The Runaway Bride

A Reflection on Isaiah 5:1-7 N.A.B. 

By: Larry T

In the 1999 romantic comedy film Runaway Bride Julia Roberts plays Maggie Carpenter and Richard Gere plays Homer Eisenhower (Ike) Graham. Maggie is a spirited and attractive young woman who has a long history of unsuccessful relationships. She has been engaged three times, but anxiety over the permanence of marriage has caused her to runaway each time on the morning of her wedding day. On three occasions husbands-to-be, parents, bridesmaids, groomsmen, ministers, friends, musicians and caterers have gasped in shock at her failure to appear.

Meanwhile, in New York, columnist Homer Eisenhower Graham or "Ike" writes an article about Maggie that contains several factual errors, supplied to him by a man he meets in a bar who Ike later learns was one of Maggie's former fiancés. Ike is fired for not verifying his source, but is invited to write an in-depth article about Maggie in a bid to restore his reputation. He travels to Hale, Maryland, where he finds Maggie living with her family. And once again she’s engaged to be married. The fourth husband-to-be is Bob Kelly, played by Christopher Meloni, a football coach at the local high school.

Maggie predictably runs away the fourth time deserting Bob and the wedding party at the church. Eventually Maggie and Ike fall in love, marry, and live happily ever after.

The screenplay authors could have looked to the Bible for inspiration because of the Prophet Isaiah’s song about a runaway bride.

¹ Let me now sing of my friend,

          my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.

My friend had a vineyard

          on a fertile hillside;

² He spaded it, cleared it of stones,

          and planted the choicest vines;

Within it he built a watchtower,

          and hewed out a wine press.

Then he looked for the crop of grapes,

          but what it yielded was wild grapes.

³ Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

          judge between me and my vineyard:

⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard

          that I had not done?

Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,

          did it bring forth wild grapes?

⁵ Now, I will let you know

          what I mean to do to my vineyard:

Take away its hedge, give it to grazing,

          break through its wall, let it be trampled!

⁶ Yes, I will make it a ruin:

          it shall not be pruned or hoed,

          but overgrown with thorns and briers;

I will command the clouds

          not to send rain upon it.

⁷ The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,

          and the men of Judah are his cherished plant;

He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!

          for justice, but hark, the outcry!

- Isaiah 5:1-7 N.A.B.

Isaiah’s sang his song about a vineyard at a gathering of some sort, possibly at the annual harvest Feast of Tabernacles. All sorts of performances would have been going on in the area between the booths built of leaves and branches; I can visualize the Prophet mingling with the celebrating people and announcing a love song about his friend and his vineyard.

To his listeners the vineyard was an image for a bride (Song of Solomon), so they were looking forward to a ballad suited to the festive atmosphere. And Isaiah’s song does get off to a good note. His friend’s vineyard was on rich soil; he planted the choicest vines on it, and did everything he could to make them flourish. The audience must have settled back smiling in anticipation of Isaiah’s next words, but the mood suddenly changed; instead of choice fruit, the vines produced nothing but inedible sour grapes, small, hard smelly things - the vineyard was a bitter disappointment.

The group immediately understood the point of Isaiah’s song: the bride was unfaithful - trust and hope were betrayed - his friend’s love was rejected. How will the song end? The terribly saddened friend handed over his vineyard to be plundered - he renounced the bride, leaving her in the dishonor for which she had no one to blame but herself.

The stunned audience suddenly realized the deeper meaning of Isaiah’s song: The vineyard, the bride, is Israel – the very people who are present. God gave them the way of justice in the Torah, he loved them, he did everything for them, and they answered him with unjust action and a regime of injustice. Isaiah’s love song was a threat of judgment. It finished with a gloomy prospect – that of God’s abandonment of Israel, with no sign at this stage of any further promise.

In the movie Maggie ran away from four bridegrooms on the morning of her wedding day. Engaged couple’s excitement and anticipation rise incrementally with the purchase of wedding rings, selection of a wedding dress, mailing of wedding invitations, rehearsal dinners, and all of the detailed planning that goes into even the simplest of weddings. Emotions on the morning of the wedding are at a feverish pitch ranging from joy, elation, worry, to hope. But what if our loved one, that person that we planned to spend the rest of our lives with, failed to show? Wouldn’t we be overwhelmed by disbelief, shock, shame, dismay, and betrayal? How does God feel when he is left standing at the altar by his people? His anguish is expressed through the Prophet Jeremiah’s lament:

² Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!

I remember the devotion of your youth,

          how you loved me as a bride,

Following me in the desert,

          in a land unsown.

³ Sacred to the LORD was Israel,

          the first fruits of his harvest;

Should anyone presume to partake of them,

          evil would befall him, says the LORD.

⁴ Listen to the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob!

All you clans of the house of Israel,

⁵ thus says the LORD:

What fault did your fathers find in me

          that they withdrew from me,

Went after empty idols,

          and became empty themselves?

⁶ They did not ask, “Where is the LORD

          who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the desert,

          through a land of wastes and gullies,

Through a land of drought and darkness,

          through a land which no one crosses, where no man dwells?”

⁷ When I brought you into the garden land

          to eat its goodly fruits,

You entered and defiled my land,

          you made my heritage loathsome.

- Jeremiah 2:2-7 N.A.B.

Still, we know that God never gives up on his people. It’s in the New Testament where we get a sense of His love for us. Allegorically in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37 N.A.B.), “the road from Jerusalem to Jericho turns out to be an image of human history; the half-dead man lying by the side of the road is an image of humanity. Priest and Levite pass by; from earthly history alone, from its cultures and religions alone, no healing comes. If the assault victim is the image of Everyman, the Good Samaritan can only be the image of Jesus.” (Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict).

In the gospel of Luke we read about God’s joy when just one of his children accepts his love:

⁷ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

- Luke 15:7 N.A.B. 

The Heavenly wedding party is waiting. Will I be a runaway bride leaving God standing at the altar lamenting over me, or do I have the humility to reconcile myself to him? This is an unavoidable decision that we all have to make.

You Duped Me

Sunday, Aug 31: 22ndSunday in Ordinary Time

Today's readings are taken from:

Jeremiah  20:7-9

Psalm 63:2-9

Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans  12:1-2

Gospel according to Matthew 16: 21-27

Jeremiah cried out to the Lord, "You duped me and I let myself be duped. You were too strong for me, and you triumphed.  All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me."  Jeremiah continues on to tell us that he is determined not to talk about the Lord anymore.  Jeremiah will be silent, but then the name of the Lord burns within Jeremiah and he must speak.

I asked myself and I ask you, have we been duped by the Lord? In a way I hope the answer is yes. Have we been seduced by Jesus to take up the mission of proclaiming the Word?  Do we stand up against the worldliness that can turn us into uncaring people, looking only for our personal gain and comfort.  Are we brave enough to speak out when needed and then accept the derision we might receive when we testify to our mission?  In many ways, we too can be prophets and then be willing to suffer the mocking and laughter that can follow. But in our hearts we can hold tight to the name of the Lord that indeed burns within us knowing that the Lord is always with us and within us.

As I reflected on the Gospel reading, I wondered if Peter too, felt that he had been duped. In the previous passages of Matthew, Jesus told Peter that he was blessed and that Peter would be the rock upon which Jesus would build His Church. Peter must have felt both fear and delight in hearing that he would be a vital part of the kingdom on earth.  Through God the Father, Peter had been able to proclaim that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter was probably both humbled and proud.

This week, as Peter hears more and more about what Jesus will endure for our Salvation, he must be horrified.  Jesus is the Son of God; things should be easy for Him.  Instead, Jesus will walk the path of humiliation, great suffering and death.  Peter rejects the possibility of a suffering Jesus and is sharply rebuked by Jesus.  Peter is compared to Satan; an obstacle to Jesus; perhaps tempting Jesus to take an easier path.  Jesus tells us, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it." 

And so Peter learns, as did Jeremiah, that the prophetic message may not be received with joy and happiness, but rather may be received with derision and even hatred.  We need to be careful not to conform to this age. We need to point out when power is abused; when our worth is defined by our wealth; when many people around us are deep into poverty and homelessness.  I'm not sure it is enough to live our lives in virtue and piety; maybe we need to take some action, speak out, etc.  I don't know what my next step should be, but I do know that when Jesus didn't know what to do next, He spent the night in prayer, asking His father to show Him what He should do next.  Maybe that's a good place for me to start.

Peace and Blessings,

Judy

What is Church?

A Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, June 1^st.

By: Larry T

What is church? Is it just a building with a steeple, a basilica, a cathedral, or simply a place of worship? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines church as a building that is used for Christian religious services, or as a particular Christian group. Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the outstanding Lutheran theologian, said, “Where a people prays, there is the church, and where the church is, there is never loneliness!”

How badly did the disciples need church in the days between the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost? What an emotional roller coaster! Being with the Lord during his earthly ministry – joy! The abomination of His scourging, crucifixion and death – despair! His resurrection - jubilation! His ascension into heaven – bewilderment! How abandoned, depressed, lonely, even hopeless might they have been feeling? Instead of shrugging their shoulders, kicking at the dirt and dejectedly returning to their pre-Jesus lives they clung together in spiritual love and prayed to God. This Sunday’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that they became church.

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.

¹³ When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁴ All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. – Acts 1:12-14 N.A.B.

Jesus hand-picked and spiritually formed the apostles for a special mission. They were going to be sent into the world to make the Father known to the world just as the Father had sent Jesus into the world to make the Father known. This group had listened to Jesus pray earnestly to the Father for them during his last discourse. As they became church they might have been clinging to the intercessory words of his prayer:

⁶ “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

⁷ Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,

⁸ because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

⁹ I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours,

¹⁰ and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.

¹¹ And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. - John 17:6-11a N.A.B.

Why did Jesus pray for them? Francis J. Moloney S.D.B. (The Gospel of John, Sacra Pagina) writes, “Despite Jesus’ words on the disciples in verses 6-8 they remain fragile in a hostile world and they will not survive unless the Father keeps them in his name.” They had heard Jesus’ intercessory prayer to the Father for them, and they had church (prayer, fellowship, spiritual love for each other), but was that enough? As time passed they were expelled from the synagogues, persecuted by the Jews, and suffered Roman persecution and martyrdom. Was it all worth it? Understandably they needed reassurance, and in 1 Peter they got some.

¹³ But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.

¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

¹⁵ But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer.

¹⁶ But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name. - 1 Peter 4:13-16 N.A.B.

The first Christians depended on church, clung to the memory Jesus’ prayer to the Father for them, and desperately needed assurance that their faith was not in vain. How easy is it to be a faithful Christian in our society? Does it seem as though our faith is under constant attack in our country, and even in our own cities and towns, and sometimes even in our own families. Can we sympathize with Jeremiah?

⁹ I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more.

But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,

imprisoned in my bones;

I grow weary holding it in,

I cannot endure it.

¹⁰ Yes, I hear the whisperings of many:

“Terror on every side!

Denounce! let us denounce him!”

All those who were my friends

are on the watch for any misstep of mine.

“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,

and take our vengeance on him.”

- Jeremiah 20:9-10 N.A.B

Jesus prayed to the Father for his disciples. Did He also pray for us? Yes!

²⁰ “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

²¹ so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

²² And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one,

²³ I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.

²⁴ Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.

²⁶ I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” – John 17:20-26 N.A.B. 

How fragile are we (modern Christians) in an increasing hostile society? There is wisdom in the ability to recognize when something in unchangeable even when those around us are saying that it is. Abortion is contrary to God’s law – that will never change. God’s chosen Holy Family consisted of a man, a woman, and a child – that will never change. Jesus told us that the second greatest commandment is to love one another – that will never change. If we can’t recognize the principles of our faith that are unchangeable, it won’t be long before we won’t be able to recognize our faith. To remain steadfast we need to remember that Jesus prayed for us, we need the encouragement of Scripture, guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Magisterium – and we need to be church!

Baruch: The Man, The Book and His Writings

   

Marilyn Roche

April 8, 2010

OCBS Year 4    

Instructor: Sharon Nelsen

     Whoever heard of Baruch?  Do you know where to find Baruch in the

Bible?  My lady friend’s husband approached me with those questions late in 2009 or early in 2010 after mass one Sunday when one of the readings was from that old testament scripture.

        Most of us hardly realize when we were introduced to this talented, faithful servant of the Lord.  Probably it was in the book of Jeremiah.  Baruch is the son of Neriah.  Baruch was the companion and scribe of the prophet Jeremiah.  I seem to like and admire him.  This fondness most likely started because first I liked Jeremiah.  Then, when I read about Baruch in the Book of Jeremiah found in the Old Testament scripture, I saw how tenacious and dedicated he was.

        The story that really impressed me about the noble character of Baruch is found in chapter 36 of the Book of Jeremiah.  The truth was that the people of Judah did not want to hear the truth about their take-over by the Babylonians.  This was especially true of their petty, tyrant King Jehoiakim and his temple court.

        Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote down, in the form of a scroll, all of Jeremiah’s prophecies since the day of King Josiah (640-609 B.C.E.) as he had been ordered.  The main message from God to Jeremiah was that the Babylonians will come and overtake Palestine/Judah including the city of Jerusalem and its temple.  Really bad news for the Hebrews as the temple in Jerusalem was the mainstay of their religion here on earth and the connections there were very important in their beliefs and practices.

        One day Baruch read this scroll to the people who had gathered in the temple.  The words moved his listeners.  It wasn’t long before the king and his authorities heard of the reading and asked for a reading in their presence. The princes, knowing the terrible temper and authority of King Jehoiakim, recommended that both Jeremiah and Baruch go into hiding for their safety.

        The year is 605 B.C.E.  The reading before the king and his court did happen.  Baruch read.  As the king listened great displeasure and anger rose within him.  As Baruch would finish reading a part of the script King Jehoiakim would use Baruch’s knife to cut it off.  He would then throw it into the fire and let it burn!  All that time, effort, prophecy and history had gone up in smoke!  Can you imagine how Baruch must have felt?  He dared not show his frustration and sorrow.

        The king would not tolerate the truth of the situation so he attempted to use his powerful influence to subdue what he perceived as verbal insurrection from those traitors, Jeremiah and Baruch.

        An order was issued for imprisonment of both Jeremiah and Baruch.  But, do you know what?  When the authorities sought to arrest Baruch, the secretary, and the prophet Jeremiah, neither could be found.  Can you imagine?   

        Though that scroll had been destroyed by fire the words that had been written upon it and more came back to Jeremiah and, again, his faithful servant, Baruch, wrote what was dictated.

        Do you see the admirable qualities in Baruch’s actions?  He could so easily have been martyred.

        The year is now 587 B.C.E.  King Zedekiah was ruling over Judah from the city of Jerusalem.  King Nebuchadnezzar’s armies had come from Babylon and were besieging Jerusalem-and winning!  Jeremiah is already imprisoned in the quarters of the guard.  It is a time, not only of turmoil, but of defeat for the Hebrew people.  Yikes!  What does Jeremiah do?  He buys a now worthless field from his cousin.  Why?  It certainly wasn’t as a monetary investment.  Property during a siege is worth nothing.  Why, then?  His purchase of the property amounts to a parable in action, a profession of faith in God’s promise of restoration.  WOW!  What an expression of hope.  And hope and faith were in high demand here.

        As you can see the situation was desperate.  And to whom do you suppose Jeremiah entrusted the deed of purchase for the property?  To trustworthy Baruch, with the assurance that this land would one day again belong to the Israeli people.

        Baruch was blamed for Jeremiah’s speaking out against the survivors of the fall of Jerusalem migrating to Egypt.  It ended with both Baruch and Jeremiah being forced to go with the Jewish refugees to Egypt.  Here Baruch’s personal history becomes obscure.  Some believe from Egypt he traveled on to Babylon to continue his work there.

        Though Jeremiah speaks of God’s mercy to Israel and the nations, his main job seems to be the herald of God’s chastisement.

        As Jeremiah was God’s mouthpiece Baruch was Jeremiah’s mouthpiece.  Jeremiah was shy and sensitive.  Baruch would assert himself and Jeremiah’s messages as well as his own.

        The resource person, Mowvinckel, believes Baruch wrote the biographical prose narrative parts of the Book of Jeremiah.  This is evidenced on page 602 under the heading 487g in A New Catholic Commentary On Holy Scripture.

        There is a deuterocanonical book located near the end of the Old Testament section of the Catholic Bible which bears Baruch’s name.  This book is preserved in Greek only, but is probably Hebrew in its original form.  Many believe this book is authored by many including Baruch.  In Old Testament times it was common to borrow another’s name to give credibility to writing. 

        “It was probably put together during the Maccabean period and before the end of

        the first century B.C.”

Its third and fourth chapters are used as the sixth reading in our Holy Saturday night services.  This reading praises wisdom and prudence. In the Book of Baruch the conditions for survival of Israel as a nation, if she was to remain spiritually healthy, was to practice true contrition and a firm purpose of amendment.  That would indicate an interruption of the historical round-robin recycling of:  sin, God’s punishment, repentance.   

        The organization of the book of Baruch is:  Introduction, a prayer of confession of national guilt with a petition for forgiveness with an expectation of Israel’s restoration, a poem of praise of wisdom, a poem in which a personified Jerusalem encourages the nation and instills hope, and the letter which Jeremiah addressed to the exiles in Babylon condemning idolatry.

        “Under the name, or rather pseudonym, Baruch have come down two

        apocryphal apocalyptic works. Apocalypse of Baruch, composed around

       100A.D. and the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, still more recent (c. 150A.D.).”

        The Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch describes revelations made to Baruch when

 Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. It goes into the Pharisaic view of doctrines regarding the Messiah and His kingdom, original sin and freewill, the future judgment and resurrection.

        The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch is of Jewish origin and relates his journey through the five heavens.

       

       

Bibliography

Attwater, Donald, A Catholic Dictionary.

New York: The MacMillan Co., 1942

Asimov, Isaac, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible.

Avenel Books USA, 1981

Boadt, Lawrence, Reading the Old Testament.

New York: Paulist Press, 1984

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1984

Ellis, Peter F., Baruch, Jeremiah.

The Collegeville Bible Commentary.

Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1989

Fuller, D.D, PhD., L.SS. Rev. Reginald C.,

A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture.

Camden, NJ: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1969. p111.

Heschel, Abraham J., The Prophets.

New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2001

McKenzie, S.J. John L., Dictionary of the Bible.

New York: Touchstone, Simon & Schuster, 1995

Nelsen, Sharon, Lecture Notes,

Year four O.C.B.S, 2009 – 2010

New American Bible. Saint Joseph Edition.

New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1991

Schoeman, Roy H., Salvation is from the Jews.

San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2003

The New World Dictionary Concordance to the NAB.

Canada: Catholic World Press, 1970. p54.

Winzen, Damacus, Pathways In Scripture.

Ann Arbor, MI: Word of Life, 1976


copyright 2011 Marilyn Roche