Sunday 25^th July 2022 (’01) 17thSUNinORDINARY : C

1. GEN18:20-32

• What was the ‘outcry’ against TheCities? FromTheEarth,orWomen,orChildren?
• Read 19 1-38! What sorts of ‘sin’ are depicted or hinted? Any ‘virtue’?
• In 45words, what ‘outcry’ is there, against oneor otherofourowntownsor cities? &What ways are the ‘destroyingangels‘ there? &Isanyonepleadingfor‘clemency’?
• Are there ‘juster’ ways of dealing with ‘immorality^‘ than ‘destructive rage’?
• How am I related to the ‘immorality’ that is anessential ingredient ofIrish Society? 2. THE PSALM : 137 1-3, 6-8 (What of vv4-5?)

• Read 137(138) 1-8′ DoesHetrulysupportme? or is it ‘wishful thinking’?
• Does my preoccupation with cultic or heavenly ‘temples’ permit me to forget or ignore that TheEarth, with itsnuminousrichness, is TheTrueEmbodiedTemple?
• Have I been encouraged, by anunselfcritical ¹monotheism’, to be much too la-di-da&aisy-oisy about theawesomepowerof ‘The0therGods’?

3 COL2.12-14

• Read 2 1-23!The desperate struggle to–be–TheChristinahostilesociety!
• In too many respects, haven’t ‘adult chnstians’ been thrown-to–the-wolves?
• ‘Baptism!’ What of the reference here, is to an impressive&terrifying&memorable experience of ritual-death, undergone by a prepared adult, marking her for ‘life”
• ‘Cos arguably, our own utterly–domesticated ritual of ‘cradle–baptism‘ has become very much a take-it-or-leave-it, with questionable valence!

4. LKll·1-13

• Will giving someone a ‘formula-of-prayer‘ also ‘teach them to pray’? Or is an important ‘teaching’ hidden in the formulation, &the accompanying ‘catechesis’?

Does ‘bread’ come from heaven, or from the determinationof friendstoshare? What has enabled me to persist in thedeep nittygritty of ‘prayer’?

Especially, fidelity to the ritual, &attentiveness to the dialectic? AdultPrayer, is it being neutralised&forfeited by ‘child-spintuality’? Without TheHolyBreath, isn’t it only-words’ withTheHolyBreath, wow!’

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

‘God, quick Gertie’ call us a bucket a’ shandy there, a’m parched with.. ‘ ‘Are y’ OK Cissie? maybe y’re comm’ down with ‘ ‘…With shock, from hearin’…’ ‘Head a’ wit, was it, talkin’ like a tap ?! ‘Wait til y’ hear!’ ‘Hurry Cissie!I can’t wait’ 0 here’s y’r shandy, throw it inta ya, an’ we’ll fix another” ‘No, we’d a vision’ monsiggner, if y’ don’t mind” ‘Skershay mwah!’ ‘An’ listen, from Spam…’ ‘Ha! Shershay” ‘But he spoke gorgeous english, with an accent like…’ ‘Is tha’ what has y’ parched wi’ th’ droot?’ ‘No, what he said’ I never heard it in all me puff!’ ‘God Cissie, tell us quick” ‘He said, if God’s not y’r true friend every way y’ can think of, then forget it! y’re wastin’ y’r time, Hozay! Not y’r creator, or Judge, or anythin’! y’r true friend! who’ll give ya their last ‘ ‘ ..chockie?’ ‘…an’ ‘U get up at midnight if y’ need fish or bread or eggs!’ ‘God, that’s a new one on me!’ ‘We were all sorta whispenrin’that ourselves! he musta heard’ Go an’ try it, he shouted! If yez dare, go on an’ find out’ An’ then lafft, there on th’ altar” ‘God Cissie,if y’ ever find it, a certain someone ‘ll be out of a job!’

6 RIDDLE TheMostDesirableNegotiation! WithYahweh’sRage? WithTheGrteaterBody? With AllThatDetachedPiety? WithWinnowingRituals? WithChristianApathy? WithTheImportunateBreath?

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

Sunday 17 July 2022 (’01)  16thSUNinORDINARY : C

1. GENlS:1-10

• Read 18.1-33! Three modes ofYahwehEncounter! Birth&Death&Justice!
• How do I understand ‘YahwehShowmgHimself–as-ThreeMen’?
• What biblical stories are evoked by this circumstantial extract?
• ‘StandingNear! ‘. They–to-Him, He–to-Them! (JN19:25f)
• Is ‘Yahweh’sVisit’’ for Abraham? Or Sarah? (Or indeed, for Isaac!)
• To what extent is conception&birth, even today;mvolved with divinities?

2. THE PSALM . 14.2-5

• Insofar as women might dwell on TheHolyMountain, would they act similarly?
• In my local church, which ministries demand these attitudes&skills?
• Are there any significant lacunae in this summary? Or is ‘Yahweh’ interested only in a limited spectrum of ‘Virtues’? &Not, say, in Ecology?
• Is it envisaged, perhaps, that little of this would apply to mere ‘laity’?
• If it’s imagined that ‘Yahweh’ detailed this litany, then how did it take place?
• In my local church, who sets the standards, &promulgates the rules? (What??)

3. COL1 24–28

• ‘Body!’: That which creates sohdar1ty mth others‘ &with the species’ &TheEarth1
• &What are the sigmflcant aspects of ‘Body’? Skm Blood Organs .’l Or ?
• That which I call ‘TheChurch’, why 1s it also called ‘TheBodyOfChnst’?
• How 1s the wnter of COL so selfconf1dent about TheMystery&TheChnst&God?
• Why does he thmk1t 1s useful to suffer for his clients?
• &Why does he thmk that ‘Chnst’ has still to suffer, ‘ForHisBodyTheChurch’?
• ‘ChnstAmongYou!’: But is 1t ‘Yahweh‘, or one of ‘TheOtherGods’, that anomts–us? D1ony us or Hermes, arguably? Odm or Nerthus? Or Wisdom-the-Devalued?

4. LK10 38-42

• How can I discern&imagine the relations among this archetypal ‘trinity‘?

Why is Jesus also called ‘TheLord’ (a if this represents a ritual’)?

Martha-the–Welcomer may own the house (&/or Mary too?)!

Is Jesus caught in a rivalry? &Is He more empathic to Mary?

Is Mary excessively passive, like-‘Lazarus’ in LK16:19ff?

Perhaps ‘TheLord’ is more challenged by Martha?

Martha’s ‘distraction’! Does she want ‘help’, or a chance to ‘listen’?

• In what ways is this ‘ritual’ significant for my local church?

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

no, I am not assuaged! not so much TheMaster, tho’ really I didn’t comprehend His enigmatic words earlier! my sister I mean, crouched there like a half-empty wine-skin, drinking it all in, everything for her as usual! I let them walk on me, even TheMaster seemed to mock me, talking in that, like a rabbi, ancient wisdom! Ignoring my request, not the first time, left with a mountain of work, only encouraging her, our brother too always did, making it worse between us! we haven’t spoken· for over a year, He probably noticed I didn’t address her, but tried to get Him to, but I was ignored, even tho’ she was drinking it all in, I knew she knew’ people use me as it suits them, I imagine I’m like Sarah, tho’ I don’t have even Sarah‘s prospects’ what was it He said, ‘one–thing! the better-part”? could it be what I deeply desire? anyway, TheMaster hardly looked at me as He spoke! it’s all left me plunged in unbearable despair

6 RIDDLE Whose Hospitality is crucial? TheFamily‘s? TheChurch’s? TheEarth‘s?

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

Sunday 10^th July 2022 (’01), 15^thSunday in Ordinary Time C

1. Deut 30: 10-14

• Read 29:2-30:20 Moses’ homily of Promise&Threat, reflecting TheJerusalemTemple’sPriorities! (i.e making Yahweh support the Destruction-of-the- Canaanites!)
• What possessed the occasional ‘prophet’ to criticise TheTemple&TheLaw?

2. THE PSALM 68:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37.

• Read 68(69) 1-36! A great indignant hope-filled psalm-of-trust!
• What if this prayer is changed, by taking-out & sewing-together a quilt-of-shreds, into an excerpt that cannot be objected to by anyone?
• What of the claim that ‘liturgical prayer’ is domesticated & comatose?
• & rarely reflects the exigencies& vicissitudes of life-in-the-world?
• But merely reproduces the flattering cadences of temple ideology?

3. COL1:15-20

• Am I able to acknowledge, then move to one side, the familiar&taken-for-granted’god-talk used of Jesus: so as to re-value & be amazed?
• Has Jesus as ‘principal of unity & reconcilliation’ been casually discarded? & Have I noted the reluctance, on all sides (why is this?) to propose ‘TheNewlyUnfoldedJesus as The Corner Stone of The Good Friday Agreement?’

4. LK10: 25-37

• ‘Inherit!’ What is ‘eternal life,’ then? Heirloom? OffShoreAccount? Disease?
• But what if the lawyer glimpsed a deeper problem? Parable or no?
• What if ‘my heighbour isn’t a few people, but everyone?
• ‘If the priest can’t or won’t help, what hope has a mere lawyer?’
• ‘ Well, anyone but a Samaritan! At that, I just closed up!’
• ‘Telling me twice-over, “Do-this!” that makes it even less likely…!
• ‘Anyway, “eternal life” is simple! Obey, Pray, IgnoreAllElse..!’

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

Confidential memorandum to TheMostExcellentHighPriest Caiaphas!

Dispatched by trusted messenger from BarShemaya, Stalker of The Nazarene!

Greetings! May Heaven’sBlessings adorn YourExcellency!

The arrogance of TheNazarene is becoming boundless, & his continuing assaults on our HolyLaw&Temple have begun to disturb the allegiance, not merely of the populace, which needn’t surprise, but also some lower clerics&functionaries! As of now, I have not detected any dissatisfaction in the middle or higher grades of the clergy, but I continue in my very humble very privileged fashion, to be Ears&Eyes to YourExcellency in regard to TheNazarene & his machinations, (inspired, who could doubt, by Beelzebub, TheLord-of-Abomination! I make the sign of Aversion!) Only today near Jericho, he was offered a cheap opportunity by one of the weaker-minded Masters-of-TheLaw (ShimuelBarTolman! Undeserving of his uncompromisable office)! Something about love-of-neighbour, nothing very significant, really! But gave, as I said, an opening for one of that bloated Northerner’s meshalm! Stories of no real merit or truth, but unfortunately some folk are too easily impressed by what is typically of no substance! Suffice it to say for now, the minor clerics of TheTemple were slandered in his meshal, & the filthy heretical schismatics flattered! How long, YourExcellency, can we refrain from vindicating Heaven’sTruth? Fare You Well!’

6. RIDDLE

TheLaw! UnnecessaryMilestone? GreviouslyMisrepresented?

ReplacedByTheChrist? StillAlive&Well&Valid? All&UtterlyPasse?

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

Sunday 3^rdJuly 2022 (’01) 14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

1. IS66:10-14

• Read 66:1-24! What a moody ending to a moody book!

Is Yahweh relativising TheTemple&ItsWorks&Pomps?

& that ‘TheHumble&ContriteInSpirit’ are temple & worship?

• ‘Peace!’ If this means ‘wholeness’ have I glimpsed it yet?

Or will I settle for Suppression-of-Conflict, Economical Prosperity, AHidden Wound?

2. THE PSALM 65:1-7, 16, 20

• Read 65(66):1-20 Celebration of ThePriorities of ‘Elohim,’ TheTempleDivinity!
• TremendousDeeds! : Reflected in creation narrative of Gen1.1-2:4a!
• ‘Name!’ The power of ‘Elohim’ is to control&give-form to ‘Chaos!’
• ‘AllTheEarth!’ : In light of the dark&bright of 2Milleniums of ‘ChristianHistory!’ how do I understand the response-verse of this vested-interest psalm?

3. GAL6: 14-18 Paul’s dynamic language! Stimulating&scurrilous&noteworthy! Is anyone nowadays able to cut through the inherited gobbledygook?

• What have contemporary ‘adult christians’ to brag about?
• ‘Cross!’ A total lifestyle of DisciplineRenunciationAwarenessFreedom?
• What is the equivalent of ‘circumcision’ for all adultChristians?
• If I were to accept ‘Baptism’ now, with full heart, what would I renounce forever?

What new priorities would I embrace? What modes of assessment?

4. LUKE10: 1-12, 17-20

• Read 10 1-42! Explorations of HeartService rather than lipservice!
• In what ways are HisInstructions vital to my local church?
• Why are ‘HisInstructions’ so specific&realistic&inconvenient&sulky? And why are they being offered-out to us in this eucharist (boo-hoo), as ‘goodnews-for-now?’
• What if beggars (and such itinerant ‘preachers’) are the ones who ‘fulfil’ all-this?
• In what sense do the threats of vv13-16 apply to myChurch?

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

Gran&Effie, Effie&Gran! Innocent cunning, cunning innocence! Earth’s ears&eyes, Earth’s dusk&dawn! Each loved the other for being a doorway into wisdom’s exuberant weavery!

‘Gran!’ ‘Yes, a thaisge?’ ‘Sam threw Boysie’s mobile in his pinta milk ‘cos he laffed at her spare tyre, an’ he ran off gulpin’. ‘O my goodness..’ ‘..So Mam nudged Sam with her wrinkly, “Better hop over to Boysie’s an’ give th’ poor sob the kissapiece…” ‘My dear how…’ ‘Gran! The Kissapiece? Is it a flower like Chuckie’s Mam gives her when she’s narly?’ ‘If he doesn’t like flowers..’ maybe she’d talk soft, or kinda droopy-face..’ “Boysie, sorry about your..” “Sorry I made ya gulp…” But Gran, kissapiece! It just now went crunmbly behind my mouth! Kiss-a-piece’ ‘Sam ‘ll hafta kiss …a piece…of Boysie’s…hand! To make up, not to be so narly on her!’ ‘An what’ll Sam do then Effie? Effie put the crumbles together again in her ever-alert weavery…another thread a-trembling.. ‘Gran’ kissapiece! The piece-prossis! Sam an’ Boysie ‘ll start a kissapiece-prossis! O great great!’ & Gran&Effie lafft&lafft!!

6. Riddle

Who and what is delivering peace? TheMedia ThePoliticians TheMilitants TheIndustrialists? Or whoever struggles to marry ‘Citizenship&Discipleship?

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

Sunday 26 June 2022 : 13TH SUN in ORDINARY .C

1. 1K19.16, 19-22

• Read 19 1-21 Yahweh’s Prophet? Cowardly&violent&pious at-once?
• Why does ‘Yahweh/TheLord’ seem to encourage&condon e’political assassination’?
• Are the’seemly’ bits of 1K19 de-contexted here, to present an edifying posy?
• The habit of constantly referring to ‘God’, does this allow for ‘nuance’?
• Or, importantly, for separating the teacher’s or preacher’s ‘personal vagaries?
• Elijah’s&Elisha’s ritual-behaviours’ Familiar ? Outlandish? Banal?
• What if a ‘YahwehDrivenProphet’ threw their cloak over me, & beckoned?

2. THE PSALM . 15:1-2 5, 7-11

• Read 15(16) 1-11 Song of a very-enthusiastic Devotee-of-Yahweh
• Were such devotees able to visualise ‘Yahweh’?Say, as Animal? Or Fire?
• What 10 factors are creating in&for me a conviction ofSafety&SelfValue ?
• Presumably others addressed their divinities with comparable prayer-formulas, & inner experience!, So, how will Yahweh, in particular, or God make a difference ?

3. GAL 5.1, 13-18

• 
  Name 20 LifeSituations in which I embody ‘real freedom? * Name 20 LifeSituations in which I glimpse I’m entrapped or enslaved?
• ‘LedByTheSpirit

What is my Understanding&Experience of this awesome life-style?

How am I being encouraged&trained to embrace&endure it ?

Can I name 10 adults in my local church who-truly-live-thus ?

If I’m not struggling for this, what else is worth a torn snotrag ?

4. LK9. 51-62 

• ‘FireToBurnSamaritans’ What sort of self-righteous ‘DiscipleRage’ 
• Would he also have rebuked TheBurnersOf’Witches&Heretics&Deviants’? 
• How can one hear these ‘SwordsPlunged,Rather, InDisciples’ ? 
• You follow me for comfort, but what of the homeless who-embody me?
• Disciples, dissolve ties, &burn, as I did, with unwavering flame!
• You will never falter, only if you are unremorsefullyin TheBreath’
• ‘ Wa-wa’ Leave Jesus alone, ADBI’ Don’t be rummaging our naive faith’

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this ?
‘ What’s th’ sweat? Y’ seem a bit around th’ collar…’ ‘A’m just down from Mass’. I left early …’ ‘D’ja get sick? a bad pint or a soggy …’ ‘Looka, mind y’r hp ‘ ‘OK, no bull!’. ‘F’r once I decided t’ listen t’ th’ stuff an’ f’r once I could hear the warblers …! ‘God, another miracle,’ ‘As th’ oul’ Canon usedta say, “Listen, t’ y’r cost’ Ignore t’ y’r cost!”…’ ‘Aw, th’ more I rember back t’ that man!’ ‘Anyway’ I never heard th’ man above like that before! I prob’ly thought he was a sorta Sacred Heart! in a red dressin’ gown, like… ‘Course it’s red! but wha’ja hear, that has y’ all…’ ‘If I closed me eyes, it sounded like th’ oul’ Canon..’ ‘Y’mean socialist? an’ no pious mullarkey?’ ‘Yeah! no compromise, comrades!!”…’ ‘Aw, I loved that man!’ No wonder I nearly fell outa me stannin’, beside Th’ Little Flower! ‘Come on! wha’ja hear?’ He said that real Cathcks ‘d have no bedsa their own! An’ had to lave th’ dead there an’ go an’ preach! An’ if y’ ever blinked, y’ wouldn’t getta heaven!’ ‘Begod, no wonder y’re all custard ‘n’ jelly! Even th’ oul’ Canon ‘d find that a dose, saint an’ all as ‘e was!’

6. RIDDLE Which? ThePiousDrivenness-of-Elijah ?
TheBreathRootedness-of-Paul? TheExodusFlungness-of-Jesus?

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

Sunday 19 June 2022 (’01): THE BODY & BLOOD OF CHRIST :  C

1. GEN 14 : 18-20

• Read 14: 1-24 The skirmish of the 5&4 Kings, in which Lot is captured! & then rescued by his uncle Abraham! So, where does Melchizedek suddenly come from?
• ‘El-Elyon/GodmostHigh’!: One of the many Canaanite divinities!
• ‘Tithe’ If Salem is the later ‘Jerusalem’, this offering of the’tenth’ to ThePriest-King may serve to legitimate the latter claims of TheTemplePriesthood to ‘tithes’!!
• ‘Bread&Wine!’. Gesture-of-hospitality that TheFathers referred to ‘TheEucharist’ !
• What about those ‘blessings’ (what!) of ArmiesBannersGunsParadesHostilities .. ?
• What aspects of bible-dynamics does the interpolation of Melchizedek alert me to ?

2. THE PSALM : 109 1-4

• Read 109(110) 1-7! Dialogue of Kingavid 7 ZadokTheHighPriest!
• ‘Prince/Priest!’: where in my world is there a similiar mutual acknowledgement of the sacred&saecular power? perhaps with an appeal to divine patronage?
• & where is the antagonism of ‘theocratic’ & ‘democratic’ most clearly evident?
• How might we critically assess models of authority deriving from TheTemple?
• ‘FoesUnderYourFeet!’ Is ‘Christianity still espousing&feeding-on such slogans?
• Especially the fantasies accompanying regal trappings&prerogatives!

3. 1 COR11:23-26

• This ritual narrative! the most familiar&controverted&bloodsoaked of all!                         
• Read 11:2-34! His Reminders&Strictures&Premonitions about TheHouseWorship!
• Why did the struggle about ‘transsubstantion’ come into prominence at all ?
• Subsequently, why did it become so bitterly divisive? & eventually, so irrelevant ?
• How does thise’Eating&Drinking’ usefully ‘ portrayHisDeath’ ?

4. LK9 11-17

• Read EXOD 16: 1-35′ In truth, where does food come from ? & hat’s it for ?
• Why do TheTwelve/TheDisciples show such reluctance to feed the people ?
• What about the ‘rationalisations’ of this ‘exodus narrative’ ? That He’d previously stached food in a nearby cave ? Or, that they all shared their sandwiches ?
• In my world,

             How are we ensuring adequate sustenance for all the people ?

             In what ways if food being wasted  or spoiled or abused ?

             Is all foood ‘eucharistic’, & each Eucharist ‘truly food’ ?

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

        THE HUNGRY THEIR SHOUTS FOR HIS BREAD

                     THOU! OUR BELLIES ROT FROM BLOATED RHETORIC!

                         THOU! ALL THE EUCHARISTS, STILL WE STARVE!!

                 THOU! PERCEIVE THE DESPAIR, THE DESPERATE MOTHERS!

                  THOU! WE YEARN THE POWER OF YOUR BLOOD&BODY

                THOU! WE LOOK TO YOUR SATED DISCIPLES FOR CRUMBS!

                      THOU! IN VAIN THE PIETY, IN VAIN THE CULT!

                           THOU! WHAT PRICE FAITH IN-FAMINE!

                   THOU! WHEN WILL YOU BLESS THE BREAD&FISH!

              THOU! OUR BREAD-FROM-HEAVEN  BE BREAD-FROM-EARTH!

6. RIDDLE    TheBody&Blood!  A kind of blessing? An occasion of power?

                      An ancient ritual? A feeding for dangerous work?         

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

SUN 12THJUN 2022 (2001): THE MOST HOLY TRINITY: C

1. PROV8:22-31

• Read 8:1 – 9:6! But what, if anything, have ‘Wisdom’& ‘Yahweh’ in-common?
• & Who is this so-alluring & so-versatile divinity called ‘Wisdom’? (SIRACH 24!)
• ‘Created’!: Why does this poet seem to subordinate ‘Wisdom’ to ‘Yahweh’?
• Can I name 3FemaleBiblicalCharsters who are not subordinated to males?
• How does the poet imagine

            The methods by which Yahweh unfolded&arranged ‘TheWorld’?

            TheAppearance&Attributes of Her-Who-is-0Called’Wisdom’?

            The Appearance&Attributes of Him Who-is-called ‘Yahweh’?

            Their modes of CollaborativeSynergy?

2,  THE PSALM: 8:4-9

• Read 8:1-9! Celebration& Assertion of human dignity&dominion!
• But is this poet somewhat-less-aware,  both ecologically&cosmologically?
• If the other species are ‘under our feet’, what hope have they got? Unless ‘we’ free ourselves from our customary ‘biblical chauvinism‘, &rediscover ‘Wisdom’!
• Why is it presumed that the divinity of GEN 1 is also the ‘exodus divinity’?
• What if David planned a ‘religious composition’ analogous to Constantine’s ?
• ‘LittleLessThanAGod’! But if he is infested with one of ‘TheOtherGods’?
• Say, Dionysius Artemis Hermes Aphrodite! Or Yahweh, TheMoodyOne, Himself!

3.  ROMS 1-5

• As context, who will brave the ‘carrick-a-rede’, to read all-of-this-great-epistle?
• ‘ByFaith-through-Jesus!’: What? Very simple? Or very obscure or, just shattering?

4.  JN 16:12-15

• Read 16: 1-33! ‘TheseThings’? TheAdvocate TheFather ThatDay Peace TheWorld!
• ‘Spirit/Father/Mine’!  Another hint that was woven into ‘TheTrinity’!
• In 25words, can I guess&express ‘EverythingTheFatherHas’?
• What are the 20principal Resources that make-up ‘MyWorld’?
• In what sense have I been given access to ‘TheCompleteTruth’?
• What assures me that ‘TheSpiritOfTruth’ is not being ‘muzzled’?
• What diverse voices are diversely ‘TellingMeOfTheThingsToCome’?

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

‘Gertie, d’ya know what he told us above this mornin’? ‘God, Cissie, I hope he didn’t come out wi’ somethin’ rash!’ ‘Wait’ll y’ hear! TheTrinity’s th’ best thing God ever told us about Hisself!’ ‘I don’t know now, Cissie! What about OurDivineMother? An’ Th’Infant a’Prague? An’ Th’ThirdSecret?’ ‘An’ listen! ‘Cos it’s a mystery, we really don’t know nothin’ about it! It might as well be in greek!’ ‘That’s what I thought all along…’ ‘except that it’s th’ rale m’coy, whatever language, an’ whatever y’ think..’ ‘An’ what about th’ man above? Does He figure at all?’  ‘Right there in th’ middle, he said! Called Him Th’SecondPerson! He’s th’ word made flesh, like in th’ Angelus!’ ‘God, don’t let on t’ my fella, he’s always foamin’ at th’ mouth, an’thun c’n start th’ fool rantin’. God, where’d I get ‘im from, Cissie? He’s like th’plagues of Egypt!’ ‘I know Gertie! Tha’ fella’s been y’r cross an’passion.’ ‘That’s th’ why Gertie’s trinity’s Our divineMother an’ Her 2 dacent men! ‘Cos nothin’ else ‘ll manage that lucifer a’ mine, God forgimme!!’

6. RIDDLE.   The Trinity! Which is more imperative? Visualise, Interpret,

                        DanceWith, Demythologise, or JustEmbrace It?

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

SUN 5THJUN 2022 (2001): PENTECOST SUNDAY: C

1. AA2:1-11

• Read 2:1-47! Paradigm-narrative! SourceContentAffectof TheApostolicPreaching!
• ‘All!: The120Disciples! TheTwelve! TheAssembledNations!
• ‘Tongues/Languages!’ GEN 11:1-9! The inclusiveness of One, the richness of Many!
• Where in my local church is this manifold ‘public utterance of truth’?
• Why are so many disillusioned about our training in ‘TheHolyBreath’?
• Is ThePreaching only for&to men? Or is ‘TheHolyBreath’ something greater?

2. THE PSALM: 103:1, 24, 29-31 (What? This great CreationSong?)

• Read 103(104) 1-35! How poignant in our ecological blunderings!
• In 35 words, my Understanding&Experience of ‘TheBreath-of-Yahweh’?
• But will the masculine divinity truly-inspire me to ‘Love-the-Earth’?
• Especially if I think He’s ‘elsewhere’. Waiting with my ‘Salvation’…
• What of the song’s assertion that ‘Wisdom’ is ‘TheContainerOfEarth’?
• Is there a hint that ‘Yahweh’sBreath’ is feminine, & ‘Mother-of-AllTheCreatures’?

3. ROM 8:8-17

• Read 8:1-39! His daring exploration of the dynamics of ‘TheBreath’!
• ‘Brother/Sons’! Is it possible that Paul would exclude women from this?
• What are The20PrincipalCategories of ‘Spiritual’ & ‘UnSpiritual’ behaviour’?
• What if ‘TheBreath’ & my-own”Breath’ were to pulse-as-one?
• Is our prevalent disdain of ‘ritual breathing’, &collusive pollution of tghe planet’s atmosphere, contributing to the repression of ‘TheHolyBreath’?

4. JN 14: 15-16, 23-26

• Read 14:1-31!The JohannineCommunity endeavours to name TheNuances-of-Power that underpin its faith! &theirOrigin&Interrelatedness&Implications!
• ‘Advocate’! Does He envisage that this ‘DefendingCounsel’ will take His-place?
• Or is ‘TheArrival-of-Father&SonTogether’ also imagined to be ‘TheAdvocate’?
• Can I glimpse here, cohabiting in a relaxed&innocent fashion, ideas&images&possibilities that were entrained another time&place into the trinitarian dogma?
• ‘BeWith&Teach&Remind!’ What’s TheAdvocate’s ‘priority’ in my local church?

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

‘Apart from the stimulating skepticism of Job,” ‘Careful now!, TheOfficialBeliever interjected with avuncular geniality! ThePractisingSkeptic nodded, then plunged on with enthusiastic precipitateness! ‘..I can think of nothing in all TheBible more dark &more strange than the so-called Last Supper Discourses’ ‘Less of the so-called, if you don’t..’

‘in John’ Especially the opaque relationships’ ‘ Not so, TheHoly&UndividedTrinity is a mystery! But it’s not opaque!’ ‘You jump in, that smooth theological way, as if’  ‘Not smooth as you understand smooth, nor theological as you bad-mouth theology, but the sublimest dogma of all!’ ‘ Sure, if you insist! though not yet in John! I doubt if even that community of spiritual elitists had the least intention of declaring anything as non-obscure as a trinity-of-persons!’ ‘&Why not? considering they were specially inspired to embrace the totality of truth that emanated from the lips of TheWordIncarnate!’ ‘Well, so you choose to think! But for me,  your simple-minded exposition of TheTrinity has merely betrayed the dark strangeness of John!’ ‘Away with you! Why do I bother?, not so avuncular now!’

 6. RIDDLE   TheHolyBreath! CharismaticEnthusiasm? Or Mother-of-AllThatLives?

                        Or TrueLife-of-TheCommunity? Or ActualPresence-of-TheChrist?

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

1 AAl·l-11

Sunday 29 May 2, 2022 (’01) : ASCENSION OF THE LORD

• Read 1.1 – 2 47! How to deal-creatively with TheDepartureOfJesus! from the christological&ecclesial&hierchical&apostohc points-of-view!
• ‘Witness!’ Concerning Jesus, what are TheChurches testifying-to? &In what ways does this ‘witness’ connect (or not) with the vagaries of contemporary experience?
• ‘LiftedUp/Cloud”: What traditional Jewish stories&psalms&rituals are evoked?

2 THE PSALM 46:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

• Read6(47)·1-9! But why are the ‘Jewish’ elements removed from the excerpt?
• ‘GoesUp” A procession to TheTemple, or up steps, carrying TheArk?
• Why did a small nation claim that their divinity was ‘over all the earth’?
• ‘Fear!’· Struggle to incarnate the moral imperative (what?) of Yahweh!
• What reasons am I given, for shouting&singing-praise to ‘God’ & ‘TheLord’?

3 EPH1·17-23

• Read 1·3 – 2 10! TheBlessing of Participation in TheMysteryOfChrist!
• The hierarchical structure-of-power&rank in which he visualises Jesus, what is the equivalent in my religio-political world?
• As an adult disciple, whence do I derive&test my ‘KnowledgeOfGod’?

4 HEB9.24-28, 10 19-23

• Read 9:1-10 39! The Shadow&Substance of TheRemovalOfSin!
• In what way is ‘Blood’ powerful in the modern world?
• ‘Once&ForAll!’ One of the great claims of Christianity to be the ‘fulfilment’ of Judaism! But am I thereby also finding holistic access to ‘Christ’sAchievement’?
• How will this Eucharist enable me to embody His’MomentOfConsummation’?

5 LK24:46-53

• Read 24·1-53! Some explorations of TheNewWeek-of-TheLord!
• How is my local church enduring the presences&absences of TheChrist?
• To what extent is the ‘program’ presented here by-Jesus, also-ours?
• In what sense is it connected with ‘WorldComtnumcationsDay’?
• In 35words, how would ‘Jesus’ address the current labyrinthine system of communications that enwebs our planet&ourselves&our-future?

6 The presence&act1on of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

THE DISCIPLES TO THEIR MASTER IN HIS GOING!

You CALLED US OUT OF EGYPT INTO THEDESERT!

You FED US DAY BY DAY WITH CUNNING NARRATIVE!

You AWOKE IN EACH A HUNGER&THIRST FOR JUSTICE!

You TAUGHT US TO VALUE WOMEN AS WELL AS MEN!

You EXEMPLIFIED COMPASSION&PIETY &TRUTH!

You EVOKED THE GOAT-OF-ACCEPTING, THERAM-OF-GIVING!

You MADE THE DEMANDING CHOICES, FAMILY&TEMPLE!

You SHOWED THAT LIFE&LOVE&DEATH ARE-ONE!

You LEFT US A TALENT, TO WORK TILL YOU-RETURN!

7. RIDDLE

TheAscension! TnumphantClosureOfHisEarthlyMission?

ConvenientBridgeOfPast&Future?

SymbolicAssertionOfOurNewAutonomy?

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

Sunday 22 May 2022 (’01): 6^th Sunday of Easter: C

1. AA15:l-2, 22-29

• Read 15:1-41! Many sons of dissension around&within the roots TheChristian Churches! What sorts? &How are they relevant to my local church?
• Why is the impression given that only men-disciples dissent, decide, &dispose?
• What is the valence in my local church, of TheVatTwoDocuments, the various teachings&declarataons from TheVatican, the exhortations of the local bishop, the explorations of contemporary theologians, the muted controversies?

2 THE PSALM • 66:2-3, 5-6, 8

• Read 66(67):1- 7(8)! A ShoutFor’Elohim/God’, TheTempleDivnity!
• ‘Face!’: Like TheSun! A reminder too of the modem ‘Cult-of-TheBeauteousFace’!
• The insistent emphasis on ‘All/Nations’! Is this purely disinterested&altruistic?
• Why were ‘TheNations’ not encouraged to deepen their own religious cultures?
• What other imagings of ‘God’ are suggested nowadays, apart from ‘Emperor/King’?
• But will other ‘imagings’ then look for ‘other rituals’ (apart from CourtlyPomp!)?
• Say, what appropriate ‘rituals’ for ‘Friend’, ‘Lover’, Teacher’, ‘Shield’,.?

3. APOC21:10-14, 22-23 (Hey, what about vv15-21?)

• ‘InTheSpirit/Breath!’: Another hint that these ‘Visions’ come from a ‘ritual’!
• What is hinted by the constant references to ‘great height’?
• ‘TheNewJerusalem!’: How was this apocalyptic fantasy fulfilled (If ever!)?
• What is hinted by the synergic presence-together of ‘God’ & ‘TheLamb’?

4. JN14:23-29

• Read 14 1-31! Exploration of Jesus’ manifold relatedness to ‘TheFather’!
• ‘KeepHisWord!’: Make HisPriorities&Choices&Behaviours actually-one’s-own!
• Can I glimpse in this abstract the clues that led to the dogma of ‘TheTrinity’?
• How is ‘TheHolyBreath’ at-work in my experience as ‘adult disciple’?
• Whyis TheHolyBreath from ‘Confirmatton’ not much more assiduously unfolded?

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

‘Sir! TheAdvocate, TheHolySpirit, may I ask as one who’s learnt to gabble the language, what is this for You?’ ‘Friend! It is TheBreath that sustains me in my great struggle as a witness’ &In my great work as finger-of-God!’ ‘But sir, may I be so bold as to wonder, where is TheBreath hidden when I most need it? when my world topples in ruin,when prayer is impossible, when love is but a word that lacks all fire?’ ‘Friend, TbeBreath is yours moment-to-moment! only, you-yourself must yearn &embrace&breathe-it!’ ‘Sir, how will this be? since I find it all so unfamiliar!’ ‘That which is most intimate & most near, is also most unfamiliar! TheBreath indeed must be wooed by the hopeful lover!’ ‘Where will I begin, sir?’ ‘Friend, begin with your own familiar breath, that moves between the unknown & the known! ask TheAngel that breathes while you sleep, to grant appreciation of that familiar breath! everything will flow from this” ‘Sir, I thank You for Your friendly encouragement! may what You suggest be but the beginning-of-breath, that will invest me in-time-of­ grace with TheAdvocate, TheBreath!!’

6. RIDDLE   Which is the most nourishing aspect of my local church?

Our courageous dealing-with the manydissensions?

Our understanding&experience of that which we call ‘God’?

Our cultivation of TheBreath as TheTeacher&Remmder-of-Jesus?

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