1 June 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Luke 10:38-42Martha wishes to be hospitable, and so she begins at once to serve her guests so that they lack nothing. Then, seeing that she is overwhelmed by all she wanted to accomplish, she begins to worry and hardens her heart to her sister, who had left her all alone. Jesus tells Martha that she accords too much importance to and worries about things that may not be so essential.
Jesus does not criticize the service Martha wants to offer him. He knows that she is preparing all these things for love. And it is perhaps with deep (...)
1 May 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Genesis 4:1-16The passage tells us that the two brothers bring to God their offering, the fruit of their labour, and that God “had regard for Abel and his offering but did not have regard for Cain and his offering.” We could ask why. For what reason does God not look at these two brothers in the same way? Why does God not accept Cain’s offering? The text gives no answer to this question. As in so many situations, we are invited to deal with a fact that has taken place without knowing the causes that led to it.
We may wonder if it is really (...)
1 April 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)John 9Why was this man born blind? Jesus is asked this question by disciples convinced that there is a link between the condition of the man born blind and his behavior or that of his parents. Seeing things in this way places God on the side of the causes, makes him responsible for reality as it is, including the evil that mars it. It was tempting to see things in such a simple fashion. But already at the time of the First Testament, people realized that this kind of answer, even if it served the cause of monotheism, was insufficient and (...)
1 March 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Matthew 13:44Jesus proclaimed God’s Reign or Kingdom. Still more: he made visible the first signs of its coming. If God reigns, then evil, suffering, sin and absurdity are no longer in charge. Praise and gratitude replace lamentation, bitterness and weeping. The one who announces the coming of the Kingdom and introduces it into the world leaves people in his wake who sing and express their joy. If God reigns, then creation is healed and can find meaning once again. People stand up and walk. A communion with the God of life and joy is (...)
1 February 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Genesis 39:20 – 40:7Joseph stayed in prison (39,20): could he fall any lower? First he lost his tunic as a son to his brothers, and then his tunic as a slave at the hands of his master Potiphar’s wife (39:12). Joseph seems to be in a situation with no way out. As a slave he has no rights. It would not be surprising if Joseph rejected his faith in God and withdrew into feeling sorry for himself.
The Lord was with Joseph (39:2,21,23): this refrain is repeated, even if Joseph’s situation becomes gloomy and hopeless. And yet the Lord’s presence (...)
1 January 2004
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Genesis 37:22,31-35When Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him, one of them, Reuben, tries to save Joseph. He is Jacob’s oldest son, the brother who is responsible, the one who has to respond to his father for Joseph.
When Jacob learns from his sons their false story about Joseph’s death, he is inconsolable. All the evil done to Joseph now falls on his head. That recalls a situation from the distant past. Jacob himself was the son who lied to his father Isaac. To receive his father’s blessing instead of his brother, he used the garments of his (...)
1 December 2003
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Mark 15:39Seeing how Jesus died, the centurion, who was standing in front of him, said, “This man was truly Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)
How could it happen that, in Mark’s Gospel, the Roman officer responsible for the execution of Jesus is the first one to recognize and to proclaim that he was Son of God?
This professional accustomed to using force in military campaigns and missions to keep order knows that, in dealing with violent people, it is necessary to be strong and self-controlled. Otherwise, you collapse or you lose control of yourself (...)
1 November 2003
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12The reader who discovers this “fourth song of the Servant” today is seized with astonishment at this detailed account, written several centuries in advance, of what Jesus accomplished by giving his life on the cross.
It confirms that Jesus was part of a line of believers who discerned the fulfillment of God’s will in a different direction from the coming of a political messiah or other-worldly mysticism. God invites us to recognize his plan and take part in it in the midst of a world wounded by violence.
The excessive evil (...)
1 October 2003
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Matthew 17:1-8Midway to Jerusalem where he will be put to death on a cross, Jesus takes with him three of his closest disciples and climbs a mountain, referred to in the text as a “high mountain.” You can already sense that something outside the ordinary will take place there. Jesus is changed in front of them; his face shines and his garments become like light. It is as if, for an instant, a veil is lifted and the disciples can see all of God’s light shining through him.
Suddenly Moses and Elijah are present, speaking with Jesus. They too (...)
1 September 2003
Bible Meditations & Prayers (by language)Monthly Bible Meditation (en)Exodus 33:18-23Among the different figures the Bible presents to us, Moses has a special place. According to the account of his call (Exodus 3:1-12), he is the first to have understood how close God is to human beings. Moses’ life is changed when he learns that God is familiar with the suffering of his people who are slaves in Egypt and wants to give them a new future. The history of salvation begins, and it continues down to our day. God asks Moses to walk with his people in order to bring them out of the land of bondage. And so they (...)