Community in Mission

March 23, 2017March 22, 2017

How Did People Tell Time in Jesus’ Day?

N.B.: I am in the Holy Land at this time. As my travel schedule is heavy, I am republishing some articles about life in Jesus’ day. I hope you will enjoy reading (or re-reading) them as much as I did.

The modern person, especially in the West, thinks of time in a very mechanistic way. We watch the clock, which is in itself a mechanical device without intrinsic meaning. For shorter periods of time we look at the clock rather than the sun. For longer periods, we watch the crops, track our children’s growth, or more broadly chart the rise and fall of nations. For most of us, time is not the unfolding of eternity or the cycle of life; time is simply a span to be reckoned by its length, by the number of ticks on a device we have invented. We also tend to measure time by what we can do with it: if we have a lot of time we can get a lot done; if we don’t have much time we can’t much done.

The modern, Western mind tries to control by measuring; and boy do we love to measure time! Having measured it, we somehow think we control it. We assign monetary value to it by stating that time is money. We have many expectations based on it: “You’re taking too long to do that,” or “The deadline has passed.”

For the ancients, such precision about time was unknown and to some degree impossible. For them, demarcations of time were of divine origin. God set forth the sun to rule the day, the moon, and the stars the night (cf Ps 135:8-9).

The daily cycle of the sun defined the day and night. A lengthier cycle of the sun, its rising and falling in the horizon, marked the year. Seasons could also be discerned by this cycle. There were the longest and shortest days of the year (the solstices) and the equinoxes, when the night and the day were essentially the same length.

The moon declared the passage of months. In fact, the very word “month” in English has the same origin as the word “moon.”

There were different systems used by the ancients to demarcate time, some of them were based on the sun and others on the moon. It is clear that in Jesus’ time, the lunar year (354 days) was used. The lunar year has the serious disadvantage of being some 11 days behind the solar year, which quickly causes a discrepancy between the months and the seasons. This difference had to be adjusted for periodically; otherwise, “summer” would eventually have occurred in the winter months!

Generally speaking, the Jewish people waited until the error of the lunar calendar amounted to about a full month, at which time they inserted an extra month (Veadar) between the months of Adar and Nisan. A year with this extra month amounted to almost 400 days instead of the usual 354 days of the Jewish lunar calendar.

The decision as to when exactly to insert this extra month was made rather empirically. Farmers might comment to rabbinic officials that the lambs were still too young or the grain was not yet ripe. When consensus built that the month of Veadar needed to be inserted, it was ordered to be done. Decisions of this sort were usually made by a Beth Din (a rabbinical court) following a complex procedure. Witnesses were examined as to the problem of the lagging calendar in relation to the season. Chosen observers of the sun and moon were asked to testify in great detail about the location of the moon, the size of its crescent, and its height above the horizon. When the sufficient evidence was collected, the Veadar month was declared. This happened approximately every three years.

Generally, a month was said to begin in the evening of the 29th day, at the moment when the thin sliver of the new moon appeared in the sky. When all seven Beth Din members agreed to the new month, it legally began; fires were lit on the hilltops to announce it to the populace.

In ordinary years (those without a Veadar) there were 12 months. In actuality, though, the ancient Jews told time more by their feasts than by the month. The Jews thought of yearly time in this manner:

Jewish Month	Western Equivalent	Cycle of Feasts
Nissan	March–April	Passover
Iyar	April–May	Lag B’Omer
Sivan	May–June	Shavuot
Tammuz	June–July
Menachem Av	July–August	Tisha B’Av
Elul	August–September
Tishrei	September–October	Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succoth, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah
Marcheshvan	October–November
Kislev	November–December	Chanukah
Tevet	December–January	conclusion of Chanukah
Shevat	January–February	Tu B’Shvat
Adar	February–March	Purim

Months (the moon cycle) and festivals were the essential divisions of the year. The four seasons, which are important to us, were less significant to the ancient Jews, who lived in a climate that did not fall into four distinct periods. For them there was only the cool, wet period of October through March and the hot, dry period of April through September; the transition between them was fairly rapid. But again, the chief points of the year were known in relation to the feasts. For ancient Jews, hearing of the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) provided very guides to the time of year.

Despite all these reference points, telling time in Jesus’ day was fairly murky. There were any number of different calendars used in Palestine at the time. The Jews had an official calendar but were divided as to its details. This difference finds its way into the Scriptures, wherein the three synoptic gospels seem to date Passover on one day, while John’s Gospel pinpoints it on another. There is strong evidence that the Essene community used a solar calendar from the Book of Jubilees rather than the lunar calendar of many other Jews. So even in the significant feasts like Passover, different groups of Jews specified them on different days. Added to this was the fact that the Romans had a completely different calendar from the Jews, as did the Samaritans. Further, the Greek cities of the Decapolis used the Macedonian calendar, and others made reference to as many as four calendars: Jewish, Syrian, Egyptian, and Roman.

We who are used to more certainty about time will wonder how anyone knew when to show up anywhere! Yet it must be said that the ancient Jews lived in greater conformity with the natural cycles of the day than we do. They got up when the sun rose and generally followed its daily cycle, finishing work before dusk and then enjoying a few evening hours gathered around oil lamps or illuminated by the moonlight. Their lives were generally synchronized with the sun and the seasons, while our notions of the day are often artificial and in some ways unhealthy.

One of the greater mysteries in terms of telling time is the seven-day week. Most of the other increments make sense based on the cycles of the moon or the sun, but there seems to be no obvious reference in the natural order to explain a week being seven days in length. Surely the book of Genesis is the theological source for this practice. God worked for six days, creating the heavens and the earth, and then rested on the seventh. Thus man, made in God’s image, did the same. It seems clear that most cultures throughout human history have “reset the clock” every seven days. It is possible that the influence of the Jewish scriptures had some role, but the seven-day cycle seems common even where Jewish faith could not have had much influence; perhaps there is some inner circadian rhythm in the human person. For the Jews of Jesus’ time, though, it was clear enough that God had set this forth and thus it was to be followed.

Weeks lasted from one sabbath to the next, but there is no evidence that the Jews named each day. Of course the Sabbath itself was named, and the day before the Sabbath was called Preparation Day (see Mk 15:42), however other days were simply called the first day of the week (see Mk 16:2), the second day of the week, and so forth. Romans and Greeks named each day off after a god or a planet, but there is no evidence that the Jews did this.

For the ancient Jews, the day began at sundown. In larger towns, and especially in Jerusalem, the end of the day was marked by the sound of trumpets. This pattern is of course very different for us, who mark the beginning of the new day literally at midnight but practically most of us consider it as beginning at sunrise. We begin the day with work and then rest; they rested and then worked.

The division of the day and the hours was a comparatively recent phenomenon in Jesus’ time. In fact, the very word “hour” is not even found in the Old Testament, except perhaps once in the book of Daniel. By the time of Jesus, though, the division of the day into 12 hours was commonly accepted. This is referenced in many places in the New Testament. For example, there is the parable of the laborers who were hired at about the eleventh hour (Mt 20:9). There are references to Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well at the sixth hour (Jn 4:6). St. Mark recounts that Jesus was let out for crucifixion at the third hour and died at the ninth hour (Mk 15:25,33). Jesus admonished the disciples when they were unable watch and pray for even one hour.

Exactly how an hour was reckoned was obviously less precise than it is today. There was a general sense of the position of the sun, and there were sundials in use (especially among the Greeks), but there was a vagueness about its length and in determining the time of the day. Yes, our obsession with promptness and our exactitude with respect to time were utterly unknown in Jesus’ day and even in many places in the world today. Time was a much more flexible back then; in Jesus’ day it would’ve been meaningless to set an appointment for 10:30 AM or 6:00 PM. One would have had to be content with arranging to meet in the “late morning” or the “early evening.” To us this would be infuriating, but life was slower then and people were rarely in a hurry.

As for the night hours, things were even less precise. For those who were awake at night (and cared), the night was divided into watches, apparently four of them. St. Matthew, for example, states that it was in the fourth watch of the night that Jesus walked on the water to join His disciples (Mat 14:25). The last watch of the night also featured the cockcrow as dawn drew near.

Imagine how lost most of us would be in a world in which time was not of the essence but rather existed on the periphery. For us who are ruled by the clock, the whole experience might be quite disorienting. On the other hand, though, it might be liberating to look to the gentler, cyclical rhythms of God’s design rather than being slaves to some artificial, unrelenting timepiece. We might actually slow down to the pace of life He intended for us. Most of us could easily say, “I’m so busy I met myself coming back!” Somewhere, even in the world today, there are still those who, by the glow of gentle oil lamps, wait patiently until the day dawns and the morning star rises (2 Peter 1:19).

March 22, 2017September 18, 2023

What Was the Climate Like at the Time of Jesus?

The climate in Palestine, both today and at the time of Jesus, has two distinct seasons. The wet or rainy season runs from the mid-October to the mid-April while the dry season lasts from the mid-June to mid-September. During the dry season rainfall is rare. Although it can get very hot during summer, it often does not feel that way. Cool breezes and low humidity are typical, making the summers quite pleasant, especially in areas directly on the coast or on the higher slopes of the hills. During these months it is almost always sunny and the sky cloudless. Rain rarely falls during the summer because of the dominance of high-pressure zones. This provides challenges for farmers, who have to develop special methods for trapping water during the rainy season. During rainy season, although it does not rain every day, there can be significant rains that cause periodic flooding. While it gets cool in the winter and at higher altitudes (areas near Jerusalem and Bethlehem can even see snow), this is rare and usually limited to brief periods during December and January. Although the Bible refers snow in the area, it is mostly mentioned as occurring in the mountains to the north near Mt. Hermon.

The climate of the Holy Land varies from north to south and from east to west. Because the topography is varied there can be dramatic differences within a few miles. Generally, there is more rain in the eastern part of Palestine and it gets hotter the farther south one travels. The Dead Sea region and the area around Jericho are deep crevasses and pure desert. The mountainous regions have more rain on the west side than on the east side. The hottest days of the year occur during the transition between the two seasons.

The climate of Israel in Jesus’ day may not have been quite as warm and dry as it is today. Several references in Scripture would seem to imply that the land was wetter and more suitable for agriculture, without the need for the significant irrigation that is prevalent in the Middle East today. For example,

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar (Genesis 13:10).

And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:7,8).

The Bible also describes Solomon’s use of prodigious quantities of lumber to build the Temple and other buildings (circa 1000 B.C.)

Land-use studies throughout the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East show the prevalence of crops and forests, which were well suited to the cooler, wetter climates in the period before 1000 B.C.

Just as is the case today, in Jesus’ time the highly varied topography strongly affected the microclimate from mile to mile.

Lower Galilee (pictured at left), where Jesus lived most of His life, was Israel’s lushest region, known for its sunny, temperate climate and its spring-watered lands. Each spring, the valleys and slopes became an ocean of wildflowers and blossoming trees. Beginning in March, the area was covered by a vast blanket of green. The fertile land was a texture of vineyards and fruit orchards. Grapes, figs, olives, pomegranates, oranges, and other fruits flourished in its pleasant, subtropical climate.

The first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who knew the area well, wrote this about it:

Its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it, and the inhabitants accordingly plant all sorts of trees there; for the temper of the air is so well mixed, that it agrees very well with those several sorts, particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish there in vast plenty; there are palm trees also, which grow best in hot air; fig trees also and olives grow near them, which yet require an air that is more temperate. One may call this place the ambition of nature, where it forces those plants that are naturally enemies to one another to agree together; it is a happy contention of the seasons, as if every one of them laid claim to this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruit beyond men’s expectation, but preserves them a great while; it supplies men with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs continually, during ten months of the year and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together through the whole year (The Jewish War, Book 3, Chapter 10:8).

Around the Sea of Galilee crops were plentiful and fish were abundant. Despite its name, the Sea of Galilee is a fresh water lake, about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. The typical crops grown in the region in Jesus’ day were grain, olives, and grapes. The drier area to the east of the Sea of Galilee had less vegetation.

An area to the south between Galilee and Samaria is called the Valley of Jezreel (pictured at right) and featured rich soil and moderate rainfall. Judea, south of Samaria, has a gradual change in landscape, but the most notable change is the decrease in rainfall.

Since Jesus’ time the overall area has undergone gradual desertification, a process through which once-fertile land becomes desert (typically due to natural factors such as drought or through inappropriate agriculture). Desertification in the area has become especially noticeable during the last few centuries, although it had been occurring to some degree even before Jesus’ time. This leads to less water, less arable land, warmer days, and cooler nights. The chief human contributors to this gradual change have been wars and poor land management. Deforestation was a major issue during the Jewish-Roman War of 66-70 A.D, but in the past two thousand years there have been many other factors causing environmental damage as well.

It seems a reasonable conclusion that in Jesus’ day, the climate was noticeably more moderate and wet than it is today, with more trees. However, there still are many beautiful regions, especially in Galilee in the north. We ought not to overestimate the difference in climate between the ages; although it would be noticeable to people of His day, it would not astonish them. The decrease in the number of trees would likely be more noticeable to them than the slightly warmer, drier weather.

Israel currently has a program that is attempting to reverse the desertification by planting trees (cedars, the same type used by Solomon!). It has received a huge amount of private financial support. They are, in effect, attempting to partially reforest Israel. The expected result is that the land will hold more water, permitting more land to be available for farming.

March 21, 2017March 21, 2017

What Is the Geography of the Holy Land Like?

Nomenclature – The land today called Israel or the Holy Land, was known to the Greeks and Romans in Jesus’ day as Palestine. This name came from the Philistines, who had lived there some 2000 years before Christ.

The Jewish people, however, never called their land Palestine, although they did use that name to refer to an area near the Mediterranean. They tended to refer to their land is the “Promised Land,” or the “Land of Canaan.” They also spoke of it as the “Land of Judah.” The Talmud simply calls it “The Land.”

Geologically, the Holy Land is a volatile area. Earthquakes and volcanoes have plagued the region for millennia. Numerous plates and rifts run under and adjacent to it. Although many think of the Bible lands as flat, desert landscapes, the region is in fact better described as mountainous (or at least hilly) and has areas that are quite green.

Much of the diversity in terms of vegetation can be seen in the rather significant hills, which stretch from Judah in the south all the way up through Galilee in the north. Although areas to the east are dry, these hills tend to collect the Mediterranean moisture and concentrate it in that region. They are not steep, high mountains like the Rockies, but neither are they small hills. In many areas they resemble the Appalachians here in the United States in terms of slope and height.

Although forests are not widespread in the Holy Land, there are numerous trees in the Mediterranean hills. Sadly, many areas that were once more heavily forested have been deforested. The slender band of forests along the western side of Israel just east of the Mediterranean Sea is sometimes called the Mediterranean Forest. It is not a dense forest, but it is dotted with small pines and oaks. Between the foothills and the encroaching deserts to the east are the steppes—areas filled with low shrubs and wild grasses. These regions are devoid of trees but are particularly good for shepherding. Due to the copious rainfall, the western side of modern Israel was the favored land. This was Canaan, the land of milk and honey.

The Sea of Galilee is actually a freshwater lake. It is 700 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by gently sloping hills that descend from the mountains in the west to the lake that is today called Kinneret. Galilee is a beautiful region with reasonably abundant rainfall and it supports various types of agriculture as well as the tending of flocks.

Geographically, the land is rich in complexity, featuring a coastal plain, a semi-mountainous hill country in Judah and Galilee, the wide valley of Jezreel, and a fertile sloping region in Galilee that sloped down to the Sea of Galilee. A tremendous rift in the earth makes up the southern part of the Jordan River near Jericho and the Dead Sea. There is the deep desert of Judah, which swings around south and west to the Negev. West of the Jordan is the steppe and the dry, barren Golan Heights. There is the snow-covered Mount Herman to the northwest and the rich stands of cypress trees in Lebanon to the northeast.

By David Shankbone GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

It is a land of great variety and the terrain is incredibly complex. This brings about dramatic, localized effects on the weather and vegetation. Fertile valleys can give way to deep desert within miles. Just to the west of Jerusalem are the green hills of the Judean Hill country that (as previously noted) resemble the Appalachians. Yet just to the east of Jerusalem, over the Mount of Olives, begins a 3500-foot descent into the deep and extremely dry desert of the Dead Sea and Jericho (see photo at right). At 1400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth. There, two plates in the earth’s crust are opening up.

Indeed, there is probably no place on earth like the Holy Land in terms of the incredible diversity in such a small area. A walk of one hour can take one from one of the richest valleys, up over barren hills, and down on the other side into the hot wind of the desert. And on a clear day one can see the snow shining on Mt. Herman in the north.

It is likely that at the time of Jesus the Holy Land had more greenery than it does today, but not so much more that it would be unrecognizable to an ancient Jew. The diversity described here still existed at that time.

The people who lived in Jesus’ time were surely a hearty stock to be able to thrive in such a wide rage of conditions.

Here’s a video I created that might help to give you a better feel:

March 21, 2017September 18, 2023

What Were Houses Like at the Time of Jesus?

The smallest homes of the very poor might be little better than a square, stone structure, covered with a whitewashed sort of stucco. There would typically be one larger multi-purpose room and a smaller back room for the animals. Some houses in hilly regions were partial cave dwellings, built up against the limestone rock face, perhaps with the front section built on to it. The traditional site at the house of the Annunciation (in Nazareth) seems to have been built this way. However we need not conclude from this that Joseph and Mary were destitute. Many homes employed the hillside strategy that made use of hollowed out caves. Such structures were easy to build and there was a certain natural coolness to them.

Another sort of house, also common among the working poor and typical village-dwellers, was one built around a central open court with small rooms opening on to it (see drawing at upper right). Because the central court had no roof, this kind of building had the advantage of needing only short beams for the roof structures. The open concept retained the coolness by allowing air to move freely throughout. Cooking could also be done in the open central court, when the weather permitted.

If the family had some animals, they were often kept in this part of the house at night.

Families, sometimes including several generations, tended to live under one roof and had little or no privacy.

The roof was of real importance in everyday life. It was flat, with just enough slope to drain off the rainwater. In the relatively arid climate of the eastern Mediterranean, rainwater was precious; therefore, it was carefully collected into cisterns or large containers. The roof of the house was flat and sturdy, enabling people to go up on it. Because roofs were used so often, the Law of Deuteronomy required guard rails to be installed to prevent falling.

The roof areas provided an open second floor. On it, tools could be stored and laundry put out to dry. Scripture also speaks of it as a place to retire and pray. In the evening, when it was cool, people often sat there and talked; they would even sleep there when the weather was good. The climate of the Mediterranean provides an ideal setting for this at most times of the year. Some also placed tents and other coverings on the roof to increase its usefulness during inclement weather.

Except for the roof structures, which included wood timbers, the basic building material in Palestine was stone. Limestone is excellent building material, and as the stones were fashioned into a wall they would be coated with a stucco-like material and smoothed over. Foundations were dug with great care (Jesus said that we should build upon rock rather than sand). The mortar used to bond the stone was made of clay mixed with shells in potsherds.

Wooden trusses were necessary for the structure of the roofs, since they would be used a kind of second floor. Then a firm lattice of straw mats would be added, covered and smoothed with hard clay. Yearly repairs were made just prior to the rainy season.

Most of the inner doors were narrow. Only the door facing the street was wider and had a hinged door that could be secured.

In poorer homes the floor was simply pounded earth. The more affluent might have had pebbles or tiles made of baked clay. Wooden floors were only an option for the affluent.

Only the very wealthy could have water piped to their house. Ordinary people went to the well or spring-fount, or perhaps to a local stream, and collected water with skins, jars, and all manner of pitchers. Some larger towns had conduits or aqueducts that brought water into certain public areas. The washing of clothes was done away from the main house lest water run back in.

There was little need for much heating, except in the cooler months of the year. Most of the houses, therefore, had no fireplace. If it did grow cold, there were charcoal braziers in which small fires would be kindled.

Lighting was not very abundant. Small oil lamps were used. Because much time was spent out-of-doors, interior lights were not an absolute necessity.

Furniture was extremely simple. The most important pieces in the home were chests. There were chests for provisions and chests for clothes. For the poorest families, chests doubled as tables. Because clothing was simple, there was little need for many different sets or changes of clothing, thus there was less need for numerous chests and the sorts of insanely large closets many have today.

Most moderately well off families had a low table at which to recline and eat. People in this region and time reclined on their left elbow and ate with their right hand. It was rare to sit on chairs at higher tables in order to eat.

The kitchen as we know it did not exist. In small houses, cooking was done out back over an open fire or fire pit. Utensils were kept in a chest. In larger houses, the courtyard might be the place of the cooking fire with kitchen items kept in a store room. Only the largest homes had a dedicated area with a fiery oven.

Bedding was rolled out on the floor. The bed as a raised piece of furniture was largely unknown then, except among the very wealthy. Family members stretched out on mats, covering themselves with their own cloaks. Many slept on the roof in warmer months.

Even smaller houses seem to have had a bath of some sort. The ancient Jews were conscientious about cleanliness and viewed it as closely related to holiness and ritual purity. The usual bath (often called a mikveh) was narrow and one stepped down into it. Bathing was for hygiene to be sure, but the Jews also undertook ritual baths. In the Holy House in Nazareth, a mikveh is located in or near the house, adjacent to Joseph’s carpenter shop.

Latrines were more likely outhouses, and were removed from the main dwelling. They may have been shared facilities between several dwellings depending on the size and layout of the town or village. There is a phrase used in the Torah, in which Moses tells the ancient Israelites, “build your latrines outside the camp.” It further states, “When you go to the toilet, take a paddle or a shovel with you and use the toilet and then cover it up.” This suggests that some sort of lime was thrown in after the use of the facility. Other directions about latrines were that they should be in discreet and private locations. Certain archeological sites have disclosed the presence of latrines consisting of a pit dug into the ground and of an enclosed, roofed chamber; basically, an outhouse.

It was a simpler time to be sure, but the homes still provided families with their basic need for shelter.

Here’s a video I put together on this topic with lots more pictures:

March 19, 2017March 20, 2017

St. Joseph and Manhood

I remember once being amused to hear that a 19^th century Franciscan theologian (whose name I cannot recall) wrote a six-volume set called “The Life of St. Joseph.” How could one possibly get enough material to fill six volumes? We know so little about Joseph from Scripture. He seems to have been the strong, silent type. Not a word of his is recorded, but his actions have much to say, especially to men.

On this feast of St. Joseph, we do well to ponder him as a model for manhood, for husbands and fathers.

Joseph is a man who obeys God and clings to his wife. Joseph was betrothed to Mary. This is more than being engaged; it means they were actually married. It was common at the time for couples to marry at a young age. Once betrothed they lived an additional year in their parents’ household while they became more acquainted and prepared for life together. At a certain point it was discovered that Mary was pregnant, though not by Joseph. Scripture describes Joseph as “a just man.” This does not mean that Joseph was fair and a nice guy (though I presume he was); it means that he was a follower of the Law. He based his life on the Jewish Law that God gave through Moses, as interpreted by the rabbis. The Law said that if a man discovered that his betrothed was not a virgin, he should divorce her and not “sully” his home. As a follower of the Law, Joseph was prepared to follow its requirements. However, he did not wish to expose Mary to its full force, which would have permitted her to be stoned. Hence, he chose to follow the Law by filing a divorce decree without publicly accusing her. He would remain quiet as to his reason for the divorce and Mary would escape possible stoning. To fail to divorce Mary would expose Joseph to cultural ramifications. Just men didn’t marry women guilty of fornication or adultery. To ignore this might have harmed not only Joseph’s standing in the community but also that of his family of origin. You know the rest of the story: Joseph is told in a dream that he should not be afraid because Mary has committed no sin. Matthew records, When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife (Matt 1:24). Now a man obeys God even if it is not popular, even if he has to suffer for it. Joseph is told to cling to his wife; he may suffer for it, but he “obeys God rather than men.” It takes a strong man to do this, especially when we consider the culture in which Joseph lived, and that he lived in a small town no less. Joseph model of strong manhood has something to say to the men of our day. In current Catholic wedding vows, a man promises to cling to his wife for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Our culture often pressures men to bail out when there is trouble. Joseph shows the proper way by obeying God over the pressures of the prevailing culture, even if he will personally suffer for it.
Joseph is a man whose vocation is more important to him than his career. In Bethlehem, Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream, Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him (Matt 2:13). Joseph may well have had much to lose in this flight. Back in Nazareth he had a business, a career if you will. He had business prospects, business partners, and contacts. Fleeing to a distant land might mean that others would take away his business. But Joseph was a father and husband before he was a businessman. His child was threatened and his first obligation was to Jesus and Mary. His vocation outweighed his career. Today, too many parents make their careers and livelihood paramount, relegating their children to day care; Joseph demonstrates different priorities. It is true that many parents feel they have no choice but to work, but it is also true that many demand a standard of living that requires extra income to maintain. Perhaps a smaller house and fewer amenities would permit their children to have a childhood without day care. Joseph shows the way for parents: vocation has priority over career. For fathers especially, Joseph shows that a man is a husband and father before he is a businessman.
Joseph is a man who protects his family. Joseph models a protective instinct that too many men lack today. Like Jesus, our children are exposed to many dangers. In the United Sates there aren’t a lot of physical dangers to fear, but moral dangers surely abound. Fathers, what are your children watching on television? What are they looking at on the Internet? Who are their friends? What do your children think about important moral issues? Are you preparing them to face the moral challenges and temptations of life? Are you and your wife teaching them the faith? Are you just a passive father, minimally involved in the raising of your children? A man protects his children from harm, physical, moral, and spiritual. Joseph demonstrates this aspect of manhood.
Joseph is a man of work. Scripture refers to Joseph as a “carpenter” (Matt 13:55). The Greek word used, however, is τέκτονος (tekton os), which can mean more than a woodworker. It can also refer to a builder or any craftsman. It seems unlikely that Joseph and Jesus would have worked exclusively in wood, as it was fairly rare in the Holy Land and used more sparingly than it is today. Stone was surely plentiful at that time, so it may be that Joseph worked with stone as well as wood. It was through His work that Joseph supported his family. It is the call of a man to work diligently and to provide for his family responsibly and reliably, and Joseph models this well. St. Paul felt it necessary to rebuke some of the men of his day for their idleness: In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us…. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they earn the bread they eat (2 Thess 3:10-12).
Joseph is a man who teaches his son. We learn from Scripture that Jesus was a carpenter (Mk 6:3). It is obvious that it was Joseph who taught Him this trade. Consider the hours that they spent together as Joseph patiently handed his trade on to Jesus, teaching Him its methods and intricacies. It is not enough for a father to provide for his children; he must also prepare them for life. He does this through modeling and teaching discipline, moderation, hard work, self-control, and many other life skills. Today it is relatively rare for men to teach a trade to their sons or to other children. In the end, a man prepares his children for life. Joseph models manhood by preparing Jesus for life as a tradesman. Some (e.g., St. Thomas Aquinas) argue that Joseph did not teach Jesus carpentry and that His knowledge was not learned, but I cannot square this with the Scripture that indicates Jesus grew in age, grace, and wisdom (see Lk 2:52). If Jesus can even grow in human wisdom, how much more so in lesser knowledge. At any rate, however much Jesus was taught by Joseph, every father should teach his sons and daughters!

Joseph is a model for manhood. Nothing he ever said was recorded, but his life speaks eloquently. He is referred to as the Guardian and Patron of the Universal Church. He has these titles because he was guardian, protector, and patron (provider) of the Church in its earliest stage: when the Church was just Jesus and Mary. Because the Church is the mystical Body of Christ, in protecting, providing, and preparing Jesus, he was doing that for us, for we are in Christ as members of His body. Men do well to imitate St. Joseph and invoke his patronage in all their endeavors as husbands, fathers, and providers.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

March 18, 2017

Just a Little Talk with Jesus Makes It Right – A Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

As we examine the Gospel for this weekend’s Mass we do well to understand that is about human desires and how the Lord reaches us through them. Prior to examining the text in detail, let’s consider a few things:

What it is that really makes you happy? We desire so many things: food, water, shelter, clothing, and creature comforts. We long for affection, peace, and a sense of belonging. Sometimes we want stability and simplicity, at others we yearn for change and variety. Our hearts are a sea of desires, wishes, and longings. Today’s Gospel says that a woman went to the well to draw water. She represents each one of us and her desire for water is symbolic of all our desires.
In reality, your desires are infinite. Can you remember a time when you were ever entirely satisfied, when you wanted absolutely nothing else? Even if you can recall such a time, I’ll bet it didn’t last long. That is because our desires are without limit.
The well in today’s Gospel symbolizes this world. Jesus says to the woman, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. The world cannot provide what we are really looking for. No matter how much it offers us, it will never suffice, for the world is finite while our desires are infinite. In this way our heart teaches us something very important about ourselves: We were not made for this world; we were made for something, someone, who is infinite, who alone can satisfy us. We were made for God.
The water offered is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said elsewhere, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive (Jn. 7:37-39).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about the meanings of our longings:

The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for. … With his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material, can have its origin only in God (Catechism # 27, 33).

Scripture speaks to us about our desires: Of You my heart has spoken: “Seek His face.” It is your face O Lord that I seek; hide not your face! (Psalm 27:8-9). Only in God will my soul be at rest, he is my hope, my salvation (Psalm 62:1).
Augustine wrote these classic words to describe our truest longing: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee” (Confessions 1,1).

With these in mind, let’s look at the journey that this woman makes to Jesus. Things start out rough, but in the end she discovers her heart’s truest desire. The journey is made in stages.

Rendezvous – Notice that Jesus is the one who takes the initiative here. As the Lord teaches elsewhere, It was not you who chose me, It was I who chose you (John 15:16). Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria at Jacob’s well. She desires water, but Jesus knows that her desire is for far more than water or in fact anything that the world gives. Her desire has brought her face to face with Jesus. It is a holy and fortunate rendezvous. Jesus begins a discussion with her about her heart’s truest longing.

Request – The discussion begins with a request. The text says, It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” Imagine, God asking you for anything; what a stunning thing! What can she or anyone really give God? The answer is simply this: the gift of our very self. God has put a threshold before our heart that even He will not cross unless we first say yes to Him. Jesus’ request initiates a discussion, a dialogue of two hearts. As we shall see, the woman struggles with this dialogue. To be sure, it is a delicate, even painful process for us to accept the Lord’s invitation to self-giving. Something within us makes us draw back in fear. Scripture says, It is an awesome thing to fall into the hands of living God (Heb 10:31).

Rebuke – Sure enough, she draws back with fear and anger. She says, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. In our journey to God, we do not always trust or understand Him at first. Some are afraid to relate to God because they think they will lose their freedom or that they will have to change too much. Others loathe the commandments or fear that they cannot keep them. Still others are angry at the unexpected twists and turns of life and do not want to trust a God who doesn’t always give them what they want. The woman’s anger is not really at Jesus; it is at “the Jews,” with whom the Samaritans have a hostile relationship. This is sometimes the case with God as well. It is not always the Lord Jesus, or God the Father, whom people hate or distrust; rather, it is Christians. Some have been hurt by the Church or by Christians; others have prejudiced opinions influenced by a hostile media and world.

Repetition – Jesus repeats His offer for a relationship. He says, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” I don’t know about you, but I am mighty glad that the Lord does not merely write us off when we say no to Him. Jesus stays in the conversation and even sweetens the deal by making an offer to give her fresh, living water. The Lord does the same for us. First He gave the Law, then He gave the prophets; now He gives His Son. It just keeps getting better. First He gave water, then He changed it to wine, and then He changed it to His blood. Despite our often harsh rejection of God, He keeps the dialogue going.

Ridicule – The woman is still hostile and now even ridicules Jesus: “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” To the world, the teachings of God often appear to be foolishness. People often dismiss religious faith as fanciful and unrealistic.

Reminder – Jesus now re-frames the question by reminding the woman of the obvious: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. What she is relying on can’t come through for her. The world’s water does not satisfy us; the world’s delights are transitory. They promise ultimate satisfaction, but soon we are thirsty again. The world is the gift that keeps on taking; it takes our money, loyalty, freedom, and time, while giving us only temporary—and ultimately unsatisfying pleasures—in return. It’s a bad deal. Every one who drinks from this well be thirsty again.

Re-upping the offer – Jesus says, “… but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Here the Lord speaks of happiness and satisfaction that he will give, that grows in us and makes us more and more alive. The “water” he offers (as noted above) is the gift of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit lives in us and transforms us, we become more and more content with what we have. As the life of God grows in us, we become more alive in God and joyful in what He is doing for us. This is what the Lord offers us: the gift of a new and transformed life, the gift to become fully alive in God. I am a witness of this. How about you?

Result – The woman has moved toward Jesus; she has warmed to His offer. She says, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Here is the result of the Lord’s persistence. Thank God that He does not give up on us. He keeps calling, even when we say no, even when we sin; He just keeps call our name!

Requirement – Jesus wants to give this gift, but first He must help her to make room for it. For the truth is that she has unrepented sin. A cup that is filled with sand cannot be filled with water. The sand must first be emptied out and then the cup cleansed. Thus Jesus says, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Now she does what most of us do when we are in an uncomfortable spot: she changes the subject. She attempts to engage in a discussion about where to worship. Jesus is patient and answers her, but ultimately draws her back to the subject at hand: her heart and what her desires are really all about.

Reconciliation – At this point the conversation gets private; we are not permitted to listen in. It is just between her and Jesus. But whatever it was, she is elated and will later declare, “He told me everything I ever did.” There is no sense in her tone that Jesus was merely accusatory. Rather, it would seem that Jesus helped her to understand her heart and her struggle. An old song says, “I once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in and then a little light from heaven filled my soul. He bathed my heart in love and he wrote my name above and just a little talk with Jesus made me whole.” Here, Jesus reconciles her with God and with her own self.

Rejoicing – The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him.” Do not miss that little detail: she left her water jar. She left behind the very thing she was depending on to collect the things of the world. What is your “water jar”? What do you use to gain access to the world and to collect its offerings? For most of us, it is money. Scripture says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Tim 6:10). At any rate, the woman is joyfully empowered to leave this enslaving water jar behind. Freed from its load, she is able to run to town and declare Jesus to others. Her joy must have been infectious, for soon enough they are following her out to meet the Lord!

This is the journey of a woman who represents each one of us. This is our journey, out of dependence, out of an enslaving attachment to the world. It is our journey unto Jesus, who alone can set us free. Here is our journey to understand that our desires are ultimately about God.

You can listen to this homily here: Just a Little Talk With Jesus.

I have it on the best of authority that as the woman joyfully journeyed back to town, she was singing this gospel song:

March 17, 2017July 19, 2018

Straining Out Gnats but Swallowing Camels, as Seen in a Commercial

In the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 12:1-8), Jesus is rebuked for violating the Sabbath. This reminded me of the video below, which illustrates how we sometimes follow smaller rules while overlooking more important ones in the process.

The Lord Jesus was often scorned by the people of His day, who claimed that He overlooked certain details of the law (often Sabbath observances). But those who rebuked Him for this were guilty of far greater violations. For example,

[Jesus] went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus (Mk 3:1-6).
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone (Luke 11:42).
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Lk 13:14-16)
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean (Matt 23:24-25).

Yes, they are straining out gnats but swallowing camels, maximizing the minimum but minimizing the maximum. Note that in the first passage above they are actually planning to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath!

Perhaps my all-time favorite illustration of this awful human tendency is in the Gospel of John:

Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out … (John 18:28-29).

They are plotting to kill a just and innocent man; indeed, they are plotting to kill God. They are acting out of wickedness, envy, jealousy, hatred, and murderous anger, but their primary concern is avoiding ritual uncleanliness! Yes, they are straining out gnats but swallowing camels.

We who are pious and observant need to be wary of this tendency. Sometimes in congratulating ourselves over adherence in lesser matters, we can either offend or neglect in weightier ones. Perhaps I attend Mass each Sunday (a grave obligation); perhaps I pray the rosary (a highly commendable practice); perhaps I tithe (a commendable precept). These are all things that ought to be done (one is commanded, one is commended, and one is a precept). But what if at the same time I am hateful toward someone at the office, unforgiving to a family member, and/or insensitive to the poor?

The danger could be that I let my observance of certain things allow me to think that I can “check off the God box” and figure that because I went to Mass, prayed the rosary, and gave an offering, I’ve “got this righteousness thing down.” Too often, very significant and serious things like love, mercy, forgiveness, and charity are set aside or neglected as I am busy congratulating myself over my adherence to other, sometimes lesser, things.

This oversight can happen in the other direction as well. Someone may congratulate himself for spending the day working in a soup kitchen, and think that he therefore has no need to look at the fact that he is living unchastely (shacked up, for example) or not attending Mass.

We cannot “buy God off,” doing certain things (usually things that we like) while ignoring others we’d rather not. In the end, the whole counsel of God is important.

We must avoid the sinful tendency to try to substitute or swap, to observe a few things while overlooking others.

We see a lot of examples of this in our culture as well. We obsess over people smoking because it might be bad for their health while ignoring the health consequences of promiscuous behavior, which spreads AIDS and countless venereal diseases and leads to abortion. We campaign to save the baby seals while over a thousand baby humans are killed each day in the United States. We deplore (rightfully) the death of thousands each year in gun homicides while calling the murder of hundreds of thousands of babies each year a constitutional right. The school nurse is required to obtain parental permission to dispense aspirin to students but not to provide the dangerous abortifacient “morning after pill.” We talk about the dignity of women and yet pornography flourishes. We fret endlessly about our weight and the physical appearance of our bodies, which will die, and care little for our souls, which will live. We obsess over carbon footprints while flying on jets to global warming conferences at luxurious convention center complexes.

Yes, we are straining gnats but swallowing camels. As the Lord says, we ought not to neglect smaller things wholly, but simply observing lesser things doesn’t give us the right to ignore greater ones.

Salus animarum suprema lex. (The salvation of souls is the highest law.) While little things mean a lot, we must always remember not to allow them to eclipse greater things.

The ideal for which to aim is an integrated state in which the lesser serves the greater and is subsumed into it. St. Augustine rightly observed,

Quod Minimum, minimum est, Sed in minimo fidelem esse, magnum est (St. Augustine – De Doctrina Christiana, IV,35).

(What is a little thing, is (just) a little thing, but to be faithful in a little thing is a great thing.)

Notice that the lesser things are in service of the greater thing—in this case fidelity. And thus we should rightly ask whether some of the lesser things we do are really in service of the greater things like justice, love, mercy, fidelity, kindness, and generosity. Otherwise we run the risk of straining out gnats but swallowing camels.

Enjoy this commercial, which illustrates how one rule (no loud voices in the library) is observed while violating nearly every other.

March 16, 2017

The Universal Prayer

To my mind, one of the most remarkable prayers ever written was one attributed to Clement XI, who was pope from 1700-1721. Many have never heard it. The prayer is called “universal” because of its sweeping themes. Upon completing it one might well ask if anything at all was left out!

If you are looking for a prayer to set on your night stand, this is surely a good one. I often pray this when my mind is dull. I admire its beauty and style; it is deeply personal and humble. It is not trite but neither is it stuffy. One of my favorite sections is this one:

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
And see myself as I really am:
A pilgrim in this world,
A Christian called to respect and love
All whose lives I touch,
Those under my authority,
My friends and my enemies.

As beautiful and helpful as the Universal Prayer is, it is nearly unknown. It is a bit long to reproduce in its entirety, but is available for viewing and download here: The Universal Prayer.

Here is a video in which the prayer is recited. Now off to prayer with you!