Resuming from Chapters One and Two. Revelation 21:9-10 There came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. At first blush, this might seem like... Read more

Resuming from Chapter One. Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.” I feel this verse highlights a spiritual issue that seems commonplace in the US at least. It may be common in a lot of places with a... Read more

“Thirty Days, Thirty Verses” As we know, June is LGBTQ Pride Month; and thereby hangs a tale, and as usual, it’s the worst. For the last few years, I have been much annoyed by the attempt among some right-wing Catholics to turn June’s dedication to the Sacred Heart into an expression of homophobia. These are not their words; they’ve generally called it “reclaiming June for the Sacred Heart,” who needs our assistance apparently (doesn’t he always). It turns out God... Read more

So, picking up from last time: Acts 15:1-2, 3-21, 22-29, RSV-CE But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way... Read more

The Synod of Jerusalem Map of Jerusalem (1472) by Pietro del Massaio and Hugo Comminelli. Our text here is the lesson from the Sixth Sunday in Easter, the Sunday before Ascension. It’s from Acts 15, and recounts the Church’s first-ever synod, or council, which is thought to have been held around the year 50. The First Council of Nicæa, the source of the Creed,1 took place two hundred and seventy-five years after this; to the Nicene bishops, the Synod of... Read more

Another Lengthy One This one is long not because it’s multiple lessons together, but because the lesson we have cut St. Paul’s … whole sermon. Which, I get it, it’s long, and we do get a lot of readings from the Pauline epistles all year—but it kinda bums me out, because St. Paul doing a homily sounds rather different from St. Paul writing a letter. The next will probably be lengthy too, for similar reasons. As before, I’m aiming for... Read more

In Hoc Paschali Gaudio1 The Sunday Gospel readings throughout Easter come mainly from the Gospel of John, and I translated the majority of them last year. I don’t flatter myself I exhausted their meaning; but, especially since it’s Year C,2 I want to spend this year rendering the Sunday lessons (more on that word in a moment). If you want to read the posts I wrote about the Gospels (mostly) during Eastertide last year, here they are: Gospel for Easter... Read more

The Gospel According to St. Luke: A Book Report Last time, we discussed the scholarly background of Luke, and why I personally find the academic consensus significantly less convincing than the traditional view. Yet I’m sure that the whole time you were waiting anxiously, wanting to interrupt me (save that modesty forbids) to insist, “Yes, but never mind all that! What are Luke’s THEMES?” Don’t worry, I got you. To begin with, Luke is the third and last of the... Read more

Or: A Belated Introduction to Luke I’ve at last gotten a bit of breathing room, and can return to a long-postponed duty: introducing what Luke’s deal even is! Here goes. The Tradition of Saint Luke A portrait of St. Luke in the St. Augustine Gospels, a 6th-c. evangeliary now housed in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University —one of the oldest extant European books. (Note: Here, as in a few other places, I’m using “tradition” in the small-t sense: ideas that... Read more

ARE WE? No. Here’s why the question comes up. Although we’re in Year C, which is devoted to Luke, the Gospel this past Sunday came from John 8 St. Luke the Evangelist as depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). … except, not really. The passage we know as John 7:53-8:11, or “the adulteress pericope,” appears thus in Byzantine manuscripts; in the oldest manuscripts of John’s Gospel, these verses are absent. The Greek New Testatment text supported by the Society of... Read more