Doing the Word, March 7, 2012

I gave a word of encouragement to my son yesterday, on his way to school.

Finish ch. 24, dip forward to ch. 25 of Matthew's gospel.

We will take one more look into chapter 24 of Matthew's gospel early this Thursday morning, and then we will dip forward to chapter 25. Here are a few questions to use for studying and thinking ahead:

1. Is the fig tree here in chapter 24 a parable or something else?
   
2. Does this sprouting of the fig tree occur before, during or after the destruction of Jerusalem?
   
3. What would it be like, to be in the Lord's summertime?
   
4. Do fig trees always behave in this manner, sprouting leaves and so forth? How does that help Jesus form the Twelve?
   
5. Jesus is the Lord, the Alpha and the Omega. All time and all the ages belong to Him. Yet how is it that Jesus does not know the hour and day of His coming to the gates?
   
6. "A person who is damned to hell is damned because of the entire history of his entire family." ←← True or false?
   
7. "A person who is damned to hell can actually be damned accidentally, through no fault of their own." ←← True or false?
   
8. "Hell is temporary." ←← True or false?
   
9. In America, we hold that all men are created equal. Does this apply to the talents that each man has?
   
10. Why does God give talents in the way that He does?
    
11. When you enter God's joy, what will you be placed in charge of?
    
    
    

We can look into the perfect Torah of freedom, God's word, by thinking over these questions and discussing it all early on Thursday morning.

Onward in Ch. 24 of Matthew

Last Thursday, we looked into the Messiah's word about Jerusalem and its destruction. We will continue that look with a few more questions:

1. 
   Side question: Why doesn't Blessed John mention the destruction of Jerusalem in his gospel account?
   
2. Does Jesus skip a beat when describing the destruction of Jerusalem, THEN the signs of His coming?
   
3. When Jesus was born, it was fitting that a herald should precede Him, known as John the Baptizer. At His second coming, will that be necessary?
   
4. How is it that the stars are visible at night but not during the day?
   
5. What will the sign of the Son of Man actually look like?
   
6. What kind of sign would cause a person to mourn? What do people mourn, normally?
   
7. Why does the sign come first, then Jesus Himself on the clouds? Why not just Jesus Himself, without the sign?
   
8. Will the humiliation of going to confession be too grievous, too large a labor to have carried in 2012 when, some time in the future, that trumpet blast sounds?
   

We can begin preparing for the Holy Spirit to help us by thinking over these questions.

There's a river around here somewhere

From Isaiah,

See, I am doing something new!

Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

In the wilderness I make a way,

in the wasteland, rivers.

When my brother and I used to take Boy Scouts on hikes, we constantly had to urge them on, "Just a little bit farther," because my brother and I knew the trail. But if it had been in the desert, we might have said, "Yeah, there's a river around here somewhere." According to God's promise, He will place a river in the waste lands.

It makes me think of the four men in the gospel reading. "That Jesus guy has got to be in here somewhere. Let's pull up this roof and see what we can see." Action based on good faith, and their friend's sins were forgiven, with physical healing, too. Excellent

Continue in Ch. 24

We will continue to look into Ch. 24 of Matthew's Gospel today, starting with one leftover question from last week.

1. What is the abomination of desolation?
Now some new questions...
2. How will the Twelve prevail in the time of trouble? What trait will see them to victory?
   
3. What does it mean to preach as a witness, instead of preaching for belief?
   
4. True or false? The Roman army and the government of Rome was very hospitable and accommodating to the Twelve and other early apostles.
   
5. If the people of Jerusalem could be expected to return safely, would they be asked to take their clothes and other belongings when escaping? What does Jesus communicate in this direction, to drop everything?
6. Why does God allow grievous destruction of Jerusalem but not a total wipe out of the people of Jerusalem?
7. Side question: WHy doesn't Blessed John mention the destruction of Jerusalem in his gospel account?
8. Does Jesus skip a beat when describing the destruction of Jerusalem, THEN the signs of His coming?
9. When Jesus was born, it was fitting that a herald should precede Him, known as John the Baptizer. At His second coming, will that be necessary?
   

We will get to work with these and a few other questions, asking the Holy Spirit to help us, this early morning.

Woe and the beginning of sorrows

Woe to the Pharisees, sayeth the Lord (Matthew 23). But would any of us escape the same scrutiny? Here are a few questions we could usefully ask:

1. Can one make a useful set of questions, an examination of conscience, from these words of the Lord, as a preparation for the sacrament of confession?
   

   ---

   Now some questions about Matthew 24:
2. Did the Twelve expect to escape trouble?
3. What is the nature of the trouble that is coming? Who is it that comes against Jerusalem and the Church?
4. WHo has love, that their love maybe can go cold?
5. Will love exist in those who preach this gospel of the kingdom perseveringly?
6. What is the abomination of desolation?
   

It is an interesting admonition to persevere. As St. John Chrysostom wrote:

O strange and wonderful facts! Countless myriads of Jews did the Romans then subdue, and they did not prevail over twelve men fighting against them naked and unarmed. What language can set forth this miracle?

More about the parable of the vineyard

We are looking into Matthew, Chapter 21. Tomorrow we will consider the parable of the vineyard. A few questions stir up the mind:

1. Which of the two sons from the previous parable work in this second parable's vineyard?
2. God did not go into a far country; He is always present. But what does that mean in the parable, that God "went on a journey" in v. 33?
3. What is the fruit that God seeks from this vineyard?
4. By the way, who was it that actually did all the heavy lifting to make this vineyard? And who is it that benefits from it?

With some coffee and discussion, we will dive into the meaning of this second parable tomorrow morning.

January 5 questions

Now that we have passed the Christmas celebration, we dive back into the 21st chapter of Matthew, starting with the parable of the two sons. Here are a few questions to jump start your brain from two weeks of hibernation:

1. 
   Which of the two sons talks a good game?
2. Which sone causes most trouble?
3. Which son needed more of God's grace to carry out his actions?
4. Which sone needed to go to confession?
5. Which son could have been a member of the den of thieves, and which son could have been welcome in the house of prayer?
6. To which son could the chief priests and elders be compared?
7. Which son was like the Israelites after they escaped through the Red Sea?
8. What is the function of John the Baptizer in this parable?
9. Were the IRS men and prostitutes more like the first son or the second son?

These questions plus some coffee will help us gaze into God's perfect Torah of freedom tomorrow morning.

Matthew 21

We now dive into Matthew's 21st chapter, which begins with Jesus formally entering Jerusalem to cries of praise. Here are a few questions to stir the pot:

1. Did the two blind men, now healed, follow Jesus into Jerusalem?
2. Had Jesus entered Jerusalem on other occasions, prior to this? Did he shake up the city?
3. Did Jesus previously teach the Twelve about giving up their possessions?
4. Did the owner of the ass and the colt make a complaint when giving up his property?
5. When do we sing the Jerusalem greeting, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" at Mass? Why then?
6. It pleased Jesus to hear the little ones singing words of praise for him. Would it have encouraged the Twelve to hear the little children singing out to the Son of David?

OK, let's get ready for the Jerusalem events here at the end of Matthew's gospel.

In the vineyard

With chapter 20, we dive back into a parable about the first and the last, the famous parable of the vineyard workers. Here are a few questions we can use to think over the meaning of God's message here:

1. What would a rabbi of Jesus' day identify as "the vineyard" -- a real farming operation or something other than that?
2. Jesus populates the parables with sets of workers, grateful for a day's work. If the parable is meant for every age, including 2011, who should we consider to be the workers of the parable?
3. Who is the master of the household, making the decisions about work and pay?
4. Which sacrament of today has its origin in a vineyard?
5. How does a vineyard worker relate to the next words of Jesus, that he must go up to Jerusalem and pass through the crucifixion?

This chapter is loaded, and we will spend most of our time tomorrow morning in vv. 1-19. Be ready.