#Darnell Martin

[haveyouseenthisromcom]

[movie--posters]

[dynamofilms]

Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)

4/10

[bkenber]

'OZ' Audio Commentary on 'The Routine'

Continuing on with my series of audio commentaries, I have decided to take a break from “Homicide: Life on the Street” and do one on another show, the infamous HBO prison drama “OZ.” I became aware of this show when I found out that, like “Homicide,” it was executive produced by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson. It was created by Fontana who originally sought to create a show about a…

[nerds-yearbook]

Russell Abernathy was introduced in Wonder Woman 273#, cover date November 1980. Abernathy was created by Gerry Conway and Jose Delbo. ("Wonder Woman: The Right Angle", " The Huntress: The Girl in the Gilded Cage", Wonder Woman 273#, DC Comic Event)

[chrisnaustin]

If only I were she!

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: Egypt's Golden Couple by John Coleman Darnell and Colleen Manassa Darnell

Egypt’s Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on EarthAuthors: John Coleman Darnell and Colleen Manassa DarnellPublisher: St. Martin’s PressReleased: November 1, 2022Received: NetGalley I’ll confess that I have not been that great about reading a lot of nonfiction this year. I keep making grand promises to myself, only for them to fall through. However! I did get around to…

[flygrldiaries]

Prison Song (2001) dir. Darnell Martin

[thesirenisles]

“Love is like the sea. It’s a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.”

Halle Berry in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (2005 ; Dir. Darnell Martin) a film based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston.

[zepuckinghockey]

NHL Wedding Season 2024

We're back again for another summer of NHL weddings! If you'd like to see last year's, check out this post.

If you see something wrong or someone missing, let me know! I'll continue to update this list until September when the weddings fizzle out. I appreciate the replies, reblogs, and asks with corrections and additions ❤️

6/7/24: Adam Larsson: (private wedding, no idea)

6/19/24: Jake Evans: Brendan Gallagher, Joel Edmundson, Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki, Joel Armia

6/22/24: Max Jones: Trevor Zegras, Jacob Bryson

6/26/24: Adam Fox: (looked to be just family)

Josh Anderson: Nick Suzuki, Max Domi, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson, Scott Hartnell

6/29/24: Ryan Pulock: Matt Martin, Noah Dobson, Casey Cizikas, Oliver Wahlstrom, Adam Pelech, JG Pageau, Josh Bailey, Mat Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Bo Horvat, Simon Holmstrom, Pierre Engvall, Mikey Reilly

Jake Oettinger: Mason Marchment, Tyler Seguin, Ty Dellandrea, Wyatt Johnston

7/3/24: Mason Marchment: Jake Oettinger, Tyler Seguin, Ty Dellandrea, Brandon Montour, Mike Carcone, Owen Tippett, Sam Reinhart

7/6/24: Nic Hague: Cody Glass, Owen Tippett, Zach Whitecloud, Alec Martinez, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, Nic Roy

Brendan Gallagher: Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Carey Price, Jeff Petry, Chris Wideman, Tanner Pearson, Nate Thompson, Philip Danault, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Sam Montembeault

7/7/24: Adam Fox 2.0: Ryan Reaves, Kevin Rooney, Will Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, Jacob Trouba, Barclay Goodrow, Alexis Lafreniere, Blake Wheeler, Jimmy Vesey, Jonathan Quick, Ryan Lindgren, Braden Schneider, Sammy Blais, Ryan Donato, John Marino

7/10/24: Elias Lindstrom: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/11/24: Jared McCann: Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, Will Borgen, Kailer Yamamoto, Justin Schultz, Andre Burakovsky, Ryan Donato, Darnell Nurse, Brandon Tanev

7/13/24: Jack Campbell: Tyler Toffoli, Jake Muzzin, Kyle Clifford, Evander Kane

Alex Carrier: Frederick Gaudreau, Mathieu Joseph, Jimmy Oligny

Pierre Engvall: Simon Holmstrom, Owen Wahlstrom

Andrew Mangiapane: Johnny Gaudreau, Rasmus Andersson, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Erik Gudbranson, Mack Weegar, Troy Stecher, Jonathan Huberdeau

Kyle Connor: Zach Werenski, Evgeny Svechnikov, Connor Hellebuyck, Tony Calderone

Eetu Luostarinen: Niko Mikkola, Lundell Anton, Aleksander Barkov

Tyler Madden: Alec Turcotte, Akil Thomas

Zack MacEwen: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/18/24: William Carrier: Mathieu Joseph

7/19/24: Kaapo Kahkonen: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/20/24: Jamie Benn: Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Jordie Benn, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Joel Kiviranta, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lundell, Ben Bishop, Luke Glendenning, Ty Dellandrea, John Klingberg

Alex Killorn: Yanni Gourde, Pat Maroon, Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Zach Bogosian, Anthony Cirelli, Luke Schenn, Ryan McDonagh, Tyler Johnson, Blaine Gabbert, Cam Brate, Andrei Vasilevskiy

Thomas Chabot: Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Mathieu Joseph

Sebastian Aho: Teuvo Teräväinen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Seth Jarvis, Antti Raanta, Nino Niederreiter, Jesper Fast, Jani Hakanpaa

7/22/24: Michael Bunting: Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Jake Muzzin, Morgan Reilly, Fred Anderson, Wayne Simmons, Alex Kerfoot, TJ Brodie, Kyle Clifford

7/26/24: Jake Lucchini: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/27/24: Connor McDavid: Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, Vinny Desharnais, Brett KUlak, Connor Brown, Ryan Mcleod, Derek Ryan, Stuart Skinner, Philip Broberg, Warren Foegele, Devin Shore, Kyle Turris, Luke Gazdic, Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, Sam Gagner

Carter Verhaeghe: Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues, Stolarz, Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins

8/3/24: Travis Sanheim: Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostisbehere, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, James Van Riemsdyk

Connor Ingram: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

Cody Glass: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

8/4/24: David Pastrnak: Taylor Hall, Tukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark, Torey Krug, David Krecji

8/9/24: Alex Tuch: Shea Theodore, Zemgus Girgensons, Tage Thompson

8/10/24: Tyler Johnson: Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat, Mathieu Joseph, Ryan McDonagh, Alex Killorn, Pat Maroon, Reese Johnson, Adam Gaudette

8/17/24: Cale Makar: Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson, Bo Byram, Darren Helm, Andrew Cogliano, Josh Manson, Kurtis Macdermid

Zachary Sanford: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

Mike Amadio: Zach Whitecloud, Ben Hutton, Brett Howden, Nic Hague, Nic Roy

Andrew Copp: JT Compher, Tyson Jost

Ryan Johansen: Colton Sissons, Luke Kunin, Roman Josi, Matt Duchene, Dante Fabbro, Cam Atkinson, Ross Colton, Miles Wood

8/23/24:

Roope Hintz: Tyler Seguin, Esa Lundell, Patrik Laine,

[wanderingmind867]

i probably haven't read enough Golden Age Comics to make this (I've barely read any, really), but I just spent the whole weekend making this list of birthdates for Earth-Two DC heroes and villians. I could've been working on my Christmas List! But no! My brain just had to get fixated on this. So here it is. This thing I didn't need to make, but my brain wouldn't let me stop working on. So here's a long list of names and birthdays. Nobody asked for this, and it was hellish to make. But my brain still expects me to make three more of these! sigh...

Superman (Clark Kent/Kal-L): 1916

Lois Lane: 1917

Power Girl (Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr): 1916 (Birth Certificate says 1956)

George Taylor: 1887 Died: 1955 (Age at Death: 68)

Jimmy Olson: 1928

Perry White: 1914

Lana Lang: 1920

Steve Bard: 1916

John Kent: 1875 Died: 1938 (Age at Death: 65)

Mary Kent: 1876 Died: 1932 (Age at Death: 60)

Samuel Lane: 1887 Died: 1973 (Age at Death: 86)

Ella Lane: 1889 Died: 1979 (Age at Death: 90)

Lucille Lane: 1920

Susie Tompkins: 1939

Batman (Bruce Wayne): 1915 Died: 1979 (Age at Death: 64)

Catwoman (Selina Kyle): 1920 Died: 1977 (Age at Death: 57)

Robin (Dick Grayson): 1933

Huntress (Helena Wayne): 1957

Batwoman (Kathy Kane): 1922

Alfred Beagle: 1900 Died: 1989 (Age at Death: 89)

Karl Kyle (Catwoman's Brother): 1924

Harvey Kent: 1912

Gilda Kent: 1915

Thomas Wayne: 1883 Died: 1924 (Age at Death: 41)

Martha Wayne: 1884 Died: 1924 (Age at Death: 40)

Phillip Wayne: 1885 Died: 1939 (Age at Death: 56)

Commissioner James Gordon: 1900 Died: 1976 (Age at Death: 76)

Julie Madison: 1915

Linda Page: 1919

Barbara Gordon (James Gordon's Wife): 1900 Died: 1981 (Age at Death: 81)

Anthony Gordon: 1931

The Flash (Jay Garrick): 1918

Joan Garrick: 1920

Winky Moylan: 1916

Blinky Boylan: 1915

Noddy Toylan: 1914

Green Lantern (Alan Scott): 1913

Doiby Dickles: 1896

Irene Miller: 1914

Harlequin (Molly Mayne): 1923

Wonder Woman (Diana Prince/Diana of Themyscira): 1920

Steve Trevor: 1918

Etta Candy: 1927

Paula von Gunther: 1907

Gerta Von Gunther: 1935

Phillip Darnell: 1903

Hawkman (Carter Hall): 1917

Hawkgirl (Shiera Sanders-Hall): 1917

The Atom (Al Pratt): 1921

Mary James Pratt: 1920

Joe Morgan: 1904

The Spectre (Jim Corrigan): 1900

Clarice Winston: 1908

Percival Popp: 1918

The Sandman (Wesley Dodds): 1913

Dian Belmont: 1916

Sandy the Golden Boy (Sanderson Hawkins): 1928

Lawrence Belmont: 1888 Died: 1974 (Age at Death: 86)

Hourman (Rex Tyler): 1913

Wendi Harris: 1936

Jimmy Martin: 1931

Thorndyke Thompkins: 1930

Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson): 1908

Inza Cramer: 1916

Johnny Thunder: 1917

Daisy Darling: 1918

Peachy Pet: 1935

Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel): 1901

Scribbly Jibbet: 1930

Mortimer "Dinky" Jibbet: 1933

Huey Hunkel: 1930

Amelia "Sisty" Hunkel: 1934

Starman (Ted Knight): 1915

Doris Lee: 1917

Woodley Allen: 1893

Doctor Mid-Nite (Charles Mcnider): 1915

Myra Mason: 1918

Wildcat (Ted Grant): 1919

Joan Fortune: 1913

Hiram Skinner: 1921

Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane): 1920

Wanda Wilson: 1921

Black Canary (Dinah Drake): 1926

Larry Lance: 1925

Star Spangled Kid (Sylvester Pemberton): 1927

Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks (Merry Pemberton): 1934

Stripesy (Pat Dugan): 1914

Giovanni Zatara: 1918

Sargon the Sorcerer: 1919

Rose Canton: 1924 Died: 1985 (Age at Death: 61)

Alexei Luthor: 1906

Ultra-Humanite: 1844

J. Wilbur Wolfingham: 1910

Colonel Future (Edmond Future): 1918

The Puzzler: 1901

The Prankster (Oswald Loomis): 1908

The Toyman (Winslow Schott): 1910

Metalo (George Grant): 1909

The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot): 1907

Clayface (Basil Karlo): 1887

The Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane): 1904

Hugo Strange: 1889 Died: 1982 (Age at Death: 93)

The Cavalier (Mortimer Drake): 1915

The Wizard (William Zard): 1913

Brainwave (Henry King): 1910 Died: 1984 (Age at Death: 74)

The Gambler (Steven Sharpe III): 1910 Died: 1987 (Age at Death: 77)

The Thinker (Clifford DeVoe): 1905

Rag Doll (Peter Merkel): 1916 Died: 1986 (Age at Death: 70)

The Fiddler (Issac Bowin): 1915

Anaya Bowin: 1930

The Icicle (Joar Mahkent): 1913 Died: 1986 (Age at Death: 73)

Sportsmaster (Crusher Crock): 1921

Tigress (Paula Brooks): 1923

Silver Scarab (Hector Hall): 1958

Fury (Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor): 1958

Nuklon (Albert Rothstein): 1960

Northwind (Norda Cantrell): 1958

The Lare (Olivia Corrigan): 1953

Brainwave Jr (Henry King, Jr): 1963

Harlequin II (Noel Loomis-Schott): 1965

Obsidian (Todd Rice): 1966

Jade (Jennifer Lynn-Haden): 1966

Wildcat II (Yolanda Montez): 1955

Hourman II (Rick Tyler): 1966

Starman II (Jack Knight): 1972

Doctor Mid-Nite II (Beth Chapel): 1959

Cyclone (Maxine Hunkel): 1964

The Warlock (Warren Zard): 1974

Hazard (Rebecca Sharpe): 1971

The Gambler II (Steven Sharpe V): 1975

The Fiddler II (Issac Bowin Jr): 1961

The Icicle II (Cameron Mahkent): 1959

Tigress II (Artemis Crock): 1958

Rag Doll II (Peter Merkel Jr): 1951

[hauntedppgpaints]

Jersey numbers faceoff

Vote for which player you think would win in a fight between other players wearing that number! Follow the 'numbers faceoff' tag on my blog to see the other polls.

[accuratepicuresofanthropologists]

Edward Sapir

Edward Sapir, left, and his brother Max, via Darnell’s biography Edward Sapir.

Edwards Sapir was born in 1884 in what is now Lebork Poland, the son of a Jewish cantor whose dreams of being an opera star were never realized. The family often traveled for his work -- in essence, Sapir had no home town. He grew up speaking Yiddish and received a thorough training in Hebrew. In 1890 his father took a position in Richmond, Virginia and then another position in New York. Sapir was almost as mobile as his father, taking American citizenship, then Canadian, then American again in the course of his career. At the end of the day, he felt he was not really American, or Polish, or Jewish, but a New Yorker.

Sapir's incredibly intellectual gifts manifested themselves early. He attended Stuyvesant, the legendary elite public school in New York that has provided generations of poor, gifted students a pathway to success. When he was fourteen he won a city-wide academic competition and used the money to attend Columbia, where he received his BA in three years. Sapir was musical, and studied piano and composition with the composer Edward MacDowell. But his speciality was language: Competent in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English, he studied Latin and Greek in school, as well as French and Spanish. His undergraduate training was in German philology, where he studied the then-new approach of historical linguistics.

It was at Columbia that he encountered Franz Boas, who exposed him to American Indian languages. The experience was mind-blowing: a continent full of ways of thinking and expressing one's self radically different than Indo-European languages. The process of eliciting language and grammar from informants was also fascinating to Sapir. He was quickly converted. Boas was delighted with Sapir. He, like everyone else, would consider Sapir one of this best students. Sapir did his first fieldwork in the Pacific Northwest on Chinook -- a notoriously complex language. He earned his Ph.D. in 1909 and immediately landed a plum job: to direct ethnographic research in Canada.

Edward Sapir around 1913. Via Takelma Texts and Grammar

It was an amazing opportunity: Sapir would be able to shape the direction of research for an entire country, but it also came with drawbacks. Sapir moved to Ottawa and took Canadian citizenship. But Ottawa was not like Sapir's beloved New York. He missed the lack of cultural institutions and intellectual ferment. Ottawa was also very homogenous, and Sapir had trouble fitting in with the waspy Canadian upper-crust the way he was supposed to. He had hoped the job would let him do fieldwork as he pleased, but the government wanted him to be an administrator who sent other people out to do fieldwork.

Throughout this period Sapir not only produced linguistics and anthrpology, he also grew pensive. He wrote essays on culture and identity. He experimented with poetry. Partially his adventurousness was due to his boredom in Ottawa. But it also had deeper roots: His wife Florence was slowly dying. It was a long and excruciating process. For her treatments, Sapir often came to New York for extended periods. It was at this point, in the mid-1920s, that he met and fell in love with Ruth Benedict. They corresponded, and sent each other poetry. When he was in New York, she would take care of his children -- something that Benedict, who could not have children herself, especially valued. He also met Boas's new student Margaret Mead, and struck up a relationship with her which was not entirely platonic. Eventually he asked Benedict to marry him, but she refused: Sapir was a traditionalist who wanted her to become a stay at home mother and abandon her career.

From left: John Blackburne, Paul Martin, and professor Edward Sapir and Fay Cooper Cole at the University of Chicago in August 1926. Sapir has his hands behind his back. Via the UC Photo Archive

After Sapir's wife passed away, he decided it was time for a change. Luckily, one was available: The University of Chicago was looking for someone to hold up the anthropology section of its sociology department (anthropology was a part of sociology at that time). It was a young, wealthy university with a commitment to pure research. Sapir was promised that he could do whatever he liked there -- it was a place where stars were given room to be themselves. So he went. It was a good move: For most of the 20th century Chicago was the center of social sciences (_all_ of them) in the US and perhaps globally.  Sapir remarried in Chicago and trained several students, including Leslie White. But it was not to last.

In 1931 Sapir left Chicago. He had been poached by Yale. Chicago had offered him freedom, but Yale offered him something even bigger: A whole institution, dedicated to his work. He could have freedom to work as well as train up students and develop new curriculum: His new interest in culture and personality. It was also in Connecticut, a convenient train ride away from New York. At Yale the now-middle-aged Sapir would not have to put up with the brutal Chicago winters. So he went.

Yale did give Sapir the opportunities it promised. He developed close relationships with other scholars interested in culture and personality. But Yale also had its drawbacks. The university was wealthy and prestigious, but it was also a haven of white privilege: "Pale, male, Yale" as the saying goes. As a Jew, Sapir was discriminated against. He was initially rejected from membership in the faculty club. He founded the sociology department, but was constantly at war with George Murdock, the protegé of William Graham Sumner, the social darwinist Sapir had replaced.

Sapir's health also began failing. He had a heart condition. It was the middle of the depression, and there was no medicare or unemployment insurance -- he had to keep teaching or else he would not support his family. He withdrew more and more from his responsibilities, but the need to earn money meant he could never get the rest that he needed to recover. Finally, he died of a heart attack in 1939.

[titleleaf]

As Zanuck Sr. repeatedly told his son, had Valley of the Dolls been a product of the Hollywood studio system at its apex, in less than a week he would have assigned it to a contract director, one or more of the studio’s stable of thirty-plus top screenwriters, an available cameraman, production and costume designer, a composer, and a cast selected from 20th’s contract talent roster. It isn’t hard to imagine a forties-era Valley of the Dolls. On tap at the studio were any number of great beauties and “types,” some of them quite talented. And if those weren’t quite right, Zanuck might have arranged to borrow talent from other studios. There was Gene Tierney, Linda Darnell, or Jeanne Crain to play the reserved New Englander Anne Welles. Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, or Lana Turner might have played the luckless showgirl Jennifer North. The young Bette Davis, Susan Hayward, or Ida Lupino would have fit as brilliantly talented, tormented Neely O’Hara. Tyrone Power/Gregory Peck/Cornel Wilde could have slipped easily into the role of suave, slippery Lyon Burke, alongside Dana Andrews as press agent Mel, Vincent Price as Charles Revson–inspired cosmetics empire maven Kevin Gillmore, and Clifton Webb as fashion designer Ted Casablanca. For good measure, Zanuck could have thrown in Gertrude Lawrence as fading Broadway virago Helen Lawson, Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin/Vic Damone as Tony Polar, and Geraldine Fitzgerald as Miriam, sister of the sexy, childlike crooner. Or had Zanuck made the movie later in his career, he could have helped himself to the talents of, respectively, Hope Lange, Diane Varsi, or Shirley Jones as Anne, Marilyn Monroe, Joan Collins, or Debra Paget as Jennifer, Joanne Woodward as Neely, Richard Burton or Stephen Boyd as Lyon, Roddy McDowall as Ted Casablanca, Claudette Colbert or Mary Martin as Helen, Elvis Presley as Tony with Angela Lansbury as Miriam. But in 1966, the days of the studio system and exclusive contracts were on life support. With the long shadow of Darryl F. Zanuck looming over Valley of the Dolls, it would take Richard D. Zanuck, producer David Weisbart, and director Mark Robson long, torturous months and many reversals before the casting—let alone the entire production—finally pulled together. And, from his Paris headquarters, Zanuck Sr. thought that was laughable—when he didn’t find it infuriating.

-- Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!: Deep Inside Valley of the Dolls, the Most Beloved Bad Book and Movie of All Time, Stephen Rebello

Rebello's bonkers fancasts here have captivated me.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

30th July >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 13:36-43): ‘The virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father’.

Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 13:36-43 As the darnel is gathered up and burnt, so it will be at the end of time.

Leaving the crowds, Jesus went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

Gospel (USA) Matthew 13:36-43 Just as the weeds are collected now and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Reflections (6)

(i) Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading of the interpretation of the parable of the wheat and the darnel acknowledges that all is not well with the world. We don’t need reminding that there is much evil in our world. However, it is not a case that the church is a field of goodness and all beyond it is a field of evil. This gospel of Matthew readily acknowledges that sin is to be found in the community of believers. Peter’s question, unique to Matthew, was a very relevant one for Matthew’s community, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ (Mt 18:21). In recent times, we have been made only two well aware of how the sins of some of the church’s most trusted members have been a source of enormous scandal for believers. We can easily make our own as a community of faith the words of Jeremiah in today’s first reading, ‘Lord, we do confess our wickedness… we have indeed sinned against you’. Yet, we can also make our own the words Jeremiah goes on to speak, ‘O our God, you are our hope’. The existence of evil, even in the holiest of places, is not a cause for disillusionment or despair. The Lord remains faithful to his flawed church and to his broken world. He continues to work among us to recreate us in his image through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Paul expresses it so succinctly in his letter to the Romans, ‘where sin increased, grace abounded all the more’ (Rom 5:20). There is a great onus on us all to co-operate with the Lord who is always striving to bring the good work he has begun in us to completion.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading speaks of Jesus as the ‘sower of good seed’ who sows that good seed throughout the world. Those who allow that good seed to take root in their hearts are ‘the subjects of the kingdom’; they already belong to God’s kingdom on earth. Whenever people respond to the Lord’s call, they form a ‘beach head’ of the kingdom of God on earth. This is what the Lord desires for us all. The community of his disciples, the church, is to be that beach head of the kingdom of God on earth; it is to be the earthly expression of the goodness of the kingdom of heaven. Yet, the gospel reading also acknowledges another reality that is to be found in our world, what it terms ‘darnel’ or ‘weeds’, which is sown by the devil. The Lord’s good work in the world is opposed by evil forces. The gospels suggest that Jesus took the reality of evil in the world very seriously. He was also aware that it could infect his followers, the community of those who believed in him, which is why he taught us to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’. We shouldn’t need much convincing about the reality and power of evil in our world and, indeed, in the church and in our own lives. However, the gospel reading declares that evil will not ultimately have the last word. God will eradicate evil fully, but only at the end of time, when God’s kingdom fully comes. In the meantime, the Lord wishes to work in and through each of us to confront evil in all its forms, so that something of that final triumph of good over evil can become a reality in the here and now. In the words of Paul’s letter to the Romans, ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time.

The explanation of the parable of the wheat and darnel in today’s gospel reading suggests that, within our world, good will always sit alongside evil until the end of time. It is only beyond this present age that, in the words of the gospel reading, ‘the virtuous will shine like the sun’, with no darkness to obscure the light of their goodness. We are only too well aware of the presence of evil in our world, and, indeed, within the church and in our own hearts. Various religious movements have attempted to create a perfect society, an oasis of goodness in an evil world. Such movements can end up doing more harm than good to the people who get involved; they can easily project the darkness that is within themselves onto the world outside the movement. However, matters are never that black and white. The church is not a cult. In the language of the Second Vatican Council, we are a pilgrim people. We are on a journey towards that glorious virtuous state spoken of in the gospel reading. In this earthly life, we never reach the end of that journey. At every step of the journey we can make our own the confession of the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah, ‘Lord, we do confess our wickedness and our father’s guilt: we have indeed sinned against you’. Such a recognition of the lack of goodness in our lives does not discourage us because we are confident that in the words of today’s responsorial psalm, the Lord’s compassion hastens to meet us. Indeed, our realization and recognition that we are still on the way creates a space in our lives for the Lord to bring to completion the good work that he has begun in us. The gospels suggest that Jesus found it much easier to engage with those who were aware of their need of God’s mercy than with those who thought of themselves as morally superior to others.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

The question ‘Who is God?’ has intrigued curious people down through the centuries. Many different answers have been given to that question. Perhaps one of the most attractive answers from the Jewish Scriptures is to be found in today’s first reading. It declares God to be a ‘God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness’. This is the God revealed by Jesus in his teaching, his whole way of life, his death and his resurrection. The words used to speak of God there are thought provoking and reassuring, ‘tenderness, compassion, kindness, faithfulness’. When we encounter these qualities in someone we meet, we consider ourselves blest to be in their company. These are the people who are spoken of in the gospel reading as ‘the subjects of the kingdom’. They bring something of the kingdom of God to earth. The gospel reading realistically identifies a different kind of presence in our world, namely, ‘the subjects of the evil one’. We are only too well aware of the evil that is being constantly perpetuated by some people, and the painful consequences of such evil for others. We recognize clearly that the kingdom of God has not yet fully come into our world. Indeed, we know that it has not yet fully come into our own lives either. We often fall short of revealing in our lives those divine qualities of tenderness, compassion, kindness and faithfulness. Yet, because these are the qualities of the Lord and he has poured his Spirit into our hearts, we can confidently reach towards these wonderful life-giving qualities, knowing that they are attainable because of the help the Lord gives us. When we give expression to them in our lives, the kingdom of God draws near.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah reflects the darker side of human existence. There is death in the countryside and hunger in the city. The religious leaders, prophets and priests, are at their wit’s end. Anguished questions rise up to God, ‘Why have you struck us down with no hope of cure?’ People’s legitimate hopes have been dashed, ‘We were hoping for peace, no good came of it! For the moment of cure, nothing but terror!’ Yet in the midst of such devastation and darkness of spirit, people have not lost hope in God, ‘O our God, you are our hope’. It can be difficult to keep hopeful faith in God when there seems no human reason for hope. Yet, so often the Scriptures inspire us to keep hoping and trusting in God even when, especially when, ‘we are in the depths of distress’, in the words of today’s responsorial psalm. In the gospel reading, Jesus acknowledges that all will not always be right with the world. What Jesus calls ‘the enemy’, those opposed to God’s good purposes, will sow darnel, seeking to kill off the good seed. Yet, Jesus assures us that in the end God’s good purposes will win out, ‘the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father’. God is working and will continue to work through the glorious Son of Man to overcome the forces of evil and ensure the coming of God’s kingdom. Saint Paul expressed this conviction very succinctly, ‘where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more’. This is the basis of our hope. Hope is rooted not in anything human but in God’s life giving power, which, in the words of Paul, ‘is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine’.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a very striking statement in today’s first reading, ‘The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend’. It anticipates the words of Jesus, God in human form, to his disciples in the gospel of John, ‘I no longer call you servants. I call you friends’. Jesus was the clearest possible revelation of God’s desire to befriend all of humanity. According to the first reading, God has the qualities we long for in a good friend, tenderness, compassion, slowness to anger, kindness, faithfulness and a readiness to forgive. Jesus revealed these qualities of God fully and clearly. God, through Jesus, has befriended us and he waits for us to befriend him in return. When we open our lives to God’s love present in Jesus, when we remain in that love and then love others as we have been loved, we become what the gospel reading calls ‘good seed’ in the world. A community of beloved and loving disciples is a beachhead of the kingdom of heaven. It is the beginning of the answer to our prayer, ‘Thy kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven’. Yet, the gospel reading also acknowledges that, alongside the good seed, there is ‘darnel’ in the world, sown by the evil one. We don’t need to be reminded of this reality. It easily becomes news, to such an extent that we can end up being quite discouraged. Yet, if we open our eyes we can also see the presence of all the good seed, those expressions in human form of the God of tenderness and compassion who has sent his Son to befriend us. The gospel reading assures that it is this reality that will win out in the end; evil will not ultimately prevail.

Fr. Martin Hogan.