In today's passage from the Book of Exodus, God's name is revealed to Moses. Allow me to be just a little technical in explaining that name. The name by which God wishes to be known is based upon the Hebrew verb hayah, which is translated "to be" or "to cause to happen." When the syllable Ya is added to this verb, it becomes the third person singular in the masculine future tense. Thus,...
Two cities come in for criticism from Jesus in today's reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew: Chorazin and Capernaum. The first was reputed as a city of learning, schooled in the understanding of the Scriptures. The second was the city to which Jesus moved after leaving Nazareth, his adopted "hometown." Chorazin is likened to the cities of Tyre and Sidon. These two Gentile cities were...
The difficult sayings about discipleship continue in this, the second discourse of St. Matthew's Gospel. Though the reading from chapter ten seems unreasonably harsh, if we summarize the sentiments that Jesus expresses, we begin to see that it all comes down to one simple struggle; namely, the struggle of self versus the other.
First Jesus challenges our notions about family and its...
Fr. Lawrence discusses the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the parables that is peculiar to St. Luke's Gospel.
Today's reading from the Book of Genesis skips over nine chapters and introduces us to the plight of Israel when a great famine gripped the land. Ten of Jacob's sons go to Egypt to procure food for Jacob's family. There they meet their brother Joseph whom they do not recognize. Joseph is eager to connect with his younger brother, Benjamin. (He and Benjamin were the sons of Rebekah, Jacob's...