Fr. Bob’s Weekly Reflections

A Jesuit priest friend of mine, Father John, once told me a story, while I was on a priest’s retreat. Father John was teaching a college course called “Theology of Faith.” It was mandatory. Every student had to take the class.

We are now in the season of Lent. It’s a period of 40 days to repent and believe in the Gospel. It will end in Holy Week, and I find it strange that we call it Holy Week, because it was seven days of political corruption, moral cowardice, religious hypocrisy and physical violence.

The ancient Hebrews did not have the type of medical knowledge that exists today. So, when they saw people with any kind of skin diseases, they called it leprosy. Leprosy today might look like psoriasis or shingles.

We begin the scripture readings today with Job’s lament. It’s very downbeat. His days are full of misery, which he projects to everyone. He calls man a drudge, a hireling and a slave. All this is very different from the opening pages of the Bible, which describe the human person as one who shares God’s creative power.

In our Gospel, we read about Jesus speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum. Capernaum was a small town that suffered greatly. Many people were brutally killed there, as Israel was constantly being invaded.

I’d like to once again out the focus on our first reading today. Let’s take a look at Jonah. When we hear his name, we think of one of two things. Three days inside the belly of a whale, or a character who brings bad luck wherever he goes.

In our first reading today, we hear a touching story about Samuel. It is such a familiar story, but we focus on the boy Samuel and often overlook the other character, Eli.

The three wise men have caught our attention more so than the other group in Matthew’s Gospel. The other group are the shepherds, and we have very few stories about them. I think the reason for that is because, in the Gospels, the shepherds are told everything.

Many years ago, Reader’s Digest carried a family quiz. It contained 12 questions addressed to parents. “If a teenage boy on a TV show kissed both parents, would your children consider this normal?”

As we approach the celebration of the birth of our Savior, I consider one of the most frequent assurances in scripture: “Do not be afraid.”