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By Dr. John BergsmaDoes it matter how we treat others? What does my neighbor’s suffering have to do with me? Can I continue living in comfort while bypassing those around me who are in misery? These are questions that the Readings for this Sunday raise, and to which they provide uncomfortable answers. Let’s read and let the Holy Spirit move us outside our comfort zone. 1. The First Reading is Amos 6:1a, 4-7:Thus says the LORD the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken...

By Dr. John BergsmaAs Jesus continues his “death march” to Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9–19), he challenges us this Sunday to choose, in a clear and conscious way, our goal in life: God or money. The First Reading reminds us that wealth was a seductive trap for the people of God throughout salvation history. 1. The First Reading is Amos 8:4-7: Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the...

By Dr. John BergsmaA paradox is an apparent contradiction or counterintuitive statement that, upon further examination, may, in fact, be true. Some famous paradoxes include Socrate’s statement: “I know one thing: that I know nothing.” There are paradoxes in psychology, like the fact that when one pursues happiness itself, one is miserable; but when one pursues something else, one achieves happiness. There are paradoxes in mathematics, like the fact that most people’s friends have more friends than they do (it’s true!). Or in physics: light particles act like bullets if you watch them but waves if you don’t (it’s true)....

By Dr. John BergsmaOne of the most famous German opponents of Adolf Hitler and Nazism was the Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whom the Nazis executed by hanging in April 1945 for his involvement in a plot against Hitler himself. Bonhoeffer’s most famous work was a meditation on the Sermon on the Mount entitled (in English) The Cost of Discipleship. In it, Bonhoeffer parted ways with a Protestantism that understood “salvation by faith alone” as some kind of easy road to heaven. Bonhoeffer criticized “easy-believism” as “cheap grace”: Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn 2005, a quasi-remake of the famous 1967 movie “Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner” was released. Entitled “Guess Who?” it starred Bernie Mac as an African-American father who struggled to deal with his daughter’s Caucasian fiancé (played by Ashton Kutcher). Much of the comedy of the film revolved around the clash of cultures at the dinner table. Usually we only share meals with people like us, family members or friends from our own “circle.” When someone from “outside” comes in, it upsets the balance. If anything, Jews of Jesus day were even more careful than contemporary Americans...

By Dr. John BergsmaIf Jesus was walking through your town and you had ten seconds as he passed to ask any question you wished, what would it be? “Why is there evil in the world?” “How can I be saved?” “What is heaven like?” In this Sunday’s Gospel, an anonymous bystander gets his chance to ask Jesus one of the “big questions”: “Will only a few people be saved?” Jesus’ answer is complex, indirect, and very well worth examining! The Readings leading up to the Gospel help prepare us to understand Jesus’ response. 1. The First Reading is Isaiah 66:18-21:...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn recent decades, the term “family values” has almost become a code word for “Christian culture” in American society. Influential Christian organizations have adopted names like “Focus on the Family” and the “Family Research Council,” and on the Catholic side of things we have “Catholic Family Land” or The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, better known as “C-FAM.” The natural family unit—based on a husband and wife who have made an exclusive, permanent, public commitment to share a common life and raise children together—has been under such political and social pressure that at times we almost...

By Dr. John BergsmaMy father once served as the chaplain for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. (U.S. Navy chaplains also serve the Marines and the Coast Guard). I have fond memories of that beautiful seaside city. In any event, perhaps the only bit of Coast Guard culture that I absorbed during my dad’s tour of duty was the motto: Semper Paratus, “Always Prepared,” which seems an appropriate summation of the theme of this Sunday’s Readings, which stress vigilance in the Christian life. In fact, these Readings feel like something we might get in November, closer to...

By Dr. John BergsmaTexts from the Old and New Testaments remind us that human happiness is not to be found in the accumulation of material goods. Riches are fleeting and empty. We are called instead to “store up treasure in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroy, where thieves cannot break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-21). 1. Our First Reading is Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23: Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must...

By Dr. John BergsmaWho has the guts to bargain with the Divinity? Abraham, the father of the Israel, does. In the Readings for this Sunday, we find united several themes: persistence in prayer, the justice and mercy of God, the generosity of God. 1. Our First Reading is Genesis 18:20-32:In those days, the LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.” While Abraham’s visitors...

By Dr. John BergsmaThis Sunday, as we continue to accompany Jesus on his fateful journey to Jerusalem in the Gospel of Luke, we are confronted with a pair of Readings in which human beings host a meal for God: Abraham for the LORD in the First Reading; Martha and Mary for Jesus in the Gospel. But is it really possible for us to “do God a favor” by giving him a nice meal? We are going to discover that, while God graciously accepts our services, it’s really about what God does for us, not what we can do for him....

By Dr. John BergsmaFred Rogers used to sing at the opening of his classic children’s show: It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood A beautiful day for a neighbor Would you be mine? Could you be mine? … Won't you be my neighbor? Won't you please, won't you please? Please won't you be my neighbor? Fred Rogers was a highly theological educated man, who also gave generous grants to St. Vincent’s College and Seminary (Roman Catholic) in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. I think he was well aware of the theological significance of the concept of “neighbor,” which we will explore through the...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn the Readings for this Sunday, Jesus continues his final journey, his fateful "death march" toward Jerusalem (Luke 9–19, the "Travel Narrative") that began formally in Luke 9:51. The past several Sundays have foreshadowed Jesus' coming suffering and death, but this Sunday we get a reprieve as themes of suffering recede into the background. We are temporarily caught up in the joy of Jesus' ministry, as he assembles around himself a congregation of disciples who constitute a spiritual "Jerusalem." In the healing ministry of Jesus and his disciples, we see a fulfillment of certain prophecies of peace...

By Dr. John BergsmaThis Sunday is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul and a very great feast day for the Church. Saints Peter and Paul represent, respectively, the leaders of the Church’s mission to the Jews and to the Gentiles (Gal 2:7). The Church celebrates their feasts on the same day, because the Church’s proclamation of the gospel is founded on their dual mission: “the gospel … is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (i.e. the Gentile)” (Rom 1:16). Since the earliest times, and...

By Dr. John BergsmaI love the early summer liturgical "trifecta" of Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi, forming a kind of "encore" to the joyful Easter Season focusing in succession on three fundamental realities of the Christian life: The Church, the Triune Godhead, and the Eucharist. This "trifecta" comes to an end this week with the celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Readings for this Solemnity obviously focus on types and descriptions of the Eucharist, but there is a notably priestly theme that also runs through them. In this way, we observe the connection between priesthood and Eucharist....

By Dr. John BergsmaPentecost is not supposed to mark a spiritual highpoint, from which we then regress and go back to being our slovenly selves. Rather, Pentecost should be a dramatic infusion of spiritual energy climaxing a period of formation that has been ongoing since the first week of Advent. Pentecost propels us, like a shot out of a cannon, into the “world” of Ordinary Time, in order to do effective combat with sin, death, and the Devil. This Sunday marks approximately the half-way point in the liturgical year, and at this temporal center, we pause to reflect on the...

By Dr. John Bergsma [Pentecost Vigil Readings: Genesis 11:1-9 (Babel); Exodus 19:3-8a; 16-20b (Sinai); Ezekiel 37:1-14 (dry bones); Joel 3:1-5 (old men will dream, dreams…); Romans 8:22-27 (Spirit prays for us); John 7:37-39 (rivers of living water).(see separate thread for these readings)] Let's discuss the Readings for Pentecost Sunday Mass during the Day. The First Reading is the account of Pentecost itself, from Acts 2:1-11. 1When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. 2And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in...

By Dr. John BergsmaPentecost is a very important feast in the liturgical life of the Church, and it has its own vigil. Not only so, but the Readings for the Vigil are particularly rich. I cannot think of another that has such a wide variety of options, for example, for the First Reading. Even though only one First Reading will be proclaimed in any given Mass, it is well worth pondering them all, in order to come to understand the significance of Pentecost more deeply: The First Reading Options for the Vigil: 1. Genesis 11:1-9, the Tower of Babel: The...

By Dr. John BergsmaAscension Day, unfortunately, is not observed in a uniform manner across the United States. Catholics in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England will observe it on Thursday; the rest of the country observes it this Sunday. The First Reading and Psalm for this Solemnity are always Acts 1:1-11 and Psalm 47. Year C has the option to employ Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23 instead of Ephesians 4:17-23 as the Second Reading (both are discussed below) and proclaims Luke 24:46-53 as the Gospel. This is an unusual Lord’s Day, in which the “action” of the Feast Day actually takes...

By Dr. John BergsmaHere is a commentary on the Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, and let me begin by saying, if you have a Seventh Sunday of Easter, you are indeed blessed! This is an important Sunday: it is climactic, the last Sunday before Pentecost in the Easter Season. The architects of the Vatican II lectionary saved very important readings for this date, notably the High Priestly Prayer of John 17. This magnificent prayer is the longest of Jesus’ prayers recorded in Scripture, and it is the climax of the Last Supper Discourse (John 13-17), the longest discourse...