#Boanerges

[enzasegretaria]

🟢 Quadro ad olio di Jonn Boanerges 😊.

[freebiblestudies]

The Disciples of Jesus Lesson 08: The Sons of Zebedee

What would you do if you were presented with a life-changing opportunity?  Would you be willing to give up everything you have to go after that opportunity?  Even if you may end up with nothing?

Let’s read together Matthew 10:2 and Mark 3:17.

Today we are going to study the disciples James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

Let’s read together Matthew 4:21-22 and Mark 1:19-20.

James and John were fishermen who worked with their father Zebedee.  They came from a relatively wealthy family, since they had hired servants working with them.  James and John immediately dropped everything when Jesus called them to follow Him.

Let’s read together Matthew 17:1-3; Mark 5:35-43; Mark 14:33-34; Luke 8:49-56; and Luke 9:28-32.

Jesus chose twelve disciples to be His closest followers.  However, it seems that there was an inner circle within that group.  Jesus only permitted James, John, and Peter to be with Him when He resurrected Jairus’ daughter.  James, John, and Peter were given the special privilege of seeing Jesus glorified on a mountain.  James, John, and Peter were closest to Jesus when He prayed at Gethsemane.

Let’s read together Mark 3:17 one more time.

 Interestingly, Jesus nicknamed James and John “the sons of thunder.”  Why were they called that?

Let’s read together Mark 10:35-45.

James and John upset the other disciples when they audaciously asked to sit at the left and right hand of Jesus when He came into glory.  However, Jesus gently rebuked all His disciples.  He explained to them true greatness comes not from obtaining a position of authority, but in serving others.

Let’s read together Luke 9:51-56.

Samaritan villagers refused to welcome Jesus because he planned to go to Jerusalem.  James and John asked Jesus if they could call fire down from heaven to destroy the village.  Why would James and John request such a thing?  Perhaps they were trying to show Jesus how zealous they were.  They were willing to destroy anyone who insulted Him.  

However, Jesus rebuked them.  Jesus reminded James and John the goal of His ministry on earth was the salvation of people, not their destruction.  Jesus did not want His followers to harm or destroy people in His name.  

James and John had a misguided zeal.  It may have been sincere, but it was in the wrong spirit.  Think of people who claim to be Christians, but have driven people from Christ with their hypocritical and judgmental actions.

Jesus wants His disciples to be zealous, but not for honor or material gain.  Rather, Jesus wants His disciples to be humble, loving people who are zealous to bring people to Him.

James and John learned to stop being the “sons of thunder” and to start being the “sons of Christ.”  Friend, are you willing to learn the same lesson as these two disciples?

[gainesvillelivemusic]

Victoria Griffin (Princess Charming) performs Boanerges at The Bull

[quantumcartography]

Eventually I'm gonna do a deep dive on every name in the Locked Tomb series but I've been sitting on this dissection of The Emperor's chosen name for a long time and I want to put it into the world. So, here it is.

The Emperor John Gaius, His Celestial Kindliness, the First Reborn, King of the Nine Renewals, Necromancer Divine, our Resurrector, and The Necrolord Prime

“NOTE: He’s just some guy, you know?

NOTE II: Gaius was not the name John was born with. He picked it for himself circa Y100 of his reign.”

These two names have so much potential meaning tied up in them so buckle up.

First, the literal translations. John is a derivative of the Biblical Hebrew Yohanan which is in turn derived from the Yehohanan, which means literally “Yahweh has been gracious.” Gaius is a Latin name that likely derives from the latin gaudere “to rejoice.” This more or less makes the name say “Huzzah! God has been good!” Now, there is one other tweak to this. Gaia is the Greek personification of the Earth (Terra is the Roman equivalent) and if you slapped the Latin masculine ending on it, it would become Gaius. This does provide a tie to the planet Earth in his name (which is far more obvious in Gideon’s name of Kiriona Gaia) and would make sense if he picked it as a memorial to the dead Earth to which he could never return.

Next, modern social interpretation. John for a long time held the title of “most common name in the English speaking world.” I believe it’s since been surpassed by James, but it’s still up there. Gaius, funnily enough, was the Ancient Roman equivalent of John. It was one of the most common given names for so long that it became semi-synonymous with saying “some guy” similar to the phrase “Tom, Dick, and Harry” or “don’t know him from Adam.” These two names make his name something like “John John” or “Jon Doe” or “James Q. Public.”

Next: the strictly biblical interpretation. The most obvious link here is to the book of the New Testament, John 3. This is a letter by one of the many biblical Johns to a man named Gaius concerning some pretty mundane church business of the time and thanking Gaius for looking after some poor missionaries. It’s honestly a supremely drab book of the bible and doesn’t really get into doctrine or legends or exciting apocalypse stuff. It’s just a letter from a church leader to a rich patron. If someone more versed in Biblical history and literature can shed some light on this book, I’d be very thankful.

Next: some name associations. Being two of the most common names in history, we kinda have a wealth of options to pick from. Saint John the Apostle was the one who actually walked with Jesus and was the brother of the Apostle James with whom they made up the Boanerges, the Sons of Thunder. John of Patmos was the likely author of the Book of Revelation and maybe the same as John the Apostle (but probably not.) The author who wrote about the apocalypse seems pretty fitting. Gaius was also the praenomen (given name) of the two Caesars responsible for the death of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire: Gaius Julius Caesar and Gaius Octavius who became Caesar Augustus.

Julius Caesar is definitely the most well known Emperor of Rome/salad inventor and also second dictator for life (Sulla was the first so Caesar can’t take that title.) He was an incredibly popular general who was part of an alliance of three figures (him, Pompey, and Crassus) to increase their own power, wealth, and standing. When Crassus died, tensions formed between Pompey and Caesar until Pompey had the senate recall Caesar from his war in Gaul to be removed from command. Caesar knew this would lead to his execution at the hands of his rival so he made his own play, marching his troops into Rome (an act tantamount to sacrilege) to try and capture Pompey which spoiler he didn’t. It sparked a civil war that raged all the way around the Mediterranean for four years and left Caesar as the de facto ruler of the Roman Republic up until an unfortunate accident in the senate where he fell into knives 23 times. He had it coming. This idea of attacking his enemy before they have a chance to attack you only to have your enemy slip away is a notable parallel.

Gaius Octavius had been named as Caesar’s successor in his will and would go on to become the first proper Roman Emperor. He used the newfound power from his great-uncle’s death to form a new three person alliance (him, Lepidus, and Mark Antony) and hunt down Julius Caesar’s assassins and rake in treasure while cementing their political power. Surprise surprise though because Caesar Augustus (the name given Gaius Octavius after he became the Emperor) managed to politically, militarily, and psychologically out maneuver his two fellow rulers and within seven years he had metaphorically put Lepidus in the ground and literally put Mark Antony in the ground. Now, while in life Julius Caesar made a lot of moves to imply that he wanted to be the king of Rome, not least of which was modeling himself as descended from the gods and enshrining himself alongside them as equals. Augustus doubled down on this by starting a massive and complex propaganda machine to make himself equally divine, even within his own lifetime and immediately afterwards.

Both of these men led the Romans into civil wars that ravaged the empire. Both of them committed acts of sacrilege in the ancient world to further their political games of revenge. Both of them lied, cheated, stole, killed, and manipulated to gain more power and remake the world to be what they wanted. They were geniuses who may have even had good intentions and put an end to a long period of political instability, but through blood and steel and no small part vengeance.

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t address the elephant in the room that is Homestuck. I will say that my adoration of The Locked Tomb series has sent me down innumerable rabbit holes. I have researched paper manufacturing, the magnetic forces of Jupiter, Catholic prayers, polygenic phenotyping, Ancient Greek and Roman poetry, national anthems of nations of the world, and the psychology of Among Us. But the rabbit hole that is the MS Paint Adventures Wiki is one too daunting for even me. But in any case, I have no doubt that these characters sharing a name is no coincidence.

Lastly, the use of a Hebrew and Latin name makes this fascinating marriage of opposites. To massively understate it, Romans and Christians did not get along for a long time. Obviously now, the Catholic Church is seated in Rome, but for a BIG portion of the early Christian ministry, the Romans were the ones who captured them and set them on fire or crucified them or other fun and exciting means of execution. More than that, an apostle to Jesus’ monotheistic peace-loving and merciful message being linked with two deified and bloody conquerors of Ancient Rome does create this interesting tension. This tension is something very interesting in modern Catholicism as well as the Locked Tomb’s Empire.

[septmim17]

Just realized that I hadn't posted these to tumblr yet so here they are! Bookmark-size paintings for several scenes in the valvert fic Between the Dog and the Wolf:

（they are made literally bookmarks irl however I don't have them with me right now. sad.)

[heavenslittlemachine]

These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”),

i love this. he doesn't rename the rest of them. he gives two of them a shared name. and what a name....

[dabiconcordia]

I like to see it lap the miles

I like to see it lap the miles, And lick the valleys up, And stop to feed itself at tanks; And then, prodigious, step

Around a pile of mountains, And, supercilious, peer In shanties by the sides of roads; And then a quarry pare

To fit its sides, and crawl between, Complaining all the while In horrid, hooting stanza; Then chase itself down hill

And neigh like Boanerges; Then, punctual as a star, Stop — docile and omnipotent — At its own stable door. by Emily Dickinson

[elperegrinodedios]

Camminando per Finisterra e ritrovando antichi lavori, hobby, costumi e usanze di un tempo che fu, in un paese di pescatori cosi come era anche il mio una volta. Nostalgia di bellissimi momenti.

Avevo anch'io un fratello pescatore al quale piaceva insegnarmi tanti trucchi e segreti di tale arte. Poi durante il mio cammino della vita m'è capitato di pescare in tanti modi diversi, sia con la canna, al traino, con il palo e con la rete, con le pinne e la maschera in apnea... e poi un giorno di tanti anni fà, sono diventato pescatore d'uomini. Me lo chiese Gesù ed io mi ritrovai di colpo, ad avere tanti fratelli che già lo facevano da molto tempo, cosi come Simone detto Pietro e Andrea, Giacomo e Giovanni, detti: "Boanerges" e cioè "Figli del tuono". I figli di Zebedeo.

Mt. 4:18-22 📖

lan ✍️ 📷

[myremnantarmy]

𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

Mk 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted

and they came to him.

He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,

that they might be with him

and he might send them forth to preach

and to have authority to drive out demons:

He appointed the Twelve:

Simon, whom he named Peter;

James, son of Zebedee,

and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges,

that is, sons of thunder;

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,

Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus;

Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,

and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT JOHN The Evangelist and Apostle Whom Jesus Loved Feast Day: December 27

St. John, the beloved apostle of Jesus, was the son of Zebedee and the brother of James the Greater. As they were mending their nets on the sea of Galilee, Jesus passed by and called them. Immediately, they left their boat and their father Zebedee and follow Jesus. According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus nicknamed them Boanerges, meaning 'sons of thunder', on account of their strong temperament.

John was the youngest of the apostles, and he defined himself as the apostle whom Jesus loved. He was present at the Transfiguration, and during the Last Supper, he leaned on Jesus' breast to ask for the name of the betrayer. During the crucifixion, John is the only apostle who stood at the foot of the cross, receiving the sublime mission to care for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of the Lord.

According to tradition in 49 AD, John settled at Ephesus, where he witnessed Mary's assumption. From there, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse). He returned to Ephesus a few years later, where he wrote three letters, which contain the sublime definition of the divinity: 'God is love.' There, he also wrote the fourth Gospel, whose sublime theology was represented in art as an eagle.

When John was already old, he used to speak to his flock only these words: 'My little children, love one another.'

When they asked him why he kept repeating the same sentence, he replied: 'Because it is word of the Lord, and if you keep it you do enough.'

John died in peace at Ephesus in 101 AD.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Morning and Evening by C.H. Spurgeon

Evening, June 27th

"Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called." – 1 Corinthians 7:20

Some persons have the foolish notion that the only way in which they can live for God is by becoming ministers, missionaries, or Bible women. Alas! how many would be shut out from any opportunity of magnifying the Most High if this were the case. Beloved, it is not office, it is earnestness; it is not position, it is grace which will enable us to glorify God. God is most surely glorified in that cobbler's stall, where the godly worker, as he plies the awl, sings of the Saviour's love, aye, glorified far more than in many a prebendal stall where official religiousness performs its scanty duties. The name of Jesus is glorified by the poor unlearned carter as he drives his horse, and blesses his God, or speaks to his fellow laborer by the roadside, as much as by the popular divine who, throughout the country, like Boanerges, is thundering out the gospel. God is glorified by our serving him in our proper vocations. Take care, dear reader, that you do not forsake the path of duty by leaving your occupation, and take care you do not dishonor your profession while in it. Think little of yourselves, but do not think too little of your callings. Every lawful trade may be sanctified by the gospel to noblest ends. Turn to the Bible, and you will find the most menial forms of labor connected either with most daring deeds of faith, or with persons whose lives have been illustrious for holiness. Therefore be not discontented with your calling. Whatever God has made your position, or your work, abide in that, unless you are quite sure that he calls you to something else. Let your first care be to glorify God to the utmost of your power where you are. Fill your present sphere to his praise, and if he needs you in another he will show it you. This evening lay aside vexatious ambition, and embrace peaceful content.

[lookingforhappy]

here's an absolutely ancient draft with explainations of each of the brellies' names and origins that i compiled millenia ago lmao

Luther -

Wikipedia:

As a German surname, Luther is derived from a Germanic personal name compounded from the words liut, "people", and heri, "army". As a rare English surname, it means "lute player". Luther is also derived from the Greek name Eleutherius. Eleutherius is a cognate of the Greek word eleutheros (έ��εύθερος) which means "free".

Luther is a given name of various origins, it is derived from the same surname and became a first name mainly in tribute of Martin Luther.

Luther was ordained to the priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; in particular, he disputed the view on indulgences. His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor.

Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, divine grace, the purpose of God's Law, the concept of perseverance of the saints, and predestination.

Predestination, in Christian theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul.

Diego -

Wikipedia:

The name has long been interpreted as reanalysis of Santiago, from older Sant Yago "Saint Jacob," in English known as Saint James, as San-Tiago.

One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Saint James is the patron saint of Spain and, according to tradition, his remains are held in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him. James was one of only three apostles whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. James and John (or, in another tradition, their mother) asked Jesus to grant them seats on his right and left in his glory. Jesus rebuked them, asking if they were ready to drink from the cup he was going to drink from and saying the honor was not even for him to grant. The other apostles were annoyed with them. James and his brother wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan town, but were rebuked by Jesus.

The Acts of the Apostles records that "Herod the king" (usually identified with Herod Agrippa I) had James executed by the sword. Nixon suggests that this may have been caused by James's fiery temper, in which he and his brother earned the nickname Boanerges or "Sons of Thunder". F. F. Bruce contrasts this story to that of the Liberation of Saint Peter, and notes that "James should die while Peter should escape" is a "mystery of divine providence".

Didacus is recorded in the forms Diaco, Diago in the 10th century. The form Diego is first recorded in the late 11th century. Its original derivation from Didacus is uncertain, among other things because the shift from -ía- to -ié- is unexplained.

familyeducation.com:

The name Diego is of Spanish origin and means "supplanter." It is believed to be derived from the name Santiago, and in medieval times, Diego was Latinized as Didacus. It is believed Didacus derives from the Greek word didache, meaning "teaching."

dictionary.com:

Supplanter: noun. someone or something taking the place of another, as through force, scheming, strategy, or the like.

Allison -

Wikipedia:

Alison is primarily a female given name in English-speaking countries. It was originally a medieval French nickname for Alis, an old form of Alice derived with the suffix -on or -son sometimes used in the former French nicknames such as Jeanson ("little Jean") or Pierson ("little Pierre").

The name is first recorded in Scotland in the 12th century. It was popular until the early 19th century and, spelled Allison, was the 45th most common name given to baby girls in the United States in 2005

Allison also has separate, disputed roots as a family name.

Allison is a surname of English and Scottish origin. It was a patronym, in most cases probably indicating son of Allen, but in other cases possibly from Ellis, Alexander, or the female given name Alice/Alise.

The surname was first recorded in England in 1248, when a "William Alisun" is recorded in the Documents of the Abbey of Bee in Buckinghamshire. In Scotland, the earliest record dates from 1296, when "Patrick Alissone, Count of Berwick" paid homage to the ruling council of Scotland in the absence of a proclaimed king.

behindthename.com:

Allison: From the middle of the 20th century this has primarily been used as a variant of the feminine name Alison.

Alison: Norman French diminutive of Aalis (see Alice). It was common in England, Scotland and France in the Middle Ages, and was later revived in England in the 20th century via Scotland.

Alice: From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

Adelaide: Means "noble type", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of the elements adal "noble" and heid "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

Klaus -

Wikipedia:

Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas.

The name is derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos), understood to mean 'victory of the people', being a compound of νίκη nikē 'victory' and λαός laos 'people'. An ancient paretymology of the latter is that originates from λᾶς las (contracted form of λᾶας laas) meaning 'stone' or 'rock', as in Greek mythology, Deucalion and Pyrrha recreated the people after they had vanished in a catastrophic deluge, by throwing stones behind their shoulders while they kept marching on.

The name became popular through Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, the inspiration for Santa Claus.

In one of the earliest attested and most famous incidents from his life, he is said to have rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them. Other early stories tell of him calming a storm at sea, saving three innocent soldiers from wrongful execution, and chopping down a tree possessed by a demon.

Another famous late legend tells how he resurrected three children, who had been murdered and pickled in brine by a butcher planning to sell them as pork during a famine.

Five -

Wikipedia:

5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on each hand.

Gerard Way's insta @/gerardway:

Maybe they'll learn the numbers don't matter, as Five did, which is why I feel he embraced his number as a name instead of a rank, and rejected an actual name (which I hope we see one day!).

Steve Blackman on Reddit Q&A:

Grace helped the kids choose names that were popular from their birth places. However, Five couldn't decide on one before getting lost in the apocalypse. Now, he just likes the name "Five".

Ben -

Wikipedia:

Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right.

Ben (in Hebrew: בֶּן‎, Son of) forms part of surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham (Hebrew: אברהם בן אברהם‎). Bar-, "son of" in Aramaic, is also seen, e.g. Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שמעון בר כוכבא‎).

The Arabic "Bin" (بن) or "Ibn" (ابن) or "Ben" (dialectal Arabic) means "son of".

Benjamin is a popular given name for males, derived from Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין‎, Binyāmīn, translating as "son of the right [hand]", though in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the name appears as "Binyaamem": "son of my days".

Benjamin is often shortened to Ben, sometimes to Benny, Benj, or Benji. It is also a patronymic surname. Like many biblical names, it is popular in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths alike, having many variant forms in other languages.

The "Benjamin of the family" is a phrase used in several languages to refer to the youngest son—especially when he is much younger than his brothers. Sometimes the name is chosen for a son born to mature parents unlikely to have more children, especially if he has several older siblings. Both of these usages derive from the biblical son of Jacob of that name, who occupied that position in his family. In some languages, by extension, it is also applied to the runt of a litter of animals.

Vanya -

Wikipedia:

��аня (Vanya), a male or female diminutive of the Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian and other Slavic given names Ivan or Ivana. It is the Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian and other Slavic form of John or Jane, itself derived from a Hebrew name, meaning "God is gracious" or "Gracious gift of God". An alternative spelling of the name is Vanja. In the Scandinavian countries and in Bulgaria, it is a female given name, in Bosnia and Herzegovina mainly a male given name, in Russia it is male given name, and in Serbia and Croatia it is a unisex name.

The play portrays the visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends—Vanya, brother of the professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local doctor—both fall under Yelena's spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya's home, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife.

Alone, Vanya wonders why he did not fall in love with Yelena when he first met her ten years before, when it would have been possible for the two to have married and had a happy life together. At that time, Vanya believed in Serebryakov's greatness and was happy that his efforts supported Serebryakov's work; now he has become disillusioned with the professor and his life feels empty.

Angrily, Vanya asks where he, Sonya, and his mother would live, protests that the estate rightly belongs to Sonya, and that Serebryakov has never appreciated his self-sacrifice in managing the property. As Vanya's anger mounts, he begins to rage against the professor, blaming him for the failure of his life, wildly claiming that, without Serebryakov to hold him back, he could have been a second Schopenhauer or Dostoevsky. In despair, he cries out to his mother, but instead of comforting her son, Maria insists that Vanya listen to the professor. Serebryakov insults Vanya, who storms out of the room. Yelena begs to be taken away from the country and Sonya pleads with her father on Vanya's behalf. Serebryakov exits to confront Vanya further. A shot is heard from offstage and Serebryakov returns, being chased by Vanya, wielding a loaded pistol. He fires the pistol again at the professor but misses. He throws the gun down in disgust and sinks into a chair.

The Tsar Bomba (Russian: Царь-бо́мба), (code name: Ivan or Vanya), also known by the alphanumerical designation AN602, was a hydrogen aerial bomb, and the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested. Tsar Bomba was developed in the Soviet Union (USSR) by a group of nuclear physicists under the leadership of Igor Kurchatov, an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.

[mariliva-mello]

Filho do Trovão ⚡

O trovão é o forte estrondo causado após a liberação da carga do raio ao céu. Jesus chamava Tiago e João de Boanerges, ou seja, filhos do trovão.

Hoje mesmo profetiza a palavra recebida de Deus! Seja um filho do trovão, que profetiza sobre o vale de ossos secos e esqueletos sem vida.

M a r i l i v a Mello

[ahandfulwithquietness]

T.E. Lawrence's motorbikes names (all of them were Brough Superiors):

1922: Boa (short for Boanerges, from Ancient Greek and Aramaic- Sons of thunder) 1923: George I  1924: George II 1925: George III 1926: George IV 1927: George V (RK 4907) 1929: George VI (UL 656) 1932: George VII (GW 2275) (the bike he died riding) Undelivered: George VIII (still being built when Lawrence died)

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

19th January >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies for Today's Mass Readings (Inc. Mark 3:13-19) on Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time (B): ‘He appointed twelve’.

Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time (B)

Gospel (Except USA) Mark 3:13-19 He appointed twelve to be his companions.

Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’; then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.

Gospel (USA) Mark 3:13-19 Jesus summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him.

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Reflections (9)

(i) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

According to today’s gospel reading, Jesus chose the twelve ‘to be his companions and to be sent out’. There are two movements there, a coming to Jesus and a staying with him in companionship, and a going out from him to proclaim the good news of God’s loving reign, in word and in deed. The second movement flows from the first movement. The twelve first need to be with Jesus, to spend time in his company, to see what he is doing and to hear what he is saying. They will then be able to go out as his witnesses, speaking and acting as he did. That twofold movement is also a good description of our baptismal calling. The Lord keeps calling us to himself to be his companions, to spend time in his company. One of the ways we do that is through prayer. In prayer we attend to the Lord who is always attending to us. As we prayerfully reflect on the gospels, we listen to his words and we observe his life. This is the prayer of presence. We consciously become present to the Lord who is present to us. In doing so, we grow in our relationship with him, and the Lord comes to live more fully within us. We become empowered to go from his presence and become his witnesses in the world, by all that we say and do. Witnessing to the Lord will mean loving others as he has loved us, including loving those who wish us ill. In today’s first reading, Saul looked upon David as his enemy and sought to kill him. Yet, when David had a chance to kill Saul, he refused to take it. David refused to return evil with evil, hatred with hatred. As Saul says to David in that reading, ‘You have repaid me with good, while I have repaid you with evil’. David’s way of relating to Saul is how Jesus relating to his enemies. In his letter to the Romans, Paul calls upon the members of the church, ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’. This is the way of life which flows from our companionship with the Lord in prayer.

And/Or

(ii) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading says that Jesus summoned those he wanted and it lists the names of twelve of his disciples. The last disciple is named as Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him. Mark the evangelist was writing with hindsight, knowing that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to his enemies. Yet Mark acknowledges at the beginning of that gospel reading that Judas Iscariot was among that group whom Jesus wanted. Jesus made a clear choice of these twelve from among the other disciples; these are the ones he wanted. There is no suggestion in the gospels that when Jesus chose Judas he knew at the time that Judas would betray him. It seems that although Jesus wanted Judas, Judas, in the end, did not want Jesus. The Lord calls each one of us to be his followers. His call is made anew to us every day of our lives. The Lord wants us to respond to his call. Yet, we also have to want to respond. The Lord cannot force our response, no more than he could have forced the response of Judas. The Lord needs our free response to his call. Otherwise it would not be a fully human response. What does the Lord call us to? The gospel reading says that he wanted the twelve to be his companions and to be sent out. The Lord calls us, wants us, to be his companions firstly. He calls us to be with him as he is with us; this is the call to prayer. He also calls us to be sent out. From our prayerful companionship with the Lord we are sent out by him as his ambassadors, as people who witness to his values, his attitudes and his whole way of life.

And/Or

(iii) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus has been gathering a growing number of disciples since the beginning of his public ministry. According to Mark in this morning’s gospel reading, from this larger group Jesus called twelve to be his companions and then to be sent out as his representatives. The number twelve was significant; it is a reminder of the twelve tribes of Israel. This group of twelve were to symbolize the renewed Israel that Jesus was working to form. The gospel reading says that Jesus chose those whom he wanted; he chose these twelve very deliberately. They were to receive intensive training and instruction so as to share in his ministry in a special way. Yet, by the end of Mark’s gospel, everyone of this group had deserted him, the first mentioned of the group, Simon Peter, had denied him publicly, and the last mentioned, Judas Iscariot, had betrayed him to his enemies. In spite of the fact that these twelve had spent more time in his company than others, listening to him, seeing what he did, they failed him when the cross came into view. They were not faithful to their calling. Although Jesus calls people, calls each one of us, he cannot force us to respond to his call. Although he has a purpose for our lives, he is helpless before our refusal to co-operate with his purpose for us. Yet, in the gospel of Mark, the failure of the twelve was not the end of their relationship with Jesus. After he rose from the dead, he appeared to them in Galilee and renewed his relationship with them. The Lord may be helpless before our failure but he remains faithful to us in spite of our unfaithfulness to him and he is always at work to bring some good out of our failures.

And/Or

(iv) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus calls twelve from among the larger group of disciples. There were two elements to the Lord’s call. Firstly, he called these twelve to be his companions, to be with him, and, secondly, he called them to be sent out to preach and to heal, to share in his own work. They would first need to be with him before they could go out on his behalf. They needed to get to know the Lord of the work before they could take up the work of the Lord. The pattern that applies to the twelve in our gospel reading applies to all of us, to some degree or another. We too are called to share in the Lord’s work, to witness to him, to bring his gospel into the world by our lives. Yet, prior to that, we are called to become the Lord’s companions, to be with him. One of the primary ways we spend time with the Lord is prayer. In prayer we attune ourselves to the Lord’s presence to us, we become present to him as he is to us. That is true of all prayer, whether it is the public prayer of the church, like the Eucharist, or our own personal and private prayer. Our prayerful presence with the Lord creates space for the Lord to work in and through us. The gospel reading suggests that we need to grow in our relationship with the Lord by spending time with him, before we can go forth in his name, as his ambassadors.

And/Or

(v) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

The first reading this morning continued the tragic story of Saul’s jealous animosity towards David. Saul saw David as his enemy and treated him as such. Yet, David was not in act Saul’s enemy, as is shown by the behaviour of David in that reading. David spared the life of Saul, even when Saul was at the mercy of David. In exasperation, David says to Saul, ‘you must acknowledge frankly that there is neither malice nor treason in my mind’. David did not relate to Saul as Saul related to him. In the gospel reading, Jesus calls the twelve disciples, including Judas Iscariot who went on to betray. Again Jesus did not relate to Judas as Judas related to him. Although Judas was planning to betray Jesus, according the gospel of John, Jesus washed the feet of all of his disciples, including the feet of Judas. He poured himself out in loving service all of his disciples, Judas included. Both David and Jesus teach us that, although we may have little control over have other people relate to us, we have some control over how we relate to them. Our way of relating to others need not be determined by their way of relating to us. Our calling is to allow the Lord to love others through us, regardless of how they relate to us.

And/Or

(vi) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading we are told that Jesus appointed twelve ‘to be his companions and to be sent out’. There seems a certain tension between both of those roles, companioning Jesus and being sent out from him. To companion Jesus is to be in his company; to be sent out is to be away from him. Yet, this was a creative tension. Spending time in Jesus’ company prepared the disciples to be sent out by Jesus. They could only be sent out after they had spent time with Jesus. They needed to receive from him before they could give to others. They needed to observe him, to listen to him, before they could speak and act in his name. This creative tension is at the heart of all our lives as disciples of Jesus. We spend time in his company in prayer, and we go out from our prayer as his representatives before others. This is the two-fold movement of the Christian life. Neither one can be dispensed with. The Christian life in its fullness has both a contemplative and an active dimension. The gospel reading hints that the contemplative dimension is the foundation of the active dimension. The twelve needed to allow themselves to be companioned by Jesus before they could be sent out. We need to spend time with the Lord in prayer if we are to share in his work today.

And/Or

(vii) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

The person of David is featuring in our first reading from the first book of Samuel in these days. David is portrayed in the Biblical literature as a somewhat complex character. He is capable of both great virtue and of great vice. He had Uriah, one of his commanders, killed because he wanted to marry Uriah’s wife, thereby breaking two of the ten commandments, those prohibiting adultery and murder. It is the virtuous side of David that is reflected in today’s first reading. Saul, the king of Israel, considered David his enemy, because he was jealous of David’s popularity. Saul sought to do David harm. However, when David had the opportunity to do Saul harm, he refused to take it. He preserved the life of his enemy. In the words of Saul to David in today’s first reading, ‘you have repaid me with good, while I have repaid you with evil’. David showed love towards his enemy, anticipating the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. The character of David teaches us that, even when we fail in some serious way, we can still be capable of great good. In the gospel reading, Jesus appoints twelve of his disciples to be his companions and to be sent out in his name. Many of them would fail him in a very serious way. All of them would desert him, Peter would deny him publicly and Judas would betray him. Yet, each of them was also capable of great good. Apart from Judas, they would all become proclaimers of the Easter gospel to others, founders of community of believers. The Lord can continue to work powerfully through us, even though we may fail him. We can never allow our weaknesses and failings to blind us to the good that is in us, or to inhibit us from allowing the Lord to do his good work through us.

And/Or

(viii) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus appoints twelve of his disciples to be his companions and to be sent out to preach and to heal. Firstly, they are to be Jesus’ companions; they are to spend time with him; they are to enter into a personal relationship with him. Only then can they be sent out to share in his work of preaching and healing. We are all called to share in the Lord’s work today in some way or another. We are to proclaim his presence by our words and his deeds. However, this sharing in the Lord’s work can only flow from our personal relationship with him. Like the twelve in today’s gospel reading, we need to be with the Lord before he can send us out in his name. The Lord is always with us, but we need to be with him. The Lord befriends us, but we need to receive the gift of his friendship and befriend him. It is above all prayer which nurtures our personal relationship with the Lord. In prayer we attend to the Lord’s presence, we become present to his presence to us, we become his companions. In opening ourselves to the Lord’s presence, we are empowered to live as he lived, to love as he loved. That will often mean loving even those who do not love us, just as in the first reading David is portrayed as showing goodness and kindness to Saul who wanted to kill David. The Lord needs us to be the agents of his unconditional love in the world, but if that is to happen we need the Lord. We first need to be present to him and to open ourselves to his empowering presence.

And/Or

(ix) Friday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

When I was in school we had to learn the names of the twelve apostles off by heart. I don’t think that is a feature of today’s teaching of religion. The twelve seemed to have been a significant group for Jesus. They symbolized the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their presence suggested that Jesus had come to renew the people of Israel and through them to renew all nations. The disciples in the gospels are a much larger group than the twelve. They included men and women. Indeed, by the end of Mark’s gospel, the twelve are nowhere to be found and it is the women disciples who stand by the cross, who make the discovery of the empty tomb and to whom the risen Lord first appears. The twelve were a mixed bunch and they left a lot to be desired. James and John asked Jesus for the best seats in his kingdom, in a rather self-serving way, Peter denied Jesus publicly three times and Judas betrayed Jesus to his enemies. Given the way some of the twelve are portrayed in the gospels, we might be tempted to say that Jesus’ interviewing skills were not great. Yet, the gospel reading says that ‘he summoned those he wanted’ and ‘he appointed twelve’ from among them. These were the people he wanted to form this symbolically important group, even though they had great flaws and failings. The Lord wants each one of us to be his companions and to share in his work in some way, in spite of our failings and imperfections. Sometimes it is our weaknesses that creates a space for the Lord to enter our lives more fully and to enter our world more fully through us. The Lord is faithful to us, having called us. In the words of today’s psalm, in him ‘mercy and faithfulness have met’. All he asks is that we keep turning towards him and relying upon him in our weakness.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Commentary on the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St. Mark – Chapter 3

St. Mark, the disciple and interpreter of St. Peter (as noted by St. Jerome.) according to what he heard from St. Peter himself, wrote at Rome a brief Gospel at the request of the Brethren (fellow Christians), about ten years after our Lord's Ascension; which when St. Peter had heard, he approved of it, and with his authority he published it to the Church to be read. Baronius and others maintain, that the original was written in Latin: but the more general opinion is that the Evangelist wrote it in Greek.

First, Christ restores the withered hand of a crippled man on the Sabbath, then withdraws with the crowd to the sea, where He cures many who were sick and possessed. Second (v. 13), upon the mountain He selects from His disciples twelve Apostles, and sends them to proclaim the good news, with the power of curing the infirm and of casting out devils. Third (v. 22), He refutes the scribes, who deceitfully accuse Him of casting out devils by Beelzebub, and He says that this is a blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which can never be forgiven. Finally (v. 31), He teaches that His mother and brothers are they that do the will of God, His Father.

And he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him whether he would heal on the Sabbath days; that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand: Stand up in the midst. 4 And he saith to them: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy? But they held their peace. 5 And looking round about on them with anger, being grieved for the blindness of their hearts, he saith to the man: Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth: and his hand was restored unto him. 6 And the Pharisees going out, immediately made a consultation with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. 7 But Jesus retired with his disciples to the sea; and a great multitude followed him from Galilee and Judea, 8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan. And they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing the things which he did, came to him. 9 And he spoke to his disciples that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 10 For he healed many, so that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had evils. 11 And the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him: and they cried, saying: 12 Thou art the Son of God. And he strictly charged them that they should not make him known. 13 And going up into a mountain, he called unto him whom he would himself: and they came to him. 14 And he made that twelve should be with him, and that he might send them to preach. 15 And he gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. 16 And to Simon he gave the name Peter: 17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he named them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18 And Andrew and Philip, and Bartholomew and Matthew, and Thomas and James of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananean: 19 And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 20 And they come to a house, and the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 And when his friends had heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him. For they said: He is become mad. 22 And the scribes who were come down from Jerusalem, said: He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. 23 And after he had called them together, he said to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26 And if Satan be risen up against himself, he is divided, and cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into the house of a strong man and rob him of his goods, unless he first bind the strong man, and then shall he plunder his house. 28 Amen I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme; 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, shall never have forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin. 30 Because they said: He hath an unclean spirit. 31 And his mother and his brethren came; and standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 32 And the multitude sat about him; and they say to him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. 33 And answering them, he said: Who is my mother and my brethren? 34 And looking round about on them who sat about him, he saith: Behold my mother and my brethren. 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Commentary: Saint Mark - Chapter 3

Verse 4. And he saith to them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy? The translator reads ἀπολέσαι, that is, to destroy. We now read ἀποκτεῖναι, i.e., “to kill.” But to destroy is more appropriate in this passage. For the gospel is speaking of a maimed person, who had a withered hand, not of one who was dead, whether killed or about to be killed. With reference to healing this maimed person, the scribes had proposed to Christ a doubt or scruple, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? Christ resolved this doubt by means of another question, not dubious, but plain, Is it lawful to do good on Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy? Animam (“life” or “soul”), S. Augustine says, is a synecdoche meaning “a man”; the part signifies the whole. The meaning is, “if anyone should not succor or do a kindness to one who is sick or heavily afflicted, like this maimed man, on the Sabbath, when he is able to do it (as I, Christ, am able), he does him an injury; for he refuses him the help which is due to him by the law of love. Similarly, if someone does not rescue on the Sabbath a man who finds himself in dire straits, when he could save him, he is considered to destroy him. Therefore, it is permissible for Me to cure this maimed man on the Sabbath; for unless I do this good deed for him, I shall be considered to have harmed him and done him wrong, and unless I make him whole, I shall be thought to have destroyed him, for I would be withholding a benefit and assistance that is due, so to speak, to this afflicted man, and I would be hard-hearted and merciless toward him, leaving him in his affliction, which I could so easily relieve.” “In a similar sense” S. Augustine says, “If thou hast not fed the hungry, thou hast killed him,” because thou hast allowed him to die of hunger. In like manner, if thou hast not delivered him who was about to be killed by a robber, when thou mightest have done so, thou hast slain him; for his death and murder will be reckoned to thee by God for guilt and punishment, in exactly the same manner as if thou hadst killed him thyself. Christ, therefore, signifies that not to do good on the Sabbath to a sick person, when thou art able, is to do him evil. But it is never lawful to do evil. Therefore, it is always lawful to do good to such persons, even on the Sabbath. For the Sabbath is devoted to God and good works. And thus it is a more grievous sin to do evil on the Sabbath than upon other days. For by this means the sanctity of the Sabbath is violated, just as by doing good it is the better kept and hallowed.

Verse 5. And looking about on them with anger. Being angry at their unbelief, says the Interlinear, showing by His severe countenance that He was wroth with the blind, and obstinate, and perverse minds of the scribes, in that they ascribed Christ’s miracles of goodness, which He wrought upon the Sabbath, to a breach of the law enjoining the observance of that day. From hence it is plain that there was in Christ real anger, sorrow, and the rest of the passions and affections, as they exist in other men, only under control and subject to reason. Hence anger was in Him a whetstone of virtue. “Anger,” says Franz Lucas, “in us is a passion; in Christ it was, as it were, an action. It arises spontaneously in us; by Christ it was stirred up in Himself. When it has arisen in us, it disturbs the other faculties of the body and mind, nor can it be repressed at our own pleasure; but when stirred up in Christ, it acts as He wills it to act, it disturbs nothing, and finally it ceases when He wills it to cease.” This is what S. Leo says (epist. 11), “The bodily senses were vigorous (in Christ) without the law of sin; and the reality of His affections was governed by His Deity and His soul.”

Moreover, Aristotle (lib. 1 de Anima cap. 1 text. 16) says that “Anger is the desire to inflict suffering in turn upon an adversary.” Hence Gregory of Nyssa (or rather Nemesius, a Christian philosopher under whose name this book is found in volume 9 of the Bibliotheca SS. Patrum) in book 4 of On Philosophy, chapter 13, says, “Anger is the frustration of desire.” Lactantius says (lib. de Ira Dei ex Possidonio), “Anger is the lust of punishing him by whom you think yourself to have been injured.” Hence anger in other men springs from self-love; but in Christ it sprang from love of God, because He loved God perfectly. Hence He was infinitely grieved and angry at offenses against God caused by sins, and committed by sinners, wishing to compensate for those offenses by punishing or correcting sinners and unbelievers. Hence Christ’s anger was zeal, or seasoned with zeal, even as in the angels and the blessed it is not anger but zeal. See S. Thomas (Summa III. Part, q. 15. a. 9). The opinions of the doctors vary as to whether there is in God the passion of anger, strictly speaking. For some, with Suarez (opusc. de Divina Justitia sect. 5 n. 2) affirm this, while others, with Vasquez (tom. 1 in 1. p. disp. 84. cap. 4) deny it.

Being grieved for the blindness (Syriac, "hardness or  “callousness”) of their hearts. Grieved, in Greek συλλυπούµενος, i.e., “condoling with” and “commiserating” them, because, being blinded and hardened by envy and hatred, they would not acknowledge Him to be the Messias, but twisted the good deeds that He performed for the sick on the Sabbath and spoke of them as wickedness. It is meant, therefore, that the anger of Jesus did not proceed from the desire of vengeance, but was mingled with pity; and that Jesus was angry with sin, but sorry for sinners, insomuch as He loved them, and strove to save them. Lastly, all anger is mingled with sorrow; for he that is angry grieves for the evil at which he is angry. Thus the sorrow for the evil causes and sharpens anger, that it may strive to remove the evil at which it is grieved. Thus S. Thomas and the Scholastics (loc. cit.).

Verse 9. That a small ship should wait on him. In Greek προσκαρτερῇ, i.e., so that it might be close at hand, and, as Budaeus translates it, so that it might accompany them continually, that He might betake Himself to it when the multitude pressed upon Him.

Verse 10. Evils. In Greek µάστιγας, i.e., "scourings," viz. "wounds" and “diseases,” with which God chastises and scourges men on account of their sins. It signifies, therefore, that sicknesses are often scourges, sent by God because of sins, to punish them.

Verse 11. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him. That is, they fell down, kneeling at His feet, not out of love and devotion, but from fear, begging Him to grant their plea, that He would not drive them out of the men, and banish them to hell.

And they cried. So that He, honored and praised by them, might spare them.

Verse 12. Saying: Thou art the Son of God. You will ask whether the devils really knew that Jesus was the Messias or the Christ, the Son of God? I answer, it is plain from this passage, and from Matthew 8:29, and from Luke 4:41, and from the fathers and the interpreters generally who comment upon these passages, that the devils, although they did not fully know Christ at His baptism, and before His baptism (since they afterward tempted Him, that they might learn who He was); yet subsequently they did recognize who He was, from the many and great miracles, which they clearly saw were true miracles, and far transcending their own natural power and that of the angels. They saw that what Christ did was wrought by the supernatural power of God alone, with this end in view, that He might prove, first, that He was the Messias promised to the fathers; second, that He was God, and the Son of God. Hence, I say that the devils knew that Jesus was the Messias and the Son of God, especially when they compared the scriptures and the ancient prophecies with the miracles of Christ. For they saw that the scriptures had predicted that He would be such a person as Jesus was, and would work such miracles.

Note, however, that the devils did not so clearly and surely know this truth, as not to hesitate somewhat, on the other hand, when they thought of the greatness of the mystery, and of the infinite dignity and humiliation of Christ incarnate (which would appear a thing of itself incredible, especially to the proud and arrogant devil), and be in doubt whether Jesus were really the Messias and the Son of God. They the more hesitated, yea, they were ignorant of the purpose and fruit of this mystery, to wit, that by the incarnation, cross, and death of Christ men were to be redeemed, and that his own kingdom among them was to be ruined, and the kingdom of God established. Especially were they blinded by their hatred of Jesus, because they saw that He was an extremely holy man, and snatched many souls from them. Hence they felt that they must oppose and ruin Him and utterly crush Him. Hence it came to pass that they, being blinded by their hatred of Jesus, neither considered nor understood the holy scriptures, otherwise so plain, concerning the cross and death of Christ and our redemption thereby. Thus, by means of the Jews, they crucified and slew Jesus as an irreconcilable enemy; and thus they unwittingly destroyed their own kingdom. Thus S. Leo (serm. 9 de Passione), “Nor did the devil himself perceive that by his rage against Christ he would destroy his own principality; who would not have lost the rights he had gained by his ancient fraud if he had refrained from shedding the blood of the Lord Jesus. But by his malice, being greedy of doing harm, when he rushes upon Him, he falls; when he would capture, he is taken; while he pursues a mortal, he stumbles against the Savior.”

Verse 14. And he made that twelve should be with him. As His Apostles, comrades, and His personal delegates. Hence He adds, that he might send them to preach.

Verse 15. And he gave them power to heal sicknesses. Gave, not then, when He simply designated them and made them Apostles, but later, when He sent them to preach (ch. 6-7), for then they had to confirm their preaching with miracles. Hence there is a prolepsis or an anticipation here.

Verse 16. And to Simon he gave the name Peter. Several Greek codices prefix to these words, πρῶτον Σίµωνα, i.e., “first Peter,” meaning that He appointed him first among the Apostles; but the rest omit them. The same thing is sufficiently gathered from the fact that Peter is here first named by Christ, and his name changed, so that he who was previously called Simon, is afterward called in Syriac Cephas, in Greek and Latin Petrus, that is, “a rock,” because he was to be made by Christ the rock and foundation of the Church. A propos, this name of Cephas, or Peter, had been promised to Simon by Christ at John 1:42, but was actually conferred at Matthew 16:18.

Verse 17. And James the son of Zebedee (James is named first because he was older than John, who of all the Apostles was the youngest), and John the brother of James; and he named them Boanerges, which is (means), The sons of thunder. The Vulgate says “gave them the names,” and not “name,” because they were two, and hence required more than one name, “Boanerges,” which is grammatically plural, signifying not “the son” but “the sons of thunder” in the plural. They were “thunderers,” as it were, thundering forth Christ’s gospel and doctrines.

Boanerges. So the Arabic, Egyptian, and Persian. The Ethiopic, however, has Baanerges. This name is a corruption, for in Hebrew, or rather in Syriac, it would be Banerges or Bonerges, as it is found in certain manuscripts, as Franz Lucas attests in his Notation (note 460 on this passage). For the Syrians, like the Bavarians and the Westphalians, pronounce the vowel a like o, and e like a. Hence for Semuel they say Samuel, for Selomon, Salomon, and for bene, or “sons,” bane. It may be that Banerges has been changed into Boanerges by persons ignorantly supposing that boa signifies “the sound of thunder.” Thus Franz Lucas.

Moreover Banerges, as Jansen observes (also Angelus Caninius, in Nomin. Hebr. cap. 11), is a compound word, consisting of Hebrew ינב bane, i.e., “sons,” and Hebrew שגר regesch, i.e., “a roaring,” that is, of thunder. Thus Jupiter is called by the Greeks ὑψιβρεµέτης, “loftily roaring,” “thundering on high.” The Syriac version has in this place bane reges, “sons of thunder,” instead of the Hebrew expression, םער ינב bene raam. For Christ here spoke in the Syriac of that age. There is here, then, a metathesis or transposition of the letters r and e, banerges, instead of bane reges. A similar transposition of the same letter r is common in many languages, as Angelus Caninius demonstrates with many examples (in Hellenismo p. 64). Thus, for καρδία, i.e., “heart,” the Greek poets say κραδίη; καρτερὸς for κρατερὸς, and τέτρατος for τέταρτος. For νεῦρον the Latins say nervus; for ἅρπαξ, rapax and for ἁρπάζω, rapio; for µορφὴ, forma; for καρκῖνος, cancer; for κρέας, caro; for κρίνω, cerno, for he who judges must discern. Punic has gerac for ἄκρα, i.e., arx, (Etruscan rocco), “a citadel.” Punic furthermore has bigr, Latin virgo, “a virgin”; darag, gradus, “a step”; elmara, mulier, “a woman”; carmes, cramoisy [a crimson cloth]. The Hebrew word arets (in Belgian aerde [and English earth]) corresponds to the Latin terra; sippor is passer, “sparrow”; kebara, cribrum, “a sieve”; cabbirim, cherubim; keraim, crura, “shinbones”; kerem, cornu, “horn.”

The meaning, then, is as follows: Christ called James and John by a new name, Banerges, sons of thunder, because He charged them above the rest of the Apostles with the glorious preaching and propagation of His gospel, that by the holiness of their lives and their miracles they might be like thunderbolts, and might, by the power of their voices, shake men as with claps of thunder, even unbelievers and barbarians, and bring them to repentance and a holy life. This appears in the history of S. James. Because of his candor and zeal in preaching, he was the first among the Apostles to incur the wrath of Herod and the Jews, by whom he was beheaded, dying a martyr (Acts 12). The same converted the Spaniards, and by their means the inhabitants of the East and West Indies, to the Faith of Christ. John preached for a very long period, and very efficaciously. He was the last of the Apostles to depart this life, which he did after he had subdued Asia and other provinces to Christ by his preaching. Hence, also, his gospel begins with divine thunder, as it were an eagle of God, fulminating and crying out with a voice of thunder, when he intones, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Thus S. Epiphanius (hæres. 73). Hence, when he was writing his gospel, there were lightnings and thunderings from heaven, just as it lightened from Mount Sinai when God gave the law to Moses and the Hebrews. So Baronius shows from Prochorus, John’s disciple, and from Metaphrastes (A.D. 99 in fine).

See the commentary on Ezechiel 1:14, at the words, The living creatures ran and returned like flashes of lightning, where I have given a three-fold meaning to the expression, sons of thunder. Thus Pericles, as an orator, seemed not so much to speak and declaim as to thunder and lighten, says Quintilian (lib. 2 cap. 6). Hence he was called by the poets “the Olympian”, that is, “the celestial.”

Verse 21. And when his friends (some of Christ’s relatives; Syriac “his brethren.” Thus Euthymius, Theophylact, Bede) had heard of it, they went out to lay hold on (bind) him. For they said: He is become mad. In Greek ἐξέστη, i.e., “beside himself, out of his mind,” non compos mentis, having become delirious and insane because of an excess of piety and zeal. (See commentary on Matthew 12:46.) The Arabic has, “saying that he is foolish.” The Syriac renders literally, “they said that he had gone out of his mind.” Others render differently, “saying that he has swooned,” from hunger, because, on account of the multitude, He had no leisure to eat. (See verse 20.)

For more stories, please visit our website: