaks of their mixed feelings.

ORAL INTERPRETATION:

The reading contains a pathetic mix of feelings: guilt, outrage at God alternating with praise of God, humility, anguish and hope. Read it to yourself one sentence at a time, naming the feeling captured in that one sentence. Then do the next sentence, and so on. Make a mental catalog (or even a paper list) of each feeling.

Then practice reading it aloud, making sure you pause wherever the feeling changes. This is a hard passage to read. It’s even harder for a listener to understand if the sentences just tumble out rapidly. Give your listeners all the help you can.

READ MORE by Greg at LectorPrep.org

FOCAL THEMES

IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

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Theology of Work Commentary

Work’s ultimate meaning

FIRST READING—Throughout the book, Isaiah encourages Israel with the hope that God will eventually put to right the wrongs the people are suffering in the present. Work, and the fruits of work, are included in this hope.

In chapters 60-66, this hope is finally expressed in full. God will gather his people together again (Is. 60:4), vanquish the oppressors (Is. 60:12-17), redeem the rebellious who repent (Is. 64:5-65:10), and establish his just kingdom (Is. 60:3-12). In place of Israel’s faithless leaders, God himself will rule: “You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” (Is. 60:16). The change is so radical that it amounts to a new creation, of parallel power and majesty to God’s first creation of the world. “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Is. 65:17).

Chapters 60-66 are rich with vivid portraits of the perfect kingdom of God. In fact, a large fraction of New Testament imagery and theology are drawn from these chapters in Isaiah. The final chapters of the New Testament (Revelation 21 and 22) are, in essence, a recapitulation of Isaiah 65-66 in Christian terms.

It may be surprising to some how much of Isaiah 60-66 is related to work and the outcomes of work. The things people work for in life come to complete fruition at last, including:

• Markets and trading, including the movement of gold and silver (Is. 60:6,9), the bringing of firs, and the opening of gates for trade. “Your gates shall always be open; day and night they shall not be shut, so that nations shall bring you their wealth, with their kings led in procession.” (Is. 60:11)
• Agricultural and forest products: including frankincense, flocks, rams (Is. 60:6-7), cypress and pine (Is. 6:13)
• Transportation by land and sea (Is. 60:6, 60:9), and even perhaps by air (Is. 60:8)
• Justice and peace (Is. 60:17-18, 61:8, 66:16)
• Social services (Is. 61:1-4)
• Food and drink (Is. 65:13)
• Health and long life (Is. 65:20)
• Construction and housing (Is. 65:21)
• Prosperity and wealth (Is. 66:12)

All these things have eluded Israel in their faithlessness to God. Indeed, the harder they tried to achieve them, the less the cared to worship God or follow his ways. The result was to lack them even more. But when the book of Isaiah presents Israel’s future hope as the New Creation, all the preceding promises in the book come to the fore. The picture portrayed is that of a future eschatological or final day when the “righteous offspring of the servant” will enjoy all the blessings of the messianic age depicted earlier. Then people will actually receive the things they work for because “they shall not labor in vain” (Is. 65:23). Israel’s sorrow will be turned into joy, and one of the dominant motifs of this coming joy is the enjoyment of the work of their own hands.

SOURCE: © 2014 Theology of Work Project, Inc.; Used with permission. (Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.)

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Life Recovery Bible

Faith and patience

Is 64:1-4 We see two key elements in this passage that are essential to recovery: faith and patience. The people of Israel looked at their awesome, powerful, incomparable God. This increased their faith. Then they patiently waited for him to bring about their deliverance. Such matters do not happen instantly or according to our timetable. If we persevere in doing our part, God will bring us victory in due time. If we are faithful and trust God, we will achieve our goal of recovery.

Is 64:5 Isaiah admitted that he and his people were all sinners, and he asked how they could be saved. The answer includes the first two steps of recovery: admitting they were powerless, that life was unmanageable, and that only God could restore them. Of course we must go further than this if we are to recover. We need to give our life to God and let him work in us. He can and will deliver us from our dependency.

SOURCE: Content taken from The Life Recovery Bible notes by Stephen Arterburn & David Stoop. Copyright © 1998, 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

BIBLE STUDY

IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

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We are the clay, and you our potter

We are the clay, and you our potter

Just as fathers and mothers love their children, artists also feel a deep affection for their art. When an artist fashions a piece of art, something of the artist is bound up in that art. Part of that has to do with the deep involvement of the artist in the creative process. Part of it is pride of workmanship. Part of it is that the work of art reflects the artists understanding of how the piece should look or sound or feel. The artist and the art are inextricably bound together.

There is an interesting phenomenon at work here. An artist might feel that his/her art is imperfect. He/she might even be reluctant to display his/her art, because the inadequacy of the art would reveal the inadequacy of the artist. However, the same artist who would be frustrated with the imperfection of his/her art would quickly bristle at a critic who would make negative comments about the art. The artist’s intolerance of his/her art is nothing compared with his/her intolerance of the art critic. That is because the artist and the art are inextricably bound together.

This prayer uses that connection of art and artist in an attempt to persuade God to forgive Israel—to redeem Israel—to save Israel. The one offering the prayer has called God a Father. Now he reminds God of the creativity that God has expended in fashioning the nation Israel—God’s people—God’s artwork. Israel might have sinned, and be as disgusting as a soiled menstrual cloth, but God should not/cannot abandon Israel, because artist and art are inextricably bound together.

Exegesis Outline

Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7

• YOU, YAHWEH, ARE OUR FATHER
• OH THAT YOU WOULD COME DOWN
• BEHOLD, YOU WERE ANGRY, AND WE SINNED
• BUT NOW, YAHWEH, YOU ARE OUR FATHER
• WILL YOU HOLD YOUR PEACE?

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Richard Niell Donavan, a Disciples of Christ clergyman, published SermonWriter from 1997 until his death in 2020. His wife Dale has graciously kept his website online. A subscription is no longer required.

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Exploring the Text

PHOTO CREDIT (TOP OF PAGE): CREDIT: Bishop Robert Barron  (November 30, 2008 Podcast)

RELATED:  Our first reading for this first Sunday of Advent gives us the master image of God as the potter and we, his creatures, as clay. St. Irenaeus said that God’s provident direction of our lives is easy as long as the clay of our hearts remains supple and moist. Trouble comes only when we allow the clay to harden.

Responsorial Psalm

1B Advent

CREDIT:  Pope Francis attends Vesper Prayer Service at St. Paul Basilica on January 25, 2015 in Rome, Italy. See a similar photo by Franco Origlia at Getty Images

RELATED: The phrase “enthroned between the cherubim” (Is 37:16), in fact, was a name for God, whose earthly seat in the Jerusalem Temple was the Ark of the Covenant, guarded on each side by cherubim. The seat, then, was an image of God’s own authority, and, importantly, the authority he deputed to humanity to administer in his name. (That Other “Seat of Wisdom”—The Role of the Celebrant’s Chair in the Life of the Church by Denis R. McNamara | Adoremus)

"O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. Rouse your power, and come to save us." — Ps 80:2-3

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PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved

These verses connect well with the First Reading. The author pleads with God to come and help his hurting people.

©2020 Fr. Eamon Tobin. Used with permission.

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Exploring the Text

PHOTO CREDIT (TOP OF PAGE): CREDIT:  Pope Francis attends Vesper Prayer Service at St. Paul Basilica on January 25, 2015 in Rome, Italy. See a similar photo by Franco Origlia at Getty Images

RELATED: The phrase “enthroned between the cherubim” (Is 37:16), in fact, was a name for God, whose earthly seat in the Jerusalem Temple was the Ark of the Covenant, guarded on each side by cherubim. The seat, then, was an image of God’s own authority, and, importantly, the authority he deputed to humanity to administer in his name. (That Other “Seat of Wisdom”—The Role of the Celebrant’s Chair in the Life of the Church by Denis R. McNamara | Adoremus)

Second Reading

1B Advent

CREDIT:  Monsignor Edward Puleo presents holy communion during held mass with people in attendance, and social distancing, at St. Brigid Church in Peapack , N.J. June, 14, 2020

RELATED: One of the reasons the Catholic church teaches that it is a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sundays, is not because our Holy Mother Church wants to be strict and impose a lot of rules on us. It is so that, “He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Without that continuous support that we receive during our worship of God and reception of the sacraments, we run a great risk of straying away from the faith. If you miss Mass once, it gets a little easier to miss it the next time, and so it goes, until you just don’t feel like going at all anymore. If a person persists in that state, it could jeopardize their eternal salvation, if death should catch them off guard. —from He will keep you firm to the end (A Catholic Moment) by Laura Kazlas

"He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. " — 1 Corinthians 1:8

1 COR 1:3-9

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He will strengthen you to the end.

• Paul’s letter is addressed to the Corinthians, a people who have embraced Christianity with ardor.
• They compete with one another for the most evident signs of the spirit.
• Paul reminds the people that the most essential gift for their salvation is perseverance in faith.

SOURCE: Our Sunday Visitor

REFLECTIONS

1 COR 1:3-9

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Fr. Clement Thibodeau

We are gifted by Christ as we await his coming

SECOND READING—Paul begins by greeting that community which he previously brought to the faith when he was among them. Now, there are problems which call for his authoritative intervention. But first, Paul has to remind them that they have been gifted by Christ. “All speech and all knowledge” refers to values which as Greeks they would have been proud to possess. But as Christians, they should rather be proud of faith, hope, and love! They will only be perfected in God’s wayswhen the Lord Jesus has returned. Now is the time to look forward to that return and to be ready, that is, sinless.

© 2017 Portland Diocese / Father Clement D. Thibodeau. Used with permission.

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Sr. Mary McGlone

Understanding Paul’s writing

SECOND READING—Paul’s letter writing was a very different activity from tweeting or texting. While it may have been electric in its power, it was much more serious than email. To understand the composition of his letters, we should remember his historical context. Not everyone had the ability to write or even to read. Paul, like other writers, generally had a scribe taking dictation from him and the polish of his phrases and thoughts suggest that what he put in writing had been through a long process of thought and preaching before it was commended to parchment. Unlike our omnipresent paper, the parchment he used was expensive, as was the ink made from a combination of carbon, water and gum arabic, which is also a sweetener — this adding to the sense of the word of God being like honey.

Writing was serious business. What Paul put in his letters had surely already been tried out in preaching and discussions. His expressions had been honed through repetition until they were ready to commit to writing. Thus, while his ideas may not have been new to his readers, writing things down reminded the communities of what they had heard from him and preserved a permanent record of his advice, preaching and admonitions.

Paul gave such care to his writing that every word had been carefully chosen, and the salutation of a letter was as much a theological statement as it was an address. When Paul opened his letter to the Corinthians saying, “Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” he gave us words we frequently use in the liturgy and to which we not may have given great consideration.

Paul’s greeting “Grace,” (charis) imitated and transformed the normal letter salutation, “Hail” (chairein). It implied: “This is an unusual letter and it has theological importance.” For Paul, grace was synonymous with God’s gift of salvation. Peace was the result of that gift. In a world in which the emperor claimed to be the people’s savior and the bringer of peace, Paul’s greeting was subversive. He proclaimed that humanity could know the fullness of life only through a loving relationship with God. By starting his letter this way Paul summed up everything he wanted to tell the community. The rest of the letter simply filled out the details.

©2017 National Catholic Reporter. All Rights Reserved. Sr. Mary McGlone  is a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Her 2020 Reflections can be read at National Catholic Reporter website.

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Fr. Eamon Tobin

Waiting for Christ’s second coming

SECOND READING—After the usual greeting, Paul gives thanks to God for the way he has blessed this church family with many gifts. As they wait for Christ’s second coming, Paul feels confident that God will keep them steadfast in bearing witness to him.

©2020 Fr. Eamon Tobin. Used with permission.

LECTOR TIPS

1 COR 1:3-9

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Paul J. Schlachter

The apostle repeats the name of the Lord Jesus Christ five times.  How can I say it so that each saying will sound deliberate, and not like the sloganeering of an inexperienced public speaker?

This is the same community that was not lacking in any spiritual gift.  And the apostle is glad for such abundance: I give thanks to my God always.  But they need reminding that underlying their gifts is the call to fellowship with God’s Son.  All that we share with each other, every spiritual gift, every act of generosity toward our neighbor, get their meaning from him.

You wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Indeed, the whole world will find its meaning on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This appearance, and our transformation, is the theme of Advent itself, repeated here in various ways.  The grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus.  He will keep you firm to the end.  God is faithful; by him you were called to fellowship with his Son.

The message for our assembly: Christ belongs not just in the center of the Christmas celebration, but in the center of all seasons.  We cannot let ourselves be distracted by the coming orgy of gift-giving (to ourselves and others), or by the countless parties and receptions that begin right now, when we should be reserving for Christ the place of honor that gives purpose to everything we do.

Central theme: Christ is the beginning and end of our lives.

I will challenge myself: To pronounce with warmth and freshness today the apostle’s ancient words of assurance to a church that he deeply loves.

READ MORE by Paul at Lector Works

Greg Warnusz

INTRODUCTION FOR LISTENERS:

Corinth was a young, somewhat wild Christian community anxious about the imminent return of Christ to bring history to an end. Saint Paul reassures them by reminding them of the gifts that the Spirit of God has already given them. They’re ready, and God will keep them so.

ORAL INTERPRETATION:

Today’s second reading comes from an early letter of Saint Paul, written while he and his audience were sure that Christ’s second coming was just around the corner.

To bring this out, when you read it, emphasize the phrases that appear here in bold print: “…Likewise, the witness I bore to Christ has been so confirmed among you that you lack no spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

READ MORE by Greg at LectorPrep.org

FOCAL THEMES

1 COR 1:3-9

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Theology of Work Commentary

Spiritual resources available

SECOND READING—Paul expresses his thanks that the Corinthian believers have experienced the grace of God in Christ. This is more than some vague piety. Rather, Paul has something quite specific in mind. The believers in Corinth have been “enriched in [Christ]” (1 Cor. 1:5) so that they “are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:7). Paul specifically names two gifts, speech and knowledge, that the Corinthian church enjoyed in abundance.

For our purposes, it is especially important to note that Paul is con­vinced that the believers in Corinth have received the spiritual resources they need to fulfill their calling. God has called them, and he has given them gifts that will enable them to be “blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8). Although the day of perfection has not arrived yet, whether at work or anywhere else, Christians already have access to the gifts that will come to complete fruition on that day.

It is hard to imagine that all Corinthian Christians felt as if their work was a special occupation designed individually for them by God. Most of them were slaves or common laborers, as we will see. What Paul must mean is that whether or not each person’s occupation seems special, God gives the gifts needed to make everyone’s work contribute to God’s plan for the world. No matter how insignificant our work seems, no matter how much we long to have a different job, the work we do now is important to God.

SOURCE: © 2014 Theology of Work Project, Inc.; Used with permission. (Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.)

Life Recovery Bible

Confronting others about their failures

1 Cor 1:4-9 Although there were problems among the Corinthian believers, Paul began his letter to them on a positive note. He understood that confronting others about their failures is more effective when we approach them diplomatically. We need to gain a hearing by recognizing the good things in the lives of those we need to confront. In this way, we show that we are concerned about them and value them as people. Our intervention will be effective only when we first show that we love the people we want to help.

SOURCE: Content taken from The Life Recovery Bible notes by Stephen Arterburn & David Stoop. Copyright © 1998, 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

BIBLE STUDY

1 COR 1:3-9

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I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus (v. 4)

“I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus“

I once attended a funeral where the preacher spoke in glowing terms about a man whose life had been less than glowing. After the funeral, someone asked me, “Who was she talking about?”

We might ask the same of Paul here. Who is he talking about? Is he talking about the Corinthian church that has suffered because of its many divisions (1 Cor 1:10-17)? Is he talking about Christians who have either engaged in or turned a blind eye to sexual immorality in the church (1 Cor 5:1-13)? Is he talking about believers who have turned to civil courts to air their grievances against one another (1 Cor 6:1-11)? Is he talking about Christians who have observed the Lord’s supper with the rich having plenty to eat and the poor having nothing—with some people actually getting drunk (1 Cor 11:17-22)?

Some scholars believe that Paul is being sarcastic here. If so, his intent would be to shame these Corinthian Christians—to remind them how far they have fallen short of the life to which God has called them. Other scholars, however, see this as honest thanksgiving on Paul’s part for the Corinthian Christians and the grace that they have received. I believe the latter camp to be correct:

• Paul is a very direct person (as he will soon demonstrate in this letter), and doesn’t need sarcasm to shame people.
• He understands that “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that we are “justified freely by his grace” (Romans 3:24)—so he can appreciate the faith even of Christians who are falling short of the Christian ideal.
• He has experienced personally the inner conflict that causes good people to do bad things, and understands that God’s grace is his only hope (Romans 7:14-25).
• He doesn’t deny that these Corinthians are Christians. If they are Christians, they have received God’s grace, and it would be appropriate for Paul to be thankful for that.
• He doesn’t congratulate them for what they have done, but gives thanks for what they have received. In doing so, he moves the focus from what they have done to what God has done for them.

Exegesis Outline

Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7

• PAUL, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST
• I ALWAYS THANK MY GOD CONCERNING YOU

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Richard Niell Donavan, a Disciples of Christ clergyman, published SermonWriter from 1997 until his death in 2020. His wife Dale has graciously kept his website online. A subscription is no longer required.

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Exploring the Text

PHOTO CREDIT (TOP OF PAGE): CREDIT:  Monsignor Edward Puleo presents holy communion during held mass with people in attendance, and social distancing, at St. Brigid Church in Peapack , N.J. June, 14, 2020

RELATED: One of the reasons the Catholic church teaches that it is a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sundays, is not because our Holy Mother Church wants to be strict and impose a lot of rules on us. It is so that, “He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Without that continuous support that we receive during our worship of God and reception of the sacraments, we run a great risk of straying away from the faith. If you miss Mass once, it gets a little easier to miss it the next time, and so it goes, until you just don’t feel like going at all anymore. If a person persists in that state, it could jeopardize their eternal salvation, if death should catch them off guard. —from He will keep you firm to the end (A Catholic Moment) by Laura Kazlas

Gospel Reading

1B Advent

CREDIT:  Many websites have used this photo over the years for the first week of Advent. (cf. TinEye's reverse image search)

RELATED: Visit LectioTube's Advent section for reflections, advent calendars, Art & Faith videos, season introduction videos, children videos and activities, songs, and prayers.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." — Mark 13:33

MK 13:33-37

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Be constantly on guard!

• The author of Mark’s Gospel wrote for a community greatly concerned with events of the end of time.
• Today’s passage repeats two ideas. First, no one but God knows the time of the end. Second, the proper response of the faithful disciple is to watch and be ready at all times.
• Only those who persevere in watching will be saved.

SOURCE: Our Sunday Visitor

REFLECTIONS

MK 13:33-37

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Fr. Clement Thibodeau

We need to be alert to the coming of the Lord

GOSPEL—We begin the Church’s calendar year with a reading taken from the latter part of the Gospel, just before the passion narrative in Mark. The concern is with the end-time. Jesus asks the disciples (us, the Church) to be watchful, that is faithful, since all this will take place when he comes to pass judgment on those who are unaware, asleep, that is, when they least expect it. “Watch in faithfulness!” The Church community wants to be reminded that the Second Coming is proclaimed even in the memorial of the Lord’s first coming. The season of Advent alerts us not only to the fact that Christmas is fast approaching but that the judgment is coming speedily also. The Gospel according to Mark was the first of the four Gospels to be written. It is the shortest, containing only 16 chapters. There is no infancy narrative in this Gospel. Jesus is introduced at the beginning of his public ministry. Mark alone has a title at the beginning: “the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ, Son of God.” Throughout.there is a sense of urgency about themessage. We see this in the frequent use of the word immediately. God’s time is now complete; God is among us. We need to change our ways; This is the truth; this is “good news.”In Mark, the focus is on Jesus the Christ and on the disciples. The followers of Jesus do not come off with much honor in this Gospel. They are portrayed as slow-witted, failing to understand the message, always seeking advantages for themselves, denying the need for suffering and dying, etc. Peter is the disciple among disciples! He is quick and impetuous, and he is always wrong!

The message of Mark, of course, is for the Church of his dayand for the Church of today. The disciples of Jesus are no different today than were his original group! The Church holds up a mirror to its own face this year during the proclamations from the Gospel according to Mark. It needs to take a lesson from the teachings of Jesus and from the responses of the first disciples.

© 2017 Portland Diocese / Father Clement D. Thibodeau. Used with permission.

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Sr. Mary McGlone

God’s ongoing advent into our lives

GOSPEL— “You do not know when the Lord of the house is coming.” Is Jesus making a promise or giving us a warning?

Jesus spoke about the master’s return after telling his disciples to remain watchful and alert. The master left servants in charge of his affairs, giving each of them their own work and assigning one to be the vigilant gatekeeper. Ironically, while the master expected everyone to do their jobs, the times at which he suggested that the master might return were non-working hours: dinner, midnight, pre-dawn and early morning. Then again, the times he mentioned were the precise hours when important events of the passion took place. The evening was the time of the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples. It was night when Jesus prayed and the disciples slept until his arrest. Cockcrow was most famously the time of Peter’s test of faithfulness. The early morning was the time of the meeting of the council that handed Jesus over; two days later, early morning was the time of the women’s journey to the empty tomb. Each of these hours represents a crucial moment in the disciples’ relationship with Jesus.

In Jesus’ own life, each of these moments was revelatory. Each of them focused his ministry and the meaning of his life. In the evening, he revealed himself as the one given for his disciples; at night he exposed his frail humanity and need for solidarity; at cockcrow he was misjudged and mistreated by people in authority and betrayed by his own. Finally, presenting both his trial and the discovery of his resurrection as events that happened in the early morning, the Gospel hints at the immense disparity between the human and divine verdicts on Jesus. Evening, midnight, cockcrow and morning were key moments for understanding who Jesus was and how he hoped his disciples would respond to him.

As we begin Advent, the Gospel calls us to be alert and watchful. When Jesus told the disciples that they needed to be as aware in their time off as during their working hours, he let them know that serious discipleship will refocus their entire life. Disciples who want to be ready for the master, who want to notice the signs of God’s presence in the world need to imitate parents who cultivate an ongoing awareness of their little ones. Parents and those who care for the frail and elderly don’t have to dote unceasingly on the person they are caring for, but they have to keep one ear constantly attuned for any call that demands a response.

In this season so full of glitzy distractions, the Gospel reminds us that God’s ongoing advent into our lives is not bound to a calendar or even to a liturgical schedule. There’s no predicting the moment when God will show up in our lives. We never know at what moment the Master will be seeking our faithful response.

©2017 National Catholic Reporter. All Rights Reserved. Sr. Mary McGlone is a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Her 2020 Reflections can be read at National Catholic Reporter website.

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Fr. Eamon Tobin

Always be ready

GOSPEL—As stated above, the early Christians expected Jesus’ return during their lifetime. In these verses, Mark is encouraging his readers to do two things: a) to be watchful or vigilant for the Lord’s coming b) to be good and faithful disciples. For us, living in between Jesus’ first coming and second coming, we should be alert for the Lord’s comings into our daily lives and we should be found faithfully fulfilling our responsibilities and always ready and willing to witness to Jesus and his values.

©2020 Fr. Eamon Tobin. Used with permission.

PROCLAMATION TIPS

MK 13:33-37

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Paul J. Schlachter

Be watchful!  Be alert!  You do not know when the time will come.  May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.  I say to all: Watch!  These are insistent, sobering words from Jesus today.  He should know about sudden events, since his words come just before the narration of his Passion and Death.

Everyone in our congregation has learned the importance of vigilance in our modern world.  We keep a close eye on our wealth and property.  We especially take precautions for our personal safety in a city that, as the media love to remind us, is filled with danger.

And we are fully aware that we know so little about the secret designs of others.  That is why it will not be hard to confirm today the words of Jesus: You do not know when the Lord of the house is coming.  Not that God’s designs are secret!  God just takes longer to speak the final decisive word.

I will evoke this sense of vigilance in my listeners, as I say the words The time will come.  The suspense will mount in my voice as I count down the time: in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow or in the morning.

Central theme: Vigilance is the touchstone of Advent.

Message for our assembly: We must be ready for Jesus’ return, readier than we are for any worldly goals, readier than we are to shop for Christmas, truly poor in spirit.

I will challenge myself: To take a cue from the stubborn insistence that our president and vice-president use in their speeches, outdoing their worldly zeal as I repeat the admonishing words of Jesus to the assembly.

Word to Eucharist: Let us remind ourselves that our union around the table today is a foretaste of the union still to come.

READ MORE by Paul at Lector Works

FOCAL THEMES

MK 13:33-37

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Theology of Work Commentary

Cycle B Gospel readings are from Mark

GOSPEL—The Gospel of Mark, like the other Gospels, is about the work of Jesus. His work is to teach, to heal, to perform signs of God’s power, and most of all to die and be raised to life for the benefit of humanity. Christ’s work is absolutely unique. Yet it is also a seamless part of the work of all God’s people, which is to cooperate with God in restoring the world to the way God intended it from the beginning. Our work is not Christ’s work, but our work has the same end as his. Therefore the Gospel of Mark is not about our work, but it informs our work and defines the ultimate goal of our work.

By studying Mark, we discover God’s call to work in the service of his kingdom. We discern the rhythms of work, rest, and worship God intends for our lives. We see the opportunities and dangers inherent in earning a living, accumulating wealth, gaining status, paying taxes, and working in a society that does not necessarily aim toward God’s purposes. We meet fishermen, labourers, mothers and fathers (parenting is a type of work!), tax collectors, people with disabilities that affect their work, leaders, farmers, lawyers, priests, builders, philanthropists (mostly women), a very rich man, merchants, bankers, soldiers, and governors. We recognize the same bewildering range of personalities we encounter in life and work today. We encounter people not as isolated individuals, but as members of families, communities, and nations. Work and workers are everywhere in the Gospel of Mark.

As with the other Gospels, Mark is set against a background of turbulent economic times. During the Roman era, Galilee was undergoing major social upheaval, with land increasingly owned by a wealthy few — often foreigners — and with a general movement away from small-scale farming to larger-scale, estate-based agriculture. Those who had once been tenant farmers or even landowners were forced to become day labourers, often as a result of having lost their own property through the foreclosure of loans taken to pay Roman taxes.[1] Set against such a background, it is small wonder that economic and fiscal themes emerge in Mark’s narrative and in the teaching of Jesus, and an awareness of this social context allows us to appreciate undercurrents in these that we might otherwise have overlooked.

SOURCE: © 2014 Theology of Work Project, Inc.; Used with permission. (Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.)

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Life Recovery Bible

Uncertainty about the timing and difficulties in recovery

Mk 13:21-37 Jesus did not reveal when the end would come, but this should motivate us to remain alert and watchful from now until the end. As we are unsure of the future of our world, we are also uncertain about the timing and difficulties we will face in recovery. We are never completely recovered; we are always in recovery. We will experience total victory only after Jesus has returned to make us into new people. Preparation for his return must be made one day at a time. We cannot calculate the day of his return and plan to change just before he comes. Our daily preparation and actions are important keys to our spiritual health and recovery.

SOURCE: Content taken from The Life Recovery Bible notes by Stephen Arterburn & David Stoop. Copyright © 1998, 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

BIBLE STUDY

MK 13:33-37

What I tell you, I tell all: Watch (v. 37)

“What I tell you, I tell all: Watch“

This is the point of the parable––that Jesus’ disciples must“keep awake” to be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. Keeping awake, of course, cannot mean that we must suffer chronic insomnia. Keeping awake has to do with spiritual wakefulness––spiritual preparation––spiritual readiness for Christ’s coming again.

But what constitutes wakefulness? What constitutes readiness? What do we need to be doing when the Master comes so that he will be pleased with us? This Gospel offers the following answers. It quotes Jesus as saying:

• “For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother” (Mark 3:35)––so we would do well to try to do God’s will.
• When Jesus’ disciples argued about which one was greatest, Jesus said: “If any man wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35b)––so we would do well to adopt the posture of a servant.
• Then Jesus took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,“Whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, doesn’t receive me, but him who sent me” (Mark 9:37)––so we would do well to welcome children (and others who are in need of care and supervision).
• When Jesus’ disciples complained about an exorcist who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, Jesus replied: “For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ’s, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward” (Mark 9:41)––so we would do well to help those in need––and to do so in Christ’s name (see also Matthew 25:31-46).
• After Jesus’ disciples tried to stop parents from bringing their children to Jesus, he said: “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it” (Mark 10:14b-15)––so we would do well to recover some of the readiness to believe and the sense of wonder that we enjoyed as children.
• After James and John request the places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom, Jesus replied: “Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all” (Mark 10:44)––this repeats the emphasis on servanthood that we found in 9:35b above).
• Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions” (Mark 11:25)––so we would do well to practice forgiveness.
• When the widow put her last two coins in the temple treasury, Jesus said: “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on”(Mark 12:43-44)––so we would do well to give recklessly to God.
• After the resurrection, Jesus said (in the longer ending of this Gospel): “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16)––so we would do well to believe and be baptized.

Copyright 2014, Richard Niell Donovan

Exegesis Outline

Mark 13:24-37

• 13. THE CONTEXT
• 13:24-27. THEN THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN
• 13:28-31. MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY
• 3:32-37. WATCH, KEEP ALERT, AND PRAY!

Click above to also view list of sermons

Richard Niell Donavan, a Disciples of Christ clergyman, published SermonWriter from 1997 until his death in 2020. His wife Dale has graciously kept his website online. A subscription is no longer required.

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Exploring the Text

PHOTO CREDIT (TOP OF PAGE): CREDIT:  Many websites have used this photo over the years for the first week of Advent. (cf. TinEye's reverse image search)

RELATED: Visit LectioTube's Advent section for reflections, advent calendars, Art & Faith videos, season introduction videos, children videos and activities, songs, and prayers.

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Catena Aurea

1B Advent

St. Theophylact of Ochrid

MK 13:33-37

The Catena Aurea (or, Golden Chain) is a compilation of Patristic commentary on the Gospels and contains passages from the Church Fathers. In this masterpiece, Aquinas seamlessly weaves together extracts from various Fathers to provide a complete commentary on all four Gospels.

THEOPHYLACT. The Lord wishing to prevent His disciples from asking about that day and hour, says, But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. For if He had said, I know, but I will not reveal it to you, He would have saddened them not a little; but He acted more wisely, and prevents their asking such a question, lest they should importune Him, by saying, neither the Angels nor I.

HILARY. (de Trin. ix) This ignorance of the day and hour is urged against the Only-Begotten God, as if, God born of God had not the same perfection of nature as God. But first, let common sense decide whether it is credible that He, who is the cause that all things are, and are to be, should be ignorant of any out of all these things.

For how can it be beyond the knowledge of that nature, by which and in which that which is to be done is contained? And can He be ignorant of that day, which is the day of His own Advent? Human substances foreknow as far as they can what they intend to do, and the knowledge of what is to be done, follows upon the will to act. How then can the Lord of glory, from ignorance of the day of His coming, be believed to be of that imperfect nature, which has on it a necessity of coming, and has not attained to the knowledge of its own advent?

But again, how much more room for blasphemy will there be, if a feeling of envy is ascribed to God the Father, in that He has withheld the knowledge of His beatitude from Him to whom He gave a foreknowledge of His death. But if there are in Him all the treasures of knowledge, He is not ignorant of this day; rather we ought to remember that the treasures of wisdom in Him are hidden; His ignorance therefore must be connected with the hiding of the treasures of wisdom, which are in Him. (Col. 2:3) For in all cases, in which God declares Himself ignorant, He is not under the power of ignorance, but either it is not a fit time for speaking, or it is an economy of not acting.

But if God is said then to have known that Abraham loved Him, when He did not hide that His knowledge from Abraham, it follows, that the Father is said to know the day, because He did not hide it from the Son. (Gen. 22:12) If therefore the Son knew not the day, it is a Sacrament of His being silent, as on the contrary the Father alone is said to know, because He is not silent. But God forbid that any new and bodily changes should be ascribed to the Father or the Son. Lastly, lest He should be said to be ignorant from weakness, He has immediately added, Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is.

PSEUDO-JEROME. For we must needs watch with our souls before the death of the body.

THEOPHYLACT. But He teaches us two things, watching and prayer; for many of us watch, but watch only to pass the night in wickedness; He now follows this up with a parable, saying, For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave his servants power over every work, and commanded the porter to watch.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) The man who taking a far journey left his house is Christ, who ascending as a conqueror to His Father after the resurrection, left His Church, as to His bodily presence, but has never deprived her of the safeguard of His Divine presence.

GREGORY. (Hom. in Evan. 9) For the earth is properly the place for the flesh, which was as it were carried away to a far country, when it was placed by our Redeemer in the heavens. And he gave his servants power over every work, when, by giving to His faithful ones the grace of the Holy Ghost, He gave them the power of serving every good work. He has also ordered the porter to watch, because He commanded the order of pastors to have a care over the Church committed to them. Not only, however, those of us who rule over Churches, but all are required to watch the doors of their hearts, lest the evil suggestions of the devil enter into them, and lest our Lord find us sleeping. Wherefore concluding this parable He adds, Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

PSEUDO-JEROME. For he who sleeps applies not his mind to real bodies, but to phantoms, and when he awakes, he possesses not what he had seen; so also are those, whom the love of this world seizes upon in this life; they quit after this life what they dreamed was real.

THEOPHYLACT. See again that He has not said, I know not when the time will be, but, Ye know not. For the reason why He concealed it was that it was better for us; for if, now that we know not the end, we are careless, what should we do if we knew it? We should keep on our wickednesses even unto the end. Let us therefore attend to His words; for the end comes at even, when a man dies in old age; at midnight, when he dies in the midst of his youth; and at cockcrow, when our reason is perfect within us; for when a child begins to live according to his reason, then the cock cries loud within him, rousing him from the sleep of sense; but the age of childhood is the morning. Now all these ages must look out for the end; for even a child must be watched, lest he die unbaptized.

PSEUDO-JEROME. He thus concludes His discourse, that the last should hear from those who come first this precept which is common to all; wherefore He adds, But what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

AUGUSTINE. (Epist. 199, 3) For He not only speaks to those in whose hearing He then spake, but even to all who came after them, before our time, and even to us, and to all after us, even to His last coming. But shall that day find all living, or will any man say that He speaks also to the dead, when He says, Watch, lest when he cometh he find you sleeping? Why then does He say to all, what only belongs to those who shall then be alive, if it be not that it belongs to all, as I have said? For that day comes to each man when his day comes for departing from this life such as he is to be, when judged in that day, and for this reason every Christian ought to watch, lest the Advent of the Lord find him unprepared; but that day shall find him unprepared, whom the last day of his life shall find unprepared.

SOURCE: eCatholic 2000Commentary in public domain.