Sunday 31 July 2022 (’01) C: 18thSUNinOrdinary

1. ECCLES/QOH1: 1-2, 2:21-23

• Read 1:1-2:26! A very contemporary pessisism? A very ancient wisdom?
• ‘Vanity!’ What 10AmbitionsStructuresRelationshipsTeachings did once endow with value&meaning? But subsequently were revealed to be empty&unfruitful?
• What 10LifeProjects do I reckon, &by what criteria, to be of substance, &of worth?
• Why are so many ‘adult christians’ eaten up by anxiety&resentment?
• In my world-experience, how is women’s ‘stress’ different-from, &related-to, men’s?

2. THE PSALM 89:3-6, 12-14, 17

• Read 89(90) 1-17! What sort of ‘refuge’ this, that is yet so unsatedly ‘angry’?
• In what ways is ‘Yahweh’ a ‘refuge’ for my local church?
• &What other ‘refuges’ is my local church perhaps finding ‘refuge’ in?
• What 10Refuges&ExcapesFrom’ ‘true discipleship’ have I discovered?
• Which other narrative divinities, apart from ‘Yahweh/Jesus’, have rapidly become central, &are invoked&embodied also by ‘Christians’, in IrishSociety?
• Why do ‘church leaders’ turn a blind eye to Dionysius, Hermes, Aphrodite?

3. COL 3:1-5, 9-11

• Read 2:1- 3:17! Wa-wa! The unforeseen implications&consequences of ‘Christ’!
• What 15Facets of ‘TheChristMystery’ are actively impinging on my ‘life’?
• By what criteria do I distinguish, as-adult, ‘heavenly’ & ‘earthly things’?
• Will exhortation alone avail to ‘kill’ those sexual ‘aberrations’?
• Surely a most-adequate-adult-education is needed! But who offers or desires this?
• ‘No room for distinction’ Hollow laffter please, in the ‘christian churches’!

4. LK12:13-21

• Read 12:1-29! Exploration of the values that underpin ‘discipleship’!
• But haven’t the rampant ‘values’ of IrishSociety strangled ‘discipleship’!
• ‘Avarice!’ Who is not consumed by ‘creeping anxiety’, concerning JobsMortgageHealthChildrenSuicideImpotenceRivalsGuiltMeaningBellaFiguraStalkers!
• Why is the response of ‘IrishChristians’ to the modern world so pathethic!
• What 10Aspects-of-TheEarth have I been taking-for-granted, boo-hoo?

5. The presence&Action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

‘Avarice!’ ThePractisingSceptic was quietly reflective! ‘&if it’s not that, it’s laziness or fear! Why are Christians so prone to all these’ ‘Christian all you want..’, TheOfficialBeliever interjected, ‘but just leave Catholics out of your tendentious drift! They’re’ ‘They’re worse, if anything! like spoilt children, taking everything for..’ ‘Excuse me! are you referring to TheChosen of TheLord! Catholic Action’s always been at the forefront’ ‘ Look’ all have the same virus’ Christian selfcentredness , every Church is marinating in narcissistic ostrichism!’ ‘O you’re such an obnoxious pedant! Listen to TheMaster’s great parable! The rich man & his harvest & AlmightyGod calling him “Thou fool”’ ‘No crowd bends&spins the unfortunate parables better than yours! Black can be white &white can be..’ ‘ How dare you come snorting&pawing the dust about TheTrueChurch! Like someone on for trampling the pearl of faith ‘ ‘ All bluster! If you’d any wit, never mind humility or selfawareness, you’d ‘ ‘ O why do I bother! Your sort always wants the last word! But TheAlmighty whom we represent, will have the last laff ‘ ‘ Well&good’ but who’ll be the laff on..?’

6. RIDDLE Which? UtterlyLove-TheEarth? GoAllOutForHeaven? HedgeMyBets?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

Sunday 25^th July 2022 (’01) 17thSUNinORDINARY : C

1. GEN18:20-32

• What was the ‘outcry’ against TheCities? FromTheEarth,orWomen,orChildren?
• Read 19 1-38! What sorts of ‘sin’ are depicted or hinted? Any ‘virtue’?
• In 45words, what ‘outcry’ is there, against oneor otherofourowntownsor cities? &What ways are the ‘destroyingangels‘ there? &Isanyonepleadingfor‘clemency’?
• Are there ‘juster’ ways of dealing with ‘immorality^‘ than ‘destructive rage’?
• How am I related to the ‘immorality’ that is anessential ingredient ofIrish Society? 2. THE PSALM : 137 1-3, 6-8 (What of vv4-5?)

• Read 137(138) 1-8′ DoesHetrulysupportme? or is it ‘wishful thinking’?
• Does my preoccupation with cultic or heavenly ‘temples’ permit me to forget or ignore that TheEarth, with itsnuminousrichness, is TheTrueEmbodiedTemple?
• Have I been encouraged, by anunselfcritical ¹monotheism’, to be much too la-di-da&aisy-oisy about theawesomepowerof ‘The0therGods’?

3 COL2.12-14

• Read 2 1-23!The desperate struggle to–be–TheChristinahostilesociety!
• In too many respects, haven’t ‘adult chnstians’ been thrown-to–the-wolves?
• ‘Baptism!’ What of the reference here, is to an impressive&terrifying&memorable experience of ritual-death, undergone by a prepared adult, marking her for ‘life”
• ‘Cos arguably, our own utterly–domesticated ritual of ‘cradle–baptism‘ has become very much a take-it-or-leave-it, with questionable valence!

4. LKll·1-13

• Will giving someone a ‘formula-of-prayer‘ also ‘teach them to pray’? Or is an important ‘teaching’ hidden in the formulation, &the accompanying ‘catechesis’?

Does ‘bread’ come from heaven, or from the determinationof friendstoshare? What has enabled me to persist in thedeep nittygritty of ‘prayer’?

Especially, fidelity to the ritual, &attentiveness to the dialectic? AdultPrayer, is it being neutralised&forfeited by ‘child-spintuality’? Without TheHolyBreath, isn’t it only-words’ withTheHolyBreath, wow!’

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

‘God, quick Gertie’ call us a bucket a’ shandy there, a’m parched with.. ‘ ‘Are y’ OK Cissie? maybe y’re comm’ down with ‘ ‘…With shock, from hearin’…’ ‘Head a’ wit, was it, talkin’ like a tap ?! ‘Wait til y’ hear!’ ‘Hurry Cissie!I can’t wait’ 0 here’s y’r shandy, throw it inta ya, an’ we’ll fix another” ‘No, we’d a vision’ monsiggner, if y’ don’t mind” ‘Skershay mwah!’ ‘An’ listen, from Spam…’ ‘Ha! Shershay” ‘But he spoke gorgeous english, with an accent like…’ ‘Is tha’ what has y’ parched wi’ th’ droot?’ ‘No, what he said’ I never heard it in all me puff!’ ‘God Cissie, tell us quick” ‘He said, if God’s not y’r true friend every way y’ can think of, then forget it! y’re wastin’ y’r time, Hozay! Not y’r creator, or Judge, or anythin’! y’r true friend! who’ll give ya their last ‘ ‘ ..chockie?’ ‘…an’ ‘U get up at midnight if y’ need fish or bread or eggs!’ ‘God, that’s a new one on me!’ ‘We were all sorta whispenrin’that ourselves! he musta heard’ Go an’ try it, he shouted! If yez dare, go on an’ find out’ An’ then lafft, there on th’ altar” ‘God Cissie,if y’ ever find it, a certain someone ‘ll be out of a job!’

6 RIDDLE TheMostDesirableNegotiation! WithYahweh’sRage? WithTheGrteaterBody? With AllThatDetachedPiety? WithWinnowingRituals? WithChristianApathy? WithTheImportunateBreath?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

Sunday 17 July 2022 (’01)  16thSUNinORDINARY : C

1. GENlS:1-10

• Read 18.1-33! Three modes ofYahwehEncounter! Birth&Death&Justice!
• How do I understand ‘YahwehShowmgHimself–as-ThreeMen’?
• What biblical stories are evoked by this circumstantial extract?
• ‘StandingNear! ‘. They–to-Him, He–to-Them! (JN19:25f)
• Is ‘Yahweh’sVisit’’ for Abraham? Or Sarah? (Or indeed, for Isaac!)
• To what extent is conception&birth, even today;mvolved with divinities?

2. THE PSALM . 14.2-5

• Insofar as women might dwell on TheHolyMountain, would they act similarly?
• In my local church, which ministries demand these attitudes&skills?
• Are there any significant lacunae in this summary? Or is ‘Yahweh’ interested only in a limited spectrum of ‘Virtues’? &Not, say, in Ecology?
• Is it envisaged, perhaps, that little of this would apply to mere ‘laity’?
• If it’s imagined that ‘Yahweh’ detailed this litany, then how did it take place?
• In my local church, who sets the standards, &promulgates the rules? (What??)

3. COL1 24–28

• ‘Body!’: That which creates sohdar1ty mth others‘ &with the species’ &TheEarth1
• &What are the sigmflcant aspects of ‘Body’? Skm Blood Organs .’l Or ?
• That which I call ‘TheChurch’, why 1s it also called ‘TheBodyOfChnst’?
• How 1s the wnter of COL so selfconf1dent about TheMystery&TheChnst&God?
• Why does he thmk1t 1s useful to suffer for his clients?
• &Why does he thmk that ‘Chnst’ has still to suffer, ‘ForHisBodyTheChurch’?
• ‘ChnstAmongYou!’: But is 1t ‘Yahweh‘, or one of ‘TheOtherGods’, that anomts–us? D1ony us or Hermes, arguably? Odm or Nerthus? Or Wisdom-the-Devalued?

4. LK10 38-42

• How can I discern&imagine the relations among this archetypal ‘trinity‘?

Why is Jesus also called ‘TheLord’ (a if this represents a ritual’)?

Martha-the–Welcomer may own the house (&/or Mary too?)!

Is Jesus caught in a rivalry? &Is He more empathic to Mary?

Is Mary excessively passive, like-‘Lazarus’ in LK16:19ff?

Perhaps ‘TheLord’ is more challenged by Martha?

Martha’s ‘distraction’! Does she want ‘help’, or a chance to ‘listen’?

• In what ways is this ‘ritual’ significant for my local church?

5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

no, I am not assuaged! not so much TheMaster, tho’ really I didn’t comprehend His enigmatic words earlier! my sister I mean, crouched there like a half-empty wine-skin, drinking it all in, everything for her as usual! I let them walk on me, even TheMaster seemed to mock me, talking in that, like a rabbi, ancient wisdom! Ignoring my request, not the first time, left with a mountain of work, only encouraging her, our brother too always did, making it worse between us! we haven’t spoken· for over a year, He probably noticed I didn’t address her, but tried to get Him to, but I was ignored, even tho’ she was drinking it all in, I knew she knew’ people use me as it suits them, I imagine I’m like Sarah, tho’ I don’t have even Sarah‘s prospects’ what was it He said, ‘one–thing! the better-part”? could it be what I deeply desire? anyway, TheMaster hardly looked at me as He spoke! it’s all left me plunged in unbearable despair

6 RIDDLE Whose Hospitality is crucial? TheFamily‘s? TheChurch’s? TheEarth‘s?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie

Sunday 10^th July 2022 (’01), 15^thSunday in Ordinary Time C

1. Deut 30: 10-14

• Read 29:2-30:20 Moses’ homily of Promise&Threat, reflecting TheJerusalemTemple’sPriorities! (i.e making Yahweh support the Destruction-of-the- Canaanites!)
• What possessed the occasional ‘prophet’ to criticise TheTemple&TheLaw?

2. THE PSALM 68:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37.

• Read 68(69) 1-36! A great indignant hope-filled psalm-of-trust!
• What if this prayer is changed, by taking-out & sewing-together a quilt-of-shreds, into an excerpt that cannot be objected to by anyone?
• What of the claim that ‘liturgical prayer’ is domesticated & comatose?
• & rarely reflects the exigencies& vicissitudes of life-in-the-world?
• But merely reproduces the flattering cadences of temple ideology?

3. COL1:15-20

• Am I able to acknowledge, then move to one side, the familiar&taken-for-granted’god-talk used of Jesus: so as to re-value & be amazed?
• Has Jesus as ‘principal of unity & reconcilliation’ been casually discarded? & Have I noted the reluctance, on all sides (why is this?) to propose ‘TheNewlyUnfoldedJesus as The Corner Stone of The Good Friday Agreement?’

4. LK10: 25-37

• ‘Inherit!’ What is ‘eternal life,’ then? Heirloom? OffShoreAccount? Disease?
• But what if the lawyer glimpsed a deeper problem? Parable or no?
• What if ‘my heighbour isn’t a few people, but everyone?
• ‘If the priest can’t or won’t help, what hope has a mere lawyer?’
• ‘ Well, anyone but a Samaritan! At that, I just closed up!’
• ‘Telling me twice-over, “Do-this!” that makes it even less likely…!
• ‘Anyway, “eternal life” is simple! Obey, Pray, IgnoreAllElse..!’

5. The presence & action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?

Confidential memorandum to TheMostExcellentHighPriest Caiaphas!

Dispatched by trusted messenger from BarShemaya, Stalker of The Nazarene!

Greetings! May Heaven’sBlessings adorn YourExcellency!

The arrogance of TheNazarene is becoming boundless, & his continuing assaults on our HolyLaw&Temple have begun to disturb the allegiance, not merely of the populace, which needn’t surprise, but also some lower clerics&functionaries! As of now, I have not detected any dissatisfaction in the middle or higher grades of the clergy, but I continue in my very humble very privileged fashion, to be Ears&Eyes to YourExcellency in regard to TheNazarene & his machinations, (inspired, who could doubt, by Beelzebub, TheLord-of-Abomination! I make the sign of Aversion!) Only today near Jericho, he was offered a cheap opportunity by one of the weaker-minded Masters-of-TheLaw (ShimuelBarTolman! Undeserving of his uncompromisable office)! Something about love-of-neighbour, nothing very significant, really! But gave, as I said, an opening for one of that bloated Northerner’s meshalm! Stories of no real merit or truth, but unfortunately some folk are too easily impressed by what is typically of no substance! Suffice it to say for now, the minor clerics of TheTemple were slandered in his meshal, & the filthy heretical schismatics flattered! How long, YourExcellency, can we refrain from vindicating Heaven’sTruth? Fare You Well!’

6. RIDDLE

TheLaw! UnnecessaryMilestone? GreviouslyMisrepresented?

ReplacedByTheChrist? StillAlive&Well&Valid? All&UtterlyPasse?

Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie