1 April 2005
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Luke 7:1-10Exterior circumstances would normally lead the relationships in this story to be very different. The centurion is an officer in a military force of occupation, but astonishingly he has won the friendship of the local people. Whereas masters are not usually very interested in the welfare of their employees, he is deeply concerned about his sick servant – as if he were his own child. He is also full of respect for the people where he has been sent: he has built them a Sabbath meeting place (possibly the same synagogue mentioned in (...)
1 March 2005
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Isaiah 40:25-31The anonymous prophet who spoke during Israel’s exile in Babylon announced to his compatriots that they would return to their homeland, but his hearers no longer had the courage to believe him. Their morale was broken. A nation in exile was considered doomed to disappear. Did not this situation mean that God no longer had compassion on his faithful or, worse still, that he showed himself to be powerless in the face of events?
To the physical exhaustion was thus added a profound weariness of faith. And it was up to the prophet (...)
1 February 2005
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)John 6:22-34“The work of God is to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29). For John, faith is the heart of Christian life. Believing means trusting in Jesus, welcoming the mystery of his being. That explains why, in John’s Gospel, expressions like “recognize,” “welcome,” “see” and “come to” are synonyms for believing. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry; whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). The object of faith is the person Jesus, who comes to satisfy the deepest longings of human beings.
To believe, according to John, (...)
1 January 2005
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Genesis 2:8-9,15-17God places the human being he has just created in a magnificent garden, with the tree of life at the centre. What better way to show that God desires the fullness of life for us, that we are made for happiness? And this happiness does not consist only in leisure: Adam is placed in the garden “to till it and keep it.” Work is a means of collaborating with God.
But the tree of life is shadowed by another tree: “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” In Biblical terms, this means “the tree of knowing how to live a good (...)
1 December 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Matthew 5:9Matthew undoubtedly was intentionally vague in this beatitude. Peacemakers? In what sense? Where? This lack of precision on the author’s part leaves readers free to think about their own situation and about the challenge to be peacemakers there.
The accent is placed on taking the initiative to create peace. The beatitude does not refer to those who merely love peace or who are naturally peaceable, but to those who stand up, leaving behind personal comfort, to do the work of peace.
Peacemakers consent to the consequences of their (...)
1 November 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Psalm 65It is not sure how the first verse of this psalm should be translated. Some versions have understood that even silence is praise for God. In fact, in this psalm, God “calm[s] the turmoil of the seas, the turmoil of their waves and the uproar of the nations.” God silences all that threatens his people. And this psalm, which sings so admirably about forgiveness, could also cause us to understand that God has the power to silence remorse. Other versions translate that praise rightfully belongs to God, resembling him, and this too is (...)
1 October 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Mark 1:16-20“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, who were casting their net into the sea…” (Mark 1:16). A few simple words to describe Jesus’ activity, but what activity! Jesus does not give people an appointment elsewhere. He goes right to where people are busy working and earning their living. And from the beginning, he finds people ready to walk with him and share his life. Through them God’s Reign, announced by Jesus in the previous verses, begins to take flesh. People seem to be waiting (...)
1 September 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Deuteronomy 7:7-9There are Bible passages that sum up, in a few lines, a powerful and essential teaching. One of these is found in the seventh chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy. Speaking to the assembly of the people of Israel, Moses tells how God “set his heart” on them and “chose” them. God “redeemed” them from slavery and will continue to love those who “love him and keep his commandments.”
To “set one’s heart on” and “choose” someone means uniting our life to theirs. It means sharing someone’s fate because we want what is good for them, because (...)
1 August 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Mark 2:1-12It is not only the body that needs healing, but above all the spirit. Jesus shows this by healing a paralyzed man who is brought to him. The man does not say a single word. Jesus takes the initiative and tells him, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus sees that the first thing the man needs is inner healing. Often our inner wounds paralyze us. The forgiveness that Jesus offers restores full human dignity to the paralyzed man, enabling him to “get up” and remain standing. Forgiveness is a liberation.
The paralyzed man did not (...)
1 July 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Isaiah 40:1-11In a dark period in the history of his people, God became present through his prophet Isaiah. The message of the Book of Consolation (Isaiah chapters 40-55) is clear: although the nation is in exile and feels abandoned, God is listening and responds to their prayer by sending a prophet to announce that the end of their misfortune is near.
The announcement begins with the word “comfort,” not just once but twice. God is not against his people, as their suffering might lead us to believe. On the contrary, we are his people (40:1) (...)