14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Ezekiel 2:2-5 Background of the book The beginning chapters of this book explore the prophet’s call. Like Isaiah (Is. 6) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1), Ezekiel had a vision of God accompanied by a call. And, like the other prophets, God laid it READ MORE

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24 Background of the book Wisdom literature was written to pass on instructions on how to live the good life. This was at a time when a belief in any afterlife was only just beginning, and most people viewed this READ MORE

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Job 38:1, 8-11 Background of the book In chapters 28-41, God asks Job a series of questions about the limits of what Job can do and understand. Today’s reading comes from a section around God’s creation – was Job even present at READ MORE

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Ezekiel 17:22-24 Background of the book In 2 Samuel 7, David wanted to build God a temple. God rejects that idea but, instead, God says God will establish a house and lineage for David that will never end. This will later be READ MORE

10th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time Click here for more information. Genesis 3:9-15 Background of the book One of the most frequent questions in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) process when we talked about scripture and salvation history was this: are the Genesis stories true? For many people coming from faith backgrounds READ MORE

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feast Days Click here for more information. Today’s Readings and the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity Read important background on this feast here Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 Background of the book In today’s passage, Moses is reminding the people who they are and what they’re about. He does this READ MORE

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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

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

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

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