Sunday 29 August 2021 (’00) 22ndSUNinORDINARY : B
1. DEUT4:l-2, 6-8
- Read 3:23- 4.40! A Moses Homily to instill fear in ‘The Yahweh People’!
- ‘Deuteronomy!’: A theological fiction, woven of law&homily, draped on Moses.
Embodying an ethic of reward&puinshment around ‘KeepingTheLaw’!
Legitimating the conquest of Canaan by the ‘ChosenPeople’!
Sanctifying TheJerusalemTemple&itsCult’
- Is calling Yahweh ‘our god’ sufficient justification for invading others’ land?
- Or for suggesting that the religion&morality of other peoples are inferior?
- But is any ‘ChristianChurch’ able to own its-own ‘Jingoistic bigotry’?
- What is being claimed or concealed when I boldly call this rhetoric ‘word-of-god’?
2. THE PSALM : 14:2-5
- Is this about priests&worshippers(males only?) in TheJerusalemTemple?
- ‘Walk!’. Moral/Behaviour! Especially in matters of ‘Justice’ & ‘truth’ (what?)!
- Nowadays, how to distinguish ‘neighbour’ & ‘godless’? How to keep our heads, in the quagmire of financial (or other!)’Pledges&Interests&Loans&Bribes!
- Is ‘ truth’ kept alive by parroting catechism answers? Or ‘Justice’ by ferverinos?
3. JAM l:17-18, 21-22, 27
- Read 1.1-27 of this traditionally undervalued letter (why is this?)! Is it maybe because of its nittygritty approach to ‘morality’? &That final assertion in 1:27!
- How do I know I’m ‘doing the word’? not just ‘listening to it, &deceiving myself’!
- In my Church, which aspect of ‘christianity’ is more important in practice? TbeDogmatic TheMoral TheDevotional TheMystical or TheMinimalisticPassive?
- In 30words, what ‘salvific word’ has been planted in me? &when&by-whom/what?
4. MK7:1-8, 14-15 21-23 (Why the omissions?)
- Read 7.1-30! But if heart is the truth of religion, what of myChurch?
- Indeed, would HisWords not be eminently appropriate to myChurch&Community?
- Why are we still encouraged, to imagine that He’s addressing ‘perfidious Jews’?
- Isn’t there a hint here that, while myChurch may be rhetorically inflated, it is becoming less&less a moral dynamism in IrishSociety!
- How’d I respond if He quoted that ‘Isaiah’ to my local church of Armagh?
- What if ‘human traditions’ are masquerading as ‘commandments-of-god’? Say, republican or loyalist or economic or other ideological imperatives?
5. The presence&action of the Blessed One, is it like this?
‘Ha-ha’ “lip-service”! that’s a good one… ‘ ‘I suppose y’ were above this mornin’! f’r the usual..”No, looka” I got myself wedged nicely alongside th’ SacredHeart statcha, an’ suddenly I remembers th’ oul’ Canon shoutin’ down at us from th’ altar, “Don’t be there like sacks a’ turnips! Up on yer hunkers now an’ stretch out yer ears for th’ word a’ god!” So begod .. ‘ ‘ Aw, don’t be talkin’. ‘ ‘ … didn’t I decide t’ give yer man all me attention!’ ‘Tell us, whatja. ‘ ‘Nothin’, nothin’ but one quare bit, “lip service”.. ‘ ‘Lip service? Sounds like… ‘ ‘All I could think a’ was a ball o’ malt! John Jameson if ya please!’ ‘ Ha’ Lip-service! Up on yer hunkers alright! Aw, th’ oul’ Canon ‘d love ya!’ “Deed he would! On yer hunkers an’ ears stretched out! I must try that oftener!’ ‘Do, begod! An’ y’ll be as inspired yerself in th’ heel o’ th’ hunt!”
6. RIDDLE Which is the priority? Preserve the churcby front? Wrestle with biblical obscurantism? Accept that He’s criticising my-church?
Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie