Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9Matthew 5:17-19 Moses said to the people; Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord God of your Fathers is giving you. Scripture scholar, Walter Brueggemann, sees …
Category Archives: Monastic
Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent
Daniel 3:25, 34-43Matthew 18:21-35 In the reading from the prophet Daniel today we hear the lament of the people of Israel. Their spiritual and physical worlds have been shaken. They are bereft without Temple worship and strong leadership. As they look back over their journey they make appeal to the faithfulness of Abraham and Isaac. …
Monday in the Third Week of Lent
2 Kings 5:1-15 Luke 4:24-30 Jesus starts his preaching ministry in his home town of Nazareth. He doesn’t start gently with an engaging story, but boldly he unrolls the Isaiah scroll and announces that these prophecies are being fulfilled. A huge leap of faith is required on the part of the people in the synagogue. The …
Third Sunday in Lent (A)
Exodus 17:3-7John 4:5-42 In the next three weeks as we journey towards Easter, our biblical imaginations are invited to explore three major baptismal themes: water, light and life. We have made the journey from desert to the mountain top. This week we find ourselves by a well. We enter a different world when we listen …
Saturday in the Second Week of Lent
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 My son, you are with me always, and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found. These are some of my favourite verses from the Parable of …
Friday in the Second Week of Lent
Genesis 37: 3-4. 12-13. 17-18Matthew 21: 33-43. 45-46 ‘Israel(Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him.‘ In just one verse the writers of Genesis paint for us a scene that so easily strikes a …
Thursday in Second Week of Lent
Jeremiah 17:5-10Luke 16:19-31 Today’s Gospel of the Rich Man and Lazarus is part of a sequence of Luke’s exposition of Kingdom values. We meet the familiar theme of a reversal of the world’s ways. Grace and favour come to those whom the world forgets. The Rich Man is desperate for his own suffering to be …
International Women’s Day and St Frances of Rome
Later today we will celebrate First Vespers of one of our Olivetan forebears, St Frances of Rome. She was wife, mother, widow and founder of the monastery of Tor de’ Specchi in Rome. The accounts of her life bear all the traditional hallmarks of hagiographical writing. She is a special child. Her mother knows this from …
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Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent
Jeremiah 18:18-20Matthew 20:16-28 Traditionally, in the weekdays of Lent, Wednesdays and Fridays are days of special focus on Christ’s passion. Today that focus is very clear. As Jesus journeys to Jerusalem he warns the disciples of the events that will unfold. He has taken the path to suffering. Quite naturally, this is beyond the comprehension …
Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent
Isaiah 1:10. 16-20Matthew 23:1-12 Wash, make yourselves clean.Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.Cease to do evil.Learn to do good,search for justice,help the oppressed,be just to the orphan,plead for the widow. This is one of my favourite pieces of Hebrew poetry. It has a rhythm which makes it easy to memorise. It’s an uncompromising message …