April 6, 2008
March 31, 2008
March 27, 2008
Commentaries
Second Sunday of Easter – Year A
The disciples hide behind closed doors “for fear of the Jews.” This happens, as the Gospel writer makes it a point to tell us, “on the evening of that[1] first day of the week” (
The locked doors could not prevent Jesus from entering (“an indication of his victory over the limitations that human circumstances would impose”).[2] To the fearful disciples, the Risen Lord comes and assures them, “Peace be with you.” His presence and his words bring them joy and peace. He then breaths on them the Spirit and they now can be sent forth to proclaim the news of the Resurrection. The fearful disciples are transformed simply by the visit of the Risen Christ.
The Risen Christ still visits us in the same manners, in his words and his Presence. And the peace that his presence brings transforms us.
The experience of Thomas shows us another place where the Risen Lord is present. For Thomas, leaving the community of the disciples may have been his way of coping with the grief caused by the death of Jesus.[3] While he is away, the Lord comes to the community of disciples. When Thomas returns from his absence, his sorrows have not lessened; and worse, he has missed the encounter with the Risen Lord. “Things can happen to us within the fellowship of Christ’s Church which will not happen when we are alone.”[4] It is in the midst of the community that Thomas later meets the Risen Lord, and his faith so strengthened that he can profess, “My Lord and my God” (20:28).
March 26, 2008
Commentaries
Easter Sunday
Growing in Faith
As we read on, we would know of Mary’s growth in her faith, from the moment of darkness here, to recognizing the Lord (
Peter and the Beloved Disciple, unlike Mary, run toward the tomb, the place of God’s action and Jesus’ glory. They see the empty tomb, with the evidence that death has been defeated (more on this below) and believe (20:8). They have moved from no faith to faith.[3] Yet, the passage ends with them returning to their home (20:9).
“When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (20: 6-7)
This detail show the contrast between Jesus’ resurrection and the raising of Lazarus. When Lazarus came out of the tomb at Jesus’ command, his hands and feet were tied with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth (
Fr. Francis Moloney, SDB, reads the use of the passive voice of the verbs in verse 1 (the stone “removed”) and here in 20:7 (“the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place”) as “[reinforcing] the impression that God has entered the story.”[4]
March 22, 2008
March 21, 2008
Commentaries on John 18:28 – 19:16a
The Trial – Jesus, Pilate, the Jewish Leaders, and Me
“What is truth?”
The trial begins “as the first light of day breaks”[2] (“It was early” –
Jesus, the Light of the world, for the most part, remains inside of the praetorium where it is not yet as bright as the outside.
Jesus’ opponents, the leaders of the people, stay in the physical lights, but remain in darkness. “They have made up their minds that Jesus is an evil doer (
They decide to remain outside of the truth when they choose a robber over an innocent man (
Pilate moves back and forth between physical light and darkness, and he could not make up his mind. Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” and yet he goes outside again. He does not appear to stay and wait for the answer (“After he had said this, he went out…”). His question and his leaving is his response to Jesus’ “offer” that “everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (v. 38). He constantly moves from the Light - Jesus, to the darkness outside and back. His bodily movements symbolize his inner turmoil of indecisiveness. He declares Jesus innocent (“I find no crime in him” 19:6), yet he would not free Jesus. He becomes fearful (19:8). He resorts to his earthly power (
It is the trial of Jesus, but he is not on trial. Rather, it is Pilate and the leaders who are on trial against the truth.
Where do I stand in this trial?
Where I stand makes a difference. We know what happened to Jesus when neither Pilate nor the leaders stood for the truth.
March 17, 2008
March 16, 2008
Commentaries
Palm Sunday – Year A
Being Deliberate
Peter and the other disciples are no less guilty than Judas.[1] At the supper, “Peter said to Jesus, ‘Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all the disciples spoke likewise” (26:35). Yet, when Jesus was arrested, they “all left him and fled” (26:56). (And none of the Synoptic Gospels – that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke) has any of the disciples return to the crucified Jesus). Worse, as we know, Peter would deny Jesus three times, and with each time, his denial becomes more fiery[2]. The first time, “he denied it in front of everyone, saying, ‘I do not know what[3] you are talking about” (26:70). The second time, “he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man”’ (26:72). The third time, he again denied knowing “the man,” but this time with “curse and swear” (26:74).
How Peter and Judas reacted is well-known. Yet, it is worth noting that their actions are described with very active verbs. Peter “went out and began to weep bitterly” (26:75). And Judas, after “flinging the money into the temple, departed and went off and hanged himself” (27:5). (Surprisingly, the end of Judas is only found in Matthew). The two choices here are either repentance or despair.[4] We all sin, but we can choose what to do with our sins.
Jesus is even more deliberate in his fulfilling of the Father’s plan for our salvation. The reading for this Palm Sunday begins with verse 14 of chapter 26 in Matthew. The chapter, however, opens with the indication that “all the teaching of Jesus is finished[5] (“When Jesus finished all these words”). He now tells the disciples that he would be handed over. He is about to fulfill the Father’s plan.
As he institutes the Eucharist, he tells the disciples that it is “for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28). While he is in agony in the garden, he prays that the Father’s will be done (26:42). Afterwards, he alerts the disciples, "Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over," and so he takes charge, "Let us go" (26:45). Then, he allows himself to be arrested so that “the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled” (26:56). His faithfulness to the Father’s loving plan reaches its climax when he “gave up his spirit” (27:50). At that moment, the gentile centurion and “the men with him” recognize, “Truly, this was the Son of God” (27:54). He is the Son of God who died “for the forgiveness of sins.”
We sin, deliberately. Yet, God is even more deliberate in saving us.
March 10, 2008
March 7, 2008
Commentaries
5th Sunday – Lent – Year A
Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)
Jesus does everything according to a plan, the plan of God. As a result, when the disciples think that he should hurry, he waits. When it’s time to go, he makes the call, “Let us go.” (v. 7). At this time, the disciples want to change his mind by reminding him that his opponents are seeking to stone him (v. 8), but that does not stop him. And the best illustration of Jesus’ intention comes in the form of the prayer he offers in verses 41 and 42, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you hear me always, but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
So in this greatest of the signs, we can see a summary of Jesus’ mission. He came to fulfill the Father’s plan, which is to glorify the Father, and to save us from sin and death. In the raising of Lazarus, the Life-giver shows us his power, so that we may believe (v.15).
In the context of the last Sunday of Lent, it is also worth noting that this final sign leads directly to the decision of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus[2]. Yet, two other details in the story should strengthen our faith. First, in the case of Lazarus, the stone has to be removed at Jesus’ order. Second, the dead man Lazarus appears from the tomb “tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.” He needs to be untied and let go (v. 44). As Christians, we should naturally see the differences between these details of the raising of Lazarus and Jesus’ resurrection. When Mary of Magdala came to the tomb that early morning of the first day of the week, “she saw the stone [already] removed from the tomb” (John 20:1). And “when Simon Peter arrived,… he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered (Jesus’) head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20:6-7). Then, there should be no doubt who the victor over death is, and his victory was complete.
Moreover, when Martha professes her faith that “[her brother] will rise, in the resurrection on the last day, Jesus answers her, not in the future, but in the present,[3] “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (vs. 24, 25). Yes, the divine life has already been given to us. Though we experience illness and physical death, darkness and sins, but even NOW, we are living the life of Jesus. He is alive.
March 4, 2008
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