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By Dr. John BergsmaThe Readings for this Lord’s Day are unified around the theme of forgiveness. We begin and end with the words of “Jesus” on this topic: the First Reading records the words of Jesus, son of Sira, and the Gospel records the words of Jesus, Son of God. One of the last books of the Christian Old Testament to be written, Sirach (also known as Ben Sira or Ecclesiasticus) often seems to anticipate the teachings of Christ himself: Reading 1: Sirach 27:30-28:7Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the...

Dr. John BergsmaI don’t like personal conflict. I try to avoid it as much as possible. Probably most Americans do. I’m not sure what it’s like in other cultures, although I’ve heard of others where open social confrontation is more common. This Sunday’s readings deal with situations in which Christians have a duty to confront one another. They don’t make for comfortable reading in a culture that puts a high value on keeping the peace and minding one’s own business. The First Reading is the great “Watchman” passage from the prophet Ezekiel: Reading 1: Ezekiel 33:7-9Thus says the LORD: You,...

By Dr. John BergsmaIf last Sunday’s Readings were a soft-ball pitch, a nice high arc to knock out of the park, this Sunday’s Readings are a wicked curve ball for the Catholic preacher. Nonetheless, while these readings aren’t the “feel good” homiletical experience of last week’s, the truths are just as important and just as “Catholic.” We begin with a troublesome passage from the prophet JeremiahReading 1: Jeremiah 20:7-9You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped [Heb. patah]; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn terms of Catholic “preachability,” this Sunday’s Readings are a soft-ball pitch, a long high arc that every homilist ought to be able to knock out of the park. The lectionary readings have been set up for a clear explanation of the nature of the Papacy and its basis in Scripture. The context of the Old Testament reading should be explained. During the lifetime of the prophet Isaiah, the royal steward of the palace, a certain Shebna, was arrogating himself by adopting royal privileges. In particular, he was having a tomb cut for himself in the area...

By Dr. John BergsmaAccording to Wikipedia, “riffraff” is a term for the common people or hoi polloi, but with negative connotations. The term is derived from Old French ‘rif et raf’ meaning ‘one and all, every bit.’” My ancestors are Dutch, and—like many other ethnic groups—think they're pretty special. The typical saying is, “If yah ain’t Dutch, yah ain’t much.” However one may assess the muchness of the Dutch in modern times, from the perspective of the people of Israel in ancient times, the Dutch were mere riffraff, nameless illiterate Germanic tribes eking out a living on the cold shoreline...

By Dr. John BergsmaDoes God reveal himself in nature? Many public intellectuals are intent on denying this, even as increasing evidence pours in from disciplines like astrophysics and biochemistry that point to a creative mastermind behind the complex beauty we observe all around us. The relationship between divine self-revelation and the power of nature is a motif that runs through the readings for this weekend’s Lord’s Day. As a reminder, in this period of Ordinary Time we are doing lectio continua of Romans in the Second Reading and Matthew in the Gospel Reading. The First Readings are being chosen week...

By Dr. John BergsmaHoly Mother Church serves up a rich fare for us in the Liturgy of the Word this week. We begin with one of the most striking prophecies of the Book of Isaiah: First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare....

By Dr. John BergsmaWhen I was a kid, the phrase “Get wise!” was a provocative taunt—essentially, a way to start a fight. It meant something like: “I invite you to act like a smart aleck, so I will have an excuse to assault you physically.” My elementary school career was a bit rough. But what does it really mean to “Get wise” or “Gain wisdom”? The Readings for this Sunday’s Mass teach us about this issue. During this part of Ordinary Time in Year A, the Church is pursuing a lectio continua (continuous reading, i.e. reading in order) of both...

By Dr. John BergsmaOur Readings for this upcoming Lord’s Day involve a meditation on both God’s mercy and his justice, and the complex way both virtues of God are expressed in his government of human affairs in general and his people in particular. We see that God’s apparent tolerance of evil in the short-term is an expression of his mercy and desire that all should repent; yet ultimately God can and will establish justice. 1. Reading 1: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19: There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly...

By Dr. John BergsmaOrdinary Time focuses on the growth of the Church. I would prefer we called it “Extraordinary Time,” because there is nothing ordinary about the Second Person of the Divinity becoming en-fleshed in our presence through the Sacrament. Be that as it may, the Readings for this Lord’s Day are clearly united by the motif of sowing the seed of God’s Word. 1. The First Reading (Isaiah 55:10-11) is one of the earliest passages in Scripture where an explicit analogy is drawn between the natural cycles of agriculture and the fertility of God’s Word: Reading 1: Isaiah 55:10-11Thus...

By Dr. John BergsmaWe are currently in Cycle A of the Lectionary, reading through the Gospel of Matthew. This Sunday we find Jesus more or less in the middle of his earthly ministry (Matthew 11), and the Readings are marked by a strong theme of the restoration of the world-wide Kingdom of David. 1. Our First Reading is Zechariah 9:9-10: Thus says the LORD: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an...

By Dr. John BergsmaGod is generous, and he rewards those who help his servants as generously as he rewards his servants themselves. That is the message of the Readings for this 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time. We begin with an account from 2 Kings concerning the reward of a wife of the town of Shunem, who was consistently gracious to the prophet Elisha. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus proclaims a blessing on all those who give succor, refuge, and assistance to those he sends out to proclaim the Good News. This Sunday’s Readings complement last Sunday’s, which emphasized the violent...

By Dr. John BergsmaAfter the celebrations of Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi, this Sunday finds us transitioning back to Ordinary Time, and the transition is a bit painful. The Readings for this Sunday shift right back into the reality of persecution in the Christian life, as we read about Jesus advising the apostles to be prepared for the opposition they will encounter as they do the work of evangelization. You would think that following the Prince of Peace would lead to a peaceful life, but sadly that’s not how it usually works out. Those who follow Jesus often find themselves...

By Dr. John BergsmaOne of the more memorable events of my childhood was the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, when I was 10 years old. My family watched it on TV. Even though we were Americans, political heirs of a bloody revolution that kicked the hated British and their Redcoats off the American continent roughly 200 years previously, nonetheless we, along with millions of our compatriots, were still absolutely fascinated with the pomp and trappings of the British royalty. A total of 750 million people tuned in worldwide. Even American girls grow up wanting to...

By Dr. John BergsmaThis weekend is another great liturgical feast, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, otherwise known as Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is one of a handful of feasts that celebrates the very gift of the Eucharist itself. It is one of my favorite feasts, because the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist was instrumental in my becoming Catholic. Back in the Fall of 1999 I was reading through the Apostolic Fathers and came to this passage in Ignatius of Antioch’s Letter to the Smyrneans (c. AD 106): “But consider...

Dr. John BergsmaThe Easter Season usually ends with a sort of “trifecta” of major feasts: Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi, as the Church celebrates the central mysteries of the faith before entering into Ordinary Time once more. This weekend is Trinity Sunday, a meditation and celebration of the central mystery of the Christian faith, the dogma that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. Christians alone believe in one God, who nonetheless exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.Strangely, our Readings for this Sunday tend not to be classic “proof texts” for the idea that there is more than...

By Dr. John BergsmaPentecost Vigil Readings: Gen. 11:1-9 (Babel); Ex. 19:3-8a; 16-20b (Sinai); Ez. 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). The Readings for the Mass of the Pentecost pick up, as it were, where the Readings for the Vigil left off. First Reading: Acts 2:1-111When 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 which they were. 3Then there...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn the provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Omaha, Ascension Day is observed on it's proper day, and this Sunday is observed as the Seventh Sunday of Easter. It's a shame that so much of the country will not have a chance to meditate on these Scriptures, but perhaps even those of us living in areas where the Seventh Sunday is not celebrated can benefit by bringing these Readings to our prayer. Holy Mother Church offers as an intriguing theme in these Readings: the paradoxical relationship between glory and suffering. We find these two...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn most of the USA, Ascension Day is observed this Sunday, whereas in the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, and Philadelphia, it is observed on its proper day, Thursday May 29, forty days after Easter. 1. Ascension Day is an unusual Feast, in which the “action” of the Feast Day actually takes place in the First Reading rather than the Gospel. We typically think of all the narratives of Jesus’ life as recorded in the Gospels, overlooking that Acts records at least two important narratives about the activity of the Resurrected Lord (Acts...

By Dr. John BergsmaSo we have arrived at the sixth Sunday of Easter, and Pentecost is only two weeks away! It is hard to believe that this blessed season has traveled by so quickly. Yet we are approaching the end, now is the time to prepare more seriously than ever to be filled anew with the Holy Spirit on this upcoming Feast. Our Readings for this Sunday are filled with instruction and narrative about the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the First Reading, we have the account of the “Samaritan Pentecost,” as the Holy Spirit falls on these much-maligned...