1 October 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Matthew 7:7-11: Ask and TrustJesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11 NIV)
What (...)
1 September 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Isaiah 1:11-18: Attentiveness to God, Respect for Human BeingsThe multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me? says the Lord. I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your (...)
1 August 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Ephesians 2:14-22: One Human FamilyChrist himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have (...)
1 July 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Ezekiel 17:22-24: The eagles and the cedarThis is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make (...)
1 June 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Mark 6:6b-13: Bringing Good NewsThen Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff— no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." They (...)
1 May 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Ephesians 3:14-19: Jesus Christ, space of freedomWhat intimidates us? What restrains our movement forward and curbs our freedom? What brings us to the point of calling it into doubt? It is useful to have these questions in mind while reading our passage and several other ones in the Letter to the Ephesians.
Those for whom this text was destined seem to believe that they are subject to the influence of forces beyond God’s control. The prophets had experienced similar struggles when the people turned towards idols. In the Letter to the (...)
1 April 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Genesis 28:11-15: A Message from HeavenFar away in the wilderness, after having escaped from his brother’s anger, Jacob is moved by a dream. He sees angels going up and down on a “staircase”. Going up, the angels carry to God the fear, the guilt feelings and the suffering of Jacob. Going down, they bring to Jacob God’s presence, God’s words and promise (v. 13-15).
What does Jacob discover through his dream? Above all, that God speaks personally to him. Up to that point Jacob did not have any personal experience of God. Earlier, he spoke to his (...)
1 March 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Matthew 4:1-11: Jesus Put to the TestSet between the baptism of Jesus and the beginning of his public life, the account of the temptations occupies a key place in the gospels. Jesus is brought by the Spirit of God into the desert and, after he fasts for forty days (a number that recalls the trials in the past life of God’s people), the tempter comes and confronts him. There are almost no descriptive features of this malevolent figure to stimulate our imagination, but instead several names to express the significance of the act: “Tempter” (...)
1 February 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Psalm 137Israel’s love for its God gave it the honesty to express everything, even the most impassioned reactions at the situations of injustice often experienced by that tiny nation surrounded by powerful neighbors. Has any other people ever gone to such an extreme in its intimacy with God, to the point of daring to express rebellion in the very midst of praise? Psalm 137 weaves these two sentiments together with impressive intensity.
For us today, placidly seated in our comfortable societies, the violence that springs from the cry of the (...)
1 January 2007
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Genesis 12: 1-4Beginning with chapter 12, the book of Genesis recounts the origins of the people of Israel, starting with the story of Abraham. Before this story, the biblical author places a short account of the origins of the world (chapters 1 to 11). Does he intend to write a complete history of humankind? No, but to emphasize strongly that the God of Israel, worshipped by Abraham, is not the god of one nation only with a limited sphere of activity, but instead the Creator of all things, the Lord of the universe.
This is the God who (...)