Weekly Bible Study - Matthew 2:13-23

29 December 2013
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

He is a quiet man, often depicted in the background of Jesus’ life.  But Joseph once again takes center stage in Matthew’s nativity narrative. And once again the uprightness we witnessed in last Sunday’s Gospel is evident in his understanding of God’s will and his courageous actions. Joseph’s righteousness (right relationship with God) enabled him to hear the voice of God in the warnings of the angel, and to trust his own spiritual intuition in protecting his family and carrying out the will of the Father.

How do we get there?  How does our own “righteousness” translate into courageous action? A simple prayer tucked away in the scriptures enlightens us:  “You built up strength within me.” Constancy in prayer and in a life of self-giving modeled after Jesus’ gift of himself, builds up that strength within. Quietly we build and when the time comes for us to act we are often amazed at our inner resources. Somehow I got through this illness…My family survived a setback and now we are stronger…My friend was so grateful I was present to her in her grief. These are the strengths we build up within us as we embrace the workings of God’s love and grace in our day to day living.

Courtesy BeeStill Studio

And with Joseph, we also attune our hearts to that voice of God within. It is at times the discerning voice that tells us to trust our sense of the Lord’s desire for us. It is sometimes the still, small voice of conscience that sets us on the right path of action. It is often the voices of others who act as God’s messengers to us. And it is the gentle nudge of an angelic presence leading us out of danger. If we are constant in our listening, we will come to experience the movements of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

While we look often to Mary as our model of faith, trust and acceptance of God’s will, today let us look up to Joseph, a man whose wisdom and integrity of heart enabled him to act with trust and courage to allow God’s salvation to unfold.

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Brother Mickey McGrath is the artist and author of "Go To Joseph," an illustrated reflection suitable for prayer and meditation, available from World Library Publications. Click here for ordering information.

Weekly Bible Study - Isaiah 7:10-14 and Matthew 1:18-24

22 December 2013
4th Sunday of Advent 

Ahaz and Joseph: Two men separated by centuries, worlds apart in religious fervor, but connected in the mysterious ways of God’s plan. Two men searching for assurance in the face of troubling news. Two men emerging from the shadows of salvation history to make way for the Messiah.

Ahaz, king of eighth century Judah, faces political and military disaster. Seeking reassurance that his kingdom will not fall, he is confronted by the prophet Isaiah who reminds him: “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm” (vs. 9). Leaning on Isaiah instead of his own false humility, he is given a sign from God: a son, Hezekiah, a righteous king, to continue the dynasty of David. This is evidence of “Emmanuel,” which means God is with us.

More than 700 years later, Joseph is deeply troubled by the news that his betrothed, Mary, is pregnant. Knowing he is not the father, but being an upright man, he refuses to expose her to the full impact of the law and decides to divorce her with a fuss. But Joseph too receives a sign of the Lord’s reassurance, this time in a dream. (In the scriptures, dreams were often used to show how God communicates with us.) Deep within the recesses of his heart, Joseph heard the word of the Lord and acted on it. The gospel writer takes this moment to remind us of the same promise God made to Ahaz: “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him 'God is with us'" (Emmanuel).
 
Joseph and Ahaz: Two men, reassured by the same promise from the One God, become a way for God to bring salvation among us. The promise to Ahaz ensures a kingly succession from which would come the Messiah. The promise to Joseph frees Joseph to accept God's word and make a home for the Messiah in our troubled world.

O come, o come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

O Come Thou Wisdom

On December 17 each year, we pray the first of the "O Antiphons," which proclaims Jesus as Wisdom from on High. (Most of us know the O Antiphons from the verses of the advent hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel.")

But what does it mean that Jesus is Wisdom?

Wisdom, in the Bible, is personified as a woman ("Sophia," which is Greek for "Wisdom") who is God's companion in creation. She crafted all things in the beginning and is the "master artisan" of the universe, together with the laws that govern nature and civilized humankind.

When God set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fixed the foundations of earth,
then was I beside him as artisan;
I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
Playing over the whole of his earth. (Prov 8:29-31) 

She is also the one who gives herself as a feast for all who desire to become wise, just as Jesus came into the world in a feeding trough and gave us himself to eat and drink:

Come to me, all who desire me,

and be filled with my fruits.

You will remember me as sweeter than honey,

better to have than the honeycomb.
Those who eat of me will hunger still,

those who drink of me will thirst for more. (Sir 24:19-21)

Later Wisdom writers show Sophia/Wisdom as the Jewish Law, so that following the Torah was seen as the way to find Wisdom. Referring to Wisdom, the author Ben Sira writes:

All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God.
(Sir 24:23)

In all these ways and more, Jesus is Wisdom and Word of God made flesh (John 1). Year Four of the Biblical School students spend ten weeks exploring these ways of thinking about God's Wisdom, and its completion in the incarnation of Jesus, the Word made flesh.

O Come Let Us Adore!

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011)

Weekly Bible Study - Matthew 11:2-11

15 December 2013
3rd Sunday of Advent    

“What did you go out to see?” Jesus asks his followers in today's gospel. When we look for Jesus, what do we "go out to see"?

Do we go to find Jesus in the tiny, everyday miracle moments of our lives? Do we witness Jesus in the loving and kind acts of people reaching out to each other? Do we experience his peace when we forgive someone or ask for their forgiveness? Do we hear him speak to us in his Sacred Word and embrace us in his Eucharistic gift to us?

As we prepare to celebrate his coming to earth in innocence and humility, will we recognize the One who takes upon himself our salvation?

We know that John the Baptist did not live long enough to witness Jesus' giving of himself for us on the cross. John didn't get to see the empty tomb. Instead, beginning early in the time of Jesus' ministry, John is imprisoned and then executed like a criminal.

Like John, we don't always get to see how our efforts might lead others to Jesus. At times, we, too, are asked simply to offer ourselves in testimony to our Lord, maybe never knowing the healing, forgiveness or positive effect our actions may have on others. But like John, may we make straight pathways for the Lord’s coming in our world.

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Our Surprising God: An Advent Reflection

"Indeed the Lord has come into the world, but he came in a way no one expected: as a vulnerable child; born of insignificant parents; humbly, in an unexpected place (a cave and a stable).

"If we want to experience the Lord coming into our lives today, our own particular history, we have to be open to him coming in the same way: in unexpected ways and through unexpected people."

... Venerable "Solanus was an unexpected instrument of God's grace. No one expected that a simple Capuchin friar answering the door, a simple priest, would be such a powerful instrument for God's grace, healing and power entering into the world. But then no one would have expected an insignificant virgin from Nazareth to be the mother of God who becomes flesh. Nor did anyone expect that the smelly shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem would be the first to announce the news of God become flesh."

Fr. Larry Webber, OFM Cap.

Director of the Solanus Casey Center

Detroit, MI

To read Fr. Larry's entire Advent Reflection, click here.To learn more about Venerable Solanus Casey, click here.

UPDATE: ALL CBS Class Cancelled Today

Tuesday, December 10, 2013: ALL CBS classes are cancelled TODAY due to inclement weather.

Students should complete homework due Dec. 10 AND Dec. 17. Next week you should hand in two homework assignments. Your instructor will discuss how the missed class will be made up.

Stay safe and warm!

Wave of Prayer to End World Hunger

"On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Pope Francis will help launch a worldwide campaign to end hunger through prayer and action.

"At noon local time, a global wave of prayer will begin in Samoa and will sweep across the world for 24 hours, covering over 164 countries."

Here is the prayer:

 O God, you entrusted to us the fruits of all creation so that we might care for the earth and be nourished with its bounty.

You sent us your Son to share our very flesh and blood and  to teach us your Law of Love. Through His death and resurrection, we have been formed into one human family.

Jesus showed great concern for those who had no food – even transforming five loaves and two fish into a banquet that served five thousand and many more.

We come before you, O God, conscious of our faults and failures, but full of hope, to share food with all members in this global family.

Through your wisdom, inspire leaders of government and of business, as well as all the world’s citizens, to find just, and charitable solutions to end hunger by assuring that all people enjoy the right to food.

Thus we pray, O God, that when we present ourselves for Divine Judgment, we can proclaim ourselves as “One Human Family” with “Food for All”. AMEN.

For more information, click here.

http://www.caritas.org/

Weekly Bible Study - Matthew 3:1-12

8 December 2013
Second Sunday of Advent     

John must have had something of a celebrity status to draw so large an audience. Why else would “Jerusalem, all of Judea and the region around the Jordan” come out to see the Baptizer? The crowds were certainly eager to listen to him, but would they be encouraged – or disappointed by his message? And how do we react?

We celebrate Advent each year at this time. We often keep this holy season wrapped in a package of twinkling lights and adoring angels, of serene images of virgin and babe. But the more gentle and joyous aspects of the season must wait for the weeks nearer to Christmas. First we must deal with today's message.

Advent belongs to the ones who can hear and accept a brazen message cried out in the stark desert: Repent!

We probably won't find John's message printed on a pretty Christmas card – but, then, the mission of Jesus was not always pretty either! John the Baptist’s call to repentance reminds us that we are preparing for the coming of the One who will be scorned and rejected, who will associate with sinners and prostitutes, and who will suffer and die as the most despised of criminals. The challenge of Jesus is only pretty from our post-resurrection perspective, from which perspective we can see that the seemingly ugly picture of Jesus' fate is also a beautiful picture of the gift of salvation.

Advent is a bittersweet season.This December, as we open cards and gaze upon the face of innocence in Mother and Child, may we must never lose sight of the face of the Suffering Servant of God.

As we joyously sing, “Let every heart prepare him room,” will we ask ourselves: What sacrifice did Christ make when he came to pitch his tent with us? And what sacrifices are we willing to make for the sake of Christ's message and the love of our neighbor?

Of what must we repent this Advent, if Christ is to dwell more fully in our hearts on Christmas Day?

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.

Weekly Bible Study - Romans 13:11-14

1 December 2013
1st Sunday of Advent

Do we know what time it is? The words in the opening lines of today’s passage from Romans give a sense of chronology: hour, now, day, night. But do these time words point us in the right direction to understand Paul's point? Perhaps the deeper meaning in these verses has more to do with the word “know.”

To Know Our God

"Knowledge" in the Bible was both intimate and dynamic. It had more to do with the heart than the mind; it was experiential rather than intellectual.

Then as now, biblical knowing requires a response in faith and love and includes a call to action. One who really knows Yahweh, according to the Old Testament, loves God and acts on God's teaching. One who really knows Christ, according to the New Testament, lives and journeys with him and acts on his commandment to love one another.

If we look at the biblical implications of what it means to know God, we get to the heart of Paul’s message. He says that “our salvation is closer now than when we first believed.” Could Paul actually be saying that we move closer to salvation not by our chronological life but through coming to know Christ more intimately? “When we first believed” suggests a less developed, immature understanding of Christ. As we grow in an intimate and dynamic knowledge of the Lord we “put on Christ,” as Paul says. Putting on Christ and abandoning the works of darkness is a lifetime process requiring daily effort and commitment. (And Paul minces no words in describing where our darkness lies!)

So, what time is it? Is it time to wake up from sleepy spiritual inertia and to come to know Christ more fully? Is it time to abandon the works of darkness that betray our ignorance of Christ? Is it time to embrace our salvation more intimately by walking with Jesus more truly?

I know one thing. Advent is the time to know our Savior, "putting on" Christ like a custom-made garment.

Let us pray: Come Lord Jesus, dispel the darkness of our lives and help us to see you walking with us in your light.

The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.