Break Open the Word

Saint Mary Magdalene Judith 9:1, 11-14 Psalm 42:1-7 II Corinthians 5:14-18 St. John 20:11-18 Note:  This commentary on the propers for Saint Mary Magdalen was written especially for Saint Mark's Church, Santa Clara, California, who will be celebrating her day on Sunday, 20 July 2014.  If you would like to see the commentary on Proper 11, please click here : Background: Mary Magdalene Considered a peer of the Apostles in the Eastern Church, it is time for a renewal of thanksgiving and consideration for the life and ministry of Mary Magdalene in the West.   She was one of several women who followed Jesus and was involved with the community that gathered about him.   A great deal of legend and speculation has attached itself to her story, not all of it edifying or appreciative.   Most telling of her is her presence at the Resurrection.   Her connection to health and healing through Jesus commends her well enough, but her witness to t...

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, 20 July 2014 Genesis 28:10-19a Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23 Or Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19 or Isaiah 44:6-8 Psalm 86:11-17 Romans 8:12-25 St. Matthew13:24-30, 36-43 Background:   Ancient Shrines in Israel In the history of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs we have remembered for us, since these histories were written down at the earliest in the seventh century BCE, the shrines, holy places and “high places” that were either abandoned and destroyed in Israel’s march toward monotheism, or were subsumed in the cult that David (presumably) centered at the Temple in Jerusalem.   The reading from Track 1 reminds us of the strength of these traditions with its story about Beth-El.   Was the matter really all that black and white when it came to the consolidation of the cult under David, or was there a great deal more grey?   Of help to us in understanding the complexity of this time period, and the practices that pr...