e-good news issue 2

8/6/2019 e-Good News issue 2

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Thursday 6th January - Epiphany o the LordMatthew 2:1-12

LORD GOD of the nations,

we have seen the star of your glory

rising in splendour.The radiance of your incarnate Word

pierces the darkness that covers the earth

and signals the dawn of peace and justice.

Make radiant the lives of your people

with that same brightness,

and beckon all the nations

to walk as one in your light.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Word made esh,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

in the splendour of eternal light, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday ReectionThis is King Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC.The wise men are literally magi. Magus, a Persian loanword, covers a range of meanings: wise man and priest,who was expert in astrology, interpretation of dreams andvarious other occult arts. From the East: traditionally asource of wisdom.

The Gentiles identify universal hope in the JewishMessiah and king.

The historical Herod was quite paranoid about usurpers.

Matthew has Jewish experts (like himself) identify thebirth-place of the Messiah, with a proof-text from Micah.Shepherd = David.

The hypocrisy of Herod links this symbolic tale with themassacre of the innocents to follow.

Joy comes back in Matthew 28:8, at the empty tomb.

With no further narrative use for the Magi, they aretaken off stage.

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POINTERS FOR PRAYER

What is the star (the vision, hope or purpose) which lights

up your journey?

Like the wise men, our lie journey is not one we travel alone.

Who are the people who share you lie journey now?

The wise men travelled bearing gits. What git do you bring

with you on the journey?

At times the wise men lost sight o the star. What clouds have

obscured your star?

Who, or what, might be Herod or you now? What orces, withinor without, could subvert the dream or goal?

Prayer

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POINTERS FOR PRAYER

The Baptism o Jesus marks a turning point in his lie, and the

start o his public ministry. Recall moments when your lie

changed and you moved into a new phase.

The experience was one in which Jesus had a new sense o his

own identity. What have been the experiences which have helped

shape your sense o who you are?

It is surprising that Jesus, the Saviour o the world, asks to be

baptised by John. The request symbolises his desire to identiy

with us. At the same time he is flled with the Holy Spirit. That

step o identiying with us is an important element in his being

able to help us. Have you ever ound that when someone can

identiy and empathise with you, it is easier or him/her to help

you? Has your ability to identiy with others had any impact on

your eectiveness in helping them?

Sunday 9th January - The Baptism o the LordMatthew 3:1-13-17

GOD OF THE covenant,

you anointed your beloved Son

with the power of the Holy Spirit,

to be the light of the nations

and release for captives.

Grant that we who are born again

of water and the Spirit

may proclaim with our lips the good news of his peace

and show forth in our lives the victory of his justice.

We make our prayer through Jesus Christ,

your Word made esh,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

in the splendour of eternal light,

God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Sunday ReectionThe baptism of Jesus by John is referred to in all fourGospels. Referred to rather than recounted because whileMark tells the story more or less straightforwardly, the otheraccounts show varying degrees of unease. The origin ofthe unease is probably two-fold. The baptism shows Jesussubmitting to John and receiving from him. One couldconclude that the one who gave was greater than the onewho received. In the second place, at the time the Gospelswere actually written there were still followers of John theBaptist around. Perhaps part of their identity over against

the Christian movement was that John was the mentor andJesus a pupil. One of the side-effects of this unease withJohns Baptism of Jesus is that the baptism is one of themost historically certain events in the Gospels, because theearly Christians would not have developed an accountwhich gave them so much trouble.

Jesus came to John from Nazareth, in Galilee. John was aprophet, proclaiming the last days, offering a baptism whichsymbolised the conversion to Gods word as revealed to

John himself. Jesus was denitely a follower, as is shownby the baptism and also by the timing of the start of Jesus

ministry. Implied in the withdrawal to the desert fromJerusalem is a critique of the Temple cult (as can also beseen in Jesus ministry). Baptise here means to immerse.

This Matthean addition has been accounted for above.

Each has a role within a relationship, which includesrelationship with God.

The symbolism indicates an experience of the numinous-heavens opened, Gods Spirit descends.

A profound afrmation of identity. Mark has you are mySon, a real echo of Psalm 2. Because Matthew has made

clear the Sonship of Jesus already (in 1-2), it makes nosense to use you, so Matthew changes the wording tothis is. The scene becomes, in Matthews hands, not onlya realisation of Sonship, but a revelation of the Son to theworld.

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Prayer

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Sunday 16th JanuaryJohn 1:29-34

MERCIFUL God,

you sent your Son, the spotless Lamb,

to take upon himself the sin of the world.

Make our lives holy,

that your Church may bear witness to your purpose

of reconciling all things in Christ,who lives and reigns with you in the unity of theHoly Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Sunday ReectionJohn and Jesus seem not to meet in this Gospel. Nothing

prepares us for the identication of Jesus with the Lamb of

God. The human issue of sin (as such, and not sins) will be

resolved by Jesus.

Johannine anxiety about the relatedness and distinction

of Jesus and John comes to the fore. This high Christology

represents the teaching not of John the Baptist, of course,

but of the evangelist and his community.

Behind the deep theology may be a factual memory ofJohns genuine ignorance of the person he was sent to

introduce. There may also be historical delity in the

limited revelation to Israel. This Gospel knows that Jesus is

the saviour of the world, but John - in fact - had a mission

only to Israel. Johns baptism is only symbolic; Jesus

baptism will confer the reality, the Holy Spirit.

In this verse we come as near as this Gospel will allow us

to the baptism of Jesus by John, one of the most certain

things about the life of Jesus. However, the baptism is not

recounted, although the accompanying symbols indicatinga transcendent experience are recounted. The witness of

John is given rst, and only then the chronologically prior

revelation from God.

The interpretation, given before to John, is only now

recounted, almost as a conrmation before and after the

fact. That the Spirit remains/abides is a key because Jesus

will give the Spirit in such a new way that it is almost as if

there were no Spirit active before him.

Seen and testied = pure Johannine language. Son ofGod is used more frequently of Jesus in this Gospel that in

any other.

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

John is one who directs people to Jesus. Who have beenthe people in your lie who pointed you to Jesus and whohelped you to understand something o his message olove and compassion?

In the narrative John recognised that Jesus had more tooer people than he himsel but he had the humility notto need to be the star o the show. Whom have you knownwith that grounded sense o their own place?

John proclaims Jesus as one who takes away the sin o the

world. Who have been the people who or you continuedthis mission o Jesus and led you rom sin and guilt toorgiveness and reedom? For whom have you been able todo this?

It was not just on the cross that Jesus gave his lie as theLamb o God. His public ministry was a constant struggleagainst injustice and oppression. When have you shared inthis mission o Jesus?

I am a witness that he is the chosen one o God. To whomhave you been able to witness that she/he is a chosen oneo God? Who has given this witness to you?

Prayer

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23rd January 3rd Sunday Ordinary TimeMatthew 4:12-23

GOD OF SALVATION,

the splendour of your glory

dispels the darkness of earth,

for in Christ we behold

the nearness of your kingdom.

Now make us quick to follow where he beckons,

eager to embrace the tasks of the gospel.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of

the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday ReectionJohns removal triggers the ministry of Jesus; Jesus movesfrom Judea or at least from the Jordan valley back to

Galilee.

The tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali occupied the later

Galilee.

Matthew often offers Gods perspective by means of a

citation.

Better translated convert rather than the more narrow

repent.

Their business suggests a metaphor for mission; Follow

me is a unique expression associated only with Jesus;

immediate response.

The hint of human interest here is not taken up.

This summary anticipates Matthew 8:17 and echoes Isaiah

53:4, part of one of the Suffering Servant songs. The little

slip their synagogues makes it clear that the perspective

of this very Jewish Gospel is after the break with Judaism.

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

The arrest o John the Baptist was the catalyst or the

start o the public ministry o Jesus. Recall the events

and experiences that brought about a change in your lie,

introducing a new phase o ministry, or work, or activity o

some kind. In hindsight where do you see the guidance o

the Spirit o God in the new direction you took.

The change in circumstances included a change in wherehe lived. How has your lie taken a dierent turn when you

moved residence.

This was a time when Jesus developed a deeper

understanding o his mission in lie. Each human person

shares the same mission in lie: to love God and neighbour.

The concrete orm this takes is shaped by the ree choices

we make in the circumstances o our lives. How has

your understanding o your mission and purpose in lie

developed through the years?

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Sunday 30th January - Fourth Sunday, Ordinary TimeMatthew 5:1-12

Sunday ReectionMotivation (compassion); location (the symbolicmountain of Moses); sits (authority); disciples

(the message is for them).

A solemn opening intended to raise expectations.

Matthew has spiritualised this beatitude. Certainly

for the Lucan community poor meant without money

(as in the Acts). A good interpretation of Matthews version

was: Happy are those who know their need of God

(New English Bible).

To mourn is a signal of suffering in the Old Testament,

where the kings insist on joy when grief is appropriate.

Linguistically, both poor and meek go back to the

anawim Yahweh (the poor of Yahweh) of the Hebrew

Bible. The meaning is substantially the same as in v.3.

Matthew has added and thirst for righteousness. As a

Jewish Christian, he is especially interested in justication/

righteousness before God.

Compare with Matthew 7:2 and, perhaps, with 6:14.

Found also in Ps 71:3.

Peace is a gift of proclamation according to Matthew 10:13,

but see also, for contrast, 10:34.

Outside of the Sermon: When they persecute you in one

town, ee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have

gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man

comes. (Matthew. 10:23). Cf. Matthew 23:34.

The relationship with the Lord is explored later in theGospel: Matthew 10:18, 39; 16:25; 19:5, 29.

Cf. Lk 6:26.

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

Read the beatitudes slowly. Stay with each one or a while.

At frst reading some may seem to describe a series o

circumstances that could only be labelled as ones to be

avoided at all costs. Let yoursel get a sense o the paradox

involved in each one. Perhaps you have had an experience o

a deeper and more authentic lie, a blessing, when

you were poor you knew your need o God

you mourned could eel or others

you were meek neither spineless nor emotionally

out o control

you hungered and thirsted or some cause

you were merciul rather than vengeul

you were pure in heart singleminded

you were a peacemaker

you were persecuted because you stood or something

O GOD,

teach us the hidden wisdom of the Gospel,

so that we may hunger and thirst for holiness,

work tirelessly for peace,

and be counted among those

who seek rst the blessedness of your kingdom.We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever. Amen

Prayer

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Refections by Dr Kieran J OMahony OSA and community in Orlagh

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