The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joeseph Cycle C 2021 (’00)

SUN 26TH  DEC 2021(‘00): THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH C

1. 1SAM1:20-22,24-28 (why omit v. 23?)

  • Read 1:1-20! Celebration of the Misery&Triumph of Hannah-the-Mother!
  • Why is ‘Yahweh” regularly associated with ‘infertility’ in women?
  • In spite of modern knowledge, are women still thought of as ‘fields or ovens’?
  • Why is it presumed in TheBible that men don’t contribute to ‘childlessness’?
  • Who are The3GreatBiblicalRoleModels for ‘ChristianMothers’?
  • What of the claim, that contemporary women as they struggle against the odds to create their ‘mother-ministry’, have to take ‘pot-luck’, like Hannah?

2. THE PSALM: 83:2-3, 5-6, 9-10

  • Read 83(84) 1-12! The reassuring beauty of Yahweh’s DwellingPlace!
  • Where is ‘Yahweh’s dwelling place’ in our local church?
  • Would not Yahweh’s dynamic presence utterly threaten our church’s-resource?
  • Is this excerpt designed to induce in us a sentimental mindlessness?
  • Since it is at least hinted in TheBible that ‘Yahweh-lives-in-ThePoor’?
  • ‘TheyAreHappy!’: Is this psalm really in praise of ‘priests&levites’?

3. 1JN3:1-2, 21-24

  • In what ways is being (called) ‘God’sChildren’ a privilege, or a burden, or…?
  • 45words! TheNature&Advantage&Cost&Ambivalence of being ‘Adult Christian’!
  • How am I being initiated&trained into the Demands&Procedures of ‘SeeingGod’?
  • If I were ‘rooted fully’ in ‘ThePowerOfJesus’, where would the flatterers be?
  • What will to ‘mutual love’, if ‘will-to-truth’ rears its beautiful head?
  • ‘Cos ‘TheSpiritOfWisdom’ may include&embrace ‘modern thought’ also!

4. LK2:41-52

  • What ‘interpretations’ have I been given for this narrative, with its nuances of Passover&Temple&ThirdDay&Twelve&Father&Mother! & Samuel-the-Oblate!
  • How are parents being enabled to discern&value their child’s ‘peculiar destiny’?
  • When did ‘HisMother’ bring back to the light what She’d ‘stored up’?
  • Why does Joseph-His-Father never speak in this ‘gospel’?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

The previous weekend, Samantha was calling Mam on  the mobile during a cruise on the Shannon! But if she was, didn’t the thing leave her hand an’ fall straight into the water! That night, Effie heard the lot from her bedroom, Sam’s tractor voice an’ Mam saying ‘Sam, as well it was only that an’ not yerself!  Didja say ‘Jesus-lost, Jesus-found!’ To which Sam shouted, “O for cryin’ out loud wi’ th’ pigs! It wasn’t lost, it was gone!” On Thursday, Effie was prepared! ‘Gran!’ ‘Yes, a sthore?’ ‘Effie recounted the mishap, &Mam’s give-out, ‘Jesus-lost, Jesus-found!’ ‘Well it’ll leave Sam in a bit of a…’ ‘Gran!’ ‘Yes, my dear! It’s an old prayer we usedta say if we lost somethin’, that Jesus ‘d help us t’ find it again!’ ‘an’ what did Jesus lose, Gran? Was it his mobile?’ ‘Worse than that, Effie! When he was a child, he was lost for a whole day on his Mammy  an’ Daddy in th’ big city! ‘Like Listowel?’ ‘Bigger even! So  they had a real hard time lookin’ for him! An’ guess where they found him?’ ‘ The Guards barracks?’ ‘Better! The school beside the chapel!’ ‘If he’d a mobile they coulda phoned him! But I’ll tell Sam about Jesus, she’ll be pleased! An’ I hope I lose somethin’ soon, so that I can say the prayer! Great!!’

6.  RIDDLE

Biblically, which is of more value? Mother of Father or Daughter or Son?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

The Nativity of the Lord Cycle C 2021 (’03)

SAT 25th DEC 2021(‘03): THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD

1. IS9:1-7

  • Read the shocking story NUM31:1:1-54 (Also NUM25:1-17)
  • ‘A Child’ Read IS7:1-8:22! The male heir of King Ahaz!  on whom are bestowed flattering ‘divine’ titles! is a sign of Yahweh’s ‘favour’!
  • What hints in this excerpt about the possibility of a non-violent sovereignty?
  • Or indeed, of ‘foreigners’ accepting someone else’s ‘wide dominion’ over them?
  • & Have Christians asserted ‘peace’ rhetorically, & something else pragmatically?
  • Is my local church living&walking in Darkness or Light? &How I’d know?

2. THE PSALM: 95:1-3, 11-13

  • Read95(96):1-13! A ShoutLitany for Yahweh-ehe-King!
  • What signs are there that Yahweh is willing or able to create ‘Justice&Truth’?
  • Why flatter Yahweh, when DionysiusAphroditeHermesHades rule OK?
  • Surely the ‘NewSongToYahweh’ should emphasise&celebrate

            His extreme weakness as regards ‘freeing the oppressed’

            The unacceptable cost of embodying HisPriority!

            The unlikelihood that He can go-it-alone (without Wisdom, that-is)!

            The attractiveness of TheOtherGods!

            The enervating ‘theology’ that stifles Jesus, Yahweh’sEmbodiment!

3. TIT2:11-14

  • Really, what ‘salvation’ is ‘possible for the whole human race’?
  • ‘Everything that doesn’t lead to God!’: What’s left, in that case?
  • ‘WordlyAmbitions!’: We must be ambitious for our world & its species!
  • The ambition of ‘doing good’, how can it be explored & grounded-in-reality?
  • How much of our current ‘world-denial’ is born out of massive&erroneous conviction that ‘HisImminentAppearing’ rendered ‘this-world’ irrelevant?

4. LK2:1-14

  • ‘Census’: To estimate (colonial) resources relative to taxation & military service!
  • Why does Joseph in LK have no ‘problem’ about the child, but Mary does?
  • How does ‘TheCrib’ function as a ‘hint-to-relevance’ in chapel&home&supermarket?
  • Which is more important in this excerpt? ‘TheDavidicDynasty’ or ‘TheShepherds’?
  • ‘Sign’!: ‘Cos the birth of babies in the open was unusual? Or is it the ‘manger’?
  • In what ways is ‘Jesus’Life’ food&nutrition for an ‘adult disciple’?

5.The Presence&Action of the Blessed One, is it like this?

‘I was at midnight Mass there…’ ‘Did he say an’thin’? ‘He did!’ ‘What?!’ ‘Well, t’ be honest withya, I wasn’t in great shape, God forgimme! But I remember one thing…’Was it the one about Santa & Rudolph?’ ‘Wouldya mind, even if y’ are an atheist..’ ‘OK peace at Christmas! What’d he say?’ ‘He mentioned th’ oul’ Canon!’ “th’ oul’ Canon?’ ‘Th’ oul’ Canon!’ He says he heard from someone or other what th’ oul’ Canon ‘d say during midnight Mass, after The Consecration, mind-you!’ ‘Begod, I..’ ‘He’d step forward &proclaim it.’ ‘God, I remember it!’ ‘…in that great voice,

“He’s-here! He’s-always-here! He-always-will-be-here!

But what of yous an’ me? But what of yous an’ me?” We’d be waitin’ for it with a lump in our throats! That was the real Christmas then!’ ‘Aw y’re right! A lump in our throats! No frills or flounces! Straight from th’ heart! ‘Ah, boys a’ boys! ‘But what of yous an’ me!’ Ah that’s th’ way.’

6.RIDDLE: His most nourishing ‘title’? Saviour Christ Lord God Son …..or?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

4th Sunday of Advent Cycle C 2021 (’00)

                  Sunday 19th December 2021 (’00): 4thSunday of Advent C MIC 5:1-4

1. Read 4:1-5:15 Yahweh in gentle&ironic&aggressive moods!

  • How important in my world is geneology&lineage&tribal systems?
  • What are the 25ConstitutiveAspects of my life? & Who ‘rules over’ each of them?
  • How impressed are ‘christian adults’ now, to hear Yahweh’s Threats&Promises?
  • What are the ten factors that potentially threaten or subvert my ‘security?
  • On the threshold of ‘Christmas,’ which divinities am I most-beholden-to?

2. THE PSALM : 79: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19

  • Read 79(80): 1-19 Yahweh’s ever-ambivalent relations with ‘ThisVine!’
  • How-understand the cry-for-help of a ‘weakPeople’ to a weak divinity?
  • ‘Cherubim Throne!’ : Why they’d imagine Yahweh ‘throned on cherubim?’ (1K6ff)
  • But will TheShepherd come down from His ‘CherubinThrone’ among TheSheep?
  • And Will TheVintner come out of Hiddenness to protect TheVineyard?
  • And will TheWarrior burst through TheVeil to enthuse-with-power TheAnointed?

3. HEB 10: 5-10

  • Read PS 39(40) 1-17 One of Patricius Filius Calpornin’s favourite psalms! Why?
  • Is there a hint here the ‘ Yahweh’ manifests in ‘HisGoodTime,’ but not in ours?
  • How could a Jew determine that ‘obedience’ was more excellent than ‘sacrifice?’
  • What about ‘JesusChrist’sBody’  made its ‘offering’ so efficacious?

4. LK 1:39-44

  • What are the great MeetingOfMothers’ stories in biblical and other mythology?
  • Why as it seems, did only Elizabeth’s fetus leap? {More developed?)
  • What interpretations, doctrinal&devotional, have I been given for this story?
  • Why did Mary take this initiative alone without Joseph?
  • Is there a hint here that Mary too, as well as Elizabeth, had been ‘barren?’ (Especially the repeated reference to ‘womb,’ & TheLord’sPromise…’) How would the storyteller know this very intimate story?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

‘It seems to me a very secure opinion, amounting to a truth of faith, that TheBaptist by the preemptive graciousness of TheCreator-of-All, was definitively sanctified in his mother’s womb by the salvific approach…’‘Woah there, Peter Lombard! Have-pity & speak English! But more importantly, speak-truth!’ThePractisingSceptic addressed TheOfficialBeliever with more spark than usual! ‘How can you continue to fob us off with these pious fatasies? Do you ever question the relevance of this mythical raimeis?’

‘How dare you articulate such scurrilities in my presence?’

‘…Considering the intractable problems that beset not only your church, but our planet!’

‘That is of no consequence, I can assure your naive nihilism! Nothing is more important than to defend the truths of tradition by all means! Veritas praevaleat, ruat coelum!

‘Your sacrifizio dell intelletto amazes&saddens me!’

‘Nothing could be further…’

‘I could almost pray in moments like this, that someone like TheBaptist, sanctified in the womb or not, would appear & shout the truth!’

‘Not al all! No praying, it’s against your Modernist creed! Anyway, we don’t need him! The Word-of-Truth speaks in TheChurch&HerMinisters! That’s the long & the short of it! e basta cosi!

6. RIDDLE Is our current understanding-of & relation-to the biblical divinities rich complex poor patchy intermittent non-existent or deep?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

3rd Sunday of Advent Cycle C 2021 (’00)

Sunday 12 December 2021(’00) : 3rdSunday of Advent C

1. Zeph 3: 14-18

  • Read 1:1-3:20! Threats of punishment for all, with a sort of eventual conversion!
  • Who is speaking as violently&promisingly as Zephaniah into my time&space?
  • How understand the Anger&Disgust&Tenderness of ‘Yahweh’s Prophets?’
  • Can I visualise Yahweh-The-Warrior, exulting&renewing&dancing –for-Her?
  • ‘In-Your-Midst’: How is Yahweh’s ‘Presence’ perceived&actualised?
  • How significant is it that all these sentiments are expressed to a female?
  • What are the pros&cons of presenting Yahweh as a ‘CharismaticWarrior?’

2. The Psalm Is 12: 2-6

  • Read 9:2-12:6! Fruit of attributing to Yahweh a LordshipOverHistory?
  • In what ways do I experience ‘Yahweh’ as ‘MyStrength&Song&Saviour?
  • But then, what empathy or understanding or desire is evident in my Church, to comprehend the biblical mythology, in a deep dynamic dangerous way?
  • Has our inexorable torrent of ‘GodTalk’ eclipsed the different reality of ‘Yahweh?
  • Wishful thinking aside, what ‘glorious deeds’ has ‘Yahweh’ performed?
  • In all honesty, is any divinity ‘greater-in-our-midst’ than Dionysus?
  • Is this psalm compatible with the assertion, ‘Yahweh is the weakest of the gods?

3. Phil 4: 4-7

  • In my understanding & experience of it, what are the 5 IngredientsOfHappiness?
  • What distinguishes being ‘happy’ and being ‘happy-in-the-Lord’?
  • How can I say to anyone else, ‘There is no need to worry!’?
  • What are the 20PrincipalWorries that are gnawing contemporary ‘christians’
  • Why is ‘a radical Christian discipleship ’not being seriously commended to all?
  • What are the ‘ingredients’ of ‘a radical Christian discipleship’ for here&now?

4. Luke 3:10-18

  • The WellOff & Taxcollectors&Soldiers!’ What is the equivalent in my community?
  • Who is addressing these with the (apparent) straightforwardness of The Baptist?
  • What fruit can be reasonably expected from the cut & dried maxims?
  • How are ‘adult christians’ with ‘roles-in-society’ being deepened-in-faith?
  • Or are they left to boggle-on , with Sunday ‘homilies’ that don’t ‘rock-the-boat?’
  • What ‘boat’ did John&Jesus&Paul rock, that got them so quickly ‘dispatched?

5. The presence&action  of TheBlessedOne, is it like this?

Listen, Gertie, there’s one man I’ve always wondered about…’God, Cissie, tell- us! Is it y’ know like…’The way he be in the pictures, up til ‘is oxthers in water, halfdressed in an oul sheepskin…’ ‘…Tarzan, like? ‘…baptism’ OurDivineLord! ‘Oh…’Say, was he a sorta priest, or was he married, or what…’ ‘I always thought he was nunna them…’ ‘Above at mass, he didn’t seem too sure!’ ‘What’s new?’ ‘Whether he gave it all up for God, or maybe had married Mary Magdalene, then run away & done penance with th’ animals…’ ‘Th’ animals?’ ‘The main thing he said, an’ I think he mighta got this right, was that he told them all what was what! An’ warned them, “ If yez think a’m a dose wait’ll OurDivineLord comes! An’ that’s official!” ‘So…’ ‘A’m not so sure about th’ animals! I read somewhere in school, they can’t commit sin ‘cos they’ve no soul!’ ‘Well, there’s one thing, he’s left me real worried about yer man! God, wasn’t life simple before they started reading this Vatican counsel…’

6. Riddle: Which is best? To be Happy or Free or Pure or Loved or honest?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

2nd Sunday of Advent Cycle C 2021 (’00)

Sunday 5 December 2021 (‘00) : 2ndSUN of ADVENT : C

1. BARS:1-9

  • Read J •9 – 5 ·9 ! In Praise of Wisdom & Jerusalem & Torah !
  • ‘Jerusalem!’: Place of David & The Temple & The Return From Exile!
  • Assembly-of-The Children, Return-like-Princes, Flattening-of-The Hills, Filling-of­ the Valleys, Shade-of-Trees, Walking-in-Light! Where are these in my Church?

2. THE PSALM: 125:1-6

  • ‘Sow’-in-Tears!’: To mourn The Death-of-The Seed! To irrigate it ritually!

To deceive and ward off the Envious Spirits! To merit in advance TheHoped for Fruit!

  • ‘Sheaves!’: What ‘harvest-rituals’ are still important in my world?
  • Is the plentiful availability of food increasingly taken-for-granted? Or is there a concomitant fear & ignorance around GM&superpests&crypto-illnesses like CJD?
  • What other ecological ‘Cassandras’ are we just too blasé about? Like

                         Widespread pollution of the water table  
                         Overuse of fertilisers and suspect animal feed
                         Short term conveniences that accelerate global warming 

Collusion with policies that destroy species we actually depend on? 
& if these and other fatal incidences are ‘supported’ by ‘otherworldly’ theologies?


 
    3
.   PHIL l :3-6, 8-11 (What of the important v7?)

  • Who wouldn’t  straightway go & read the whole letter aloud, with a friend!
  • How is this prayer (that mutual-love’ may increase, improve their knowledge, deepen their perception, to recognise the best!) happening now?
  • ‘The Day Of-Christ”:   Sleepers-awake! Who said it’s not this Eucharist!

4. LK3:1-6

  • Read 3: 1-38! This dense complex one-chapter epitome-of-the-bible!
  • Can I imagine the process by which John emerged as a ‘yahwistic prophet’?
  • The power represented by Caesar & Co, is it not still triumphant, in spite of all!
  • So many ‘Christians”’, baptized and preached-to, yet The Other Gods thrive! Why?
  • Has our preoccupation with authority&obedience&devotion, &our mutual encouragement  to be passive&minimalist, frustrated  ‘The Way-of-Yahweh’?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?
    Many suns&moons like Elijah I crouched in the caves watching for TheBlessedOne to pass! Like Jonah, I contemplated the sinful city from a distance, what word would leap from my burning throat! Like Moses on ThePisgah, and Joshua on TheFurtherBank, I waited patiently, yet the hunger for the great destiny I knew was mine! Always TheWhisperer “Yochanaan”  You, The-One-Who-Prepares-TheWay!  The ancient oracles flowed tumultuously in the cavern of my heart! Where food&clothing were scarce, those blessed songs were nourishment, warmth, and shelter! Then time was fulfilled, and TheWhisperer thundered,  “Up Yochanaan!” Go to that people once myBride, who have become Canaanites in my sight! Spare them not high&low! Be not seduced by their threats and blandishments!  Carry TheFlail-of-Judgement in one hand, but carry too in the other TheBlessingCup!  Stand finally in TheRiver-of-Life&Death and offer the bitter gifts to all who come near! &There at last both you&they will embrace TheTruth-of-Truths!

6. RIDDLE  Which is more urgent to be embodied in our present crisis?

Paul or TheBaptist or Jesus?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

1st Sunday of Advent Cycle C 2021 (’00)

Sunday 28 December 2021 (’00)  lstSUNofADVENT : C

1. JER33 14-16

  • Read 32:1 – 33:26! Yahweh’s&ThePeople’s Struggle, for Fidelity-inCovenant!
  • What are TheFiveCriteria by which to discern ‘Yahweh ‘sPresence’?
  • ‘Covenent!’: The effectual-embrace of Yahweh&People that makes Him freeingly- actual in&from&towards-all! But, who’d want such a dangerous lover?       
  • ‘YahwehOurIntegrity!’: &What ‘name’ for our own local church?
  • What is analogous in my world,to TheDavidicDynasty & itsDauphins?

2. THE PSALM 24:4-5, 8-9, 14

  • Read 2-1(25):l-221 But will embodying Yahweh’s ethical priorities enhance me?
  • In TheCelticTiger, what Resources&Needs&Behaviours represent Yahweh?
  • ‘Way&Path&Truth!’: Yahweh’s imperative, to free those enslaved by ‘OtherGods!’
  • What are TheOthcrGods if not TheResoucesNeedsBehaviours that oppress me!
  • How, if at all, is Yahweh  (as distinct, say, from  Dionysus&Hermes&Elohim &Aphrodite&Hades etc) impinging on me? &What’s the cost of warding Him off?

3. 1THESS3:12 – 4:2

  • Read 2:17 – 5-28! Paul addresses the confusion&concern&pessimism of GreekChristians in face of the imminently-expected ‘SecondComingOfJesus’!
  • How effective is Exhortation&Threat, for the faithful embodiment of ‘discipleship?
  • How do contemporary  ‘letters to the church’ (which’!) compare with 1THESS?
  • Write a100word letter to ‘the adult christians’ of Northern Ireland!

4. LK21:25-28, 34-36 (Why is ‘TheFigTree’ omitted?)

  • Read 21 :5-36! Imaginings of Persecution, EndTime, SecondComing, TheDay’
  • In this ‘apocalypse’ what is being ‘unveiled’ about the state of my local church?
  • What are we doing about

The alurming ecological crisis?

The distress of millions from hunger&depredation?

The pullulating violence, substance-abuse, &greed?

The unabated credulity&flattery&selfdeception?

The collusive refusal to pay the high cost of freedom?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

‘Well .. ‘ ‘Well is-right! y’  shoulda been above there this mornin’.  ”What.. ” .. t’ hear  ‘im tryin’ t’put th’ wind up us! pretendin’ t’  be spakes from th’  man-above  . ‘ ‘All in dubble-dutch I suppose .. ‘Signs up in th’  sky, things here things there, floods

An’ th’ enda’ th’  world! makin’ out it could be soon, for  th’  joobily” ‘More o’ that global warnin’ , all millarkey for what’s ,worth!’ ‘I  just let ‘im flow gently  sweet afton, what could I do!  when a spake o’ th’ oul’ Canon came t’ me as clear as day, his great musical voice, no mike nor nothin’!’ ‘Nowadays begod, even with dessibels,  y’ can’t hear .. ,, ‘He usedta stand there, comin’ up t’ Christmas,  “Th’Time  t’Remember Th’Poor!’  he called  it, an’  he’d let it out like an orchestra, “It’s always Advent, He’s ahalways close by, don’t be put off be threats nor nothin’… !!! ‘Aw I loved that man…’ ‘…”One thin above all… “‘  ‘Aw say it for   ‘im!’ ‘… “Don’t be fooled  be all  th’  oul’ talk, just watch out for ‘Im, comin’ there a  natural as babies an’ beggars an’  birds !'”

‘Aw it still brins a tear! But, boys a’ boys, it’s a quare changed world!’

6. RIDDLE

Which is preferable? Comfort without freedom? Or freedom without comfort?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

Feast of Christ the King Cycle B 2021 (’03)

Sunday 21 November 2021(‘03): Feast of Christ the King B

1. DAN7:13-14 (A somewhat breathless craythur, godwot?)

  • Read 7:1-28! Perhaps Daniel’s most impressive&influential ‘dream’!
  • Or is there a mingling of two or more ‘dreams’, so as to enhance ‘TheSon-of-Man’?
  • Anyone in my local church, or in IrishSociety, receiving ‘visions/dreams’? With an ‘inscape-of-significance-for-now’? Artists of all sorts?
  • ‘Cos nowadays, ‘Daniel’ might write a play or a poem? Or paint a tableau?
  • Might the ‘BeastsVision’ be of equal urgency in our own time of threat? Or the ‘prophetic words’ be hidden in GraffittiVandalismStressAddiction….
  • ‘Son-of-Man!’: Sure, ‘TheHuman’ receives ‘sovereignty’! But, compassion….?

2. THE PSALM:92:1-2,5

  • Read 92(93):1-5! What are TheTrueCharacteristics -Yahweh’sRule

(That is, HisFirstCommandment), as distinct from the fantasies of this psalm?

  • ‘Cos ‘Yahweh’sWeakness-cum-Compassion’ was concealed by vested interests!
  • How is my local church managing to cross-the-bridge between ‘WorshipDevotion PiousCaution’ & ‘IncreasinglyActivePresence-in-TheModernWorld’?
  • Is old Roncalli’sConviction shared by anyone? ThatFlaunting&FlatteringTheOldWineskins is totally futile! That TheNewWine is hidden in TheModernWorld!
  • Maybe the excerpt wonders, ‘Is TheEmperor clothed? Or even there at all’

3. APOC1:5-8

  • Read 1:1-20! The VisionaryAnnouncement of ‘John'(which one?) to The7Churches’!

&His strange ‘seeing-of TheHumanOne’!

  • What if each ‘HumanOne’ (including myself) has dimensions of ‘Strange Unknownnesses’ that are rarely adverted-to, explored, or valued? Why-is-this?
  • Isn’t it a cliché now, that we ‘barely know ourselves’? That we lack the incentive, let alone the skills, to venture past ‘low-water-mark’!
  • In what ways has Jesus preceded me, sifting motivations&entrancements?
  • The series of statements-about-Jesus in this excerpt! Which one opens TheMystery?

4. JN18:33-37  (Why is the crucial v38 omitted?)

  • Read 18:1- 19:42! TheDramaticDialectic between Jesus&TheManyOthers!
  • ‘King!’: Many times in JN! What energies had formed around TheExpectedKing?
  • Is this dialogue somewhat evasive or ironic? Or a set of ‘riddles’?
  • Isn’t it likely that Jesus&Pilate, granted they spoke the same language in any ‘factual scenario’ behind this ‘created narrative’, had very different notions of ‘truth’?
  • What understanding of ‘truth’ is generally accepted in my local church?
  • ‘Truth’!: ‘Yahweh’sDynamism’ as the most reliable ‘Priority’ to build my life in!
  • Why is Jesus regularly endowed with a ‘kingship-of-this-world’?

5. RIDDLE   What is the essential ‘truth of Jesus’ kingship’?

    He is the most thoroughgoing Witness, to ‘Yahweh-as-TheLifeStyle’!

    He is TheProfaneMessiah, subduing through HisServants ‘Earth’sKings’!

    He is hidden, far from pomp, in the Distress-of-TheModernWorld!

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B 2021 (’00)

Sunday 14 November 2021 (’00)2000: 33rdSUNinORDINARY: B

1. DAN12:1-3

  • ‘ThatTime!’: The mindset called ‘apocalyptic’ (which claimed to ‘unveil’ the hidden DivineStrategy in Persecution), ‘ThatTime’ was the complex set of circumstances through which TheFaithful are vindicated, &TheOthers punished or destroyed!
  • ‘TheAwakening!’. This archetypal assertion of indomitabibty in face of oppression &even destruction· How can I integrate it with modern physics&ecology?
  • Why are ‘wise teachers’ singled out for a ‘stellar destiny’?

2. THE PSALM: 15:5, 8-11

  • Read 15(16).1-11! The confidence-song of one totally-devoted-to-Yahweh!
  • What makes ‘Yahweh’ more ‘trustworthy’ than any of ‘TheOtherGods’?
  • Which of TheOtherGods am I familiar with? even intimate with?
  • ‘TheOtherGods!’: What alternative ways have these found, to present-themselves?
  • Dionysus won’t complain about anonymity, long as there’s ‘Addiction-to-Excess’!
  • Nor Aphrodite, granted that sexual passion is recklessly sought&suffered!
  • Nor Hermes, provided versatility&cuninng&deceit-ruleOK!
  • Nor Hades, with so many trappt m ‘NetsOfUnderworld’!

3. HEBl0:11-14, 18    ,

  • Read 10 1-39′ Why am I no longer amazed&affronted by these sentiments&claims?
  • In my world, who’d I describe as ‘Christ’sEnemies’? Is there any risk that people or thoughts or doings that are purely&simply my ‘Enemies’ will thereby become ‘His’?
  • Read the omitted vl7′ Have ‘all sins been forgiven’?

4. MK13:24-32

  • Read 13 1-37! Carefully! especially those familiar sayings!

What ‘set of circumstances’ does this collection of sayings refer to?

How much of it is ‘relevant’ asit stands, to my local church?

What has been ‘ quietly-droppt’ , what has been ‘re-applied’?

Nowadays, in what sense is  my local church ‘awake’?          ,

To what extent are the skills of ‘christian alertness’ feared or despised?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, IS it like this?

‘Gran!’ ‘Yes, Effie?’ ‘Sam wanted t’ put me out wi’ th’ chickies, ‘cos I was hearin’ her an Mam at their oul’ talk! but Boysie said in his hardsoft, “She’s cuter nor th’ pair o’ yez rolled into one!” Then Sam shouted in her tractor-voice, “You with yer sheep’s­ snot bleatin’ at me! if th’ las’ day was yesterday y’ still wouldn’t know, y’ drake’s twiddle'” Then Boysie started t’ choke… ‘ ‘Oh my goodness, Effie” ‘…an’  guggled  at  Sam, “Y’ better look t’ yerself on th’ las’ day, y’ bucket a’ slop!” Gran! th’ las’ day?’ ‘Yes, a mhilis! but I’m so shocked… ‘ ‘Gran” ‘So, my dear! when all the days are finished, on the last one Jesus comes on a cloud.. .’ Effie clappt her wee hands, ‘Like Sinbad…’ ‘An’ all the people ‘ll be there, an’ He’ll speak to each one..,’ ‘ …Sam an’ Boysie an’ Mam.. ‘ ‘”Come with me an’ be happy!.. . ‘” ‘But Gran, if that’s th’ las’ day, when will they be all happy?’ ‘Effie, I imagine Jesus bas lotsa surprises up His sleeve. . ‘ ‘ .. like chickie-fingers an’ snackies an’ juicies?’ ‘I dare say…’ ‘Oh great great great!!’

6. RIDDLE    What is more necessary? Vengeance,

Reconciliation Forgiveness Amnesia?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B 2021(’00)

Sunday 7 November 2021 (’00): 32ndSUNinORDINARY : B

1. 1Kl7:10-16          

  • Read 17.1-24! Some ‘benefits’ of ‘belonging-to-Yahweh” But, the ‘costs’?
  • ‘Water&Bread&Oil!’. Basics of life, basics of ritual!
  • ‘ JarOfMeal&JarOfOil!’ . Is this legendary motif an ancestor of ‘feeding stones’?
  • ‘ Widow!.’ Poignant, perhaps undervalued ‘YahwisticArchetype’!
  • What other significant ‘widow’-stories stand out in TheTotalBible?
  • What attitudes&fantasies around ‘widows’  prevail in myChurch&Community?
  • The relation of ‘prophet’ & ‘widow’, what’s the contemporary equivalent?

2. TIIE PSALM : 145:7-10

  • Read 145(146): 1-10! Contrast-song’ Trust-in-‘TheKing’, or trust-in-‘Yahweh’?
  • Why does myChurch refrain from encouraging&enabling all adultChristians  to incarnate as-a-priority TheLifeStyle&Methods of JesusOfNazareth?
  • Or isn’t ThePrimaryAim  of myChurch ‘the active promotion of every justice’?
  • Of course, if ‘Yahweh’ is superseded-by, or absorbed-into, ‘God’, sure all’s-well!
  • Did the ‘re-discovery’ ofYahweh&Exodus&Pesach arrive just that bit too late?

3. HEB9:24-28

  • SanctuarySacrificeJudgmentSalvation!’ Those pivotal biblical images!

What Jewish narratives unfold them for me? (&myCommumty!)

What rituals actualise them, which role-models reflect them?

Are my mentors content with embedding them here&there in the rhetoric?

ScapeGoat&PassoverRam, what is their equivalent in my experience?

How is ‘suffering-on-behalf-of-others’ viewed&valued in  my world?

In what ways is ‘freedom-from-guilt’ pursued&achieved nowadays?

4 MKll:38-44 (&A shorter form! why, in-sooth?)

  • Read 12:1-44! Those dangerous controversies & terminal sentiments!
  • Could any dignitary ignore Jesus’ stricture&diatribe on TheScribes in this excerpt?, Unless one lisped, ‘ Well, they’re Jewish, aren’t they’ not Christian!’
  • Which is more significant? Jesus’ ‘explanation’ about the widow’s offering? Or the fact that only He, but not the disciples, seemed to have even noticed it?
  • To what extent are people in myCommunity valued for irrelevant reasons?
  • Why is there so much discussion&anxiety about ‘money’ in many local churches?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

Wait ’til y’ hear, Gertie.. ‘ ‘God, tell us quick, Cissie Is it…’ ‘Y’r man above on Sunday, goin’ on about th’ widda’s mile!’ ‘Who?’ ‘Givin’ out about th’ scribes getting’ th’ widdas t’ lave them their legacies…’ ‘Like f’r masses! my fella has this oul’ corny thing, his idea of a joke…’ ‘Everythin’ he said about th’ scribes, I kept thinkin’, God forgimme,”Sonny y’re no better nor no worse yerself!” God forgimme, just change “scribes” t’ … ‘ ‘He’s a bee in ‘is bonnet about masses! “Stypins!  the cheeka them! twenty fags or a pint f’r one mass, an’ they prob’ly jus’ pocket it!” He’s no respec’ f’r notbin’…!’ ‘Th’ las’ thing he said, this took th’  biscuit! “Th’ poor widda put inta th’ treasury ever’thin’ she had!” Imagine th’ … ‘ ‘Well, more fool she was! “widdas especially gotta learn who&what’s numero uno! early on m th’ game? otherwise y’r just walked-on by y’ know-who … !!’

6. RIDDLE             What about widows? Support-them?

Keep them right? Avail of their wisdom?

…..

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B 2021 (1994)

Sunday 31st OCT 2021(1994): 31st  SUN in ORDINARY: B

1. DT6:2-6

  • Read DT5-8  Moses’ SecondAddress to the People in the Wilderness strongly emphasising Law/Commandments/Ordinance & linking Obedience with Blessing and Disobedience with Curse&GreatLoss.  This is a theology that will later be seriously contested by Job out of his own experience.  In spite of this and partly because Job himself isn’t taken too seriously, the Mosaic rhetoric is still highly valued as a disciplinary underpinning in many institutions.
  • Why is ‘keeping the laws of Yahweh’ believed to contribute to length of years great numbers of children, and prosperity to those who ‘fear Yahweh’?
  • What about the tendency that the Poor/sick/Destitute are somehow ‘sinners’ who are being rightly ‘punished for their disobedience’?
  • What other excuses is my community using, so  as to avoid make the care of Poor/WeakOnes  our absolute priority?
  • ‘Listen Israel!’ The credal formula called the Shema reflecting the First Commandment, it demands total commitment of resources to Yahweh(all! all! All!) by being written in the Heart. The phrase ‘The Lord our God is one Lord’ is better rendered as ‘Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone!’ If the implications are even glimpsed, this is surely the most challenging&frightening passage in the Bible demanding  a ‘radical conversion’.

2. HEB7:23-28

  • Read HEB7  A presentation of Melchizedeck as Model of HighPriest
  • What are the strengths&weaknesses of the biblical priesthood?
  • How are these reflected in my experience of the Christian priesthood?
  • What is the connection between Priesthood and ‘radical care for the poor’?

3. MK 12:28-34

  • Where do ‘commandments’ with their formulations&interpretations come from?
  • What difference between ‘Love God’ and ‘Love Yahweh your God’?
  • If Yahweh were to be give ‘all’, what would be left for the ‘other gods’?
  • What are the ten principal ways I ‘love myself’ (who is this!)?
  • What are the ten principal I ‘love my neighbour’ (who is this!)?
  • “Love Yahweh” To absorb&actualise HisStory (‘He went into Egypt to bring out &liberate enslaved men&women!’) again&again to strive to commit to Him all my resource, to honour in every possible way His Image, which is the Poor/Weak
  • In what ways is my community giving me courage to ‘loveYahweh’?
  • If ‘to love’ is more important than ‘to sacrifice’ how is ‘Temple’ (&cult) affected?
  • How would I prioritise these ‘reasons for/going-to-Mass

to obey the command of God &Church

to inspire in Catholics a maximum care for the PoorWeak

to thank&praise God

to increase my personal holiness

OVERALL QUESTION

Honest! All the laws! Canon Civil

Criminal! Lord it’s so confusing! Why can’t I

just be simple and love you with all my strength!!

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie