One thing you can say about Jesus is that He treats the women He meets as worthy and autonomous human beings. He affirms and uplifts women and always seems to be going out of His way to talk to them. He believes women have the same capacity to accept and understand the significance of His teachings that men do. He encouraged women to interact with Him and to personally respond to His religious and social teachings. Among others, we see this in the stories of the hemorrhaging woman (Mark 5:25-34) and the woman at the well (John 4:1-26, 39-42), two...
Well, the July 22nd feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene has rolled around yet again. For my celebration this year, I present this blog post to provide some commentary on John 20:1-18, the resurrection appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene and to explore the iconography of Noli me tangere in Western art, from the 11th through the 17th centuries that is associated with this meeting of Mary Magdalene with the Risen Jesus. Eighteen images, some of the many Noli me tangere paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and frescos in the art world, are included and discussed. The phrase “noli me tangere” is...
The gospel this morning is the beautiful and familiar story of the disciples that meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It is one of my favorite accounts of the resurrection. This blog post explores the Emmaus story, focusing on its four scenes: Encountering Jesus, Jesus Listens and Interprets Scripture, Recognizing Jesus, and Returning to Jerusalem. Encountering Jesus on the Road to Emmaus 13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself...
February 2 falls right at forty days after the Nativity, bringing an end to the Christmas and Epiphany seasons. This is a short reflection I wrote last year at this time about a hidden in plain sight aspect of the presentation at the temple. The feast day is known both as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. And, in some places, it’s called Candlemas, the day when candles are blessed for use in the remainder of the year. The tradition of celebrating Candlemas evolved, because Simeon...
I led morning prayer again this week and gave the following reflection on the Sunday readings. The texts for today are Isaiah 9:1-7, Psalm 36:5-10, Romans 15:8-13, and Matthew 4:12-17. In the first lesson today, we read: But there will be no more gloom for the land that was in anguish! In the past, God humbled the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, but in the future, God will bring glory to this Road to the Sea, this Land Beyond the Jordan, this Galilee of the Nations. The people walking in darkness are seeing a brilliant light—upon those who dwell...
