In today's second reading, we listened to the first of five excerpts from the Epistle of St. James. Every three years during the month of September, during Cycle B of the Lectionary we hear some words from St. James. As you will see in the coming weeks, James' Epistle is very readable, practical, very beautiful and sometimes very hard hitting.

In today's reading, James exhorts us to "humbly welcome the word of God" Humility of heart is an essential disposition for our approach to scripture-whether we are listening to it in church or reading it alone or with others in a small group. The humble, open heart is the opposite to the proud "know-it-all type of attitude. In her Magnificat, Mary tell us: "The humble he fills with good things, the rich (read the proud and self-sufficient) he sends away empty.

Reflection Questions - When it comes to the scriptures, to what extent do we approach it with humility?

What is your relationship with the Bible?

What is your relationship to the Bible? How often do you read it? Daily? Weekly? Rarely? Never? How sad if we were to die without making sincere efforts to become more acquainted with the greatest bestseller of all times. God's book. How sad if we make time to read all kinds of other books and neglect to read God's book. Of course, I have a certain sympathy for people when it comes to reading the Old Testament. Much of it is not an easy read. In fact, without a guide it is most difficult. On the other hand much of the New Testament is an easy read.

Four Suggestions for Deepening our Appreciation and Knowledge of the Bible

Suggestion #1 - Join a Seasonal Small Group

Thousands and thousands of Catholics all over the world are growing in their appreciation of the scripture by participating in a small group. Ascension has many such groups. We have ongoing and seasonal groups. The seasonal groups (Fall and Spring) meet for six weeks in homes and share insights on the readings that will be read in church the following week. The following are some details about this particular offering:

Each participant will have a copy of the scripture readings for the six weeks that you will be meeting.

Each participant will have a copy of my commentary on all three readings, which also has discussion questions and a suggestion on how to "act on the word". As James tells us today, we must be doers of the word and not just hearers. The Reflection Questions are open-ended ones and not the type that tests your knowledge of the Bible.

No prior experience of studying the Bible is assumed. Many who join these small groups have little or no experience with reading or studying the Bible

The small group experience is an excellent way to meet new people in the parish.

For more information on the current seasonal group, you can contact Deacon Michael McElwee at 254-1595 x 3076 or mail him at mmcelwee@ascensioncatholicsch.org.

There are a number of ongoing Small Christian Communities here at Ascension. Call Deacon Michael at 254-1595 ext 3076 for information on SCCs in your area.

Suggestion #3-Simply Begin to Read Some of the 72 Books of the Bible.

You may ask: Where should I begin? One suggestion is to read the books we are presently reading in church on the weekends. This suggestion only applies to the second reading and Gospel. Following this suggestion would mean reading James and Mark. James is a short, practical and easy to read book. Mark's Gospel is the shortest of the four gospels and the first Gospel to be written. You might also consider reading the Daily readings-the ones read each day in church. Many Catholics do this. They have a personal copy of the Daily Missal with all the readings.

Suggestion # 4 - Self-study of the Bible

Most People Need a Guide

While we can gain a lot from reading the Bible without the help of a commentary or study group, having a guide of some kind can be a big help. The following story from Acts makes the point.

An Ethiopian had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning home. He was sitting in his carriage reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go and catch up with that carriage." Philip ran ahead and heard a man reading the prophet Isaiah. He said to him, "Do you grasp what you are reading?" "How can I," the man replied, "unless someone explains it to me?" With that, he invited Philip to get in and sit down beside him.
(Acts 8:27-31).

Often we feel like the Ethiopian as we read the Scripture. Our hearts are open, our minds are alert, and yet we wonder what a certain verse or passage means. We wish we had a Philip by our side to give us a deeper understanding, to answer our questions and to interpret obscure passages. Scripture commentaries or a study group could be our "Philip".

Perhaps you do not like small groups or cannot fit them into your schedule. Your preference might be to engage in some self-study. If this is so, what might be some resources to guide you? We are fortunate that today we have hundreds of study guides. The challenge is to find one that you will like. The following are some suggestions:

Barclay's Daily Study Bible Series

One of the most popular study guides for both Catholics and Protestants is one by the late Scottish Anglican scholar William Barclay. It is said that the late Bishop Fulton Sheen liked Barclay's commentary. Barclay tells us that his Daily Study Bible series has one aim; "to convey the results of biblical scholarship to the ordinary reader". In his introduction to James he writes: "My primary aim has never been academic. Rather my aim is summed up in the famous words of Richard Chichester's prayer-to enable men and women "to know Jesus Christ more clearly, to love him more dearly, and to follow him more clearly." Barclay is very readable. He frequently offers some great stories to help us apply the Bible to our everyday lives. Also, Barclays commentary contains the biblical text. Hence, you can take his book to work or on an airplane without having to bring a Bible. Two samples of Barclay's commentary.

In today's Gospel, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of hypocrisy. About this, Barclay writes:

A Pharisee is an actor, not simply an actor on stage, but one whose life is a piece of acting without any sincerity behind it. Anyone to whom religion is a legal thing, any one whose religion means carrying out certain rules and regulations, anyone to whom religion is entirely connected with the observation of a certain ritual is bound to be, in a sense, a hypocrite. The reason is this - he believes that he is a good man if he carries out the correct acts and practices, no matter what his heart and his thoughts are like...church-going, bible-reading, financial giving, even time-tabled prayer do not make one a good person. The fundamental question is, how is a person's heart towards God and other people? It in our hearts, there is enmity, bitterness, grudges, pride, not all the outward religious observances in the world will make us anything other than a hypocrite.

"If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross and let him follow me." Mark 8:34, 35

About this challenging verse, Barclay comments: No one could ever say that he was induced to follow Jesus by false pretences. Jesus never tried to bribe men by the offer of an easy way. He did not offer men peace; he offered them glory. To tell a man he must be ready to take up a cross was to tell him he must be ready to be regarded as a criminal and to die.

The honesty of great leaders has always been one of their characteristics. In the days of the Second World War, when Sir Winston Churchill took over the leadership of the country, all that he offered men was "blood, toil, tears and sweat.

Jesus never sought to lure people to him by the offer of an easy way; he sought to challenge them, to waken the sleeping chivalry in their souls, by the offer of a way that which none could be higher and harder. He came not to make life easy but to make people great.

Barclay's commentary is like a little homily on each verse or story.

Three caveats: Being non-Catholic, Barclay's interpretation of some texts (e.g. on the Eucharist and Papacy) will differ from Catholic commentators. Secondly, some say that he plays down the miracles of Jesus, sometimes seeking a natural explanation of supernatural events. Thirdly, he can be a bit wordy. He has two books on both Matthew and John's Gospel. Barclay' books are only on the New Testament. But, all in all, in my humble opinion, the pluses of Barclay's commentary far outweigh the minuses. I hope next weekend to have copies of Barclay's commentary on the Gospel of Mark available outside church at a 40% discount. Mark is the Gospel we will be listening to in church for the rest of the year.

The Bible Guide - A Reader's Companion to the Bible. This is a 300 pocket-size book, which has very readable material on each book of the Bible. For example, on the letter of James, the author says that James gives Christians insights into ten practical themes: Troubles, Obedience, Love, Deeds Talk, relationships etc. And he has a piece on each one. This little gem is written by a Protestant writer, Raymond Brown. The bad news is that it is out of print. Also, the print is very small. Since I got a copy of this book this summer some copies are probably still available.

Catholic Commentaries

The Collegeville Bible Handbook

This book has a brief comment on every section of all 72 books of the Bible. This is a sample of this books commentary on Chapter six of John's Gospel, which we have been listening to for the past several weeks, the Bread of Life Discourse.

6:1-15 The multiplication of the loaves. Only in John's Gospel does Jesus give thanks (v.11, euchariste in Greek) - the ultimate sign (v. 14) of this miracle points to Jesus as the bread of life, particularly in the Eucharist.

6:16-24 Walking on the water. The storm scene is intended as a sign of Jesus' divine status (the "It is I' of v. 19 masks the profound I AM of the original Greek) and his ever-helping presence ("do not be afraid," v. 20).

6:26-59 The discourse This is a homily on a biblical test (v.31) - what the Jews would call a midrash. It follows a phrase-by-phrase order: (a) "he gave" (vv.26-34); (b) "bread from heaven" (vv.35-47); (c) "to eat" (vv. 48-59). What this homily does, therefore, is deliver a multi-faceted exposition of the Jesus-as-Bread-of-Life theme. (a) Jesus is first of all the giver of the bread, a new Moses. (b) He is also the bread of wisdom and revelation who nourishes all who come to him in faith. (c) He is, finally, the eucharistic source of eternal life for all who eat and drink the flesh and blood of the heavenly and glorified Son of Man.

6:60-71 Epilogue of various reactions. Verses 60-65 reflect a mounting crisis of faith for Jesus' disciples and the difficulty, for John's community, involved in accepting Jesus as the sacramental bread of life. The chapter concludes with a presentation of two models: Peter, who takes the risk, opening himself to the Word whose revealing words give eternal life, and Judas, who will remain in the group, living a divided existence, but already moving into darkness, the symbol of demonic power (13:23-30). The 350 page Collegeville Bible Handbook costs $20. This book has introductions to each book, maps, political background information and timelines.

If you would like an extended version of the Collegeville Bible Handbook, you might consider purchasing the two-volume Collegeville Bible Commentary. The Old Testament commentary is 850 pages long and costs $25. The New Testament is 1300 pages long and costs $20. The Bible Handbook is basically a summary version of the two-volume series. They have the same authors. The Collegeville commentaries offer us the best in contemporary Catholic scholarship. While the Collegeville series are very readable, they have the more serious student of the Bible in mind.