Faith

Called to Belong – Monday, 28th Week in ordinary time- Romans 1: 1-7

From our reflections on post exilic prophecy, the first readings now shifts once again to Pauline writings; this time to the Romans. Paul wrote this letter shortly before he made his last trip to Jerusalem. Some suggest that he wrote it in Corinth or in Cenchreae, both Greek cities, sometime in the winter of AD 57- 58.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is a letter of introduction and as an announcement of his visit to Rome. This is not a community he has evangelized and hence is unfamiliar with. Paul’s letter to the Romans is meant to be his reflections on the salvific love of God, offered to humanity, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul had laboured much in the Eastern Mediterranean region and now sets his eyes on Spain but before that he decided to make a stopover in Rome. Paul had made a collection from the Gentile Christians of Galatia and Macedonia. This collection was meant to be a sign of solidarity between the Gentile Churches and the poor in Jerusalem.

Paul’s letter is also necessitated by a change in the social order. Up unto this time the Jewish Christians were always the dominant group; the Gentile Christians came a poor second. All this changed, when in 49 AD the Emperor Claudius commanded the Jews and Jewish Christians to leave Rome. It was the Gentile Christians who remained and steered the faith community much to the surprise of the Jewish Christians, who at the death of Claudius in 54 AD, returned to find the Gentile Christians now at the helm of things; among them a change in dietary and calendric regulations.

Spread the love ♥
12      
12
Shares
Continue Reading
Uncategorized

PARTY PRECEPTS: The Parable of the Marriage Feast by Brunswick Monogrammist

Banquets are often celebrated to mark important events or occasions. They are suitably featured in the Bible as well. Right from Abraham who called for a great feast when Isaac was weaned to Jacob’s wedding party. Not forgetting the first miracle of Christ at the wedding feast of Cana and of course Herod’s birthday bash that terminated with the tragic execution of John the Baptist.

Biblical Banquets also entailed certain characteristics. They were partaken at dusk and generally included a second call to those who had already been invited. Occasionally it involved supplying each guest with a robe to be worn at the feast. The guest sat in accordance to seniority and rank. The halls boasted of viands and wines, of exotic spices and perfumes, of brilliant robes and flowers, of merry singers and dancers and of indulging jest and jollity.

Reckoning these party precepts, today’s painting invites us to the parable of the marriage banquet. It echoes the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, verse 1 to 14. This painting is executed by Brunswick Monogrammist, an anonymous Netherlandish painter of the 1500’s. It was his forte to paint complex works of art that featured secular revelry and a discreet message.

At first glance however we are lost! The Gospel scenes are sprinkled across the painting. Swarms of colourful figures sweep the exquisite set. The palatial plush indicates that this is no ordinary banquet. It is the royal wedding of the King’s son. An invitation to such an event should inevitably find room on one’s calendar. The date would be circled and saved. But what happens here is the contrary.

Spread the love ♥
10      
10
Shares
Continue Reading
Faith

When fortunes are not found in a cookie- Saturday, 27th week in ordinary time- Joel 3:12-21

The devastation that rained upon the people of Israel was disastrous to say the least. The prophet enumerates not only the damage but the extent of devastation caused by the locust plague.  What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.

For Joel, this devastation becomes a lever to call the people to repentance.  But Yahweh’s anger is also mirrored by His mercy. God had not abandoned his people even though they had turned away from Him. The prophet Joel assures the people that God was still in their midst.

The last word for the Israelites was not to be a word of despair (or for that matter for a Christian) for God is a God of hope. He that had permitted the devastation (not caused it) and now would bring about a reversal of fortune on seeing the repentance of His people. The locust plague or the drought was not going to be the last word; for Yahweh is.

Chapter four of the book of Joel speaks of this reversal of fortune. With the locust and drought now gone, Yahweh will perform even greater wonders for His people.  This reversal will include the judgment of the nations who have persecuted God’s chosen people. The offending nations will be summoned to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There is a play on words here as ‘Jehoshaphat’ means God has judged. This valley is also known in New Testament times as the Kidron valley, a place where idols were ritually destroyed.

Now Yahweh will sit as judge and prosecutor and will avenge the sufferings which the nations have inflicted upon Israel. The day of the Lord will now be a day of terrible punishment for the nations of the world while His beloved people, Israel, will experience salivation; with a promise that the mountains shall drip new wine and the hills shall flow with milk.

Spread the love ♥
2      
2
Shares
Continue Reading
Faith

When a disaster becomes a lever- Friday, 27th week in ordinary time- Joel 1:13-15, 2:1-2

The prophet, after whom this short book is named, is called simply “Joel” meaning Yahweh. The prophet was, in all probability, a citizen of Jerusalem in Judah, which is the focal point of the book’s substance.  He may have been a priest or cult-prophet and it may be assumed that Joel was a person of some education, for his poetry has literary power and his words reflect familiarity with the writings, or sayings, of other prophets.   

The book was written after the building of the temple in 515 and before the destruction of Sidon in 343 and after the time of Obadiah and Malachi. Though the date of the prophet’s ministry remains shrouded in mystery, the event which prompted the ministry, from the human perspective, is perfectly clear; it was the horrifying experience of a locust plague. The prophet describes in vivid terms the recent experience of the devastation caused by locusts (1:2-2:17) and takes that historical reality as the launching point of his prophetic ministry.   

That the prophet describes a real infestation of the land by locusts need not be doubted, though there was a tendency among the older interpreters to understand the tale of the locusts to be merely symbolic or allegorical.  Not only in ancient times, but also in the modern era, Jerusalem and its surrounding lands have been vulnerable to the ravages of locusts.  In the spring of 1915, Jerusalem, Palestine and Syria were subjected to terrible devastation as a consequence of an influx of locusts  

Spread the love ♥
3      
3
Shares
Continue Reading
Faith

Fighting spiritual boredom- Thursday, 27th week in ordinary time- Malachi 3: 13-20b

Malachi is the last of the twelve prophets and is the final book of the Old Testament in its present ordering. The book is described as an oracle, or burden. The message of this book is addressed to ‘Israel’; the word being used here is used in its broad sense to encompass all the chosen people of God.

Malachi, simply means, ‘my messenger’. Hence, many interpreters have supposed that Malachi is simply a title for an otherwise anonymous prophet, the title indicating clearly enough the prophetic function.  But it is also quite possible that Malachi is simply a name, albeit a rare one.  

The general period of the prophet’s ministry can be determined from the substance of his writing.  The date was approximately 460 B.C. and a little more than half a century had passed from the time of the ministries of men like Haggai and Zechariah who motivated the people to rebuild the temple after the exile.

The rebuilding of the temple, which was so central an issue for the prophet’s predecessors, was now a thing of the past; the restored temple stood and its worship was conducted on a regular basis.  However, the chosen people were still a colonial people under the Persian Empire. The Persian rule however was relatively benign and the international situation gave a few grounds for concern.

For all the tranquility of Malachi’s world, it was not a particularly happy time for the chosen people.  Times of international crisis bring with them their own stimulus to action and thought, but calmness can dull the spirits and destroy any sense of vitality.  Israel floated on these still waters of international calm, with little sense of direction and the collapse of internal discipline.

Spread the love ♥
12      
12
Shares
Continue Reading