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By Dr. John BergsmaThis Sunday’s readings might seem bipolar or schizophrenic. We begin Mass with exultant cheering as we relive Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We end the Readings on a note of solemn silence, unable to process the reality of one of the most egregious abuses of judicial process and power in human history, in which the only innocent man ever to live is executed. What does it all mean? Despite a few mysterious prophetic texts that seemed to intimate this possibility, the idea that the Messiah could arrive and subsequently be killed was radically counter-intuitive to most of...

By Dr. John BergsmaLent is drawing to a close. This week we celebrate the last Sunday of Lent before the beginning of Passion Week. This Sunday is period of “quiet” between Laetare Sunday and Passion/Palm Sunday, our last opportunity to meditate on the ‘ordinary’ struggle of Lent before the intensity of the events in the last week of Our Lord’s life. Let’s use it well! The Readings for this week focus on the theme of a “New Exodus.” Just as Moses was a savior figure who lead Israel to freedom through the Red Sea, so Jesus leads us to freedom...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe readings for this upcoming Fourth Sunday of Lent open up to us a "whole new world," a different way of living, a form of life St. Paul calls "a new creation." The Fourth Sunday of Lent is known as "Laetare Sunday," from the Latin Introit of the Mass, "Laetare Jerusalem," "Rejoice, O Jerusalem" (Isaiah 66:10). This mid-point of Lent is traditionally a somewhat festive Sunday, to encourage the faithful to see "the light at the end of the tunnel," as more than half of the fasting and mortification of Lent is behind us. The use of...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn this third week of our spiritual journey through Lent, the Scripture readings remind us of what we might call the “Moses stage” of salvation history, and also drive home the theme of repentance during this holy season. 1. Our First Reading is Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-1Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see...

By Dr. John BergsmaSlavery is not a good thing. God's liberation of the people of Israel from the condition of slavery—an event we call "the Exodus," literally, "the road out"—is one of the most important events and motifs in the whole Bible. Although loosely related, the Readings for this Sunday are linked by the theme of the Exodus. In the First Reading, the Exodus is prophesied; in the Gospel, Jesus begins a New Exodus that culminates in the Last Supper and Calvary. 1. Our First Reading is Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18: The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up...

By Dr. John BergsmaAt the beginning of Lent, the Church reads to us the account of Jesus doing spiritual combat with the devil in the wilderness, reminding us that Lent is a time of warfare. Through our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we do battle with the power of the devil in our lives, and with God’s grace, defeat him decisively. 1. The First Reading is Deuteronomy 26:4-10: Moses spoke to the people, saying: “The priest shall receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God. Then you...

By Dr. John BergsmaSeveral years ago, Charles Barkley, when confronted with the misdeeds of his private life, famously quipped, “I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.” He went on to rake in quite a bundle of cash making an “I’m no role model” commercial with Nike. Many people felt, despite the appearance of laudable honesty, Barkley’s posturing was a kind of excuse to escape culpability for the bad example he sets for youth. It’s too bad that the young don’t have many prominent role models to follow these days, especially...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn many years, we wouldn’t have a seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, because of how Lent usually falls, but we do this year, and it is providential, because the teachings of the Readings for this Lord’s Day are particularly relevant. The Readings are united by the theme of love for enemies, which is one of the most difficult forms of love to practice. The First Reading and the Gospel show that, in both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant eras, God is on the side of those who pay back hatred with love. 1. Our First...

By Dr. John BergsmaAs we continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke in Ordinary Time, Jesus keeps teaching us that his kingdom, the Kingdom of God, reverses many of our expectations and stereotypes. His is a kingdom where the typical markings of “blessing”—health, wealth, prosperity, power—are doomed to woe, and the typical markings of “curse”—weakness, sickness, poverty, humiliation—are signs of happiness and rejoicing. What is going on? Jesus’ teaching “upsets our apple cart” and forces us to think more deeply about who God is and who we are. 1. Our First Reading is from Jeremiah 17:5-8: Thus says the...

By Dr. John BergsmaIn the First Reading and Gospel, we see both Isaiah and Peter, heroes of faith, humbled by their unworthiness, and yet eager to fulfill the mission for which God has chosen them. As we share their sense of unworthiness, we should also embrace their zeal to share God’s Word. 1. Our First Reading is Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8: In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above…They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the...

By Dr. John BergsmaWe have a truly unusual situation this Sunday. Under normal circumstances, it would be the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, but it just so happens that this year, the Feast of the Presentation (pegged to Feb. 2) falls on the Sunday and “outranks” the regular Lord’s Day obligation. The result is that many persons who do not regularly attend daily mass will have the rare experience of celebrating the full liturgy for the Feast of the Presentation. The Readings for this Feast Day focus on the theme of the priesthood of Christ, seeing a kind of sacerdotal...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe past three Sundays have focused on the three early “manifestations” or “epiphanies” of Jesus’ divine nature recorded in the Gospels: the Visit of the Magi, the Baptism, and the Wedding at Cana. Now the Lectionary “settles in” to Ordinary Time, which this year involves reading through the Gospel of Luke. This Sunday, we pick up the introduction to Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:1-4), but then skip to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Luke 4:14-21) because we’ve already heard all the accounts of Jesus’ childhood and early life (Luke 1–3) during Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. The Readings this...

By Dr. John BergsmaThis Sunday we remain in the afterglow of Epiphany, the celebration of the “manifestation” of Jesus’ divine glory. [Greek epi – phaino = “shine upon” = “reveal, manifest.”] Epiphany, which once was its own season (like Advent or Christmas), has often been associated with three events from the Gospels: the Magi, the Baptism, and the Wedding at Cana. These are the first events that reveal or “manifest” Jesus’ glory in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, respectively. Certain well-known Epiphany hymns (e.g. “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise”) make reference to all three events. In Year C,...

By John BergsmaThe end of the Season of Christmas arrives this Sunday, as we celebrate the event that marked the end of Jesus’ early life and the beginning of his public ministry: The Baptism. The Christmas decorations coming down in our churches and homes inevitably leaves a feeling of sadness and nostalgia. We don’t want to move on from meditation on all the joyful aspects of Our Lord’s early life, the incidents of wonder and mystery, like the angels singing to the shepherds, or the visit of the Magi. Nonetheless, as we leave the Christmas Season behind, today’s readings remind...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe Christmas season can sometimes seem to be just one joyful feast after another. We are scarcely past the glow from the Holy Family and Mary, Mother of God, when Epiphany is already upon us. The word “Epiphany” comes from two Greek words: epi, “on, upon”; and phaino, “to appear, to shine.” Therefore, the “Epiphany” refers to the divinity of Jesus “shining upon” the earth, in other words, the manifestation of his divine nature. The use of the word “epiphany” for the revelation of divinity predates Christianity. The Syrian (Seleucid) emperor Antiochus IV (175-164 BC), the villainous...

By Dr. John BergsmaJanuary 1 is the Solemnity (Holy Day) of Mary, Mother of God. To call Mary the “Mother of God” must not be understood as a claim for Mary’s motherhood of divinity itself, but in the sense that Mary was mother of Jesus, who is truly God. The Council of Ephesus in 431—long before the schisms with the Eastern churches and with other non-Catholic Christians—proclaimed “Mother of God” a theologically correct title for Mary. So far from being a cause of division, the common confession of Mary as “Mother of God” should unite all Christians, and distinguish Christian...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe Sunday within the Octave of Christmas is always dedicated to contemplation of the Holy Family, giving us the opportunity to meditate on the way in which the family structure, established by God and perfectly mirrored in the Holy Family, reflects His own familial nature (as Father, Son, and Spirit) and shows us the truth about ourselves and our deepest longings for love, acceptance, and communion with other persons. 1. The First Reading is Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14: God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe Christmas Solemnity has distinct readings for four separate masses: Vigil, Midnight, Dawn, and Day. They stay the same from year to year, so below are my annual comments, only lightly revised. Merry Christmas! Christmas Vigil Mass1. Reading 1: Isaiah 62:1-5: For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall behold your vindication, and all the kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe Fourth Sunday of Advent marks a switch in focus from John the Baptist (on the previous two Sundays) to the events immediately leading up to the birth of Christ. The Readings for this Sunday focus on Jesus’ royalty: his descent from the line of Davidic kings. As we will see, this royal status also accrued to his mother Mary, and this is the basis for the practice of Marian veneration in the Catholic Church. In fact, the first instance of Marian veneration by another human being takes place in this Sunday’s Gospel. 1. Our First Reading...

By Dr. John BergsmaThis Sunday is “Gaudete” Sunday, from the Latin gaudete, “Rejoice!” which traditionally begins the introit for this Mass, taken from Philippians 4:4. Many parishes will mark this Sunday with rose-colored vestments (not “pink”—“pink” is not a liturgical color!), and the theme of joy runs through the readings and the liturgy. Gaudete Sunday marks the half-way point of Advent, and the Church rejoices because Jesus’ coming is near. Actually, in most years, as in this, it marks much more than half-way. In our case, Christmas is only ten days from this Sunday! 1. Our First Reading is Zephaniah...