Sunday 6^th June 2021(‘00):The Body & Blood of Christ B

1  Exodus24:3-8

• Currently, what are the Uses&Fears&Fantasies&Superstitions around ‘Blood’?
• How are these affected by TheBible, by Catholic devotion, & ancestral taboo?
• In 45words, my best understanding of the symbolism of ‘blood’?
• In what ways is a woman’s appropriation of ‘blood’ different from a man’s?
• What are the great ‘blood stories&rituals’ in biblical&other-mythology?

2    THE PSALM:  115.12-13, 15-18

• Read 115(116) 1-19! Another great ‘Yahwistic Credo’! So, why truncated?
• ‘Yahweh’sName!’: The  subversive thought is, ‘HisPower, who is daring to have-it’?
• To what extent, &in what ways, could I boast that ‘Yahweh-has-freed-me’?
• ‘Cos after all, if there’s no ‘real freedom’ in regard to this&that ‘must’, about Relationships&Church&State etc, isn’t ‘Yahweh’ purely ‘for the birds’!

3      HEB9.11-15

• What do I make of the mindset&style&self-confidence, &yet gobbledygook, of HEB?
• Is there not in my church a squibble ‘Don’t actively critique anything churchy’?
• So, how can I see through the coldblooded ‘positivism’ of this excerpt?

4      MK14:12-16, 22-26 (But what of the essential  vv17-21?)

• Read 14 1-72! So, who was it that deeply-betrayed Jesus ‘Bequest’?
• ThePassover/Pesach!’: Nakedly, TheYearlingUnblemishedRamRoasted&Eaten!
• ‘MyBody!’ But has fascination with ‘substance’ obscured the ‘solidarity’ not only among those present, but with  all TheHungry&TheThirsty&thePoor?
• ‘My Blood!’.  Literalising this, as if He spoke English, has obscured the challenge to disciples, to have their life totally in ‘covenantal’ ministry-to-others’!

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

God, it’s on’y after comin’ back t’ me now, sittin’ here wi’ this ball o’ malt in me fisht, what th’ oul’ Canon usedta say about  TheBlessedSacrament! ‘Who?’ ‘Aw, I loved that man, whatever bitta religion I’ve held onta ‘s purely his doin’ , socialist an’ all as he was!’ Aw y’r words is bringin’ it back t’ me! even tho’ ‘am nothin’ an’ a pagan, an’ never darken th’ door now , God forgimme me heart’s all on fire again at the thought of ‘im’ why was ‘e taken away from us at all, I can’t make it out! An’ him still on’y a yoot of eighty!’ ‘An’ d’ya  remember ‘is great apake about ThePrisoner in TheBlessedSacrament! ‘T’ be sure I do!’ Go on, begod, say it for me! Bring ‘im back til us!’ ‘God I have it dancin’ on me tongue like John Jameson! ‘Say it then!’  ‘He’d stand there like James Connolly, an’ proclaim it out about Our Lord, ‘Don’t be lavin’ ‘Im there a prisoner, like some beautiful animal in the Zoo’ gawkin’ an’ gabbin; at ‘Im! Bring ‘Im out in yer heart inta the streets an’ lanes! Give ‘Im yer eyes an’ hands.’ an’ yer feet, an’ yer love-for-all!’ ‘Aw boys a’ boys is it too late? Can we still try an’ do what ‘e wanted us ta…pagans an’ all as we are?’

RIDDLE       Which? The reassuring slavery of Egypt? 

                       Or the unpredictably-demanding freedom of the Wilderness?

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

Sunday 30 May 2021 (’00). THE MOST HOLY TRINITY: B

1. DT4:32–34, 39-40,

• Read 4·1-40! One prototype of the ‘hellfire sermon” Fictitiously attributed to Moses!
• Is ‘keeping Yahweh’sCommandments’ still linked nowadays with Family&Prosperity &Longevity&UndisturbedPossession of the ‘Canaanite’Land? (As in TheNorth!)
• Who wonders about the persistence of ‘bibbcal’ models&mindsets even in ‘ politics’?
• But what prospects that IrishChristians will be inculcated in the dangerous skills that will  enable them to critically&ironically embrace TheTotalBible, &yet see-through–it!

2. THE PSALM 32·4-6, 9, 18-20, 22

• Read 32(33) 1-22! Apart from Flattery of ‘Yahweh’, &biblicalChauvinism, what-else?
• What is the real value of boasts about being ‘PeoplcOfYahweh’ or ‘TheTrueChurch ‘?
• Isn’t this excerpt as a whole reassuring&familiar&undemanding, really?

unless Yahweh’s Slave is expected to EmbodyYahweh! Say, ‘KeepThemAliveinEthiopia’!

3.  ROMS 14-17

• If these four dense verses are offered out quickly, &typically without ‘expreession’ (not to mention ‘context’ or ’empathy’), what’ll be the net result for anyone there?
• If ‘TheBreath’ is somehow about being ‘ChildOfGod’, why is ‘Breath/Spirit’ not more

intensively explored&cultivated in myChurch? Not by exhortation’ but by training’!

• Is it possible (wa-wa !) that church ministers only know&value ‘TalkAboutSpirit’?
• ‘CoHeirs!’. Whatever about ‘HisGlory’, which one of us would share ‘HisSuffenng’?

4. MT28:16-20

• In what ways am I happy–enuff Just to  ‘worship’ Jesus, &be a ‘devotee’ (limited!)  of His?
• What about ‘TheHesitaters’ in these final important moments of MT’sTestemony?
• Can I glimpse f or–myself the 7Aspccts of ‘JesusDiscipleship’ I’ve ‘Hesitations’ about?
• But does myChurch give Space&Structure to value&explore my’Hesitations’?
• ‘In TheName!’  If this Triadic’Power’ is denied to disciples, can apathy be avoided?
• ‘I – AM-With–You!. What if Yahweh is with–disciples! To Encourage&Ordain&Anoint!
• But Will ‘ MakeDisciples’ become paramount? Or the older ‘TeachAllNations’?
• ‘Cos ‘disciples’ are dangerous&authoritative’ but ‘teaching’ can form ‘zombies’!

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

Yes, just as much was hidden in TheHoly–of–Holies, &much in TheSong-of–Songs, so too was much hidden in the sacred narratives of TheNazarene! Most of this was unperceived by careless piety&pedantry, or dissimulated by vested interests political&ecclesial! Some wiser spitits glimpsed the alien threads in the tapestry, &kept their counsel! though one or two carried their discoveries back, as what was obscurely called heresy! How did His own disciples weigh HisMission & HisGlory, especially after HisTakingAway? The shifts in Bame&Faith&Power! My own deep reservations, rarely if ever suspected even by the others in the leadership! Useless to divulge it, or not to!  Just this, I thought His tendency to shatter the one vessel must be vigorously combatted! which I’ve done, but with what grace indeed?

5. RIDDLE

Which? A remote dogmatic Trinity? Or a dynamic salvific-now-through–me Jesus?

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

Sunday 23 May 2021 (’00) B: PENTECOST SUNDAY

1. AA2:1-11

• What warrant was there for adding the word ‘apostles’ to AA2:1? Read 1 15 – 2 47!
• ‘EveryNation”: So what about Chinese&Bantu&Eskimos&ToryIslanders?
• ‘Spirit”    The power depends on BeingFilledWith,Speaking&Listening, ‘HolyBreath’!
• Why is it taken for granted (as elsewhere!) that no women were dynamically-present?
• &If this is another set-piece, deploying People&Structures&Discourses of ‘Power’?
• Why has ‘TheSacramentOfConfirmation’ become so relatively vacuous&irrelevant?
• Which? Many-languages, one-truth? Or, many-truths, one-language? Or.  (GENl1!)

2. THE PSALM :103·1, 24, 29–31, 34 (A paltry begrudgement!)

• Read 103(104):1-34! What a zestful ecologically-friendly Yahwistic fantasy!
• ‘Spirit”: Where is ‘Yahweh’sBreath ‘ received? &Why is it reckoned to be so crucial?
• Why has ‘Christianity’ (&Its ‘offspring’ Colonialism&Capitalism&CultivatedPhilistinism &Conservatism) had such a pathetic record in the broad questions of Ecology&Cosmology?
• In 40words, could I offer a resume of contemporary ‘Darwinian science’?

3. GALS:16-25

• Read 4:21 – 6·10! In my world what’s the concrete equivalent of ‘Law’ & ‘Flesh’ & ‘Spirit’?
• ‘InheritTheKmgdom!’: Actually embody–with-others the rhetoric of  ‘FruitsOfTheSpirit’
• If he was aware of what we call ‘TheUnconscious’, how would he express&deal-with it?
• Apart from lists&exhortations, how do I know if I’m led by ‘spirit’ or ‘self-indulgence’?
• ‘In 45words, Paul’s ‘spirituality’, insofar as it’s reflected in this excerpt?

4. JNl5:26-27, 16:12-15

• Can I glimpse here, what was later formulated as ‘TheHoly&UndividedTrinity’?
• Pragmatically, which of the ‘ThreePersons’ is most valued&referred–to in myCommunity?
• ‘TheCompleteTruth!’: How do I understand&experience this elusive ‘state-of-affairs’?
• To what extent will this ‘truth’ also comprise ‘scientific&aesthetic truth’, for instance?
• Has any system or group or savant a ‘monopoly’ or similar ‘hen’ on TheSpirit? ‘
• ‘Spirit!’: Read JER3l .31-34! EZEK37·1-14! JOELl·1 – 3.21!

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

About TheHolySpirit..!   ThePractisingSceptic was admirably tentative!   ‘You mean, I presume, TheThird Person of TheHoly & UndividedTrinity?’ TheOfficialBeliever was pedantic, ironically perhaps! ‘I mean to explore the biblical expression…’ ‘So. ‘ ‘Well, John seems to imagine it coming through Jesus on EasterDay. ‘ ‘Not imagine, recount!’ ‘ . while Luke in Acts has it descending at Pentecost, over a month later!’ ‘So? Surely TheEconomic Trinity isn’t confined to just one day, in its Opera-ad-Extra’ ‘ ‘My real quandary is this, however1  What evidence is  there, of any such dynamism  among contemporary  Christians?’ Are you serious? Open your eyes! TheTrueChurch…! ‘. is like a sleeping budgie about to fall off its perch!’ ‘Outrageous’ Ad hommem! get your head out of the sand, if you can! &make your  peace with truth! Then your fabrications about TheSpirit will evanesce!  &all will  be. ‘ ‘. merely, pious breath!!’

6. RIDDLE Which is best? Truth or Life or Love or Self?

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

Sunday 16 May 2021 (’00)   ASCENSION OF THE LORD

 

1. AAl 1-11

• Why is there so little about ‘WomenApostles or Disciples’ in LK’s 2nd volume (AA)? “
• ‘TakenUpToHeaven!’· Read GENS 18–24 (Enoch!), 2K2:l-18 (Elijah!)
• ‘ TheHolySpiri t!‘  The divine action imagined as irresistibleBreath or Wind!
• Which inspires, or in which disciples are ‘plunged’, or that ‘invests’ them with ‘power’!
  “Insofar as TheHolyBreath is active in myCommunity, what ‘power’ is asked or given?

2. THE PSALM 46·2-3, 6-9

• Read 46(47):       1 – 9(10)’ A litany of flatteringShouts for a TempleProcession!
• What is the purpose (&fruit!) of ‘praise for God’? &For ‘divine’ human rulers!
• ‘AllTheEarth/TheNations” Surely one root of the ‘missionary/colonial’ mindset!

3 EPHl.17-23

• How did Paul create the inspirational inflated exuberant language of this excerpt?
• Has Paul’s imagining of ‘Christ’ absorbed ‘God’, &the need for ‘God’?

Does it seem as if God could ‘retire’, &leave it all to the rule of ‘TheRisenChrist’?

4. EPH4.l-13 (Why is an optional reading offered? &A shorter form’)

• Where can one learn nowadays the rare skills casually enumerated here by Paul?
• Can I name 5Adults who embody these ‘virtues’ in any sense?
• ‘Body!’ In Paul’s language, it often hints at a ‘fragile solidarity’!

5.  MK16 15-20

• Read 16   1–20!   After the disturbing 16·8 (the original ‘ending”) various ‘improvements’!
• The ‘Signs AsssociatedWithBelievers’, to what extent are these encountered in myChurch?
• Why are these exotic quasi–magical ‘powers’ given such prominence on this festival?
   In 35words, how is ‘TheAscensionNarrative’  empowering me as ‘AdultChristian’?

• The presence &action of the Blessed One, is it like this?

MostExcellentLady! In response to your query, what sustains&fruits our  arduous  life‘s­ labour, I make known to you our exoteric credo’ This is offered to each wombling, &gradually inculcated with gradual incarnation! Dissidence, whether covert or overt, is as valued as every other life-process!

‘As a young woman, Foundress was thus addressed, “Beloved Representative’ Begin the unfolding of our inscrutable truth!  Every mote&moment’  every coming & going! every bone & blood & breath! every dynasism! whatever familiar & outlandish & ambivalent! Nurture, &be-nurtured-by, this interwoven necessary totalitv!” &Foundress chanted, Yes to all &Yes to every nuance”‘

The remaining 60Years of HerAllottedTime, Foundress laboured  to  incarnate  this  exoteric/ credo’ & at HerDanceAway left it to HerCollaborators’! WithBlessing! TheMother ***

7.    RIDDLE

Which is most in need of ‘rehabilitation’?

His’Baptism’, ‘Death’, ‘Raising‘, ‘ GoingUp’, or ‘Return’?

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

Sunday 9 May 2021(’00). 6thSUN of EASTER : B

1. AA10·25-26, 34-35, 44-48

• ‘OnlyAMan!’: Has there been a tendency to treat some ministers of the gospel as ‘divine’?
• What is called ‘TheHolySpirit’ here, how, if at all, is it linked with ‘TheTrinity‘?
• Apart from ‘ecstasy’, what are the more reliable indicators of ‘Jesus’Spirit’sPresence’?
• If I don’t ‘clothe myself in Jesus’, maybe ‘TheHolySpirit’ isn’t ‘available’ or ‘real’?

2 THE PSALM: 97.1-4

• Read 97(98):1-9! A ShoutSong for TheApproachOfYahweh’
• If I were to make&sing a ‘NewSongToYahweh’, what would it celebrate?
• What if ‘Yahweh’s Salvation’ is the whole-hearted ‘StruggleForJushce’?
• ‘Hand&Arm!’: Is there a hint that ‘Justice’ may call for ‘violence’? (Read MTll:12-19!)

3 IJN4 7-10

• In my experience, what is the relation between ‘knowledge’ & ‘love’?
• What of the claim, that an increase in one leads to a ‘ diminishment of the other?
• Why does this writer think that ‘God’s’ essential activity is ‘loving’?
• ‘Sins! “Behaviours&Attitudes that deviate from ThePriorities of ‘God”

4 J N15.9 -17

• Why must ‘The Father’s Love’ be mediated through Jesus, rather than ‘come directly’?
• Why have ‘Christians’ been inculcated in all sorts of other ‘commandments’? Say,

Save your own soul, no matter what!

Be loyal to your own crowd, hate the others!

God gave us all this to enjoy’ so let’s honour Him by doing just that’
 Do the necessities, like prayer&chapel&dues, but don’t bust yourself!  
As long as you’re in the true church, the man-above’s happy’

Learn the catechism, &keep your nose clean, &let no one walk on you’

5. The presence & action of the Blessed One, Is It like this?

‘Gran” ‘Yes, a mhihs?’ Thursday again, Effie’s opportunity to explore  with  Gran, hawk & eagle, her girl’s perceptions! ‘Sam’s boyfriend, Boysie she calls him, came in while Mam an’  Sam  were laffin’, an’  very soon was givin’ out  big fatso shouts an’  wavin’  himself an’ banging his red  face. ‘  ‘An’ what  did Mam  do?’  ‘She laffed  an’  spoke a  green  throw-out to Boysie’ then Boysie said to Mam&Sam, “See how yous” a twistyword, I couldn’t pull it over, Gran!  “love one another ”   an’  ran out the door, cryin’ an’ yelpin’ m his chicken voice!’ ‘My poor Effie! I’m sorry  you  had  to  witness  all that   ‘  ‘Gran! love one another!’  ‘Yes, a thaisge! Boyie’s word!’ ‘Why did it make him cry in his chicken voice?’ ‘Maybe he was hoping’ the three o’ them ‘d love each other .’ ‘Not Mam’ she says to Sam, “How d’ya do it? I wouldn’t love that  pofull o’  rat’s vomit  even for  the  lottery!” An’  not Boysie! he called Mam a green&purple  throw-out! I forget...’  ‘Maybe Boysie was hopin’  the  three o’  them  might say  a prayer t’ Jesus!. ‘ ‘Yes, Gran! that’s really why he was wavin’ himself, because Mam an’

Sam wouldn’t say a prayer t’ Jesus with him! great great!”

6 RIDDLE

If he returned, which would more surely recognise ‘his-own’ in us? Jesus, or John, or Peter?

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

Sunday 2 May 2021 (’00): 5^th SUN of EASTER: B

1. AA9:26-31

• Another set-piece! Can I imagine the resentments suspicions defections risks?
• What is the equivalent in myCommunity of ‘Saul seeking acceptance from the disciples ‘?
• What new ExperiencesRittualsIdeasNormsOrientationsInterpretattons is myChurch finding it difficult, or impossible, to ‘accept’? Who&what are seeking to ‘mediate’ all this?
• What clues in AA9:1-30, why many feared&hated Paul in a very special way?
• TheBrothers!’: Is there any evidence that women are forming different attitudes than men, towards AdultEducation Morality Practice Freedom Theology Faith…?
• ‘ConsolationOfTheHolyBreath!’· Courage that flows from ‘FullestEmbodimentOfJesus’!
• ‘FearOfTheLord!’: FullFreeEnthusiasticEmbodimentInEverythingOfYahweh’sPriority’

 

2. THE PSALM 21·26-28, 30-32

• Read 21(22) 1-31′ Yahweh’sBeloved’sPrayer in TheFear&DangerOf’Death’!, which the storyteller,imagined that Jesus chanted in HisOwnDeath, at 3 00pm in TheAfternoon!
• Why is the often-incompetent ‘liturgy of the word’ tolerated by so many adults?
• ‘Vows!’     What concrete behaviours are being suggested in the Eucharist? Who will they be           shared with? How will they be monitored&assessed? (Whew! What if I just drop ’em’)

3. lJNJ:18-24

• In 25 words, my experience&understanding of that which is called ‘conscience’ ?
• What indicates that I live out of an ‘adult’, rather than an ‘infantile’, conscience?
• How am I ensuring that ‘conscience’ is being nourished&exercised&purified?
• What is happening in myCommunity regarding the ‘formation’ of children’s ‘conscience’?
• In l0 words, can I glimpse my ‘real’ (as distinct from ‘rhetorical’) ‘FirstCommandment’?

4. JN15:1-8

• Read IS5 1-30′ Terrifyingly ambivalent sea-change in TheLover’s former ‘Affections’!
• What if Yahweh’sExpectations &(So, HisDisappoint ments) were always ‘overblown’?
• &What if being suddenly presented with ‘Yahweh-as-Lover’  is like ‘TheHonoursPaper’!
• ‘InMe&InYou!’ Can I imagine Jesus just sitting-in-there-somewhere? inactive&asleep!
• What if ‘TheRealPriority’ of my local church is partly to keep Him ‘on a drip, just-there’?

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

‘Gertie! Tell me this, an’ tell me no more! why’re they always goin’ on about drink?’ ‘Cissie, is it ..’ ‘If it’s not t’ jointhe Pioneers or Father Macchu, it’s the bread an’ wine!’  ‘An’ the wine at  Mass!’ ‘Or the Las’ Supper…’ That’s what I  ‘  ‘Or  y’ know who, arrivin’  home ploothered, frightenin’ the ‘ ‘Take my fella, now. ‘ ‘So, like cock-crow, ,what’d we have this mornin’. ?’ ‘God Cissie, I hope it wasn’t y’know-what!’ ‘The Vine’ Oh, it’s really Our Divine Lord...’ ‘Oh .?’ ‘But even then, y’ can’t get away from it, can ya? every hand’s turn…’ ‘The Vine Lord .?’ ‘Yes, we’re all his grapes an’ branches ‘ ‘Our Lord likes t’ drink us for ‘is thirst...’ ‘No, Gertie’ get it right! it’s like goin’ t’ confession ”Oh.?’ ‘But there still must be somethin‘ rummy in it, all that goin’ on about drink‘   ‘Oh…?’

6. RIDDLE

Which is most urgent now? To Worship Explain Caricature Incarnate TheTotalJesus?

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

Sunday 25 April 2021 (’00): 4thSUNofEASTER: B

Day of Prayer for Vocations
1 AA4 8-12

• How would I know that someone, say myself, was ‘Filled with TheHolySpirit’?
• ‘Name! ‘ Not to be unaware that ‘name’ biblically means something like ‘power’!
• “Why do I still think that it’s only ‘JewishLeaders’ who ‘reject’ the power of Jesus?
• ‘Salvation!’: Total-Identity with ThePrioritiessStrugglesDestiny of a ‘divinity”
• Which other ‘divinities’ are currently offering ‘salvation’?
• If Jesus became ‘ThcKeystone’ of myLife&Work, what would ThcCost&Benefits be?
• Who, ‘filled with HolySpirit’, is currently challenging the leaders of IrishChurch&Society?

2. THE PSALM : 117.1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28-29

• Read 117(118) 1-29! The VictoryShout of someone Faithful-to-Yahweh’
• What grounds have I got, for ‘trusting-in-Yahweh’, rather than in, say, my religious or political leaders? Or my family or friends? Or my peer-group? Or guru?

3 1JN3:1-2

• ‘God’s!Children!’ What 5Associations do I make with this strange phrase?
• ”Like-Him!’· What if  inwardly&hiddenly&unacknowledgably, we are ‘alreadyGod’?
• What of the assertion, that ‘God’ is a dense way of saying ‘OurSharedFuture’?
• ‘In what 4Ways is my&our’Future’ already being ‘revealed’?

4 JNlO 11-18

• Read10 1-18! Some layers of the riddle, ‘Who loves sheep more, wolf or shepherd?’!
• ‘Why are ‘shepherds’ so significant in TheBible? (Read once-again! EZEK34!!) ‘But, if the contemporary resonances of ‘shepherd&sheep’ have radically changed, &so, left ‘pastoral’ titles&initiatives&structures somewhat vacuous?
• What ‘shepherd’ ever grants ‘freedom’ to ‘sheep’, whatever about ‘laying down his life”
• OtherSheep Yes, Protestants&Co! but what of ThePoor, Gays, TheDivorced, for-starters?

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

In the aftermath of the Church’s celebration of the PaschalMysteries, I thought I’d bring to your attention this set of pastoral directives from the divinely-institute’ TheOfficialBeliever’s opening gambit was amiably frustrated by a sudden squeal of mock-dismay  from ThePracticingSceptic  ‘What? Aftermath? Paschal&Pastoral! Speak limpidly please, to this simple sod1 Why are you concealing from me the chronic conspiracy of sheep&hireling shepherd that masquerades.’ ‘How dare you so meanmindedly spew out in my presence

your long-since disgraced atheistic’ ‘&How dare you impute to me an impoverished witlessness that better suits your own ‘ ‘More to the point, if I may be permitted, why’d you interrupt me in the first place?’ After a judicious pause, ThePractisingSceptic responded. Look’ All the moaning about vocations, there’s something in it, a germ’ but as long as the underlying rhetoric is couched ‘pastorally’ as I said, &not thoroughly explored, your

pastoral paschality will revert to stubble in the wind! Remember Carthage!!’

6 RIDDLE

Which is the essential vocation? Sheep Wolf Hireling Honeyman Hackler Shepherd?

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

Sunday 18^th April 2021(’00): 3^rd  SUN of EASTER. B

1    AA3:13-15, 17-19 (What’s the problem with v16?)

• Read 3:1-4:31! A set piece to exalt the words&actions of the early leadership!
• What is the equivalent in mySociety&Church of these ‘propaganda’ set-pieces?
• The ‘adversarial fashion’ of blaming ‘Jews/Israelites’ in  AA (&elsewhere in NT), while ‘justifying’ oneself, in what ways is this still endemic in our ‘Churches &Society’?
• Why does Peter appear to say, ‘Yes, you’re guilty! No, it was God’sWork through-you’?
• What if everything can be deemed ‘God’sWork’, provided I-also ‘work-with-it’?

2     THE PSALM  42: 4, 7, 9

• Read 4:1-8(9)! The complex experience of one-who-struggles-to-embody-Yahweh!
• From the psalm, what are the FoundationalAttributesOfYahweh’?
• Can I name 5Political or religious leaders who incarnate & inculcate these?
• In what ways is the local church of Armagh an opportunity to-actualise-Yahweh?
• What if the verses omitted in this excerpt have a special, but avoided, significance?
• ‘Face! With so many ‘faces’ on magazine covers, advertisements&TVscreens, what enables me to recognise ‘Yahweh’sFace’ in this flattering&deceptiveAvalanche? (MT25;31-46)

3    1JN2:1-5

• ‘This!’ Read 1:5-10! How would this ‘testimony’ fit-me as my ‘basic credo’?
• In what ways do ‘Catholic’ & ‘Anglican’ & ‘Presbyterian” ‘basic credos’ differ?
• What are the contemporary disguises&excusations for what used to be called ‘sin’?
• But surely ‘KnowledgeOfHim’ doesn’t also entail ‘EmbodimentOfHim’? Oh boo-hoo-hoo!’

4    LK24:35-48

• Read 24:1-49! Which of these many witnesses was truly embraced?
• What if the gospel-acclamation were ‘LordJesus, explain our hearts to us! Make the scriptures burn within us as you talk-to-us!’? Or is the tide too-far-ebbed?
• But also, if set-pieces like this have encouraged a mindset of merely ‘quoting proof texts’?
• Will ‘authoritative teaching’ & ‘dab-it-on scripture’ compensate for ‘biblical narrative’?

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

‘Sir! What is the great struggle of faith?’ ‘Friend! The struggle of faith is to embrace, amen! the truth of my coming&going among you!’ ‘Sir! How will disciples recognise your coming&going?’ ‘Friend! In the listening of the book I am always arriving! In the sustaining of the poor I am always departing!’ ‘Sir! With respect! I find your words obscure, the truth you mention too far from my comprehension! Perhaps this is a riddle you offer?’ ‘Perhaps’ Strive, Friend, at all events, to explore its bitter sweetness! “in the faithful marriage of the book & the poor is consummated all my life&death! is constituted all my presence in weakness, all my absence in power!” ‘Sir! I thank you, though reluctantly, for this enigma!& be sure I shall pursue it as a viaticum in my struggle for animated faith! Amen! Amen!

RIDDLE

Which is preferable? Continue to trot-out the dessicated ‘dogmatic familiarities’ about Him!

Or risk also encountering Him in new offensive manifestations? Or cautiously&resentfully endure my ‘stress’?

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

Sunday 11^th April 2021(’00): 2^nd SUN of EASTER OCTAVE OF EASTER DAY : B

1  AA4:32-35

• Read 3:1-4:37! TheLeaders, ThePreaching, TheOpposition, TheCommunalConversion!
• But is this any more real, or more paradigmatic for now, than a 1^st Century opera?
• The social&religious&economic order-of-things imagined in this excerpt, Where is all or any of this happening in myChurch or Community? How much of it would even be contemplated (except maybe in Peru!)? Isn’t it great that St.VdeP&Trocaire have relieved our anxiety about it all?
• So, in what ways may ‘The ContemporaryChurch’ be throwing dust in my eyes, by promoting archaic ‘wishful thinking’, instead of the ‘struggle-for-adult-faith’?

2   THE PSALM:  117:2-4, 15-18, 22-24

• Read 117(118):1-29! A noteworthy ‘victory-song’, overflowing with ‘Yahweh-ambivalence’?
• In 50 words, construct a ‘portrait’ of Yahweh from this full-psalm!
• ‘Those who fear Yahweh!’ Those who resolutely embody ThePrioritiesOfYahweh!
• The5PrioritiesOfYahweh’ &What is the localChurch of Armagh doing about them?

3    1JN5 1-6

• ‘Love!’ What seems to be the meaning of this in 1JN? In 20words, what is it in my living?
• ‘TheChrist!’ TheOne inspired by Yahweh to actualise the total freedom of each one!
• In my experience, what is the ‘world’ that is to be ‘overcome’?
• How can I discern whether this writer lives in the ‘real’ or a ‘fantasy’ world?
• In 20 words can I summarise my ‘faith? How many others actively share this with me?

4   JN20:19-31

• Today, what are the 5GreatFears of ‘disciples’ & What are they doing abouit it?
• Why doesn’t Jesus approach&assert Himself like this in our Eucharistic? Or does He?
• What 3Criteria have ‘disciples’ got for checking if it’s truly ‘TheLord’ that’s there?
• Is there a conflict between ‘those who believe without seeing’ , & ‘those who see without believing’, & ‘those who want to check it out’, & ‘those who couldn’t care less’?
• In what way has my belief that “Jesus-is-theChrist’ actually ’empowered-me-with-life’?

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

   ‘This mornin’ at Mass”, ‘What?’ he was goin’ on about Doubtin’ Thomas!’ ‘Who?’ ‘How he couldn’t believe them about the man-above! “Don’t be like Doubtin’ Thomas!”, he said, “He was a goner, on’y for OurLord came back &showed hisself til ‘im!”!  ‘Showed hisself?’?  ‘Yeah, wounds, blood, ever’thin’!’ ‘But did the man-above not bleed t’ death? How’d he manage t’ come back.’ ‘A miracle, he told us’ “Our Divine Lord’s greatest miracle!” An’ didn’t even Doubtin’ Thomas hisself say it, like at the consecration, “My Lord an’ my god!” Tho’ I mus’ say’ ‘Th’ oul’ Canon cappt it all, th’ day he made his socialist assertion, “A spoonful down the street beats a bucketful up in the chapel!” An’ he ‘Aw y’re right, I loved that man! He put Doubtin’ Thomas as an’ the whole shebang o’ them in their place! Aw, don’t be talkin’…!

6    RIDDLE

                  The best contemporary witness to Jesus’ relevance? The Church, The Adult

                  Disciple, Religious Art, CapitalistDemocracy, NewAgeSpirituality?

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

        Sunday 4^th April 2021 (’00) Easter Day of the Lord’s Resurrection: B

1. AA10.34, 37-43

• Read 10: 1-48! TheVoice&Cornelius&Peter! &How It entered each man!
• What is ‘TheHolyBreath?’ &Why is it associated with ‘HearingTheWord?’
• Why do we generally call this Agency ‘TheSpirit’ rather than ‘TheBreath?’
• How did the dying of the last ‘witness-to Him’ affect the ‘preaching-about-Him?’
• Where in my community are important public leaders evangelised in their home?
• In language-of-today, what was Cornelius looking-for, and Peter-offering?

2. THE PSALM  117:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

• Read 117(118): !-29 Song of one rescued in dire straits by Yahweh’s intervention!
• Why am I given such a manicured nosegay of verses? For apologetics? Or piety?
• In view of Christians’ claims, and appropriation of their Bible, how do contemporary Jews
• Understand & sing about ‘Yahweh,’  ‘His love has no-end!’?
• ‘CornerStone!’: The large stone that is placed where two walls meet, to bind them!
• Who or what functions as ‘cornerstone’ for myCommunity?
• What are the 5PrincipalWays in which ‘Yahweh is good’ in my world?

3. COL.1-4

• What are the 3ChiefDifferences between ‘HeavenlyThings’ & ‘EarthlyThings?
• In order of importance for me, what are ‘The 3 Heavenly,’ & The 3 ‘Earthly Things?’
• This, ‘hidden-true-life-with-Christ,’ what assures me that I actually have it?

4.  1COR5.6-8

• Can he presuppose knowledge of JewishFestivals&Customs in his Greek readers?
• How do I symbolically at Easter shed the old&rotten&clinging bits of my religion?
• How is sincerity&truth being modelled&inculcated in IrishSociety

5.    John 20: 1-9

• Read 20: 1-31! Various facets of the struggle of TheChristianChurch!
• Especially, how to value different ‘Seeings’ & ‘Embidyings’ of TheLordJesus?
• Why is ‘TheEmptyTomb’ so important in the early narrations-of- faith?
• How do ‘cloths in an empty tomb’ suggest or underpin faith in His’Rising?’
• Why is Magdalene’s hypothesis of a ‘stolen body’ not directly explored?
• ’RiseFromTheDead!’ In 20 words, what is my Understanding&Experience of this?

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

TheOfficialBeliever & ThePractisingSceptic met by arrangement on Easter Sunday night for drinks,& a chat! ‘An’ no argy-bargy now!, said TheOfficialBeliever! ‘No argy-bargy!’, dutifully answered the other… Punctually they arrived at the hotel, exchanged greetings, ordered drinks. ‘Well now,’ sighed TheOfficialBeliever, ‘that’s that for another year!’ ‘That’s what?’ ‘The rounds of HolyWeek, people&things to be remembered.’ ‘Was there anything spiritual in it this year?’‘The usual celebrating ThePaschalMystery, ThePilgrimage of  ThePeople of God…’ ‘But, over & above what you call the-usual?’ What else is there? What I said, that’s it!’‘Ok! Sip that there while I say what I mean! This year I looked carefully at the sky, at the earth around me, at the earth beyond the horizon, at my total self past&present&future, at science&religion&literature, at you & your world view…’  ‘And…’ ‘And I said, great! Not only order but design! Not only design but beauty! Not only beauty but potential of freedom-for-all!’ great great great!’

7. Riddle: TheResurrection! OldBody? NewBody? Or Yahweh-at-large?        

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