The Transfiguration (Upper Portion), Raphael,
1516-1520, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican.

While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
(Matthew 17:5)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Second Sunday of Lent
2 Timothy 1:8b–11
March 5, 2023

Today we will look at the 2^nd letter to Timothy. We have not only read this letter before but have virtually read around this passage. Last year we examined 1:8 but then skipped to verse 13. The most likely reason is that verses 9–10 may be a hymn which the author has placed here for emphasis. It is something of a digression from the main point of the previous section but fits in very well with the Transfiguration that we celebrate today.

General information about 2^nd Timothy can be found here.

These letters present themselves as written by St. Paul to his protégé. The first letter of Timothy examines how a church can be governed by a non-apostle. Second Timothy is more personal. Indeed, it is very warm and tender and tells the story of the friendship of Paul and Timothy in Christ. We are not, however, sure if Paul himself wrote it. We can be sure that even if Paul was dead when it was written there were enough eyewitnesses to testify that the story was true or false. Minimally but most importantly it is a depiction of an older follower of Jesus inspiring a younger one.

Inspiring someone to a be a Christian is not easy. The cross is always present. Jesus not only died but he died the most humiliating death possible. Crucifixion was designed to strip a person of his humanity and honor. This would be terrifying in any age but particularly so in the ancient world. They held honor above all things and a person was worthless if deprived of it. Jesus then would have been considered worthless. How could someone follow him? How could someone not be ashamed of him?

Continue reading “Second Sunday of Lent – Joined with Jesus“ →

Christ in the Wilderness, Ivan Kramskoi, 1872 (Tretyakov Gallery)

 At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
(Matthew 4:1–2)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
First Sunday of Lent
Romans 5:12–19
February 26, 2023

The Sunday Mass readings are organized in a 3-year cycle. During “Ordinary Time” the weeks of the year in which the priests’ vestments are green, the first reading is from the Old Testament and is chosen to reflect the Gospel. The second reading, usually from St. Paul, is on a separate theme. During other times, all three readings are chosen to reflect a single theme.

We discussed the letter to the Romans during the summer of 2020. It was at the height of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. This Lent, we will read from Romans this week and then again the weekends of March 12 and 26. We will need to ask not only what the passages mean, but why they have been chosen to be read on these days.

Continue reading “1st Sunday of Lent – Committing to the Lord” →