The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio,
c. 1603, Sanssouci, Potsdam, Germany
(About this Image)

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
(John 20:27–28)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Second Sunday of Easter
Revelations: 1:9–19
April 24, 2022

The “Book of Revelation” is a source of great confusion and imaginative if usually erroneous speculation. Some of the latter has been so amusing that the great English convert and writer G. K. Chesterton wrote: “Though St John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.” (Chesterton, Orthodoxy) This is quite unfortunate as Revelations has much to offer us, indeed some of it very practical and contemporary.

The place to begin is with its very name. It is often called “The Apocalypse.” In popular usage, this means the end times with usually a bloody conflagration. The original meaning, however, is “unveiling.” This was a genre of writing. A person would read an apocalypse not to be confused or bewildered about the future, but to be instructed on how to live now and prepare for the future. The Christians who originally read “The Book of Revelation” would have expected to have layers of misinformation and fake news unraveled and true meaning revealed. The images that we find so bewildering and intimidating would have been part of their culture. If there was any attempt to mystify or obscure, it would have been not for fellow Christians but for the Roman authorities. This was during a time of Roman persecution. The closest analogy I can think of is video games. Our younger parishioners know every character and devise in them, but they are a total mystery to me. They are the Christians, and I am the Roman authority. We see further difficulty if we imagine someone trying to decipher Minecraft a millennium hence. Similarly,some parts of “The Book of Revelation” will remain obscure. The sections chosen for our Easter readings; however, are not among them and their message will be truly clear: the resurrection of Jesus unveils the meaning of all history and existence.

Continue reading “Second Sunday of Easter – Understanding Our Lives through the Resurrection” →

The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Tomb,
Eugène Burnand, 1898, Musée d’Orsay
(About this Image)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the First Reading
Easter Sunday
April 17, 2022
Acts 10:34A, 37-43

During the Easter Season, the first reading will change from selections from the Old Testament to passages from the “Acts of the Apostles.” This is an inspired decision which will become clearer as the season progresses. The Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke whose Gospel we have been reading this year and who we have also been examining in Bible Study.

Continue reading “Easter – Being Apostles Today” →

Jesus Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery,
Lorenzo Lotto, c. 1528, Louvre
(About this Image)

They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
(John 8:4–7)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Philippians 3:8–14
April 3, 2022

Paul’s mission strategy was to go to a large trading city with at
least some Jewish merchants. He would visit their synagogue and as a
learned man be invited to speak. As a compelling speaker, he would
attract disciples among them and from this core he extended his ministry
to Gentiles. When he felt that the seed had been planted, he would
choose leaders and move on to another city. This allowed him to make
more converts, but it also meant that the seed may not have had much
time to mature before it was tested. Since other preachers would have
realized the same thing as Paul and also sought out cities on trade
routes, the most serious testing was from other Christians. Sometimes as
with Apollos in Corinth, it led to the strengthening of the community
but usually it was from Jewish converts who were unwilling to give up
their customs and often held on to doctrines now incompatible with faith
in Jesus. As we read last week in the 2^nd letter to the
Corinthians, these false teachers could change the minds of Paul’s new
Christians. This caused Paul such distress that letter is called “the
Letter of Sorrow.” On the other hand the Philippians remained strong in
their faith and this letter is called the “Letter of Friendship.”
Continue reading “Fifth Sunday of Lent – United by Our Creator and Redeemer” →

The Prodigal Son in Modern Life: The Return,
James Tissot, c. 1882, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
(About this Image)

 

So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him,
and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
(Luke 15:20)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Fourth Sunday of Lent
2 Corinthians 5:17–21
March 27, 2022

We return to Corinth this week about a year after the events spoken
of last week (57 AD). The first letter to the Corinthians shows that
Paul left Corinth feeling that he had successfully addressed the
divisions in the community. He has since heard that people from outside
Corinth have come and created even greater dissension than before. It is
uncertain who they were or what they held but this may not be especially
important. They seem to have tailored the good news of Jesus to be good
business for them and presented a slick package. In our own terms, they
would be like TV health-and-wealth preachers as opposed to an evangelist
like Bishop Barron. Paul is so hurt that this is often called the
“letter of sorrow.”

Continue reading “4th Sunday of Lent – Called to the Work of a Lifetime” →

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
(Luke 13:7–9)

 

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Third Sunday of Lent
1 Corinthians 10:1–6, 10–12
March 20, 2022

We read several chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in
some depth earlier this year. The section today is taken from Chapter 10 somewhat
before our previous readings but reflecting the same concerns. Readings
chosen for Lent, however, must be read not only for their original
meaning but also how they reflect Lenten themes. This year this reading
will, alas, also shed light on our present situation.

Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Lent – Connecting Worship to Charity” →

Landscape with Stars, Henri-Edmond Cross,
c. 1905–1908, Met. Museum (NYC)
(About this Image)

The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
(Gen 15:5–6)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Second Sunday of Lent
Philippians 3:17–4:1
March 13, 2022

St. Paul is a great religious genius. It is incorrect to say that he
invented Christianity, but he understood many of the implications of
Jesus’ teaching sooner and more strongly than others. As the Christian
Church developed, his thought eventually influenced what Christians
everywhere believed. This however took over a century and I cannot help
but ask “What did Christians who did not know the writings of Paul
believe?”

The answer is largely unknowable, but this section from the Letter to
the Philippians gives us an indication of past possibilities and a
prescription for present maladies.

Continue reading “2nd Sunday of Lent – Humbly Accepting Salvation from the Cross” →