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Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, October 25, 2009 Lectionary index # 149B

First reading, Jeremiah 31:7-9 [Jerusalem Bible translation]

The Historical Background: This prophecy is set in the ruins of Jerusalem, at a time when its leading citizens have been exiled in Babylon. Jeremiah confidently predicts their restoration to their homeland. The returnees will include not just the powerful, but the blind and lame, vulnerable mothers and their children. The name Jacob in "Shout with joy for Jacob," means the whole nation; remember that Jacob was the grandson of Abraham who was renamed "Israel." It was common usage to call a tribe by the name of its patriarch.

Proclaiming It: Of course the lector's voice should express the prophet's joy, confidence, and awe at what God is about to do. A good way to bring these to expression is to contrast with tone of voice the "before and after" states of the people. For example, "They departed in tears" deserves a low tone of voice, but "I will console them and guide them" should sound brighter, happier.

Brief homiletic excursus: Today's gospel shows that Jesus welcomed companions like the blind and lame, as he marched to Jerusalem. His followers today are that diverse, imperfect, inclusive band, nagged by a feeling of exile in the world as we know it, longing for a homeland we have yet to reach.

Jeremiah, were he alive today, would be predicting our success. So the lector's tone of voice should express confidence, joy and excitement, like the prophet's.

Second Reading, Hebrews 5:1-6 [Jerusalem Bible translation]

The addressees of this letter had been kicked out of their synagogues when they accepted Jesus as the fulfillment of their ancient Jewish hopes. The writer tries to comfort them by depicting Jesus as the superior replacement for the priests they formerly depended upon.

Proclaiming It: To convey that with only the text in hand is a challenge, because the word's "Christ" and "son" appear only once. But that's where the lector's emphasis belongs.

Brief etymological excursus: Some are wont to accommodate (I use the word advisedly) Hebrews 5:1-3 to derive a datum about contemporary priests. But the ministers whom we call priests today hold an office derived from a different origin, with a title derived from a different word. In the Greek original of the letter to the Hebrews, and of other Christian Scriptures where the word appears, what we translate as "priest" is the word "hierus" (he er OOS). It means the man who did the rituals and, sometimes, the teaching, for the people. Our modern word "hierarchy" comes from this root. It's applied only to Jewish priests and, in Hebrews, to Jesus, for the reasons given above.

In their descriptions of the church aborning, the Christian Scriptures name no minister "hierus." The ministers named are the apostles; then their successors the overseers (in Greek, "episkopoi", literally "over seers"), who became modern bishops; deacons; deaconesses; and "presbyteroi," literally "elders," who each served a local congregation. An overseer would supervise (from the Latin version of "oversee") several local congregations. The English word "priest" comes from the Greek root "presbyteros" (singular). Over the years, many functions of pre-Christian "hierus" were added to the job description and the self-understanding of the Christian presbyter. By the time English came along, and Christianity came to the English speakers, one word covered both callings.

Slightly broader excursus: The English word "Presbyterian" comes from the same Greek root. There it serves to distinguish a denomination by its form of governance. Presbyterians choose to be governed by presbyters, or elders, rather than by bishops. What churches are governed by bishops? Episcopal churches, of course. What do you call churches governed by neither? Congregational. All three, when they were aborning, distinguished themselves from each other and from the Roman church, whose governance they might have called "papal." While we're at it, what are Methodists? Well, John Wesley was an Anglican (Episcopal) leader who gave people a spiritual discipline, or "methods," for being good Anglicans; how the users of the methods became a distinct denomination is beyond the scope of even this excursus. What's accurate in this brief history of mainline Protestant derivations I owe to the late Allen O. Miller, a distinguished teacher, preacher and ecumenist in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. What's inaccurate is due to my faulty memory, and I welcome corrections from the knowledgeable. While Doctor Miller would probably also agree with what I say about the presbyters, he wouldn't take credit for it. That goes to several of my other teachers.

Several other commentaries on these passages. All are thoughtful, all quite readable, from the scholarly to the popular. Links may be incomplete more than a few weeks before the "due date."
Lutheran pastor and college teacher Dan Nelson's notes for a study group. Dan covers Hebrews 7:23-28 as second reading today. Archived weekly column of Father Francis X. Cleary, S.J. (Log in using 0026437 and 63137)	Father Roger Karban's 1997 column, his year-2000 column, his 2003 column, his 2006 column. Read all of Father Karban's recent columns here.
The Text This Week; links to homilies, art works, movies and other resources on the week's scripture themes	Saint Louis University's excellent site for Sunday liturgy Most welcome here are Reginald Fuller's commentaries. (Caveat lector. As of October 4, 2009, Lector's Notes' author is speculating about the exact URL of SLU's offering, since it's not yet posted. If you get a 404 Not Found, try here).

The Lectionary selections in the frame at the left, if any, are there for your convenience. The publishers of the page in that frame have no connection, except for membership in the one Body of Christ, with the publisher of this page. Likewise the publishers of the pages on the links above.