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Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A, November 13, 2005

First reading, Proverbs 3:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

Our Liturgical Setting: Today's gospel, Matthew 25:14-30, is, one one level, about using one's talents and being accountable for that use. It's the second-last in this year's series of episodes from Matthew.

The editors of the lectionary usually choose the first reading in light of the day's gospel. The book of Proverbs is the best place to turn for practical advice about keeping busy in worthwhile ways. And this reading happily echoes last Sunday's first reading, where wisdom was personified as a woman.

Proclaiming It: Pronounce "distaff" with a short "i" and the accent on the first syllable. (A distaff is an instrument used in spinning thread.) Pause after the line "[She] extends her arms to the needy," because there's a break in the thought there.

Second Reading, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

The Historical Situation: The "times and seasons" in the first sentence refer to the time when Jesus would return in glory, to judge the world and bring history to its end. Paul's audience believed that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again very soon! That's the context of this exhortation to stay ready. However, elsewhere in the same letter, Paul urges the same audience not to abandon their day-to-day responsibilities just because they're sure Jesus is about to return.

Proclaiming It: Emphasize the phrase "day of the Lord" in the second sentence. Do the same for the expression "that day" in the second paragraph. Also, let your voice express the contrasts throughout the reading.
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 explains the texts verse-by-verse, and sometimes word-by-word, with cross-references to other Bible passages. Especially useful if you're puzzled about the meaning of a word or phrase in the readings.
Today Dan covers a first reading from Zephaniah, plus the second reading and gospel common to both our Lectionaries. 		Father Roger Karban's 1999 syndicated column about these readings,

and his 2002 column

The 2002 column of Jesuit Father Francis X. Cleary, From the site of the Saint Louis Review.
The Text This Week; links to Lectionaries of many churches, homilies, art works, movies touching scriptural themes, and other resources on the week's scripture Saint Louis University's excellent new liturgy site
Most welcome here are Reginald Fuller's commentaries.
This site posts its pages only a week before the given Sunday, and keeps its back issues posted for only about eight weeks.

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.

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Last modified: Tue Oct 18 17:49:27 CDT 2005