An enigmatic verse in the Gospel of Luke (read recently on Palm Sunday) which has always stuck in my mind is Luke 23:31, "If they do these things in the green wood, what will they do in the dry?" I've never been sure exactly what was meant, but from the text, and biblical commentaries, I would interpret it as Jesus himself being the green wood, or the green tree; the innocent and life-giving tree. And the dry wood being the branches which have separated themselves from the green tree, the source of their life. subjecting themselves to being thrown away or burned. And a prophecy of the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Not a comfortable meditation,
Today is Wednesday of Holy Week, often called "Spy Wednesday". There are plenty of dry wood things to think about lately, from betrayal of allies, to unjust imprisonment, and mistreatment of the strangers within our gates.
Yes. The way the phrase is rendered in the NAB seems helpful: "If they do these things when the wood is green..." I think he meant, "when God is present in their midst i.e. right now". This is contrasted with Jesus's prediction of the terrible times to come for Jerusalem, which would have been understood retroactively as the city's terrible suffering and defeat in the disastrous rebellion against Roman rule.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should have written "retrospectively", not "retroactively"
Delete"I think he meant, "when God is present in their midst i.e. right now".
DeleteThat makes sense.
Btw, I am not familiar with "spy Wednesday". Wonder if it means we can espy Christ's death and resurrection from here?
ReplyDeleteI think Spy Wednesday may have been an Irish phrase. I believe it refers to yesterday's gospel reading in which Judas was "spying out" what he was going to do, and making a monetary deal with the chief priests.
DeleteHappy Easter, everyone.
DeleteYes, Happy Easter to all..✝️
DeleteA Blessed and Joyous Easter to all.
DeleteWhen you all start catching up on your reading after Easter, I hope that you will read this article by Diana Butler Bass. My feelings about the RC patriarchy that denies women access to Orders is well known here. I have long felt that this has caused great harm, not just to women, but to the church. True complementarity requires that the feminine mind be represented equally with male understandings. Women are silenced in church, just like 2000 years ago. It harms the people of God, including those outside the RCC. The RCC is the most visible Christian church and should lead the way. But it drags its feet. It’s a mortal institutional sin that is evil because it causes so much harm.
ReplyDeleteThis article is one example of how scripture - as read and understood by a woman - usually unveils different insights than those traditionally heard in Catholic homilies.
“The last line of today’s Easter reading puzzles me: But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
What’s puzzling? That unclear referent! Peter was amazed on that morning. But what astonished him? An empty tomb? The missing body? Burial linens disturbed?
Or that the women’s idle tale seemed true? How could that be? But he confirmed it with his own eyes.
Amazing.
There exist myriad reasons to be skeptical or argumentative on Easter morning. Before you even raise issues of miracles and modern science, the New Testament itself is full of conflicting accounts regarding the resurrection. The four gospels don’t actually agree on what happened following Jesus’ execution. The details vary — as do some pretty significant parts of the story. Early Christian communities didn’t share a common understanding of the resurrection, even Paul and the author of Luke seemed to quarrel about it.
Argument about the resurrection is a robust — and ancient — tradition.
But, given that, all four gospels do share one startling claim:
“Women were the first to witness the resurrection and no one believed them.
That’s the beginning of Christianity. Jesus appeared to the women and the men were skeptical”
The whole article is worth reading.
https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-musings-easter?utm_campaign=post&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6awcAhQLK4OL681Jqt-RH1UHqdZd5ihW_A4x1WRgTh9_clr0Lkip30_ARLqw_aem_wzWW0rMCuthBzwSGftjD3A
Anne and all: our parish hosts a quarterly Women's Theological series, consisting of a guest speaker, usually from one of the local Catholic institutions of higher learning. It didn't start at our parish, but we welcomed it when they were 'disinvited' from the parish where it started. I attend whenever I'm able. My wife is an enthusiastic attendee.
ReplyDeleteAt the session this past week, attendees were invited to share their thoughts (and frustrations). one of the themes that emerged from the comments was that women were contributing more to the church's pastoral life in the immediate post-Vatican II period ran they are able to now. There was a sense that the church has backslid on this point. For example, women who taught in Catholic schools were composing and leading prayer services in their parishes. Their view is that these avenues no longer exist.
Thinking about that point, I might say that women still do these things, but they are women on the parish staff. It has become professionalized.