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Home / 2025 / April / 28
Liturgy | Weekday Homily Resources

28 April 2025 – Monday of Week 2 of Easter

28 April 2025 – Monday of Week 2 of Easter Optional Memorials: St Peter Chanel, priest and martyr; St Louis Maria Grignion de Montfort, priest. 1st Reading: Acts 4:23-31 The first Christian community prays for help to survive the threatened persecution After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief…

Read More 28 April 2025 – Monday of Week 2 of EasterContinue

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    April 16 2025
    Liamy Mac Nally
    TALK OUTLINE Welcome Pope Francis / Synodality / Towards a Synodal Church / Vatican III? Reading the story of origins correctly Getting the dates right • + Stephen: c. AD 34 • Conversion of Paul: c. AD 34-36 • + James the Apostle c. AD 44, under Herod Agrippa • + James the Lord’s brother: c. AD 62 • + Peter and Paul: c. AD 64-67, under Nero • Mark: c. AD 70 — during or just after destruction of Jerusalem • Matthew: c. AD 85-90 — after the break with Judaism. • John: c. AD 95 — written and edited over a long period. • Luke-Acts: c. AD 110 — at a time of nascent anti-Judaism Jesus’ ministry, proclamation + destiny (c. 4 BC — AD 30) (c. AD 30-60) (c. AD 60-90) (c. AD 90-120) Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 “Charism” “Memory” “Institution” ‘The first 90 years of Christianity. Emerging ministries. Lessons for today’ Kieran J. O’Mahony OSA www.tarsus.ie / www.tarsusscriptureschool.ie 30-60 Time of charism (experiment, creativity, counter-cultural, great variety) 1. Jesus 60-90 Time of memory (the first generation had all died; the Gospels; emerging tradition) 90-120 Time of institution (conforming to society; faith as deposit; church as institution; ordination) • Mission limited to fellow-Jews (“lost sheep of the house of Israel”) • Very little contact with Gentiles (try naming the encounters...) • Did not foresee the (tragic) break with Judaism 2. Jerusalem • No break with the Jewish people • • Temple worship and the times of prayer • No universal evangelisation • • Preaching within the Jewish community • • • The Torah retains its authority • • Torah interpreted in the light of Jesus • • Probably no domestic “church” • • One movement within Judaism (Nazarenes) • • Baptism (followers of John the Baptist) • • The Lord’s Supper / breaking of the bread • • Marana tha! (O Lord, come!) 3. The Pauline Phenomenon • Proclamation • • Small communities, gathering in households or the like • Leadership, under the supervision of Paul. • • Spiritual experience: tongues and prophecy • • Ritual practices: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper • • Many ministries, but some more important • than others; 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 16 •The community of goods (with difficulty!) 35: Paul’s visit to Peter and James 40s: James is now the undisputed leader in Jerusalem Not entirely clear why Peter “left” A dynastic principle has taken over. James and the elders Purity Laws Circumcision Dietary Laws Sabbath observance Apostles; labourers; servants Notice what is missing... Time of Charism 1+2 Galilee, Jerusalem, Antioch Paul’s own encounter and mission Mission 1: c. 15 yrs. Antioch, Syria, Cilicia. Clash with Jerusalem (Galatians and Acts) Mission 2: c. 15 yrs. • Ephesus as a fulcrum • Galatia; Philippi; Thessalonica; Corinth; Rome • Gospel about Jesus • Conversion 4. Mark’s community • Short Gospel (16 chapters) • Written about 70 ad • During the war • Probably in Syria • Focus: the cost of discipleship • No detectable ministries • The implied questions behind the Gospel text may be summarised as follows: • Faith: what do we believe about Jesus? • Praxis: how should we conduct ourselves as followers of Jesus? • Identity: who are we as disciples? • Community: how may the community best serve the Gospel message? • Message: what are proclaiming and how are we doing it? 5. Matthew’s community • A sect of Judaism, recently broken away • Angry at the mother religion • Claim: the fulfilment of Judaism • No to “rabbi”, “teacher”, “father” — why? • Yes to “prophets”, “sages” and “scribes” — again, why? • And what about Peter? • Baptism (Matthew 28). • The Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26). • Torah and its interpretation (Matthew 5-7.) • Continuity / Discontinuity — within a break-away group. 6. John’s community • Unusual text, with a very specific pattern across i7 • Mixed community: followers of John the Baptist (John 1), Pharisees (John 3), Samaritan (John 4) and Gentiles (John 4) • Schisms when the Gospel was written and again afterwards (1 John) • Jewish roots: throughout and especially the feasts • Nevertheless, antagonistic to “the synagogue across the road” • The Twelve are mentioned but are not important (6:67, 70; 20:24) • Peter is downplayed: see especially the empty tomb story • The Beloved Disciple: both historical and metaphorical • A late iteration of the charismatic • Bible; Baptism; Eucharist • Emerging ministries (very varied) • Emerging leadership (apostles, prophets, teachers) • Women fully engaged in ministry and leadership (see Romans 16) • Such a grid is useful for us today, as we face our own crises. • Baptism • Lord’s Supper • The Twelve...yes, but... • Peter...yes, but... • No discernible ministries/ministers • Except: crisis over ambition • House churches. • Alternative family (“fictive kinship”) • Table fellowship. • All social devisions set aside. • Radical alternative to society. • No real ministerial / teaching structures • Church order (Book 4 of the Gospel i.e. Matthew 13-17 and 18) • Peter: the received guide for interpreting the Torah in the new age • Church and Ministries • Prophets, sages and scribes • Emerging church structure to deal with issues • House remains important, but so does mission • Principle of interpretation of the Torah: Peter • So, a development from Mark • No discernible structures or even ministries • Risk: collapse once the great leader has died • Baptism is practiced: John 3 (Nicodemus) • Eucharist is celebrated: John 6 (Bread of Life); John 21 (Tiberias) • Issues regarding the Eucharist • Community • Disciples • Leader (the Beloved Disciple; later editors; the Johannine “school”) • Remembering. • The Paraclete, who causes the remembering • The Lord’s Prayer (John 17) • Schisms (John 6 and 1 John) 7. Luke-Acts • A second edition of Mark • + Q material. • + L material. • C. ad 110-115 • Rome • Incipient anti-Judaism • Gospel: under the banner of the Jubilee Year (Luke 4) • Jesus: prophet (Luke 4) and witness (Luke 23, Acts 6-7 ) • Baptism and Eucharist (Luke 24; Acts throughout) • Discipleship and mission (Luke and Acts) • Spirit driven, with several Pentecosts. • Community of goods. • Integration: a significant issue. • Under what conditions may Jews and Gentiles share a table. 8. The Pastorals • The Pastorals... • Third generation Paulinism. • Stronger structures. • Change of Vocabulary • Time of institution • Church as “institution of salvation”. • Church discipline. • Codification of rituals and behaviour. • Becoming a “religion of tradition”. • Pastorals: in theory (best seen in selected texts). • The Didachē: in practice. • Not just the house, but the household. 9. Vocabulary charts Diakonos 7 Paul (x12) Rom 13:4; 15:8; 16:1; 1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 3:6; 6:4; 11:15, 23; Gal 2:17; Phil 1:1; Always: Servant/minister • Focus: on the Acts of the Apostles • Three kinds of history (Paul Ricoeur) 1. Documentary History 2. Explanatory History 3. History of Beginnings (“histoire de commencement”) • (Beginnings: describing the past to shape the present) • All three kinds of history are present in the Acts of the Apostles • House or household. • Apostles and missionaries. • Communion / koinōnia • Breaking of the bread • Prayer • Baptism and Eucharist • Greco-Roman household as a microcosm of relationships. • Hierarchical organisation in pyramid form. • Faith becomes a deposit, to be taught. • Professionalisation of ministries. • Still, God remains the giver of the gift of salvation. • Ministers are selected (1 Tim 3:1-13). • Consecration by imposition of hands (1 Tim 4:14; 1 Tim 1:16). • Remuneration (1 Tim 5:17-18). • Their authority comes from fidelity to the depositum fidei. • Baptism (Titus 3:4-7) • The Writings/Scriptures (2 Tim 3:15-16) 1 Timothy (2) 1 Tim 3:8, 12; 4:6; Servant/minister Luke (0) Acts (0) 30-60, 60-90 Mark (x2) Mark 9:35; 10:43; Always: servant leadership Matthew (x3); Matt 20:26; 22:13; 23:11; Servant (1); servant leadership (2) Ephesians (x3) Eph 3:7; 6:21; Servant/minister Colossians (x4); Col 1:7, 23, 25; 4:7; Servant/minister 90-120 John (x3) John 2:5, 9; 12:26’ Servant (2); servant discipleship (1) Prebyteros 30-60 7 Paul (0) 60-90 90-120 Mark (x12) Mark 7:3, 5; 8:31; 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1; Always: the Jewish elders Matthew (x12) Matt 15:2; 16:21; 21:23; 26:3, 47, 57; 27:1, 3, 12, 20, 41; 28:12; Always: the Jewish elders Episkopos 7 Paul (x1) Phil 1:1; Overseer of the Church A letter to The Tablet Has the Holy Father made a mistake in not permitting the ordination of women, even initially only to the diaconate? The exclusion of women from ministry can be traced not only to tradition but also to an erroneous reading of the evolution of “church” and its ministries. In common with many other biblical scholars, I would affirm the following. Firstly, the historical Jesus encountered very few non-Jews. His ministry was “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus did not foresee a separate religious movement, later given the name Christianity. Consequently, much less did he foresee a church (the term is found in the Gospels in Matthew alone), with specific structures and ministries. In the New Testament, varieties of ministries are indeed evident, in particular in Paul, Matthew and Luke-Acts. Towards the end of the first century, these settled into servants, elders and overseers (the later deacons, priests and bishops). The Council of 60-90 Luke (x5) Luke 7:3; 9:22; 15:25; 20:1; 22:52; The Jewish elders; the older brother (1) 1 Timothy (x3) 1 Tim 5:1-2, 17, 19; Old man (1); Elders of the church (3) 90-120 Acts (x1) Acts 20:28; Overseer of the church Titus (x1) Tit 1:7; Overseer of the church Ephesians (0) Colossians (0) 30-60 Mark, Matthew, John (0) Ephesians (0) Colossians (0) Acts (x18) Acts 2:17; 4:5, 8, 23; 6:12; 11:30; 14:23; 15:2, 4, 6, 22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; 23:14; 24:1; 25:15; Old man (1); Jewish elders (7); Elders of the church (10) Titus (x1) Tit 1:5; Elders of the church 1 Timothy (x1) 1 Tim 3:2; Overseer of the church 1 Peter (x1) 1 Pet 2:2; Guardian Trent, in affirming that all sevens sacraments were somehow instituted by Jesus, made the mistake of accepting the way the Reformers posed the question. This was unnecessary (though understandable in pre-critical times) and brings with it insurmountable historical difficulties. If the above is substantially accurate, then the historical Jesus “ordained” nobody at all and the Last Supper, speaking anachronistically, was not an ordination service, simply because the historical Jesus did not reckon with a body separate from his own Jewish faith. As a result, the argument from the Last Supper that only men can be ordained makes no sense. What we have inherited, across the Christian centuries, is the Spirit-guided tradition, reflecting a graced evolution. There is no reason to think that the Holy Spirit has somehow stopped guiding us in these critical times. Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches!
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  • 3 comments

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