The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 Background of the book 13:1-14:57 is a section that deals with impurity caused by tzara’at. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), this was translated as the Greek word lepros from which we get the word leprosy. This word should not READ MORE
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5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Background of the book This passage uses three metaphors for life, each of which was a proverbially wretched state of life in that culture: military service, day labor, and simple slavery. Job says that day-to-day living is a drudgery, wanting what you can’t have, READ MORE
The Johannine Epistles: 1, 2, & 3 John
Author During the first two centuries of Christianity, the “Johannine Epistles” (1, 2, and 3 John) were probably not a part of the canon of scripture. When they began to be accepted as authoritative, they were often attributed to the same author as the Gospel of John. Textual evidence indicates that, although there are similar READ MORE
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time This week’s theme is all about authority – who has it and where did they get it from? Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Background of the book 18:14-21 are all about the office of the prophet. For a Jew, there’s God (top) and then there’s Moses, only slightly below God. READ MORE
The Acts of the Apostles
Acts commentary Author Luke was a physician and an artist from Syria. He was highly educated, well-versed in Greco-Roman style. He has the finest Greek writing in the New Testament. He was not an eyewitness to the events but he interviewed eyewitnesses and drew from the oral collections. He was also not very familiar with READ MORE
Philippians
Author This is an undisputed letter, meaning that it’s universally accepted that Paul wrote it. It’s also certain that he wrote it from prison but what’s not certain is which prison. Most scholars think it was written at Ephesus. Date Because of the uncertainty over where Paul was when he wrote it, it’s difficult to READ MORE
Hebrews
Hebrews commentary Features Author Authorship of this book is highly contested and often debated. Eusebius in the second century attributed it to Paul. The earliest codex (a manuscript in book format) from around 200AD placed it right after Romans, implying Pauline authorship. In the early 200s, Origin taught that the Greek in this book was READ MORE
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time As is usually true during Ordinary Time, there are a variety of themes that emerge from the readings. The one I would like to highlight is that of the unlikely messenger. Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Background of the book At the start of the book of Jonah, God’s READ MORE
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time Some Sundays in Ordinary Time lend themselves to picking out a theme. Today’s readings present a number of themes but I want to settle on one in particular: the idea of call and response. Keep this theme in mind as you read through these readings. What does READ MORE
Jeremiah
I like the prophet Jeremiah. All the prophets wrote about the despair they sometimes felt in living out their mission but Jeremiah takes it to a whole new level. His despair is liberally sprinkled throughout this book and he also wrote the book of Lamentations. Jeremiah doesn’t shrink away from confronting the bad in life READ MORE