"No prophet is accepted in his own native place."

The gospel reading for this Sunday, Luke 4:21-30, continues the story we heard last Sunday. Jesus stood up in the Synagogue of Nazareth and proclaimed the Word of God. His reading of the scriptures was fine, the real problem occurred when he came to the sermon. First of all they are astonished and amazed and even proud of him; but then as they began to realise the implication of his words their admiration turned to anger and they chased him out of town even, at one point, trying to push him over a cliff. 
 
Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 3, 2013 (4C)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Should Mass be offered for those who oppose Church teachings?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19

1. Obstinate people present themselves to Jeremiah and Jesus this Sunday. Why do people resist a prophet’s profound call to peace and justice? Do you always accept “radical messages” right away? Is there some injustice about which you can no longer remain silent? What would you like to rouse people to do?

2. “For it is I this day who have made you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass, against the whole land: against Judah’s kings and princes, against the priests and people.” Do disagreements within the Church or within your parish sometimes take place? Is this a bad thing? Discuss the idea that growth involves some tension.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 71: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17

1. Our psalmist says that from his mother's womb God was his strength. Describe how you as a child of God derive strength and hope from the Lord.

2. The psalmist cries out to God to rescue him 'from the hand of the wicked, from the clutches of the evil and violent.' Speak of how you have been delivered by the Lord from the clutches of the evil one.

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 or 13:4-13

1. What is the only thing you take with you when you die? Do you think you can expand your capacity for love by exercising the giving and receiving of love? Do you think that love is the prime mover in all that you do? That the Church does?

2. Why is this Second Reading placed in the middle of two readings where prophets are trying to change people’s attitudes or hearts? What changes people for the better? Name some things that love does in your life.

Gospel
Luke 4:21-30

1. Both Jeremiah and Jesus provoked people in God’s name. Then they escaped from the danger that resulted. What are the implications for us? What did God promise us?

2. Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his own native place.” Do you think prophets care if they are accepted or not? Do you know anyone whom you would consider a prophet? What do you think changed them from “ordinary person” to “prophet”?

Sunday Bible Study Group

Please share your thoughts on these Sunday Readings. And please do use these questions for your own Bible study sessions with family and friends.
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"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

On Sunday, we will read Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21, where our Lord proclaims himself as the Messiah, fulfilling what Isaiah prophesied. In the gospel, the Lord invites us to discover the mission that we share with him.

Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 27, 2013 (3C)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Sanctity of Life - "Protection or Celebration of Life?"

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

1. Why does Ezra say “today” is holy? What is significant about “today” for Jesus? Do you live in the past or the future instead of today? What is the only time you have for sure? What happens to “now” if you spend all your time looking backward or forward?

2. Each of the readings today is similar in that someone is proclaiming God's word to an asssembly. (Paul was writing to the Corinthians who were fighting over rank and status.) Do you think everything we would ever know was stated during Jesus’ time, or does the Holy Spirit give the Church new insights as it needs them?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 19: 8, 9, 10, 15

1. Our Psalm response this Sunday is 'Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.' In what way are you impacted along your faith journey by the words of our Lord?

2. Speak of how the Lord's commandments are useful in carrying out the plea of our psalmist, 'Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favor before you.'

Second Reading
 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27

1. Some people's gift is to diffuse tension in a meeting. What if such a person is missing from a meeting? Is this kind of gift more or less important than administering the parish, community or diocese? Why or why not? What is your gift to the community?

2. If you had your choice of gifts which ones would you choose? Why? If you have a gift and you never use it, what will happen to it? Can you name some of your gifts?

Gospel
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

1. Jesus went to Nazareth, his hometown. People there thought of him as Mary and Joseph’s son. Suddenly he claimed to be the Messiah. What would your reaction have been to such a declaration?

2. Jesus said he had been anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free. Where would you look for Jesus if he were here today physically? Is the Church where you would seek him? Do you insulate yourself from the poor and tell yourself that you couldn’t do anything to help anyway? Is there some small thing you could do for people needing assistance?

Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your thoughts on these Sunday Readings. And please do use these questions for your own Bible study sessions with family and friends.

“Do whatever he tells you.”

There are several unusual features about this story in today's gospel. First of all, it is not customary for Jesus to perform a miracle merely to help friends avoid embarrassment. Secondly, this is the only time in John's gospel that we see the mother of Jesus intervene to ask a favor of her Son. Finally, Jesus addresses his mother as "woman," which is not the way one addresses one's mother, then or now.


Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 20, 2013 (2C)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Is Jesus and God the same?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Isaiah 62:1-5

1. Why does Isaiah use intimate marital imagery when explaining the relationship between God and the people? Does love between human beings help you understand how much God loves people?

2. The Lord gives new names to Israel in this First Reading (“a glorious crown in the Lord’s hand,” “A Royal Diadem [crown],” “My Delight,” and “Espoused”). How would you interpret these loving names in light of the New Testament?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 96: 1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10

1. Our psalmist encourages us to 'Sing to the Lord a new song." What is it about your faith that makes you want to sing praise to the Lord?

2. The Psalm urges us to 'Proclaim His marvelous deeds to all the nations.' How will you go about proclaiming the Gospel to those around you in your family and your community?

Second Reading
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

1. Why do you think people are given talents like Van Gogh’s and Bach’s or spiritual gifts like the ones mentioned in the reading? Should everyone have the same talents? Are you using the talents God gave you?

2. Paul mentions the gifts of faith, healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment of spirits, varieties of tongues and interpretations of tongues. Are such gifts needed in your community? Where do they come from?

Gospel
John 2:1-11

1. Surprisingly, when his own mother said, “They have no wine.” Jesus replied, “How does your concern affect me?” Wasn’t this a rude answer? Why did he say it? In spite of his response, Mary trusted that he would somehow solve the problem. If this trust rates a 10, where would you put your trust when you go to God with your concerns?

2. This Sunday, together with the previous two (i.e., Epiphany, the Lord’s Baptism, and now the miracle at Cana), prepare for Jesus’ public ministry (he denies that it has begun yet in today’s reading). Compare and contrast these three events.

Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your thoughts on these Sunday Readings. And please do use these questions for your own Bible study sessions with family and friends.

"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

When Jesus is baptized, the voice from heaven booms out and names him: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." This affirmation is the defining moment for the prophet from Nazareth. It is God's declaration of love to God's new Israel; it is God's naming to supreme accountability; it is God's surprise for the world of the proud and powerful.


Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord , Jan. 13, 2013 (BaptismLordC)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Why must Catholic parents to baptize their babies?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 or Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

1. In this reading (Isaiah 42), God says to the suffering servant, "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased." Then in the Gospel a voice comes from heaven, saying to Jesus, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." What are the implications?

2. Wastelands, deserts, rugged land and rough country (Isaiah 40). Could these words describe the world today? The Church? Your spiritual life? Does this reading suggest that there is help in fixing these or do you have to do it all yourself?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 29: 1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

1. The Psalm's verses speak of the power and splendor of the voice of the Lord, thundering over the waters. Have you heard God's powerful voice
speaking to you, anointing you as one of His chosen ones?

2. Our psalmist encourages us to give God the glory due His holy name. Tell of how you give God the glory in your activities and your everyday life.

Second Reading
Reading II: Acts 10:34-38 or
Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

1. Did we do anything to earn salvation? Why does God give it to us? What does St. Paul in his letter to Titus say about the extravagance of God's gift to us?

2. In the reading from Acts, Peter is quoted as saying about Jesus: "He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil." Compare this with Isaiah in the First Reading: "I formed you…to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness."

Gospel
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

1. John the Baptist was the middleman. He pointed back to Isaiah and forward to Jesus, connecting the whole plan. What or who are the "middlemen or women" who connect you with God? In what way are you a middle person?

2. Jesus stood in line with everyone else to be baptized. What does this tell you about him? Can you think of anything that God asks you to do that Jesus didn't experience in some way?

Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your thoughts on these Sunday Readings. And please do use these questions for your own Bible study sessions with family and friends.

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?"

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany: The visit of the Magi to Jesus. And what a story. Wise Men following their strange star. And this child they seek, the newborn King of the Jews, is in Bethlehem.


Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Feast of the Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2013 (EpiphanyC)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University

Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings 
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios 
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Is it ever permitted to lie?

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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Isaiah 60:1-6

1. Though darkness covered the earth, light and glory had come to Jerusalem, says the First Reading. Are you always aware of God's light and glory in your life?

2. Did Jerusalem have any light of her own? Were nations coming to her or to the light? What do you think draws people to the Church today?

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

1. Our psalmist describes a powerful king who will rule from sea to sea. Yet this king stoops to rescue the afflicted and has pity on the lowly and the poor. In what way do these verses speak to you about the coming of our Savior.

2. The psalm mentions that all the kings of the civilized world shall offer gifts to this newly endowed king. Are you also inspired to bring tribute to our
newborn Savior, and what sort of gift will you offer?

Second Reading
Ephesians 3:2-3a,5-6

1. Just what was this mystery that brightened the whole world? Was a star an integral part of the story?

2. A revelation was given to Paul by the Spirit, he says. It told him that Christ's life was too great to be limited to its starting place. Not only the Jews but the Gentiles as well are "coheirs, members of the same body." Have Christians always treated the Jewish peoples in the way Paul describes?

Gospel
Matthew 2:1-12


1. God sent the Magi a message that caused them to ride camels half way across the known world. What would motivate you to put in this kind of effort? What was worth this kind of search for them?

2. What is the main contrast between Jerusalem and Bethlehem? Between Herod and the Magi? What does this tell you about places and people God chooses?

Sunday Bible Study Group

Please share your thoughts on these Sunday Readings. And please do use these questions for your own Bible study sessions with family and friends.
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