Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Beatitudes
The “Beatitudes “are so named because in the Latin translation each of the eight statements begins with the word “beatus” Such blessings were common in the Old Testament and Jesus uses them to explain what characteristics are to be found in every child of God.
Rate yourself from 1 (very low) to 4 (very high) on each of the following qualities of the Beatitudes:
Poor in Spirit: I recognize my spiritual bankruptcy and my need for God. Because my relationship with God depends on his grace, I know I’m incapable of earning God’s love on my own. ______
Mourn: I feel the pain that sin, including my own, causes. I can let others know when I am hurting without embarrassment. I can weep like Jesus did. ______
Meek: I don’t have to be the strong one who is always in control. I can be tender and gentle. I’ve given control of my life to God and I don’t always have to win. ______
Spiritual hunger: I want to know God and his will for my life more than anything—including my own pleasures, status or success. My heart truly longs for God. ______
Merciful: I can share the feelings of people who are hurting, lonely or distressed, and walk alongside them in their pain. God has given me a sensitivity for the suffering of others and a
compassion to help them. ______
Pure in Heart: I am completely honest with God and others. I don’t have to put on a false front or pretend to be something I’m not. My life is marked with openness and integrity. ______
Peacemaker: I work hard to keep channels of communication open with others. Rather than allowing anger and conflict to fester. I deal with them constructively. I help those around me work out their differences without hurting one another. ______
Persecution: I know for whom and for what I am living. And for this I am willing to suffer and (if need be) stand alone for what is right. I can take criticism without reacting defensively or feeling self-pity. ______
Share your score with your family or close friends and see how you can raise your score and increase your quality of life.
Enjoy the readings- pass them on- IHN tommyk †
Reading 1 Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13
2:3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility;perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
3:12 But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD: 13 the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies;nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; they shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.
Questions for discussion:
1. How will you live out the call to be spiritually poor, free of material goods beyond what is necessary to this?
2. What hope does God offer to any who gather together contritely before him (vv 1-3)?
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
26 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast before God. 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”
Questions for discussion:
1. What pictures come to mind when you think of powerful, successful people? How do these images sometimes conflict with knowing Christ?
2. How do people today confuse the world’s power with God’s power? How does that affect you?
3. What do you think Paul means when he says that the foolish and lowly things will shame the wise and strong? How does your own life reflect this principle?
Gospel † Matthew 5:1-12a
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 He began to teach them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
12a Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
Questions for Discussion:
1. How do these promised blessings compare with what most people in the world prize?
2. Would “the Blessed” be admired in your society? Why or why not?
3. Of these eight qualities (Beatitudes) which two do you desire most in your life? Why?
4. Which of these qualities are you most tempted to avoid?
Lord, thank you for being so real to me and for revealing your wonderful love to us. There are people in our lives who don’t know you, some who even resist your call. Yet we know how much you love them and how much you want them to know your love. Lord, please put in our minds the names of people you would like us to reach with your love. And, Lord, with those names, we ask you to give us wisdom about how to “fertilize” their hearts so they may bear abundant fruit. Amen
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Readings for Sunday January 23, 2011
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Summary of the Gospel from YM central
In whom do you put your trust? As Catholics, we are invited to put our trust in a place that is foreign to most of the world. Our society tells us to put our trust in ourselves, our work and in our superstars. Companies spend millions of dollars in advertising, all with the hope that you and I will trust them with their products. What makes us different is that we as Catholics don’t put our trust in a philosophy or a product, but we put it in a Person, Jesus Christ. As we begin Ordinary Time, the Gospel takes us back to Jesus’ calling of His first Apostles, the men He would choose to govern His Church. We see in this passage how these men put their complete trust in Jesus. The passage begins by showing us how St. John the Baptist’s mission ended with his arrest and, as we know, his eventual beheading. St. John knew that this was going to happen because it was his time to ‘decrease’ as Christ ‘increased’. Jesus spent His time traveling around the region of Galilee, all in fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Isaiah. This shows us how St. Matthew was very interested in Jesus as the fulfillment (not replacement) of the Old Covenant. St. Matthew also makes clear the core of Jesus’ message: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. While many people try to come up with their opinions about the core of Jesus’ message, Jesus shows us that the heart of His ministry is to help each one of us reconcile with the Father. To help with this mission of reconciliation, Jesus begins to delegate his work by recruiting the Apostles. Jesus calls Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James, and St. Matthew makes it a point to us to describe the immediate response each one of them made to Jesus’ call. This is what made the Apostles great: They didn’t waste time trying to talk themselves out of their calling, but made the decision to follow Him, no matter the cost. We cannot underestimate the cost that each one of them paid, giving up families, friends, and familiarity with their way of life. Christ makes the invitation to follow Him to all of us. So often we get caught up in the burdens and responsibilities of everyday life, and forget God. We end out living lives in which God has no practical, day-to-day influence in our decisions and actions. God does not want us to live lives that look the same as the atheist! He wants us to live lives that show our complete trust in every action of the day, as a child would depend on their loving Father. May we have the ability to respond to Jesus as quickly as the Apostles did, and trust Him with control over our entire lives.
Reading 1 Isaiah 8:23—9:3
8:23First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. 9:1 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 9:2 You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. 9:3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
Questions for Discussion:
1. How do you see God’s light in your life?
2. What changes can you make to share that light with the people around you?
3. How has God shattered some of the “yokes” that burden you? Which is one “yoke” that you desire to have Him shatter now?
Reading II 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Is Paul talking about quarreling to the Corinthians or to your parish? If Paul fixed this problem in his time with his message why do we still have the problem today?
2. There will always be disagreements. Is there a way to handle them so that good or growth could come out of them? How?
Gospel Matthew 4:12-23
12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.
17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. 23 He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What human need do you see Jesus exhibiting in the second half of this gospel story? Why were friends important to him? Why is the community important to Christianity?
2. What was Peter’s and Andrew’s response time? How fast is your response time when you are inspired to do something for your neighbor, e.g. to give time or money to those I need?
3. What would be the greatest thing you would like to do with your life? What is keeping you from doing it?
4. What gifts do you feel God has given you? How do you think God wants you to use your gifts as you follow Jesus?
5. How has your call from Christ been similar / different to the call of the Apostles given in this passage? Describe.
6. Activity: Using a New Testament Bible map, take time to plot the various places that are mentioned in this passage. How close are the villages in this Gospel to each other? What kind of distances did Jesus travel?
Summary of the Gospel from YM central
In whom do you put your trust? As Catholics, we are invited to put our trust in a place that is foreign to most of the world. Our society tells us to put our trust in ourselves, our work and in our superstars. Companies spend millions of dollars in advertising, all with the hope that you and I will trust them with their products. What makes us different is that we as Catholics don’t put our trust in a philosophy or a product, but we put it in a Person, Jesus Christ. As we begin Ordinary Time, the Gospel takes us back to Jesus’ calling of His first Apostles, the men He would choose to govern His Church. We see in this passage how these men put their complete trust in Jesus. The passage begins by showing us how St. John the Baptist’s mission ended with his arrest and, as we know, his eventual beheading. St. John knew that this was going to happen because it was his time to ‘decrease’ as Christ ‘increased’. Jesus spent His time traveling around the region of Galilee, all in fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Isaiah. This shows us how St. Matthew was very interested in Jesus as the fulfillment (not replacement) of the Old Covenant. St. Matthew also makes clear the core of Jesus’ message: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. While many people try to come up with their opinions about the core of Jesus’ message, Jesus shows us that the heart of His ministry is to help each one of us reconcile with the Father. To help with this mission of reconciliation, Jesus begins to delegate his work by recruiting the Apostles. Jesus calls Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James, and St. Matthew makes it a point to us to describe the immediate response each one of them made to Jesus’ call. This is what made the Apostles great: They didn’t waste time trying to talk themselves out of their calling, but made the decision to follow Him, no matter the cost. We cannot underestimate the cost that each one of them paid, giving up families, friends, and familiarity with their way of life. Christ makes the invitation to follow Him to all of us. So often we get caught up in the burdens and responsibilities of everyday life, and forget God. We end out living lives in which God has no practical, day-to-day influence in our decisions and actions. God does not want us to live lives that look the same as the atheist! He wants us to live lives that show our complete trust in every action of the day, as a child would depend on their loving Father. May we have the ability to respond to Jesus as quickly as the Apostles did, and trust Him with control over our entire lives.
Reading 1 Isaiah 8:23—9:3
8:23First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. 9:1 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. 9:2 You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. 9:3 For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
Questions for Discussion:
1. How do you see God’s light in your life?
2. What changes can you make to share that light with the people around you?
3. How has God shattered some of the “yokes” that burden you? Which is one “yoke” that you desire to have Him shatter now?
Reading II 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Is Paul talking about quarreling to the Corinthians or to your parish? If Paul fixed this problem in his time with his message why do we still have the problem today?
2. There will always be disagreements. Is there a way to handle them so that good or growth could come out of them? How?
Gospel Matthew 4:12-23
12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.
17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. 23 He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What human need do you see Jesus exhibiting in the second half of this gospel story? Why were friends important to him? Why is the community important to Christianity?
2. What was Peter’s and Andrew’s response time? How fast is your response time when you are inspired to do something for your neighbor, e.g. to give time or money to those I need?
3. What would be the greatest thing you would like to do with your life? What is keeping you from doing it?
4. What gifts do you feel God has given you? How do you think God wants you to use your gifts as you follow Jesus?
5. How has your call from Christ been similar / different to the call of the Apostles given in this passage? Describe.
6. Activity: Using a New Testament Bible map, take time to plot the various places that are mentioned in this passage. How close are the villages in this Gospel to each other? What kind of distances did Jesus travel?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Readings for Sunday January 16, 2011
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Summary of the Gospel by YM Central
As the Church enters ordinary time (meaning that the time is ‘ordered’, not ‘boring’), we find ourselves at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Reminiscent of Advent and Christmas, Ordinary time begins with St. John the Baptist. The purpose of today’s Gospel reading is to refocus us on the true identity of Jesus Christ. St. John the Baptist first tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God. This brings us back to the Old Testament and the Passover Lamb, which was slaughtered in order to protect the Israelites from death. Jesus is the fulfillment of that original Passover Lamb and His purpose is to take away the sin of the world and protect us from spiritual death. Thus, the center of the ministry of Jesus is one of reconciling us with the Father. Next, St. John the Baptist describes Jesus as existing before him, yet we know that John was conceived and born first. John is teaching us that Jesus is no ordinary human being, but rather has eternal existence. Jesus is divine, plain and simple. St. John the Baptist’s ministry is to make Jesus known to Israel, and to testify to His identity. (You would think that St. John was tight with Jesus, yet twice John says, ‘I did not know him’.) St. John says that the Spirit came down upon Jesus, marking the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and testifying to the Spirit’s role in bringing Christ to others. Finally, St. John describes Jesus as the One who will baptize not just with water (as St. John did), but with the Holy Spirit. What St. John the Baptist has done here is lay out a clear picture of Who Jesus is. He is the One Who will bring us to life in the Spirit, reconciling us to the Father. In a similar way, you and I are called to be St. John the Baptist’s in our own world. While it would not be appropriate for us to dress like St. John the Baptist, it is necessary that we see ourselves as prophets in our daily life. This may scare you, but God has given us all the tools we need in our baptism to go out and get the job done. How can we be Christ’s prophetic voice in the world? First, God calls us to live lives of holiness, free from sin. This means that our family, our friends, our co-workers need to see in our actions and attitudes the difference that Christ makes. We may not say word one about Jesus, but people should be able to see our joy – and that joy should be attractive to others. With this comes the responsibility to be able to express to others the reason for our joy – if anyone asks us its source. Many Catholics struggle with the responsibility of being a prophet in the world, yet no-one can take your place in God’s plan of salvation. Remember – if you say ‘no’ to God, we have no evidence that God has a backup plan to reach those in your life for Christ. May we have the ability to heed the words of St. John the Baptist and make a place for Christ in our lives so we can have fellowship with the Father and the new life that Christ brings us.
Reading 1 Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
3 The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory. 5 Now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! 6 It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why does the Lord call his servant by the name Israel (verse 3) if he is speaking to an individual with a mission to Israel?
2. In his discouragement, what promises does the servant receive from God?
3. Choose verses in Isaiah 49 that you think sound like they describe Jesus Christ—His ministry, His power, or His love—and explain why you chose the verses you did.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Discussion Questions:
1. What kind of place was Corinth?
2. Why would Paul emphasize in verse one that he is an Apostle?
3. Who is Sosthenes? Where else can he be found in the Bible? (see attached story on Sosthenes)
Gospel John 1:29-34
29 John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Why would St. John the Baptist say that he did not know Jesus? Did they grow up together as cousins? Is St. John the Baptist, perhaps, talking on a deeper spiritual level? If so, what is he trying to say?
2. Who, in your life, has been a person to help you focus on the true identity of Christ? Describe how they helped you learn to love Jesus.
3. The purpose of St. John the Baptist’s life was to give testimony to Christ. Based on your actions and the way you live your life, what is the purpose of your life? If you had to give testimony to Christ’s identity with your life, what would you say about Him?
4. What does Baptism mean to you? (See attached renewal of Baptism promises)
Renewal of Baptismal Promises________________________________________
After the homily the candidates stand and the bishop questions them:
Bishop: Do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was born of the Virgin Mary,
was crucified, died, and was
buried, rose from the dead,
and is now seated at the right
hand of the Father?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who came upon the apostles
at Pentecost
and today is given to you
sacramentally in confirmation?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in the holy
catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: This is our faith. This is the faith
of the Church.
We are proud to profess it
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
All present: Amen.
Enjoy the readings and pass them on-tommyk
Paul and Sosthenes
In the Word Today
Thank you so much for inviting me to speak today. In today’s lesson, we are going to be looking at Acts chapter 18, so if you have your bibles and would like to follow along with me as we go through this story, go ahead and open your Bibles to Acts 18. Acts chapter 18 is one of my favorite stories from the early church and it’s a story about an individual whom most people have never heard of before. He’s in the bible, but most pastors don’t look at this guy, most Sunday School classes pass right over him, and yet, to my thinking, he is a person that we really need to study a bit. His name is Sosthenes. Am I right? Have you ever heard of Sosthenes? I didn’t think so. Let me tell you his story.
We actually have to look at the apostle Paul for this story, because Paul and Sosthenes are linked together in Acts chapter 18. Let me give you a bit of background. As many of you know, when Paul was ministering, he traveled around a lot. On his missionary journey, Paul would go to a certain city, preach and minister there for a while. Usually he would start a church, get the church going, and then he would pick up his feet and move on to another city to repeat the process of planting churches. Right before this story takes place, Paul had been in the Greek city of Athens, and verse 1 of Acts chapter 18 tells us that Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. For some reason, Claudius did not like the Jewish people, so he told all the Jews in Rome that they had to leave. He kicked them out of the city and made them live elsewhere. This edict of the emperor has been found in various Roman writings, not just in the Bible. We know from these other historical sources that this edict by the emperor Claudius took place in 49 AD. At the time, Christianity was seen by the Romans as a sect of Judaism, so when the emperor ordered all the Jews out of Rome, all the Christians had to leave as well. So because of this edict, Aquila and Priscilla left Rome and moved to Corinth.
Follow with me as we pick up in verse 3. Because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
Well wasn’t that nice of Paul. He works and teaches until his two friends Silas and Timothy show up, and then he tells them, “Glad you’re here. Go out and get jobs to support us, I’m going to just teach and preach.” So Paul continues his ministry for a while. Verse 6. 6 But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
Can you picture Paul standing up in front of everyone and protesting? I can almost hear his loud, boisterous voice as he storms out of the synagogue. But what I find very interesting is what Paul does next. Verse 7. 7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.
I find that statement intriguing. In many churches today, when the weather gets cold, we put on the heater, and when the weather gets hot, we turn on the air conditioner. But, in first century Corinth they didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning, so when things got hot during the summer, they opened the windows in the synagogue. And guess what? All the people in the synagogue could still hear Paul loud boisterous preaching even though he was not in the room, he was next door. Paul’s goal was to bring salvation to everyone, even those that didn’t want to hear it, like the Jews in the synagogue in Corinth. So even though he stormed out of the synagogue in protest at his treatment, he didn’t give up, but used a bit of trickery to keep the word of God in front of the Jews.
In fact, his plan worked so well, that some of the Jewish people accepted Christ. Look at verse 8 with me. 8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
Wow, even the synagogue ruler became a Christian. Isn’t it amazing the way God brings people to him. This guy wasn’t even in the same building with Paul, and yet Paul’s message got through to him.
Well let’s see what happens to Paul next. Follow along with me as I pick up in verse 9
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." This is where the story gets interesting. Can you imagine what Paul is going through at this point. Here he is, preaching and teaching, having a great ministry, and one night God shows up and tells him. “Um, Paul. I don’t want you to worry about what is going to happen to you.” Man. If I was Paul, I’d probably want to tell God, “You know God, I’ve suffered a lot for you in my life. I’ve been beaten numerous times, thrown in prison, shipwrecked. It’s been tough. I have a good ministry going here, and I really like it here. I’m not interested in being abused again. Can’t you choose someone else this time?”. May be Paul thought that rather than stay and face abuse, he would pick up and leave Corinth for another town. He could rightly say that the church there was growing and that it was time for him to move on.
But I find what he did instead very interesting. Verse 11 says 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. Paul decides to do what God wants him to do and stays there in Corinth, knowing that something is going to happen to him.
As Paul Harvey says, let’s look at “The Rest of the Story”. Follow along with me as we start reading in verse 12.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. The Jewish synagogue people are so angry at Paul because he’s converting so many of their members, that they have him arrested and thrown into jail.
13 "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."
14.Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." You see, Gallio was the Roman judge that was responsible for keeping Pax Romana, the rule of Rome. His job was to make sure that people followed Roman law. Here he tells the Jews that Paul has not broken any Roman laws so he’s not even going to deal with the court case. Look what he does in verse 16. 16 So he had them ejected from the court. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some judges here in the United States that would see dumb court cases for what they are and throw them out. It would definitely make things better here. And that’s what Gallio does in Corinth. He realized that no roman laws were broken, and that the Jews are just out to get Paul, so he throws the court case out and humiliates the Jews who brought the case.
Well that doesn’t sit well with the Jewish people, and they get angry. The interesting thing is who they get angry with. They don’t get angry with Gallio. They don’t get angry with Paul, instead, they get angry with their own leader of the synagogue, and here is where our good friend Sosthenes comes in. Look what it says in verse 17. 17 Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. They get so angry that they turn on their own leader and start to beat him up right there. I find it interesting what Gallio does, as the judge in the case. Verse 17 finishes up. But Gallio showed no concern whatever. These people are causing a riot in front of his courthouse, something that IS breaking Roman law and something that he SHOULD be involved in, but Gallio seems to have taken the position that Sosthenes deserves the beating he is getting, so he doesn’t do anything to stop the riot.
I know that if I was Paul, I’d want to get over there into that riot and take a couple of shots at Sosthenes myself. I’d be thinking that Sosthenes deserved the beating he was getting.
“That’s for throwing me in jail. That’s for causing me problems.” The bible, however, doesn’t tell us what happens. In fact, in the book of Acts, this is the only place where we find Sosthenes. It seems like the story ends there. But it actually doesn’t.
As many of you know, Paul wrote a lot of letters to various churches, many of which are in the Bible. Whenever Paul wrote, he almost always started out with some kind of an introduction. Usually his letters begin with something like “Paul, and apostle of Jesus Christ, to the church at Such and such a place, Grace, peace and mercy to you.” Something like that. What most people overlook, is that often when Paul wrote, he included in his introduction a list of the people who were with him. For example, in 2 Corinthians 1:1 it says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth.” In 1 Thessalonians 1:1 it starts out, “Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians” In the beginning of Galatians, Paul has so many people with him, he just writes from Paul, “And all the brothers with me”
Well look at this. This is so cool. Turn in your bibles and look at 1 Corinthians 1:1. Look what it says, “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes.” What happened? How did Sosthenes name get here in 1 Corinthians? Well, I’ll tell you. Sosthenes has become a Christian. Is it the same Sosthenes? Well, how many Sosthenes do you know in the bible? Really, the key comes in to whom this letter was written. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church. Where was Sosthenes from? From Corinth. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and he tells them, “Hey, you remember Sosthenes? He’s here with me.”
How did Sosthenes become a Christian. Well unfortunately, the bible doesn’t tell us. I have my own idea how it happened, and I’d like to give you my idea. This isn’t found in the Bible, but it is logical based on what we see happening. I think that Paul saw Sosthenes getting beat that day, and after they had taken Sosthenes to the hospital, or his home, or wherever they took him, Paul went to visit him, and minister to him. I think Paul’s ministry resulted in Sosthenes becoming a Christian. I think that Sosthenes saw Jesus in Paul and wanted to have the same peace through tough times that Paul had, and Sosthenes turns from being someone who hated Christianity and hated Paul, to someone who helped Paul and, I would venture to say, a hero of the Christian faith. It makes sense to me that Paul led Sosthenes to Christ and Sosthenes, out of gratitude to Paul, began to travel with Paul on his missionary journeys and helping Paul out as Paul brought others to Christ.
The key verses in this story is Acts 18:9-10 where God comes to Paul and tells him, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” For I am with you” Paul had the choice to tell God he wasn’t going to do it, but he didn’t do that. And because he followed God, an amazing thing happened. He got to lead one of his enemies to Christ, and made him his brother.
What about you today? Are you fighting against Christianity and fighting against God like Sosthenes was? God wants to make himself known to you today. It doesn’t matter what you have done, God still loves you and wants to have that personal relationship with you. Even if you fight against God, he still is willing to forgive you and love you. You just have to accept Jesus as your Savior. What are you going to do? Are you going to turn your life over to him like Sosthenes, or are you going to keep fighting. The choice is yours. It is my hope that today you do choose to follow God.
Summary of the Gospel by YM Central
As the Church enters ordinary time (meaning that the time is ‘ordered’, not ‘boring’), we find ourselves at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Reminiscent of Advent and Christmas, Ordinary time begins with St. John the Baptist. The purpose of today’s Gospel reading is to refocus us on the true identity of Jesus Christ. St. John the Baptist first tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God. This brings us back to the Old Testament and the Passover Lamb, which was slaughtered in order to protect the Israelites from death. Jesus is the fulfillment of that original Passover Lamb and His purpose is to take away the sin of the world and protect us from spiritual death. Thus, the center of the ministry of Jesus is one of reconciling us with the Father. Next, St. John the Baptist describes Jesus as existing before him, yet we know that John was conceived and born first. John is teaching us that Jesus is no ordinary human being, but rather has eternal existence. Jesus is divine, plain and simple. St. John the Baptist’s ministry is to make Jesus known to Israel, and to testify to His identity. (You would think that St. John was tight with Jesus, yet twice John says, ‘I did not know him’.) St. John says that the Spirit came down upon Jesus, marking the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and testifying to the Spirit’s role in bringing Christ to others. Finally, St. John describes Jesus as the One who will baptize not just with water (as St. John did), but with the Holy Spirit. What St. John the Baptist has done here is lay out a clear picture of Who Jesus is. He is the One Who will bring us to life in the Spirit, reconciling us to the Father. In a similar way, you and I are called to be St. John the Baptist’s in our own world. While it would not be appropriate for us to dress like St. John the Baptist, it is necessary that we see ourselves as prophets in our daily life. This may scare you, but God has given us all the tools we need in our baptism to go out and get the job done. How can we be Christ’s prophetic voice in the world? First, God calls us to live lives of holiness, free from sin. This means that our family, our friends, our co-workers need to see in our actions and attitudes the difference that Christ makes. We may not say word one about Jesus, but people should be able to see our joy – and that joy should be attractive to others. With this comes the responsibility to be able to express to others the reason for our joy – if anyone asks us its source. Many Catholics struggle with the responsibility of being a prophet in the world, yet no-one can take your place in God’s plan of salvation. Remember – if you say ‘no’ to God, we have no evidence that God has a backup plan to reach those in your life for Christ. May we have the ability to heed the words of St. John the Baptist and make a place for Christ in our lives so we can have fellowship with the Father and the new life that Christ brings us.
Reading 1 Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
3 The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory. 5 Now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! 6 It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why does the Lord call his servant by the name Israel (verse 3) if he is speaking to an individual with a mission to Israel?
2. In his discouragement, what promises does the servant receive from God?
3. Choose verses in Isaiah 49 that you think sound like they describe Jesus Christ—His ministry, His power, or His love—and explain why you chose the verses you did.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Discussion Questions:
1. What kind of place was Corinth?
2. Why would Paul emphasize in verse one that he is an Apostle?
3. Who is Sosthenes? Where else can he be found in the Bible? (see attached story on Sosthenes)
Gospel John 1:29-34
29 John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Why would St. John the Baptist say that he did not know Jesus? Did they grow up together as cousins? Is St. John the Baptist, perhaps, talking on a deeper spiritual level? If so, what is he trying to say?
2. Who, in your life, has been a person to help you focus on the true identity of Christ? Describe how they helped you learn to love Jesus.
3. The purpose of St. John the Baptist’s life was to give testimony to Christ. Based on your actions and the way you live your life, what is the purpose of your life? If you had to give testimony to Christ’s identity with your life, what would you say about Him?
4. What does Baptism mean to you? (See attached renewal of Baptism promises)
Renewal of Baptismal Promises________________________________________
After the homily the candidates stand and the bishop questions them:
Bishop: Do you reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was born of the Virgin Mary,
was crucified, died, and was
buried, rose from the dead,
and is now seated at the right
hand of the Father?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who came upon the apostles
at Pentecost
and today is given to you
sacramentally in confirmation?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: Do you believe in the holy
catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting?
Candidates: I do.
Bishop: This is our faith. This is the faith
of the Church.
We are proud to profess it
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
All present: Amen.
Enjoy the readings and pass them on-tommyk
Paul and Sosthenes
In the Word Today
Thank you so much for inviting me to speak today. In today’s lesson, we are going to be looking at Acts chapter 18, so if you have your bibles and would like to follow along with me as we go through this story, go ahead and open your Bibles to Acts 18. Acts chapter 18 is one of my favorite stories from the early church and it’s a story about an individual whom most people have never heard of before. He’s in the bible, but most pastors don’t look at this guy, most Sunday School classes pass right over him, and yet, to my thinking, he is a person that we really need to study a bit. His name is Sosthenes. Am I right? Have you ever heard of Sosthenes? I didn’t think so. Let me tell you his story.
We actually have to look at the apostle Paul for this story, because Paul and Sosthenes are linked together in Acts chapter 18. Let me give you a bit of background. As many of you know, when Paul was ministering, he traveled around a lot. On his missionary journey, Paul would go to a certain city, preach and minister there for a while. Usually he would start a church, get the church going, and then he would pick up his feet and move on to another city to repeat the process of planting churches. Right before this story takes place, Paul had been in the Greek city of Athens, and verse 1 of Acts chapter 18 tells us that Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. For some reason, Claudius did not like the Jewish people, so he told all the Jews in Rome that they had to leave. He kicked them out of the city and made them live elsewhere. This edict of the emperor has been found in various Roman writings, not just in the Bible. We know from these other historical sources that this edict by the emperor Claudius took place in 49 AD. At the time, Christianity was seen by the Romans as a sect of Judaism, so when the emperor ordered all the Jews out of Rome, all the Christians had to leave as well. So because of this edict, Aquila and Priscilla left Rome and moved to Corinth.
Follow with me as we pick up in verse 3. Because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
Well wasn’t that nice of Paul. He works and teaches until his two friends Silas and Timothy show up, and then he tells them, “Glad you’re here. Go out and get jobs to support us, I’m going to just teach and preach.” So Paul continues his ministry for a while. Verse 6. 6 But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
Can you picture Paul standing up in front of everyone and protesting? I can almost hear his loud, boisterous voice as he storms out of the synagogue. But what I find very interesting is what Paul does next. Verse 7. 7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.
I find that statement intriguing. In many churches today, when the weather gets cold, we put on the heater, and when the weather gets hot, we turn on the air conditioner. But, in first century Corinth they didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning, so when things got hot during the summer, they opened the windows in the synagogue. And guess what? All the people in the synagogue could still hear Paul loud boisterous preaching even though he was not in the room, he was next door. Paul’s goal was to bring salvation to everyone, even those that didn’t want to hear it, like the Jews in the synagogue in Corinth. So even though he stormed out of the synagogue in protest at his treatment, he didn’t give up, but used a bit of trickery to keep the word of God in front of the Jews.
In fact, his plan worked so well, that some of the Jewish people accepted Christ. Look at verse 8 with me. 8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
Wow, even the synagogue ruler became a Christian. Isn’t it amazing the way God brings people to him. This guy wasn’t even in the same building with Paul, and yet Paul’s message got through to him.
Well let’s see what happens to Paul next. Follow along with me as I pick up in verse 9
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." This is where the story gets interesting. Can you imagine what Paul is going through at this point. Here he is, preaching and teaching, having a great ministry, and one night God shows up and tells him. “Um, Paul. I don’t want you to worry about what is going to happen to you.” Man. If I was Paul, I’d probably want to tell God, “You know God, I’ve suffered a lot for you in my life. I’ve been beaten numerous times, thrown in prison, shipwrecked. It’s been tough. I have a good ministry going here, and I really like it here. I’m not interested in being abused again. Can’t you choose someone else this time?”. May be Paul thought that rather than stay and face abuse, he would pick up and leave Corinth for another town. He could rightly say that the church there was growing and that it was time for him to move on.
But I find what he did instead very interesting. Verse 11 says 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. Paul decides to do what God wants him to do and stays there in Corinth, knowing that something is going to happen to him.
As Paul Harvey says, let’s look at “The Rest of the Story”. Follow along with me as we start reading in verse 12.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. The Jewish synagogue people are so angry at Paul because he’s converting so many of their members, that they have him arrested and thrown into jail.
13 "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."
14.Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." You see, Gallio was the Roman judge that was responsible for keeping Pax Romana, the rule of Rome. His job was to make sure that people followed Roman law. Here he tells the Jews that Paul has not broken any Roman laws so he’s not even going to deal with the court case. Look what he does in verse 16. 16 So he had them ejected from the court. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some judges here in the United States that would see dumb court cases for what they are and throw them out. It would definitely make things better here. And that’s what Gallio does in Corinth. He realized that no roman laws were broken, and that the Jews are just out to get Paul, so he throws the court case out and humiliates the Jews who brought the case.
Well that doesn’t sit well with the Jewish people, and they get angry. The interesting thing is who they get angry with. They don’t get angry with Gallio. They don’t get angry with Paul, instead, they get angry with their own leader of the synagogue, and here is where our good friend Sosthenes comes in. Look what it says in verse 17. 17 Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. They get so angry that they turn on their own leader and start to beat him up right there. I find it interesting what Gallio does, as the judge in the case. Verse 17 finishes up. But Gallio showed no concern whatever. These people are causing a riot in front of his courthouse, something that IS breaking Roman law and something that he SHOULD be involved in, but Gallio seems to have taken the position that Sosthenes deserves the beating he is getting, so he doesn’t do anything to stop the riot.
I know that if I was Paul, I’d want to get over there into that riot and take a couple of shots at Sosthenes myself. I’d be thinking that Sosthenes deserved the beating he was getting.
“That’s for throwing me in jail. That’s for causing me problems.” The bible, however, doesn’t tell us what happens. In fact, in the book of Acts, this is the only place where we find Sosthenes. It seems like the story ends there. But it actually doesn’t.
As many of you know, Paul wrote a lot of letters to various churches, many of which are in the Bible. Whenever Paul wrote, he almost always started out with some kind of an introduction. Usually his letters begin with something like “Paul, and apostle of Jesus Christ, to the church at Such and such a place, Grace, peace and mercy to you.” Something like that. What most people overlook, is that often when Paul wrote, he included in his introduction a list of the people who were with him. For example, in 2 Corinthians 1:1 it says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth.” In 1 Thessalonians 1:1 it starts out, “Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians” In the beginning of Galatians, Paul has so many people with him, he just writes from Paul, “And all the brothers with me”
Well look at this. This is so cool. Turn in your bibles and look at 1 Corinthians 1:1. Look what it says, “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes.” What happened? How did Sosthenes name get here in 1 Corinthians? Well, I’ll tell you. Sosthenes has become a Christian. Is it the same Sosthenes? Well, how many Sosthenes do you know in the bible? Really, the key comes in to whom this letter was written. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church. Where was Sosthenes from? From Corinth. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and he tells them, “Hey, you remember Sosthenes? He’s here with me.”
How did Sosthenes become a Christian. Well unfortunately, the bible doesn’t tell us. I have my own idea how it happened, and I’d like to give you my idea. This isn’t found in the Bible, but it is logical based on what we see happening. I think that Paul saw Sosthenes getting beat that day, and after they had taken Sosthenes to the hospital, or his home, or wherever they took him, Paul went to visit him, and minister to him. I think Paul’s ministry resulted in Sosthenes becoming a Christian. I think that Sosthenes saw Jesus in Paul and wanted to have the same peace through tough times that Paul had, and Sosthenes turns from being someone who hated Christianity and hated Paul, to someone who helped Paul and, I would venture to say, a hero of the Christian faith. It makes sense to me that Paul led Sosthenes to Christ and Sosthenes, out of gratitude to Paul, began to travel with Paul on his missionary journeys and helping Paul out as Paul brought others to Christ.
The key verses in this story is Acts 18:9-10 where God comes to Paul and tells him, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” For I am with you” Paul had the choice to tell God he wasn’t going to do it, but he didn’t do that. And because he followed God, an amazing thing happened. He got to lead one of his enemies to Christ, and made him his brother.
What about you today? Are you fighting against Christianity and fighting against God like Sosthenes was? God wants to make himself known to you today. It doesn’t matter what you have done, God still loves you and wants to have that personal relationship with you. Even if you fight against God, he still is willing to forgive you and love you. You just have to accept Jesus as your Savior. What are you going to do? Are you going to turn your life over to him like Sosthenes, or are you going to keep fighting. The choice is yours. It is my hope that today you do choose to follow God.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Readings for Sunday January 9th 2011
The Baptism of the Lord
Summary by YM Central
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. This event marks the end of Jesus’ private life and the beginning of His public ministry. This passage is short and simple: Jesus presents Himself to a hesitant St. John the Baptist, who baptizes Jesus. The Spirit then descends upon Jesus and the Father verbally expresses His love for the Son: Short and sweet, end of story…or is it? This passage raises some interesting questions:
1. Why did Jesus need to get baptized? It is important to remember that Jesus did not need to get baptized, but rather He saw it as fitting. Jesus doesn’t need anything: He’s God, and lacks nothing. So what He does in getting baptized He does for our sake. Jesus is baptized as an outward sign to begin His ministry, and to be an example for us that we need to be baptized.
2. Why did the Spirit come upon Him – wasn’t the Spirit already with Jesus? Yes, the Spirit was already on Jesus, and there was no need for Jesus to receive the Spirit because He was full of the Spirit. The Spirit has always been united with Christ. The Spirit comes down like a dove for the sake of those who were there with Jesus, and for our sake. The descent of the Spirit is a visual reminder to us (kind of like an opening ceremony) that the Lord’s ministry has begun. The Spirit is showing us that He is working with Jesus in His ministry of salvation.
3. If St. John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the source of grace, why didn’t he tell Jesus to start baptizing others, taking over St. John’s ministry on the spot? We have to understand the big picture of Jesus’ ministry – He wants you and me to be saved, to go to heaven after we die, and to live in eternity as children of the Father. Jesus didn’t start baptizing on the spot because He had to prepare us to continue His ministry of making us children of the Father. So Jesus begins this preparation with His baptism, then His miracles, His teachings, the Last Supper, the Cross and the Resurrection. Then, once resurrected, Jesus ascends to heaven and leaves us the Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit’s role is to bring us to Christ, and He does this through our Baptism, which makes us God’s sons and daughters. It is our responsibility as the Church to go out to the world and bring others to Baptism.
4. What’s the purpose of having the voice of the Father – doesn’t Jesus already know how His Father feels about Him? Again, the purpose of the Father’s voice is not for Jesus’ sake but for our own. We see here that Jesus is not simply another good guy, but rather He has a unique and special relationship with the Father, a relationship characterized by love and unity.
Ultimately, this passage reminds us about the importance of our personal baptism, that we can become God’s special sons and daughters and enjoy love and intimacy with the Father. Many of us have been on baptismal ‘auto-pilot’, going through the motions of our faith. It is not simply good enough to go through the motions: We have to let Jesus be in control of every aspect of our lives. Let us strive to put aside anything that might get in the way of our image of God as anything but a loving, generous Father.
Discussion Questions
1. What clues does this passage provide that show us that God is Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)?
2. Why did Jesus decide not to take over St. John the Baptist’s ministry right after His own baptism and begin baptizing people on the spot?
3. Why did He leave that ministry to the Church? What does this say about the importance we have in being Christ’s instruments in the world?
4. What do you remember about your baptism? Describe. From the baptisms you have seen, what strikes you from the Baptismal ceremony? Why? Describe.
Reading 1 Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
1 Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, 2 not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. 3 a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, 4 until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
6 I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Reading II Acts 10:34-38
34 Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. 35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. 36 You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 37 what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Gospel Matthew 3:13-17
13 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15 Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Summary by YM Central
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. This event marks the end of Jesus’ private life and the beginning of His public ministry. This passage is short and simple: Jesus presents Himself to a hesitant St. John the Baptist, who baptizes Jesus. The Spirit then descends upon Jesus and the Father verbally expresses His love for the Son: Short and sweet, end of story…or is it? This passage raises some interesting questions:
1. Why did Jesus need to get baptized? It is important to remember that Jesus did not need to get baptized, but rather He saw it as fitting. Jesus doesn’t need anything: He’s God, and lacks nothing. So what He does in getting baptized He does for our sake. Jesus is baptized as an outward sign to begin His ministry, and to be an example for us that we need to be baptized.
2. Why did the Spirit come upon Him – wasn’t the Spirit already with Jesus? Yes, the Spirit was already on Jesus, and there was no need for Jesus to receive the Spirit because He was full of the Spirit. The Spirit has always been united with Christ. The Spirit comes down like a dove for the sake of those who were there with Jesus, and for our sake. The descent of the Spirit is a visual reminder to us (kind of like an opening ceremony) that the Lord’s ministry has begun. The Spirit is showing us that He is working with Jesus in His ministry of salvation.
3. If St. John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the source of grace, why didn’t he tell Jesus to start baptizing others, taking over St. John’s ministry on the spot? We have to understand the big picture of Jesus’ ministry – He wants you and me to be saved, to go to heaven after we die, and to live in eternity as children of the Father. Jesus didn’t start baptizing on the spot because He had to prepare us to continue His ministry of making us children of the Father. So Jesus begins this preparation with His baptism, then His miracles, His teachings, the Last Supper, the Cross and the Resurrection. Then, once resurrected, Jesus ascends to heaven and leaves us the Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit’s role is to bring us to Christ, and He does this through our Baptism, which makes us God’s sons and daughters. It is our responsibility as the Church to go out to the world and bring others to Baptism.
4. What’s the purpose of having the voice of the Father – doesn’t Jesus already know how His Father feels about Him? Again, the purpose of the Father’s voice is not for Jesus’ sake but for our own. We see here that Jesus is not simply another good guy, but rather He has a unique and special relationship with the Father, a relationship characterized by love and unity.
Ultimately, this passage reminds us about the importance of our personal baptism, that we can become God’s special sons and daughters and enjoy love and intimacy with the Father. Many of us have been on baptismal ‘auto-pilot’, going through the motions of our faith. It is not simply good enough to go through the motions: We have to let Jesus be in control of every aspect of our lives. Let us strive to put aside anything that might get in the way of our image of God as anything but a loving, generous Father.
Discussion Questions
1. What clues does this passage provide that show us that God is Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)?
2. Why did Jesus decide not to take over St. John the Baptist’s ministry right after His own baptism and begin baptizing people on the spot?
3. Why did He leave that ministry to the Church? What does this say about the importance we have in being Christ’s instruments in the world?
4. What do you remember about your baptism? Describe. From the baptisms you have seen, what strikes you from the Baptismal ceremony? Why? Describe.
Reading 1 Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
1 Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, 2 not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. 3 a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, 4 until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
6 I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Reading II Acts 10:34-38
34 Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. 35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. 36 You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 37 what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Gospel Matthew 3:13-17
13 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15 Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Readings for Sunday January 2nd 2011 Epiphany of the Lord
Contrary to the end of the festivities in the secular world, the Church continues to celebrate the season of Christmas. The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord celebrates Jesus’ manifestation, or revealing, to all the people of the earth. (‘Epiphany’ literally means to reveal or to manifest.) This is important because it marks a profound departure from Judaism, in which God revealed Himself solely to the people of Israel. Now, through Christ, God is revealing Himself to all people, to both the Jews and the non-Jewish (Gentile) people. The first Gentiles to recognize the presence of Christ were the Magi from the east. This Gospel passage doesn’t tell us much about the Magi. We really don’t know how many there were, but we do know that there were three gifts that they offered the Baby. We know that they were ‘wise men’, but not so wise that they talked themselves out of their need for Christ. They knew that the star they had seen was leading them to a newborn king, and they knew he was the king of the Jews. (Interesting to note that while many ‘scholars’ try to explain away the possibility of a miraculous star, their text does not give us any other options of what it was, like perhaps a comet, or rocket, or meteor shower, but states numerous times that it was a star.) We also know that they attracted the watch of King Herod, who, through inquiring about the newborn King, began a path of envy and murder because of the threat to his power. The magi continued with perseverance and arrived safely to Bethlehem, the place where the star led them. The magi’s reaction to meeting the Child is one of joy and homage (which means worship). The magi were the first to begin the Christmas tradition of giving gifts, for they offered the Baby gold, frankincense and myrrh. The magi are examples of how all of us should greet Christ, offering ourselves as gifts to Him. The magi knew that Christ was the source of true joy, and our challenge this Christmas season is to turn our lives over to Him in joy, no matter the hardship we face. As we experience the Lord this Christmas season, let us ask God for the grace to bring His peace to all those we meet. May we, too, offer Jesus gifts in worship of Him. Ultimately, the greatest gift we can all give Jesus is the gift of our hearts. This is all that Jesus asks of us, yet it is often the most difficult thing to give Him. May we have the grace and courage to give Jesus everything, and be His light to all those we meet in our lives.
Summary of the Gospel by YM Central
Questions for Discussion:
1. Read over this passage again, and list any clues we have about Herod’s evil plot to kill the Child. How does Herod try to hide that plot from the magi?
2. The star was a physical presence God put in the sky to lead the magi to Christ. Who or what has been a presence to you that has lead you to Christ? Give at least three examples.
3. What things in your life rob you of your joy of growing closer to Christ? How can you better protect that joy from being taken away?
Reading 1 Isaiah Chapter 60: 1-6
1 Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. 3 Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.
4 Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. 5 Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. 6 Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Reading II Ephesians Chapter 3: 2-3a, 5-6
2 if, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit, 3 (namely, that) the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier. 5 which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Gospel Matthew Chapter 2: 1-12
1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage." 9 After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
Contrary to the end of the festivities in the secular world, the Church continues to celebrate the season of Christmas. The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord celebrates Jesus’ manifestation, or revealing, to all the people of the earth. (‘Epiphany’ literally means to reveal or to manifest.) This is important because it marks a profound departure from Judaism, in which God revealed Himself solely to the people of Israel. Now, through Christ, God is revealing Himself to all people, to both the Jews and the non-Jewish (Gentile) people. The first Gentiles to recognize the presence of Christ were the Magi from the east. This Gospel passage doesn’t tell us much about the Magi. We really don’t know how many there were, but we do know that there were three gifts that they offered the Baby. We know that they were ‘wise men’, but not so wise that they talked themselves out of their need for Christ. They knew that the star they had seen was leading them to a newborn king, and they knew he was the king of the Jews. (Interesting to note that while many ‘scholars’ try to explain away the possibility of a miraculous star, their text does not give us any other options of what it was, like perhaps a comet, or rocket, or meteor shower, but states numerous times that it was a star.) We also know that they attracted the watch of King Herod, who, through inquiring about the newborn King, began a path of envy and murder because of the threat to his power. The magi continued with perseverance and arrived safely to Bethlehem, the place where the star led them. The magi’s reaction to meeting the Child is one of joy and homage (which means worship). The magi were the first to begin the Christmas tradition of giving gifts, for they offered the Baby gold, frankincense and myrrh. The magi are examples of how all of us should greet Christ, offering ourselves as gifts to Him. The magi knew that Christ was the source of true joy, and our challenge this Christmas season is to turn our lives over to Him in joy, no matter the hardship we face. As we experience the Lord this Christmas season, let us ask God for the grace to bring His peace to all those we meet. May we, too, offer Jesus gifts in worship of Him. Ultimately, the greatest gift we can all give Jesus is the gift of our hearts. This is all that Jesus asks of us, yet it is often the most difficult thing to give Him. May we have the grace and courage to give Jesus everything, and be His light to all those we meet in our lives.
Summary of the Gospel by YM Central
Questions for Discussion:
1. Read over this passage again, and list any clues we have about Herod’s evil plot to kill the Child. How does Herod try to hide that plot from the magi?
2. The star was a physical presence God put in the sky to lead the magi to Christ. Who or what has been a presence to you that has lead you to Christ? Give at least three examples.
3. What things in your life rob you of your joy of growing closer to Christ? How can you better protect that joy from being taken away?
Reading 1 Isaiah Chapter 60: 1-6
1 Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. 3 Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.
4 Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. 5 Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. 6 Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Reading II Ephesians Chapter 3: 2-3a, 5-6
2 if, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit, 3 (namely, that) the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier. 5 which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Gospel Matthew Chapter 2: 1-12
1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage." 9 After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
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