Fullness is Fantastic

We're here in Arlington, Texas, lecturing through Matthew with 500+ of the best folks in the Lone Star State.  It's a great time, but I don't think Michael or I are going to have a chance to post on the Readings for this Sunday's Mass this week.  Unless Michael does it at 3AM this morning, which he just might.

I am always grateful to participate in these kind of conferences, because of the fruitful cross-fertilization that results from discussing familiar texts with several different scholars.  Michael was sharing today about Temple imagery in the Sermon on the Mount--a new perspective to me, but convincingly argued.  Dr. Hahn was pointing out the parallels of the blessings of Matt 5 and the woes of Matt 23.  Too many to be coincidental!

Fullness of Truth: Arlington, Texas

Michael and I are speaking with Dr. Hahn at the Fullness of Truth conference this Saturday and Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

We will be tag-team lecturing through Matthew. 

For the first time, Fullness of Truth has arranged a live webcast of the event.  You can participate, 8AM-6PM daily, via live webcast for about $15 by registering at this link. If you want to attend, you can find more information here.

The Hallel Psalms and the Last Supper

The Psalm reading for tonight's Liturgy of the Lord's Supper is one of my favorites, Psalm 116, which is a Todah psalm and part of the "Hallel" (Praise) Psalms (Psalms 113-118) that were and are traditionally sung during the Passover meal.

I've reading slightly different opinions among scholars about how exactly the Hallel psalms were incorporated into the ancient Seder celebration.  According to one view, Psalms 113-114 were sung early in the rite, and Psalms 115-118 after the drinking of the third cup, the "Cup of Blessing."

Was There a Passover Lamb at the Last Supper?

Today, Catholics everywhere will celebrate Holy Thursday by attending the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. At this Mass, we will read the institution of the Passover (Exod 12, OT reading), sing one of the most famous of the Hallel Psalms (Psalm 118, Responsorial Psalm), and then read the institution of the Eucharist (1 Cor 11, Epistle) and  Jesus' act of washing the disciples' feet at the Last Supper (John 13, Gospel).  This particular Eucharist is a momentous liturgical moment, where we both recall the institution of the very first Eucharist and enter into the beginning of the calendrical Holy of Holies--the sacred Triduum, climaxing in the feast of Easter (in Latin, Pascha).

Was the Last Supper a Passover Meal?

But how did Jesus and his disciples celebrate the first Holy Thursday? Specifically, was the Last Supper a Jewish Passover meal?

As anyone who has read Pope Benedict's new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week will know, the Pope devotes a substantial portion of his chapter on the Last Supper to the question of the date of the meal--specifically, whether or not the Last Supper coincided with the ordinary Jewish Passover meal (see pp. 106-115). And as anyone familiar with this extremely complex and age-old question knows, there is simply no way I can address it here adequately.

Why Must the Messiah Die?

Why must the Messiah die?

Despite a few mysterious prophetic texts that seemed to intimate this possibility (e.g. Daniel 9:26), the idea that the Messiah could arrive and subsequently be killed was radically counter-intuitive to most first-century Jews. 

Yet the conviction of the early Christians, based on Jesus of Nazareth’s own teachings about himself, was that the radically counter-intuitive impossibility was actually prophesied, if one had the eyes to see and the ears to hear it in Israel’s Scriptures.

A Virgin No Longer: The NABRE continued

I'm trying to follow up, as promised, on the newly released NABRE.

Of course, the change that has garnered the most attention has been the alteration of the translation of Isaiah 7:14, to which my post title alludes.  I want to cover that issue in depth, probably in my next post on this subject.

For now, though, I would like to concentrate on what I see as good features and improvements of this edition.

After ripping open the packaging and checking the translation of Genesis 1:1-2, the next passage I checked was Psalm 8.

You Gotta Love Rising from the Dead

Michael beat me to commenting on the Sunday readings this week, but I had written up some thoughts already, so I thought I’d post them anyway.

Unlike the other Gospels, John recounts only a limited number of miracles of Jesus, which he designates as “signs.”  Although John tells us of only a few miracles, he describes them in much greater depth than the other gospels.  This is quite evident in this weekend’s Gospel reading, in which we get a very lengthy description of all the events surrounding the resurrection of Lazarus.

The the Raising of Lazarus is the sixth of the seven “signs” of the Gospel of John.  The signs seem to escalate as the Gospel progresses.  The healing of the man born blind was pretty impressive, but raising Lazarus tops it.  The Gospel is building toward the seventh and final sign.

The First Reading is an excellent choice: Ezekiel 37.  This is the famous vision of the dry bones, in which an entire army of skeletons is resurrected before Ezekiel’s eyes.  I only wish the Lectionary included the entire story.  However, it does preserve the most important verse:

Anointed with Light: Jesus Re-creates a Man

The drama increases as we progress toward Easter.  This Sunday’s readings are united by the themes of anointing and light.

The First Reading (1 Sam 16:1-13) recounts Samuel’s anointing of David as King over Israel.  Samuel journeys to Jesse of Bethlehem, and scrutinizes each of his sons in search of God’s chosen king, but to no avail.  Finally, the youngest of the eight, David, is called in from shepherding the sheep.  This at last is the future king.

(Visit Bethlehem with me in May!  Click here.)

Two points are essential for connecting this reading with the rest of the lectionary.

First is the LORD’s statement to Samuel: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”  The irony of today’s Gospel Reading will likewise hinge on the fact that appearances are deceiving: from God’s perspective, the sighted are blind, but the blind can see.