The Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, September 29, 2020

Revelation 12, 7-12

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them.”

Previous to the reform of the Church calendar in the 1960’s, each of the archangels had his own feast: September 29 for St. Michael; March 24 for St. Gabriel; and October 24 for St. Raphael.  In addition to his primary feast, St. Michael’s apparition on Mount Gargano in Italy was celebrated on May 8.  Of all the myriads of members in the angelic choirs in heaven, only these three are named in the Holy Scriptures.  The Orthodox, however, honor seven particular archangels, four of whom are named in apocryphal books.  The archangels form one of the nine choirs or ranks of angels.  We do not know how many angels are found in each choir.  The Book of Revelation 5, 11 speaks of ”thousands of thousands” of angels altogether.  While we highly esteem the archangels who have played significant roles in the history of the salvation of the human race, it is the Seraphim who make up the highest choir or rank.  The archangels make up the eighth rank, just above that of the angels proper.  The primary purpose of all the angels is to glorify God and they do so without ceasing down through eternity.  Various members of the choir of angels (“messengers”) proper are assigned as guardians of members of the human race.  Others act as messengers from the throne of God to his lowly human subjects on earth, bearing particular messages or inspirations.  The most important messages are entrusted to the archangels (“chief messengers”), as St. Gabriel was entrusted with the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In order for us to appreciate something of the glory of the archangels, it is necessary for us to keep in mind that they are not human.  We often picture them as winged people wearing white robes, but that is not really how they are portrayed in the Scriptures.  Neither Michael nor Gabriel are described at all, for instance, and Raphael only appears in human form in order to interact with humans.  The angels of the famous vision recorded in Isaiah 6, 2 are seraphim, and they are described solely in terms of having six wings.  Perhaps the fullest description of an angel occurs in a vision recorded in the Book of Daniel: “And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw: and behold a man clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with the finest gold: and his body was like the chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as a burning lamp: and his arms, and all downward even to the feet, like in appearance to glittering brass: and the voice of his word like the voice of a multitude” (Daniel 10, 5-6).  He is described as a creature of brilliant light.

We read in awe of the great battle in heaven described by St. John in the first reading for today’s Mass: “War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.”  Unlike the epic tales of wars in heaven told by the ancient Greeks, the Norsemen, and the Hindus, this war is short and the outcome is never in doubt.  Perhaps if we could measure it in human terms it would have taken place in the fraction of a second.  The will of God is carried out in heaven immediately.  It is done so in this battle through God’s angels, who cast their own kind, who have rebelled against God, into the fiery pit of hell. 

What we know of St. Michael’s service to God is recorded in the vision of his  leading the charge of the good angels against Lucifer and the wicked angels who followed him, and in the Book of Daniel, where he is called the protector of Israel, and so the Church, the New Israel, considers him her protector as well.  The Jewish Mishnah contains an interesting detail concerning the expulsion of the wicked angels into hell, that one of these grabbed hold of Michael to pull him down with him, but Michael was freed by the power of God.  The Letter of Jude relates an old tradition that Michael fought the devil over the body of Moses after the latter’s death: “When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he dared not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord commands you” (Jude 9).  In his commentary on the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, St. Thomas Aquinas relates an ancient prophecy that St. Michael will slay the Antichrist on the Mount of Olives at the end of the world.  In the traditional Mass, St. Michael’s name is invoked in the Confiteor and in the blessing of the incense.  His name is also his battle cry: “Who is like God?”

St. Gabriel plays a part in the Book of Daniel, explaining visions to the prophet.  Most especially we remember him as announcing the conception of St. John the Baptist to Zechariah, and then striking him dumb when he was slow to believe his message; and as bringing the joyous news of the conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  Many commentators also consider that he was the angel who spoke to St. Joseph in his dreams: first, to take Mary as his wife, and second, to take the newborn Christ and the Virgin Mother to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod.  Tradition tells us as well that he brought to the Blessed Virgin the news of her Son’s Resurrection.  This tradition is the foundation for the Marian antiphonal, Regina Caeli.  His name means “God is my strength”.

St. Raphael plays a crucial role in the Book of Tobit, being sent by God to aid the family of his sorely tried servant Tobit by recovering money owed to him and also by intervening against a murderous demon so that the righteous Sarah can marry Tobit’s won Tobiah.  Raphael then returns to Tobit and heals his blindness.  He is considered the patron saint of travelers and is also called upon by the sick.  His name, in fact, means, “God heals”.

Monday in the 26th Week of Ordinary Time, September 28, 2026

Luke 9, 46-50

An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”  Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

The first sentence of the lectionary translation of this passage from the Gospel of St. Luke has this: “An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.” The modern English definition of “argument” implies heated, personal debate. But the Greek text has this: “And there entered into them a thought (or “reasoning”, “calculation”) which of them should be greater. The Apostles were not breaking into bitter factions among themselves as to the ranking of each. In fact, a careful reading of the Greek text of the next verse reveals something else: “But Jesus seeing the thoughts of their hearts, etc.” Luke does not say that the Lord Jesus came upon the Apostles bickering at each other. He sees what is in their hearts and addresses it before it comes to the surface. He does this out of love for them to prevent dissension, especially dissension based on a false understanding of what it meant to him to be “great”.  The Greek text goes on to say, “Taking hold of a child, he caused it to stand in his presence.”  The Greek word translated here as “child” signifies one between the ages of three or four and ten. Jesus “takes hold” of such a child who is perhaps playing nearby in the house and sets it before him, facing the Apostles. He then addressed them: “If anyone should receive (“accept”, “welcome”) should welcome this child for the sake of my name, he receives (“accepts”, “welcomes”) me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me forth.” 

Now, a consideration of the Lord’s words here raises the question of whether he actually settled the questions that had arisen in the minds of his Apostles. But the Lord Jesus often worked in this way, addressing the deeper question behind the evident issue. He does this, for instance, when St. Jude asks Jesus, at the Last Supper, why he does not reveal himself to the whole world. The Lord seems to speak in a round about way: “If any one love me, he will keep my word. And my Father will love him and we will come to him and will make our abode with him” (John 14, 23). In this way Jesus told him that he would indeed reveal himself to the world — through the Apostles. But now Jesus speaks of a toddler representing him, even bearing him in his own little person so that anyone who received him for the sake of the Lord’s name welcomed not only Jesus but also the Father who had sent him forth. Jesus does not settle (or unsettle) the Apostles’ thoughts by saying, Peter is the greatest, John is the greatest. Rather, he sets up a model for them to follow: the one who bears Christ in his heart  And does his will is the model to measure oneself against. 

And the Greek word translated here as “receive”, “welcome”, or “accept” may be understood in the literal sense, but is better understood in the sense of “to believe”. That is, we “receive” Christ through faith. And when we “receive” him through faith, we strive to carry out his holy will. It is not enough to receive Christ or his minister into our physical presence. That may only be done through courtesy. But to believe in him, to seek to do his will, that is true welcoming, true acceptance, true reception.

The 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 27, 2026

Philippians 2, 1–11

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

In teaching basic Christian morality to pagan converts, St. Paul always pointed to the example of Christ.  We see him do this in his letters to the Ephesians (in chapters five and six) and to the Colossians (in chapters three and four).  In the second reading for today’s Mass, St. Paul first speaks of the need for generosity and unity for pleasing Christ, and then, with the words, “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus”, he tells them how they might live in Christ.  This “attitude” is one of obedience even unto death, and the most savage kind of death.  In the Christian this might take the form of martyrdom, but it always means holding all things — all things — as nothing, for the sake of Christ.

Paul considered the absolute obedience of the Lord Jesus to be his most important characteristic.  It is what makes the Son of God who he is.  The Son is equal in power and glory to the Father but his obedience makes him distinct from the Father.  In his subjection to the Father the Son makes himself subject to us as well, and dies on the Cross because of the Father’s love for us and his desire for us to be saved: that is, the Son loves us because the Father, whom he loves, loves us.  We can imitate the Son in this and in doing so, we can live out the life he commands us to live.  His first commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul.  We see the Lord adoring the Father with his prayers and by fulfilling the Father’s will.  Seeing this, and with the help of grace, we may also adore him with our prayers and by fulfilling his will for us.  The second commandment the Lord Jesus gives us is to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Now, very many people make themselves unlovable and even despicable to us, and yet we can love them, that is, have a will for their conversion, knowing that the Lord Jesus himself loves them.  We love the ones he loves for his sake.  We often do this in small ways in our daily life: our spouse or parent or sibling has a friend or relative that we find simply odious, and yet for the sake of the person we love, we are civil to that odious person.  As Christians, we pray for the conversion of people who openly offend God and scandalize or even persecute the faithful.  We do this for the sake of Christ who died for them, too, even if these people refuse to receive the graces he won for them.

Not long ago there was a kind of fad among Christian youth groups. The leaders of such groups taught kids to look at difficult moral situations and then to think, What would Jesus do?  This was their method of teaching practical Christian morality.  Problems arise with this strategy because there is not a human alive who can rightly envision how the Lord would act in a given situation.  Jesus’s actions on earth were inherently unpredictable.    He never did what people expected him to do.  What we can and ought to do, though, is to imitate his virtues.  Let us, then, imitate the Son’s obedience particularly so that we might share in the Son’s inheritance.

Saturday in the 25th Week of Ordinary Time, September 26, 2026

Luke 9, 43-45

While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Jesus has just descended the mountain where he had been transfigured before his Apostles Peter, James, and John, and a man has brought his only son, who is possessed by a demon, to Jesus.  After Jesus exorcises the evil spirit, the boy is restored and the gathered crowd rejoices. St. Luke tells us that, “they were all amazed at his every deed.”  The Greek word has the meaning of “awestruck”.  It is at this point that the Lord begins to prepare his Apostles for his coming betrayal, arrest, Passion, Death, and Resurrection.  The journey to Jerusalem which they had now begun was to be the final one with their Master, and they could not believe their ears when he told them this.

In the midst of the acclamation by the crowd, the Lord said to them, “Pay attention to what I am telling you.”  He had often spoken solemnly on matters of the law, but here he speaks as a parent to a beloved child, warning him of some danger.  The peril of which he speaks pertains to him: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”  That is, he does not warn them of am imminent, physical danger to themselves, but only to him.  He warns them in this way because he knows that their faith will be sorely tested.  Indeed, if the Lord had not prepared them and told them what would happen beforehand, the Apostles might not have stayed in Jerusalem after the arrest but fled back to Galilee.  He tells them what they need to hear, that he will be “handed over to men”.  The literal meaning of the Greek is more urgent: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.  Even if the Lord had said nothing more than this to them on this occasion, these words by themselves would have caused great alarm.  Already, shortly before the Transfiguration, to go by Luke’s chronology, the Lord had said to his Apostles, “The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and the third day rise again” (Luke 9, 22).  Now, he emphasizes that he is about to be “betrayed” into the hands of the rulers of the people.  

The Apostles were thunderstruck: “But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it.”  Was Jesus speaking to them in a parable?  Was he quoting some obscure Scripture?  At the height of his success in Galilee, it seemed impossible that he could be speaking literally.  And if he meant some danger of which they had not heard, then surely he would be able to avoid it.  “Its meaning was hidden from them.”  Luke uses a figure of speech.  God is not “hiding” the meaning of these words from them, but allowing them to wonder about them or to ask Jesus what he meant by them.  But they do not ask: “They were afraid to ask him about this saying.”  

We are often in the position of the Apostles, concerned about what is happening to us or around us, and afraid to ask about it.  A friend of mine, a Harvard MBA, once told me that she was driving down the street in her car when suddenly a loud clanking erupted under the hood.  I asked her what did she do, and she told me that she simply turned up the volume of the radio. This can also happen to people when they notice some physical change in their bodies that might indicate the progress of a dangerous disease: some strange swelling or pain, perhaps.  Many people would go to the doctor to find out about it, but many would “turn up the volume” and hope that if they forgot about the problem it would go away by itself.  This can happen in the spiritual life as well.  A person feels the guilt of some unconfessed sin but always finds a reason for not confessing it.  Admitting the serious nature of the sin they have committed means recognizing a state about ourselves we may not care to see.  The Apostles would have benefitted from asking the Lord about the words he had spoken, but they preferred not to know.  We should not feel afraid to ask our Lord the important questions which we have: Who am I?  Who are you, O Lord? What am I to do with my life?  Let us not be so afraid of his answers that we keep quiet.

Personal Note: I am starting to feel better. Thank you for your prayers!

Friday In the 25th Week of Ordinary Time, September 25, 2026

Luke 9, 18-22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

“The Christ of God.”  This differs from St. Matthew’s recollection of Peter’s answer: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16, 16).  Luke‘s shortened version emphasizes that Jesus was the Messiah whom the Jews awaited.  Luke has already, throughout his Gospel, made it clear that Jesus was the Son of God.  It begins with his quote of the Archangel, “He will be called the Son of God” — a Hebrew idiom meaning, He is the Son of God. So now Luke means to show his Greek Christian readers how the Jews rejected and killed the very Messiah they had awaited. For the Gentiles, the fact that the Lord fulfilled the Scriptures, performed astounding miracles, and then rose from the dead, and the Jews still rejected him, was baffling.

We might be greatly puzzled by the fact that Jesus evidently did not want people to know that he was the Messiah, the Son of God.  In fact, the term Messiah had been adopted and modified in its meaning by the Pharisees in the century before Jesus was born.  It became identified with political independence, with the restoration of David’s kingdom.  And so Jesus, “the anointed” of God, refused to be known by the public by this title, preferring “the Son of Man”, the title given by The Prophet Daniel.  He did however want his Apostles to know him as Christ, and to see what this title truly meant — not for a restorer of an earthly kingdom but for the one who would restore the human race for the heavenly kingdom.

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly.” By omitting the promises made by Jesus to Peter which Matthew 16, 17-19 records, Luke directly ties the Lord’s identity as Messiah to his rejection by the Jews and their leaders and then his Death.  It is as though he were saying: Jesus was killed because he was the Messiah.  

We rejoice in the gift of faith by which we know that the Lord Jesus as our God and King, as our Savior from sin, and marvel at what he endured for our salvation.  Let us pray for the conversion of those who lack faith so that they may rejoice with us.

Thursday in the 25 Week of Ordinary Time, September 24, 2026

Ecclesiastes 1, 2-11

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays. The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises. Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north, the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds. All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going. All speech is labored; there is nothing one can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.  What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us. There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them.

The Book of Ecclesiastes lays out for us the grim situation of the human race before the coming of the Son of God into the world.  It also paints for us the picture of the modern human living without Christ and the hope of heaven.  It is a short book, but just long enough to remind us of our great good fortune in what we have and what will be our fate should we lapse into a life of sin.  It also ought to motivate us to help others who do not know the Lord to get to know him, most of all by praying for them, for without grace, nothing changes.

“Qoheleth” is not a name but a position in which a person acts as a teacher or the speaker to an assembly.  Verse one identifies him with Solomon, but nearly all Hebrew wisdom was attributed to Solomon in the same way that we might say a king conquered a territory — his generals and soldiers in fact accomplished this.  The word translated here as vanity means “breath” or “vapor” in the Hebrew.  The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew word means “emptiness”, “purposelessness”, “nonsense”, and “emptiness”.  With this in mind, we can translate verse two as “It is all nonsense”, or “It is all without purpose”.  While perhaps striking some of us as a negative way to start a book, particularly a biblical book, this teaching reassures us of what Jesus teaches.  For instance, in the Parable of the Rich Farmer, the farmer has an abundant crop one season and decides to take it easy from now on and live on his enormous surplus.  But the Lord speaks to him in his bed: “You fool, this night do your soul will be demanded of you. And whose shall those things be which you have gathered?” (Luke 12, 20).

“One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays.”  This verse sounds like the inspiration for “Ol’ Man River”, which points to the universality of this wisdom.  A given human person will make scant impact on the world — unless he becomes a saint.  We might think that an inventor could make a big difference in how the people of the world live, but ultimately nothing substantial improves.  There is no progress in the world of men and women, only change.  We find cures to one disease only for another to appear.  We create one technology only to find that the convenience it gives us does not make up for the dangers it unleashes.  Progress only occurs in the spiritual realm, where the most wretched sinner can repent and grow in grace and become a John of God, or a Mary of Egypt.

“The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.”  Fallen human nature makes us ever restless to find peace.  The godless self-medicate on things far worse than narcotics in order to forget the pointlessness of their existence: pornography, violence, our jobs.  They do not ease their suffering and find no answers, and at the same time the spouses and children they have accumulated suffer from their absence.

“Nothing is new under the sun.”  This held true until the Son of God became incarnate of the Virgin Mary.  And he came precisely in order to renew us.  This is why we Christians use words like “resurrection”, which literally means “to rise again”.  We do not just rise on the last day, we rise again.  That is, this is an entirely new kind of rising: not only the soul, but the soul and the body rejoined and glorified.  Jesus changes everything that matters.

“There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them.”  Even three or four hundred years before the Birth of Christ, when this book was written, ancient ruins abounded.  Babylon and Nineveh, once so mighty, lay crushed to the ground.  The great pharaohs of Egypt were no more and hardly anyone knew their names anymore as the land was controlled  by the Greeks, who would later give way to the Romans.  

We give God thanks for making himself known to us, and for the grace which enables us to do his will so that he have purpose in our lives and heaven to look forward to.

Wednesday in the 25th Week of Ordinary Time, September 23, 2026

Proverbs 30, 5-9

Every word of God is tried by fire; he is a shield to those who hope in him. Add not anything to his words, lest you be reproved and found a liar. Two things I have asked of thee; deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lying words. Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the things necessary for my sustenance, lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear the name of my God.

I became confused and on Tuesday September 21 posted a reflection on the Gospel Reading for the following day and not for that day. Instead of posting a second reflection on that Gospel Reading, here is a reflection on the First Reading, from the Book of Proverbs. To add to the interest, the following is a translation from the commentary on Proverbs by Rabanus Maurus (780-856), a brilliant Frankish Benedictine monk who wrote many commentaries on the Scriptures, and whose feast day is celebrated on February 4. The translation of the Reading follows the text Rabanus used and so differs from the one used in the lectionary.

From the Commentary on The Book of Proverbs by Rabanus Maurus:

“Every word of God is tried by fire; he is a shield to those who hope in him.” The whole Church of Christ knows this, and those especially perceive it who, with God dwelling within them, despise the pride of earthly wisdom. For indeed every word of divine authority both kindles the hearts of the elect with the fire of charity, enlightens them with the knowledge of truth, consumes whatever stains of vice it finds in them, and defends those who hope in it from the snares of enemies and from every adversity.

But it must be considered more carefully that the particular force of the Greek expression πεπυρωμένον cannot be expressed in Latin by a single word. Hence it is sometimes translated “kindled,” and sometimes “tried by fire,” as in: “Your word is exceedingly kindled,” (Psalm 118:140) and: “Silver tried by fire” (Psalm 11:7). In Greek, however, both meanings are expressed by the single word πεπυρωμένον. There is also a verse of the Psalmist which closely resembles this saying of Solomon: “Every word of God is tried by fire; he is a shield to those who hope in him.” (πεπυρωμένα): “He is the protector of all who hope in him” (Psalm 17:31).

Πεπυρωμένον, therefore, signifies something that has been, as it were, purified by being melted in fire. For just as metals which have been melted in fire contain no foreign or useless impurity within themselves, but whatever remains in them is true, perfect, and cleansed of every stain, so too the word of the Lord, containing within itself the good things of eternity, remains pure.

Hence that saying of the Lord: “One jot, or one tittle, shall not pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18). For all these things in the Scriptures are true, and, beyond every ambiguity, are refined by fire from the superfluity of emptiness.

“Add not anything to his words, lest you be reproved and found a liar.” Do not corrupt the words of the Holy Scriptures, as certain heretics are known to have done, lest they should be convicted by them.

“Two things I have asked of thee; deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lying words. Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the things necessary for my sustenance, etc.” These words the man with whom God is, still radiant with the fire of his word, now utters with his voice turned toward the Lord himself, beseeching that he may never prefer the vanity of this world or lying words to the truth of the heavenly Scriptures, nor again, through either abundance or want of passing things, fall into forgetfulness of eternal things.

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Key to understanding Rabanus’s point is that the Scriptures are both purified and purifying by the fiery love of God. The lectionary translation says merely that God’s word is “tested”, an inadequate rendering of either the Hebrew or the Greek. However, purified by the love of God the Scriptures do not simply sit inertly and perhaps inspire a soul here and there to live with greater zeal for God’s cause. Rather, “the word of God is living and effectual and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow: and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). That is, as Rabanus points out, the word of God the word kindles, illumines, cleanses, and defends those who come to it with faith.