America Magazine - The Good Word

"Behold, new things have come"

Author: John W. Martens;

It was less than a month ago, Ash Wednesday, that I wrote on 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2. The second reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, overlaps with the Ash Wednesday passage in a substantial manner. I wrote then that "Paul is, indeed, making an official offer, a guaranteed offer if you will, because he is an official representative of the one who effected this reconciliation: "We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might becom

March 14 - The Prodigal Son story

Author: John Kilgallen, S.J.;

The Prodigal Son parable has many notable aspects to it. I wish to point up two of them.

First, the figure of the prodigal presents less than what we might hope for. That is, the motive for his return to his father is simply getting something good to eat regularly. His motive is nothing more than that. It was good of him to admit that he 'had sinned against heaven and against you', but the motive is still poor, and he cannot bring himself to expect more than a hiring; he expects he will be living in the city, not on his father's property, and so hired each day. In no way

The Apostle Paul in Denver

Author: John W. Martens;

Does the Apostle Paul help us understand what’s going on in Denver? You might ask, what’s going on in Denver? Two children, preschoolers, whose parents are lesbians, are not going to be able to continue their education in the Catholic school at Sacred Heart of Jesus parish. The reasons offered by the Parish priest, Fr. Bill Breslin, and Archbishop Chaput are found here and here. I will offer a few excerpts. The first two are from the letter of Fr. Bill Breslin:

"If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is against the will of

Sunday, March 7

Author: John Kilgallen, S.J.;

One looks for a glimmer of hope in this Sunday's Gospel reading. The reading unfolds as a remembrance of two of Jesus' threatening statements and one of his parables. The threats from Jesus are the results of a certain way an audience tells Jesus about Galilean blood that Pilate, ever a harsh man and never one of half-measures, mixed with Jewish sacrifices in Jerusalem (the only place of Jewish sacrifices). This audience in some way must have suggested to Jesus that 'the insult revealed the sinfulness of these Galileans'. Jesus does not respond to any subtle suggestion that indeed their humiliation shows they were sinners; sin

Third Sunday of Lent: A Jewish Interpretation of Exodus

Author: Barbara Green, O.P.;

I am in the midst of teaching a seminar that considers, among other things, the (perceived and often undeniable) violence involved in Christian interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. And I recently attended the feast of Purim at a conservative synagogue—quite a different experience from hearing an Esther reading at Christian liturgy on Thursday of the first week of Lent! Consequently, I would like to present a summary reminder of how ‘Judaism’ interprets today’s first reading.

When Jews interpret the Bible, they consider and consult not only the written biblical text but the genres of commentary around it: Mishnah, Talmud, legal and homiletic material, r