Weekly Updates

Tr111

For you new visitors to this site, previous years’ studies are under the archives tab along with the catechism reviews. The Photo Gallery has some interesting items also. Thanks for stopping in! God Bless!

Sunday November 17, 2024 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 158

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                    Dn 12:1-3

In those days, I Daniel,
heard this word of the Lord:
"At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince,
guardian of your people;
it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began until that time.
At that time your people shall escape,
everyone who is found written in the book.

"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;
some shall live forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

"But the wise shall shine brightly
like the splendor of the firmament,
and those who lead the many to justice
shall be like the stars forever."

Responsorial Psalm                                    Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!

Reading 2                                                 Heb 10:11-14, 18

Brothers and sisters:
Every priest stands daily at his ministry,
offering frequently those same sacrifices
that can never take away sins.
But this one offered one sacrifice for sins,
and took his seat forever at the right hand of God;
now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering
he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.
Where there is forgiveness of these,
there is no longer offering for sin.

Gospel                                                       Mk 13:24-32

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds'
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

"Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.

"But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                  Dn 12:1-3

“At that time”. This phrase connects this verse to the tumultuous events of chapter 11. When those terrible things take place, God has a plan to save his people.
“there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people” . We first heard of Michael in 10:13, when “a man clothed in linen”—presumably an angel (10:5)—sought to reassure Daniel. He said that the prince of the kingdom of Persia had opposed him, but Michael dealt with that dark prince. He then said, there is none who holds with me against these, but Michael your prince (10:21). In the New Testament, Michael is portrayed as fighting Satan (Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7).
Jewish tradition speaks of seven archangels, four of whom—Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel—were allowed to stand in God’s presence. While the duties of the archangels are not clearly delineated, the idea seems to be that God placed them in command of the great host of God’s angels to do God’s bidding. It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since the nation began until that time.
This time of anguish would be when Antiochus IV tried to “profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering. He will defeat Egypt and “go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many”.
At that time your people shall escape.
This is the point. In spite of this bad king’s power and wealth, “he shall come to his end, and none will help him”. His power and wealth will not protect him against the justice of God, who will deliver his people. Judas Maccabeus and his family will defeat Antiochus and his armies—a true David-and-Goliath kind of victory.
“everyone who is found written in the book”. This would be the Book of Life (a phrase that is used in Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27).   That is a book in which God records the names of the righteous. It is “a list of those who belong to God’s people, the citizen list of the true Jerusalem”.
It is these people—those whose names are written in the Book of Life—who shall be delivered.
“Many (rab·bim) of those”. This Hebrew word, rab·bim, means “many.” Some scholars interpret rab·bim in this context to emphasize the selectiveness of those who will awake to everlasting life. Other scholars feel that the emphasis is on the large number rather than the selectiveness.
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, others to reproach and everlasting disgrace”. In the Old Testament, “sleep” is sometimes used as a metaphor for “death” (Job 14:12; Psalm 13:3; Jeremiah 51:39, 57).
This is one of only a few references to resurrection in the Old Testament—although the word “resurrection” doesn’t appear until the New Testament. Other allusions to resurrection in the Old Testament include:
• Isaiah 25:8 (“He will destroy death forever, The Lord will wipe away tears from all   faces”).
• Isaiah 26:19 (“But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise!”).
• Ezekiel 37:12-14 “Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Look! I am going to open your graves; I will make you come up out of your graves, my people, and bring you back to the land of Israel. You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life, and I will settle you in your land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have spoken; I will do it—oracle of the LORD.
• Hosea 6:2 (“He will revive us after two days. On the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence”).
But, for the most part, Old Testament Jews tended to think of living on through their children rather than living eternally in heaven.
In the New Testament, the Jewish people were divided on the subject of resurrection. Pharisees believed in resurrection, but Sadducees did not (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18).
“But those with insight shall shine brightly”. In this verse, “Those who are wise” stands parallel to “those who turn many to righteousness”—which suggests that wise people are righteous people. It takes a wise person to lead people to wisdom and a righteous person to lead people to righteousness.
However, we should not hear this to mean that “those who are wise” constitute an exclusive elite. Spiritual wisdom isn’t limited to those few people who enjoy a high IQ, but is a characteristic of every faithful believer. Spiritual wisdom isn’t manifested in mental gymnastics, but in a life lived faithfully for God.
“like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice shall be like stars forever”.   People have been fascinated by the bright lights of the sky—the sun, moon, and stars—from the beginning of time. Many ancients worshiped the stars, although Jewish law forbade such practice (Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:2-5).
Those of us who live and work indoors, surrounded at night by bright light, can barely fathom the impact that the moon and stars had on primitive people. Their nights would take on a quality of darkness that most people today never experience. On a clear night, they would see millions of stars—most of which would never show through our light-pollution.
The stars were not only beautiful; they were useful too. The ancients found their way around the darkness by moonlight and starlight. They learned early that they could use stars for navigation. Stars might seem to move across the night sky, but the ancients knew that the stars were never out of place. If they seemed out of place, it was only because the observer didn’t understand them—or because the observer was out of place.
Now, Daniel’s vision promises that the faithful shall shine like those stars—beautiful—dependable—useful—eternal. People would admire them. They would learn to guide by the light of their faithful mentors. Faithful people would bless all those who observed their lives, just as we are all blessed by the lights that God has placed in the sky.
Surely with this verse in mind, Jesus concluded his Parable of the Weeds by saying: “Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

Responsorial Psalm                              Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

Psalm 16 is a lovely and eloquent poetic rendering of Israel’s radical monotheism. Each of its sections offers a variation on the theme of “no other gods” or “the LORD alone.”
Verse 1 features the major psalmic concept of “refuge,” which is introduced in Psalm 2:12 and appears frequently, especially in Book I (Psalms 1-41; see 5:11; 7:1; 11:1; 14:6; and more). To “take refuge” in God means to trust God unreservedly. This, in turn, means to submit the self fully to God, as the psalmist indicates that she or he has done by addressing God as “my Lord” in verse 2.
The theme of “the LORD alone” culminates in the conclusion to verse 2. The word “good” refers to the resources, material and other things, that make life possible; so the psalmist affirms that his or her life derives from and depends solely upon God.
Verses 3-4 are notoriously difficult, and translations vary considerably. But general acceptance is that the psalmist expresses exclusive loyalty to God by honoring those who honor God (verse 3), as well as by avoiding every semblance of idolatry (verse 4).
In contrast to those who drink idolatrous offerings (verse 4), the LORD is the psalmist’s only “cup” (verse 5). But the real unifying feature of verses 5-6 is the language of land-settlement that is drawn from the book of Joshua -- “”portion” (Joshua 19:9), “lot” (18:6, 8), “boundary lines” (17:5, “portions” and “heritage” (14:3; 17:6; “inheritance”. Because land represented access to life, the affirmation again is that the psalmist’s life derives from and depends solely upon God.
The affirmation “I bless the LORD” (Psalm 16:7) reinforces the psalmist’s submission to God (see verse 2), since “bless” seems originally to have meant something like to “kneel in obeisance to.” The mention of “counsel” and round-the-clock instruction recalls Psalm 1 (see “advice” in 1:1 and “night” in 1:2), which opens the Psalter by orienting readers exclusively to God and God’s will, as a matter of life and death. Verse 8 continues the focus on the constancy of God’s presence, which proves to be the psalmist’s sole source of stability (see 15:5, and compare 13:4 where “shaken” represents the same Hebrew root).
The variation on the theme of “the LORD alone” involves anthropological language in verse 9: “heart,” “soul” (more literally “glory”), and “body.” The psalmist’s whole being is involved in the unreserved commitment to God. So the psalmist does what all Israel does in 14:7 in responses to God’s life-giving presence: “is glad” and “rejoices.” The Hebrew root underlying “secure” (verse 9) is ordinarily translated “trust,” reinforcing the opening affirmation of refuge found in God. The result is life (verse 10; “Sheol” and “the Pit” are names for the realm of the dead).
Not surprisingly, “the path of life” is mentioned explicitly in verse 11. This verse serves well as a culmination, since its vocabulary recalls earlier sections of the poem -- see “pleasures” and “pleasant places” (verses 6, 11), “right hand” (verses 8, 11), and “joy”/”rejoices” (verses 9, 11). The repetition summarizes and reinforces the message of the whole; that is, the psalmist’s joyful affirmation that his or her life derives from and is dependent upon “the LORD alone.”
The appearance of Psalm 16 in the lectionary is an opportunity both to appreciate its artistic beauty and to open ourselves to the challenge of Israel’s radical monotheism. In our pervasively self-centered context, for instance, what difference might it make if we entertained the conviction that life is not something we achieve, but rather something we receive as a gift from God? What difference might it make if we viewed the life-sustaining resources that most of us enjoy not as something we have earned or deserve, but rather as evidence of God’s goodness? Might a pervasive sense of entitlement begin to be replaced by a posture of humility and gratitude?

Reading 2                                                  Heb 10:11-14, 18

Read in the context of post-modernism, Hebrews 10, seems to call into question our assumptions around the so-called means of grace practices that all Christians engage in during times of worship. The sharp contrast between the repeated sacrifices done by the Jewish priest and the once-and-for-all sacrifice that Jesus did serves as a reminder of the true nature of the identity of Jesus as the one who establishes a new covenant. As partakers of Holy Communion, Christians are reminded of the presence of Jesus Christ in the bread and wine elements.
The preacher of Hebrews returns once again to the basic text, which is Psalm 110:1-4 of which an eternal priest like Melchizedek was to remain seated until his enemies were put down. Having already offered his once-for-all sacrifice, he sits in the rightful place, “at the right hand of God,” (Hebrews 10:12a). What then should Christians do or what are the implications of what the Hebrew preacher is saying in these verses? There seems to be three elements that can assist us to interpret these verses in a practical way. First, sacrifices are meaningful when they give people what they need, rather than what they want. Since Jesus came as a high Priest, he came as John claims, to “have life and have it abundantly.” It is crucial to remember the presence of Jesus Christ in all that we do and say. Second, we must prepare ourselves to receive, be it the effects of baptism or Holy Communion, and we can only do this after prayer. Prayer is absolutely necessary for spiritual and faith transformation and without prayer, all that we do in our churches slides into meaningless and powerless rituals. Third, people must pray for Holiness (Psalm 51:1-2). The problem in our postmodern era and in some parts of the world is that there are some Christians who believe that there is nothing to confess while they live in sin, yet God commands us to “be perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
The following verses of Hebrews 10:15-18 are probably problematic to most Christians because the mention of the “Holy Spirit” as the one that testifies about what God through Jesus says, tends to be difficult for people to wrestle with. Yet, the power of the written word and Jesus’ power is manifested in the work of the Holy Spirit, which is the cornerstone of biblical interpretation, worship, and all that takes place in the Church. Like Christians, Jewish preachers and writers attributed the inspiration of Scripture to the “Holy Spirit,” who in ancient Judaism was viewed as the Spirit of prophecy (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Hebrews 10 reminds us to always remember that Jesus is more superior to any other priest, be it a Levitical or modern day priest.
The theological notion that Jesus is a high priest before God leads interpreters to wrestle with the idea of a heavenly tabernacle of which Jesus Christ is the embodiment (Exodus 25:9; 40; 26:30). While the notion of colonization and decolonization do not appear in Hebrews, readers may be intrigued to notice how verses 15-18, are a call to be decolonized from colonial powers of culture, religion, and empires. The promise of verse 18 is that the new covenant established by Jesus Christ, the eternal priest, was first and foremost for the forgiveness of sins, and one’s sins will never be remembered because of the ‘atonement’ that was made by Jesus. In the postmodern period, the gospel of Jesus Christ has one goal in mind, simply to decolonize families, individuals, churches, and world communities from religious, cultural, and imperial colonization. Hebrews has one goal in mind and that goal is to rescue souls from spiritual death; restoring and nourishing believers to eternal life through Jesus Christ. Thus, being a believer is equal to being a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). The problem for our time is that there are many Christians who do not believe in what Jesus Christ did, and consequently their faith in Jesus is not well established.
The theology of Hebrews is that forgiveness is for everyone no matter how wicked one is. The key is simply to confess and believe in what Jesus did. The message that Jesus has compassion for everyone is profoundly important for readers and interpreters of Hebrews. Hebrews summons Christians to a life of constant spiritual alertness, engagement, and striving to be Holy and perfect (Hebrews 12:2).
Hebrews 10:19-25 are indisputably a call to a new form of worshiping God, one in which faith in Jesus allows believers to have access to God without waiting for a priest. The superiority of Jesus’ sacrifice opened a new door for believers to have obedience in both death and resurrection of the messiah. In verse 21, there is an allusion to Jesus’ superiority over Moses and this helps interpreters to appreciate the magnitude of the ‘Christ event.’ Of theological depth is the language of “Drawing near,” which signals an invitation to enter into a relationship with God (Hebrews 7:19), as well as availing oneself in the presence of God (Hebrews 10:19-20).

Gospel                                                       Mk 13:24-32

This Sunday is the second to last Sunday of our liturgical year. As we approach the end of the Church year, our Gospel invites us to consider Jesus’ predictions and teaching about the end of the world. In the context of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ words about this are spoken to his disciples as he prepares them for his passion and death.
Before we consider Jesus’ words, it is important to note the political backdrop against which many think Mark’s Gospel was written. Most scholars concur that Mark wrote his Gospel for Christians living in or near Rome about 30 to 40 years after the death of Jesus. This was a time of political turmoil in Rome. Some Christians experienced persecution by the Romans during the reign of the emperor Nero (about 64 A.D.). Jewish revolutionaries rebelled against the Romans, which led the Romans to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In this time of political turmoil and persecution, many in Mark’s community might have wondered if the end times predicted by Jesus were in fact quite near.
Last Sunday we heard Jesus’ observation about the contributions being made to the temple treasury and the example of sacrificial giving that he saw in the poor widow’s offering. If we had been reading Mark’s Gospel continuously, we would have heard Jesus predict the destruction of the Temple, his teaching about the costs of discipleship, and the woes that will accompany the end times. Finally, we would have heard Jesus instruct his disciples about the need for watchfulness so that they will not be caught unprepared for this final day of judgment.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues this teaching by offering his disciples signs to look for that will indicate that the coming of the Son of Man is near. His words and images draw upon Old Testament imagery, especially images found in the Book of Daniel. Next, Jesus offers the lesson of the fig tree, a parable that teaches that if one knows how to read the signs, one can be prepared for the end times. Jesus also teaches, however, that no one knows when the end time will come, except the Father. In the verses that follow this reading in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus continues to warn his disciples to be on watch for this end time.

Jesus’ words are not spoken to frighten his disciples, nor should they frighten us. Rather, they are offered to prepare us for the changes we will experience during our lifetimes and at the end times. Our consolation and hope is found in the lasting nature of Jesus’ words and God’s never-ending love for us.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

When predicting the weather, what signs are used? (temperature, wind direction, clouds, and so on) What do you predict the weather will be tomorrow? Are your predictions likely to be accurate? Why or why not? (They might be accurate because we heard a forecaster give the weather report; they might not be accurate because we don’t know how to interpret the signs; and so on.)
We can make a guess about what the weather will be tomorrow, but we’re not really making a weather prediction. Without the help of trained meteorologists, it is unlikely that our predictions will be accurate. If they are, it is because we have read the forecast of others very well.
Just as signs help meteorologists predict the weather, Jesus told us there will be signs that will indicate that the end of the world is near. Think about this Gospel.
What signs does Jesus say will signal the end times? (the sun darkening, stars falling, the coming of the Son of Man, and so on) Do you think we will be able to predict the end times? Who does Jesus say knows when these things will happen? (only God)
We don’t know when the things that Jesus talks about will happen, but we know that they will happen. Why? (because we can trust Jesus’ words to us)
Jesus does not want us to be frightened by these signs, nor does he want us to be fearful about the fact that the world will one day come to an end. Many things in the world may change, but Jesus’ words to us and God’s love for us will never change.
Let’s end by thanking God for the great, unending love he showed to us by sending us Jesus. Pray together the Glory Be to the Father

Saving a Phoenician woman demonstrates God’s care for the world. Although God will judge the Phoenician Jezebel, this is not a judgment on all Phoenicians.
In this story about competing religious claims, Yahweh’s ability both to commence and to end drought undercuts the claim of both Israelites and foreigners that Baal is the only effective weather god, not only in Israel, but also across the globe.
This is a story about the effects of economic injustice. The powerful, like Ahab and Jezebel are not starving, although they live in the same drought-stricken area. While they claim that the gods are on their side, the story reveals that God is on the side of those ignored by policy-makers.

Although God may be on a side, when people start spending their resources to prove that they are right through religious pageantry and political persecution, then God is on the side of the innocent victims of such political maneuvering.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

Worship is obviously an appropriate concept to anchor Psalm 146, the first of the concluding five "hallelujah" psalms and a fine example of the "hymn" genre.
Providence and Praise
The call to praise is reinforced by the abundant references to the covenant name of the Lord throughout the psalm. The saturation of God's name is itself a testament to the ubiquitous providence of God. While it is true that many psalms praise God for specific, miraculous acts of individual and national deliverance, the argument here is precisely that these divine acts are not special interventions, not extraordinary instances of divine compassion, but rather Israel's characteristic language of Yahweh's providential presence in the world.
Yahweh is the one "who made heaven and earth . . . who keeps faith forever . . ." (verse 6). Scholars are therefore correct to suggest some influence on this psalm from the biblical wisdom traditions, for they contributed to Israel's theology of creation and providence. Hence, one can see why this psalm would become part of Judaism's "daily morning prayers."
What should be emphasized with equal seriousness is that God's characteristic involvement with creation and history has a certain focus in this psalm, namely the oppressed and hungry, the prisoners (verse 7), the blind, and those who are bowed down (verse 8), and the stranger, orphan, and widow (verse 9). Israel's law and prophets called the nation to account for its treatment of the most vulnerable members of society, and a Christian reading of this psalm rightly sees a connection with Jesus' programmatic Nazareth sermon (Luke 4:16-29). God's providence is praised not only in Jesus' miracles, which are the first fruits of the restoration; it is also profoundly united to our understanding of the incarnation and crucifixion, in Jesus' complete identification with humankind and his complete self-giving. We can think of the way the motion picture, Seven Pounds, vividly portrays Ben Thomas (Will Smith) as a Christ-figure who gives himself -- literally -- to create healing and restoration in others.
The Infinite King and Finite Princes
Psalm 146 provides energy to the theme of God's providential involvement by linking it to God's righteous rule from Zion (verse 10) and presenting a stark contrast between this king who "will reign forever" and "princes . . . mortals in whom there is no hope" (v. 3; see also Psalm 118:9).
"Princes" come under particular indictment because, as nobles, they were in a position to effect change for the poor and oppressed. The prophets often laid responsibility for Israel's woes at the feet of its various leaders (Isaiah 3:14; Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 34; Hosea 5:1). Yahweh's royal office is highlighted, therefore, because he alone enacts true justice within history.
However, translating this judgment into our socio-political system, apart from a fully developed biblical theology of leadership, might lead to unwarranted applications. The hymn does not say that leaders are unnecessary or that they are not useful. It does warn against trusting them for salvation.

Reading 2 Heb 9:24-28

The letter to the Hebrews paints a series of contrasts between Jesus, our great high priest, and the sacrificial system of atonement that pre-figured his redeeming work.
Today's lesson sums up these contrasts with an image of Christ's heavenly, final and effective intercession for us sinners, resulting in the tremendous good news of God's complete and lasting forgiveness.
In order to get to this good news, we need to wrestle a bit with the author's language of blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins (9:22, 25-26), of the earthly realm as a copy of heavenly realities (8:5; 9:23-24; 10:1), of the end of the age (9:26), and of the second coming of Christ (9:28). These ideas are not part of the currency of our everyday conversation. They assume an understanding of ancient Israel's atonement ritual during the Exodus, even prior to the building of the Temple under David.
At that time, the place of worship was a tent with an inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:1-5; Exodus 25-30), where the high priest entered once a year to offer sacrifices for himself and for the sins of the people (Hebrews 9:6-10). Drawing on Exodus 25:40, the author of Hebrews says that this sanctuary, and the sacrificial system that went with it, was a copy of a heavenly reality (Hebrews 8:5); drawing on Greek Platonic philosophy, Hebrews adds that the copy was inferior to the reality towards which it points. That reality is Christ's self-offering on our behalf (Hebrews 8:7), as the one who is both priest and sacrificial victim (Hebrews 9:23-24).
This vivid picture of the ultimate reality towards which the Jewish system of atonement points lies behind today's text, which makes four points about Christ:

Christ has entered into heaven to intercede for all humanity through his own self-offering.
Christ's action is "once-for-all," unique, unrepeatable and fully effective.
Christ's first appearance and self-offering signal "the end of the age."
Christ will come a second time to save those who eagerly await him.

Three elements of this readings imagery speak profoundly to our contemporary experience: Christ's singular self-sacrifice, the contrast between imitation and reality, and the end of futile attempts to deal with guilt.
The idea of Christ's bloody sacrifice is offensive to many modern sensibilities; we may feel that we have advanced culturally beyond such rituals. Yet a moment's thought will illuminate the many ways in which we still sacrifice each other, using other people as scapegoats for our own wrong and guilt. This happens in families and communities, when one member or group becomes the outcast whose expulsion makes everyone else heave a sigh of relief.
For example, in Ian McEwan's novel (later movie), Atonement, a young handy man bears the guilt for a rape committed by a member of the upper class. In Toni Morrison's novel, The Bluest Eye, a helpless young African-American girl becomes the scapegoat of the family and the community. Our sacrificial systems are subtle, but nonetheless real and destructive. Christ's final self-offering on the cross means we have place to put our guilt without sacrificing each other.
We also encounter the contrast between imitation and reality in relationship to matters of faith. The popularity of books and movies such as The Da Vinci Code testify to a widespread fear of being "taken in" by religious beliefs, sold a bill of goods by the church. Hebrews tells us that it is crucial to distinguish rightly between imitation and reality, which means, ultimately, listening to the lonely night questions about what really matters. What really matters, says Hebrews, is what Christ does in the presence of God, reconciling us to the divine presence. Only God can really deliver on God's promises. There is room here for both appropriate cynicism about human pretensions, and boundless faith in God.
Christ's once-for-all redemption, contrasted with the repeated sacrifices of the old system of atonement, removes the church from the business of mediating between God and humanity. This means that the church is not a system of atonement. A human system of dealing with sin has to be repetitive because, as a mere imitation of divine reality, it cannot have any lasting effects. But since Christ has effected forgiveness once-for-all, such a system is now obsolete, superfluous and misleading.
What a difference it makes to experience the church as a community of forgiven sinners, who don't need to sacrifice each other, whose consciences are cleansed "from dead works to worship the living God" (9:14). When it comes to Christian community, this is the real deal.

Gospel Mk 12:38-44

The context for today’s Gospel continues to be mounting tension between Jesus and the Jewish authorities. Mark reports some of Jesus’ teaching in the Temple area in today’s reading and in the preceding verses not included in our Lectionary sequence. In the first part of today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus warn the crowds not to follow the example of the scribes in seeking honor and attention from others. It is important to recall that Mark indicates that Jesus taught these things while in the vicinity of the Temple in Jerusalem. Mark is setting the stage for Jesus’ passion.
Jesus then observes how Jewish pilgrims are making their contributions to the temple treasury. The Temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish worship in the time of Jesus. It was expected that observant Jews would make pilgrimages to the Temple to offer prayer and sacrifices. Pilgrims were also expected to make a financial contribution to the temple treasury.
As we would expect to be the case, Jesus observes that those who were rich contributed large sums to the treasury. Those with less means made smaller contributions. A similar situation exists in most of our parishes as well. Jesus calls attention, however, to a poor widow who makes the smallest of contributions—two coins of little value. Jesus upholds the poor widow’s offering for his disciples’ consideration, commending her because her small offering was an act of profound generosity, giving from her livelihood rather than her surplus.
To give from our livelihood is not only an act of generosity, it is also an act of trust in God. We can only give from our need if we trust that God will provide for us. Jesus himself demonstrates the ultimate act of generosity and trust in God as he gives his life for us on the cross.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Which would be more difficult: giving away a shirt you have outgrown or giving away your favorite shirt while it still fits you? (Giving away something that no longer fits us, while difficult, is usually easier.) Which is a more generous gift: giving away something that no longer fits or giving away your favorite shirt even when you can still wear it? (giving away your favorite shirt)
One way we judge generosity is by the sacrifice required to make the gift. It is much more difficult to give away a piece of clothing we like very much and still fits. It requires us to make a sacrifice, to give up something we like in order to share with another person.
What does Jesus notice about the people putting money into the collection box? (The rich people put in large amounts of money; a poor widow put in two small coins.) What does Jesus say about the poor widow? (that she gave more than all the others because she shared all that she had)
Jesus acknowledges the generosity of the poor widow, even though she gave a lesser amount to the treasury. Her small coins required a greater sacrifice than the large amounts contributed by those who were rich. In order to be generous like the poor widow, we must have trust that God will take care of us, even if we share all that we have with others.
Conclude in prayer asking God to teach us to trust him so that we can be generous like the poor widow in today’s Gospel. Pray the Peace Prayer of St. Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

===========================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                  1 Kgs 17:10-16

The entire region of the Levant was devastated by drought and resulting famine that the prophet Elijah foretold at God's command as a judgment against the worship of the false Canaanite and Phoenician god, Baal (1 Kng 17:1). To protect His prophet from the wrath of King Ahab of Israel and his pagan wife Jezebel, God told Elijah to journey to a Mediterranean coastal city in the Phoenician territory to seek refuge with a widow (1 Kng 17:2-9). Elijah's life was in danger from King Ahab and his Gentile wife, who promoted Baal worship. Yet, God commanded him to go into the very center of Baal worship to seek refuge among pagan Gentiles. God commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath in Sidonia, where He had moved the heart of a Gentile widow t Zarephath, a town on the Mediterranean coast, was located eight miles south of the prosperous Phoenician trading city of Sidon. Sidon was the birthplace of Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Sidon and wife of King Ahab of Israel. Elijah probably recognized the woman as a widow by her widow's clothing that was typically worn long after the mourning period (Gen 38:14 and Jdt 8:5; 10:3; 16:8). He knew that the woman didn't have enough resources to sustain herself, much less him, but he understood that Yahweh's words, "I have ordered a woman there to give you food," to mean that a miracle was going to come from his association with the woman.
Elijah tested the woman in three ways:
He asked her for water.
He asked her to bring him a little bread.
After she admitted that she and her son were starving, he asked her to bake a cake of bread for him.
Elijah tested the woman to see if she was the one Yahweh chose by requesting water. This act recalls Abraham's servant testing of another woman in Genesis 24:10-20. The servant Abraham sent to find a bride for his son Isaac in the Aramaean homeland of Abraham's extended family tested Rebekah's generosity. He asked for water in Genesis 24:17 to see if she was the one Yahweh selected as a wife for Isaac. Comparing the story of Elijah and the widow with Abraham's servant and Rebekah, God's servant discovered the right woman using the same tactic. Rebekah only underwent one test, but Elijah tested the widow three times. Elijah's widow was a very patient woman. She was in desperate straits, and Yahweh was not her God, yet she did as Elijah requested. The widow's act of mercy and self-giving for the sake of a stranger counted toward her salvation both temporally and spiritually. As a reward, Elijah gave the woman a blessing in the name of Yahweh, telling her for the entire time until the end of the drought that her jar of oil would never run dry and her jug of meal would always be full. God blessed both women for their generous response to a traveler's request.

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

Like patience, faith has its own reward: happiness. People who really trust in God are truly happy. They have someone who looks over them; they have someone who is trustworthy and full of love. They have someone they can emulate in their dealings with their fellow human beings. Most importantly, those who trust God touch his eternal nature. Their faith is a window into an existence beyond the boundaries of space and time. While they experience God within the confines of this life, that experience points to a life outside of those confines.
Psalm 146 presented a compressed view of the Mosaic covenant, surrounded by a hymn of praise. The psalm was remarkable in its implicit belief that YHWH was eternal, based upon his activity in the temporal realm; in other words, his mighty deeds in the history of Israel revealed his immortality. Those mighty deeds were delineated in his covenant with the Chosen people. The creator also saved the poor, the feeble and crippled, the prisoner, the stranger, the widow and the orphan. The psalmist seemed to state that the faithful Jew would follow the example of God in his dealing with the less fortunate. YHWH revealed his eternal nature through his mercy and compassion; the faithful Jew could touch eternity through similar acts.
Praise acted as bookends to this remarkable vision of God. 146:1-2 indicated this praise was a life-long endeavor that overtook family allegiances or political alliances (146:3-4). Trust in the God of Jacob was a beatitude (146:5), for YHWH was the true, eternal deity (146:10). Trust in and allegiance to the eternal God led to a happiness that touched on eternity.
As Christians, we believe that faith in God now will lead to a life with God forever. Praising God throughout life makes a statement in that belief. We praise God for what he has done and is doing now in life. In his activities, we can experience his eternal nature and can gain more and more reasons to believe that we will live with him forever.

Reading 2                                                  Heb 9:24-28

In these verses, the author of Hebrews focused on heaven and the end times. The sacrifice of the cross extended itself into heaven where Jesus intercedes for us. Because his priesthood was eternal, he needed to only offer once. It was for all time. So, it did not need to be offered in yearly cycles, like the levitical celebration of Yom Kippur.
In his argument, the author wove the threads of sin and death tightly together. People may try to appease God over and over for their shortcomings, but they die only once. Their death, the author assumed, was the result of sin. In this sense, their appeasement fell short and their judgment after death would be negative. But the death of Christ was the forgiveness of sin. So it had the power to destroy the source of death. In doing so, the end of life became a way to look forward to salvation. Futility was replaced by hope. Death led to life.
These verses challenge us with the question found in the note on 9:27-28. Do we accept what the death of Christ can do for us? This is the pivotal question of life. For it can lead to hope. And life!

Gospel                                                        Mk 12:38-44

Everyone I know who has ever led in ministry has secretly wanted to play to an audience. Every preacher, every teacher, has a small bit of entertainer in them. Every minister has wanted their few moments under the spotlight.
Of course, this is an immature reason to serve. Many people fight the urge (some even refuse to serve for this reason!). Many have this need fulfilled and have moved on. Many simply grow out of the need and remain for the right reason: the joy of service.
Why did Jesus criticize the scribes directly? These men were the brightest, most influential, and most important experts on the Law. Since Jews in Judea, throughout the Roman Empire, and in many parts of the world lived in self-governing enclaves, the power of these scribes could not be underestimated. They were lawyers and judges. They were civic leaders and legislators. Their knowledge and ability were vital to the survival and the growth of God's chosen.
A closer reading of the text revealed Jesus did not speak of their position and power. No, Jesus attacked the scribes for their love of the limelight. He slammed their love of reputation and implied they cheated the poorest of the poor ("houses of the widows") for their own gain and the gain of their benefactors, the wealthy. On the heels of last week's study about the Great Commandment (Mark 12:28-34), the words of Jesus had a special sting. What did the leaders love more, popularity or service? Self or God? The actions of the scribes said it all.
Having sat opposite the (collection) box of the treasury, HE was watching how the crowd threw coins into the treasury box. Many rich (people) were throwing in many (coins). The text implies continuous action. Instead of putting in all the money at once, the rich would take their time, put in one coin after another, and make a show of their offering.
Having approached, a poor widow threw in two small coins, which is a quadrans. (a quadran equaled 3/8 of a cent). Having called together HIS disciples, HE said to them, "Amen, I say to you that this poor widow threw in more than all those throwing (money) into the treasury box (put together). For all those threw in from their abundance. But this one out of her need threw in everything she had, her whole means of support."
The poor widow gave all she had as a gift. She also gives us a gift. The opportunity to sacrifice our convenience, our self-centeredness, our petty concerns to share what we have with others. To her and all like her, let us express our gratitude.
========================================================================

Sunday November 3, 2024 Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 152

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                       Dt 6:2-6

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"Fear the LORD, your God,
and keep, throughout the days of your lives,
all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,
and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,
that you may grow and prosper the more,
in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,
to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."

Responsorial Psalm                                Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Reading 2                                                   Heb 7:23-28
Brothers and sisters:
The levitical priests were many
because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,
but Jesus, because he remains forever,
has a priesthood that does not pass away.
Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son,
who has been made perfect forever.
Gospel                                                       Mk 12:28b-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                       Dt 6:2-6

Our reading was delivered by Moses, God's covenant mediator to the Israelites, in his second discourse to the children of Israel at their camp on the east side of the Jordan River as they prepared to begin their conquest of the Promised Land. In his discourse from chapters 6-11, Moses focuses on developing the central ideas of his teaching from the first section of the Ten Commandments (Dt 5:7-10) that demands loyalty to Yahweh, the one true God. The faithfulness of the Israelites demonstrates that commitment by serving only Yahweh, rejecting pagan idols, and continuing the covenant in future generations.

In the introduction to this section, Moses speaks of God's promised blessings for the new generation of Israel's obedience in putting His laws into practice when entering and taking possession of the Promised Land. It is one of the central themes of his final sermons in the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses urges the Israelites to "hear" his teaching on the Law and "keep/protect" what they have learned. He repeats what he taught at the end of his Ten Commandments discourse in Deuteronomy 5:29.

Moses admonished the people: "Fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all the statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life."
The Israelites must pass on Moses's teaching and their "fear of Yahweh" to future generations as the basis for covenant continuation. They must apply God's commands and prohibitions to their daily lives as examples of righteousness living for their children (Dt 6:20-25).

He urged the Israelites to "fear the Lord" and obey His commandments numerous times in his three discourses to the new generation of Israelites. However, Moses was not speaking of the kind of fear that drives the people away, like the fear the people felt after witnessing the terrifying Theophany at Mt. Sinai (Ex 20:18-19). At the end of his first homily in Deuteronomy 4:34-40 and 6:2-5, Moses juxtaposed the fear of God and the call to obey His commandments (verse 2) with his call for the people to love God (verse 5). He used "fear" as an expression typifying a deep reverence for God that inspires fear of offending God and, therefore, faithfulness to God and loyalty to His covenant. Israel's response to God's love in giving them the Law of the Covenant (the Ten Commandments and other articles of the Law) as a guide to righteousness behavior must be the people's obedience to His commands and loyalty to the covenant as the expression of Israel's love (Dt 4:37; 6:2-5, 13; 10:12-15).

If they put what Moses urged into practice, God would reward their obedience with prosperity and fertility in a land with an abundance of everything to make life good. The promised blessings in verse 3 are reminiscent of those God first promised humanity at the Creation event and repeated to Noah and his family after the Great Flood (see Gen 1:28-30 and 9:1). "A land flowing with milk and honey" is a metaphor describing the abundance of Eden when man lived in perfect harmony with God. It also recalls the promises made to Noah and his family after the Great Flood. In each case, the land's blessings of fertility and prosperity are associated with a new creation.

It recalls the blessings of the first creation event.
It repeats the blessings of the renewed creation with the earth and Noah's family after the Great Flood.
It creates and blesses a new people and their nation, living in unity within a corporate covenant with Yahweh.
In verse 3, the children of Israel were to reap God's blessings if they both feared (loyalty born of reverent respect) and loved Yahweh (Ex 20:20; Lev 25:17, 36, 43; Dt 4:10 5:29; 6:2, 13, 24, and Dt 5:10; 6:5; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 19:9; etc.).

Their first obligation was to love God with an undivided heart and with their whole being (heart, soul, and strength). Second, they were to place their relationship with God as individuals and a unified people above everything else. Verses 4-5 are the opening verses of the Old Covenant profession of faith known as the Shema. Rabbinic Judaism requires reciting the Old Testament verses of the Shema (Dt 6:4-9; 11:3-21, and Num 15:37-41) in morning and evening prayers.

The passage from the First Reading should remind us of the revelation of God's love for humanity in the New Covenant, which originates in God's divine plan already taking shape in the Old Testament. Because of His love for us, God sent His "only beloved Son" into the world to die for the sins of humanity so that those who accept God's gift of salvation through the New Covenant of Christ Jesus might have victory over death and life eternally.

Responsorial Psalm                                Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

The first words, I love you, Lord, my strength, are the scope and contents of the psalm. Those that truly love God, may triumph in him as their Rock and Refuge,   may with confidence call upon him. It is good for us to observe all the circumstances of a mercy which magnify the power of God and his goodness to us in it. David was a praying man, and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall succeed as he did. It is not possible to apply to the history of the son of Jesse those awful, majestic, and stupendous words which are used through this description of the Divine manifestation. Every part of so solemn a scene of terrors tells us, a greater than David is here. God will not only deliver his people out of their troubles in due time, but he will bear them up under their troubles in the mean time. Can we forget that it was in the hour of Christ's deepest calamity, when Judas betrayed, when his friends forsook, when the multitude derided him, and the smiles of his Father's love were withheld, that the powers of darkness prevented him? The sorrows of death surrounded him, in his distress he prayed, Heb 5:7. God made the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection, because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.

Reading 2                                                   Heb 7:23-28
Hebrews 7:23-28 occurs in the middle of a larger argument about Jesus being a heavenly high priest.
This is one of the central ideas of Hebrews, and it is a unique contribution in the New Testament to our understanding of Jesus. Our passage has two main points: 1) Because Jesus is not subject to death, in contrast to the earthly priests, as the heavenly high priest he is able to serve and offer salvation perpetually; 2) Jesus only had to sacrifice himself once for all people, in contrast to the repeated sacrifices made by the earthly priests.

Christ is first identified as high priest in Hebrews 2:17, and the basic points are summarized in 4:14-16. The detailed discussion of the designation occupies 5:1-10 and chapters 7-10. In the argument of Hebrews, Christ's identity as the heavenly high priest is what enables him to offer eternal salvation -- so it is a point of tremendous importance! A basic understanding of the argument will provide valuable context for understanding our passage.
The argument is complex, but it may be summarized as follows: Priests in Judaism must be from the tribe of Levi, but as the Messiah, Jesus is from the tribe of Judah (David's tribe). Thus Jesus could not be in the traditional Jewish priesthood. However, Psalm 110, a psalm recognized as a messianic prophecy in the Judaism of the time, contains the line, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek" (verse 4). Melchizedek is an obscure character from the story of Abraham (Genesis 14:17-20), a "priest of God Most High." Psalm 110:4 thus provides a way for Jesus as the Messiah to be a priest, indeed a priest "forever." This last point becomes the basis for the contrast between the eternal priesthood of Jesus and the limited priesthood of the earthly priests.
This contrast is the subject of verses 23-25 in our passage. Earthly priests obviously die, so their priesthood is of limited duration (verse 23), but because of his resurrection and exaltation to God's right hand, Jesus' priesthood will have no end (verse 24). This eternal status thus provides a different order of salvation than that available through the traditional priesthood -- the salvation offered by Jesus is eternal, because his intercession on our behalf will never cease (verse 25). A similar point can be seen in Romans 8:34.
Verses 26-28 provide further contrasts between Jesus and the earthly high priests. While verse 26's adjectives "holy," "blameless," and "undefiled" can be used in a variety of contexts, together with the following phrase, "separated from sinners," they emphasize Jesus' sinlessness, a point made elsewhere in Hebrews (4:15) and by other New Testament writers (e.g. 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).
Verse 27 adds the contrast between the once-for-all nature of Christ's sacrifice and the perpetually repeated sacrifices offered by the earthly priests. This contrast will be greatly elaborated in chapters 9 and 10, especially 10:1-14. The fact that the earthly sacrifices have to be performed repeatedly points to the fact that they cannot take away sins in the first place; otherwise they would cease (10:1-4, 11).
These sacrifices cleanse only "the flesh", being unable to "perfect the conscience of the worshiper". Christ's sacrifice, on the other hand, was "a single sacrifice for sins" "offered for all time", penetrating into our innermost being, cleansing our conscience, having "perfected for all time those who are sanctified". The resulting covenant is thus one of the inside, of the heart and mind, as attested by the Holy Spirit, with the result that other sacrifices are needed no more.
Verse 28 adds yet two more contrasts between Jesus and the earthly priests. First, the weakness of the earthly high priests contrasts with the perfection of Jesus. The language of Jesus having "been made perfect" often surprises readers. It is not a claim, however, about the intrinsic character of Jesus -- after all, Jesus' sinlessness is a key assertion of Hebrews, as discussed above -- but about his having been fitted perfectly to his role.
The second contrast is that Jesus was appointed high priest with an oath, unlike the earthly priests. "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind." The author of Hebrews sees this formula as underscoring the eternal nature of Christ's priesthood.

Gospel                                                       Mk 12:28b-34

As we continue to read from Mark’s Gospel, our Lectionary skips a chapter that helps set the context for today’s reading. If we were to read the sections skipped (chapter 11 and part of chapter 12), we would hear about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, and the questioning of Jesus’ authority by the chief priests, scribes, and elders. The context, therefore, for this Gospel is Jesus’ growing exposure before the Jewish authorities. Jesus is being questioned and tested by the Jewish authorities, yet the scribe who addresses Jesus in today’s Gospel seems to be an admirer; he is not testing Jesus.
The question posed in today’s Gospel requires Jesus to interpret the Law of Moses. The Mosaic Law consists of the Ten Commandments and many additional commandments, numbering into the hundreds. For a devout Jew, adherence to the Mosaic Law is an expression of faithfulness to God’s covenant with Israel. The ranking of these commandments was regularly debated among the teachers of the Law.
Jesus was not the only Jewish religious teacher to connect these two commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. Both of these commandments were central elements of the religious tradition that Jesus learned from his Jewish community. Indeed, these commandments continue to be central aspects of contemporary Jewish religious understanding. Jesus’ response to his questioners proposed an integral connection between these two aspects of the Jewish Law. Love of God finds its expression in our love for our neighbor. Many believe, however, that this connection was heard in a new and fresh way when spoken by Jesus.
The scribe who questions Jesus in today’s Gospel engages in a positive dialogue with Jesus. He agrees with Jesus’ teaching that the commandments to love God and love neighbor stand above the commandment to offer worship and sacrifice in the Temple. With this dialogue, Jesus appears to close the debate with the Jewish authorities. Mark reports that no one dared to question Jesus further.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about a tripod. Will the tripod stand with just one leg? (No); with two? (No.) All three legs of the tripod are required to make it stand.
Think about the tripod without setting the legs to equal lengths. If one or more of the legs of the tripod is shorter than the others, will the tripod stand straight? (No.) Will this tripod work well if it isn’t straight? (No.) Of course not. In order to make this stand up straight and balanced, all three legs must work together.
Jesus is asked a question in today’s Gospel about which of the God’s commandments is greatest. His answer reminds me of this tripod, which needs three legs to be balanced. Many of us will find this Gospel very familiar.
Which of the commandments does Jesus say is the greatest? (to love God) But what does Jesus add to this? (He adds that we should love our neighbors as ourselves.)
How are Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel like the tripod we discussed earlier? (God wants us to learn to balance three kinds of love: love of God, love of ourselves, and love of our neighbor.)
Jesus teaches us that the key to the Kingdom of God is found in balancing our love for God, our love for ourselves, and our love for our neighbors.
Ask God to help us keep balance in our lives by loving God, loving ourselves, and loving our neighbors. Pray the Act of Love.

O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of those whom I have injured.
Amen.
==================================================================


ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                       Dt 6:2-6

The verses of this passage sum up the crisis in which the Deuteronomy first appeared (about 900 B.C. during the reign of the kings in Israel and Judah). Faith in the God of Israel was challenged by the practices of fertility gods. Originally popular in the rural area, worship of these gods found its way into the city, especially among the ruling class.
Other issues faced the nation that were reflected in the pages of Deuteronomy. Economic power began to shift from the countryside to the cities. Urban money lenders charged exorbitant rates to farmers and claimed the land of delinquent debtors. Debtors sold themselves into slavery so they could buy food to feed their families. In addition, political power became corrupt. Judges took bribes and showed favors to the wealthy. Economically and politically, the gap widened between the rich and the poor.
Deuteronomy appeared to reform these injustices. It reaffirmed the Ten Commandments with the power of God's personal revelation (Deuteronomy 5). In the midst of fear from God's power and the blessing of God's promise, Moses proclaimed these famous lines: love God with your being and life. These words summarized the covenant allegiance God had with his chosen. This allegiance defined the identity of the Israelite.
In the second century AD, the Shema found a definitive form:
From these passages it is obvious the Shema stressed fidelity to the covenant in word, deed, and lifestyle. They were to be prayed twice a day. And they were idealized as the words of a dying Jew preparing to meet God.

Responsorial Psalm                                Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

After a brief comment about the authorship, 18:1-3 stated the reason for the psalm in a doxology. The praise of God as rock, savior, strength, etc. set the stage for the victim's outcry (18:4-7a) for the theophany (7b-16). This divine appearance rivaled creation itself. More than the classic descriptions of divine activity (earthquakes, ominous clouds with lightning and thunder, downpours), this theophany laid bare the structure of creation. With the outcry (18:4-7a) and the rescue (18:17-20) acting as book ends, the full power of God was made manifest in the answer of a prayer. YHWH would tear creation apart to save the king from his enemies (who were evil painted larger than life). Why would the Creator violate his creation for the king (and the people)? Simply put, he made a covenant with them; that covenant was based on his love (18:20).
18:47-51 recounts the doxology from 18:1-3. The Rock, the Savior, has rescued the king and the nation from their enemies. So, the king (and the people) would praise YHWH above all other gods, for he has shown his kindness.
God is with his people, but we should not presume our will is God's. We can rely on his help to move heaven and earth to show his love to us. His love and his ways might be mysterious, however. There is one thing that is certain. God will bring us to him in the end.

Reading 2                                                   Heb 7:23-28
With this background, we can now address the verses in this reading. The author These few verses acted as a conclusion to the arguments the author made for Jesus as High Priest. He based his insight on Psalm 110:4: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.'" (RSV) To flesh out his interpretation of this Psalm, he began with a study on the person of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:17-20.
Melchizedek was the king-priest of the Most High. He was not listed with parentage or descendants in Scripture. He offered sacrifice on behalf of Abram (later Abraham), who, in turn gave him a tithe. For the author, Melchizedek represented the eternal worship of the living God (the king-priest did not have a genealogy). Through the intercession of such worship, Abram would receive the blessing of God's covenant. In return, Abram gave the leader of the eternal worship his due (a tithe). In this sense, Melchizedek was a symbol of the eternal worship offered to God in heaven. (Hebrews 7:1-10)
Scholars call a symbol like Melchizedek an "archetype;" for interpreters like the author of Hebrews, such an archetype would be the key to understanding the question of Hebrew priesthood. Melchizedek was found in the book of Genesis, which was, both by traditional chronology and by the order of the canon, before the appearance of the priesthood of Aaron (in Exodus). Because of its place of importance and its eternal status, the priesthood of Melchizedek was the measure of Aaron's priesthood. The Levitical priesthood which descended from Aaron was human (as it was passed from father to son) and, so, had all the frailties of human nature. In light of the "order of Melchizedek," the Levites would always turn out second best.
The author then separated the two priesthoods, as distinct. (Hebrews 7:11-14) One was human, based upon the Law which could regulate, but could not perfect humanity. The other was based upon God's direct oath (found in Psalm 110:4) toward a Son. This Son would be perfected, since his priesthood was different from that of Aaron's descendants. And since he would stand forever in worship. The result would be a new covenant between God and people. (Hebrews 7:15-22)
implied the chief impediment to the Levitical priesthood was death itself. Christ, who was THE priest in the order of Melchizedek, overcame death. So, he could not pass on his status. Those who approached God through his intercession could do so in fullest confidence.
In addition, Christ had no sin. He could succeed where the other high priests had failed. The author implied this was the reason Christ could overcome death. In the minds of his contemporaries, sin led to death. Only the One without sin could conquer death and fulfill the promise of Psalm 110:4. He did so in his self-offering death. While this might seem a contradiction, bring to mind the image of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah. The sinless Servant who suffered and died for the sins of others would see life again. His death led to a new life. In this way, the Son was perfected; in this sense, perfection meant status. Christ acted as High Priest directly before the throne of God in heaven. No one had a higher status than he had.
The book of Hebrews gives us much to think about. For much of our faith was contained in these compressed verses. The priesthood of Melchizedek was not one of ritual, but one of self-giving death. We join with Christ's priesthood when we die to self for the sake of others. In this way, we join our worship with his in heaven. We must remember that self-giving is the essence of Christian worship.

Gospel                                                       Mk 12:28-34

When we ignore the rhetoric and simply look at someone's lifestyle (ourselves or others), we'll soon learn the answer to the question: what's most important? The question asks more than values. It points toward a life orientation. It helps to answer the greater question: what is the purpose of life?
In a relationship with God, we can ask the same question: what's most important? How does that question impact our prayer life, our family life, our social life? What one principle or character trait tells others we are followers of Christ?
A scribe asked Jesus that question. While Jesus' answer may have been a common one at the time, the underlying understanding Jesus gave the answer changed more than his followers. It changed the world.
The scribe asked Jesus a question about importance in the Law. And Jesus gave a straightforward answer. Obviously, an answer about the Law should come from the Law. So Jesus quoted Scripture.
The question of importance, as the note stated above, was one of guiding principles. Through this one command, one could create a hierarchy with the other commands, give direction to their enforcement, and a symbol that encompassed the meaning of Judaism.
Jesus answered the first part of that question with the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Love God with all your being. Love in this sense was not an inner emotion or psychological state alone. In the time and culture of Jesus, love meant allegiance. As God made a covenant with his people (a formal allegiance between a king and his subjects), he demanded a response. A commitment and a faithful life to that allegiance (i.e., covenant) was the only answer. Notice that the command was pointed at the nation and the individual. God wanted faithful individuals to form a faithful community. The individual was to take ownership of his or her response and take responsibility for the type of community he or she lived in. Taking both types of ownership was implicit in the command: "Love God."
"The second (is) this: 'You will love your neighbor as yourself.' There is not another commandment greater than these."
Agreement on these two guiding commands and their shared quality of allegiance became the starting point for proclaiming the Good News. Yes, one could live his or her life trying to love God and neighbor, but there was a better way. Believe in the One who had lived the commandment perfectly. Believe in the One who could help the faithful along the way.
===========================================================

Sunday October 27, 2024 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 149

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                    Jer 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my first-born.

Responsorial Psalm                                 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Reading 2                                                   Heb 5:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel                                                          Mk 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                    Jer 31:7-9

When return seems impossible, the prophet sees a way home that will accommodate their different, but limited, human abilities and life stages. God makes it possible for all to walk a straight and smooth path. Finally, the oracle answers the pain of displacement, loss, and alienation with the intimacy of life as a family.
The prophet himself is not in exile, but in Judah, land of promise. His oracle thus speaks to multiple audiences. Most directly, he speaks to those who remain in Judah and Israel, whose children, parents, brothers and sisters, friends, neighbors, extended families, and neighboring tribes have been taken from them, first by Assyria over a century before and most recently by Babylon. He also speaks to those now in exile, the people of Israel and Judah who had been deported from their homeland against their will. Some, those deported from Judah in 597 BCE, could be traced to Babylonia. Others, the deported tribes of Israel or Ephraim, had been lost in place and time, and were connected now only in memory, tradition, and hope. The oracle focuses especially on this remnant of Israel, lost to their brothers and sisters in Judah and Samaria, scattered to the corners of the earth. Only God can know where they have been taken.
The first verse of this passage is a loud one. Jeremiah’s audience is breaking a silence imposed throughout the earlier chapters of the book. Earlier, the prophet had been told not to pray or cry out on behalf of the people (Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:11). God refused to hear the laments of the people and promises to end the sound of their celebrations (7:16,29,31; 16:9; 25:10). The people too had been instructed to refrain from mourning their dead and from feasting in gladness (16:5-9; cf. 25:33). But Jeremiah and his people were not completely silent. Despite the injunction God placed on them, we hear repeated weeping, wailing, mourning, and lament (9:1,10; 13:17; 14:17). The command to keep silent is an impossible one. The people’s pain at their woundedness, the desolation of the land, and the loss of their kin kept breaking through the silence (31:9).
Now God wants the amplifier to be dialed up to eleven, and the song is one not of sorrow but of joy. The first word of the Lord’s speech is a command to the people: “shout joyfully” (Jeremiah 31:7). The verb is a favorite of the psalmists, and occurs many times in Isaiah. But it has not occurred in Jeremiah prior to this moment. The entire book has changed keys. The minor chords of chapters 1-29 gave voice to judgment, anger, exile, and death. Chapter 30 marked a shift: God would answer the sound of distress (30:4-7) with salvation (30:8-11), cure the incurable wound (30:12-17), and restore Jacob’s tents, city, children, and ruler (18-21). Chapter 31 continues in this new key, picking up strains of gladness foretold in 30:19.
The glad shouts here in 31:7 are for Jacob, in response to the good news of restoration and salvation for those who have been lost for so long. They are also to be shouted “for the chief of the nations” (New Revised Standard Version) or “at the head of the nations” (New American Bible). The exact meaning of this latter phrase is less obvious: it may paint a moment of triumph, when captives are finally free to look their captors in the eye and say, “you didn’t win, after all.” Gloating is dangerous, as the prophets so frequently remind us, but so is quiet acquiescence to empires and injustice. The other possible meaning of this phrase is to interpret the chief or head of the nations as referring to God. The passage culminates in the restoration of the familial relationship between God and Jacob; this journey home is a celebration for them both.
The company the Lord will gather from the North and from the corners of the earth includes the blind and the lame, pregnant women, and women in labor (Jeremiah 31:8). A multitude will return and they will walk on a straight path alongside brooks of water (31:8-9). None will stumble (31:9). God does not promise to change the bodies of blind and lame. Yet God ensures that the path home includes and accommodates them as they are. God does not ask the women among them to postpone their pregnancies or deliveries or postpone their travel so as not to slow down the pace of the company. This party will travel as slowly as it needs to, and they will have the water they need to sustain them at every step.
Those whom God intends to bring back to you will come to you at their own pace, and they will bring new life into your midst. They are the firstborn, returning to their ancestral home.

Responsorial Psalm                                 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

In this psalm, the theological theme of restoration is knitted together with the theme of rejoicing. The product is one of the grandest, most eloquent lyrical prayers in the Psalter.
Psalm 126 is one of a collection of poems (Psalms 120-134) known as the "Songs of Ascents." These most likely did not all originate from a single source or for some unified purpose, but were rather collected together for some common use While interpreters cannot be one-hundred percent sure, the best guess is that the psalms of ascents were collected together in order for the faithful to use when they made pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Although one should not press the metaphor, one can make an analogy between the ancient pilgrimages that Israelites made to Jerusalem and the modern preparations that Christians make during Advent for Christmas.
The psalm has two stanzas (vv. 1-3; 4-6). Similar to the way in which Psalm 85 begins, the first stanza of Psalm 126 recalls God's past acts of restoration (v. 1) and the emotions of joy and celebration of laughter that accompanied those saving acts. The temporal clause with which the psalm begins, "When the Lord restores the fortunes of Zion," most likely has in mind the return of the people to the land following the Babylonian exile. But within the broader biblical narrative, the phrase calls many divine restorations to mind:

the restoration of Sarah to Abraham
the restoration of Joseph to Jacob and his brothers
the restoration of the people to the land after the Exodus
the restoration of the ark to the people after the Philistines captured it
the birth of the Messiah; the restoration of Jesus to his parents
the resurrection

The phrase, "we were like men dreaming," conjures to the imagination both theological and emotional meaning. In terms of theological content, "those who dream" are prophets--those who receive visions from God (see Joel 2:28-29). The meaning, then, is that the divinely wrought restoration includes the re-opening of the lines of communication between God and people. In terms of the emotional content, "those who receive visions" often experience and express ecstatic joy--like David dancing beside the ark as it was brought into Jerusalem. The picture, then, is of spontaneous and uncontainable joy: " Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing.”
The first stanza also contains what is considered to be perhaps the most surprising testimony concerning God's gracious deeds in the entire Old Testament. The nations--that is, the people who worship other gods and often threaten Israel (cf. Psalm 124:2)--praised God. The very people who, during the years in Babylon, looked upon God's people and "were astonished at him−so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals−these very nations witnessed the restoration of the people to their land and to their God and they said, "The Lord has done great things for them!" Thinking ahead to the New Testament, one is reminded of the non-Israelite magi coming to worship the one who was born "King of the Jews," or the Roman centurion who announced, "Truly this man was God's Son!"
Even more surprising, the nations' testimony to God's deeds inspires Israel to respond with its own testimony, repeating the words of the nations verbatim: "The Lord has done great things for us" (v. 3). Often in the psalms, the enemies' words are quoted as reason for God to punish them (see, for example, Psalm 10:12-14 or the ending of Psalm 137). Here, the words of the nations are quoted approvingly. Even more shockingly, the people of God then repeat the words of the nations. Why? Because God's gracious and faithful acts of restoration are so self-evident, even the blind nations can see them. And because the blind nations see those acts, the often-even-more blind people of God can see them, too.
The second stanza develops the themes introduced in the first stanza and rephrases them in the form of renewed appeals for restoration (this is similar to the structure of Psalm 85, lacking only the set of promises with which Psalm 85 culminates). The people ask God to restore them once again, in order that they may rejoice yet again.
The psalm paints bountiful images:

Dry river beds coursing with torrents of water
Farmers weeping as they plant because they did not expect a harvest
Those same farmers singing joyfully as they harvest, because creation has produced an unlooked-for bounty
Those same farmers bearing heavy sheaves of produce as they return home from the fields

These images may reflect a prayer for rescue from drought, but they also may simply be metaphors for a people in need of God's restoring actions in many different crises--crises of spiritual drought, of national military defeat, of plague, etc.
It should be emphasized that the closing verses of the psalm are an appeal couched in the form of imaginative wishes: "May those who...." The Advent people who approach Christmas recall God's restorative acts in the past. They recall the testimony of the nations to God's deliverance. They recall their own joy. And they know that until the Son of God comes again, we will be in constant and everlasting need of God's continued restoration.

Reading 2 Heb 5:1-6

Christ was first identified as high priest in 2:17, and 4:14-16, part of a previous lectionary text, which presented the basic idea and implications of Jesus being high priest.
But it is not until today's passage that Hebrews begins to really make the case for Jesus being high priest. After a brief digression, the argument is picked up again in chapter 7 and continues from there through chapter 10. Our passage has two sections to it: Verses 1-4 give the definition of and criteria for being a priest and verses 5-10 show how Christ meets these criteria.
The first verse gives the defining function of a high priest, offering sacrifices for sin. While the Jewish high priest played other roles, too, this function is the only one of real concern in Hebrews. Hebrews especially focuses throughout on the high priestly activities on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the annual ritual where the high priest would atone for the sins of the Jewish people (see Leviticus 16).
Verses 2-3 emphasize a high priest's solidarity with sinners. Verse 2 gives the positive side that a high priest can sympathize with sinners because he himself has experienced weakness. This aspect of Jesus' character was presented in 2:9-18 (especially verses 17-18), revisited in 4:15-16, and will be elaborated later in our passage, verses 7-9. Verse 3 gives the negative side, that because a high priest is himself a sinner he must atone "for his own sins as well as for those of the people" (Leviticus 16:6 covers this requirement). This negative side will provide a key contrast with the sinless Jesus, a point already mentioned in 4:15 and to be elaborated in 7:26-28.
Verse 4 specifies an important prerequisite for anyone to take on the role of high priest: The high priest must be called by God. The original high priest Aaron is the quintessential example, whose calling is recounted in detail in the Old Testament (see Exodus 28:1, 40:12-15; Leviticus 8:1-12; Numbers 18:1-20), and to whom the story of the false claimant Korah and company provides a key counter-example (Numbers 16:1-35).
In actuality, the history of the high priesthood was an inglorious one, the office having become highly politicized, especially in the Maccabean and Roman periods that led into the time of Jesus. Opposition to the corrupt priesthood was one of the factors that led to the formation of the dissident Qumran community, locus of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Christ's divine appointment to the high priesthood is explained briefly in verses 5-6 (and at much greater length in chapter 7). To twenty-first century readers, the passage's explanation will likely be baffling. The author simply quotes verses from the middle of two different psalms and viola -- we have Jesus as high priest!
The key for the original audience was that both psalms, Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, were widely recognized as messianic prophecies, so it would have been natural for the audience to apply these two verses to Jesus (see Mark 12:35-37 for an important application of Psalm 110; in Hebrews Psalm 110 has been used already in 1:13). The first quote (Psalm 2:7) establishes the Messiah as God's Son; Hebrews already quoted the verse for this very purpose in 1:5. The second quote (Psalm 110:4) is where the priesthood comes in explicitly.
To fully explain how Hebrews applies Psalm 110:4 to Jesus' status as high priest would require a full study of chapter 7, but to summarize briefly: Jesus could not be a regular Jewish priest because, as the Messiah, he is from the tribe of Judah, whereas priests must come from the tribe of Levi. The character of Melchizedek, however, provides an alternative priesthood.
Melchizedek is an obscure figure who appears in the story of Abraham in Genesis 14:17-20. He is said to be both a king and a "priest of God Most High." He appears nowhere else in scripture until his name shows up in this psalm, where the addressee of the psalm -- understood by Jews of this period to be the Messiah -- is said to be a priest in his order. Hence we have the basis for the Messiah to be identified as a high priest, despite the non-Levite ancestry. Particularly important for Hebrews is that he is said in the verse to be a priest "forever," which connects nicely to Christ's immortal post-resurrection status, and which provides a contrast with the mortality of the Levitical priests.
That Jesus' cries to be saved from death were "heard" refers to the resurrection -- he was saved, but only after experiencing death first! Language about Jesus learning obedience and being made perfect (verse 9) often surprises readers today, but the author clearly does not see this as compromising Jesus' sinlessness (see 4:15).
Rather, his being "made perfect" refers to the fact that in order for Jesus to be a high priest, he had to share in the experiences of those he represented -- hence he had to suffer. Being perfected means being fitted properly to the role of high priest, and this required suffering. This was described in 2:5-11. The ultimate purpose of Jesus becoming high priest is given at the end of verse 9: "He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." It takes an eternal high priest to bestow eternal salvation!

Gospel Mk 10:46-52

Today we continue to read from Mark’s Gospel. In this Gospel, we find evidence of Jesus’ fame in the sizable crowd that accompanies him as he journeys to Jerusalem. Jesus’ reputation as a healer has preceded him. When the blind man, Bartimaeus, hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, he calls out to him, asking for his pity.
When Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, the crowd around him tries to silence him. Yet Bartimaeus persists, calling out more loudly and with greater urgency. He will not be silenced or deterred from getting Jesus’ attention. We notice how quickly the crowd’s reaction changes when Jesus calls for Bartimaeus. Those who sought to quiet him now encourage him.
When Jesus restores Bartimaeus’s sight, no elaborate action is required. (In other healing stories in Mark’s Gospel, actions accompany Jesus’ words). In this instance, Jesus simply says that Bartimaeus’s faith has saved him. Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the success of Jesus’ healing power has often been correlated with the faith of the person requesting Jesus’ help. For example, it is because of her faith that the woman with the hemorrhage is healed. When faith is absent, Jesus is unable to heal; we see this after his rejection in Nazareth.
Once his sight has been restored, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. In Mark’s Gospel, Bartimaeus is the last disciple called by Jesus before he enters Jerusalem. Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, but he calls out to Jesus using words of faith—“Son of David.” Many in Jesus’ time believed that the anticipated Jewish Messiah would be a descendent of King David. Bartimaeus’s words prepare us for the final episodes of Mark’s Gospel, which begin with Jesus’ preparation for the Passover and his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. As Mark has shown us in our readings over the past few Sundays, however, Jesus will be the Messiah in a way that will be difficult for many to accept. Jesus will show himself to be the Messiah through his suffering and death.

Cut and paste the below link to see a video of the healing of Bartimaeus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_00PM3bdCME

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think back to when you were a young person what is something you might have asked your parents to do for you? (to drive you to a dance or sporting event, permission to meet your friends, and so on) When you want your parents to help you in these ways, how many times did you ask? If the first answer was no, did you ask again? Why or why not? (Why do we keep asking? (because asking works, because we know that our parents care about us and want to make us happy, and so on)
We were very persistent with our parents, especially when we wanted them to do something for us. We continue to ask because we know how much our parents love us and they want us to be happy. In today’s Gospel, we hear how a blind man’s persistence in asking Jesus for help was rewarded.
What does Bartimaeus do when he hears that Jesus was passing by? (He calls out, asking Jesus to have pity on him.) Why must he be persistent in calling out to Jesus? (Some people in the crowd are telling him to be quiet.) What does Bartimaeus do? (He calls out to Jesus all the more.) When Jesus stops and calls for him, what does Jesus do and say? (He restores Bartimaeus’s sight; Jesus tells Bartimaeus that his faith has saved him.)
Bartimaeus continues to call out to Jesus because he believes that Jesus will heal him. Jesus' words to Bartimaeus tell us that our persistence in prayer is a sign of our faith that God wants to save us.
What do you think this might teach us about prayer? (We should be persistent in our prayer, continuing to bring our needs to God; we should pray with confidence, trusting that God wants to help us.)
Say some prayers of petition and then say “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on us.” Conclude with the Glory Be to the Father.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

================================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                    Jer 31:7-9

Imagine living in Germany from the beginning of the 20th century through World War II. The nation was at its cultural and economic height, only to fall to the great loss of its population and its economic stability, only to fall into the evils of Nazism. If you can imagine such a life, you can walk for a few moments in the shoes of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was born in the time of the last true reform kings, Josiah. At the end of his life, the nation was in ruins from the Babylonian invasion. He was forced into exile and died on foreign soil. But his writings rose above cynicism and despair. Even though he would not see the day, Jeremiah saw rays of hope in the darkness.
In Chapter 31, Jeremiah wrote that God would save Judah from Babylon and restore his people's glory. The small people would brag with the great; the small portion of the population (i.e., the "remnant") would go home [7].
Even though Babylon was due east, the people would return home from the north, via the Fertile Crescent [8] (the land directly east is desert). Others would return, primarily from the west (Egypt and the Mediterranean). (Why were Jews spread out throughout the known world? By this time, Judah was a merchant nation, importing and exporting between the north and Egypt, between the east and the Mediterranean world. Many Jews settled in foreign lands to watch over their economic interests.) Those who did return would become one with the weak and marginal who stayed behind. The returning would find peace [9], for God was their father.
We live in times of rapid change; tomorrow is no more certain than yesterday. The message we need for this world is hope in God. He will see us through these times with his gift of peace.

Responsorial Psalm                                 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

Some days are better than others. Sometimes we wake up and our bodies creak or our spirit seems low. But, there are days when the sun warms us and our hearts are filled with joy. These are the days when we raise our hearts and hands to God, and say, "Thank you!"
Psalm 126 was one of those "good day" psalms. It praised God for leading the faithful through tough and lean times. Two themes of thanks are interwoven in the psalm: 1) the restoration of the nation (126:1b) and 2) the celebration that looked forward to rain and a bountiful harvest (126:4, 6). Taken together, the psalm might have been written after the return of exiles from Babylon and the restoration of the Temple; it could have also been a psalm written for the feast of Tabernacles, a joyous feast in early Autumn that celebrated the harvest. The agricultural analogy in 126:4-6 could not be missed; 126:4 was an implicit prayer for rain (restore the desert with a shower), while 126:5-6 compared the recovery of the mourner (the spirituality of the Babylonian Exile?) with that of the farmer who had a great harvest.
As we grow older, our bad days might outnumber our good days, but we should always remember that good days are ahead. In the spirit of Psalm 126, we should thank God for the good days and look forward to better days. This is the essence of the second theological virtue: hope.

Reading 2                                                   Heb 5:1-6

What did it take to do a job? Especially if the job was High Priest before God?
The author of the Hebrews used the job description of High Priest to heighten the role Christ played in salvation. In 5:1-4, the author painted the role of High Priest: 1) as mediator between God and people, 2) in a pastoral sense to deal with the ignorant and the morally wavering, 3) as a worship leader among (not above) the people, and 4) as one called by God. This is a good description of the role of an understanding and prayerful man of God. But the difference between the role of a good High Priest and Christ was one of human weakness. A good High Priest was painfully aware of his own sinfulness. And his own need for forgiveness, just like the people. While Christ did not sin, he did empathize with people because he was tempted. So, in this sense he could be the perfect High Priest, since he fulfilled every function, including his assumed weakness. Christ may have been the Son of God and Eternal High Priest, but he was still one of us in every single way, but one. Sin.
God calls us to join the priesthood of his Son. We are to pray with and for others, while we understand their weakness. For we ourselves are weak. And we depend upon the strength of God.

Gospel                                                          Mk 10:46-52

When he heard that Jesus was approaching, the blind beggar called out to set Jesus up for a cure [47-48]. The title "Son of David" could have referred to Jesus' great ancestor; it could also have referred to Solomon, the wisest man in Jewish history. According to the popular image of the Galilean preacher, Jesus possessed God's wisdom with his teaching, for he had God's power with his healing. So, he had the spirit of Solomon. In either case, however, the blind beggar used the title of honor as bait. Unlike the Pharisees and scribes, the beggar did not seek to discredit Jesus in order to build up his own honor. The beggar simply wanted to have his sight and his place in society returned to him. Unlike the Pharisees' challenges, fulfilling the blind man's challenge would increase the honor of both men.
In the time of Jesus, the phrase "have mercy" meant to pay debts; when the debtor paid his or her creditor, he or she was "having mercy" on the creditor. Through God's eyes, the healthy and the well-off have a social debt to pay to the sick and the poor. In his cry for mercy, the blind man was really challenging Jesus: "Hey, wise man, pay your social debt and cure me!"
No wonder Jesus' disciples wanted to shut him up. What an embarrassment! But that did not stop the tenacious man [48]. When Jesus recognized his plea (and challenge), the social embarrassment became encouragement [49-50]. Jesus asked and responded to the man's request for sight [51].
Unlike last week's gospel, where James and John requested leadership, this week the blind man requested sight. Unlike the physical, spiritual "sight" is the ability to see the greater picture, to see events through God's eyes. Lacking physical sight, Bartimaeus already had this spiritual gift; Jesus' disciples did not. That is why Jesus could say to Bartimaeus: "Your faith has saved you." Jesus equated spiritual sight with faith.
Jesus also tells the cured man: "Go your way." But at the point Bartimaeus called upon Jesus, he became a follower along the way of Jesus (whether he knew it or not). That is why Bartimaeus did not go home, but followed Jesus on his Way (another buzz phrase for "Christianity").
=================================================================

Sunday October 20, 2024 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 146

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                         Is 53:10-11

The LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness
of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Reading 2                                                         Heb 4:14-16
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                         Is 53:10-11

The central movement of the Suffering Servant poem in Isaiah 53:4-12 is from humiliation to exaltation, from shame to honor, from weakness to greatness.
From Weakness to Greatness: Individual Servants
This movement is a recurring pattern in the ways of God throughout Scripture. God chose a humble elderly immigrant and his barren wife to be the primary vehicle of God's blessing "to all the families of the earth" (Genesis 12:1-3). God regularly chose the younger and less likely sibling over the usually preferred elder brother as God's specially chosen and exalted servant: Isaac over Ishmael (Genesis 17:15-19), Jacob over Esau (Genesis 25:22-26), Joseph over the other sons of Jacob (Genesis 37:1-11; 50:15-21), Judah over the first-born Reuben (Genesis 49:3-4, 8), young David over the other sons of Jesse (1 Samuel 16:10-13), King Solomon over his older brother Adonijah (1 Kings 1:22-40).
God was in the habit of raising up the weak and unlikely to lead God's cause against the strong. God called a humble and reluctant shepherd named Moses (Exodus 3:1-11; Numbers 12:3; Deuteronomy 34:10-12). God tapped Gideon, the weakest member of Israel's weakest clan, to save Israel from its oppressors (Judges 6:11-16). God appointed an insecure teenager named Jeremiah to be "a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:1-10).

God's appointment and use of these many unlikely individuals and servants stands against the backdrop of the most unlikely choice of all in the Old Testament: God's selection of the people of Israel as God's own special people and "treasured possession" among all the nations (Deuteronomy 7:6). Israel was the most unlikely of candidates for this exalted vocation. Lowly Israel was the "fewest of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7). Many other nations could claim much older and grander pedigrees as powerful and venerable empires with deep roots in history: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece. Each of these empires considered Israel an insignificant outpost, a weak province to be plundered, a humble upstart who needed to be crushed and taught a lesson from time to time.
The Servant of Isaiah 53: Individual or Collective?
All of this is important background to the suffering servant poem of Isaiah 53:4-12. Scholars debate the identity of the humiliated, marred, sick, and suffering servant who is then dramatically exalted by God. Some say the "servant" could be an individual. The suffering servant could be an anonymous and persecuted prophet of Israel. Or could the servant be Cyrus the Persian who elsewhere is called God's anointed "messiah" and "shepherd" and who overthrew Babylon and freed Israel from its exile (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1, 13)?
Others argue for a collective interpretation. The suffering servant is the whole people of Israel who suffered in exile. In exile, they were despised by the nations, but then God exalted them by freeing them from exile and returning them to their home in Jerusalem. Evidence for this position is that the people of Israel or Jacob are often called God's "servant" throughout Isaiah 40-55 (Isaiah 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 49:3). At other points in Isaiah 40-55, the "servant" seems to be an individual or a sub-group within Israel, perhaps a persecuted disciple or group of disciples of a prophet, who work to redeem and restore Israel (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9).
We are not sure why the lectioner chose only verses 10 and 11 but I think we need the background of the previous verses to understand these two. The servant will be rewarded if only he keeps the faith.
The world may wonder how much real effect the ministry of Jesus and his community can have. What good is it to preach the gospel, sing a hymn, pour water over a baby, offer a bit of bread and a sip of wine, hold a hand, speak a forgiving word, stock a food shelf, fold hands in prayer, fold clothes for the homeless, visit the sick, comfort the grieving, negotiate a conflict, advocate for the poor, carry out a daily vocation with integrity, all in the name of Christ?
The nations may scorn and despise these seemingly humble and weak ministries of Christ's church. Yet Scripture testifies that it is through such seemingly weak and foolish means that God chooses to do God's work (1 Corinthians 1:27-31). For the long and unbroken chain of God's quiet, humble and faithful servants stretching from ancient Israel to all the hidden corners of the world today, we give thee thanks and praise.

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

One of the table prayers we have used in our family has been "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food." This prayer summarizes the pattern of the psalms of praise in the Bible: it expresses praise and thanks and gives two reasons for praise and thanks: God's greatness and God's goodness.
The suggestion is that Psalm 33 is a psalm of praise with imperative plurals calling to praise (verses 1-3, "Rejoice, Praise, Sing") followed by reasons for praise, including God's greatness (verses 4-12) and God's goodness (verses 13-19). The psalm is then rounded off with an affirmation of trust (verses 20-21) and a request addressed to the Lord in "you" form (verse 22).
The Same Old Songs? (verses 1-3)
The three imperative plural verbs are addressed to the congregation: "rejoice, praise, sing." These three verses provide thought for a worship committee:
1. Worship should be joyful! (verse 1)
2. Worship may include the use of musical instruments, mentioned here for the first time in the psalms; a modern-day writer would have spoken of trumpets, trombones, guitars, harps.
3. Worship of the Creator ought to be marked by creativity. In other words, let us have a few new songs in the language and melodies of our own age! (verse 3)
4. Those leading worship ought to be well trained so that they "play skillfully." Let us worship God with the best musicians and poets we have! After all, we are following in the tradition of Johann Sebastian Bach!
5. Worship ought to be enthusiastic, even with the volume turned up! (verse 3)
Why Praise? God is Great! (verses 4-12)
Now the psalm gives some reasons for praising God. The first word of verses 4 and 9 is "for," bracketing that section as a unit. Why praise God? Because God created the whole cosmos and especially our "blue planet" with its deep blue seas. How did God do this? The psalmist picks up the notion of creation through the word. God said "let there be"—and there it was! (Genesis 1).
The "God is great" theme continues in verses 10-12 when the writer reflects on God's work in history. As the prophets make clear, God was concerned not only with what was happening in Israel and Judah! God was also involved with the great nations of their day, in the actions of Assyria, Babylon, Persian and Greece (see Amos 9:7-8, Isaiah 13-23, Jeremiah 46-51). And while God may be moving in mysterious ways in our own time, we may assume that God is also concerned about what happens in the nations of our time, Iraq or Afghanistan, Africa or Antarctica, the United Kingdom or the United States. Psalm 32 had things to say about individual happiness (32:1-2, 11). Psalm 33:12 asserts that a people whose God is the Lord -- will be blessed.
Why Praise? The Lord is Good! (verses 13-19)
I read about a priest touring a Greek Orthodox church where there was, front and center, near the ceiling, a painting of a huge eye, with a brown iris and black pupil. Our guide explained: "That painting represents the eye of God. Walk around anyplace in our sanctuary, look back and you will see that the eye of God is watching you!" Verses 13-15 declare that the Lord looks down at what is happening on our planet. Verses 18-19 promise that the Lord "keeps an eye on us." Children, as we know, love to have their parents and grandparents "keeping an eye" on them. They like be watched and praised for their accomplishments. But we think they also like the sense that someone who loves them is watching, protecting, in case anything should go wrong!
God is great, says this psalm, and God is also good. That goodness is expressed in the declaration of God's steadfast love (Hebrew, hesed; verses 5, 18). The prophet Isaiah had said that the earth was filled with the glory of God (Isaiah 6:3). This psalm says that the earth is filled -- with God's steadfast love (hesed, verse 5). Thus, we ought not locate God only high in the heavens...but think of God in terms of a cloud of amazing grace, spread throughout the entire planet! The fact that God has an eye on us is reason for fear and trust in God's steadfast love (hesed, verse 18).
In the Meantime (20-22)
The writer catches our mood as we live out our days. We can be glad because we can trust.
Finally, we can pray (and here is the third hesed) "Let your steadfast love be upon us, as we live in hope."

Reading 2                                                         Heb 4:14-16

Last week we had HEB 4:12-13 and we had added 14-16. So not much new to add so we just repeated last week’s message.
In "Glory Days," Bruce Springsteen sings of that high school baseball player who "could throw that speedball by you.
Make you look like a fool boy." So the image with which this lectionary reading from Hebrews begins--with a disturbing image, not of a speedball, but of the word of God that slices us open for inspection. The opening two verses (4:12-13) describe the power of God's word.
The writer lists several characteristics of that word. First, it is "living and active" (4:12). The writer frequently describes God as "the living God" (3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22), and here he uses the same adjective to describe God's word as one that acts and accomplishes the divine will.
Secondly, the divine word penetrates. The writer pictures the word as a sword (compare Isaiah 49:2; Wisdom of Solomon 7:22, 24; 18:15-16; Ephesians 6:17; Revelation 1:16; 2:12; 19:15). No matter how sharp a knife or dagger one might wield, the word of God cuts with even more precision as it reaches our innermost being.
Third, as the word penetrates, it judges our hearts. The role of the heart is a central feature in the sermon against unbelief (3:7--4:13). The writer quotes the psalmist's warning against hard hearts (3:8, 15; 4:7), for God laments that the wilderness generation went astray in their hearts (3:10). Since our hearts represent who we are as a whole, the condition of our hearts marks our openness to or rejection of God's voice. Thus the divine word unmasks and makes clear our faithfulness or unbelief.
The following sentence (4:13) also focuses on judgment, but the focus shifts from the divine word that judges to those of us who are judged. Nothing is hidden from the Creator whose scrutiny encompasses all of creation. God sees and knows all, and we stand accountable before God for our response to the divine word. The term "laid bare" comes from the verb "to grip in a neck-hold," an image that conveys vulnerability and peril. This stress on our exposure and accountability provides a solemn warning for all of us who hear the word of God.
Given this uncomfortable picture of our nakedness before God, we may rightly ask, "Where is the good news in this passage?" Thankfully, the text does not end here. Instead, the writer affirms Jesus' high priestly ministry to us in our need (4:14-16). That affirmation transforms the warning of the first section. Even though the word of God penetrates and exposes the deepest recesses of our hearts, we should not despair. We must give an account, a word that responds to the divine word. But in our efforts to speak, we are not left alone. There is one who has come to help us, to be our "merciful and faithful high priest" (2:17).
As the Exalted One seated at God's right hand (1:3, 13), Jesus has passed through the heavens to occupy a place of honor and glory. That status inspires us in moments of discouragement to hold on to our confession, our hope, and our confidence in God and Jesus (3:1; 10:23). We have an advocate in God's court.

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:35-45

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we continue to read from the section of Mark’s Gospel that reports Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Last Sunday we heard Jesus lament the particular challenges those with many possessions face in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus then predicts his passion to the Twelve, who are amazed and afraid. In this part of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ words to his closest disciples seem to be intended to prepare them for the events that will occur in Jerusalem.
In today’s Gospel, James and John ask to be given seats of honor when Jesus enters into his glory. Once again, the disciples seem to be selective in what they hear Jesus say. They want to share Jesus’ glory, but do not appear to understand that his glory will be preceded by his suffering. Jesus notes their lack of understanding and predicts the suffering they will endure for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus says that the honor they seek is not his to give. When the other ten hear what James and John have asked, Mark reports that they are indignant. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them.
Jesus explains the importance of service and sacrifice in the life of a disciple. In particular, he seems to be preparing the Twelve for their leadership roles in the emerging Christian community. Echoing the Gospel we heard several weeks ago (on the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mark 9:33-37), Jesus acknowledges that his teaching is countercultural. In today’s Gospel, Jesus contrasts the dynamics within the community of disciples with those shown by the rulers of the Gentiles.
Following Jesus’ example of sacrificial love continues to be countercultural in our day as well. We might take this opportunity to consider our models of authority and examine our own exercise of authority. On whose example do we model our leadership?

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

What honors do young people you know (nieces, nephews, cousins) sometimes earn for their activities and achievements? (honor roll, trophies for sports programs, prizes for contests) What symbols might we be given for these honors? (public recognition, trophies, ribbons, prizes)
In today’s Gospel, James and John seek a place of honor in the Kingdom of God. What is the symbol of this place of honor?
What is the symbol of the honor that James and John seek? (a seat at Jesus’ side when he comes in glory) What does Jesus say will be required of the people who will receive such an honor? (to suffer in the same way that Jesus will suffer) What is Jesus’ answer to James and John? (that Jesus cannot give them the honor that they seek)
In the words that follow, Jesus teaches his disciples what it will take to be great in the Kingdom of God. What does Jesus say? (that those who wish to be first in God’s kingdom must be the servants of others)
What are some honors that are given to those who serve others? (Think of St. Teresa, Soldiers etc) Do you think that people serve others in order to win prizes? (Probably not.) Then why do you think people spend their lives serving the needs of others?
Pray that we may receive honor in God’s eyes by learning to serve others in love.

============================================================

ADITIONAL NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                          Is 53:10-11

This passage takes place in the context of Isaiah 53, one of the so-called "Suffering Servant Songs." Written at the end of Babylonian Exile, these "songs" speak of God inflicting suffering upon his servant for the good of the people. While interpreters have argued over the identity of the servant, Christians have always pointed to the crucified Christ as the One who suffers for the people. Indeed, Isaiah 53 is read on Good Friday as the first reading.
Isaiah 53:10-11 speaks of the reason for suffering [10] and the reward for the servant [11]. Notice both the suffering and reward are community wide; the servant suffers for the sin of the community and the benefits of the suffering are enjoyed by the same community. Hence, the servant is a leader appointed by God (to do his will in 53:10) but rejected by people (see 53:3).
Catholics speak of Jesus as priest, prophet, and king. All three images converge in Isaiah 53. The rejected leader (king) offers himself (priest) for the good of the community; his action reveals God's will and actions (prophet).

Responsorial Psalm                                  Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

There are many reasons to praise God, but his powerful presence must rank number one. We praise God because he is the creator and we are his creatures. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving. We praise God for what he is, first of all. His activity among us comes second.
Psalm 33 praised God for what he was, not what he did for his people. It began with praise for the power of his word. As a liturgical psalm, 33:1-3 extolled the Temple musicians to "sing a new song" (a command to recognize a new activity of God among his people; see Psalm 40:4, 98:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1, Isaiah 42:1). The musicians were to praise God with a joyful chant.
In 33:4-5, the reason for praise lies in God's word. Like God himself, his word was faithful and true (terms that described the covenant God had with his people). The Lord loved those who returned fidelity in his covenant (justice and right) and he filled the earth with his presence (goodness).
33:13-15 described God as the universal judge from heaven, even over kings who claimed some sort of absolute rule (33:16-17). He blessed those who follow the covenant with sincere hearts, saving them even from death (33:18-19).
In 33:20-22, the psalm ended with a petition for blessing on those who waited for the Lord to act and trust in his power (i.e., his name).
Notice the divine attributes were inferred. God was all-knowing (33:13-15), all-powerful (33:6-7, 9), and all-loving (33:5). The name of YHWH was mentioned 13 times in the psalm; this reinforced the notion of God's position and power.
Many times, our prayer life shrinks to our own parochial concerns. My prayer is focused on myself, my needs, my wants. But is that really prayer? Isn't prayer at its roots treating God as God? Should prayer be praise for God out of a sense of awe and reverence?
Praise God. Praise God for he is our God.

Reading 2                                                         Heb 4:14-16

This study falls on the heels of last week's excursion into God's coming judgment. Hebrews 4:12-13 portrayed God's word as a sharp knife that could lay bare anyone's thought and intentions. And, the verses implied that we were under this knife as a judgment. The language of the verses painted a sacrifice by a temple priest.
Hebrews 4:14-16 followed on the image of our sacrifice/judgment with the comforting message of Jesus as High Priest. The knife was in his hand, so he could show us mercy. And, as High Priest, he could represent us before God (the throne of grace). And we could receive mercy and grace in a timely fashion. Even though he was without sin, he still endured every temptation we could receive. So, he could empathize with us.
Jesus is a compassionate figure in these verses. We should lean on his compassion as a way to grow closer to him.

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:35-45

A simple test of character is the question: "Why?" Why does the candidate seek the power a political position holds? Why does the actor seek fame in Hollywood or on Broadway? Why does the business person seek wealth or to climb up the corporate ladder? Why does the person of faith seek a position of ministry?
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with ambition in any of these fields. In fact, most people use ambition to better themselves and their surroundings. But the question must be asked: why do they seek? Do they want wealth and fame and power for themselves alone? Or do they want to use these ambitions for the greater good? These were the questions Jesus asked his followers when the subject of ambition raised its head among the Apostles.
Having heard (the discussion), the (other) ten began to become angry at James and John. Having called them towards (HIMSELF), JESUS said to them, "You know that the ones regarded as rulers of the nations show mastery over them and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not thus among you. But, whoever might want to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever might want to be the first will be the slave of all. For even the SON OF MAN did not come to be served, but to serve and to give HIS life (as a) ransom on behalf of many."

=====================================================================

Sunday October 13, 2024 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 143
Reading 1                                                         Wis 7:7-11

I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Reading 2                                                         Heb 4:12-13
Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:17-30

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                         Wis 7:7-11

The Book of Wisdom, written in the 1st century B.C. is known to us only in the Greek. It is generally held certain that Greek was the original language. For this reason it is not contained in the Hebrew Bible; nor is it in the Protestant Bible, having been discarded by Martin Luther around A.D. 1520. Because it is known that Jesus and the apostles used the Greek (Septuagint) translation of the Old Testament, Wisdom has always been considered canonical by the Catholic Church. In fact, the Muratorian Fragment (A.D. 155-200), the earliest known list of writings approved as Scripture for use in the Church at Rome, and which gives a fairly orderly treatment to the titles contained in the New Testament, includes Wisdom as a New Testament book.
The book is divided into 3 parts: 1) Wisdom & Human Destiny (chapters 1-5), 2) Solomon & The Quest For Wisdom (chapters 6-9), and 3) Wisdom At Work In History (chapters 10-19).
Today’s reading comes from the second part and describes Solomon’s (or at least the authors who borrowed his name) praying and the riches that came to him.
I prayed,
Solomon’s prayer is given in 1 Kings 3:7-9 and 2 Chronicles 1:8-10. The author’s version of this prayer is given in Wisdom 9.
and prudence was given me;
Prudence is understanding. The author develops a parallelism: Prayer – pleaded; prudence – wisdom. Solomon preferred wisdom over power, riches, health, comeliness, and light. Solomon prayed for wisdom and it came to him along with all these good things. I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, And I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
God was pleased with Solomon’s humble request, to be given wisdom to lead his people rather than riches.
Wisdom never ceases to exist (see Wisdom 7:29-30).

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Psalm 90 has often been categorized as a wisdom psalm, which, like the book of Ecclesiastes (see 3:19-20; 7:2), is very much in touch with human finitude and the brevity of human life (see also Psalms 39:4-6; 49:10-12, 16-20).
While this interpretive approach is helpful, it has often overlooked the facts that Psalm 90 is consistently addressed to God, that it is the only psalm attributed to Moses, and that it opens Book IV of the Psalter.
These facts do not imply that Moses is the author of Psalm 90, but rather that the editors of the Psalter invite readers to hear Psalm 90 as a prayer offered by Moses on behalf of the people in response to the crisis of exile that is articulated in the concluding psalm of Book III (see Psalm 89:38-51). For instance, the plea for God to "Turn" (verse 13) recalls Moses' request for God to "Turn" in Exodus 32:12 (note also that "compassion" in verse 13 represents the same Hebrew root as "change your mind" in Exodus 32:12). In short, as Moses interceded for the people in the face of God's anger over their creation of the golden calf (Exodus 32:1-6), so Psalm 90 portrays Moses as intercessor in the face of God's anger expressed in verses 7-11.
These two interpretive approaches are not mutually exclusive; and in fact, they can even be seen as complementary. In any case, Psalm 90 features the concept of time (see words or phrases related to time in verses 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16); and one of the most startling aspects of Moses' life is that, in effect, he ran out of time -- that is, he died before entering the land of promise, because God was angry with him (Deuteronomy 3:26).
Before our lection picks up at verse 12, the contrast between humanity's limited time and God's enduring time has been drawn very sharply (see verses 3-6). But Psalm 90 is not over at verse 10. Even though verse 11 repeats "anger" and "wrath" from verse 7, its mention of "the fear that is due you" hints at something more positive.
The possible wisdom orientation of Psalm 90 reminds us that, according to the sages, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; see Proverbs 1:7; Job 28:28). Thus, verse 11 anticipates verse 12, which marks the transition from the thoroughly depressing verses 3-11 to the much more hopeful verses 13-17.
But what is it that constitutes a "wise heart"? "To count our days" is an accurate literal translation; but what good would derive from simply keeping track of one toilsome, wrath-filled day after another? In this case, a more paraphrastic rendering is helpful. "Lord, teach us to make each day count, to reflect on the fact that we must die, and so become wise."
In other words, "a wise heart" involves the disavowal of autonomy; and it means the entrusting of life and future fully to God. Such "fear of the LORD" offers the courage and energy to live each day to the fullest, quite literally, for God's sake!
Such disavowal of autonomy in favor of daily dependence upon God recalls another Mosaic connection -- namely, Exodus 16 and God's daily provision of manna in the wilderness. In this regard, it may not be coincidental that the three consonants in the Hebrew word for "count" are the same ones that compose the word "manna."
In any case, daily dependence upon God is capable of transforming the human perception and experience of the passage of time. When we entrust life and future to God, then we can experience the passage of time as something other than an oppressive reality to be endured.
The concluding verses of Psalm 90 reinforce this conclusion. The "morning" can bring the fulfilling and joyful experience of God's love (verse 14; compare verses 5-6 and Psalm 89:49). Our "days" and "years" can bring gladness (verse 15; compare verse 9), not merely "toil and trouble" (verse 11). Entrusted to God, even our human "work" (twice in verse 17) can endure, insofar as it contributes to God's "work" (verse 16).
By way of God's "compassion" (verse 13) and "steadfast love" (verse 14), human time partakes of eternity. In short, when life and future are entrusted to God, there is hope. For the psalmist, the recognition of human finitude and fallibility is not finally cause for despair, but rather an occasion for prayer. And in humble, honest, faithful prayer, the psalmist arrives at the good news that the hope of the world is grounded in God's "compassion" and "steadfast love" (verses 13-14).

Reading 2                                                         Heb 4:12-13
In "Glory Days," Bruce Springsteen sings of that high school baseball player who "could throw that speedball by you.
Make you look like a fool boy." So the image with which this lectionary reading from Hebrews begins--with a disturbing image, not of a speedball, but of the word of God that slices us open for inspection. The opening two verses (4:12-13) describe the power of God's word.
The writer lists several characteristics of that word. First, it is "living and active" (4:12). The writer frequently describes God as "the living God" (3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22), and here he uses the same adjective to describe God's word as one that acts and accomplishes the divine will.
Secondly, the divine word penetrates. The writer pictures the word as a sword (compare Isaiah 49:2; Wisdom of Solomon 7:22, 24; 18:15-16; Ephesians 6:17; Revelation 1:16; 2:12; 19:15). No matter how sharp a knife or dagger one might wield, the word of God cuts with even more precision as it reaches our innermost being.
Third, as the word penetrates, it judges our hearts. The role of the heart is a central feature in the sermon against unbelief (3:7--4:13). The writer quotes the psalmist's warning against hard hearts (3:8, 15; 4:7), for God laments that the wilderness generation went astray in their hearts (3:10). Since our hearts represent who we are as a whole, the condition of our hearts marks our openness to or rejection of God's voice. Thus the divine word unmasks and makes clear our faithfulness or unbelief.
The following sentence (4:13) also focuses on judgment, but the focus shifts from the divine word that judges to those of us who are judged. Nothing is hidden from the Creator whose scrutiny encompasses all of creation. God sees and knows all, and we stand accountable before God for our response to the divine word. The term "laid bare" comes from the verb "to grip in a neck-hold," an image that conveys vulnerability and peril. This stress on our exposure and accountability provides a solemn warning for all of us who hear the word of God.
Given this uncomfortable picture of our nakedness before God, we may rightly ask, "Where is the good news in this passage?" Thankfully, the text does not end here. Instead, the writer affirms Jesus' high priestly ministry to us in our need (4:14-16). That affirmation transforms the warning of the first section. Even though the word of God penetrates and exposes the deepest recesses of our hearts, we should not despair. We must give an account, a word that responds to the divine word. But in our efforts to speak, we are not left alone. There is one who has come to help us, to be our "merciful and faithful high priest" (2:17).
As the Exalted One seated at God's right hand (1:3, 13), Jesus has passed through the heavens to occupy a place of honor and glory. That status inspires us in moments of discouragement to hold on to our confession, our hope, and our confidence in God and Jesus (3:1; 10:23). We have an advocate in God's court.

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:17-30

Today we continue reading the Gospel of Mark from where we left off last Sunday. Last Sunday our Gospel told how Jesus was tested by the Pharisees about the requirements for divorce. Recall that these chapters come from the second part of Mark’s Gospel, which chronicles the beginning of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem.
In today’s Gospel, an unnamed man approaches Jesus and inquires about what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replies that one must follow the commandments of the Law of Moses. The man acknowledges that he has observed all of these since his childhood. Jesus then says that only one thing is lacking: he must give his possessions to the poor and follow Jesus. The man leaves in sadness, and Mark tells us that this is because he had many possessions.
The belief in resurrection and eternal life was a relatively recent development in Jewish thought at Jesus’ time, and it wasn’t shared by everyone. The Pharisees taught that there would be a resurrection from the dead; the Sadducees did not share this belief. Jesus taught that there would be a final judgment for everyone and eternal life (the Kingdom of God) for believers.
Jesus makes two requirements of the wealthy man who approaches him. First, he must give up his possessions. Throughout history, some Christians have taken this literally. Their example witnesses to us a radical commitment to the Gospel of Jesus. Some have read this as a particular requirement directed to this specific individual. Still others have sought to explain the meaning intended by the word possessions as those things that prevent one from following Jesus. Christians have generally understood that at the least, following Jesus requires that believers hold material possessions loosely and remain vigilant against seeking security in accumulating possessions.
The second requirement Jesus makes of this man is the invitation that Jesus extends to all would-be disciples: “follow me.” Jesus very much wants this man to be his disciple. We believe that the Christian faith is one in which each believer is in a personal relationship with Jesus. Just as this Gospel tells us that Jesus loves the man and is sad when he departs, so too, Jesus loves us and is saddened when we are unable to follow him.
We see in this Gospel reading another example of Mark’s pattern, which shows Jesus offering further elaboration about his message and meaning to his disciples. To his disciples, Jesus laments the challenges faced by those who are rich in following him and entering the Kingdom of God. In reply to the disciples’ astonishment at the strictness of the standard that Jesus speaks about today, Jesus reminds his disciples that nothing is impossible with God. Salvation is determined by our ability to rely completely upon God.
Peter replies to Jesus by boasting that the disciples have already given up everything. Jesus acknowledges that those who have given up everything for the sake of the Gospel will be rewarded. This reward begins now, in the new community that one will gain in this life, and will continue in the eternal age to come. Our personal relationship with Jesus is also an invitation to the community of faith, the Church.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

How many possessions do you have? (probably too many to count) Are there things you own that you don’t need anymore? What do you do with these things? Throw them out? Donate to Purple Heart?
Consider books you have, ornaments, nick knacks etc. What do you do with these things? When it comes time to give these away, how easy is it for you to give them up? Sometimes it is even difficult for us to give away things we don’t use anymore.
In today’s Gospel, a man asks Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life.
What is the first part of Jesus’ answer to this man’s question? (to follow God’s commandments) What is the second part of Jesus’ answer? (to give what he has to the poor and to follow Jesus) What does the man do? (He goes away in sadness.) Why? (because he had many possessions and it was too difficult for him to give them up to follow Jesus)
Jesus is telling us that money and possessions can sometimes become more important to us than doing what God wants. Jesus wants us to be careful about our attitude toward material things. If our possessions stand in the way of loving God or loving others, it is better for us to give them away.
Pray and ask God to help you remember that doing what God wants is more important than keeping our possessions. Pray the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis.

Peace Prayer of Saint Francis  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
==============================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                         Wis 7:7-11

The inspired writer of the Book of Wisdom identifies himself with King Solomon, who has limits like all human beings despite his exalted state. For all humanity, from kings to commoners, physical life is temporal (verses 1-7). Scripture presents the young King Solomon as the epitome of the wise man. He was not born wise, but he humbly petitioned God for wisdom (1 Kng 3:5-14; 5:9-14), and God granted him the spirit of wisdom, which the young Solomon wisely preferred to the trappings of kingship and wealth. The psalmist says that spiritual gifts are superior to material things, using ten comparisons to make that point (verses 8-10).

But what does the Bible tell us it means to possess wisdom? It means allowing oneself to be guided by the commands of God and acknowledging His sovereignty over one's life and all humanity. Wisdom also includes an understanding of the created world and human nature. This kind of knowledge leads to the "good things" of verse 11. Therefore, the fullness of the wisdom that brings one closer to God makes life more meaningful and, therefore, more complete. The Church has always taught that there is no disunity between knowledge of reason and knowledge of faith. "Faith intervenes not to abolish reason but to bring human reason to understanding that in these events it is the God of Israel who acts" (John Paul II, Fides et ratio, 16).

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Psalm 90 is the only psalm attributed to Moses (see verse 3 and compare to Gen 2:7). The psalmist acknowledges that life is short; therefore, he asks God for a heart of wisdom to guide the brief span of his days (verse 12). He mourns the fact that it has been a long time since the Theophany of God to His people at Mt. Sinai, and he asks God how much longer the people will have to wait until God returns in some visible form to His servants (verse 13).
In the meantime, he petitions the Lord to fill His people with His kindness so they will be grateful even for the afflictions of God's divine judgments against them (verses 14-15). He also asks the Lord to give the people evidence of His works, so the people and their children will know that God is still with them (verse 16). Thus, he has confidence that there are no bad days for those who trust God because all days are good for serving the Lord. Moses ends his prayer by petitioning God's favor in establishing His works through the hands of His covenant people. God chose Israel by divine election to be His holy people and a light to the Gentiles. The psalmist (Moses) asks that the covenant people be permitted to fulfill that mission as partners in God's plan for salvation history (verses 17).
God answered the psalmist/Moses' petition for a visible return of the Lord and the visible sign of His works in the Incarnation and mission of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He performed many signs of His divine authority by healing physically and spiritually, forgiving sins, and raising the dead. His works among humanity climaxed in His death, burial, Resurrection, and Ascension, thus fulfilling God's plan to bring the promise of eternal salvation to humankind.

The PSALTER
150 Psalms divided into 5 books
Book 1   Psalms 1 - 41
Book 2   Psalms 42 - 72
Book 3   Psalms 73 - 89
Book 4   Psalms 90 – 106
Book 5   Psalms 106 - 150

Reading 2                                                         Heb 4:12-13

The inspired writer, believed by many Church Fathers and modern scholars to be St. Paul, uses the metaphor of the two-edged sword to warn the first generation of Jewish-Christians. He reminds them that they can keep nothing hidden from God, who exposes all human weaknesses and failures. Their ancestors of the first generation of the Exodus fell into sinful rebellion against God. In His judgment against them, they lost their inheritance in the Promised Land, dying in the desert wasteland. The "word of God" (verse 12) is a guide and a hope in the fulfillment of God's promises to the faithful of the new generation of the New Covenant people. If they remain faithful, they will inherit through Jesus the Son eternal rest and peace with God in the heavenly reality of the true Promised Land.

The words of God in Sacred Scripture provide a tutor and guide for our lives, and the "living Word," Jesus Christ, judges the hearts and minds of believers who seek "rest," peace in their relationship with God. Jesus said, "Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me" (Jn 12:48-50). No one can hide their secret thoughts from God, and everyone will have to render a final account of how they lived when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead (Mt 25:31-46; Rev 20:11-15; CCC 1038-41). In Sacred Scripture, the Church finds her strength and nourishment to lead humanity to eternal salvation. She embraces it not as human words but as what it truly is, the word of God (1 Thess 2:13), as He comes in love to meet, speak, and guide His children (CCC 101-104)

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:17-30

The political season is upon us. Politicians from every side promise us policies and programs to satisfy every need. Have a problem? Look around. You'll soon find a candidate that will "empower" you with a solution.
Of course, the cynic in all of us knows better. But, that skeptical piece of knowledge does not stop our inner craving for answers to our problems. Sometimes we seek the public means, sometimes private. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much money or influence we have, it does not seem to be enough. We still seek that which will make us happy, that which leaves us satisfied.
A man knelt before Jesus to find an answer to his search. What Jesus said to the man challenged the fundamental direction of his life.
As the scene opens, a man ran up to Jesus, knelt as a sign of respect, and then addressed him with the phrase "Good Master." Jesus rejected the term "good" since the title could be a trap [17-18]. But in the exchange, the man inquired about eternal life; this was a sign that the man saw the path ("journey" in 17) Jesus and his followers took as the means to eternal life. So Jesus asked about the man's moral life [19]; how had he adhered to God's law (Ten Commandments numbers 4-8)?
When the man answered in the affirmative, Jesus moved to the next step: the invitation to fellowship [21]. But the cost was high. The man must give up his possessions, not necessarily his personal wealth, but his attachments to extended family and to business. The man would be a social "orphan"; his family would be the Church.
If the man were to give up attachments, he would abandon his reliance on the mentor-client system of the ancient world. As the note above implied, mentors acted as "middlemen" between richer-ruling families and poorer-servant families. For favors bestowed by the richer families, poorer families (i.e., the "clients") would pay kickbacks, taxes, and bribes. They would also boost the reputation of the richer families, thereby cementing their higher status. Middle men between the families grew in wealth and influence as the relationship between the families became tighter.
The questioner was rich. More importantly, however, he used the mentor-client system to his advantage of his reputation. Jesus asked him to give up that system and all its perks. The man would become a typical follower.
But what would he gain? Instead of having clients, he would be a client of God the Father. Instead of having others dependent on him, he would be totally dependent upon God. This would be a true act of faith. He then would be truly ready to follow Jesus.
In the end, the man could not join Jesus and walked away. He could not give up what he took most of his life accumulating: wealth and power.

==========================================================================

Sunday October 6, 2024 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 140

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                         Gn 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him."
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman, '
for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh.

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Reading 2                                                         Heb 2:9-11

Brothers and sisters:
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                         Gn 2:18-24

The book of Genesis begins with two different but complementary stories of God's creation of the world.
Two Creation Stories and Two Portrayals of God
In Genesis 1, God is portrayed as speaking from afar, bringing order out of chaos in a well planned and carefully structured progression of six days of creation. Genesis 1 teaches us that God's intentions for creation will come to fruition in accord with God's will and desire.
When we turn to the second creation story in Gen 2:4b-25, the portrait of God is somewhat different. God gets "down and dirty" with creation, forming the human (adam) from the land or clay (adamah). God performs CPR on the newly formed lump of clay, breathing into the dirt-creature's nostrils "the breath of life." Like the crazed doctor who brings to life the lifeless Frankenstein in the film Young Frankenstein, we can imagine God exclaiming, "He's alive! He's alive!"
The image of the garden of Eden as a laboratory with God as the chief scientist engaging in trial-and-error experiments captures something of the spirit of God's portrayal in Genesis 2. Although God will finally and assuredly have God's way with the world (Genesis 1), God will also encounter unexpected challenges and try new solutions in a give-and-take in interaction with creation and its creatures (so Genesis 2).
Being Lonely: Not Good!
In Genesis 1, God had repeatedly said that everything was "good." In Genesis 2, God surveys his emerging horticultural experiment in Eden and senses something is "not good." God observes, "It's not good that the man should be alone" (2:18). God's discovery highlights what is fundamental to human nature and human flourishing: humans are social creatures who thrive in close and intimate relationships with others. Thus, God resolves to make for the single human "a helper [Hebrew: ezer] as his partner." A "helper" in the Old Testament is not a subordinate but one who may be an equal or sometimes even a superior to the one who is being helped. In fact, God is often called a "helper" to humans in need (Psalm 10:14; 54:4).
God's first experimental attempt to resolve this deficit of community is to create an array of wild animals, birds, and domestic animals as possible soul mates for the human. God marches the colorful parade of diverse wild life before the human and invites him to give names to the various creatures (2:18-20). Elephant, condor, dog, cat, kangaroo, what have you. The act of naming in the ancient world was a means of defining and shaping the character and essence of the one named. By naming the animals, the human participates with God as a co-creation, but sadly this first experiment does not work. The animals are interesting, but none of the animals fully resolves the ache and void of human loneliness.
The Second Experiment: Success at Last!
So God embarks on another experiment. God assumes the role of chief surgeon and anesthetizes the man into a deep sleep. This new attempt at finding a "helper as his partner" will not involve human co-creation this time. It will all be God's doing, a gift from God alone. God surgically removes a rib from the man's side and lovingly shapes the rib into a second human being who is "like" the man but also "opposite" him, like two puzzle pieces that fit together. The animal-as-full-partner experiment had been a bust, but this time God gets it oh so right! The man awakes and instantly recognizes the fulfillment of his deep longing in the eyes of the new "other," the woman.
For the first time in Scripture, the human speaks in the elevated language of poetic verse as a sign of the ecstasy and joy that accompanies this discovery:
This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh.
This one shall be called Woman [Hebrew ishshah]
for out of Man [Hebrew ish] this one was taken.
"At last," the search is over. The imagery of being "bone of my bones" and "flesh of my flesh" speaks of a bond between the man and woman so strong that to sever it would be as if to rip out a physical part of one's own body. The man's lyric response is the Bible's first example of love poetry but not its last. The Bible's other great celebration of human love and passion is the Old Testament book, the Song of Songs, a commentary and sequel to Genesis 2.
Love as a Fragile Gift
This marital bond is so intimate that the two "become one flesh"--naked, open to one another, vulnerable, trusting, passionate, loving, and "not ashamed" (2:24-25). This union of two lonely human beings yearning for community and finding it in one another is the great climax of the second creation story.
Unfortunately, the happy union is quickly strained and marred as the narrative suddenly and unexpectedly descends into the story of Adam and Eve's disobedience and expulsion from the garden of Eden in Genesis 3. Mutual trust, partnership, support, freedom from shame, and equality of relationship are all threatened by human disobedience in Genesis 3.
The reality and the mystery of human love is that sometimes it endures and sometimes it does not. Genesis 2 reminds us of God's original intention and desire for humans--to find in at least one other person a bond of love that runs so deeply and so intimately that we never feel alone.

Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

This, as the former, is a psalm for families. In that we were taught that the prosperity of our families depends upon the blessing of God; in this we are taught that the only way to obtain that blessing which will make our families comfortable is to live in the fear of God and in obedience to him. Those that do so, in general, shall be blessed (v. 1, 2, 4), In particular,

I. They shall be prosperous and successful in their employments (v. 2).
II. Their relations shall be agreeable (v. 3).
III. They shall live to see their families brought up (v. 6).
IV. They shall have the satisfaction of seeing the church of God in a flourishing condition (v. 5, 6).

We must sing this psalm in the firm belief of this truth, that religion and piety are the best friends to outward prosperity, giving God the praise that it is so and that we have found it so, and encouraging ourselves and others with it.
It is here shown that godliness has the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
It is here again and again laid down as an undoubted truth, that those who are truly holy are truly happy.. God blesses them, and his pronouncing them blessed makes them so. They are blessed now, they shall be blessed still, and forever. This blessedness, arising from this blessing, is here secured.
That, by the blessing of God, they shall get an honest livelihood and live comfortably upon it. It is not promised that they shall live at ease, without care or pains, but, What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be blessed and prosper.
Here is a double promise,

That they shall have abundance of comfort in their family-relations. As a wife and children are very much a man's care, so, if by the grace of God they are such as they should be, they are very much a man's delight, as much as any creature-comfort.
The wife shall be as a vine by the sides of the house, not only as a spreading vine which serves for an ornament, but as a fruitful vine which is for profit, and with the fruit whereof both God and man are honored, Jdg. 9:13. The vine is a weak and tender plant, and needs to be supported and cherished, but it is a very valuable plant, and some think (because all the products of it were prohibited to the Nazarites) it was the tree of knowledge itself. The wife's place is the husband's house; there her business lies, and that is her castle. Her place is by the sides of the house, not under-foot to be trampled on. She shall be fruitful as the vine, not only in children, but in the fruits of wisdom, and righteousness, and good management, the branches of which run over the wall (Gen. 49:22; Ps. 80:11), like a fruitful vine, not cumbering the ground, nor bringing forth sour grapes, or grapes of Sodom, but good fruit.
The children shall be as olive plants, likely in time to be olive-trees, and, though wild by nature, yet grafted into the good olive, and partaking of its root and fatness, Rom. 11:17. It is pleasant to parents who have a table spread, though but with ordinary fare, to see their children round about it, to have many children, enough to surround it, and those with them, and not scattered, or the parents forced from them.
That they shall have those things which God has promised and which they pray for: The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, where the ark of the covenant was, and where the pious Israelites attended with their devotions. Blessings out of Zion are the best-blessings, which flow, not from common providence, but from special grace, Ps. 20:2.
That they shall live long, to enjoy the comforts of the rising generations: "Thou shalt see thy children's children, as Joseph, Gen. 50:23. Thy family shall be built up and continued, and thou shalt have the pleasure of seeing it.' Children's children, if they be good children, are the crown of old men (Prov. 17:6), who are apt to be fond of their grandchildren.

Reading 2 Heb 2:9-11

Hebrews 2:9-11 opens to us a spiritual reality that we must come to understand and appreciate if we are to make the most of this wonderful opportunity of salvation that God gave to us completely unbidden. Because of our disobedience and the resulting curse of death placed on us, we could never experience what is said of us in Psalm 8:4-8, which the author of Hebrews refers to here. However, Jesus suffered death and gained the victory for us. As a result, He wears the crown of glory and rules the universe. We know this Being as God-in-the-flesh, but the author uses His earthly name, Jesus, so that we can see the historical setting of His victory.
"Jesus" calls to mind the concept of salvation, as it means "savior." The author writes that Jesus accomplished the redemption of His people by "tasting] death," not—interestingly—by merely "dying." To taste death is a graphic illustration of the painful way He suffered and died. He was not spared this excruciating trauma because He was the Son. He experienced suffering, both physical and emotional, to the very marrow of His bones.
In Hebrews 2:10, we find that the "everyone" of verse 9 is, in realty, not in this context the whole world, but it is limited to the "many sons" being brought to glory—in other words, the church. He bore the suffering that should have come upon us as the wages of our sins. He is the Author, the Pioneer, the Trailblazer, the Forerunner, going before us to our salvation. He is the One clearing the path, as it were, as we make our way following our calling. In Hebrews 12:2, He is called "the author and finisher [or perfecter] of our faith." The Father made Him pass through gruesome suffering in our behalf.
He completed His preparation for the responsibility that He now holds as our High Priest; the Father has charged Him with the task of preparing many others to share life with them in the Kingdom of God. Jesus, therefore, is the One who makes men holy. The path to sanctification lies in obedience to doing God's will, and that obedience is to be given out of gratitude because one understands and knows the Father and Son from within an intimate relationship (John 17:3).

Gospel Mk 10:2-16
Today we continue to read from the Gospel according to Mark. For the past three Sundays, we have been hearing Mark’s reports of conversations between Jesus and his disciples. Recall that in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus uses these private moments to teach his disciples in greater detail about the Kingdom of God. Beginning with today’s Gospel, Jesus returns to Judea, Jewish territory, and resumes his public ministry. The first verse of chapter 10 of Mark’s Gospel tells us that crowds gathered around Jesus, and he taught them, as was his custom. Immediately, the Pharisees approach Jesus to test him.
The Pharisees question Jesus about the lawfulness of divorce. Under specific conditions, divorce was an accepted practice among the Jewish people during the time of Jesus. It was regulated by the Law of Moses, as found in Deuteronomy 24:1-5. This law only permits that a husband may divorce his wife if he finds her to be indecent. This is the justification that the Pharisees reference when Jesus inquires about the commandment of Moses. In reply, Jesus quotes from the Book of Genesis and counters that God’s original intention was that men and women would become one flesh in marriage. Jesus describes the teaching of Moses as a concession made to God's original intention because of human stubbornness.
In private, Jesus’ disciples question him further about this teaching on divorce. It is to his disciples that Jesus lays out the implications of his teaching by explaining that remarriage after divorce is adultery. Jesus’ teaching was more restrictive than the teaching of the Pharisees, which permitted remarriage. Jesus further distinguished his teaching from the cultural norms of his time by applying his words equally to men and women. Jewish culture permitted only that a husband may divorce his wife. Wives were not permitted to divorce their husband for any reason, including adultery.
At first glance, the final part of today’s Gospel seems unconnected to the previous teaching about divorce. When read together, however, these passages present a strong picture of Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of family. God intended for women and men to be joined together in marriage. Among the purposes of marriage is the raising of children. By welcoming children and fostering their relationship with God, parents and families bear witness to the Kingdom of God.
At the end of today’s Gospel, the people were bringing their children to Jesus, and again Jesus’ disciples show that they just don’t get it. Recall that in the Gospel for each of the past two Sundays, Jesus has taught his disciples the value and importance of these “little ones” in the Kingdom of God. Yet in today’s Gospel, the disciples try to prevent people from bringing their children to Jesus. Jesus reprimands his disciples and welcomes these children. Again Jesus offers these children as an example of the kind of complete trust and dependence upon God that ought to be the attitude of all believers.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about how relationships are portrayed in songs, books, or TV shows.
Some of the messages about love and relationships sound very romantic. But making a long-term commitment to another person is a difficult thing. People succeed only with God’s help and grace. This grace is celebrated in the Sacrament of Marriage. Jesus sent a strong message about the importance and strength of this commitment in today’s Gospel.
What does Jesus say about the marriage relationship in today’s Gospel? (that God joins man and woman in marriage; that in marriage, man and woman become one flesh; that what God has brought together may not be separated by human beings) The disciples question Jesus further about this teaching. Why do you think they ask Jesus about this again? (because they find this teaching challenging because Jesus is being more strict than the Pharisees, and so on)
What scene is described at the end of today's Gospel? (Jesus welcoming the children)
It seems like these two scenes are unrelated, but hearing them together teaches us something very important. God wants to help us honor our commitments to one another. To do this, we must be like children before God, trusting him completely and depending upon his help. The Church teaches us that the Sacrament of Marriage strengthens our commitment and gives married couples the gift of the Holy Spirit to help them honor their promises to one another.
Pray that God will strengthen the commitment of married couples and help them honor and respect one another. Pray Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s prayer, the Suscipe.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.
=================================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                         Gn 2:18-24

This reading focuses upon the place of marriage in the plan of creation.
Genesis 2:18-24 represents the height of the second creation story in Genesis. The first creation story (Genesis 1) begins with water and the furthest reaches of the (then known) universe. Over the course of seven days, creation becomes closer and closer until it touches the person in the creation of man and woman. (One can think of this story as "creation by the sea.")
In the second creation story (Genesis), a desert appears. God orders a spring to appear and, from the mud of the sand and the water, he creates the first human being. But, God realizes the loneliness of the first person [18], so he creates animals and plant life [19]. In giving the animals and plant life names, the first person defines their power in purpose in creation [19-20]. In this sense, the first person was God's "co-creator." But even this activity does not satisfy the first person's loneliness [20].
Up to this point, the first person did not have a sexual function; the word "man" is used in a generic sense for "human being." Only with the deep sleep and the removal of the rib [21] did the first person become male. God creates the woman and presents her to the man [22]; the man repeats the "creation naming" [19-20] by giving his partner a name (and a function) [23]. This is the high point of the second creation story God creates while man "co-creates."
The editorial comment about marriage [24] only defines the previous passage. The fullness of humanity is expressed in the marriage bond. Marriage is the exercise of co-creation with God. A good marriage brings happiness and joy to the couple; loneliness is banished.
Marriage has taken a beating in our culture, but it will never completely disappear. The second creation story speaks a universal truth; marriage is the world-wide symbol of human fulfillment.


Responsorial Psalm                                   Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

This short psalm was a beatitude for the humble, Law-abiding family man. The man in awe of the Lord would prosper, have a "proper," child-bearing wife (hidden in the family's compound), and children who would surround the father at the table. (Notice the two agricultural analogies: the vine represented the fertile wife bearing many children and the olive plants represented the productive off-spring to bring the father wealth.) The form of Psalm 128:1b-4 was "A-B-A," where the man feared the Lord (1b and 4) would prosper with wife and many children.
This man would receive the blessing of the Temple and share in the festivities of Jerusalem. The end of the blessing wished the man long life to see his grandchildren.
The invocation of "Shalom" for Israel concluded the psalm.
In context, this "song of ascents" was prayed over the pilgrim at sacrifice in the Temple. The priest who received the offering blessed the faithful man. 128:5-6 indicated this blessing may have been invoked before the pilgrim left. In any case, the psalm presented the ideal lay man: prosperous, yet humble with a faithful, fertile wife and many children. In the eyes of the psalmist, this pilgrim would see his grandchildren and live to a ripe old age.
Notions about the ideal lay person have changed. Women have an equal place with men. Children are treasured and nurtured, not exploited for their productivity. Yet, the idea of family as a blessing remains. God uses the family to bless parents. Every parent prays they will see their grandchildren. (Some of us actually reach that point!). Some of us even get to see Great-grandchildren. What a blessing!!

Reading 2                                                         Heb 2:9-11

The author offered some unique answers. One of those answers lies in "salvation history." This concept was uniquely Jewish, for it saw cosmic history as chronological time with a beginning and an end (not as a series of endless cycles of nature). It also saw God as the author of time (in the beginning, everything came from God and, in the end, everything would return to God). Finally, it saw God active within time and history. The faceless God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the "living "God, a God to be personally experienced not made an object in stone as an idol.
The author of Hebrews placed Jesus into the center of salvation history. He was the instrument and reason for the cosmos [2:10]. He came from God yet humbled himself to be born as one of us and to die as we all will [2:9]. Yet, his death would be salvific. Through his suffering and death, he would destroy death and offer everyone a relationship with God [2:9-10]. And, through the same means, he would raise the status of all he saved, for he would call them "brothers." [2:11]
The author of Hebrews presented us with the "Big Picture." Jesus came from God at the beginning of time and in the Incarnation. And would return to God through his Resurrection-Ascension and at the end of time when he would destroy all evil and return creation back to his Father. Jesus was the sign that God was at work in the world in a definitive way. As another human being, Jesus gave us a tactile way to experience God. Yet, he transcends our world to become the Savior of all.

Gospel                                                              Mk 10:2-16

Having come, the Pharisees were asking HIM, testing HIM, "Is it permitted (in the Law) for a man to dismiss a woman (in divorce)?" "Testing him" is actually at the end of the sentence. Unlike English, placement of the participial phrase was not critical, since the endings in Greek would connect the phrase to the subject (the Pharisees). Mark placed the phrase after the question to indicate the dubious intent of the subjects.
The men were able to write a document to set (his marriage) aside and to dismiss (his wife)." Mosaic Law allowed a man to write a divorce document in the presence of witnesses. Then the man would present it to his wife, with the words: "Here is your bill of divorce."
Jesus inferred that Moses allowed divorce because the Israelites were too obstinate to accept his will.
Jesus said "he will be joined to his woman." The verb "will be joined to" is literally, "will be glued to." Jesus indicated God's command, like all his other commands, had a permanent status. The phrase itself has brackets, indicating scholars dispute whether it was original or not.
"The two will become one flesh.' So, they are no longer two but one flesh." Jesus used the phrase "unity of flesh" twice, once from Genesis 2:24, once for emphasis. The union of flesh did not refer to sexual union, per se, but to the union of the wife to the husband's family. Through the marriage, the husband's wife now had a rightful place in her mate's clan. The writer of Genesis clearly saw the wife had a necessary and vital role in society, for marriage created and strengthened clans, the bedrock of ancient society. Jesus saw divorce not only as an injustice to the woman (who would be thrown out of the clan to live a homeless existence). He saw divorce as a danger to society itself. Since Jews believed the structure of society was divinely ordained, Jesus saw divorce was sin against society, almost capital in nature. Jesus' conclusion (in 10:9) reflected that belief.
10:9 "that (union) which God yoked together" The phrase "yoked together" was used in the context of marriage. Since God yoked the man and woman together, Jesus saw marriage as God's will, not man's.
At the time of Jesus there were two opinions about divorce. One opinion stated a man was free to divorce at any time and for any reason, while the other opinion stated marriage could not be dissolved.
Again, the Pharisees came to trick Jesus with a question on the Law [2]. Jesus answered a question with a question on the source of divorce from Moses, the lawgiver [3]. When the Pharisees answered, Jesus appealed to an early (and purer) reason: the point of creation! [7-9] God's original intention was for lifelong monogamy.
Why did Jesus oppose divorce, besides theological reasons? Verses 10-16 give us a clue: the effects divorce had on families, especially children. In the time of Jesus, divorced women many times ended up homeless and their children became orphans. If the divorced woman and children returned to her extended family, the family was shamed and the woman was considered a failure.
Why did Jesus consider remarriage as "adultery" [10-12]? Many times, adultery was used as a social weapon against a married man or family; adultery caused scandal and shame. Remarriage could have the same result, especially if a man divorced his wife to marry for lust or social status. Such reasons did not coincide with God's original purpose; hence they were sinful (i.e., "adulterous.").
13 (People) were bringing HIM small children that HE might touch them. But the disciples rebuked (the people). 14 Having seen (this happen), JESUS was angry, and said to them, "Permit the small children to come to ME. Do not hinder them. For, one like this belongs to the Kingdom of God 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a small child will not, by no means, enter it." 16 Having embraced them, HE blessed (the children), setting his hands on them.
10:13 "small children" could mean anyone from infancy to age 12.
"he might touch them" the people wanted Jesus to bless their children.
10:15 "Amen, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a small child will not, by no means, enter it." Jesus made an emphatic statement in two ways. First he used the formula "Amen, I say to you." Second, he used a double negative for the main verb (translated as "will not, by no means"). Jesus' point was clear. Those who entered the Kingdom must have the status of a child, that of a slave. Any reference to childlike qualities (like innocence, trust, love, etc.) would be secondary in importance.
The scene ends with Jesus blessing the children. We discussed the status of children and the leadership of the Church several Sundays ago. But it is well worth noting that parenthood is a call to service, like leadership in the Church. Parents are to be last; personal interests of the mother or father give way to the good of the family. Children are to be blessed [16] not rebuked [13]

======================================================================
Sunday September 29, 2024 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 137

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                          Nm 11:25-29

The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.
Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,
the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;
and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.

Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,
were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.
They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;
yet the spirit came to rest on them also,
and they prophesied in the camp.
So, when a young man quickly told Moses,
"Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, "
Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’aide, said,
"Moses, my lord, stop them."
But Moses answered him,
"Are you jealous for my sake?
Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!

Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14

R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
Yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
.
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
.
Reading 2                                          Jas 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

Gospel                                               Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

At that time, John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                          Nm 11:25-29

We have here the performance of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel.

Here is the case of the seventy privy-counsellors in general. Moses, though a little disturbed by the tumult of the people, yet was thoroughly composed by the communion he had with God, and soon came to himself again. He did his part; he presented the seventy elders before the Lord, round the tabernacle, that they might there stand ready to receive the grace of God, in the place where he manifested himself, and that the people also might be witnesses of their solemn call. Note, Those that expect favor from God must humbly offer themselves and their service to him. God was not wanting to do his part. He gave of his Spirit to the seventy elders, which enabled those whose capacities and education set them but on a level with their neighbors all of a sudden to say and do that which was extraordinary, and which proved them to be actuated by divine inspiration: they prophesied, and did not cease all that day, and (some think) only that day. They discoursed to the people of the things of God, and perhaps commented upon the law they had lately received with admirable clearness, and fullness, and readiness, and aptness of expression, so that all who heard them might see and say that God was with them. Thus, long afterwards, Saul was marked for the government by the gift of prophecy, which came upon him for a day and a night.
Here is the particular case of two of them, Eldad and Medad, probably two brothers.
They were nominated by Moses to be assistants in the government, but they went not out unto the tabernacle as the rest did. Most think that they declined coming to the tabernacle out of an excess of modesty and humility; being sensible of their own weakness and unworthiness, they desired to be excused from coming into the government. Their principle was their praise, but their practice in not obeying orders was their fault.
The Spirit of God found them out in the camp, where they were hidden among the stuff, and there they prophesied, that is, they exercised their gift of praying, preaching, and praising God, in some private tent. Note, The Spirit of God is not tied to the tabernacle, but, like the wind, blows where he listens. There was a special providence that these two should be absent, for thus it appeared that it was indeed a divine Spirit which the elders were actuated by, and that Moses gave them not that Spirit, but God himself. They modestly declined preferment, but God forced it upon them; nay, they have the honor of being named, which the rest have not: for those that humble themselves shall be exalted, and those are most fit for government who are least ambitious of it.

Joshua moved to have them silenced: My lord Moses, forbid them. It is probable that Joshua himself was one of the seventy, which made him the more jealous for the honor of their order. He takes it for granted that they were not under any necessitating impulse, for the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, and therefore he would have them either not to prophesy at all or to come to the tabernacle and prophesy in concert with the rest. He does not desire that they should be punished for what they had done, but only restrained for the future. This motion he made from a good principle, not out of any personal dislike to Eldad and Medad, but out of an honest zeal for that which he apprehended to be the unity of the church, and concern for the honor of God and Moses.

Moses rejected the motion, and reproved him. Though Joshua was Moses's particular friend and confidant, though he said this out of a respect to Moses, whose honor he was very loth to see lessened by the call of those elders, yet Moses reproves him, and in him all that show such a spirit. We must not secretly grieve at the gifts, graces, and usefulness of others. It was the fault of John's disciples that they envied Christ's honor because it shaded their master's.

The elders, now newly ordained, immediately entered upon their administration; when their call was sufficiently attested by their prophesying, they went with Moses to the camp, and applied themselves to business. Having received the gift, they ministered the same as good stewards. And now Moses was pleased that he had so many to share with him in his work and honor.

Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14

The song employs beautiful imagery, playful poetry, and elegant prayer-petitions. - In the first section (verses 1-6), the focus is on creation, the genre is similar to a hymn, the poetry is flexibly fluid, and the generic name for God is used.
- In the second section (verses 7-10), the focus is on God's Torah (translated as "law" but "instruction" would be better), the genre is similar to a wisdom psalm, the poetry becomes consistently formal, and the proper name of the LORD is used.
- In the third section (verses 11-14), the focus shifts to the "servant" who speaks the psalm, the genre is similar to a prayer, the poetry becomes more informal, and the proper name for the LORD continues to be used.
Most current interpreters hold that the poem is a coherent whole. The root metaphor of the psalm is speech:
Part I (verses 1-7) Creation's Speech -- praise for God
Part II (verses 8-12) Torah's Speech -- instruction of humanity
Part II (verses 13-15) Servant's Speech -- prayer to God
Psalm 19 intends to teach. The first part of the poem teaches that the heavens tell us that there is a God. The power of the creator can be known about through the paradoxical, unspoken speech of creation: "There is no speech, nor are there words; [the heavens'] voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (verses 4-5).
But the second part of the psalm teaches us who God is and what God wills. The Lord's Torah -- we would call it Scripture -- is a word that we can actually understand and gives us words to follow.
The Assigned Verses: "The Torah of the Lord is Perfect"
As already mentioned, the poetry and focus of the psalm change beginning with verse 8, which is the first verse in the psalm's second section. The focus shifts to the "Torah of the Lord." The poetry becomes rigidly regular. Each of the lines in verses 8-10 is constructed identically: noun + Lord + adjective + participle + noun.
Each phrase begins with a synonym for the Torah of the Lord -- Torah, decrees, precepts, commandment, fear, and ordinances -- are a reference to the word of God revealed in the Scriptures. Torah is not here "law" in the legal sense, but as "instruction" in a more holistic sense. This section of the poem celebrates what God has done and continues to do through the Scriptures. God revives the soul, makes wise the simple, enlightens the eye, endures forever, and is altogether righteous.
Stop a moment. Pause briefly and linger on the promise here.
The Bible is such a part of Western society that we often fail to appreciate the means of grace that Scripture is. The psalm offers poetic testimony that invites both church and synagogue to realize the miracle that we hold in our hands. And it does this by offering promises about what the Word does (revive the soul, make wise the simple, enlighten the eye, and so on).
The poem then offers two (literally) golden metaphors for the Word. It is more desirable than refined gold. It is sweeter than the golden honey of the honeycomb.
Yes, the Torah of the Lord is perfect. Yes, its laws are a gracious gift from the very God who created us -- they show us how to live and they offer pictures of what it means to love the neighbor.
As the psalmist knows, "in keeping them there is great reward" (verse 12). Reward here doesn't mean that God miraculously rewards those who keep God's law. Rather, reward here means that good things come in the very earthly keeping of the laws -- don't steal and you stay out of prison, don't kill and you won't be executed, and so on.
But, as the psalmist also knows that perfect obedience is beyond human capacity. The psalmist knows that no one "can detect their [own] errors." Therefore the psalmist prays, "Clear me from hidden faults" (verse 13).

The psalm ends with a prayer that many preachers use for the start of their sermon: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." The use of this prayer in connection with preaching begs us to wonder if even our proclamation of God's word needs God's forgiving, gracious blessing.

.
Reading 2                                          Jas 5:1-6

James returns to the principle that work must serve the needs of others. His words in the beginning of chapter 5 are scathing. He warns “the rich” to “weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you” (James 5:1). While the gold in their vaults and the robes in their closets may look as shiny as ever, James is so certain of their coming judgment that he can speak as if their riches were already decomposing: “Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted” (James 5:2–3). Their self-indulgence has succeeded only in “fattening” them “for the day of slaughter” (James 5:5). The day of slaughter seems to be a reference to the day in which God judges those whom he called to lead and care for his people, but who preyed on them instead (Zech. 11:4–7).
These rich people are doomed both for how they acquired their wealth and for what they did (or didn’t do) with it once they had it. James echoes the Old Testament as he excoriates them for their unjust business practices: “Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (James 5:4; cf. Lev. 19:13).[1]
Leviticus 19 is one of James’s favorite Old Testament passages; see Luke Timothy Johnson, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 123ff.
Money that should be in the hands of laborers sits instead in the treasuries of the landowners. And there it stays—they hoard their wealth and ignore the needy around them (James 5:3).
Business leaders must be especially diligent about paying their workers fairly. An analysis of what constitutes fair pay is beyond the scope of this discussion,
but James’s words “the wages you have kept back by fraud” (James 5:4) are an accusation of abuse of power on the part of these particular wealthy landowners. The workers were owed wages, but the rich and powerful found a way out of paying them without incurring punishment by the legal system. The rich and powerful often have means to subvert the judiciary, and it’s astonishingly easy to exercise unfair power without even recognizing it. Abuses of power include misclassifying employees as independent contractors, inaccurately registering workers in a lower skill code, paying women or minorities less for doing the same job as others, and using children for jobs so dangerous that adults refuse to do them. Misuse of power can never be excused just because it is a so-called standard practice.
James also condemns those who “have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure” (James 5:5). The question of what constitutes living in luxury and in pleasure is also complex, but it confronts many Christians in one way or another. James’s chief concern in this passage is the well-being of the poor, so the most relevant question may be, “Does the way I live enhance or diminish the lives of poor people? Does what I do with money help lift people out of poverty or does it help keep people impoverished?”

Gospel                                               Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Today we continue to read from the Gospel of Mark. Recall that last week we heard Jesus chastise his disciples for their argument about who among them was the greatest. Jesus taught them that the greatest among them will be those who serve the least ones. In today’s Gospel, the disciple John questions Jesus about an unknown exorcist who was driving out demons in Jesus’ name. John’s question might have been motivated by jealousy. Previously in Mark's Gospel, Jesus healed a boy whom the disciples had been unable to heal. John’s question is further evidence that the disciples have not yet grasped Jesus’ words to them. They continue to compare themselves to others who seem to have greater healing powers, and they do not want to share the power of Jesus’ name with others.
Today the demon possession described in the Gospels might be seen as a form of mental illness, but the need for healing these syndromes was as real then as it is now. Exorcism was a common practice in first-century Palestine. Some people had the power to heal the symptoms of possession. One of the strategies used was to invoke the name of a person or figure who was believed to have the power to heal.
The disciples observed that the unknown exorcist invoked Jesus’ name and was successful in his healing efforts. This unknown healer recognized the power of Jesus’ name, yet he was not a follower of Jesus. In his reply to his disciples, Jesus acknowledges that deeds of faith can precede the words of faith. He also teaches that the disciples should not be reluctant to share Jesus’ healing powers with others.
Later in this Gospel, Jesus teaches us not to create obstacles for those who are just beginning to have faith but to encourage even the smallest signs of faith. The Greek word used here for sin also connotes “stumbling” or “causing scandal.” In vivid terms Jesus teaches his disciples the consequences to those who would put obstacles before people who are on the road to faith.

Making the Connection

Jealousy. What does it mean to be jealous? Why might a person be jealous of another person? What are some signs that a person is jealous? (Accept all reasonable answers, but be sure that the conversation moves beyond being jealous about possessions; if needed, redirect the questions to raise the issue about being jealous of another person’s abilities or power.)
Being jealous of another person can sometimes cause us to exclude or disregard the contributions they make. In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ reply to a question from his disciple John about a person who was using Jesus’ name to heal. It sounds as if Jesus’ disciples might be jealous of this power.
Why did the disciples want to stop the person who was healing in Jesus’ name? (because this person was not a follower of Jesus) What answer did Jesus give to his disciples? (He told the disciples to let this person continue.)
The disciples sounded jealous because they thought that they were the only ones who would be able to heal others using the power of Jesus’ name. Jesus teaches them that they should not be jealous. Instead they should remember that all who do what God wants are equal in his eyes and are working together to serve the Kingdom of God.
This is important for us to remember. Whenever we do something good for another person, even the smallest good deed, God is pleased with us. And God wants us to appreciate the good deeds of others, who are working, like us, to serve the Kingdom of God.
Ask God to keep us from being jealous of the things others can do and ask God to help us work with others to serve the Kingdom of God. Pray the Lord’s Prayer.

=======================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                          Nm 11:25-29
Sometimes mystery shrouds God's will. We expect God to act in a certain way only to be surprised. These can be times of insight or frustration.

This passage lies in the story of the grumbling Israelites who desired meat, not just manna. Addressing God, Moses lamented over their demands. God answered Moses' prayer by gathering the leaders and sending quail meat to the Israelites. But God afflicted the people for their greed with a plague. Hence, the place was called "Graves of Greed."

Moses spoke to God about the burden of his responsibility to care for the people's material and spiritual well-being, serving as their covenant mediator and teacher of the Law. In response to his complaint, Yahweh appointed seventy elders to aid Moses in teaching the people and assisting with their needs. These may have been the same seventy men who attended the sacred meal sealing the covenant ratification ceremony in Egypt. God used others as his instruments, including those not recognized as leaders. Eldad and Medad not being part of the publically anointed ecclesial community of elders did not prevent God's Spirit from manifesting Himself upon them. God's Spirit is without limit; therefore, His Spirit that was on Moses did not lessen when distributed to the seventy elders. The spirit of God gave the gift of prophecy, not the Israelite chain of command. That fact did not stop Joshua, Moses' right hand man, from objecting. But Moses sees clearly; who can tell God what to do? Moses, then, wished that all God's people had his Spirit, so all could share his intimacy and be his instruments.

There is an old saying: God wants followers, not advisors. When God does not do what we want him to do, we might get angry at God; worse yet, we might be tempted to give up on God. When we are scandalized by God's will, is the source of scandal God or our desire to control God so I can have my way?

Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14

.
Despite the chaos of social and political life, the world just goes on. No matter how we get caught up in our own problems or the crises of the moment, there always seems to be a tomorrow. God's in charge and, sometimes, that's all we need to know.
The orders that regulated creation found their way into the Law; the author praised God for that power. Notice how many differed times the name of YHWH was invoked in 19:8-10. Notice, too, how the Law resulted in order in the believer's life. The perfect Law renewed life. The trustworthy Law gave wisdom. The right ways of the Law brought joy. The clarity of the Law enlightened. The edicts of the Law were true and just. The Law stood beyond sensual pleasures, for it brought sure reward to the spirit. Pleasures may be transitory, but awe of the Lord in the believer and creation remained forever.
Many people criticize the Christian lifestyle as too confining; these people want their freedom but refuse to see the price that freedom demands. The faithful might not wallow in the transitory pleasures evil provides, but they do enjoy the peace and joy that the wisdom and justice God's will brings. The God who has a plan for the universe has a plan for each one of us. By acknowledging his control of creation and obeying his will, we can realize his favor.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                          Nm 11:25-29
Sometimes mystery shrouds God's will. We expect God to act in a certain way only to be surprised. These can be times of insight or frustration.

This passage lies in the story of the grumbling Israelites who desired meat, not just manna. Addressing God, Moses lamented over their demands. God answered Moses' prayer by gathering the leaders and sending quail meat to the Israelites. But God afflicted the people for their greed with a plague. Hence, the place was called "Graves of Greed."

Moses spoke to God about the burden of his responsibility to care for the people's material and spiritual well-being, serving as their covenant mediator and teacher of the Law. In response to his complaint, Yahweh appointed seventy elders to aid Moses in teaching the people and assisting with their needs. These may have been the same seventy men who attended the sacred meal sealing the covenant ratification ceremony in Egypt. God used others as his instruments, including those not recognized as leaders. Eldad and Medad not being part of the publically anointed ecclesial community of elders did not prevent God's Spirit from manifesting Himself upon them. God's Spirit is without limit; therefore, His Spirit that was on Moses did not lessen when distributed to the seventy elders. The spirit of God gave the gift of prophecy, not the Israelite chain of command. That fact did not stop Joshua, Moses' right hand man, from objecting. But Moses sees clearly; who can tell God what to do? Moses, then, wished that all God's people had his Spirit, so all could share his intimacy and be his instruments.

There is an old saying: God wants followers, not advisors. When God does not do what we want him to do, we might get angry at God; worse yet, we might be tempted to give up on God. When we are scandalized by God's will, is the source of scandal God or our desire to control God so I can have my way?

Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14

.
Despite the chaos of social and political life, the world just goes on. No matter how we get caught up in our own problems or the crises of the moment, there always seems to be a tomorrow. God's in charge and, sometimes, that's all we need to know.
The orders that regulated creation found their way into the Law; the author praised God for that power. Notice how many differed times the name of YHWH was invoked in 19:8-10. Notice, too, how the Law resulted in order in the believer's life. The perfect Law renewed life. The trustworthy Law gave wisdom. The right ways of the Law brought joy. The clarity of the Law enlightened. The edicts of the Law were true and just. The Law stood beyond sensual pleasures, for it brought sure reward to the spirit. Pleasures may be transitory, but awe of the Lord in the believer and creation remained forever.
Many people criticize the Christian lifestyle as too confining; these people want their freedom but refuse to see the price that freedom demands. The faithful might not wallow in the transitory pleasures evil provides, but they do enjoy the peace and joy that the wisdom and justice God's will brings. The God who has a plan for the universe has a plan for each one of us. By acknowledging his control of creation and obeying his will, we can realize his favor.

Reading 2                                          Jas 5:1-6

The diatribe of James against the rich was a cultural prejudice among the common people of the ancient world. With ninety-five percent of the Roman Empire classified as "poor," rich people were caricatured and looked upon with disdain. James did not equate money with evil, however. He described the rich as money hungry and money hoarders. "Rich," in the eyes of James, was not the size of a bank account, but an attitude that put money above everything else.
There were several items of note in this passage. James implied the Second Coming would be a judgment against the rich (the warning of hard times in 5:1 and the cries that heard by God in 5:4). Money was hard currency (gold and silver in 5:3); over time these metals tarnish (i.e., "rust"). Like many other riches (clothes in 5:2), money itself was transitory. Finally, the people who served the rich were the same ones who the rich oppressed (the farmers in 5:4 and the righteous man in 5:6). Taken together, the rich lived only for the moment, but they had the intention to maintain their lifestyle. This attitude blinded them to the greater vision that faith presented. Wealth faded, but sure faith did not. In fact, God would right any wrong committed by the rich against the poor, especially at the end of the world.
The words of James give us pause. We have creature comforts that make us the envy of the world's poor. How do we respond to the needs of the poor, both here at home and abroad? If James were alive today, could he use these same words against us?

Gospel                                               Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Were the actions of the disciple causing scandal to the "little ones?" Scandal was such a great concern, it deserved a great punishment (to make the point Jesus inferred capital punishment in v. 42). In the gospels, the "little ones" can be either the faithful or traveling missionaries. Scandal among the congregation or the leadership caused dissension, discord, and disunity. It could destroy the Church to a far greater extent than any outsider.
In v. 43, 45, and 47, Jesus used extreme language to make his point about the choice between the Kingdom and Gehanna. For the Jew in Jesus' time, the hand and the foot represented the areas of human activity. Did the activity of the disciple represent Christ or selfishness and evil influence? It was better not to be involved in a certain activity (have hands and feet "cut off") than to scandalize and be condemned.
The eyes [47] represented windows to one's heart and mind. Their use could weaken or strengthen the faith life of the disciple. Better not to see something (have the eyes "cut out") than to "scandalize" one's self and be condemned.
What is worse, to cause scandal or to be scandalized? Neither advance faith, only egos. Both can destroy faith and community participation. Both can lead to spiritual death.
Jesus gave us guidelines to address scandal. Encourage the faith of those outside the community. Know yourself and your weaknesses that can cause scandal. And, do not aspire to offices where you can cause scandal. Jesus wanted an increase in faith, not scandal. We should, too.
When believers cause scandal, it is a challenge away from faith. But, when God causes scandal, it is a challenge to faith. God's will (his "scandal") requires openness of mind and heart. What time and energy have you spent seeking God's will, hearing his voice?

============================================================

Sunday September 22, 2024 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 134

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                      Wis 2:12, 17-20

The wicked say:
Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.

Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8

R. The Lord upholds my life.

O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
R. The Lord upholds my life.

For the haughty men have risen up against me,
the ruthless seek my life;
they set not God before their eyes.
R. The Lord upholds my life.

Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
R. The Lord upholds my life.
Reading 2                                         Jas 3:16—4:3

Beloved:
Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there is disorder and every foul practice.
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
for those who cultivate peace.

Where do the wars
and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions
that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive,
because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Gospel                                                 Mk 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                        Wis 2:12, 17-20

For they have said. A reference to the wicked and ungodly men introduced at the end of the last chapter with these words: But the wicked with works and words have called it (i.e., death) to them: and esteeming it a friend, have fallen away and have made a covenant with it: because they are worthy to be of the part thereof (Wisdom 1:16). Their culture of death philosophy is introduced here, and continues in the following verses. They reject the concept of immortality and, as a result, adopt a “live for today alone” approach to the things of this world, and a “might makes right” approach to their fellow human beings. For this reason they persecute the just man whose life and very existence is a witness against them. But they err in thought, and are blinded by wickedness, unable to discern God’s plan for humanity. No doubt thinking themselves highly independent, each one priding himself on being his own man, they are in reality in the devil’s possession (Wisdom 2:23-24).
Verses 12-22 which forms the bulk of today’s readings concerns the suffering of the just man. As is the case with so many texts along these lines, this one is often applied to Christ in the liturgy.
The truly righteous man is a living witness against the sinner who cannot abide the testimony. They say he is not for our turn, i.e., he refuses to turn in their immoral direction. They are incensed that this is itself a witness against them: he is contrary to our doings. The righteous man thinks the time past is sufficient to have fulfilled the will of the Gentiles, for them who have walked in riotousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings and unlawful worshipping of idols, because they know a judgement is coming. The unrighteous, however, think it strange that you run not with them into the same confusion of riotousness (see 1 Peter 4:3-4).
Pope John Paul II (Veritatis Splendor #93)~By witnessing fully to the good, they (martyrs and saints) are a living reproof to those who transgress the law (cf. Wisdom 2:12), and they make the words of the Prophet echo ever afresh: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)
Wis 2:15 The very sight of the righteous man makes them irate. This statement of the unrighteous will take on added meaning in verses 17 and 19 (see notes below)
Wis 2:16 He treats them like Triflers because of their superficial philosophy (Wisdom 2:1-5) and the lifestyle they have embraced because of it (Wisdom 2:6-10). Triflers because they treat the righteous man of no account, and persecute him (Wisdom 2:12-20). They are thoroughly superficial: clouds without water, which are carried about by winds: trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots: Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion: wandering stars, to whom the storm of darkness is reserved for ever (Jude 12-13).
Wis 2:17 & 18
In verse 15 they said, he is grievous to us, even to behold, but here they wish to try and test him to see for themselves if he is righteous and true, and if his end is as he hopes. Here they imitate Satan, the Devil, in whose possession they are (Wisdom 2:24-25, John 8:42-44), for he tempted Christ is just such a manner: If thou be the son of God…(Matt 4:1-11). See also Matt 27:39-43.
Wis 2:19 Note the reference to examining and knowing. They bring up once again the theme of sight (verse 15 & 17) and knowledge (“reasoning with themselves”, verse 1). Also, having determined that we are born of nothing, and after this we shall be as if we had not been: for the breath in our nostrils is smoke (Wisdom 2:2), the unrighteous have decided that the lives of others are of no real consequence: Let us examine him by outrages and tortures.
Wis 2:20 Modern translation such as the RSV differ regarding the second part of the verse: Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8

If making plans of our own (presumably in the face of God's plans for us) is laughable, how about issuing commands to God, telling God the Divine's own business in no uncertain terms? Who would dare to give God orders? Yet this is, in a sense, exactly what Psalm 54 does.
Our psalm begins with a four-fold plea: "save me...vindicate [me]...hear [me]." Each of these pleas -- actually imperative verbs -- and a fourth “listen” [to me] quite literally command God's attention, response, and action. These imperative clauses that form the introduction to the psalm demand God's attention. And while some Hebrew language grammarians might call this particular use of the imperative a "jussive," (a command) that is really just a delicate way of labeling the act of giving orders to someone who out-ranks you.
But enough grammar. Why is God's attention and action commanded? Because the enemies of the psalmist, the insolent and the ruthless, have risen against him to tear him apart with their words.
At issue here in Psalm 54 is speech: speech directed to God in response to the vile slander of human beings. Notice the tension that is present in regards to the hearing of speech in the psalm. God is commanded to "give ear," to listen, to pay attention to the psalmist's words, and perhaps at the same time to the false witness of the psalmists enemies. It is almost as if the psalmist begs God, "Can you not hear the insolent and the ruthless as they lie about me?"
That the enemies actions are speech-based seems clear in that the enemies are said to be "rising against" him, a reference (most likely) to the actions of witnesses in the gate of the community (Isaiah 29:20-21: "For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall cease to be; all those alert to do evil shall be cut off -- those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit, who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate, and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right"; cf. Psalm 27:12, "Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence").
Notice also that the psalmist does not answer word-for-word those who falsely accuse him. Such a response is the fool's move; implicit in the psalm is the sense that he-said-they-said doesn't get a person anywhere. Instead, the psalmist "sets God" before him, appealing to God to judge on his behalf, to find for the defense if you will, and to reverse the judgment, pronouncing it against the psalmist's enemies. Indeed, before offering a pledge of thanksgiving, the psalmist exults in this reverse judgment saying that God "will repay my enemies for their evil," and that "my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies."
The psalm, which may strike us as an odd selection for reading/recitation during worship, actually couches the whole conflict very much in terms of the worship life of the community. This may be, at least in part, what is meant by the idea of "putting God" before oneself -- which the psalmist does and his enemies do not (compare verses 2 and 3). It is only in the presence of God that the conflict will be appropriately resolved. In service of putting God before himself, and at the same time putting his pleas before God, the psalmist employs several terms which are worship-related and technical.
At the end of the psalm, coming in response to his (presumed? assumed? anticipated?) vindication the psalmist vows an act of thanksgiving for God's judgment against his enemies. The author of the psalm says, "I will sacrifice," presenting a "freewill offering," in order to "give thanks" (verse 8). In worship, the psalmist will celebrate his deliverance.
One might ask at this point, if any sinner (which all of us most surely are) could ever do such a thing as demand that God act as judge on our behalf. But because God has delivered us from every trouble (verse 9), and because God is our helper (verse 6), even the sinful man or woman can, in the face of evil, rely on God to be not just a judge, not just any judge, but their judge.

Reading 2                                         Jas 3:16—4:3
3:13-18 These verses show the difference between men's pretending to be wise, and their being really so. He who thinks well, or he who talks well, is not wise in the sense of the Scripture, if he does not live and act well. True wisdom may be known by the meekness of the spirit and temper. Those who live in malice, envy, and contention, live in confusion; and are liable to be provoked and hurried to any evil work. Such wisdom comes not down from above, but springs up from earthly principles, acts on earthly motives, and is intent on serving earthly purposes. Those who are lifted up with such wisdom, described by the apostle James, is near to the Christian love, described by the apostle Paul; and both are so described that every man may fully prove the reality of his attainments in them. It has no disguise or deceit. It cannot fall in with those managements the world counts wise, which are crafty and guileful; but it is sincere, and open, and steady, and uniform, and consistent with itself. May the purity, peace, gentleness, teachability, and mercy shown in all our actions, and the fruits of righteousness abounding in our lives, prove that God has bestowed upon us this excellent gift.
The former chapter speaks of envying one another, as the great spring of strife and contentions; this chapter speaks of a lust after worldly things, and a setting too great a value upon worldly pleasures and friendships, as that which carried their divisions to a shameful height. The apostle here reproves the Jewish Christians for their wars, and for their lusts as the cause of them: The Jews were a very seditious people, and had therefore frequent wars with the Romans; and they were a very quarrelsome divided people, often fighting among themselves; and many of those corrupt Christians against whose errors and vices this epistle was written seem to have fallen in with the common quarrels. Hereupon, our apostle informs them that the origin of their wars and fighting was not (as they pretended) a true zeal for their country, and for the honor of God, but that their prevailing lusts were the cause of all.

They make a war within as well as fighting without. Impetuous passions and desires first war in their members, and then raise feuds in their nation. From lust of power and dominion, lust of pleasure, or lust of riches, from some one or more of these lusts arise all the broils and contentions that are in the world; and, since all wars and fighting come from the corruptions of our own hearts, it is therefore the right method for the cure of contention to lay the axe to the root, and mortify those lusts that war in the members. It should kill these lusts to think of their disappointment: "You lust, and have not; you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain. You covet great things for yourselves, and you think to obtain them by your victories over the Romans or by suppressing this and the other party among yourselves. You think you shall secure great pleasures and happiness to yourselves, by overthrowing everything which thwarts your eager wishes; but, alas! you are losing your labor and your blood, while you kill one another with such views as these.’’
Sinful desires and affections generally exclude prayer, and the working of our desires towards God: "You fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. You fight, and do not succeed, because you do not pray you do not consult God in your undertakings, whether he will allow of them or not; and you do not commit your way to him, and make known your requests to him, but follow your own corrupt views and inclinations: therefore you meet with continual disappointments.’’
James is trying to get them to turn back to God and beg His forgiveness.

Gospel                                             Mk 9:30-37

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus again predict his passion, death, and Resurrection to his disciples. The setting here is important. Jesus and his disciples are preparing to journey through Galilee, a Jewish territory in which Jesus has already encountered problems with the Pharisees. Perhaps this is why Mark indicates that Jesus was trying to journey in secret. In predicting his passion, Jesus is acknowledging the danger they will face and is trying to prepare his disciples for it. Yet Mark tells us that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying and were afraid to ask what he meant. Such hesitation on the part of the disciples is not characteristic behavior. Peter had no fear about rebuking Jesus in last week’s Gospel. Perhaps this is an indication that the disciples were aware that a new situation was emerging.
Mark paints a vivid picture in today’s Gospel. Having arrived at Capernaum, Jesus and his disciples enter a house. In this private place, Jesus asks his disciples about the argument they had while they were journeying. Again, the disciples are uncharacteristically silent and afraid to answer. They have been found out. Jesus then summons the Twelve, whom Mark identified earlier in his Gospel as those chosen by Jesus to preach and to drive out demons. To this select group of disciples, Jesus teaches that those who would be first in God’s kingdom must be servants of all.
Jesus then calls forward a child and teaches the Twelve that to receive a child in Jesus’ name is to receive both Jesus and the One who sent him. We might easily fail to understand the significance of this action. In first-century Palestine, children were without status or power, possessing no legal rights. In this action, Jesus is teaching his disciples and us that when we serve the least ones among us, we serve Jesus himself. Who are the people without power or status in our society that Jesus is calling us to serve? Do we do so willingly? Jesus teaches that God’s judgment of us will be based on this criterion alone.

Making the Connection

Name some people who are famous (actors, athletes, politicians, and so on). Why are these people famous? Try to identify some of the things that people do to become famous.
Some people in our society become famous for their abilities, such as athletes and actors. Other people become famous because they have accepted important jobs, such as leaders of government and politicians.
Do you think you would you like to be famous? Why or why not?
In today’s Gospel, we learned that some of Jesus’ first disciples argued about which of them was the greatest or the most important. Even they wanted to be famous! Jesus teaches them something surprising about what it means to be great in God’s eyes.
What did Jesus tell his disciples would make them great? (serving others, especially serving the least ones among us) Do you think God cares if people are famous? (No.) What will make us great in God’s eyes? (if we serve other people in love)
Pray the Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Prayer for Generosity.

Prayer for GenerosityEternal Word, only begotten Son of God,
Teach me true generosity.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve.
To give without counting the cost,
To fight heedless of wounds,
To labor without seeking rest,
To sacrifice myself without thought of any reward
Save the knowledge that I have done your will.
Amen.
================================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                      Wis 2:12, 17-20

People gossip. They always will. Sometimes their talk is idle chatter. Sometimes their gossip turns ugly, slanderous, and, ultimately, vengeful. So, the innocent suffer from the venom of those who speak behind backs and seek their brand of "justice" in the dark. The believer suffers at the hands of those who hate God. The righteous suffer at the hands of the jealous and the devious.
In these passages from the "Wisdom of Solomon," the author wrote about the true nature of evil. It sought vengeance upon the just almost without reason. In the context of the book, the wise (i.e., the person who followed God's will and tried to live a good life) would prevail, but only through God's help. Living out that trust divided the good from the bad. It was that trust that drove the wicked to frenzied action.
Trust in God has a price. Sometimes trust costs us our reputation. Sometimes it costs us relationships. In the case of a few, it cost them their lives. But, trust means that God will win out in the end. It means he will save us. It means the price is worth paying.

Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8

In the midst of life"s pressures, there is little time for prayer, especially those of thanksgiving. Sometimes life can be so hectic we need to slow down and open our eyes to the wonders God places before us. Even if we take a sliver of our day, we need to refocus on the greater picture and thank God for his activity in our lives.
Psalm 54 has such a sliver of thanks. Read in the light of the prelude, the body of the psalm covered the tribulation of David"s life on the run, yet the sentiments expressed could be anyone"s. The prayer began with a call for help for salvation: "Save me from my evil enemies." (54:1-3).

After the break in the psalm (the unknown term "Selah"), the theme changed from salvation desired to salvation realized. Yes, troubles might have dogged the psalmist, but YHWH would quickly redeem him. That belief was so certain, the author could make a free-will offering and shout thanksgiving. (54:6) Victory was at hand!
One could argue that the desperation of 54:1-3 was counter balanced by the upbeat spirit of 54:4-7. More likely, the later part of the psalm answered the author"s pleas. In other words, troubles challenge us to reaffirm faith through prayers of thanks, not to wallow in our misery.
Thanksgiving should be a daily prayer activity, despite the depth of problems we find ourselves mired in. Such prayers help us realized that God is present and active in our lives. Such prayer help realized that our salvation is at hand and, in some ways, already here.

Reading 2                                         Jas 3:16—4:

Why do we have strife in daily living? Why do we battle our "inner demons?" These verses from James tried to answer the questions. Simply put, James pointed to the lack of God's wisdom for these troubles.
In past studies, James created and knocked down straw men to advance his belief. Faith needed works, moral duties of the Law. These works (which James defined in terms of charity) evangelized non-believers and strengthened the community. The person who believed but did not act on these beliefs, James claimed, weakened both Christian witness and the cohesion of the local church.
In James practical logic, the dichotomy between faith and works came down to the use of wisdom: knowing where and when to act. Believers who did not act wisely lived in a sea of desire and unfulfilled cravings. From this unsettled state, people act out in jealous, petty ways. While there was no clear parallel between the faith-only (i.e., libertine) Christian and the desirous believer, there were implicit ties.
Toward the end of the passage, James shifted from the language of war [4:1] to an object of desire [4:2-3]. What was this object? A brief reading seemed to point to material goods or pleasure. But a deeper reading pointed to wisdom itself. Greek culture made wisdom the highest value. Over the centuries before the birth of Christ, Jewish culture was influenced by this ideal. Indeed, several deutero-canonical books (Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon, for example) appealed to wisdom as the virtue most desired. From wisdom came riches and reputation, as well as high moral living. While James may have not implied these outcomes for wisdom, clearly, he saw wisdom from God as greater than human desires or ambitions.

Ironically, while many people desired power, possessions, or cult of personality, these same people were jealous of the wise person. Wisdom was attractive. Many sought it out of selfish motivations only to have it elude them or to have it slip through their fingers because of their self- centered nature. Implicitly they desired to earn what God gave as a gift. A gift that calmed inner turmoil and promoted harmony within the community. The wise person received and exercised the virtue simply because he or she was open to God.
Wisdom, then, is God's gift to the person who opens mind and heart to his will. So, put away selfish pursues and gain God's wisdom.

Gospel                                                 Mk 9:30-37

Jesus taught his followers the true meaning of leadership. Leadership does not mean power but service. Power strangles life and brings a slow death. But, service brings life, even from death itself. The measure of servant leadership lies not with adults, but with children.
We all have the opportunity and the responsibility to exercise leadership in our lives. But, as the gospel points out, leadership means service. It means setting aside our selfish desires to care for others' needs and to show them respect. This is at the heart of the leadership commandment: "Honor your father and mother."
Children. They are our challenge and our reward. They might be two or a hundred and two. They might look like small tykes or just act the part. They might give freely or stand stubbornly (just like adults). But, they are God's gifts to us. They are the measure of our Christian leadership. How we lead them, how we serve them, reveals the seriousness of our commitment to Christ. Let us serve them well.
==============================================================

Sunday September 15, 2024 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 131

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                         Is 50:5-9a

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let that man confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?

Responsorial Psalm                          Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I love the LORD because he has heard
my voice in supplication,
Because he has inclined his ear to me
the day I called.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

The cords of death encompassed me;
the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
And I called upon the name of the LORD,
"O LORD, save my life!"
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

For he has freed my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                                         Jas 2:14-18

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
"Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, "
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say,
"You have faith and I have works."
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

Gospel                                              Mk 8:27-35

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply,
"John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                         Is 50:5-9a

The Song itself falls naturally into four strophes, (a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varying line-length, especially an ode or free verse poem) each of which is introduced by the refrain "The Lord GOD (verses 4, 5, 7, 9):

A The Lord GOD has given (perfect) me the tongue of a disciple (verse 4)
   Result: preaching consolation
   B The Lord GOD has opened (perfect) my ear
(verses 5-6)
   Result: suffering
           a - did not hide face
b - disgrace
   B’ The Lord GOD will help (imperfect) me
(verses 7-8)
Result: vindication
                       a - set face like flint
b - no disgrace

A’ The Lord GOD will help (imperfect) me (verse 9)
Result: no one can declare me guilty
The first two strophes A (verse 4) and B (verses 5-6) are further characterized by past tense (perfect) verbs describing what the Lord God has done, namely, given the servant the tongue and ear of a disciple. In contrast to this, the last two strophes B' (verses 7-8) and A' (verse 9) are characterized by future tense (imperfect) verbs describing what the Lord God will do; in both cases God will help him. All four strophes conclude with the results of God's activity. The two middle strophes are further linked by their repetition of "disgrace”, "insult") and "face" as the servant describes the vindication of his suffering. An exhortation identifying the speaker as the "servant" closes the song (verses 10-11).
The first strophe begins with the servant declaring that "The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a disciple" (limmudim), not the tongue of a "teacher". That is, he has been equipped by God for the prophetic office. The purpose of his calling is that he "may know how to sustain the weary with a word," that he may console those who are suffering under the burdens of life. He has received this "tongue of a disciple" because every morning the Lord God wakens his ear to listen as a disciple (in Hebrew, the same word as above).
In the second strophe the servant describes what has happened to him as a result of his acceptance of this call and his unwillingness to shrink from the burdens that call entailed. He suffered the physical hostility of being scourged and the ultimate ancient near eastern humiliation of having his beard plucked out and being spit upon, as well as the mental anguish and disgrace that accompanied such abuse.
The third strophe describes a reversal signaled by the change from past tense verbs descriptive of God's activity to future tense verbs. Despite the disgrace and humiliation the servant experiences, he goes on to declare his unwavering trust in and reliance upon God. He is convinced that the God who called him to this disagreeable office is with him in the midst of his suffering: "he who vindicates me is near," he cries out in verse 8, and this confidence results in the strength he needs to courageously bear the disgrace and humiliation he has encountered, knowing that in the end he will be vindicated.
In the final strophe, he reaffirms that the Lord God will help him and he challenges his adversaries to a trial, let those who judge him so harshly now dare to face him in the court of heaven where the Lord God will stand beside him as advocate. The outcome is not in doubt, his cause will be vindicated and his adversaries will perish, deprived of victory and like a garment that falls apart to rags or is consumed by moths.
Following the Song itself, Second Isaiah has added a concluding exhortation "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant?" Second Isaiah asks. Answer: "Those who walk in darkness and have no light," those who suffer persecution. And all because despite their suffering and affliction they "trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon their God," and they will be vindicated.
Powerful as this message is this week, Christians must read and hear these words the way the church has always read and heard them: as descriptive of the suffering experienced by Jesus in his life-giving passion and death. Just as the servant was persecuted for his faithful obedience to God, maintaining that faithful obedience to the end, so Jesus was persecuted for his message, remaining obedient unto death, "even to death on a cross" as Paul reminds us.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

A hymn celebrating Israel’s escape from Egypt, journey through the wilderness, and entry into the promised land, and the miracles of nature that bore witness to God’s presence in their midst. In the perspective of the Psalm, the people proceed directly from Egypt into the promised land (Ps 114:1–2). Sea and Jordan, which stood like soldiers barring the people from their land, flee before the mighty God as the earth recoils from the battle (Ps 114:3–4). The poet taunts the natural elements as one taunts defeated enemies (Ps 114:5–6).
Pairs of cosmic elements such as sea and rivers, mountains and hills, are sometimes mentioned in creation accounts. Personified here as warriors, the pairs tremble in fear before the Divine Warrior. The quaking also recalls the divine appearance in the storm at Sinai and elsewhere. But each time repeating the exhortation, “I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living”, indicating it id the Lord their God providing for them.

Reading 2                                         Jas 2:14-18

In this latter part of the chapter, the apostle shows the error of those who rested in a bare profession of the Christian faith, as if that would save them, while the temper of their minds and the tenor of their lives were altogether disagreeable to that holy religion which they professed. To let them see, therefore, what a wretched foundation they built their hopes upon, it is here proved at large that a man is justified, not by faith only, but by works.

I. Upon this arises a very great question, namely, how to reconcile Paul and James. Paul, in his epistles to the Romans and Galatians, seems to assert the directly contrary thing to what James here lays down, saying if often, and with a great deal of emphasis, that we are justified by faith only and not by the works of the law. Amicae scripturarum lites, utinam et nostrae—There is a very happy agreement between one part of scripture and another, notwithstanding seeming differences: it were well if the differences among Christians were as easily reconciled.
1. When Paul says that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law (Rom. 3:28), he plainly speaks of another sort of work than James does, but not of another sort of faith. Paul speaks of works wrought in obedience to the law of Moses, and before men's embracing the faith of the gospel; and he had to deal with those who valued themselves so highly upon those works that they rejected the gospel (as Rom. 10, at the beginning most expressly declares); but James speaks of works done in obedience to the gospel, and as the proper and necessary effects and fruits of sound believing in Christ Jesus. Both are concerned to magnify the faith of the gospel, as that which alone could save us and justify us; but Paul magnifies it by showing the insufficiency of any works of the law before faith, or in opposition to the doctrine of justification by Jesus Christ; James magnifies the same faith, by showing what are the genuine and necessary products and operations of it. 2. Paul not only speaks of different works from those insisted on by James, but he speaks of a quite different use that was made of good works from what is here urged and intended. Paul had to do with those who depended on the merit of their works in the sight of God, and thus he might well make them of no manner of account. James had to do with those who cried up faith, but would not allow works to be used even as evidence; they depended upon a bare profession, as sufficient to justify them; and with these he might well urge the necessity and vast importance of good works. As we must not break one table of the law, by dashing it against the other, so neither must we break in pieces the law and the gospel, by making them clash with one another: those who cry up the gospel so as to set aside the law, and those who cry up the law so as to set aside the gospel, are both in the wrong; for we must take our work before us; there must be both faith in Jesus Christ and good works the fruit of faith. Paul may be understood as speaking of that justification which is inchoate, ( just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.) James of that which is complete; it is by faith only that we are put into a justified state, but then good works come in for the completing of our justification at the last great day; then, Come you children of my Father—for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat, etc.

Having thus cleared this part of scripture from everything of a contradiction to other parts of it, let us see what is more particularly to be learnt from this excellent passage of James; we are taught,

That faith without works will not profit, and cannot save us. So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Can faith save him? Observe here, (1.) That faith which does not save will not really profit us; a bare profession may sometimes seem to be profitable, to gain the good opinion of those who are truly good, and it may procure in some cases worldly good things; but what profit will this be, for any to gain the world and to lose their souls? For a man to have faith, and to say he has faith, are two different things; the apostle does not say, If a man have faith without works, for that is not a supposable case; the drift of this place of scripture is plainly to show that an opinion, or speculation, or assent, without works, is not faith; but the case is put thus, If a man say he has faith, etc. Men may boast of that to others, and be conceited of that in themselves, of which they are really destitute.

Gospel                                              Mk 8:27-35

Today’s reading is the turning point in Mark’s Gospel. Almost exactly at the book's midpoint, this passage initiates a major shift in Mark's plot. The word Christ has not appeared since the Gospel's opening verse. We have had seven-plus chapters of Jesus' ministry, questions asked about his true identity and authority, secrets told and disclosure promised, and demonic powers identifying Jesus as God's Son. Readers have been given no indication that death awaits Jesus, although if you know the book's ending maybe you see foreshadowing in his baptism (1:9-11), the opposition he encounters (3:6), and John's execution (6:14-29).
In the presentation of the life and ministry of Jesus found in the Gospel of Mark, the deeds of Jesus have shown Jesus to be the Son of God. Yet many, including Jesus’ disciples, have not yet realized his identity. In today’s Gospel Jesus is near Caesarea Philippi, a very Roman setting and once the limit of ancient Israel's northward extension. Here he pops the question: "Who do people say that I am?" Now he wants to discuss his reputation, here at this borderland?
He then turns the question directly to the disciples and asks what they believe. Peter speaks for all of them when he announces that they believe Jesus to be the Christ.
The word Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah, which means “the anointed one.” At the time of Jesus, the image of the Messiah was laden with popular expectations, most of which looked for a political leader who would free the Jewish people from Roman occupation. Jesus does not appear to have used this term for himself. As we see in today’s reading, Jesus refers to himself instead as the Son of Man, a term derived from the Jewish Scriptures, found in the Book of Daniel and in other apocryphal writings. Many scholars suggest that the phrase Son of Man is best understood to mean “human being.”
Now that the disciples have acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, Jesus confides in them the outcome of his ministry: he will be rejected, must suffer and die, and will rise after three days. Peter rejects this prediction, and Jesus rebukes him severely. The image of Christ that Jesus is giving is not the image of the Messiah that Peter was expecting. Jesus then teaches the crowd and the disciples about the path of discipleship: To be Chris’s disciple is to follow in the way of the cross.
We can easily miss the fear that Jesus’ words must have evoked in his disciples. Death by crucifixion was all too familiar as a method of execution in Roman-occupied territories. It was also an omnipresent danger to the Christian community for whom Mark wrote. The path that Jesus was inviting his disciples to share meant tremendous suffering and death. This is the kind of radical commitment and sacrifice that Jesus calls us to adopt for the sake of the Gospel.

Making the Connection

Think about a time when you were told something that you didn’t want to hear. For example your car can’t be fixed. Or the TV is dead. How did you respond?
In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus telling his disciples something that they may not have wanted to hear.
What did Jesus ask his disciples at the beginning of today’s Gospel? (He asked what people were saying about him.) What did Peter answer when Jesus asked the disciples who they thought that he was? (Peter said that Jesus was the Christ) In saying this, Peter acknowledged that he believed that Jesus was sent by God to save his people. This must have sounded pretty good to the disciples.
What does Jesus tell his disciples next? (that he was going to suffer and die) What does Peter do? (Peter objects to what Jesus has said and rebukes him.) How does Jesus respond? (He tells Peter that he doesn’t understand and that he is not thinking like God.) Then what does Jesus tell his disciples? (Jesus says that anyone who wants to be his disciple must follow his example by denying oneself and taking up one’s cross.)
Peter didn’t want to hear this part of the Good News of Jesus. But Jesus said that we have to accept all of it to be his followers, both the cross and the glory of the Resurrection. Jesus set an example for all his disciples to follow. He loved us so much that he was willing to suffer and die for us.
Who are some people in our world today who serve others? Police officers, Firemen etc’ These people can also be examples for us. Jesus also wants us to offer our lives in service to others.
Pray that we will be good followers of Jesus. Pray together the Lord’s Prayer.

===========================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                         Is 50:5-9a

Our reading is from the third of Isaiah's four "Songs of the Servant of Yahweh." Isaiah presents the Servant's testimony in the first person, allowing him to speak for himself. In our passage, the Servant emphasizes his strength and suffering; and then he challenges those who oppose him.

First, the Servant describes his strength in the Lord God, and he has the ear/hearing of a faithful servant who listens to the Lord. Thus, he testifies to his obedience to his divine Master and his mission (verse 5). Second, the Servant describes his suffering (verses 6-7). He willingly endures and does not resist suffering and humiliation for God's sake as he is beaten, mocked, and people spit on him. However, he is not disgraced and has remained steadfast ("set my face like flint") to fulfill his mission because he knows the Lord will sustain and will ultimately vindicate him. Third, in verses 8-9a, he challenges his enemies. As he reflects on God's protection and the promise of his vindication, he has found himself able to stand firm. He asks two questions: "Who disputes my right? Let that man confront me" and "Who will prove me wrong?" In other words, who can dispute his right to speak the word of the Lord, or accuse him of not being faithful to his mission, or bring charges against him, or condemn him? The answer is no one who matters because God is on his side.

The Church has always seen the events described in this Servant's Song fulfilled in Jesus Christ's Passion and Resurrection:

Jesus was obedient to His mission to proclaim the Kingdom in words that came from God (Jn 14:10).
He endured suffering and humiliation in His trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin and with the Roman governor, followed by His crucifixion.
The final fulfillment of Jesus's vindication in His glorious Resurrection.
As for the challenge for those who dispute God's Servant (Jesus the Messiah), they will appear together with Him before the throne of God for condemnation on the Day of Judgment; just as He will appear with those who believe in Him as their Advocate, and they will not face condemnation. In Romans 8:31-39, St. Paul refers to God's Servant's challenge in verses 8-9a as he describes the firm standing of all who place their faith and trust in Jesus. Paul writes: Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Rom 8:33-34).

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-94

Today's psalm is a hymn of thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds in gratitude to God's divine intervention in rescuing the psalmist from mortal danger (verses 3-4). Next, in verse 5, he acknowledges God's mercy for the "little ones," literally "the simple," meaning the humble and lowly, including himself in that category since he was unable to defend himself against his enemy. Finally, in verses 8-9, he proclaims his gratitude and commitment to remain faithful to the Lord. He also announces his confidence that one day he will be with the Lord God in the "land of the living" that is the Lord's heavenly kingdom. It is the hope and desire of all Jesus's faithful believers.

Reading 2                                         Jas 2:14-18

St. James addresses the Christian obligation to imitate Jesus's non-partiality in daily interactions with others in his letter. He writes that Christians must value each person as a child of God no matter their social standing. Christians have a covenant obligation to keep all of Jesus's New Covenant Law of salvation, exercising mercy toward others in the same way God is merciful in forgiving our trespasses. The examples of love in action, as expressed in Jesus's command to "love your neighbor" (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:33; Lk 10:27), prepare the reader of James's letter for his definition of faith as "love in action."

The ascent to the entire doctrine of the obedience of faith requires action. To dismiss the needs of the poor by saying it is not our responsibility to feed and clothe those who are in need shows contempt for the poor and a disregard for Jesus's teachings. To say, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," is useless without the actions necessary to bring about those good intentions. The sentiment is as valueless as faith without the effort of good deeds. James calls this kind of inaction "dead faith" (verse 17) instead of living, active faith that is a sign of the quality of our love.

Indeed, someone might say, "You have faith, and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
The "someone" is an imaginary person with whom James is having this debate, and to whom James presents the challenge: Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. His point is that faith is our first response to God's grace and the first step on the road to salvation. The Church defines this first step of faith as "initial justification" in our first response to God's grace. But the next step is to act upon that faith, making the first "work" of faith that should be conversion: the repentance and confession that leads to Baptism, or a turning back to God for those who are already baptized. Thus, repentance and conversion are works of faith.

However, the works of faith do not stop with the Sacrament of Baptism. If you say you only have faith and nothing else, James asks what proof is there that you have any faith at all? James declares that he demonstrated his faith through his deeds. We are justified by faith as our response to God's grace and sanctified by works of mercy and love which enrich our lives as we continue to grow in grace and faith. Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift that perfects the soul to live in fellowship with God and act out living faith in His call to love our neighbor as Christ loves us. The process of living and active faith does not end until we reach our final destination: the throne room of God on the Day of Judgment.

Gospel                                              Mk 8:27-35

Now that the disciples understand from Peter's declaration that He is the Messiah, Jesus reveals His coming suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. One can only imagine the shock they must have felt at His words. They could not comprehend with His divine power that He would let such a thing happen to Him. The prediction in verse 31 is the first of three prophesies Jesus gave concerning His Passion (also see Mk 9:30-32 and 10:32-34). In sharing this secret with the disciples, Jesus corrected the common misperception that the Messiah would come in triumph and glory to conquer Israel's enemies and re-establish the Davidic kingdom on earth just as it was in the past glory days of kings David and Solomon. Jesus's revelation of His suffering and death in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies of the Suffering Servant marks a new phase in His ministry, as Mark introduces the revelation of Christ's Passion with the phrase "He began to teach them ..." (verse 31).
The reference to the "three days" in verse 31 may intend to recall Hosea's prophecy: In their affliction, they shall look for me: "Come, let us return to the LORD, for it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day, he will raise us up, to live in his presence" (Hos 6:1-2). In the prediction of His suffering and death, Jesus identifies Himself not as a victorious David but as the Suffering Servant of the prophecies in the Servant Songs of the prophet Isaiah (Is 53-54).

Peter resisted what Jesus told the disciples about His suffering and death and received a harsh rebuke in front of the others. Peter understood that Jesus was the divine Messiah. Peter knows that He is God come to gather His scattered people and fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 34 that "God Himself" will come to rescue and restore His people. Peter also knows the Temple hierarchy has no power over God's Anointed Messiah (Christ). Therefore, he cannot comprehend why Jesus would allow Himself to be killed by those in authority over the Church of the Sinai Covenant when He could consume them in Holy Fire like the rebellious priestly sons of Aaron (Lev 10:1-2). Jesus rebuked Peter publicly as an object lesson to the others because Peter had voiced opposition to God's plan when he should humbly accept that plan and assist Jesus in His mission.

At this, he turned around and, looking at the disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Jesus gave Peter the same rebuke He gave Satan in Matthew 4:10 at His temptation ordeal. The Hebrew word satan means adversary. Thus, whenever one stands as an adversary to God's plan for humanity's salvation, that person is indeed acting as Satan in human form.
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.
Verse 34 is the first mention of the cross of crucifixion in Mark's Gospel. Jesus used the image of a cross, a Roman instrument of death in the execution of criminals, as a shocking metaphor for the uncompromising obedience of discipleship. Jesus used three verbs in three commands in His instruction on the conditions of genuine discipleship in Mark 8:34. He told them to deny, take, and follow. He instructed them that He bases true discipleship on:

Their willingness to "deny" selfish desires by a daily dying to oneself to live for Christ, and
their desire to willingly "take" and endure those struggles/crosses that are necessary in order
to "follow" Jesus's teachings faithfully and obediently in service to Christ and His Kingdom.

Jesus's condition for true discipleship means completely identifying with His message by disowning one's self-interest to the point of being willing to die for Jesus. The irony is Jesus's promise that whoever loses his mortal life for His sake will live, meaning that their lives will be eternally secure in God's heavenly Kingdom. According to Jesus's statement, one who defines "life" as merely a self-centered earthly existence and lives in denial of Christ ends his life in destruction. However, when one lives in loyalty and obedience to Christ, that person arrives at the authentic fullness of life despite earthly death! Do you have the courage, no matter the cost in personal suffering, to take up the Cross of Jesus Christ and follow Him into eternity? That is the work of faith that leads to glory.

======================================================================

Sunday September 8, 2024 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 128

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                            Is 35:4-7a

Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                                          Jas 2:1-5
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please, ”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
among the people.

Gospel                                                  Mk 7:31-37

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” --
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                      Is 35:4-7a

Isaiah 35:4--7a is a small selection from the larger vision found in 35:1--10. Chapter 35 can be divided into two sections:
1) The theophany of the LORD (verses 1--6a)
2) The return of the people (verses 6b--10)
Both units begin with descriptions of the desert changing from a dry and barren place into a land that is flourishing (verses 1--2a) with an abundance of water (verses 6b--7). The two sections also share the theme of joy, first at the coming of the LORD and then for the return of God's elect. Most scholars assign Isaiah 35 to Deutero Isaiah, an exilic author, since the prophet uses the well-known theme of the LORD making a way or "highway" in the desert (cf. Isaiah 40:3; 43:19).
In verses 1-6a, the author draws heavily on the theme of the LORD's coming. God's appearance in the created order, also known as a theophany, is the primary image within this first half of Chapter 35. The section begins in verses 1--2 with the wilderness rejoicing and blooming when it sees the "glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God" (verse 2). Thus, the barren ground responds and is transformed at the coming of the LORD.
Following this doxological response from nature, the people are encouraged to take heart and not to fear (verses 3--4). It is common within the biblical narrative for the people to respond in fear to the LORD's appearance. Here, however, the writer provides assurance that God's coming will result not in the people's destruction but in their salvation (verse 4b). Moreover, just like the parched land, the weakest and most vulnerable in society will respond and be transformed--the blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, and the lame shall "leap like a stag" (verse 6a).
In verses 6b--10, the LORD's coming parallels the homecoming of the exiles. The theophany in the first section has given way to the corresponding image of God's people returning through the desert, a holy pilgrimage with Zion as its destination. Like the first section, this second unit of Chapter 35 begins with the transformation of the natural order. The desert becomes a well-watered land. The salvation of the LORD, whether depicted theologically through the appearance of God or anthropologically in the people's joyful journey home, begins with the natural order's transformation and response to the mighty acts of God. Rather than facing the harsh natural forces of the wilderness, the people return upon a well-watered highway. Instead of hostile terrain, the travelers encounter a flourishing path with "streams in the desert" (verse 6b).
This passage emphasizes the radical nature of God's work among humanity. When the LORD appears, strange and marvelous things happen. The wilderness becomes a flourishing path with streams of water flowing abundantly. Dangerous roads become secure paths upon which the redeemed can walk with assurance. The blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame not only walk but leap for joy. The exiles return home.
When God visits God's people, there is only one appropriate response. All of creation and humanity are transformed at the appearance of their God, and all rejoice together and sing for joy. The LORD's presence, whether characterized by a theophany or manifested through the mighty works done on behalf of God's people, changes everything, quite literally.

Responsorial Psalm                  Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

This is a praise psalm. Indeed, they’re all praise psalms here at the end of the Psalter. Psalms 146-150 make up a sort of “praise collection” -- with the Hebrew root halal (“praise”) appearing 40 times in the last five psalms. Each of those five psalms begins and ends with the Hebrew “Hallelu-Jah” -- that is, with the exhortation to “Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 146 is, like the four psalms that follow, unrestrained in its exuberance. Generally speaking, praise psalms attend to the variety of reasons for such exuberance in the first place. Here in Psalm 146, the reasons are ample. Praise the Lord for creating sky, earth, and sea, and all that is in them and for keeping faith without ceasing (verse 6). Praise the Lord, too, for giving justice to the oppressed, food to the hungry, freedom to the imprisoned, and sight to the blind, not to mention a few other items, such as protecting strangers and supporting widows and orphans (verses 7-8). There’s a lot of praiseworthiness here. Simply put, the psalm gives credit where credit is due.
The words of Isaiah 61:1-2 -- words which proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor -- are reflected in this section of Psalm 146. For this reason, scholars believe that Psalm 146 -- like Isaiah 61 -- derives from Israel’s post-exilic period. As if to underscore the psalm’s historical setting, the very next psalm begins by declaring, “Hallelujah … The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds” (147:2-3).

Reading 2                                      Jas 2:1-5

The apostle is here reproving a very corrupt practice. He shows how much mischief there is in the sin of prosopolepsia —respect of persons, which seemed to be a very growing evil in the churches of Christ even in those early ages, and which, in these after-times, has sadly corrupted and divided Christian nations and societies. Here we have a caution against this sin laid down in general.   The character of Christians fully implied: they are such as have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; they embrace it; they receive it; they govern themselves by it; they entertain the doctrine, and submit to the law and government, of Christ; they have it as a trust; they have it as a treasure. How honorably James speaks of Jesus Christ; he calls him the Lord of glory; for he is the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person. Christ’s being the Lord of glory should teach us not to respect Christians for anything so much as their relation and conformity to Christ. You who profess to believe the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the poorest Christian shall partake of equally with the rich, and to which all worldly glory is but vanity, you should not make men’s outward and worldly advantages the measure of your respect. In professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should not show respect to men, so as to cloud or lessen the glory of our glorious Lord: how ever any may think of it, this is certainly a very heinous sin. We have this sin described and cautioned against, by an instance or example of it. For if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, etc. Assembly here is meant of those meetings which were appointed for deciding matters of difference among the members of the church, or for determining when censures should be passed upon any, and what those censures should be; therefore the Greek word here used, synagoge, signifies such an assembly as that in the Jewish synagogues, when they met to do justice. To this the phrases used by the apostle have a most plain reference, and therefore the assembly here spoken of must be some such as the synagogue-assemblies of the Jews were, when they met to hear causes and to execute justice: to these the arbitrations and censures of their Christian assemblies are compared. But we must be careful not to apply what is here said to the common assemblies for worship; for in these certainly there may be appointed different places of persons according to their rank and circumstances, without sin. Thus, now hear the case: "There comes into your assembly) a man that is distinguished by his dress, and who makes a figure, and there comes in also a poor man in vile raiment, and you act partially, and determine wrong, merely because the one makes a better appearance, or is in better circumstances, than the other.’’ Observe hence, God has his remnant among all sorts of people, In matters of religion, rich and poor stand evenly; no man’s riches set him in the least nearer to God, nor does any man’s poverty set him at a distance from God. With the Most High there is no respect of persons, and therefore in matters of conscience there should be none with us. All undue honoring of worldly greatness and riches should especially be watched against in Christian societies. James does not here encourage rudeness or disorder. Civil respect must be paid, and some difference may be allowed in our carriage towards persons of different ranks; but this respect must never be such as to influence the proceedings of Christian societies in disposing of the offices of the church, or in passing the censures of the church, or in any thing that is purely a matter of religion; here we are to know no man after the flesh. It is the character of a citizen of Zion that in his eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honors those that fear the Lord. If a poor man be a good man, we must not value him an iota less for his poverty; and, if a rich man be a bad man, we must not value him any iota the more for his riches. Of what importance it is to take care what rule we go by in judging of men; if we allow ourselves commonly to judge by outward appearance, this will too much influence our spirits and our conduct in religious assemblies.

Gospel                                           Mk 7:31-37

Today we continue to hear the Gospel of Mark proclaimed. In today’s reading, Jesus heals a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. This is a story about Jesus’ healing power, and in it we find clues about our understanding of sacrament. We are struck by the physical means used to heal the man, the use of spittle and touch. The Church continues to celebrate the sacraments using physical means. In the Sacrament of Baptism, water and oil are used to show the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, we are anointed with holy oil on the forehead and the hands. In the Eucharist, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. We are a sacramental people who believe that God’s grace is given to us through these physical signs.
Some, however, see in this Gospel an image of the proclamation of the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. The geographic references tell us that Jesus is journeying through Gentile territory. Jesus had previously visited this region and healed a person possessed by a demon. Jesus was already famous there, which explains why people brought the deaf man to him. The story that precedes this reading in Mark’s Gospel sets the stage. Jesus encounters a Gentile, a Syrophoenician woman who asks him to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus engages her in a dialogue about not feeding to dogs the food intended for children. Jesus is struck by the woman’s great faith when she replies that even dogs eat the food that falls from the table, and he heals her daughter immediately. The faith of this Greek woman compels Jesus to respond to her plea.
Mark shows that Jesus’ own mission affirms the early Church’s mission to the Gentiles. This was a significant issue to the early Christian community, which found that the good news of Jesus took root and spread quickly among the Gentiles. Yet there is an irony in the story of healing that Mark tells. Jesus gives the man the gift of speech, but then tells him not to use it. Jesus asks that the news of his healing power, which is evidence of his identity as the Messiah, not be spread. This is a recurring motif in Mark’s Gospel and is sometimes called the “messianic secret.”
Making the Connection

Think about times when you were told good news or experienced something wonderful and yet were asked not to tell others about it. What are some reasons why people are asked to keep such news secret for awhile? (because they want to tell people themselves; because it is intended to be a surprise) Is it easy to keep such a secret or surprise?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks someone to keep secret the amazing thing that Jesus did for him. We’re not sure why Jesus asked for such a secret to be kept. But we learned in this Gospel that the secret was not kept.
What did Jesus do for this man? (Jesus healed his deafness and removed his speech impediment.) Why might Jesus have asked that no one be told about this healing? Who shares the news of the man’s healing? (the man and those who brought the man to Jesus) What did they announce? (that Jesus had done all things well and had made the deaf man hear and cured his speech impediment)
Christians are like the man and his friends in today’s Gospel. We have great news about Jesus that we can't help but share with others so that they might also know Jesus’ love.
Ask God to help us share the good news of God’s love with others. Pray together the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

What great nation is there that has gods near to it like the LORD our God? (verse 7)
What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances righteous as all this law? (verse 8)

The answer to these questions, of course, is "none!" The Israelite nation is incomparably great because it is so closely connected to its God. God is in the midst of the people (verse 7). The nation is also incomparably great, because it is so closely connected to its torah. The righteous law is also in the midst of the people (verse 9). The parallel syntax suggests that God's nearness and righteousness are closely connected to the law's nearness and righteousness. This idea seems confirmed in Deuteronomy 30:11-14, where the language of nearness reoccurs. In that passage, "It is the commandment that is near, not God. What is happening is that the commandment, the law, is almost a surrogate for God. The righteous laws being written on the heart and being kept are in some sense a manifestation of the presence of God. God draws near in the law that God gives."
If God draws near in the law that God gives, then we can expect the law to produce the same things that God produces. According to our Deuteronomy text, it does. As God gives life, so the law gives life. In verse 1, Moses urges the Israelites to listen to the statutes and ordinances he is teaching them. Why? "In order that you may live and go and inherit the land." In verse 2, Moses explains that nothing is to be added to, or taken away from these commands. The law shares God's attribute of completeness and wholeness.
What is missing in the lectionary pericope is verses 3-5, which recount the Israel's history at Baal Peor, where the Israelites yoked themselves to foreign women and the gods of Moab (cf. Numbers 25:1-13). Moses explains, "The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who went after the Baal of Peor, while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today" (verses 3-4). While this may not be a very palatable text, it makes the point strongly that there is death to those who do not follow God, and life for those who hold fast to God. Note how easily, then, the author switches between talking about the life-giving law and the life-giving God.
Verse 6, where our text picks up again, explains that keeping the statutes and ordinances will demonstrate the Israelites' wisdom and understanding to other nations. The wisdom and understanding of God will be evident to the other nations as the Israelites obey the law. Verse 8 tells us that the statutes and ordinances referred to in verse 1 are equated with the torah, which is described with the adjective, "righteous," probably referring to the social righteousness of these laws.
Christians must decide whether we too are heirs of this command. Jesus was called "Rabbi" by his disciples, who were students of his interpretation of the law. It is therefore highly unlikely that Jesus calls us to dismiss the law's life-giving power, wisdom and understanding. Far more likely is that if we study Deuteronomy and learn more about the law, it will bear witness to those around us (the other nations) and we will learn to love Jesus more.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

The Hebrew Bible as a whole represents the tension felt in Israelite society over the relationship between the worship one offers to God and the actions one takes with respect to neighbor. No single text in the Old Testament ever completely resolves this tension, though a strong case can be made that the prophetic witness certainly directed Israelites away from legalistic ritual toward obedience to God's word in general (1 Samuel 15:22, "surely, to obey is better than sacrifice") and concern for social justice in particular (Isaiah 1:11-17; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8).

Moreover, the Ten Commandments themselves exhibit a "marriage between cultic duty and moral demand." Rather than replacing concerns for ritual holiness, therefore, Old Testament theology invites Yahweh's worshipers to celebrate their relationship with God from within a life that exhibits love of neighbor. This is certainly part of the thrust of Jesus' teaching in the gospel lection for today, as well as in James's instruction about "the law of liberty" in the epistle reading (James 1:17-27).
Regardless of the number of distinct statements, the economy of language is stunning, with only fifty three Hebrew words compared to the NRSV's one hundred and two words. The psalmist wanted a memorable and trustworthy guide for social conduct, and sermons can present the psalm as a living portrait of the kind of life Moses called for in the Old Testament lection for this Sunday (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9). Observing Yahweh's words will indeed display Israel's "wisdom and discernment" to all the peoples (Deuteronomy 4:6).

What then shall we do with the specific claims the psalm places upon us? Overall, we affirm that the instructions of verses 2-5 are not conditions for entering worship but descriptions of living in a community guided by wisdom. The active participles in verse 2 (the walker, the doer, the speaker) reinforce this notion by emphasizing qualities of continued practice, not achieved righteousness.
Of particular concern are what people do with their speech (verses 3-4) and how they handle their money (verse 5), but these are not stated as general principles as they might be found in the Book of Proverbs. They are instead contextualized in terms of the effect our words and finances have on "friends" and "neighbors" (verse 3). Even when other persons are not mentioned by name, their presence is implied as the recipients of an oath (verse 4) or a loan (verse 5).
To bring the message full circle, the psalm is describing the kind of community within which God dwells. When the psalms were being collected in the post-exilic era, many dispersed Jews would never experience Temple worship. Psalm 15 encouraged them that communities of honesty and justice, wherever they may be, were themselves dwelling places of God.

Reading 2 Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

This theme -- God's goodness and perfection, and therefore the goodness and perfection of what God gives -- is the starting place for the present passage (verse 17). Human beings, brought forth by this good God by means of a word of truth, are to reflect divine goodness and perfection in the world.
One of the notable features of James is the author's use of vivid, concrete images that, parable-like, both illustrate the author's points and leave enough ambiguity to tease our minds into active thought. But the one who hears without doing, James implies, has what one of my associates called "moral Alzheimer's," a kind of deep forgetfulness that leaves the religious self unable to function fully.
So this is what James tells us: that we are to be quick to "hear," because not hearing enough leads us, apparently inevitably, to speech that is angry and unproductive. But hearing alone is not sufficient. We must also "do," because failing to act is evidence of a fundamental failure to function as God's first fruits in the world.
In what, then, does our religion consist? Perhaps the second startling turn in this passage is not so unexpected, after all, to those who have followed the argument leading up to it. Pure and undefiled religion, according to James, is this:

caring for orphans and widows in their distress
keeping oneself unstained from the world

That's it. The care of "orphans and widows" is a synecdoche for actions taken on behalf of the less fortunate, since in the ancient world widows and orphans were the most vulnerable members of society, singled out for special consideration also in biblical law and prophetic pronouncements. And since such work would necessarily bring one into contact with unbelievers and with the seamier side of human existence, believers are supposed to be careful to avoid participation in practices contrary to their Christian ethic.
Certainly these are important facets of most Christians' understanding of their religion. They would likely make many Christians' "top ten." But James challenges us to imagine a Christianity in which these are vital. What would such a faith and practice look like?
Perhaps, if we as Christians were to follow James's precepts, we would do a lot less talking and a lot more listening. We would forswear anger and self-deception. We would measure our faith by our personal relationships, both in our habits of speech and our relationships with others in the community. Our primary expression of our religion would be in outreach to the poor and neglected. By such attitudes and actions, James tells us, we fulfill the divine purpose and become first fruits of all God's creatures

Gospel Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The writer of Mark's Gospel often mentions apparently small details almost nonchalantly, in passing, seemingly on the way to a larger point. But these small details often make an even larger point, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Such is the case here. The fact that these Pharisees and scribes are from Jerusalem matters a great deal. For Mark, Jerusalem's greatest significance is that it is where Jesus will die. Mark's narrative is breathlessly hurtling toward Jerusalem, and to the death and resurrection of Jesus that will set the fulfillment of the kingdom of God in motion. By noting that these Pharisees and scribes are from Jerusalem, Mark is linking not only them, but this entire event, to Jesus' death and resurrection. It is because the kingdom is at hand that it's imperative that Jesus' message is understood, right now.
In today’s Gospel, Mark provides a significant amount of information about the Jewish observance of ritual-purity laws. Most scholars believe that Mark includes this information because his audience includes Gentile Christians who have no knowledge or experience of these laws. We can infer, therefore, that many in Mark’s community were not Jewish Christians.
In this Gospel, Mark addresses the question of which Jewish practices would also be observed in the newly emerging Christian community. This was a significant question for the early Christian Church, especially in communities that included both Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity. We also hear this question addressed in the letters of Paul with regard to table fellowship. In Gospel passages such as the one today, we see the Gospel evangelists finding justification for a Christian practice distinct from Judaism in the remembrances of Jesus’ teaching and the practice of his first disciples.
Jesus first criticizes the Pharisees for putting human tradition above God’s Law. Here, Jesus is referring to the tradition of the elders, the teachings of the Pharisees, which extended the ritual-purity laws of Temple worship to everyday Jewish life. Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for making this tradition equal to and as binding as the Law of Moses.
Next, Jesus comments on the meaning behind the Pharisees’ language of holiness—clean and unclean. Jesus teaches that a person is not defiled by the food that enters his or her body, but rather by sin that emerges from his or her words and actions. In this teaching, Jesus unmasks a deeper question behind the one posed to him by the Pharisees. The real issue is holiness, which is not found in external acts alone. Holiness comes from within and is evidenced in the actions and attitudes that emerge from a person’s life.
If we read today’s Gospel carefully, we will see a pattern in Jesus’ teaching method that will be repeated in the weeks ahead. Jesus’ first teaching is directed to the Pharisees who questioned him. Jesus’ words are then directed to the crowd, teaching that a person is defiled by his or her words and actions, not by the food that he or she eats. In verses omitted in today’s reading, we learn that Jesus returned home with his disciples, who in turn questioned him about what he had taught. The words we read at the conclusion of today’s Gospel are addressed to Jesus’ disciples. Mark’s narrative shows several audiences for Jesus’ teaching: his antagonists, the crowds, and Jesus’ disciples. As we see in this reading, the words to the Pharisees are often words of challenge. The teaching to the crowds is often a general, sometimes cryptic, message. With the disciples, who often misunderstand Jesus’ words, further explanation is offered about his message and its meaning.
Jesus’ words challenge us as well. In our desire to show that we are holy, we might also give too much credence to externals, following rules without thinking about the intention behind them. Jesus reminds us that we do not make ourselves holy only by our actions. Rather, we become holy when we allow God’s Spirit to transform us. Our actions should be an expression of the conversion of our heart to God and to God’s ways.
Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about the rules you have to follow; like driving, in a court room or at home, others? How do these rules compare? What are some examples of rules that are the same at home and outside the home? (Respect those in authority, respect others, be kind, be responsible for yourself.) What are some examples of rules that are different at home and at work or school? Why do you think some rules are different?
All rules are important. It is also important for us to know the reasons rules are made so that we can better understand why it is important to honor the rules. Like red light, stop signs etc.
In today’s Gospel, we hear the Pharisees challenge the practice of Jesus’ disciples that went against a rule that the Pharisees taught about washing hands and food utensils.
What did the Pharisees think that Jesus’ disciples should be doing? (washing their hands carefully) This was a practice of the Pharisees and of some Jewish people. They washed their hands and purified food utensils to make them clean. They thought that by doing this they were making themselves holy. What did Jesus say was a better indication of a person's holiness than washing one's hands and dishes? (the words and deeds he or she does)
Jesus taught that the Pharisees had forgotten the meaning behind their rules. They thought that they were making themselves holy by following the rules about making things clean. But Jesus taught that there was something more important than these actions. Jesus taught that our words and deeds toward others are what show us to be holy people. God wants us to do good things with our lives, such as share our possessions, think kind thoughts even about those who hurt us, and be truthful.
Ask God to help us live our lives in ways that show that our love for Jesus. Pray the Morning Prayer.

Morning PrayerGod, our Father, I offer you today
all that I think and do and say.
I offer it with what was done
on earth by Jesus Christ, your Son.
Amen.
==================================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                       Dt 4:1-2, 6-8

Have you ever pondered, "how do foreigners judge us as a people?" We Americans stand tall not only for the quality and diversity of our people; we proudly proclaim our ideals. Remember the opening lines from the Declaration of Independence. We hold that God created everyone equal and gave them inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Foreigners hold us to that ideal. They judge us based upon that standard.
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the people of the great gift God had given them in the Law. His ordinances were a point of pride and a burden. Israelites could crow about the Torah only to the extent that they held true to it. They shouldn't modify it for the sake of convenience. They shouldn't ignore it to gain advantage. The Law defined them as a people. It declared YHWH as their God and Israel as His servants.
As American Christians, we cling to our identity as free individual who chose to follow a Jewish Messiah. Our choice defines our identity and implicitly gives others a yardstick to measure us. If we hold fast to that identity, we will be found worthy and influence others, even as they point to us as examples. And, who knows, they might even join us.
Responsorial Psalm                      Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

Some bible scholars speculate Psalm 15 represented a ritual to re-admit a penitent to the Temple for worship. Psalm 15 began with a question: who could live with God? The images of the tent for the Exodus journey and the mountain where the Temple sat represented the presence of the divine. The answer came with a brief summation of the Law. 15:2 stressed the intent of the faithful Jew, since the spirit of the Law lead to its observance. 15:3-5 described relations with one's countrymen; respect others, reject evil people, fear God, be fair in questions of politics and commerce. 15:6 closed the psalm with a note of encouragement: "whoever acts in this way will not be disturbed."
Let's assume the biblical scholars are correct; Psalm 15 was a ritual of re-admittance to the Temple. The ritual could be divided into the following steps. The penitent, along with a priest and possibly other officials stood at the Temple gate. The priest would ask the question posed in 15:1. The penitent or a representative would answer with 15:3-5; in this way, the penitent would renew his commitment to faithfulness. The priest would respond with 15:6; he would approve of the penitent's return, thus allowing him entrance to the Temple. While this scenario is not certain, it can give us a glimpse into the cultural values of the time.
Many Americans believe forgiveness and acceptance should be relegated to the private sphere; the public sphere of the courts or legislation should focus on justice and the rights of the people. This is unfortunate. Imagine if our culture did have public rituals of forgiveness. We might be a better society, for we would have a way to reintegrate the penitent. We would have institutional ways not just to right wrongs, but to heal them.

Reading 2                                      Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Tradition holds that the book of James was written in opposition to the views of Paul. The famous "faith vs. works" battle of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation found its seeds in this letter. But, we should be careful not to over generalize the book as only a polemical treatise. Primarily, it was a wisdom book, a set of sayings that guided the conduct of a Jewish Christian community in Palestine. While the author had an eye on the sayings of Paul, his first question was: how can his community live out the Law as a follower of Jesus?
Judaism has always been more than a set of religious practices. It was a world view that combined faith with a highly moral lifestyle. Worship of God had ethical consequences. When Paul rejected the duties of the Law (so-called "works"), he really rejected its ritual obligations. Gentiles who joined the Church were not to be circumcised, maintain a kosher diet, or remain separate from their non-Christian neighbors. In this sense, they were truly free from the Law. They had a relationship with God, not based upon the covenant of Moses, but upon faith.
Unfortunately, some took Paul's words to their logical conclusion. Freedom from the Law meant a libertine lifestyle: freedom without God's Law. Here was where James stepped in. He defined "a clean (i.e., 'kosher') religion" as one based upon the ethical duties found in the Law. A relationship with God was to be lived out in the spirit of Hosea 6:6 ("For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings." RSV). Or, as Matthew 9:13 paraphrased Hosea: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Those who lived out God's Law performed acts of charity and kept a morally upright reputation. This was what James meant by the phrase "be a doer of the Word."
James placed the moral lifestyle of the Christian in the context of grace. Every good gift came from God. But the highest gift was his "Word," the indwelling of Christ through the power of the Spirit. The Word was not something to be simply heard, as something external. No, it was to take root in one's being and lived out. For James, the life of grace was the ethical life.
Paul may have rejected the Law to be more pastoral with the new converts. But, with his Jewish background, James was more practical in the everyday implications of the Christian lifestyle. They may have come from different theoretical corners. But together, they helped define the new movement of the Nazarene.

Gospel                                            Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

As a religious and political group, the Pharisee party taught that living the Law would bring God's kingdom closer to reality. To help them live out the Law, the Pharisees created other laws, rules, and guidelines to keep people from breaking the Law. Jews call this practice "building a fence around the Law." [3-4]
But, why did the Jews practice all these washings? These rituals were points of transition between the secular world and the sacred, between the time of work and the time of worship. Meal time celebrated community in the presence of God. Families and friends gathered together to share stories, news of the day, and gossip. But they always gathered as God's people; prayer became an integral part of the meal.
These washings became more important as Judaism moved from an agrarian religion to an urban (even ghetto) phenomenon. With the decline of Judea and the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 B.C.E., the people migrated to different parts of the world. From India to the head waters of the Nile, Jews gathered to remain a community in the cities. (For example, at the time of Jesus, Jews accounted for one third of the largest city in the Roman Empire, Alexandria in Egypt.) The Diaspora dwelled in the cities of other nations, but remained distinctly Jewish.
How, then, would Jews keep their faith in the midst of a foreign culture? Heighten the differences. Hence, practices like washings reminded Jews of their heritage, their current faith, and the reason they were not like other peoples. Their practices also reminded the host culture Jews were different!
The party of the Pharisees were quickly becoming the urban force in Judaism. And their vision of a city-based Judaism gained influence. Jesus, however, represented a rural vision of Judaism. Rules and rituals were secondary to survival. The carpenter and his fishermen followers from Galilee did not have the luxury of time to wash hands or utensils. No, the Nazarene had a far greater vision in mind than that of ritual.

=================================================================

Sunday August 25, 2024 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 122

Reading 1                                        Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
"If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

But the people answered,
"Far be it from us to forsake the LORD
for the service of other gods.
For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery.
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;
he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2                                       Eph 5:21-32

Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the church,
he himself the savior of the body.
As the church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Gospel                                              Jn 6:60-69

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                        Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Joshua invites all Israel to the town of Shechem in the central highlands of Israel. Joshua reminds them of the long history of all that God had done for Israel: the promises to the ancestors, the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and God’s provision through the wilderness (Joshua 24:1-13). Although much of this section is deleted from the lectionary reading, these verses are important. They testify to God’s grace, mercy and unmerited love of Israel which forms the reason for Joshua’s call in verse 14: “Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.” Reverence and obedience to God are the primary ways by which God’s people give thanks to God for the generous gifts of life and freedom God has already given.

Joshua urges the people to put away “the gods of the ancestors” and “serve the LORD.” Speaking on behalf of his own household, Joshua declares: “We will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). If the other Israelite household are unwilling to follow the example of Joshua in serving the LORD, then they are free to “choose” among multiple other foreign gods, whether Mesopotamian gods (from “beyond the River [Euphrates]”) or “the gods of the Amorites [Canaanites]” (24:14-15). It doesn’t matter which other god they choose; they will have broken the sacred covenant bond between them and their one true God.

The Israelites respond to Joshua enthusiastically: “We also will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:18)! Now the reader might expect Joshua at this point to say, “Great! I’m delighted to hear you’re on board!” Instead, Joshua sternly replies, “You cannot serve the LORD!” God is jealous for your love, and God will not forgive you endlessly and without consequence. If you forsake God, God will “consume you, after having done you good” (Joshua 24:19). The people urgently answer back, “No, we will serve the LORD” (24:21). The elderly Joshua seems to have a longer view of these matters based on his long experience.
Joshua knew all too well what Moses also knew (Deuteronomy 31:27, 29). The future of God’s people in the land depended ultimately not on the people’s sincerity, faithfulness or obedience. No, ultimately, the future depended on God -- God’s faithfulness, God’s mercy, God’s powerful word, God’s transformation of the heart. Israel would suffer severe consequences for its centuries of forsaking God (exile from the land). In the end, however, God would bring Israel back to the land not because of who the people were, but because of who God was…and who God is.

Responsorial Psalm                    Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Psalm 34 is an individual hymn of thanksgiving of David sung on the occasion of the deliverance of his very life by God, perhaps as the ultimate word about God's help to those who are in need (a summary of all that could be said about God's help in the face of oppression and hurt). Readers and hearers, then, should heed the words of Psalm 34, a song of thanksgiving for deliverance and find in them hope for deliverance from various oppressive situations. In the focus text, Psalm 34:1-8, the psalmist first offers praise to God.

The psalmist unflinchingly holds the traditional wisdom of verses 11-14 together with the fact of suffering for the righteous. Given the reputation of the Book of Proverbs as presenting a simplified view of obedience and blessing, we should notice that the object of oppression and trouble in verses 15-22 are not some group of pretend-worshipers or secret slackers who finally get what's coming to them. If that were the case, then we could explain their sufferings and take refuge in our tidy theology of prosperity for the righteous.
However, this psalm won't let us off the hook. Without disparaging the general truth of traditional wisdom, the author nevertheless states that the righteous do indeed suffer. They "cry" and experience "troubles" (verses 15, 17).1 They are "brokenhearted" and have "afflictions" (verses 18-19). It is also likely the case that these righteous ones are "socially marginal," turning to Yahweh for help instead of to some other source within human society.2 Such a class reading may help to explain a source of their affliction, but the repetition of "righteous" points to a moral/spiritual cause of persecution as well. One thinks, in this regard, of the apostle's encouragement of those who "suffer for doing what is right" (1 Peter 3:14; 4:15-16).

There are excellent biblical and theological reasons for shunning a world and life view that explains everything in terms of conflict. We live with the increasing potential for demonizing enemies and even average folks who simply disagree with us on politics and religion. A gospel mindset teaches that abundant life isn't about identifying the "bad guys" in every situation or turning every issue into an ultimate battle between good and evil. That being said, the tone of opposition in our passage is confirmed by human experience.
Thus, in spite of the very real danger of oversimplification, Psalm 34 provides an eloquent Old Testament conversation partner for the New Testament epistle reading this Sunday (Ephesians), with its message of spiritual conflict. The psalmist's reason for acknowledging such conflict is not to demonize evildoers but to maintain solidarity with the victims of evil. The believer leaves the judgment in the hands of the Lord (verse 16). While this passage is not a mandate to end the struggle for justice, the author prefers to trust the mysterious workings of providence, namely, that "evil brings death to the wicked" (verse 21a). Moreover, the passive sense of verse 21b ("those who hate the righteous will be condemned") tends to remove personal vengeance from the disposition of justice.

In spite of the above painful realities, the psalmist nevertheless believes that God is actively present to bless and save the righteous sufferer. This theme is lifted up in manifold ways that all have a vivid, sensory, and personal expression: God's "eyes" and "ears" which see and hear the plight of the needy (verses 15, 17); God's "face" which is "against evildoers (verse 16); God's nearness to and salvation of the "brokenhearted" (verse 18); God's keeping "the bones" and redeeming "the life" of the righteous (verses 20, 22). "The true happiness of a godly life consists in the nearness of God and in the living experience of his help and not in being spared suffering and affliction." This notion dovetails nicely with the sense of "abiding" in the gospel lection for today, John 6:60-69.

Reading 2                                        Eph 5:21-32

Here the apostle begins his exhortation to the discharge of relative duties. As a general foundation for these duties, he lays down that rule v. 21. There is a mutual submission that Christians owe one to another, condescending to bear one another's burdens: not advancing themselves above others, nor domineering over one another and giving laws to one another. Paul was an example of this truly Christian temper, for he became all things to all men. We must be of a yielding and of a submissive spirit, and ready to all the duties of the respective places and stations that God has allotted to us in the world. In the fear of God, that is, so far as is consistent with the fear of God, for his sake, and out of conscience towards him, and that hereby we may give proof that we truly fear him. Where there is this mutual condescension and submission, the duties of all relations will be the better performed. From v. 22 to the end he speaks of the duties of husbands and wives; and he speaks of these in a Christian manner, setting the church as an example of the wife's subjection, and Christ as an example of love in husbands.

The duty prescribed to wives is submission to their husbands in the Lord (v. 22), which submission includes the honoring and obeying of them, and that from a principle of love to them. They must do this in compliance with God's authority, who has commanded it, which is doing it as unto the Lord; or it may be understood by way of similitude and likeness, so that the sense may be, "as, being devoted to God, you submit yourselves unto him." From the former sense we may learn that by a conscientious discharge of the duties we owe to our fellow-creatures we obey and please God himself; and, from the latter, that God not only requires and insists on those duties which immediately respect himself, but also respect our neighbors. The apostle assigns the reason of this submission from wives: For the husband is the head of the wife, v. 23. The metaphor is taken from the head in the natural body, which, being the seat of reason, of wisdom, and of knowledge, and the fountain of sense and motion, is more excellent than the rest of the body. God has given the man the pre-eminence and a right to direct and govern by creation, and in that original law of the relation, Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Whatever there is of uneasiness in this, it is an effect of sin coming into the world. Generally, too, the man has (what he ought to have) a superiority in wisdom and knowledge. He is therefore the head, even as Christ is the head of the church. There is a resemblance of Christ's authority over the church in that superiority and headship which God has appointed to the husband. The apostle adds, and he is the Savior of the body. Christ's authority is exercised over the church for the saving of her from evil, and the supplying of her with everything good for her. In like manner should the husband be employed for the protection and comfort of his spouse; and therefore she should more cheerfully submit herself unto him. So it follows, Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ (v. 24), with cheerfulness, with fidelity, with humility, so let the wives be to their own husbands in ever thing—in everything to which their authority justly extends itself, in everything lawful and consistent with duty to God.
II. The duty of husbands (on the other hand), is to love their wives (v. 25); for without this they would abuse their superiority and headship, and, wherever this prevails as it ought to do, it will infer the other duties of the relation, it being a special and peculiar affection that is required in her behalf. The love of Christ to the church is proposed as an example of this, which love of his is a sincere, a pure, an ardent, and constant affection, and that notwithstanding the imperfections and failures that she is guilty of. The greatness of his love to the church appeared in his giving himself unto the death for it. Observe, As the church's subjection to Christ is proposed as an exemplar to wives, so the love of Christ to his church is proposed as a pattern to husbands; and while such examples are offered to both, and so much is required of each, neither has reason to complain of the divine injunctions. The instrumental means whereby this is affected are the instituted sacraments, particularly the washing of baptism and the preaching and reception of the gospel. And that he might present it to himself, etc., v. 27.
The apostle adds, For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones, v. 30. He assigns this as a reason why Christ nourishes and cherishes his church-because all who belong to it are members of his body, that is, of his mystical body. Or, we are members out of his body: all the grace and glory which the church has are from Christ, as Eve was taken out of the man. But, as one observes, it being the manner of the sacred writings to express a complex body by the enumeration of its several parts, as the heaven and earth for the world, evening and morning for the natural day, so here, by body, flesh, and bones, we are to understand himself, the meaning of the verse being that we are members of Christ.--For this cause (because they are one, as Christ and his church are one) shall a man leave his father and mother; the apostle refers to the words of Adam, when Eve was given to him for a meet help, Gen. 2:24. We are not to understand by this that a man's obligation to other relations is cancelled upon his marriage, but only that this relation is to be preferred to all others, there being a nearer union between these two than between any others, that the man must rather leave any of those than his wife.--And they two shall be one flesh, that is, by virtue of the matrimonial bond. This is a great mystery, v. 32. Those words of Adam, just mentioned by the apostle, are spoken literally of marriage; but they have also a hidden mystical sense in them, relating to the union between Christ and his church, of which the conjugal union between Adam and the mother of us all was a type: though not instituted or appointed by God to signify this, yet it was a kind of natural type, as having a resemblance to it: I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Gospel                                             Jn 6:60-69

For our Gospel today we hear the conclusion of the “Bread of Life discourse” in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. In the preceding verses, which we have heard proclaimed in our liturgy over the past few weeks, we have heard Jesus explain that he is the Bread of Life, given so that those who believe may have eternal life. This discourse follows the miracle in which Jesus fed more than five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish. As Jesus has been teaching these things, John’s Gospel describes a murmuring crowd unable to accept Jesus’ words. In today’s Gospel, the crowd has dwindled in number, and John no longer references them, or the Jews. Instead John describes the questioning of those considered to be Jesus’ own disciples.
Today’s Gospel first records the response of those in the crowd who are described as Jesus’ disciples. Just as the larger crowd had struggled with Jesus’ teaching, these disciples also cannot accept Jesus’ words. Jesus is said to know about their murmuring. He responds by acknowledging their unbelief and by reiterating that only those chosen by the Father will follow Jesus to the end. John’s Gospel reports that many of those who had been Jesus’ disciples ceased to follow him at this point. The number of people following Jesus dwindled from a crowd of more than 5,000 to only 12 people. And it is to these Twelve that Jesus now turns his attention.
Simon Peter’s response to Jesus’ question as to whether those closest to him will also leave, reminds us of the reports of Peter’s confession of faith in the Synoptic Gospels. Peter announces, on behalf of all the Twelve, that they have come to believe all that Jesus has taught about himself: Jesus is the one from God in whom they have found the path to eternal life.
This conclusion of the Bread of Life discourse focuses on personal faith in the life of Christian discipleship. Each person must make his or her own judgment about who Jesus is and in doing so determine the way of life that he or she will follow. God’s grace invites us to be Jesus’ disciples, but each person must respond to the grace of God and confess as his or her own the belief that Jesus is the one from God. This faith then commits us to the path of life, leading us to eternal life.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

If you were baptized as an infant, your parents spoke for you in making a profession of faith in what the Catholic Church teaches about Jesus. Your parents also promised to teach you about our faith in Jesus. For many of us, this is why we celebrate Mass and participate in Church activities, because it is important to our parents and our families. Eventually, each of us makes our own decision about why and how we will express our faith in Jesus.
For the past several weeks, we have heard Jesus teach about himself in our Gospel. In particular, we have heard Jesus teach us that he is the Bread of Life. In today’s Gospel we hear how those closest to Jesus responded to these words.
Did all of Jesus’ disciples accept his teaching? (No, many of Jesus’ disciples could not accept his words and went away.) Who did accept Jesus’ teaching? (the Twelve) What did Simon Peter say that the Twelve had come to believe about Jesus? (that Jesus came from God; that Jesus could lead them to eternal life)
As we grow in our faith, we will make our own choices about living our faith. But we can’t do this without God’s help and the help of the community of faith, the Church. We pray that God will help us be like Simon Peter and the disciples who chose to follow Jesus.
Conclude by praying the Apostles’ Creed.

Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
=============================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                        Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b

How difficult is making the choice to believe? We can ask the question in another way. What is the cost of faith?
After 40 years wandering in the desert, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. The people had endured suffering and long waiting. But, taking possession of the land meant warring against the local population. Hence Joshua gathered the people together and asked them the faith question. How much faith did the Israelites have in God?
At the time of the settlement and afterwards, the Israelites lived in a world of many gods. These gods functioned as the mascot of the local population, since they believed their existence was divinely mandated. So, to fight against a local population meant to fight against their god(s).
Joshua, then, gave them not only a choice of faith but one of national allegiance. Joshua seemed to ask them: "Are you an Israelite or not?" There was no room to waver religiously or patriotically. So, get rid of other idols. The people renew their faith by a retelling of their history.
Many people wonder if the early Israelites were true monotheists. In other words, didn't they believe in only one God? As a religious philosophy, monotheism reduces all divinity to one being and denies the possible existence of any greater power. The Israelites were a migrating people, however; they did not bother with such philosophic questions. Their God was a national symbol; they rejected any other god simply because the gods were not Israeli.
As a side note, monotheism, as a religious philosophy, began with the Egyptians, not with the Israelites. However, the Israelites were the first practicing monotheists. In addition, the Israelites were the first to believe in a God that revealed himself not in the powers of nature, but in the events of history. As such, no image from nature could truly represent the power of God; so the lack of an image became part of the Israeli faith.
Today, our wars are for monetary gain in the marketplace, not victory on the battlefield. Media floods us with seductive images that lead us from faith. And, in today's multicultural society, there are as many diverse philosophies as ever. We face temptation at every turn. Do we stay faithful, or do we fall away? The challenge of Joshua is as relevant today as it was when he first spoke those words in the first reading.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

The first verses were an invitation to communal praise; the leader extolled the glory of the Lord as a witness to the community, then invited the assembly to join him. Verses1-21 continued the wisdom theme, but this time, in proverbs. Like the imperatives of 34:5, 8-9, 34:11 was a call, but this time to learn wisdom about the fear of the Lord. 34:12 asked a rhetorical question about love of happiness, only to be followed by two proverbs (34:13-14), one to refrain from speaking evil, the other to repent and seek peace. 34:15-22 described the outcome of the proverbs. He would look over the good, but destroy the evil. Such protection did not mean freedom from misery (34:18-20), but did guarantee a safe arrival to the presence of God. (34:20b was quoted in John 19:36 as a fulfilled prophecy in his Passion narrative.)
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. The imperative of 34:9a is valid in good times and tough going. Despite the ups and downs of life, God will be there if we are open to his presence. He is there, waiting for our company.
Reading 2                                       Eph 5:21-32

This passage is a land-mine for modern, Western readers. There are two reasons for concern, questions on the definition of marriage and the status of women. But, these are our cultural concerns. The author of Ephesians assumed a definition of marriage and the secondary status of women. Yet, his analogy of marriage and relationship between Christ and the Church implicitly raised the status of women in his cultural setting and changed the Christian meaning of marriage.
The Definition of Marriage in Ephesians: These days, the definition of marriage has come into question. Obviously, marriage as a legal term could change. In the past two hundred years, "marriage" has shifted in meaning from a religious covenant to a legal contract. The religious institution has given way to the state in the regulation of marriage.
But, at its core, marriage brings two people together to live in the same house and the same bed. From them comes a family. The author of Ephesians used this simple description as an analogy for Christ in the Church.
The Status of Women in the Ephesian Community: Even in the "progressive" Greek culture that Rome ruled, women had few rights. They could own and inherit property and could initiate divorce. However, only the rich and educated could exercise these prerogatives. The majority poor were governed less by the state than by tradition and the patriarchal structure of the family. Women were second class citizens in a male-dominated, gender-segregated society. Service and childbearing were the main functions of women.
Raising the Status of Women in the Community: The author of Ephesians raised the status of women within the cultural context by raising the status of the husband. The husband was the image of Christ in the marriage. As such, wives were to defer to their husbands and serve them, but this deference and service was not based in cultural norms. No, it was based in faith. Wives were to serve their husbands in the same way they served the Lord.
But notice the greater responsibility and real shift in behavior was placed on the husband. He was to love his wife as himself. This meant he was to treat her as an equal, not as a servant or as property. Just as important, he was to see himself as Christ to his family. How did Christ found the Church? (Baptism and the pronouncement of the word in 5:26.) What was the destiny of the Church? (As the spotless companion of the Christ at the end of time in 5:27.) Implicit in these questions was the beginning and meaning of marriage for the husband. How he treated his wife in the beginning of his married life would impact their life together in the future. If he respected his spouse at the start, she would remain respectable throughout their lives. If he really loved her when the vows were exchanged, his love would only grow for her over time.
Changing the Christian Meaning of Marriage: While the author used the image of Christ to raise marriage to a higher level, he used marriage as a symbol of the end times. Up to this point, celibacy and the single life stood as counter-cultural signs of the final days. Jesus was single. So was Paul. This freedom gave them the opportunity to preach and heal in the name of the Kingdom. In a society dominated by marriage, the single life was not unusual. But it was different. In Christian circles, it pointed to the immanence of the Second Coming. (See 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 and Matthew 19:10-12.)
But, notice in this passage, marriage became the symbol for the Second Coming. Certainly, marriage had always been an analogy for God's unity with his people (see Hosea, for example). But, the author of Ephesians made marriage a model for ministry, just as much as the single life had been. So, both the single and married life had parity in the eyes of the community. Both were paradigms for Christian living and Christian expectation.
In the end, the author could state that a good Christian community was like a good marriage, built on love, trust, and mutual respect. But he said more. To be Christian is to always act like Christ, both in public and in private. What he did is our model for life, whether we are single or married. And if we are married, we are to give as he gave, love as he loved, and in the end, share glory as he shares it with us.

Gospel                                              Jn 6:60-69

Faith in Christ does indeed bring scandal. But many leave the Catholic Church or Christianity itself because of sinfulness. Power, possessions, and position can drive more away than the scandal of faith. Each must take responsibility for his or her actions and their consequences, no matter which side he or she may stand.
But, just because one leaves the Church or joins another congregation does not mean God has rejected him or her. Those in other Churches and ecclesial communities offer their followers means of sanctification: God's written word and a life of grace (the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, along with the gifts of the Spirit). Those washed in the waters of Baptism and living a life of faith have the right to be called Christian. Even those who reject Christ and his Church are called to return by means we may never know. So, those who leave the Catholic Church for another community, and those who leave Christianity altogether need to be treated with respect and charity, not distance and disdain. For our actions may be part of God's plan that will eventually bring the lost back to Christ and the fullness of Christian life.
Do you know of someone who has left the Church or rejected Christ? What sort of relationship do you have with that person? How can you help them return?
In an era of "cafeteria Christianity" let us remember why we are Catholics, but let us also empathize with those who have doubts. Let us lead those in a faith crisis by prayer, compassion, and honesty. Finally, let us remember that faith and faithfulness are gifts from God. We cannot impose them on others.
=====================================================

Sunday August 18, 2024 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 119

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                         Prv 9:1-6

Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
"Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding."

Responsorial Psalm                        Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
.
Reading 2                                         Eph 5:15-20

Brothers and sisters:
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
.
Gospel                                            Jn 6:51-58

Jesus said to the crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                         Prv 9:1-6

Wisdom who has previously partnered with God in creation, (Proverbs 8:22-31), is now the host of a great banquet. But before she sets her table, she builds a house (or perhaps a banquet house). It seems that the whole purpose of her building is hospitality; she needs a place to host the banquet to which she will soon invite the world. Wisdom is no lady at leisure ordering the staff about -- she has staff but works with them and does hard, manual labor herself.
First in verse 1, Wisdom builds her own house, then she crafts seven decorative pillars -- either chopping down trees or carving stones. Then in verse 2 she butchers her own fresh meat, mixes her own wine and sets her table. In verse 3 she tasks her serving girls with an undisclosed task, likely invitations to specific guests -- who are they? -- yet she herself invites complete strangers en mass. She goes from place to place, specifically inviting those who are woefully unacquainted with her in verse 4, calling out to them, shouting loudly in public places, in so doing she models extraordinary yet perhaps acceptable behavior for human women. In verse 5 she explains that the way for those bereft of her to benefit from her is to feast at her table. And if they do so, they will live and walk in understanding.
Wisdom's table is a metaphor for the acquisition of wisdom. But what is wisdom? It is more than innate intelligence or sense; for it can be gained by those who lack it. In Biblical Hebrew, wisdom is as much technical expertise or craft(wo)manship as it is intellectual knowledge. The women (Exodus 35:26) and men (Exodus 31:6) who craft the Tabernacle in the wilderness are all called wise; if Israel keeps the Torah they will be a "wise and understanding people" in Deuteronomy 4:6; the wise woman who led her city seems to be the governing official who saves her people from certain death by shrewd and lethal political dealing in 2 Samuel 20:22, and of course the wisdom of Solomon was legendary, 1 Kings 4:29. So wisdom is craft: statecraft, Torah-craft craftwomanship, craftsmanship and craftiness.
The source of wisdom is Wisdom herself. And who (or what) is Wisdom? In rabbinic (Jewish) thought, Wisdom is the Torah. The rubric goes something like this: Both Wisdom and Torah are feminine nouns. Proverbs 3:18 says, "She is a Tree of Life," also understood to be the Torah. Torah-knowledge, fruit from that tree, should be feasted upon like the banquet at Wisdom's table: "taste and see" (Psalm 34:8), the sweetness of God's word(s) is compared to honey, (Psalm 119:103; Ezekiel 3:3), the notion continues in the New Testament in Revelation 10:9. Wisdom is also intimately tangled up with God, said to be both the first of God's creation (Proverbs 8:22) and God's co-worker/master-worker (Proverbs 8:30). God is the source of Wisdom (and Torah and life).
0Wisdom has built her house...she has set her table. So pull up a seat and sit down. Eat and drink your fill. And be satisfied.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Notice this is almost a copy of last weeks’ Psalm. Psalm 34 is a testimony embedded in the narrative of scripture. Like any testimony, it gives the narrative of God and the narrative of David, the Old Testament protagonist or antagonist -- depending on which part of his life the reader is considering. In Psalm 34, David gives testimony of a time when he fled Saul, took refuge with the Philistines, and came to be afraid of King Achish, the king of Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-12).
The structure of the first eight verses of this Psalm does two things: it establishes the author’s intention to give a testimony (v. 1-3) and it provides details of David’s experience that prompted the testimony.
David begins his testimony in Psalm 34 by stating his intent: to worship God at all times (v. 1). This praise, however, is not passive; it is an intentional commitment to extol the name of GOD in an ongoing manner. This praise is to be continuous. It is to happen at all times. The author then invites, even commands others to listen (v. 2), particularly those who are weak. What is the cumulative result? The assembly will worship GOD together by offering praise, so that what began as one individual’s praise has now become a corporate reason to praise (v. 3).
Verses 4-6 are a more specific account of the general introduction to Psalm 34. Here, the Psalmist doesn’t tell the whole story, but he does say that he prayed to GOD, GOD heard, and GOD rescued him from what may have been a terrifying experience (v. 4). GOD delivered him from the “object” of the fear, not only the feeling of fear. Looking to GOD will do for others as it did for the Psalmist: give a new appearance (v. 5). In this particular instance, the new appearance was one of radiance, of shining. Verse 6 provides a recap of the Psalm: a weak man called to GOD, GOD listened, and GOD delivered.
Thomas Long has said, “To be human is to live a story.” Psalm 34 reminds us of this. Psalm 34 also reminds us that sharing that story through the practice of Christian testimony is deeply embedded in the narrative of scripture and in the narrative of God and God’s people.
Here, we see David’s testimony embedded in the narrative of scripture, of God, and of God’s people. Through David, we are reminded that as Christians our testimonies are not boring because they involve the action of God, the one whose ears are turned to us, the one who has delivered our forebears, and the one who is ready to deliver us if we are bold enough to ask. And, we are reminded that when God does deliver us, we are to share that story so that our individual praise can become a communal praise.

Reading 2                                         Eph 5:15-20

Addressed to the church in Ephesus but presumed to have been circulated to many churches, Ephesians 5:15-20 fits well within the framework of today's governing scripture -- the Gospel reading -- and the congenial imagery of Proverbs. Both tell us that this Sunday is about the food of true life. The living bread is given -- body and blood -- for the beloved community.
This passage sets forth stark alternatives aimed specifically at living a life that is centered in worship: singing (lalountes) and giving thanks (eucharistountes) in the name of the Lord. This passage also lays out a pathway to that life by setting up stark oppositions. One scholar sees three oppositions in Ephesians 5:1-20: love vs. lust, light vs. darkness, and wisdom vs. foolishness. The text for this Sunday focuses on the last of these.
God has given us time, ourselves, and Earth in and through which to exercise reverence by being wise, focused on God's desire for all creation, and Spirit-filled. We honor God's gifts when we attend to its profundity, acknowledging that creation and our own lives actually matter. If we spend our days numbed to God's gifts (that is, inebriated by a myriad of possible anesthetics, including greed, power, contempt for others, and all manner of unfocused indulgences), we cannot experience life "filled with the Spirit."
The contrast here is between going along with social norms and, conversely, being directed by a more penetrating source of purpose. These admonitions are not meant to be legalisms that straitjacket joy; they articulate contrasts that can help us see our true identity as beloved of God in Christ Jesus. To be filled by the Holy Spirit is, in fact, to be baptized and, thus, invited to the feast of bread and wine.
It is not possible, aside from the presence of Christ, to know the will of the Lord or to make the most of our time or even to be careful! Indeed, a person can choose one path rather than another, negotiate the extent to which we believe we have a handle on God's will, and learn how to be useful and productive with our days. We may well be good care-takers of Earth and its creatures. But we cannot know most deeply what God has made available to us without knowing what it is to live a life of thanksgiving. The writer of Ephesians describes that thanksgiving as a gathering of those who come together to sing to the Lord and give thanks "at all times and for everything."
There is a certain irony in a text that sets foolishness against wisdom. The cross is wisdom. Life in Jesus' risen presence is abundant life. Yet, isn't it also foolish? To live a life of thanksgiving in the face of all that is wrong in the world, all the pain and need and stupidity, may seem to some people to be a very foolish way to live. So this passage invites us to think deeply about the relationship between foolish and wise life, to pay attention, so that we live according to what resides beyond the present moment.

Gospel                                             Jn 6:51-58

On this Sunday, we continue to read from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. Today’s Gospel elaborates further on the teaching that Jesus began in our liturgy last week. In that reading, the crowds wondered about how Jesus could say that he had come down from heaven because they knew Jesus to be the son of Joseph. In this Gospel, some have difficulty with Jesus’ teaching that he is the living bread sent from God. Recall that Jesus had told them that just as God gave the Israelites manna to sustain them in the desert, so now God has sent new manna that will give eternal life. We hear the concluding verse of last week’s Gospel repeated in today’s reading: Jesus himself is the bread sent by God; Jesus’ flesh is the bread that is given for the life of the world.
Among the stumbling blocks for those who heard but did not understand Jesus is teaching that the bread that Jesus will give is his own flesh. In response to the people who quarreled over his words, Jesus teaches with even greater emphasis that salvation comes to those who eat his Body and Blood. Jesus doesn’t seem to answer the question posed about how salvation will come about, perhaps because this reality can only be understood after his death and Resurrection. Instead, Jesus teaches about the life that he will give to the world.
To many ears, Jesus’ words are jarring and difficult to hear. Many who heard Jesus could not accept what he said. Many today continue to struggle to accept these words. But they are important words because they reveal our intimate connection with Jesus.
Without the familiar story of the last supper, this text is the primary reflection on the Eucharist in John. With that in mind, we need to notice the clear and insistent focus on Jesus himself as the one given by the Father, the one who is the Bread of Life from Heaven, the one on whom we must feed.
If this text is at one level a meditation on the Eucharist then part of the point is that the Eucharist is life-giving because it is Jesus who gives it, and it is life-giving because it is Jesus himself who is given. The Eucharist is life-giving because it draws us deeper into relationship with Jesus, so that we may "abide" there (verse 56). There can be no proper understanding of the Eucharist apart from this life-giving participation in the life and the death of Jesus himself.
This is the mystery that is at the heart of our eucharistic theology. In the elements of bread and wine, Jesus’ Body and Blood are made truly present. When we share in the Body and Blood of Christ, Jesus himself comes to dwell within us. This communion with the Lord makes us one body, brings us eternal life, and sends us forth to be Christ’s body for the life of the world.
Without the familiar story of the last supper, this text is the primary reflection on the Eucharist in John. With that in mind, we need to notice the clear and insistent focus on Jesus himself as the one given by the Father, the one who is the Bread of Life from Heaven, the one on whom we must feed.
If this text is at one level a meditation on the Eucharist then part of the point is that the Eucharist is life-giving because it is Jesus who gives it, and it is life-giving because it is Jesus himself who is given. The Eucharist is life-giving because it draws us deeper into relationship with Jesus, so that we may "abide" there (verse 56). There can be no proper understanding of the Eucharist apart from this life-giving participation in the life and the death of Jesus himself.

Making the Connection

Identify as many different forms of bread as you can think of (white bread, wheat bread, bagels, English muffins, pitas, tortillas, and so on).
Why do we eat bread? What does bread do for us? (Bread is nourishment; bread sustains us; eating bread fills us.)
Bread is a staple of our diet, as it was for people in Jesus’ time. Today’s Gospel reading talks about the bread that Jesus gives us. This reading is taken from the Gospel of John, which we have been hearing at Sunday Mass for the past several weeks. We’ll understand today’s Gospel better if we review these readings.
Remember that a crowd of people had gathered to hear Jesus, and Jesus had blessed five barley loaves and two fish; there was enough to feed over five thousand people. Many people came to believe that Jesus came from God because of that miracle. The next day, the crowd continued to follow Jesus, and many wanted to see him perform another miracle. Instead, Jesus talks with them about the miracle, the sign, he had performed. Many people who hear him are not sure how to receive his words.
What kind of bread does Jesus say he will give? (living bread) Where does this living bread come from? (heaven) What will this bread do for those who eat it? (It will bring them eternal life; Jesus will come to live in those who eat this bread.) What else does Jesus say about this bread? (Jesus says that this living bread is his flesh, given for the life of the world.) What do you think Jesus is talking about? (the Eucharist)
In today’s reading, Jesus is telling us about the special gift he gives us in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. When we share in the Eucharist, Jesus is present to us; through Holy Communion we will share eternal life.
We shouldThank God for the gift of the Eucharist. Pray the Lord’s Prayer or today’s psalm.

====================================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                         Prv 9:1-6

Wisdom was like a wealthy lady who built her house on seven pillars. There has been great speculation on the nature of the pillars (after all, there are seven gifts of the Spirit). While we cannot know the precise meaning of the pillars, the number is easily interpreted. The number seven denoted a fullness. Hence, the seven pillars represented the solid, unassailable foundation of true wisdom. The ancients believed that true wisdom was eternal, for it came from God. It was not like foolishness that came and went with the fads of the season.
Lady Wisdom prepared a sumptuous dinner and invited those in need of her counsel: the simple minded and those who lack common sense.
While it may take experience to separate wisdom from folly and fad, the first step to wisdom begins with a simple invitation. But that invitation can seem like a great challenge. To accept the invitation to seek wisdom requires humility. It requires a realization that we do not possess that which we seek, indeed, a hunger for the gifts of wisdom. It also requires a mind set that recognizes wisdom can feed us. Ultimately, it requires a thirst for the source of wisdom: God.

Responsorial Psalm                        Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
34:1-3 was an invitation to communal praise; the leader extolled the glory of the Lord as a witness to the community, then invited the assembly to join him. 34:4-10 continued this call, but took a turn toward wisdom literature; the call was not to praise but to dependance on God. 34:4, 6-7 provided the personal witness to dependence; 34:5, 8-9 were the imperatives to follow suit. Notice the imperatives contained reasons for dependence. "Look to the Lord" and you will have joy, not shame (34:5). "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord" and receive happiness (34:8). "Fear the Lord" (i.e., be in awe of God) and you will not suffer any lack.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. The imperative of 34:9a is valid in good times and tough going. Despite the ups and downs of life, God will be there if we are open to his presence. He is there, waiting for our company.
.
Reading 2                                         Eph 5:15-20

The passage for this Sunday continued the comparison of behavior and lifestyle found in Ephesians 4 and 5. These verses also focused upon the community in worship as the ideal for the Christian. In other words, a believer was fully realized in common prayer with other Christians.
The author continued to divide human behavior into dual camps: evil vs. good. Unwise vs. wise, foolish vs. the will of the Lord. Drunk on wine vs. drunk on the Spirit. Notice he defined "filled with the Spirit" in liturgical terms. Praying psalms, singing hymns and "spiritual" songs with gusto. But the high point in the Spirit filled life was "giving thanks," an attitude that should pervade the Christian life, especially worship.
From the vantage point of giving thanks, the other qualities of Christian life made sense. Gratitude made one compassionate and charitable toward others. A grateful person might be a fiscal fool, but not a moral one. Most importantly, gratitude focused the believer on the gifts of God, his grace. While thanksgiving came from the Spirit, the thankful person was aware of the Spirit. Why? Because such a person concentrated on spiritual matters in deep appreciation.
What would happen if we Christians were a little more thankful for the gifts God gave us? How would the quality of our worship change? How would relations with others improve?

Gospel                                            Jn 6:51-58

At Sunday worship, we offer ourselves to God. Christ, the High Priest, combines our meager offering to his great sacrifice to the Father. Eucharist is the means Christ chose to reveal and realize his self-giving on the cross. Hence, Eucharist does not create the passion of Christ anew. It "remembers" that seminal event in such a way that the risen Christ (wounds and all) can make himself truly present and truly unite himself to his followers.
In the species of bread and wine at the Eucharist, the risen Lord makes himself present. While the bishop or priest invokes the words of institution (thus acting as the instrument of Christ or "in persona Christi"), the conversion of the bread and wine into the blood into the Body and Blood of Christ remains the initiative of God (specifically, the Holy Spirit). The offer to partake in the "living bread" is God's offer of unity with Christ and his followers (his "body," the Church). Thus, it is a means to eternal life.
How have you experienced Christ in the Eucharist? How has Eucharist changed your perception of the Church and its members?
The challenge Jesus presented, the scandal he caused,still remains today. Two thousand years later, even after the rise and fall of European Christendom, it cannot dull us or detract from the power of risen Christ. While culture may treat Jesus with weak lip service or even condescending disdain, he still lives. That fact divides and unites.
If his presence causes scandal, what he offers can scandalize no less. And he offers himself to us as the living bread. Let us eat his Body. Let us drink his Blood. And, let others know we are his followers, for we belong to him.

===========================================================================

Sunday August 11, 2024 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 116

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                        1 Kgs 19:4-8

Elijah went a day's journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.
He prayed for death saying:
"This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers."
He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree,
but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake
and a jug of water.
After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time,
touched him, and ordered,
"Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!"
He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2                                        Eph 4:30—5:2

Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

Gospel                                           Jn 6:41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
"I am the bread that came down from heaven, "
and they said,
"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Do we not know his father and mother?
Then how can he say,
'I have come down from heaven'?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                       1 Kgs 19:4-8

Elijah literally finds himself in the wilderness in this reading, but he also seems to be figuratively in the wilderness as he asks the Lord to take his life. Elijah has endured a traumatic episode with the prophets of Baal and Asherah up in the northern region of Carmel. Although he successfully dispatched the prophets and demonstrated God’s power to Ahab, something is wrong. Elijah experiences a sense of shame or failure or some type of emotion on which we cannot quite put our finger. It leaves him deflated, despondent and depressed. We may never know what exactly led to this situation under the broom tree in the wilderness, but I imagine we can all think of difficult situation like this. We can think of Hagar in the wilderness with her young boy, but God would not allow that situation to endure. We can think of Jonah under his own tree in faraway Nineveh, equally despondent.
Elijah’s struggles with many things, but nothing more than himself. We can all probably recognize how we can be our own worst enemy. 1 Kings 19 clearly demonstrates Elijah’s demons bringing him to a standstill. Oftentimes, it is easy for us to see the source of other people’s problems. We have seen many triumphs of Elijah before this event, and we know that there will be many triumphs to follow. With all of this in mind it can be hard to understand how things went so wrong so quickly for Elijah. Yet that is part of Elijah’s story just like it can often be part of our story. We can often find ourselves most at risk, when we are feeling invulnerable.
Elijah teaches us to bring all our emotions to God. God will be present to us in different ways on different parts of the journey. We cannot experience the theophany of a storm cloud and deluge in the middle of the desert, but God finds a different way to be present to us. Our reading assures us that God makes the entire journey with us.

Responsorial Psalm                    Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Perhaps Psalm 34 as poetry set to song served in some way the people of God. Each human life is an aggregation of experiences that build up over time. Sedimentary layers of rocks, sludge, and discarded ideas mingle together and press in on one another. We are walking repositories of all that has happened to us and each new experience fits into that matrix to find its place among the rest.
The opening explosion of praise invokes human senses of taste, hearing, sight, and touch. It seems only the sense of smell is missing or perhaps it isn't. Since smell is intimately connected with our sense of taste it may be implicitly indicated. Smell from campfire smoke as the angel of the Lord encamped nearby touches minds filled with memories of outdoor camping experiences in the wilderness and in travels from place to place.
The Hebrew word -- ira -- translated into English as "fear" stands out in the text and draws hearers toward further reflection about how to not only be cognizant of the actions of God, but to face fears through living in right relation with the living God. The word fear is sprinkled through the Psalm from start to finish -- delivered from all fears and angels encamp around those that fear God.
Fear for human beings is the result of many catalysts. It can be derived from human experiences of guilt and shame. It can arise from threats real and imagined to our existence or the existence of those whom we love. It can grow from experience with the natural world that can be a place of physical and emotional pain. It may emerge when one is faced with something that has not been previously experienced -- like the first time standing at the edge of a high cliff when faced with the recognition that one slip could cause our demise.
Fear can make the legs weak or can trigger a response to run from the perceived danger or risk. Rarely in my experience does fear invite adoration. Instead the fight or flight response seems more common. Maybe the idea of fearing God is not so much fighting or fleeing as it is recognition of the scale of something that cannot be fully comprehended. Like an unsolvable math problem, the number of stars in the universe, or the number of beats our heart will beat over a lifetime -- we cannot determine with certitude what the solution or numbers are. We only know that they exist and if we had the capacity to determine them the answers would only produce more questions.

Reading 2                                        Eph 4:30—5:2

Our passage contains a lot of moral advice that can be found in many places in the ancient world.
In that sense, there is nothing "original" in this text. However, the wealth of moral instruction does not mean the Bible is simply "moralizing" its readers. The key difference lay in the motivation for the morality. Most commentators agree that Paul's framework for his ethical instruction is baptism.
Interwoven throughout the letter to the Ephesians are many references to death and life (2:1, 5), putting away the old self (4:22, 25) and being marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit (1:13, 4:30). In other words, instead of simply being exhorted to do good works, the community is continually reminded that it has been engrafted into the body of Christ and that its hope is grounded in Christ's present and future redemption. The result is a life lived in love, rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (5:2). Our discussion of this text focuses on common misunderstandings of Paul's words.
And yet we must be careful. Paul warns the Ephesians not to "let the sun go down on your anger" (4:26). He recognizes that anger can quickly become obsessive. Instead of being upset over a thoughtless word or deed, we have a tendency to make it "personal" in a hurry. We nurse a grudge and cook up schemes for revenge. Once we have slipped into this realm we have opened the door for the devil (4:27). The well-being of the community then becomes secondary and our main purpose is simply to get even. Thus Paul reminds us of the need to let forgiveness have the last word (4:32).
We can all cite examples of mothers and fathers who have gone to extraordinary lengths to help a prodigal son or daughter. These parents have indeed been "grieved" or disappointed by the actions of their loved ones -- but they rarely break off the relationship completely. Even in the most dire of cases there is still a flicker of hope for reconciliation and restoration. So it is with God. The "seal" or bond of the Spirit is inviolable.
This section concludes with the ultimate exhortation: be imitators of God (5:1)! Here is where there is a true break with the typical virtue-vice lists of the ancient world. A standard has now been set that transcends all human morality. It could also lead to despair if not handled carefully.
Our culture's interpretation of love might be said to be at war with the biblical understanding of agape. Commercials and conventional usage suggest that love is largely a romantic feeling produced by the right combination of clothes, physical conditioning, smile and make-up. In other words, love is dependent upon being lovable.
This is the exact opposite of agape love which reaches out and extends itself to the most unlovable.
Paul highlights the effects of this love as well. We now inherit the status of "beloved children" (5:1). Our task then is to take this love to the neighbor or "live in love" (5:2) as Paul says. Perfect imitation of this love is not possible. God's word of forgiveness will always be relevant (4:32). But the love of Christ dwells in our hearts as well (3:17). And that makes a big difference as we make our way into the world.

Gospel                                             Jn 6:41-51

On this Sunday, we continue to read from the “Bread of Life discourse” found in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. Recall that we have been reading from this chapter for the past two weeks and will continue to read from it for another two. Last week, the crowd asked for a sign that would show that Jesus came from God. Jesus replied by saying that he is the sign and the bread of life sent by God. At this point, our Lectionary omits six verses in which Jesus predicts the unbelief of the crowd and further develops his connection with God the Father. In these verses, Jesus says that he was sent by God to do the Father’s will. Jesus promises that those who look upon the Son with faith will find eternal life. Some of these themes are repeated in today’s Gospel reading.
Today’s Gospel begins with a report that the Jews complained about Jesus’ claims regarding his identity. They knew his family, and they knew he was the son of Joseph. They could not comprehend what Jesus meant when he said that he came down from heaven. Jesus responds to the complaints by saying that only those who are chosen by God will recognize him as the one that God sent. This is a recurring theme in John’s Gospel, that God has chosen those who will have faith in Jesus.
In the verses that follow, Jesus talks more about his unity with the Father. He is the one who has seen the Father and, therefore, knows the Father. Those who listen to God will recognize that Jesus is the one sent from God. Those who believe will have eternal life. Jesus concludes with the central element of our eucharistic theology. He promises that the bread of life will bring eternal life to those who partake of it, and he tells us that the bread of life will be his own flesh, given for the life of the world.
In today’s reading, we hear Jesus say again, as he did in last week's Gospel, that he is the bread of life. We also hear Jesus add that he is the living bread. Both of these statements help us understand better the gift that Jesus gives us in the Eucharist. We celebrate this gift of Jesus each time we gather for Mass. We believe that receiving Jesus in the Eucharist will lead us to eternal life.

Making the Connection

To know a few facts about a person does not necessarily mean that we know that person well. If someone knew you only as a member of your family, what might they know about you? What kinds of things wouldn’t they know? Would knowing that you go to a particular school add any additional information? (Yes, some.) Would this be enough to know you well? (Probably not.) Why not? (They haven’t taken the time to get to know you.)
In today’s Gospel, some of the people in the crowd are upset because Jesus told them that he was the bread of life that came down from heaven. They don’t believe this because they seem to think they know Jesus.
In the Gospel what information does the crowd know about Jesus? (They know that his father is Joseph; they know his family.) Is this enough to know Jesus well? (No.) What does Jesus say a person must do to know him well? (Jesus says that those who listen to God will know that Jesus came from God.)
This is important for us to understand because there are many details about Jesus' life that we don't know. But knowing these details would not tell us what we need to know about Jesus. We learn all we need to know about Jesus from God’s Word to us, the Scripture. Scripture teaches us to have faith that Jesus is God's Son who brings us salvation. We also have the gift that Jesus gave us in the Eucharist. We grow closer to Jesus when we celebrate the Eucharist.
Pray that we will grow in our understanding and faith in Jesus through our celebration of the Eucharist. Pray the Act of Faith.

Act of FaithO my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because you have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Amen.
==================================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                        1 Kgs 19:4-8

In the failure of Israel to repent after his victory at Mt. Carmel over the pagan priests, the ninth-century BC prophet Elijah did not experience a crisis of faith but a crisis of expectation. He expected that his great victory over the false prophets of the Canaanite and Phoenician god Baal would result in the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom and their king repenting their sins of idol worship and apostasy from God's holy covenant. He expected that they would turn back to Yahweh, destroying their pagan altars and driving out the false prophets. When this did not happen, Elijah felt his entire mission to call the Northern Kingdom of Israel to repentance had been a failure. Overcome with grief, he believed he had failed God and his people. But Elijah had not failed. On the contrary, he successfully completed the mission God gave him; it was the people of the Northern Kingdom and their king who failed.
People have many reasons to believe in God. There are just as many reasons to stop believing: 1) cultural indifference and skepticism, 2) a feeling of personal abandonment by God and others (i.e., the Church or family), or 3) hostility toward public display of religious activity. All three are common in our day; Elijah also experienced these reasons.
In this reading, Elijah was on the run from Queen Jezebel for preaching against idolatry in Israel. He was alone, for no one cared to hear his message, even after the signs God performed through Elijah. And, he was spiritually tired to the point of despair; he even prayed for death. Yet, through an angel, God gave him strength to continue his journey and his mission.
Daily trust in God is a chief reason to believe. But, what can we do when the pressures of daily living overwhelm this trust? What can we do when we want to give up? Elijah's answer was prayer and openness God's will. With prayer and an open heart, we, too, will be strengthened by God for our faith journey.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. God's goodness comes in many different ways, from blessing to moments of transcendence to encounters of human intimacy. Whether we are aware of God's immediate presence or we recognize his goodness in hindsight, we can always "taste and see" his goodness.
This well known phrase comes from Psalm 34:8a. This psalm combined praise and wisdom literature in an acrostic format (the first letter of each line began with a sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet; however, one letter in the sequence is missing and two letters are reversed). The psalm began with a note concerning David's feigning madness before the king of Gath (see 1 Samuel 21:11-16) as a way to defend himself; the psalmist (or scribe) must have thought such antics showed wisdom in the face of danger.
By David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

Reading 2                                        Eph 4:30—5:2

As in the past few readings from the letter to the Ephesians, the author compared a shameful lifestyle with that of the Spirit. A life of rage, bitterness, and shouting and slander tore down the community. Such petty backbiting "saddened" the power that was the cause and the growth of the early Christian movement: God's Spirit. (Notice, how the author personalized the Spirit; such language helped lead to the formulation of the doctrine on the Trinity.) Instead, the author encouraged his audience to live the life of the Spirit and treat each other with respect and true affection. In other words, to treat each other as God had treated them.
The words of imitation or mimicking simply reinforced the notion. But the author took the analogy into a new area, that of worship. The early community believed its worship joined with that of the risen Lord in heaven. His love led to his passion and death. Both were one act of worship, a self-sacrifice that was like smoky incense that rose to heaven (the vision of smoke rising heavenward during sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem represented the petition of the offering party.) But, it was not only the gathering of the community in worship that imitated and joined with the Lord. Indeed, the Christian lifestyle was an act of worship that united the believer to the Master. Unlike the bitterness of the clique infighting, a life of love raised the believer beyond the terrestrial realm to that of the angels.
The challenge of in-fighting vs. love is as acute today as it was two thousand years ago in Ephesus. Those who love bind the community together and raise it to another level. While those that bicker...well, you have seen the result.

Gospel                                           Jn 6:41-51

Like many other passages from John, this discourse wove many different themes together: the bread of heaven vs. manna, the source and witness of Jesus, the offer of eternal life. John artfully threaded these themes to present faith in its starkest terms.
The gospel opened with discussion between Jesus and his audience in progress. The people "murmured" against the statement Jesus made. How could this local son claim so much? How could he hold himself so high as a prophet?
John used the "murmur" to compare the scene of Jesus' controversy with that of Moses' in Exodus 16:1-4:
In a subtle way, John drew two contexts together. In both scenes, the people "murmured." In both scenes, God offered the people "bread from heaven." However, here the similarities ended. In the scene with Moses, God gave the people bread in response to their complaints. In the scene with Jesus, the people complained in response to God's offer itself.
The image of bread threaded the themes from 6:44-46 together: God's initiative in the ministry of Jesus, the source and witness of Jesus, and the power to raise up the faithful. As THE food staple, bread represented life. As the heavenly bread, Jesus would feed the world by 1) "coming down from heaven" (a reference to his source and witness) and 2) giving bread to the faithful so that "he might eat and not die" and might "live into the final age" (a reference to the resurrection).
Ultimately, the Father gave this bread (i.e., the life of Jesus) for "the life of the world." In other words, salvation became an extension of creation, for the death and resurrection of Christ would usher in a new time and new creation. Followers would receive the "bread of life" as a result of the Father's invitation.
What a life insurance policy Jesus offers us! In the bread and wine of Eucharist, he gives us the means to life everlasting. It is not a hedge against the unexpected, but a sure promise that we will live despite what will happen.
The cost is so small, yet so few want to pay. It seems parting with our money is easier than parting with our trust. Yet, who else should we trust with our lives?
=======================================================================

Sunday August 4, 2024 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 113

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                         Ex 16:2-4, 12-15

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them,
"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!"

Then the LORD said to Moses,
"I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.

"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God."

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
"This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

Responsorial Psalm                        Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
We will declare to the generation to come
the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he wrought.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountains his right hand had won.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Reading 2                                            Eph 4:17, 20-24

Brothers and sisters:
I declare and testify in the Lord
that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their minds;
that is not how you learned Christ,
assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him,
as truth is in Jesus,
that you should put away the old self of your former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful desires,
and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and put on the new self,
created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

Gospel                                             Jn 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
So they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."

So they said to him,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                         Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
The need for bread in this early stage of the journey out of Egypt provides both God and God’s people with an opportunity to understand and to trust the other. Throughout the narrative, the people struggle to trust and to follow God, and God struggles to know and to nurture this fledgling community of former slaves.
In the opening verses, the narrator establishes that it is the second month of the children of Israel’s journey out of Egypt, and the people are complaining (lit. “murmuring”) against Moses and Aaron because they are hungry. The complaint in this narrative is the third of its kind (see also Exodus 14:11; 15:24). Each complaint follows a certain pattern: (1) the people encounter a potentially devastating threat to their well-being -- the pursuit of the pharaoh and his chariots, deadly dehydration, starvation; (2) they complain (literally “murmur”) against their leadership; (3) their human leaders bring the complaint before God; and (4) God saves them by various means -- the miraculous crossing of the sea, providing drinkable water, and, in this narrative, providing bread from heaven.
The language of the complaint is strong. One might even say it is unfair. “The Israelites said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!" (16:3). The harsh servitude the people endured in Egypt, described in the earlier chapters of Exodus, bears no resemblance to this description of the plenty they claim they enjoyed there.
Interestingly, the people make no mention of pharaoh and his unreasonable demands. In an indirect way, the people seem to blame God both for their current crisis in the wilderness as well as their enslavement: "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh was the one trying to kill them in Egypt. God rescued them! Their hunger leads them to what seems to be willful forgetfulness.
One might be tempted to regard the pattern of complaints in these chapters and the injustice in the wording of this particular complaint in a negative light, but, while Moses and Aaron appear to be frustrated with the people, the text portrays God as focused on the people and their needs rather than disturbed by their demands. Indeed, the complaint and the occasion that prompts it provides God with an opening to learn more about them by means of a test.
The test itself is multilayered. On the surface, the test enables God to know the people’s response to the gift of manna: will they follow God’s instruction and gather only what they need according to the day? Will they respect the Sabbath? The answers to these questions seem to be the overall purpose of the test according to 16:4, but the test also serves another, perhaps more important, purpose: the gathering of manna in the wilderness -- with specific amounts brought in on certain days -- creates a structure in the people’s lives that is a reliable constant in the turmoil of their wilderness wandering.
The people gather in the morning what they need for the day and no more, except on the day before the Sabbath when they gather enough for both days. There are no days on which the manna fails to appear. Although the reader is not yet aware that this journey to their new land will take forty years, the narrator notes that this provision of manna lasts the entirety of the trip (16:35). Order is thus established in the midst of chaos by means of this rhythm of divine provision.
In verses 2-3, the people claimed to long for Egypt and its bounty, but what Egypt really represented was a complete lack of rest with a pharaoh who cared nothing for their well-being or their needs. Here, bread and rest -- on the Sabbath -- are provided generously and reliably. The difference between the former reality of their lives in Egypt and their present reality in the hands of a trustworthy God, who provides for them even in the wilderness, is made clear when one compares the beginning of the narrative to the end of the reading at verse 15. The “idealized and unwarranted memories of Pharaoh’s food (verse 3) are to be replaced with the genuine memories of the bread from God.”1
The stress and chaos of life on the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness is intense and debilitating, so much so that the people begin to long for their former lives as slaves in Egypt. As they long to go back, God’s grace pushes them forward by providing strength for the journey in the form of food and a structure to their days and weeks by the instructions regarding the keeping of the Sabbath.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

Psalm 78 is the second longest psalm in the Psalter; only psalm 119 is longer.
The psalm is often called historical, and it is an instruction or meditation in poetic form about how to live a godly life. The theme of the psalm is the relationship between God and his people. It describes the life of the Israelites from the time in Egypt to the election of David as king.
Since the psalm is very long, it is radically abridged in the lectionary. Only two introductory verses and five verses in the middle of the psalm are chosen for the day.
The story is not told in chronological order, since the aim of the psalmist is not to write history. It is rather to give examples for coming generations how not to act. History is related in order to understand the present. In that sense the psalm is a mirror for the reader/listener. The content of the psalm is built on contrasts.
The beginning of the psalm is unusual in that it is not addressed to God but to "my people," i. e. to those who listen to the teacher. The wording is remindful of that in the wisdom traditions of the Old Testament.
The teaching is called "parable” and ”dark sayings” (verse 2). The first word suggests something of importance, the second expression can also be translated ”mysteries” or ”riddles.” The intention is to make clear from the beginning that what follows is more than a retelling of history. There is something to learn from history, and that’s what the psalmist wants to stress.
Verses 34–37 are part of the section in the psalm where the Israelites in the desert are in focus. The picture of the people is not a flattering one. Israel on its way to the promised land is a history of constant trouble. The people are disobedient. It is only when God is forced to be harsh and punishes the Israelites that they return to God and ask for his help. The pattern is well-known from other parts of the Old Testament, from both the historical books and the prophetic literature.
The people knew that God was their rock and redeemer (verse 35), but their memory of this was short. Very soon after a conversion they were back to ”normal” again; and normal in their case was disobedience, lies, and an unsteady heart.
In contrast to the people, God is depicted as compassionate, forgiving, and mild (verse 38). The verse is not only the key verse in the psalm, it is also -- according to the Masoretes -- the center verse of the Psalter.
In the following God’s reactions and actions are further described, and so are the people’s actions. The contrast between the two -- God and the Israelites -- is hammered in. The psalmist’s aim is clear: he wants his listeners to have trust in

Reading 2                                         Eph 4:17, 20-24

The apostle charged the Ephesians in the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, that having professed the gospel, they should not be as the unconverted Gentiles, who walked in vain fancies and carnal affections. Do not men, on every side, walk in the vanity of their minds? Must not we then urge the distinction between real and nominal Christians? They were void of all saving knowledge; they sat in darkness, and loved it rather than light. They had a dislike and hatred to a life of holiness, which is not only the way of life God requires and approves, and by which we live to him, but which has some likeness to God himself in his purity, righteousness, truth, and goodness. The truth of Christ appears in its beauty and power, when it appears as in Jesus. The corrupt nature is called a man; like the human body, it is of diverse parts, supporting and strengthening one another. Sinful desires are deceitful lusts; they promise men happiness, but render them more miserable; and bring them to destruction, if not subdued and mortified. These therefore must be put off, as an old garment, a filthy garment; they must be subdued and mortified. But it is not enough to shake off corrupt principles; we must have gracious ones. By the new man, is meant the new nature, the new creature, directed by a new principle, even regenerating grace, enabling a man to lead a new life of righteousness and holiness. This is created, or brought forth by God's almighty power.
In the following verses notice the particulars wherewith we should adorn our Christian profession. Take heed of everything contrary to truth. No longer flatter or deceive others. God's people are children who will not lie, who dare not lie, who hate and abhor lying. Take heed of anger and ungoverned passions. If there is just occasion to express displeasure at what is wrong, and to reprove, see that it be without sin. We give place to the devil, when the first motions of sin are not grievous to our souls; when we consent to them; and when we repeat an evil deed. This teaches that as sin, if yielded unto, lets in the devil upon us, we are to resist it, keeping from all appearance of evil. Idleness makes thieves. Those who will not work, expose themselves to temptations to steal. Men ought to be industrious, that they may do some good, and that they may be kept from temptation. They must labor, not only that they may live honestly, but that they may have to give to the wants of others. What then must we think of those called Christians, who grow rich by fraud, oppression, and deceitful practices! Alms, to be accepted of God, must not be gained by unrighteousness and robbery, but by honesty and industry. God hates robbery for burnt-offerings.

Gospel                                             Jn 6:24-35

Confusion seems to abound in this passage. Except that in John confusion is as much a literary device as is symbolism. Each point of confusion, that is, offers Jesus a chance to redirect his audience to what is more important. First, the crowds want to know how he and the disciples got around the shore. Jesus accuses them of just wanting to eat again when they should be working for imperishable food. Implication: the spiritual reality of what happened is more important than the earthly one.
Then they want to know what kind of work they should be doing that would be pleasing to God and, presumably, grant imperishable food. Jesus answers that the only work that matters is believing in the one God sent. Implication: according to John's Jesus, it all comes down to this -- do you believe Jesus is the One who reveals God uniquely and fully?
The people then ask for a sign like Moses did by providing the ancient Israelites with manna (which is kind of interesting, since Jesus has just fed 5000 of them!). Jesus responds that it wasn't Moses who provided manna but God. Implication: you do not need and should not look for an intermediary, as God will provide bread from heaven for God's people directly.
Finally, the people ask for, even demand, this bread, and Jesus responds that he is the bread. Implication: Jesus reveals God's character and provides direct access to relationship with God, something formerly mediated by covenant, law, or leader but now is directly accessible through him.
Throughout, this scene provides something of a halting but progressive disclosure that in Jesus God is revealing God's own self most clearly and fully so that all people will have access to God or, to hearken back to John 1, so that all people can become "children of God" (1:12).

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

There are many needs that people require to be healthy and happy. Try to name some of these.
Observe that some needs are more important than others. Sometimes we talk about our most important physical needs as our “basic human needs.” Which items on your list might be considered a “basic human need?” (water, food, shelter, clothing) There are also non-physical needs that might be considered “basic human needs.” What might be examples of these needs? (love, a sense of purpose, healthy relationships, faith)
Human beings have many important needs that must be fulfilled if they are to be healthy and happy. In today’s Gospel, we hear that the people were seeking out Jesus because he had fed them abundantly with five loaves of bread and two fish. (Recall last week’s Gospel.) Jesus tells the people that God will provide a greater gift that will satisfy their spiritual needs. Think of the Gospel reading.
What has Jesus already given the people? (He gave them food, loaves of bread and fish, so that they would not be hungry.) Are the people satisfied, or do they want something more? (They aren’t satisfied; they want more bread.)
Jesus satisfied a basic physical need, but the people wanted more food. But Jesus tells them that he can give them something even more important than food; he can give them eternal life. What is the question the crowd asks next? (They ask what must they do to accomplish God’s work.) What does Jesus tell them? (that they will do what God wants when they believe in him) Then, Jesus says that he will give them the gift of himself, that he is the bread of life. This is the gift that Jesus has given to us in the Eucharist.
When we celebrate the Eucharist, we are offering God our thanks because God provides for all of our needs, our basic physical needs and our spiritual needs.
Thank God for all the wonderful gifts he has given to us, especially for the gift of the Eucharist. Pray the Act of Faith, Act of Hope, and Act of Love.

Act of Faith O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because you have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Amen

Act of Hope O my God, relying on your infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Amen.

Act of Love O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of those whom I have injured.
Amen.
==================================================================

Sunday July 28, 2024 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 110

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  2 Kgs 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,
and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."
But his servant objected,
"How can I set this before a hundred people?"
Elisha insisted, "Give it to the people to eat."
"For thus says the LORD,
'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'"
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reading 2                                   Eph 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Gospel                                       Jn 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
"Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little."
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people recline."
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
"Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted."
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  2 Kgs 4:42-44

1) Today's text begins not with scarcity but with generosity. It begins with the announcement that a man from Baal-shalishah comes bringing "food from the first fruits." The text does not provide his name, only mentioning the village he comes from. There is no indication of any obligation on the part of this man to provide food to Elisha nor any mention that Elisha is in need of food.
The giver arrives without explanation. And it is the gifts that are described: "twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain." FYI a barley loaf was the size of one our Bagels today. This is a generous amount! It is not hard to picture, to smell, and to savor the taste of this pile of fresh bread and grain, or to recognize the labor that went into producing them.
2) A second surprising act of generosity then takes place: a sharing of these tasty foods. Elisha decides to share these first fruits with others and instructs "Give it to the people and let them eat."
3) The picture suddenly changes and the generous pile of barley loaves and fresh ears of grain suddenly seems quite small when the servant in charge of administering Elisha's instruction reveals there are a hundred people to feed. The servant's question makes it clear that the eating is to include everyone. How can the giving be accomplished with equity?
4) There is nothing magical about the food that is being discussed in this passage, but there is something unusual. It is described as "food from the first fruits." In the Israelite calendar, the first fruits marked the end of the harvest. The offering of "first fruits" acknowledged that the land and its produce belonged first of all to God. That reality was to serve as a reminder of God's providing and as a curb against selfishness and greed.
The "food from the first fruits" is a holy offering (Leviticus 23:20). According to the festival instructions, it is to be delivered to the priest who is to offer it before the LORD. In 2 Kings 4, however, it is brought to the prophet Elisha who instructs that it be offered to the people. The people will dine on the LORD's meal.
5) While the delivery of the first fruits to Elisha could be viewed as a protest against the religious establishment at Gilgal, nothing in the text makes that connection. Nor is there any objection to this redirection of the food offering (unlike the objection to Jesus plucking grain on the Sabbath in Mark 2:23-28). Instead, there is a surprising third act of generosity. Elisha repeats the instruction, "Give it to the people and let them eat," adding, "for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left.'" And it was so. The source of this abundance is God. The LORD feeds the people with the LORD's own food.
A miracle occurs in this story: a sack of grain and twenty barley loaves feed one hundred people, with food remaining. It is a miracle:

made possible by God's abundant providing.
initiated by the generosity of an anonymous giver.
shared with others because of the recipient's generosity.
in which all are included because of an administrator's concern for equity.
through which the community shares in what is holy.

Interpreters tend to focus on these two verses in 2 Kings 4 as a demonstration of the prophet Elisha's authority, or as an event surpassed by the bigger feeding miracles of Jesus (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10; Luke 9:10-17). However, the miracle did not start with Elisha, and it did not need to be bigger to be sufficient for that community.
The passage depicts the miracle of daily existence: human community and holy living are dependent upon the abundant providing of God, human generosity and willingness to share, and attention to equity.

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

The main subject of Psalm 145 is the eternal kingship of the Lord.
The psalm contains a comprehensive expression of praise for God as heavenly king. Perhaps this is why the psalm’s superscription designates it as a “song of praise” (Tehillah). Psalm 145 is the only psalm to be identified this way. The Talmud recognizes its unique identity as a song of praise by saying, “Everyone who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come”. What the Talmud surely recognizes is that Psalm 145 invites the believer to praise God in ways that acknowledge God’s exclusive prerogative as ruler of the cosmos and God’s unique care for those who seek him. This central set of concerns is expressed in verses 10-18.
Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem. Each successive verse begins with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostics were perhaps composed for ease of memorization or to make the theological point that what is expressed in the poem aims to be comprehensive. The acrostic style creates a somewhat artificial structure. Nevertheless, the psalm has two distinct points at which the psalmist invites praise of God. In the first verse the psalmist declares “I will extol you, my God and King,” thus giving personal witness to the intention to praise. Then verse 10 expands the voice of praise to “all your works” and “all your faithful.” Hence, verse 10 marks a second beginning of praise in Psalm 145. The initial “I” voice in verse 10 speaks on behalf of all God’s creatures and all God’s people with a similar promise of praise: “All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.”
A key question about verse 10 concerns the identity of “your faithful.” Does this expression refer to a special group within Israel (e.g. “those who love him,” as opposed to the wicked; see v. 20), to all the Israelites, or to some broader constituency? Although the psalm does not make the identity explicit, the pairing of “your faithful” with “all your works” would seem to argue for a broad identity. Even if the faithful ones who speak God’s praise do not designate an expanded, inclusive group, however, their praise sends word of God’s grace to all people (v. 12). The message, if not the messengers, includes all who turn to God. The only criterion for inclusion is need recognized and expressed.
An important part of the theology of Psalm 145:10-18 is the location of the psalm in the Psalter. It appears as the last psalm before the final doxology (Psalms 146-150, tied together by “Praise the Lord” at the beginning and end of each). As the final psalm in the last Davidic collection in the book (Psalms 138-145), Psalm 145 is also the last word of David in the Psalter. Here David speaks and praises God, and his praise in turn introduces the praise-filled conclusion to the Psalter in Psalms 146-150. At the center of David’s praise, verses 10-18 declare that “your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations” (v. 13) and “the Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings” (v. 17). In other words, God as heavenly king is faithful in a way that no king of Israel ever was, and God’s kingdom of righteousness endures forever, in contrast to the Davidic monarchy that could not last. Perhaps most remarkably, David himself delivers this message. David appears here (as Moses earlier, in Psalm 90) as mediator for and guide to Israel from across the ages. He points the Israelites who have known humiliation and defeat at the hands of the Babylonians to the kingdom of God rather than to the kingdom of David’s descendants. They will find hope and future in the heavenly King rather than in a mortal “in whom is no help” (Psalm 146:3).
It is also appropriate that this final message on the lips of David sums up much of what the Psalter has been expressing in Psalms 1-144. Namely, God is uniquely concerned for the lowly and downcast (see Psalms 1; 34; 37). As verse 14 says, “the lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.” As the psalm expresses this feature of God’s character it also presents a thorough-going understanding of God’s grace available through dependence and faith. As verse 18 proclaims, “The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.” Indeed, the main requirement for getting help from God and knowing God’s salvation is calling on him out of one’s need. In other words, God looks for those open to divine direction and help. Faithfulness is thus defined primarily by dependence.

Reading 2                                   Eph 4:1-6
Paul begins our section by reminding his listeners that he is a "prisoner in the Lord" (4:1). However, as Paul sees it, his frequent stays in prison are never without purpose. He does not simply refer to himself as a prisoner but as a "prisoner in the Lord" (compare 3:1). We might consider imprisonment to be a "waste" of time because it inhibits our freedom to do what we want to do. But Paul has a different perspective. Even confinement does not diminish his energy for his mission in life: to proclaim Christ. Indeed, he even reports to the church of the Philippians that his imprisonment serves to spread the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:12-14). Perhaps there are two lessons that might be drawn from Paul's example.
First, we should never limit Christ's presence and power to places we typically regard as holy or sacred. As Paul's own situation reminds us, the power of Christ can never be constrained by a physical or social location. We might think divinity goes hand in hand with wealth, splendor, influence and comfort. But almost everything in the gospels subverts this understanding.
God shows up in a manger and not a palace. The first to hear about the incarnation are not statesmen but shepherds. Jesus is regularly accused of hanging out with sinners and then, like Paul, becomes a prisoner of the state on the way to a shameful death. And then the first witnesses of the resurrection are women, deemed by their culture to be unreliable gossips.
Second, it is worth noting that stays in prison can often hone understanding and insight. Letters from captivity (like Ephesians or Philippians) are profound meditations on the meaning of faith in the midst of suffering and exclusion.
Paul pairs the words "called" and "callings" in two different places in the passage (4:1 and 4:4). The reader is reminded of the relationship between our being called by God and the subsequent assignment of a calling in the world. The language of calling links the church with the election of Israel. God has chosen for himself (1:4) a people and this election depends firmly on God's decision. It is done "before the foundation of the world" (1:4) and it relies solely on God's gracious initiative. And the result of being called is that the faithful now have callings where they lead lives marked by humility, love and patience (4:2).
It is easy to get confused about the dual nature of a call. It is worth underlining that being called and having a calling must be distinguished but never separated. Our relationship with God simultaneously involves a relationship with neighbor or community. And these callings are multiple as it is impossible for a Christian to not be in some type of calling at all times of life.
Just as God is active in every nook and cranny of creation so God uses his people to make sure people are fed, clothed, comforted, educated, protected, etc. Proclaimers would be wise to remind listeners that a calling should not be pared down to a job or occupation. This would mean wide stretches of human experience would be outside of God's providence. God calls us not only to work but to friendship, family life, citizenship, etc. In other words, our bearing witness to the truth is grounded in a deep humility (4:2).

Gospel                                       Jn 6:1-15

The feeding of the multitude is the only miracle story told in all four Gospels.
Perhaps this story has such a secure place in the memory of the church because of the Eucharistic themes which it carries.
While each Gospel includes this story, each also strikes distinctive notes in the telling. Only John tells us that this event takes place near the festival of Passover (John 6:4). What may seem like an insignificant detail in fact is at the heart of what the entire chapter claims about Jesus.
At the end of chapter 5, Jesus complained that his opponents did not understand or believe what Moses had written (John 5:39-47). We then are ushered immediately into a scene that not only takes place at Passover, one of the great events associated with Moses, but into a text that overflows with echoes of the Passover event. Some examples include:

At the beginning of chapter 6, events of supernatural feeding and of salvation from the sea are joined together, just as the crossing of the sea and the manna in the wilderness were part of the story of Moses.
There is "testing" here (John 6:6), as there was in Exodus 16:4.
Jesus commands that the pieces be gathered up so that nothing is wasted, just as Moses commanded in Exodus 16:19.
Jesus is said to go up "to the mountain" (notice that it is not simply "a" mountain in verse 3). In fact, the text strangely says that after the feeding, Jesus (again?) withdrew "to the mountain”. Perhaps this repeated mention of "the mountain" (another piece unique to John's account) is intended to recall that other mountain in Israel's story, where Moses met God.

Thus, this text is an echo chamber of the Passover-Exodus story. If chapter 5 ended with complaints about a shallow, superficial understanding of Moses, then chapter 6 intends to show a deeper, fuller understanding of Moses and the Passover which is now revealed in Jesus.
Verse 14 indicates that the people have made the connections. Faced with this feeding miracle in the wilderness, they remember the promise that God will raise up a prophet like Moses, and they confess that Jesus is that prophet. But they fail to realize what this sign actually reveals. Instead of seeing in Jesus the very embodiment of God's glory, love, and Word, they see a king, a political or military figure who might serve their desires.
We ought to remember the Passover was a festival of national liberation from a foreign oppressor. It is an act of revolution to want to make Jesus king. The crowds are certainly acting on their beliefs, and acting boldly; but they have missed the point of what has happened. They see Jesus' gracious gift, but they want a glory for him that fits into their assumptions and serves their goals.
How often do we fail to see the depths of what God is doing, because we are focused only on what serves our immediate desires and needs? We fail to realize how graciously God is acting among us, for our sake and for the sake of the whole world. We only see partially and in distorted ways. We need the continuing word of Jesus, and the gift of himself, if we are to move more deeply into the glory of God. This is what the crowds need as well, though it will take all of chapter 6 to tell the story.
It is at the cross that we see the full depth of God's glory, and the cross cannot be avoided. Like the crowds in John 6, we have been fed by God's grace, fed with God's mercy and care and steadfast love; and, like them, we often fail to see what God is doing among us. We look for the "wrong" kind of Jesus, one who will simply serve our programs, our desires, and our wishes.
Jesus will have no part of this, because God is up to something far greater. Jesus comes to us as God in the flesh, the one who reveals to us the Father and draws us into the Father's love. Jesus comes across the fearful, lonely, empty, threatening times and places, and says "I am." The "I am" has come to be with us and bring us to the goal God has intended.
This divine presence means we find ourselves called, as the disciples were, to feed the hungry. Of course this means we are to provide food and clean water to so many in this world who lack those things. And of course, our resources are not sufficient for such a task. But this cannot be an excuse to refuse what Jesus' gives, and to bring it to others within the world. is no excuse not to receive from Jesus' hand what he gives, and to go into the world with this gift.
All life and all good gifts come from God. Jesus comes to open our hearts and our hands to those around us. We can do that only because he also comes to open our eyes to his own presence as the grace-and-peace-filled "I" in the middle of the storm.

ADDITIONAL NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                  2 Kgs 4:42-44

How much is enough? And how little will go far? These practical matters are sometimes questions of faith.
Israel, the northern kingdom, was ruled by a series of money hungry, idolatrous despots (Judea was the southern kingdom). God raised up prophets, first Elijah, then Elisha, to challenge the rulers and guide the people.
A man brought Elisha a prophet's tithe (10%), but Elisha decided to share it with the poor. When the man objected, Elisha assured the man: "There will be some left over."
In our culture of material excess, how many times have we run out of time or money or energy? Wouldn't it be amazing to experience abundance from our meager efforts? Is this not what God promises us?

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

When was the last time you were impressed by the look of a building or star or media production? Did the look impress you more than the content? Why or why not?
Do you remember the fads of your youth? Did some of these fads endure with time? Some of these fads were a certain look, a way to dress, a hairdo, an attitude. Some survived because of the personalities involved. Sinatra set the tone for crooning. Miles Davis exhaled the "cool." The Beatles outgrew their haircuts but not their influence. These and many other stars left a cultural legacy built upon not only their talent, but their look and attitude. Their image was as important as their output.
Sometimes the Scripture contains verses that depend upon style. Psalm 145 is such a series of verses. This psalm is more stylistic than thematic. Each line of the psalm has a subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet (imagine a poem where the first line began with a word beginning with the letter "A," the second line began with a word beginning with "B," the third with "C," etc.). Such a psalm was limited in thought because the focus was on form.
Notice there are some repetitions. The psalm began and ended with personal praise, like bookends; the center piece of the psalm was the praise of all creation. The faithful praised God throughout the generation, while God cared for his faithful (implicitly from one generation to the next). The transitions in the psalm spoke of God's glory.
While the theme of praise threaded through the psalm, the content of the praise depended on the structure of the psalm, not the thought process itself. The verses did not built on one thought to another; they seemed to jump from one image to another. Still, the psalm held together with the idea of praise. (We can assume the original Hebrew engaged the ancient reader far more than the English translation we have today.)
Style can rise to the level of substance, even in Scripture, yet it should never overtake the spirit of the verse. Worship, like other parts of the Christian lifestyle, requires a style, but in never reducible to style. In praise, style is a means to an end, giving glory to God.

Reading 2                                   Eph 4:1-6

Unlike the Eastern religions which emphasize interior enlightenment of the individual as the primary goal of life, Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) focus upon ethical living within a community. Obviously, all major world religions seek insight and high moral living. The difference is a matter of direction. The East begins within and flows outward to others. The West begins in community and flows to the heart of the believer.
Of course, this explanation is almost a caricature of East vs. West. But, it points out the Western road to holiness. In Ephesians, the author (Paul or a ghost writer) saw unity with God through a unity with others in the community. Notice the language the author used to describe the Christian lifestyle: walking a worthy journey. This language reflected the mobile ministry of Jesus and the missionary efforts of the early Church. Early Christians described their spirituality as the "Way," a path or journey that was shared with others.
Imagine, for a moment, travel in ancient times. Since travel on the road was filled with dangers, many travelers formed or joined caravans. The group became the vehicle for safe travel. This matched the mind set for ancient culture. The one's place within the group defined the individual. What a person did for others built up his or her reputation in the community and on the road. 4:1-3 described how someone could build up others: gentleness, humility, patience, keeping peace, charity.
All these qualities (and, indeed, life itself), the author inferred, came from God. The Spirit produced the community and its lifestyle (i.e., the "Body"). The Lord Jesus taught his followers the "faith" and gave them the sacrament of baptism. And God the Father gave them the world as a home. Again, notice the flow of Christian spirituality: from the Spirit, through the Lord Jesus, to the Father. But, always, always in community.
Our unity with God as Trinity means our unity with others in community. That is the bar that measures an effective Christian life

Gospel                                       Jn 6:1-15

What do you most appreciate in your life? How hard did you work for those items or qualities? Do you deserve those items or qualities?
Is it a gift or a right? We Americans seem to work harder to gain the good things in life. Yet, if we were asked what we cherish the most, we would point to those things that cannot be earned. Ultimately, the question falls to our inner character. Are we self-giving or self centered?
Jesus presented such a choice to the crowd he fed with bread and fish. He gave them a sign. But was it a sign of faith or a sign of birthright?
John presented us with the multiplication of loaves and fish. Beneath that narrative John asked the question every sign Jesus performed asked: Does the witness believe in Jesus?
Literal Translation
After these (events), JESUS went across the sea of Galilee, of Tiberias. A large crowd was following HIM because they were seeing the signs he was doing upon the feeble. JESUS went up a hill and sat there with HIS disciples. The Passover festival of the Jews was near. Having lifted up (HIS) eyes, and having seen that a large crowd came toward him, JESUS said to Phillip, "Where can we buy loaves of bread so that these (people) might eat?" But HE was saying this, testing him, for HE knew what HE was about to do.Phillip answered HIM, "Loaves (worth) two hundred denarii is not enough so that each one might receive a little (bread)." One out of HIS disciples, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, said to HIM, "There is a small boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But these (items), what are they for such (large numbers of people)?" JESUS said, "Make the men recline." There was a lot of grass at the place. Then the men reclined, five thousand (in) number.
"The sea of Galilee, of Tiberias." Scholars are not sure whether "Tiberias" refers to a village on the southwest shore of the lake, or if the name is an alternative for the lake. In the former sense, the verse would read: "...the sea of Galilee, at the town of Tiberias." In the later sense, the verse would read "...the sea of Galilee (also called "Lake Tiberias").
The crowd continued to follow Jesus because of the events they were witnessing. Notice the verbs in the sentence "seeing, doing" indicate Jesus' ongoing ministry.
The noun "signs" has a technical sense in John. These were more than miracles; they were signs of God's presence. In 6:2, he performed signs on the "weak ones" (i.e., the sick).
The place (a hilltop) and the disciples' position (sitting) indicate Jesus taught them.
"Having lifted up (his) eyes" is the same as "Jesus looked around."
"Five barley loaves and two small fish" This was a meal of a pair of poor Galileans. Barley was a grain for the lower classes, while wheat was used for the rich or special occasions. The loaf size was small, actually roll size. The word for "small fish" referred to dried fish that remained eatible in the desert climate.
Sometimes we confuse God's blessing with faith: we assume abundance is the sign of God's favor. This sets up a vicious cycle of greed. The little we have is not enough; we want more. And we rationalize this greed in the name of God.
The signs, the time, and the place seemed perfect for a miracle. The signs were Jesus' cures. The time was spring, close to Passover, the feast of liberation from slavery. The place was a mountain in the desert; on such a mountain, God gave the Law to Moses and revealed his power.
Expecting an experience like their ancestors of the Exodus, the people followed Jesus. And Jesus did not disappoint them. In the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, Jesus surpassed the two great prophets of Galilee, Elijah and Elisha. From a single basket of food, there were baskets left over, a number that meant fulfillment. The time and the place were just right; the sign was from God. And, Jesus revealed himself as the Great Prophet.
JESUS took the loaves of bread and, having blessed (them), gave (them) to those reclining, and likewise with the small fish, (so the people ate) as much as they wanted. As they ate (their) fill, HE said to HIS disciples, "Gather the leftover pieces (of food), so that none might be wasted." Then, they gathered (the food) together and filled twelve baskets of leftovers out of the five barley loaves which they had eaten their fill. Having seen what sign HE did, the men were saying, "This is truly the prophet, the one coming into the world." JESUS, then, having known they were about to come and take hold of him so that they might make him king, left again into the
"Make the men recline." The narrative shifted from a discussion of the crowd to that of the males in the crowd. In a gender segregated, male dominated society, the men would be served food first. Since reclining (laying down on one's side, propped up by an elbow) was the common posture for eating at the time, Jesus had his disciples prepare the crowd for the meal.
The multiplication of the loaves reminded the people of an image for God's kingdom, the never-ending feast. Even though the food was common, the sheer amount spoke of abundance that was lacking among the poor Galileans. Seeing the sign, the men assumed Jesus was a prophet who would announce God's Kingdom. (Indeed, many scholars posit a "Messianic" prophet figure.) John's gospel infers such a prophet in 1:21, a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15, 18:
"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren--him you shall heed--I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him." (RSV)
The men in the story were ready to declare Jesus their Messiah.
The people fell to the temptation of greed; after they experienced God's blessing, they wanted more. In the people's eyes, what Jesus did was sufficient to make him the prophet-king of a country freed from Rome's dominance. So, they made their move, and Jesus fled.
The multiplication pointed to the Eucharist. From one body, God fed many and an abundance remained. One small piece of bread was broken and the result was eternal life. From the flesh of one man, the world was fed.
But, why was fish used instead of wine? For many years, bible scholars have been trying to answer this question with mixed results. But a few facts should be noted. First, the major portion of Jesus' ministry was in the neighborhood of the Sea of Galilee, an area with a fishing culture. In Galilee, fish was a main staple of food, whether it was fresh or preserved (i.e., cured, pickled, salted, or dried). Sometimes, wine was mixed with the fish brine as a preservative. And fish was always eaten with bread, even in the greater Greek culture.
Second, many of Jesus' followers were fishermen. After the resurrection, missionaries would tell and retell stories from Galilee as the Church expanded outside of Palestine. Indeed, two of the three post resurrection meal stories involved fish (Luke 24:41-43 and John 21:9-13).
So, it is not surprising that fish would be tied to stories about bread meals. The meaning of the fish, however, is a matter of great speculation. With this subject aside, the gospel presented us with two questions:

===================================================================

Sunday July 21, 2024 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 107

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                   Jer 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
"The LORD our justice."

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2                                  Eph 2:13-18

Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Gospel                                        Mk 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                   Jer 23:1-6
Just as sheep need a shepherd to guide and protect them, the people of Israel need responsible leaders to provide for them. Wise leadership matters.
Jeremiah 23:1-6, which concerns shepherds and their sheep, was chosen for this Sunday in July because of the thematic connection to the Gospel reading, Mark 6:30-34, which includes a description of the crowd following Jesus “like sheep not having a shepherd.” As we will see below, this image of shepherd-less sheep provokes feelings of anxiety and concern.
Our passage issues judgment to shepherds who have not upheld their duties to their flock. Jeremiah is not concerned with actual livestock and real shepherds. Instead, the prophet is using a common metaphor from the ancient Near East to speak of human kings and leaders as shepherds to the people. The ovine imagery is appropriate since the duties and responsibilities of shepherds would be well-known to ancient readers. Shepherds are supposed to take care of their sheep. Feed them; protect them; guide them.
But the kings have not been good shepherds given that the sheep now find themselves in exile, scattered among the nations. God blames these leaders for destroying and scattering the sheep. Given the use of the plural, shepherds, we are to assume that a whole set of Judah’s kings is responsible, not just a single figure.
This judgment against the leadership brings up the question of responsibility and accountability. This passage from Jeremiah seems to want to place all the blame for the exile on the Judahite leadership (more specifically, the last few kings of Judah before the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem). But can we always blame the shepherds for the disastrous affairs among their sheep fold? What role might the sheep play also in this scattering? And how about other nations’ shepherds who have held more political and military power? The theological and ethical perspective of Jeremiah 23 is quite narrow: woe to the shepherds!
The shepherd is indeed a very biblical image. Psalm 23 uses this same imagery to speak of God as a shepherd. Shepherds take their sheep to green pastures and still waters and along correct paths. They protect them with their rod and staff in the darkest valleys. Likewise, Ezekiel 34 speaks of the leaders of Israel as shepherds and of God as the good shepherd. God seeks out the scattered sheep and rescues them from dangerous places.
Many of us today do not have intimate knowledge of these pastoral responsibilities. The metaphor of a shepherd really works only for those of us with prior biblical knowledge or livestock experience. How might we reimagine this metaphor for today? How do we speak of and imagine leadership? Similarly, many of us do not live under the rule of a king. To conceive of God as a king does not resonate as well with a people of democracy. We need perhaps new metaphors for leadership, a way to update and expand our biblical metaphors. But where shall we obtain these understandings of leadership? Should we think of God as the good C.E.O.? or the President?
God’s solution to this instance of poor leadership is forthcoming. The oracle of judgment becomes an oracle of salvation in verse 3. God takes the initiative. God will gather the flock from their scattering, bringing them back to the fold of the land of Israel, and raise up new shepherds, new leaders, for them.
Verses 5-6 then move beyond the shepherd metaphor to speak of a righteous branch. God will raise up a Branch who will reign wisely so that Judah and Israel will be saved. Jeremiah has in mind an earthly king or line of royal figures here, a future Davidic monarchy.
Finally, we get a glimpse of the characteristics of a proper leader or shepherd in verse 5: the execution of justice and righteousness in the land. The specifics of this type of wise leadership are still withheld, as these details are not a part of the rhetorical goal of this oracle of promise. Nevertheless, we have a promise of new leadership. God will begin again with the house of David to enthrone a sagacious shepherd.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

Literary artistry. The basic facts about the psalm preach an eloquent message by themselves. There are fifty-five Hebrew words in this psalm, and unlike many psalms there are almost no repetitions. Only the Hebrew words for “Lord” (vv. 1, 6), “day” (v. 6, twice), and possibly “restore/return” (vv. 3, 6) are repeated. It’s as if the poet were given a list of some fifty words and told to write the most memorable poem in human history. Moreover, a total of fifty-five words creates a precise center (the 28th word), namely, “you,” in reference to the Lord. Thus, the thought at the very center of the poem is the phrase, “you are with me” (v. 4). Combine that insight with the closure created by the use of “Lord” in the psalm’s opening and closing phrases, and we see the portrait of the divine shepherd who is there at the beginning, the middle, and the end of our journey. By virtue of its literary artistry alone, therefore, this psalm declares that God enfolds his people so that we all are part of the flock; and yet this shepherd intimately knows the sheep in all their distinction and difference. Each one of us is throughout his or her life a unique and precious possession of God.
Historical context. Scholars have done excellent work explaining the ancient Near Eastern context of the psalm. Still, this is not an idea that every commentary discusses, and it almost certainly is not on your parishioners’ radar. Nevertheless, it is important for grasping the psalm’s meaning in its original context to know that both Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures used the shepherd image for their kings, their gods, or both. The epilogue to the famous Code of Hammurabi has that king state: “I made the people lie down in safe pastures, I did not allow anyone to frighten them.” Or in regard to the image of the banquet (vv 5-6), there is the goddess Anat who “arranges seats for the warriors, arranges tables for the soldiers.” The biblical psalmist, being well aware of this broad cultural background, is thus making an affirmation of faith: The Lord -- not a foreign god or king -- is the only true shepherd of each and every Israelite. We now hear this psalm not merely as a message of comfort on life’s journey but a theological creed spoken in the midst of our own culture with all of its earthly leaders and “gods” that can never be the Shepherd-King of Psalm 23.
Biblical theology. Finally, while many parishioners will connect this poem with the shepherd images elsewhere in the Bible (e.g., Jeremiah 23, Ezekiel 34, John 10), few will identify the echoes of Israel’s national journey of deliverance, wilderness, and emergence in the land (see especially Psalm 78:52-55). This most precious of personal psalms is about both our individual journeys and the journey of the people of God. Finally, biblical theology finds echoes of prophetic themes connecting this psalm to the covenantal standards of justice. And the poet’s sense of protection from the enemies (v. 5) moves toward a richer understanding of reconciliation through the good shepherd who tells us to love and forgive them (Matthew 5:44; Luke 22:34).

Reading 2                                  Eph 2:13-18

Ephesians 2:11-22 in Context
Rhetorically, Ephesians 2 lays very important groundwork for the rest of the letter. It’s helpful to see the argument in terms of concentric circles. The outer circle in 2:1-10 communicates God’s cosmic transformation of humanity from being dead in sin to alive in Christ. The inner circle in 2:11-22 begins with a “therefore” (dio), suggesting that everything said issues from 2:1-10. Here Paul focuses on the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile, which falls within God’s bigger move of reconciling humanity from sin and death to life. This social, on-the-ground-relational transformation cannot be divorced from the greater cosmic move of transferring humanity from the house of the old aeon to the new house under the lordship of Jesus Christ. God’s reconciliation does not stop with me and my own sinfulness; it aims to resurrect humanity from the palpable widespread systemic brokenness of a world caught under sin and death.
Uncircumcision and Circumcision
Verses 11-12 focus on Gentiles who had been excluded and separated. They are the “uncircumcision.” It is not that Gentiles were “not saved” -- not on the train to heaven but rather on the highway to hell. The writer describes their situation as “apart from Christ, separated from the commonwealth of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, not having hope and godless in the world.”
These verses provide opportunity to go in two directions. First, they provide a doorway to reorient the idea of God’s salvation. Being saved is not just “getting a ticket out of hell,” or positively put, assurance of heaven. It is a movement from one sphere of life to another. These verses remind us: salvation involves more than forgiveness of the individual sinful self; it is the integration into God’s work of redemption and reconciliation, which is strongly implied in the following verses (see also 2 Corinthians 5).
From the perspective of the author, humanity outside of God’s reconciliation exists as hopeless wanderers. It’s not that humanity apart from God has no identity or home. Humanity apart from God’s mission would not see themselves this way. But human identity outside of God’s working of redemption is about as lasting as the fog in the San Francisco bay. Sure, it’s thick and dense and a force to be reckoned with; but it will pass, revealing it was only a mist with no substance. It’s not that God has called humanity from nothingness; God has called humanity from the illusion that our stubborn insistence that we and our manufactured ways can actually bring into actualization our full identity as those made in the image of God.
The Two Have Become One
The circumcision and the uncircumcision are two separate groups within humanity according to our author. One group was considered outsiders, the other insiders with regard to covenant with God (and it was not only that Jews saw Gentiles as outsiders; from the perspective of Gentile life and religiosity, Jews were equally ignorant of God as defined by their history and tradition). This separation between the two groups was not limited to theological disposition -- to “belief”; it played out in very real ways in terms of human social relations. While it would be incorrect to say these groups of people had no interaction, it is important to understand that they did not sit at the same table together; they were not interested in sharing life. They were opposed.
This passage trumpets the good news that God has brought uncircumcision and circumcision together. One radical element of this message is that God’s unification of the two groups does not mean “uniformity.” One group does not fall under the power of the more dominant group. Rather, Paul says that God in Christ has made one humanity of the two. Gentiles do not become Jews; Jews do not become Gentiles. Rather, both Jews and Gentiles become united in Christ as Jew and Gentile. The uncircumcision are welcomed into the story of God played out through the people of the circumcision, to play their own part in the continuing story of redemption.

Gospel                                        Mk 6:30-34

Verses 30-34 are the introduction to the "Feeding of the Five Thousand" account in Mark 6:35-44 and the incident when Jesus walked on the water in Mark 6:45-52. However, we skip over those two great stories. (I imagine these texts are omitted because they are included in Year A when Matthew 14:13-21 and 14:22-33 are read.)
Give It a Rest
In a Gospel which is so fast-paced and where so many things happen "immediately," it is a striking shift in verse 31 when Jesus tells the disciples to get away by themselves to rest. Unfortunately though, we find out that Jesus and the disciples never get their little vacation. (For Jesus, after presumably three years of ministry, he would have to die to get three days of rest in the tomb!)
It may be a small point, but we do see that the success of the disciples in their ministry is not measured simply by how much they accomplish. Having been out on their own, now they are called back to Jesus. It is the same with the Gospel. It's not a matter of how much we accomplish, but a matter of our relationship with the Lord.
We've seen similar scenes in Mark. This time the large crowd impinges upon Jesus and the disciples' plan for a little rest, but still Jesus has compassion. (The Greek used here is splagchnizomai, a great word denoting sympathy, mercy, and loving concern.)
Why does Jesus have compassion on them? "Because "they were like sheep without a shepherd." That is such a poignant and powerful image, and I suspect many of us often feel like we are in that position.
In chapter 10 of the Gospel of John, this image will be elaborated with the reflection on what it means for Jesus to be the Good Shepherd. For John, it ties in with Jesus being the one who knows and is known by the sheep. Most importantly, the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
If that is the case, then what would it look like for Jesus to show compassion to these "shepherdless" sheep in Mark? You might be anticipating something like how Jesus healed their sick and took the children into his arms. But that's not what the text says here.
What does Jesus do? "And he began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34).
The supreme shepherd leading His sheep.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

I know that many of you are involved in some wonderful activities, and also keeping the house or apartment in order. I imagine at the end of a week you would probably just like a little rest.
In last week’s Gospel, we heard Jesus send his disciples to preach and to heal in his name. In today’s Gospel, we hear what happens when they return from this important work.
What does Jesus want his disciples to do now that they have returned from their work? (He wants them to rest.) Do they succeed in finding time to rest? (No, the crowd continues to seek them out; Jesus is moved with pity and begins to teach the crowd.)
In today’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus wanted his disciples to rest and relax after their work. Jesus also wants us to make time in our lives for rest and relaxation. Part of this time might be spent in prayer. Just as we need to set aside time for homework and to plan for other important activities in our week, we also need to plan for prayer.
Think about your weekly schedules and identify a time this week when you will pray. Ask Jesus to help you make prayer a priority in your life. Say the Lord's Prayer.

=============================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Reading 1                                   Jer 23:1-6

Readers find these words of hope among a diatribe against the corrupt kings and false prophets of Judea. By the time Judea faced its greatest challenge with the rise of Babylon, it had been reduced to the status of a city-state. The king controlled very little land outside the area surrounding Jerusalem. But the area had international importance because it lay on the trade routes between Persia in the east and Egypt to the southwest.
Which great power should Judea appease? To gain favor meant military alliances and favorable trade arrangements. But, it also meant emulating the culture of the dominant power, including the worship of their gods. A "corrupt" king would place political expediency (and idolatry) above faithfulness to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His advisors (the "false prophets") would encourage him to do the same. Only a few, brave souls who believed in God would speak out. Jeremiah was one those outspoken faithful.
[1-2] Using the "shepherd' analogy, Jeremiah summarized his condemnation of Judea's kings. Their practices had "scattered" the people. Jeremiah blamed royal corruption and idolatry for the weakness of the kingdom that resulted in the migration of Jews to Egypt and points north. (Even after the death of Jesus, there was a large population of Jews in Egypt).
[2-6] But God would not forget his people. He himself would gather the scattered and return them to a kingdom ruled by a just king. Corruption would be replaced by justice. Idolatry would be replaced by true worship. Peace and security would return to the land. All this would be God's doing and in God's time.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

Psalm 23 contains some of the most memorable verses in all Scripture. The core of the psalms has two images, the faith of the pilgrim on his journey and the welcome banquet the pilgrim celebrated in the Temple at the journey's end.
23:1b-4 described the faith of the pilgrim on his way. The verses emphasized the faith walk, the person who traveled light and depended on the Lord to take care of his need, like sheep who depend upon their shepherd. Notice the pilgrim trusted God not only to fill his need, but reveal loving care as he provided such need ("green pastures and safe waters"). The loving care extended to the "dark" times of danger, stress, and lack. The pilgrim trusted God would be always present in every situation, for that was the true meaning of pilgrimage: a journey to a specific religious shrine in response to the call of God.
At the end of the pilgrimage lies the celebration (23:5-6). The host would show hospitality ("anoint my head with oil") and provide a feast. Such demonstrations of care would spite one's enemies. In the context of the Temple, the divine host's care would act as a blessing on the pilgrim now and in the future. The blessing was meant as a sign to non-believers to repent so they, too, could share in God's loving concern.
The uniting theme in Psalm 23 was divine care. God was the shepherd and the host. He showed the pilgrim loving concern during the journey and at the destination.
The question of journey or destination is a false one, to be sure. Both are opportunities for faith, times to trust God. Faith on the road means a dependence on the divine for our daily needs. Faith at the destination means celebration, a sense one arrived at the divine banquet.

Reading 2                                  Eph 2:13-18

One of the themes in Ephesians was the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles in the Church. While the authorship of the letter has been disputed, there is no doubt the rise of the Nazanene sect within Judaism and its subsequent excommunication by leaders in synagogues had a large effect on the New Testament canon. Paul defended the large influx of Gentiles into the Christian communities. Such a defense was reflected in his undisputed writings.
Paul fought against his former co-religionists, the Pharisees. Judaism under the Pharisees fought for the "purity" of the people. The holy nation should be kosher, unpolluted by foreign influences. Such an attitude led to a prejudice between Jews and non-Jews. And this was one of the reasons Jewish Christians who welcomed Gentiles were tossed out of their national communities.
To answer this prejudice, the author of Ephesians (Paul?) made an astounding claim. The death of Christ abolished the Law, with its ordinances and the decrees made by scribes. In other words, Jesus' death took away the legitimacy of "kosher." God no longer desired a unique nationality. He wanted those who followed the Christ. For in Christ, the prejudice caused by the wall of religious and national purity was wiped away. The former enemies were now one in the Lord. For they shared the same Spirit.
Of course, the social situation that created this prejudice no longer exists. In the United States, Jews no longer hold to their ghettos. The majority of non-Jewish Americans have no interest in isolating the heirs to the first covenant. Waning hatred has led to mutual respect. Yet, we still have our traditions that grew from that time of mistrust. We Christians still hold that we worship the same God as the Jews, but are not required to follow the kosher aspects of the Law. Our freedom and our unity with our Jewish brethren come from the death of Christ on the cross. We Gentiles follow the Jewish Messiah.

Gospel                                        Mk 6:30-34

The apostles were brought together before JESUS and they told everything they did and they taught. 31 HE said to them, "Come, (just) you yourselves alone to an isolated place and rest a little." For many (people) were coming and leaving, and they did not have an opportunity to eat. 32 They went away by boat to an isolated place by themselves.
6:30 "The apostles" is one of the two times Mark used the title for the Twelve. "Apostle" literally means "to send out." After their travels, the Twelve became those Jesus had sent out.
6:31 "they did not have an opportunity to eat." is literally "they did not have a good time to eat." The commotion and demands of the people did not allow rest for Jesus and his followers.
When the Twelve returned, they reported their success. Jesus responded with an invitation to retreat. Simply, they would sail to a favorite cove Jesus used for private prayer. Yet, this trip did not appear as it seemed to the modern mind.
For moderns, scenic visas and vacant areas for relief represent relaxation. But, the contemporaries of Jesus saw "deserted" places as the home of evil and danger. Moderns seek personal space. Jews in the times of Jesus had no such concept. They banded together in a few Palestinian cities (like Jerusalem) or in small hamlets (50-150 population) for survival. Moderns seek privacy. Ancients sought social connection to the extent that personal identity almost solely depended upon one's place in family (and, hence, society).
Jesus' contemporaries viewed the land as vast playground for evil, dotted by hamlets, oases of safety. Why would Jesus seek the desert and invite his chosen to follow him? Remember the Temptation from Mark 1:12-13. After the baptism of Jesus by John, the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan. After forty days, Jesus returned to begin his ministry. Mark implied Jesus conquered the devil and his land, then returned to serve people. Jesus was Lord of nature, even the "desert." He invited his followers to join him in his domain.
The opportunity to eat and rest also meant more than renewing one's needs. The meal was an event that renewed fellowship and social bonds. The gospels imply Jesus had many meals with his inner circle to develop leadership and pass along the message of the Kingdom.
33 Many (people) saw them leave and recognized them. On foot, (the people) ran together there from the cities and arrived ahead of them. 34 Having come out (of the boat), HE saw the large crowd and felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So, he began to teach them many (things).
The hunger of the people outweighed any sense of danger. The desert was safe when people traveled in numbers. So, the word went out. Mark painted a large picture of many people deserting their villages to see Jesus and preceding his arrival. Mark was not concerned with the actual numbers or possibly of "outrunning" Jesus. Mark focused upon the theme. Jesus fulfilled the spiritual needs of the people. That need would find its fulfillment in next Sunday's study: the multiplication of the loaves.

=========================================================================

Sunday July 14, 2024 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 104
THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  Am 7:12-15

Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos,
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD —for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Reading 2                                  Eph 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Gospel                                     Mk 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick--
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  Am 7:12-15

There are two episodes in the prophetic career of Amos, set in the northern kingdom of Israel around 750 BC.

Verses 7-9 recount a vision of doom for Israel that he received. Verses 10-17 describe his encounter with the priest Amaziah, which results in Amos’ being banned from the temple at Bethel. These originally separate episodes are connected by their similar announcements of judgment against King Jeroboam II of Israel (vv. 9, 11). Although their tone is largely negative, they are not completely without hope, and they offer contemporary readers an opportunity for critical self-reflection.
The vision
The phrase “vision” may bring to mind the elaborate, bizarre imagery associated with Ezekiel or Revelation. Many prophetic visions in the Bible, however, are simple object lessons. (Imagine a really ominous children’s moment!) The prophet sees a single object or scene, which is either self-explanatory or comes with a brief explanation.
Bethel was the site of an ancient religious shrine (see Genesis 28:18-19) that became the chief sanctuary of the kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12:28-33). Amos had proclaimed that the worship-taking place there was meaningless because it was divorced from a concern for economic justice, especially for Israel’s oppressed agricultural laborers (Amos 5:21-24). He even warned of Bethel’s destruction (Amos 3:14, 5:5-6). Not surprisingly, these words attract the attention of Amaziah, a priest there. He perceives Amos as a threat not only to the temple at Bethel but to the stability of the nation, because the prophet had threatened the king. These fears were not groundless; prophetic activity had played a role in political uprisings in Israel before (see 1 Kings 11:29-39; 2 Kings 9:1-10). In response, Amaziah first sends a letter to King Jeroboam reporting Amos’ role in a possible conspiracy (Amos 7:10-11). This action would not have been unusual, as royal officials (including priests) frequently reported prophetic activity to rulers in the ancient Near East. Amaziah also forbids Amos from ever speaking at Bethel again. In the process, he makes it clear that Bethel is committed to the interests of the state: “it is the king’s sanctuary, and … a temple of the kingdom” (Amos 7:13 NRSV). He attempts to discredit Amos in v. 12 by dismissing him as an outsider and implying that he only prophesies for income. (Although he prophesied in Israel, Amos was a citizen of the neighboring kingdom of Judah.)
Ironically, Amos defends his prophetic activity by denying that he is a professional prophet. The phrase “prophet’s son” in v. 14 doesn’t necessarily refer to biological descent from a prophet, but rather to membership in a prophetic guild. Candidates for public office use similar rhetoric when they claim not to be career politicians or members of “the establishment.” He warns that neither Amaziah nor his family will escape the coming disaster that God has decreed for Israel (vv. 16-17). The story ends there, without revealing what happened to either Amaziah or Amos. King Jeroboam himself died peacefully, but his son was assassinated, triggering several decades of political instability for Israel (2 Kings 15:8-31). The kingdom was eventually conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC, and many of its citizens were exiled. The original audience of Amos 7, which was written after the time of the historical prophet, would have likely made these retrospective connections.
It’s easy to cast Amaziah as the villain in this story, but closer examination reveals a more sympathetic character. No doubt he sincerely believed he was doing God’s will by supporting the ruling powers. As current trends lead many to despair about the future of the church in America, one can even admire his commitment to the security of the institution he served. Faithful leadership frequently requires Amaziah’s brand of pragmatism. And yet his investment in the status quo ultimately led him to oppose God’s transformative work in the world. This unfortunate example should force us to examine our own individual and communal commitments. Whose interests do we promote? Does working with political and economic institutions -- which no doubt accomplish much good -- give our tacit approval to their unjust actions or policies? Can we simultaneously benefit from and speak out against structures that promote violence, enshrine economic oppression, and dehumanize persons of color, women, and sexual minorities? These are complex questions, and the answers may look very different in different contexts. This story invites us to self-reflection and criticism, lest we too sacrifice our witness to secure our survival

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

Reflecting on Psalm 85:8-13 without the first verses is akin to a liturgy that omits the call and prayer of confession, moving instead straight to the assurance of pardon.
The words are applicable alone, yet are designed as part of a whole. The psalm is a communal prayer for help and can be divided into three sections or stanzas, verses 1-3, 4-7, and 8-13. Verses 1-3 serve as a reminder of God's forgiving acts in the past, followed by pleas by the people for God's forgiveness in the present, ending with a section expressing hope for restored relationship between the people and God.
Verses 1-3 function as the call to confession reminding the people and God of God's past saving acts. God's active grace is clear in the verbs used "favor," "return," "lift," and "cover." These acts are God's alone given to an undeserving people (verse 3). The people have angered God repeatedly and in response God has relented and turned back all anger.
The second section, verses 4-7, is a cry to God for restoration now. The sinful acts of the people are not named specifically, allowing for use of this psalm in many times and places. Yet, the sins are clearly present as the people ask God if God will be angry forever (verse 5).
Many scholars see this psalm in light of the exile and this as a prayer for restoration after the exile was over. This is a possible context, but certainly not the only situation to which this prayer can apply. The pleas in this stanza are universal and, as we all know, from Genesis 3 forward, the story is a long one of sin and redemption. Over and over, the people found ways to turn from God either out of fear, lack of faith, greed, or in a search for other gods. These verses are then not about one event, but they reflect all of the times that God has restored "the fortunes" of Jacob. "Fortunes" is best understood not in terms of monetary gain, but as a restoration of the community to full communion with God.
A new voice enters at verse 8. The voice could be a prophet or a worship leader. Ultimately, it is not the person speaking the words that matter, but the message being delivered. The imperative form of the last section, give way here to the cohortative, meaning a wish for the future. The wish is a view of the world ordered by God's kingdom.
A warning within a wish for the future is not uncommon (Psalm 95:8-10). The warning serves as a reminder that the people and God have been in this place before, and the people will probably put them there again. The response to God's great forgiveness should be more than words, it involves a change in behavior. It involves remembering the warning.
The remainder of the psalm gives us a glimpse of God's kingdom. The image is of a world transformed by God's forgiveness. What if for just one Sunday, we could see and believe the power of God's forgiveness? Could we imagine the world as it should be when God sets it back in place? What if as we hear the words of assurance, the heavens open and we see the glory of God? Would we listen to the warning and change our world?
To announce God's grace and restoration is to call a new beginning into the world. Psalm 85 celebrates God's grace and offers all of us a glimpse of God's kingdom.

Reading 2                                  Eph 1:3-14

The Second Lesson for this Sunday is the first in a series of readings from the Letter to the Ephesians extending over seven Sundays.
Of the total verses in Ephesians (155), nearly half (75 of them) will be read during these seven Sundays.
The lesson for this Sunday begins with a lofty doxological statement concerning God the Father (1:3-6). Next, we have a brief characterization of Jesus as the one in whom we have redemption (1:7). In 1:8-10, the author again speaks about God and of what God has done in Christ. Finally, in 1:11-14 the focus is once more upon Christ.
But even in these verses there is no clear-cut division. For example, within 1:11-14, primarily on Christ, there is a clear reference to God the Father in the long phrase at 1:11b: "the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will."
The passage is filled with assertions about God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. In its "God statements," it sets forth an image of God as one who:

has chosen believers
has destined them for adoption as his children
continues to bless them
showers his grace upon them

He has revealed his will in the sending of Christ, and he seeks to "gather up all things" in both heaven and earth in Christ.
In its "Christ statements," the passage portrays Jesus as one whose death is redemptive -- in this case explicitly meaning the forgiveness of sins -- and whose coming into the world is revelatory; he has made known "the mystery" of God's will. In him we have gained an "inheritance" and have "the word of truth," which is "the gospel of [our] salvation."
Christ is therefore both the Redeemer and the Revealer. Of course, these are the two main functions of Christ throughout the New Testament.
Concerning the Spirit, it is the "promised" Spirit. Whether the author knows of the promise of the Spirit in the Gospel of John (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) or simply from the promise in Joel 2:28-29, one cannot tell. In any case, the view that the Spirit would be poured out and distributed among believers in the early days of the Christian church was widely held. Both Acts and the letters of the apostle Paul testify to it (Acts 2:1-36; Romans 5:5; 8:13-16; 1 Corinthians 12:3-11, etc.).
The experience of the Spirit is a "pledge" or "down payment" for the final and ultimate redemption that is to follow. Here is a case of the "already/not yet" dynamic that one finds in the New Testament. The gift of the Spirit is the "already" of the new age of redemption, but it is only a pledge of more to come, the "not yet."
What is written about the Spirit in 1:13b-14 is similar to what Paul himself had written. He said that God has anointed us "by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment (2 Corinthians 1:22).

Gospel Mk 6:7-13

This week’s Gospel and the one for next week describe how Jesus sent the disciples to minister in his name and the disciples’ return to Jesus afterward. These two passages, however, are not presented together in Mark’s Gospel. Inserted between the two is the report of Herod’s fears that Jesus is John the Baptist back from the dead. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry is presented in connection with the teaching of John the Baptist. Jesus’ public ministry begins after John is arrested. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, who preached the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.
While we do not read these details about John the Baptist in our Gospel this week or next week, our Lectionary sequence stays consistent with Mark’s theme. Recall that last week we heard how Jesus was rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. The insertion of the reminder about John the Baptist’s ministry and his death at the hands of Herod in Mark’s Gospel makes a similar point. Mark reminds his readers about this dangerous context for Jesus’ ministry and that of his disciples. Preaching repentance and the Kingdom of God is dangerous business for Jesus and for his disciples. Mark wants his readers to remember that we, too, may find resistance as we choose to be disciples of Jesus.
Mark’s Gospel tells us that Jesus sent out the Twelve. These twelve were selected from among Jesus’ disciples and named by Mark in chapter 3. Mark notes that these twelve are also called “apostles.” The word apostle means “one who is sent.” The number twelve is also a symbolic number, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. By naming twelve apostles, Jesus shows his mission to be in continuity with the mission of God’s people, Israel.
Jesus’ instructions to the apostles are very specific. He repeats the mission that they are sent to preach and to share his authority to heal and to drive out demons. Jesus sends them in pairs, establishing his mission as a communal endeavor. Jesus also instructs them to travel lightly, without the customary food, money, and extra set of clothes. These instructions mean that the Twelve will be dependent on the hospitality of others, just as Jesus depended on others to provide for his needs.
Jesus continues to send us into the world as his disciples. But like the first disciples, we are not sent alone. Jesus has given us the community of the Church, which strengthens our life of discipleship. The Christian message can only authentically be proclaimed in and through the community of faith that is the Church. In our work with others, we build this community of faith and can invite others to share in it.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about preparing for an overnight trip what will you need to pack. Try to take just essential items.
If you were to stay at a hotel, what items would you expect to find provided in your room? (for example, soap, shampoo, conditioner) Observe that travelers expect to find these essential items provided as part of the hospitality offered when they stay at a hotel.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus gives authority to the Twelve and sends them out, giving specific instructions about what they are to bring for their journey.
What instructions did Jesus give to the Twelve when he sent them out? (He told them to take a walking stick and to wear sandals, but not to bring food or money or a second tunic. He told them to travel in pairs. He told them to stay in one house until they were ready to leave from that place.) Observe that, like travelers today, the Twelve would depend on the hospitality of others to provide for their needs.
What were the Twelve able to do when Jesus sent them out? (They preached repentance, drove out demons, and cured many who were sick.) Observe that the Twelve were also dependent on Jesus, who gave them authority over unclean spirits.
Jesus also calls us to share in his mission and sends us out to serve others. We depend on Jesus and the community of the Church that he gives us in our journey as disciples.
Thank God for providing everything we need to serve others in Jesus’ name. Pray the Our Father.

==============================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Reading 1                                  Am 7:12-15

In this short exchange, Amaziah objected to the prophecy of Amos. Amaziah was a priest at the king's sanctuary in Bethel, the capital of Israel (the so-called "Northern Kingdom"). Surrounding any king were advisors (so-called "prophets"). These "prophets" formed a permanent bureaucracy that guided the king in God's name.
There were other "schools" of prophets that banded together for common worship, spiritual development, and communal living. Like schools in ancient times, these bands of prophets had leaders who taught disciples.
In either case, such prophets used their oratorical skills and spiritual insights to make a living.
Amaziah assumed Amos came as an unofficial prophet from the king's court at Judea (the "southern Kingdom") or from a school of prophets in the south. He assumed Amos preached against the king to garner support and financial assistance from the king's enemies. Unlike the bureaucratic prophet or the prophet of a school, Amos came to prophesy because of God's call. He was merely a farmer who left his trade (and income) to do God's bidding. Hence, his prophecy was honorable, not self-serving. He traveled far from his homeland to do God's will.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

The king or high priest who prayed this psalm would remind the people of their duty to the Law ("not let them return to folly"). With such action came the glimmer of hope that the nation would return to its former glory.
Mercy and truth meet together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth springs out of the earth.
Righteousness has looked down from heaven.
Yes, YHWH will give that which is good.
Our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness goes before him,
And prepares the way for his steps.
There is the invocation of "righteousness," the proper relationship with God and showing the relationship between mercy and the true path to YHWH, that way of life and divine peace. Those were gifts that came from God. Those who walked in the way of the Lord would see prosperity ("Our land will yield its increase"). But notice the emphasis on "righteousness," mentioned three times. That proper relationship would result in the blessings of truth and peace.
Nostalgia, in doses, is not a bad thing, but wallowing in it can warp our view of life. We can look back to a better time, but, as Psalm 85 reminds us, we should look forward to hope and focus on a proper relationship with the Lord.
Get right with God. Then let him take care of the rest.

Reading 2                                  Eph 1:3-14

So, there were three sections: Praise to God, God's choice and work of Christ. Praise of God needs no explanation. But the choice of God does. The benediction actually used several verbs that were almost interchangeable in meaning: choose, elect, and predestine. Without a dark journey into the theological realm of predestination vs. free will for the individual, we can note God intended to establish a people of faith and praise. He willed his Son to die and rise again so his Son's followers could rise up with him. And become like his Son: holy and his children. That was God's choice. That was what God predestined his people to become.
What does God's Son do for us now? Forgiveness, faith, and the gift of the Spirit (in that order). The first step in the journey toward God begins with forgiveness. That happened 2,000 years ago on Calvary. We realize and accept that forgiveness in faith, the second step. Finally, we receive the Spirit and his gifts to use as a way to strengthen our faith, build up the community, and evangelize.
However, each one of those steps have a consequence in God's will. The redemption/forgiveness from the death of Jesus does not stop with believers. The author has a greater vision. Christ died not only for us, but for the entire cosmos. His death reconciles us to the Father. And will reconcile all creation to the Creator. As we are under the headship of Christ in his body, so will all creation be placed under his rule. That is the meaning of the phrase "recapitulation."
Next, faith is not just the acceptance of forgiveness. It is the cause of prayer, worship, and praise. We do not only believe we are "right" with God. We have a greater purpose. To praise him forever!
Finally, the Spirit gives us a taste of the end time. The work of the Spirit in us will continue into the Kingdom. In the Spirit, we will realize our final destiny before our Maker and King.
What comes from God should return to him. This is the story of creation and salvation. Like the author of Ephesians, we should praise God for what he has done, what he is doing now, and what he will do at the end. For, he is our source. He is our destiny. Praise God!

Gospel                                     Mk 6:7-13
With the call came limits, in the form of travel instructions. As indicated in the translation notes above, these instructions did not reflect anything unusual in first century culture. Traveling away from home (i.e., extended family) was unexpected. (After all, the family supplied all the economic and social support anyone would need.) But that did not stop people from taking to the road.
Travel had its dangers. Provisions were scarce. And the activities of marauding bandits made travel perilous. So, Jesus instructed the Twelve to travel in pairs for safety, and to travel light for endurance (the lighter one traveled, the faster he or she could go). Since many people traveled in large caravans, the missionaries could join these groups and share their provisions. As the notes indicated above, hospitality was a common, honorable virtue that acted as a counterweight to the dangers of travel. Travelers were safe in numbers and safe with a caring host.
From a thematic viewpoint, the travel limits Jesus imposed kept the missionaries focus on serving others, not the self. In serving others, the missionary would depend on the goodwill of others and, ultimately, on the benevolence of God. So, the missionary was to travel in the spirit of dependance. Christ had called him or her, and continued the call. The initiative was Christ's and continued to be his.
Leaving, they announced (the Good News) so (others) might repent. They expelled many demons. They anointed with oil many sick people and healed (them).
With the call of Jesus came power. The Twelve preached. In doing so, They exercised power over spirits that possessed and weakened their victims. In the mindset of the ancient world, Jews commonly believed the cosmos contained a hierarchy of beings. The transcendent God sat at the pinnacle of this order. Then, came powerful spiritual beings ("archangels, principalities, and powers"). Third, came lesser spirits (common angels and "unclean spirits"). Fourth, stood humanity. Finally, came plant and animal life. Notice authority delineated this hierarchy of being. The higher level of being had power over the lower forms. So, unclean spirits could possess, weaken, and even kill people. This was the way of existence for the ancient. But, Jesus and his Twelve preached to announce a change in that hierarchy. God would adopt humanity, making its members "sons" and "daughters" of the Father (in doing so, humanity would jump two levels of being above powerful spiritual beings. This was Good News!) Jesus, the very Son of God, gave his Twelve power over a higher level of being ("unclean spirits") as they preached the coming of the Kingdom.

=======================================================================

Sunday July 7, 2024 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 101

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  Ez 2:2-5

As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me
and set me on my feet,
and I heard the one who was speaking say to me:
Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
rebels who have rebelled against me;
they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.
Hard of face and obstinate of heart
are they to whom I am sending you.
But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD GOD!
And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house--
they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven --
As the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Reading 2                                   2 Cor 12:7-10

Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Gospel                                       Mk 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  Ez 2:2-5

Stubborn. Impudent. Rebellious.
These are the adjectives God uses in this address to the prophet to describe the people of ancient Israel. The descriptors certainly do not cast Ezekiel’s audience in the best light. The labels neither tell the whole story of Israel’s behavior nor provide the ethical scope for a proper theological anthropology.
It’s a one-sided characterization.
First, the adjectives remind us of that side of humanity that finds it difficult to respond obediently to God’s call. This may not be the easiest notion to preach, but we are capable of stubbornness. The prophets did not wait until Lent to remind people of this capacity.
For Ezekiel’s context, words such as “stubborn” are particularly poignant given their occurrence within his call or commissioning near the beginning of this biblical book. Our lesson today from Ezekiel 2 comes immediately after the well-known chariot vision of Ezekiel in which the prophet sees “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God” (Ezekiel 1:28). Ezekiel has experienced an overwhelming divine vision and now hears a divine voice. If he is not already engulfed in the immensity of his prophetic call, our passage promises to create such a feeling. His call shall not involve preaching to a receptive audience ready for introspection and change. The prophet is called instead to a house of rebellion, a phrase unique to this biblical book.
This rather pessimistic attitude toward ancient Israel is also a result of the exilic context of the book of Ezekiel. If God is not to blame for the exile (and Ezekiel surely affirms that theological notion), then the people must be to blame. This point, of course, highlights the danger of such name-calling. While it is true that we like ancient Israel can be a stubborn people at times, it is simply not true that many events -- especially international events like the fall of nation-states, are the result of our rebellion. When attempting to make sense of their exilic situation, some prophets tended to emphasize Israel’s direct role in their demise, while ignoring the more likely political factors at play. We must be careful when speaking of rebellious houses to not misplace blame and shame. When bad things happen, it can be tempting to resort to blaming the victim.
Second, the call of God through the prophet implies that the people can respond. Although they are rebellious, they are not without hope. God holds out hope that the people will hear and respond. This implication is actually not emphasized much in this small passage from Ezekiel. Additionally, if you continuing reading into Ezekiel 3, you will find more name-calling (“the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart”) and little signal that God thinks Ezekiel’s prophecies will result in changed hearts.
Yet, the prophetic call for change still goes forth. And this prophetic message is written down and preserved. It is read and reread through the years and centuries until this very Sunday in Pentecost. The prophetic call goes forth not because there is no chance of a response. The call comes to us because we can and do respond.
Third, this passage from Ezekiel 2 connects to the Gospel reading for today, Mark 6:1-6. In the lesson from Mark, Jesus teaches in his hometown synagogue and receives a less than positive reception. In response to this rejection, he quotes a proverb: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house”
The two readings share the idea that a prophetic voice is not always heard. Jesus identifies himself as a prophet -- standing in continuity with ancient Israel’s prophetic tradition -- who, like those earlier prophets, does not find everywhere a receptive audience. There is risk inherent in speaking for and about God. Prophets take this risk. Some will hear and respond to the call; others will be more stubborn.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

Psalm 123 is the fourth psalm in the collection of psalms held together by the common designation “of Ascents” in their titles (Psalms 120-134).
These psalms were probably collected for use during pilgrimage to Jerusalem or to promote such pilgrimage. The term “ascents” comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to go up.” This word appears in the last line of the Chronicler’s history as part of the report that Cyrus of Persia, having conquered the Babylonians, would allow the exiled people of Judah to return to their homeland and to worship God in the soon-to-be-rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. The word to the exiles concerning anyone who would return to Jerusalem was, “Let him go up” (2 Chronicles 36:23). Thus, “ascents” in the title of Psalm 123 denotes ascent to Jerusalem and/or to the temple on Mount Zion.
The psalm has elements of the prayers for help known elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g. Psalm 13): complaint of trouble and petition for salvation (verses 3-4) and expression of trust (verses 1-2). These features most often appear in reverse order, with complaint and petition first, followed by a statement of trust, though the present order occurs in some other psalms such as Psalm 40. The two parts of Psalm 123 hold together well, with the statement of trust and confidence serving as the foundation for the complaint and petition. For example, references to mercy in verses 2 and 3 connect the two segments of the psalm. The petition for mercy in verse 3 is related to the recognition that it is God’s nature to give it.
The psalm opens with an individual speaking (“I lift up;” v. 1). In verse 2 the voice becomes plural (“our eyes look to the Lord”) and the community voice pervades the remainder of the psalm. This shift from first-person singular to first-person plural speech probably reflects the situation of worship in which an individual spoke on behalf of the worshippers gathered (see similarly-cast prayers in Psalms 129 and 131).
Psalm 123 begins with the declaration, “To you I lift my eyes” (Psalm 123:1), which is similar to the opening of Psalm 121 (“I lift up my eyes to the hills”) and may in fact be an adaptation of Psalm 121:1. “Lifting the eyes” is an expression of anxiety and helplessness.1 In Psalm 121 the psalmist lifts eyes to the hills in search of security and protection. The psalm suggests this is found in God’s presence as experienced in the Jerusalem temple. In Psalm 123:1, however, the eyes are not lifted to God’s dwelling place in the Jerusalem temple, but to God’s heavenly abode (“enthroned in heaven”). Though the psalm appears in a collection meant for pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it identifies God first and foremost as the one who dwells in the heavens. The worshippers who prayed this prayer lived in the period after the Babylonian exile. They had experienced the vulnerability of the temple in Jerusalem when they saw it destroyed and, as a result, they placed their trust in and conceived God primarily as the one who was enthroned in the temple that could not be destroyed by an enemy.
Verse 2 contains a double simile that expounds on the opening declaration. The worshipping community “lifts its eyes” as servants look to a master (v. 2a) or as female slaves look to their mistress (v. 2b). The images connote vulnerability, dependence, and obedience. But here the notion of the “master” is transformed. The psalmist who calls on the Lord as master knows no dread or fear, only mercy. This master is one exclusively sought out for salvation: “our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy on us” (v. 2).
The psalmist seeks mercy in the form of relief from the contempt and oppression of the enemy. The notion of being held in contempt by an enemy is a common theme in the Psalter. For example, the reference to being scorned by the proud suggests a situation akin to the psalmist’s description of enemies sarcastically asking “Where is your God?” in Psalm 42:3. The language here is particularly close to that in other passages that distinguish humankind as rich and poor, righteous and wicked. Those who are speaking scornfully are “at ease” (v. 4) and are identified thus as rich and wicked. Although the psalm does not identify the enemies further, this language appears in Amos 6 in reference to those who enjoy economic privilege and oppress the poor. Both Amos and the psalmist identify the poor as righteous (Amos 2:6; Psalm 34:4-10, 19-22). The division does not suggest that material wealth itself is a mark of wickedness or that lack of it is a sign of righteousness. Rather, the language is used this way to highlight the typical attitude of dependence and humility of the poor and the common lack thereof by the rich.

Reading 2                                   2 Cor 12:7-10

What gives us the courage to do the right thing -- to act on what our conscience calls us to do -- when we know that we often will not be rewarded for it in this life?
Can we boldly defend the common good in the face of powerful detractors concerned solely with their own interests and agendas? And when we do speak the truth about what needs to be done in specific circumstances, can we do so with the love and forgiveness needed to bring about the justice we are calling for? These are some of the larger questions Paul grapples with in 2 Corinthians that provide a context for interpreting this passage.
The logic of double-negation
In 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Paul asserts that we can be confident in all circumstances, whether we are “at home” or “away” from either “the body” or “the Lord.” This theme resonates with his refrains in Philippians that “living is Christ and dying is gain” (Philippians 1:21) and that in any and all circumstances -- whether in plenty or in need -- we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:12-13).
There is a logic of double-negation at work in these verses that runs throughout Paul’s letters. This logic brings to the fore the point that God’s “yes” -- God’s promise, which we receive in Jesus through the Spirit -- is far greater than all our human distinctions and circumstances (2 Corinthians 1:18-22). In Galatians, for example, Paul states that through the Spirit we eagerly await the “hope of righteousness” because “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything”; all that counts is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:5-6). In 1 Corinthians, he makes clear that the foolishness and weakness of the cross of Christ embodies the fact that God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
As depicted in the great hymn of Romans 8, Paul’s point with these negations is to affirm that nothing -- neither death nor life; not angels, rulers, or powers; not height or depth, nor anything else in all creation -- can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). The love of God encompasses everything in reality. Grounded in God’s love through Christ’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s communion, we can be what we have been called to be: an open statement of truth, commending ourselves with confidence to everyone’s conscience before God, regardless of our circumstances (2 Corinthians 4:2; 13:13).
Being at home or away from the body
Is Paul not introducing yet another dualism -- another distinction -- with his talk about being “at home” or “away” from “the body” or “the Lord”? We can gain some insight on this question by taking a look at his “fool’s speech” regarding the “super-apostles” who have defamed him and abused the Corinthians with their deceptive misuse of spiritual power.
In that speech Paul refers to “visions and revelations” he experienced fourteen years prior, saying that he does not know whether they were “in the body or out of the body” (2 Corinthians 12:1-7). Paul himself has had such visions and revelations, which may indeed have been “out of the body” experiences. In these kinds of experiences we may have a powerful sense of union with God or sense of being “at home” with the Lord. Yet Paul is very clear: those experiences are no more sacred -- no more weighted with authority -- than others.
Why? Because the only power and authority we can ultimately rely on is the sufficiency of God’s grace. Through that grace, power is “made perfect (teleitai, better translated as “reaches full maturity”) in weakness.” Indeed, our ultimate criterion is the weakness of Jesus’ suffering body undergoing all of our vicissitudes, even to the point of death on a cross (2 Corinthians 12:8; cf. Philipians 2:8).
Walking by faith not sight
In fact, all that we do in our bodies will be manifest (phanerothenai) before “the judgment seat of Christ” -- the eschatological place and time where and when Christ will judge all the living and the dead (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 2:16, 14:9-10). This reference to Christ’s “judgment seat” is not a threat but a promise. Although we live in a world where technical savvy, wealth, and power seem continually to trump God’s steadfast love, justice, and righteousness, we can be confident that the latter -- described as God’s mercies and consolation in 2 Corinthians -- will prevail in the end (2 Corinthians 1:3; cf. Jeremiah 9:23-24).
Wherever we are, we are accountable to God -- and thus also to one another -- for what we do in our bodies, whether good or evil. And God’s grace is sufficient to give us the power to please God in all circumstances.
So being in “ecstasy” (eksestemen, taken out of ourselves) before God does not immune us from being accountable for what we do with our bodies (2 Corinthians 5:13). Rather, knowing the fear of the Lord -- that we are ultimately accountable to God and not to any other power -- frees us to speak to speak the truth and to persuade others to do the same. Well known to God, we can confidently make ourselves known to others, even as we persuade them to reciprocate by living in the same confidence and sincerity (2 Corinthians 5:11-13).
Grounded in God’s love, we can speak truth to one another -- we can risk sincerity -- even when we disagree or might be wrong. God is reconciling the entire world through Christ, in spite of anything we or others have done (2 Corinthians 5:19): God’s promises are always a “yes.” Rooted in that “yes,” our lives can be an open statement of truth -- regardless of where we find ourselves (2 Corinthians 1:20-22).

Gospel                                       Mk 6:1-6

This is one of those instances where the lectionary disturbs the narrative flow of Mark's gospel.
Verses 1-6 of chapter 6 are really a self-contained unit, but who wants to end on that challenging verse 6? So we get verses 7-13 related to the sending of the disciples. We don't hear the rest of this story, however, until two weeks later in the lectionary when the return of the disciples is narrated in Mark 6:30.
So let’s just stick with the lectionary and deal with verses 1-6.
The reason why the people of Nazareth reject Jesus in Mark 6:1-6 has never been entirely clear to me. I am more familiar with instances where a small town celebrates, even exaggerates, the success stories of locals who have made it big.
The text suggests an initial positive reception, but somewhere in verses 2-3 everything changes. Why might this be?

Did they wonder if Jesus was 'crazy smart,' and then decide that he was just crazy? Earlier in Mark 3:21, Jesus' own family had come to get him because they thought he had "gone out of his mind."
In Mark 6:2, the people asked, "Where did this man get all this?" Did they decide, like the scribes had in Mark 3:22, that he got it all from a demonic source? (This makes for a nice connection with the earlier, similar synagogue scene in Mark 1:21-27 where the question about Jesus' authority was first raised.)
In a social system where status was understood as fixed (i.e., your status at birth defined who you would always be) and honor/shame considerations were important, did they simply regard it as impossible for Jesus to amount to anything? The people of Nazareth indicate this negative perception when they identify Jesus as a "carpenter" (i.e., a low-status manual laborer) and as the "son of Mary" (i.e., hinting at a questionable fatherhood).

Because people think they know who Jesus is, they end up asking disdainfully, "Who does he think he is?"
The identity of Jesus is a consistent issue in Mark. In the gospel, we hear the opinions of rulers, religious authorities, crowds, disciples, and family members. For the author of Mark, the important question keeps coming around to "who do you -- the reader -- say that Jesus is?" And if you do honor Jesus as a prophet (or more than a prophet), who does that make you? Does it mean new allegiances that supersede traditional country and family values? As you answer those questions, Mark is leading you into a confession of faith.
But what about Jesus' inability to perform miracles? Apparently it caused Jesus to wonder too! A couple things to note:

The problem is not a matter of whether they have enough faith but that they have no faith.
Elsewhere in Mark, a person's faith is not necessarily tied to the success of a miracle. Sometimes faith is not mentioned at all. Sometimes the faith of the restored one's friends or family is noted, or, as in Mark 9:24. Sometimes it's a matter of "I believe; help my unbelief!"

Ultimately, what didn't happen in Nazareth is not much of a surprise. A miracle is not just an event but it is an interpreted event. If Jesus is not regarded to be capable of healing, any healing that does happen won't be attributed to him. So, there is nothing here to see. Move along, move along...
Would you agree that we are living in a world that is more and more characterized by unbelief?
If so, doesn't it feel as if we are living in a Nazareth-world -- a culture that is, at best, disinterested in Jesus?
If so, isn't it utter folly to think we can change anything by preaching Christ?
In fact, isn't any Christian whose life has been transformed by Christ living defenseless in a world where security and status are calculated commodities?
We do have one thing, we have experienced the faithfulness of God in Jesus crucified and risen. So, we may marvel at the unbelief around us, but still we go forth, proclaiming and practicing our faith in Christ.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about and describe the meaning of the phrase “Act your age”’ Think about situations in which this phrase might be spoken. Think about expectations that people have regarding the behavior of others.
Can you recall a time when a parent, teacher, or friend seemed surprised by an action of someone that showed their maturity (for example, demonstrating a new ability, accepting a new responsibility, or showing independence). Why do you think these actions were a surprise to others? As young people grow to maturity, they experience adjustments in their relationships with others as expectations change.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear about how Jesus was received when he taught in the synagogue in his hometown.
How do the people respond to Jesus’ teaching? (Some are astonished. Some wonder that he is the same person whom they thought they knew. Some took offense at him.) How might you explain this response to Jesus and his teaching? What do some of the people of Nazareth know about Jesus? (They know that Jesus is a carpenter, and they know his family.)
Because they do not recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, the people of Nazareth are surprised by Jesus’ teaching, and his actions among them are limited. Jesus is amazed at their lack of faith. As Christians, we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, and this faith has the power to change all our relationships.
How does faith in Jesus as the Son of God transform our relationship with God and with one another? (For example: Jesus saves us from sin and restores our relationship with God. In Christ, we are children of God and brothers and sisters to one another.)
Ask God to give us faith to know Jesus truly, the Son of God who saves us from sin. Pray the Act of Faith.

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy catholic Church teaches, because in revealing them you can neither deceive nor be deceived.
=============================================================
ADDITIONAL DATA
Reading 1                                  Ez 2:2-5

Ezekiel's call to prophecy was the longest in any of the prophetic books. Its timing was also unique. Ezekiel was called to prophecy after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 597 B.C. The prophet served those in the Babylonian exile.
Standing before the throne of God (a vision described in 1:4-28), Ezekiel cowered low. Then, he received the Spirit, stood up, and heard his commission. (Only the Spirit can give one the power to stand before God.) His prophecy would be proclaimed to a stubborn people, so filled with self-pity and despair, with such hardened hearts, they would reject his message. But, strangely, their rejection would confirm the presence of God in the message. Indeed, if the people could receive the message and understand their plight, that would be the first step back to the Lord. It would be a step in repentance. God gave Ezekiel an impossible task. But his words would eventually bear fruit.
Even today, people do not want to hear God's message of repentance. Our words of faith many times fall on deaf ears. Our efforts towards evangelization seem to be wasted. In these times, we should remember Ezekiel who was rejected by the exile population. God worked even through his rejection. We should have the same faith as the "old, crazy prophet."

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

When have you felt abandoned and in need of help? Who helped you? How did they help you?
We all recognize despair can cripple the human spirit. But, even mild depression can debilitate our activity. Feeling down can sap our energy and drive. Such negative feelings interfere with our well-being, for we feel alone, as if no one can help us. If we do reach out for help, depression can make our efforts half-hearted and unsuccessful. After all, who wants to help someone who doesn't want to help themselves?
Psalm 123 captured the spirit of the person in depression. It was a prayer of the lowly, the vassal who looked on the hand of his or her master for direction (123:2-3). The cause of the depression seemed to be the overbearing of others (unjust, idolatrous overlords like the Babylonians?). This simple song pleaded for the Lord's favor that implied a rescue from the haughty and arrogant.
Many times, negative feelings may bring us down. They may interfere with our activities, even our faith. These are the times to pray honestly to God: admit the depths of our feelings and ask God for relief. We might not feel that our lives have turned a corner, but we can take comfort we have not given up on our Maker. Depression can co-exist with prayer.

Reading 2                                   2 Cor 12:7-10

Pride comes before the fall.
We all brag about our possessions, our relatives, our abilities. One-Upmanship is nothing new. Unfortunately, bragging leads to unrealistic expectations of self and others. What we brag about can be our undoing, even if our boasts are based in solid fact.
Paul knew the shortcomings of bragging. He had received direct revelation and even heavenly vision. (See 2 Corinthians 12:1-4.) His ministry gave him a place of leadership in the universal Church. His travels gave him more than enough material for entertainment. His endurance through persecution and hard times gave him wisdom for his congregation. Paul could place himself over his audience, with a firm belief that he earned his position. But, why did he humble himself? Why did he share his "thorn in the flesh" revelation? Beyond defending himself from his critics, Paul used this self-revelation to show his humanity before the face of his God. Popularity was not always permanent. Ego meant nothing to God. Bragging was just so much "hot air."
Beyond bragging, Paul showed his audience the key to Christian living. Weakness makes one dependent. But, dependent upon whom? When Christians were dependent upon God, they did his will. When Christians depended upon themselves, they stopped being Christians. When they were weak, they were open to the power of God.
Life's problems can intrude upon our self determination. Freedoms are limited. Responsibilities can increase. These are the times for faith, not self-pity. These are the times to remember Paul's words. "When I am weak, I am powerful with God's grace."
Pride comes before the fall. But grace raises us up beyond our status and expectations.

Gospel                                       Mk 6:1-6

Jesus went home. But, he wasn't at home. In spite of his powerful teaching, his family and old friends met him with skepticism. In a static culture that measured a person's worth on their place in society, Jesus had clearly overstepped his bounds. Carpenters had the lowly reputation of traveling salesmen. Men who left their wives and mothers without physical and economic security to seek work did not even have the respect of their own families. People gossiped and speculated about carpenters' activities away from their families. Jesus came from such a profession.
The static culture also cast a critical eye toward those who stepped above their station in life. Such people did not fit into the world of family and old friends, no matter what these people did, no matter what kind of reputation they built up.
Jesus exercised a ministry different from his previous profession. He went from the marginally honorable to the highly respected (notice Jesus referred to himself in the third person as a "prophet," while those in Nazareth insisted on calling him a "carpenter"). But, he was no longer what people of Nazareth expected him to be. So, he could not lead family and old friends to faith in God through his miracles, simply because they did not trust him. Any acts of "power" would be futile. So, he went back out on the road to serve the surrounding villages.
Jesus came home, but he wasn't at home.

=========================================================================

Sunday June 30, 2024 Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 98

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                     Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24

God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Reading 2                                  2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

Brothers and sisters:
As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse,
knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Not that others should have relief while you are burdened,
but that as a matter of equality
your abundance at the present time should supply their needs,
so that their abundance may also supply your needs,
that there may be equality.
As it is written:
Whoever had much did not have more,
and whoever had little did not have less.

Gospel                                        Mk 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
"My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live."
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"
But his disciples said to Jesus,
"You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."

While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child's father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                  Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24

Whenever we get to this reading I’m reminded death inn my close family. The main reason is that my wife and my son-in-law’s parents succumbed to cancer. It seems like one moment they were fine and moving about and living a fine retirement life and the next they were totally bed ridden. My wife had prayed for years that “If this disease will strike anybody that I love, please take it out of their body and put it in mine.” Sacrificial love is the best response to death.
God, wrote the author of the Book of Wisdom, “did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living” (Wis 1:13). He is a God of life, and “he fashioned all things that they might have being” (Wis 1:14). And yet, God became man, knowing that he would suffer and die.
The Gospels, as we see in today’s reading, are full of encounters between the God-man Jesus Christ and death. In bringing the daughter of Jairus back from death, Jesus demonstrated several things: his supernatural power, his compassionate love and the orientation of his perfect and selfless will. The evangelist Mark recounts three statements made by Jesus as he was healing the young girl. The first remark was spoken to the father: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” The second was made to the grief-stricken crowd: “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And, finally, he said to the daughter: “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” (Mk 5:36-41)
Those statements provide a marvelous catechesis of the divine response to death. First, we are not to fear death, but to have faith since death has been conquered by Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. Second, by faith we are able to know that there is real, lasting hope beyond death, and that those who fall asleep in Christ are not dead but fully alive.
Third, we know that at the final judgment, God will reunite the righteous with their bodies: “For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality” (1 Cor 15:53). God did not make death — it is the result of man’s sin — but he has given us a supernatural response to it.
Essential to that response is the “formula of exchange,” or admirabile commercium, which states that the eternal Son of God became what we are so that we could become what he is. This takes on various forms in Tradition, including that found in today’s epistle: “For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9).
The riches of the Son, as many of the early Church Fathers pointed out, are located in his divinity, and so the riches given to us through the Son include sharing in that divinity. The blessing of eternal life in Christ, is the only true and lasting answer to death.
Responsorial Psalm               Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

The two dominant kinds of psalms are laments and psalms of praise, reflecting the lows and highs of life. Most of the psalms in the first part of the book are laments, but these prayers usually end on a hopeful note. That hope is sometimes expressed as a promise or vow of praise.
Psalm 30 is a fine example of a text that fulfills such a vow. It is a classic psalm of thanksgiving where the speaker declares or narrates to the congregation what God has done to deliver him/her from crisis. The Hebrew term for this kind of psalm is todah, a song that confesses how God has acted to deliver. In poetic form, the psalm tells a story of thanksgiving; it narrates the divine action of deliverance that has brought forth praise.
The structure of Psalm 30 tells the story:

Verses 1-5 state the intention to give praise and thanksgiving to God.
Verses 6-11 tell the story of the crisis (verses 6-7), the prayer (verses 8-10), and the deliverance (verse 11).
Verse 12 renews the promise of thanksgiving.
Most likely, the crisis lying behind the psalm is one of sickness (verse 2). Consequently, worshipers in ancient Israel may have used this psalm in services offering prayers of thanksgiving for healing.

Verses 1-5
The opening of the psalm declares praise and thanksgiving for God's rescue from the crisis at hand and from opponents who had made the crisis more difficult. The psalmist lifts up God just as God has lifted up the psalmist.

You have drawn me up
You have healed me
You brought me up
You restored me
God has delivered the psalmist from the power of death and Sheol.

Sheol and the Pit (verse 3) indicate the realm of death or the underworld. The poetic imagery suggests being lifted up out of a well or cistern as a way of narrating God's rescue from the power of death. God has delivered from the grip of the power of death and has brought this one back to full life. Central to the psalm is the confession that it is God who has given this new life.
Beginning in verse 4, the speaker addresses the congregation, the "faithful ones." They are called to join in the thanksgiving to God. Verse 5 uses powerful poetic imagery to articulate the reason the congregation should give thanks: God's anger and the resulting weeping are but a moment in the context of a life of joy and hope.
Another way to put this is that God's 'no' to the faith community always comes in the context of God's 'yes.' Night and day become symbols of God's anger and favor. The striking reversal witnessed in verse 5 is characteristic of the poetic power of this psalm; other reversals are in verses 2, 7, and 11.
Verses 6-11
The body of the psalm tells the story of the crisis, the prayer, and the deliverance. All was well in the life of this person. Perhaps he or she had come to trust in human achievement rather than in God. Suddenly prosperity faltered and he/she cried out to God for help and mercy. The pleas are in verses 8 and 10.
The petitioner's questions in verse 9 are part of this persuasive prayer to convince God to answer mercifully. Behind the questions lie the petitioner's hopes to live and praise God, a life that is only possible with deliverance from death. In such praise, the speaker will bear witness to God's involvement in the world and narrate the good news of God's deliverance.
We again find powerful poetic imagery in verse 11 to describe the rescue. Grief changes to dancing and the customary sackcloth attire for grieving is turned in for joy. The thanksgiving is for God's deliverance from the crisis and for a new perspective on life centered upon gratitude.
Verse 12
The psalm concludes with a renewed promise of praise and thanksgiving to God throughout life. With the new perspective of gratitude, the psalmist's main vocation for life is the praise of God. Renewed life is a gift from God best enjoyed in thanksgiving.
Psalm 30 narrates a story that envisions God as present in joy and in trouble, that is, in all of life. The psalm proclaims a gospel of divine involvement in the world in all of life. It is a daring act of faith to see God in all the parts of life, and our psalm with powerful poetry helps us to imagine such a reality. The psalmist strongly holds to God's providence in the midst of a crisis of life and death, and God did not leave the psalmist alone but came to deliver her/him from the crisis.

Reading 2                                  2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

This passage fits in a larger section of 2 Corinthians (8:1-9:15) that is chiefly concerned with Paul's collection for the Jerusalem church. In Galatians 2:10, Paul indicates that concern for the poor has been a part of his ministry from the beginning. According to Romans 15, Paul views the collection as a service to the poor among the saints in the Jerusalem church (Romans 15:25-26).
Paul's collection for the Jerusalem church is a massive undertaking. Paul only mentions the contribution of the Macedonian churches in our present passage (2 Corinthians 8:1 and 9:2, 4). His previous letter indicates that he intended the churches of Galatia to participate as well (1 Corinthians 16:1).
The instructions in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 imply that the church has raised questions about how to collect their contribution. Paul's directions in that letter suggest that the Corinthians are eager to participate. The apostle appeals to this zeal in 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 and encourages them to finish what they started a year ago. Ultimately, it seems that the Corinthians made some contribution because Paul acknowledges in Romans 15:25-26 that he will deliver to Jerusalem the collection from Macedonia and Achaia (where Corinth is located).
Before Paul reminds the Corinthians of their commitment to the collection, he boasts that the Macedonian churches have given generously (2 Corinthians 8:1-5). In fact, Paul uses language that characterizes their action in a superlative fashion. The Macedonian believers have undergone a severe test of affliction, yet their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity (8:2).
According to Paul, these saints, though suffering themselves, begged to give to this collection for the poor. If the Macedonians, who have suffered terrible affliction, have given so great a gift, then the Corinthians can surely give as generously.
In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul gets more mileage out of the Macedonian success story by shaming the Corinthian church into acting. Perhaps the apostle is anticipating that some in the Corinthian church might now be opposed to contributing to this collection. After all, the relationship between Paul and this community has recently shown signs of strain (2 Corinthians 2:2-4; 7:1-13). Paul worries that the Corinthians will be humiliated, if some from the Macedonian church come to Corinth with Paul, and the collection is not ready. He reminds the church again that they have promised to participate and that the collection should be a willing gift (2 Corinthians 9:5).
Before he resorts to shaming them directly, he reminds the believers that their actions to support the Jerusalem poor demonstrate the earnestness of their faith (2 Corinthians 8:8). Paul reframes the whole collection as the gospel enacted.   In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul retells the good news through the lens of generosity. Christ gave up extraordinary riches so that others might receive the abundant wealth of God's grace.
Indeed, there is plenty of evidence that Paul thought of the collection as more than an act that remembered the poor. There were surely poor people in the churches of Macedonia, Galatia, and Achaia. Though Paul seems devoted to remembering the poor -- especially those in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:10), this collection is more than an offering.
In Romans 15, Paul gives further rationale for why he would encourage all the Gentile believers to help the Jerusalem church. According to Romans 15:27, Paul believes that the Gentile saints are in debt to the Jews: "for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings."
According to Paul, it is through Israel, and particularly through the majority of Israel's trespass of not recognizing God's work through Jesus, that salvation has come to the Gentiles (Romans 11:7-12). The Gentiles are, therefore, indebted to Israel. The collection connects these two communities and becomes an outward manifestation of Paul's eschatological vision that Jew and Gentile will praise God together with one voice (Romans 15:1-13).
These Gentile churches are collecting money for believers in Jerusalem whom they have likely never met. Furthermore, based on the frustration Paul expresses in Galatians 2 over the exclusive dining practices of some of the Jerusalem leaders, it is not clear how well these Gentiles would have been welcomed by the Jerusalem saints. Yet, this offering binds the Jerusalem community to the Gentile believers who are now serving as benefactors. To use Paul's language, this collection shows the believers' indebtedness to one another and ultimately to the God who is working among them.
Paul is clear that he is not calling the Corinthians to give to the point that it hurts. They share in responsibility to care for their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, just as their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem share in caring for them (8:14). It is hard to establish any form of "equality" (8:14) if one party has nothing because it has given up everything.
Instead, the Corinthians are the ones who have means. The Corinthians are urged to give generously with the knowledge that God has already provided abundantly for them for this very purpose: "And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work" (9:8).

Gospel                                        Mk 5:21-43

The text at hand is one of those two-for-one deals where one story is used to frame another, and they mutually interpret each other.
Look for both differences:

the socially and religiously prominent Jairus in contrast to the unnamed woman
one makes a formal request while the other sneaks a touch

and similarities:

the role of the crowd and of the disciples
the issues of fear and faith
a 12 year-old girl and a 12 year sickness

Now, let's think about how these stories go together.
Prior to the events described, Jesus had been on the far side of the Sea of Galilee where he had encountered the Gerasene demoniac. Now back in Jewish territory, Jesus faces potentially dangerous situations again, both from being crushed by the crowds and being infected with ritual uncleanness.
I suppose a preacher has to say something about this uncleanness business. Safeguards are placed around such matters and given a ritual context involving priests and sacrifices, but it is also a matter of plain common sense. If a body is oozing, flaking, bleeding, or dead, you probably don't want to touch it. Being unclean, therefore, is going to leave you socially isolated.
However, the situation is complicated. After all, the woman, clearly unclean by the standards of Leviticus 15:25-27, is mixed up in the press of the crowds around Jesus. The 'dead' girl is surrounded by family and friends.
I realize how tempting it is to focus on this story as an example of holistic, social healing which reintegrates a person into community and restores one to family. I also suspect we do so because we are quite hesitant to promise miracle cures
In the central story, Jesus does not seek out and restore the woman. She's the one who takes the extraordinary and prohibited initiative in touching Jesus.
English translations attempting to provide a clear and understandable story obscure the dramatic way the scene is described. In a more literal rendering, you should hear the string of participles that build up, finally culminating in the woman's action: "And a woman--having been bleeding for twelve years, and having suffered greatly from many physicians, and having spent all she had, and having benefited not one bit but rather having gone from bad to worse, having heard about Jesus, having come in the crowd from behind--touched his cloak." Jesus stops and makes a scene, while the disciples get testy with Jesus and his seemingly futile desire to know who touched him.
It reminds me of the scene in Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit and are hiding from God. God takes an evening stroll in the garden and calls out, "Where are you?" It's not that God is unaware of their location. Rather, the question offers an opportunity for Adam and Eve to come forward and come clean. God will do a similar thing again in Genesis 4 when asking Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
In those cases, the truth comes out in nuanced parcels or is avoided altogether. In Mark 5:33, however, "The woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth."
The whole truth! This seems to me to be a good preaching approach. What does it mean for this woman to tell the whole truth? Is she confessing something about her plan and her confidence in Jesus? Is she telling the truth about herself? I imagine her saying something like, "I was desperate, and you were my last hope."
What are the consequences of this woman speaking the truth? Jesus responds with three affirmations:

"Your faith has saved/healed you.
Go in peace, and
be cured of your disease." (Mark 5:34)

And now, the rest of the story: people come from Jairus' house and tell him, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any longer?" Way to show compassion and sympathy for a grieving father!
But even Jesus, rather than compassionately sharing how he feels Jairus' pain, basically tells him to buck up and keep the faith. Arriving at Jairus' house and the distressed commotion of the grieving family and friends, Jesus tells them to knock it off, because the girl is only sleeping.
The distraught crowd promptly responds by laughing at Jesus. I'm not sure which stage of grief that reflects, but Jesus is surely the one still in denial.
Jesus' next empathetic move is to kick them all out except for the parents and his chosen disciples. He takes the girl's hand (remember, touching a corpse makes you "unclean"), and with a couple simple words restores her to life.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about a time when you were sick. When you were sick, did you have any special needs? If so, what were they? What did other people do to help you feel better?
Have you ever helped take care of someone who was sick? What does it feel like to be with someone who is sick?
We are fortunate to have people who care for us when we are sick. Caring for people who are sick can be very rewarding, especially when we help them feel more comfortable. But it can also be discouraging because sometimes there seems to be little we can do to help them feel better.
Today’s Gospel tells the story of a father who felt helpless because his daughter was sick. But he sought help for his daughter from Jesus.
What does Jairus ask Jesus to do to make his daughter well? (to lay his hands on her) What happens while Jesus is walking to Jairus’s house? (Messengers report that Jairus’s daughter has died.) What does Jesus do? (He tells Jairus not to be afraid; he continues to Jairus’s house; he says that the girl is only sleeping and he raises her, making her well again.)
Jairus did something that each one of us can do; he asked Jesus to be present with a person who was sick. We can also pray for those who care for the sick, such as parents, nurses, doctors, and all people who work in the medical profession.
Conclude by saying prayers of petition, asking Jesus to heal each person named on your prayer list by praying, “Jesus, heal us.” Conclude your prayer time by praying Glory Be to the Father.

==========================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Reading 1                     Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24

At least one point in life, everyone feels they are undeserving or unworthy. Usually this feeling stems from disappointment or futility. I'm incapable. Life isn't going my way. I just can't please others. The only way to shake those feelings is to reaffirm faith in God. God didn't make us to wallow in our self pity. We're better than that.
Faith can be a good defense against those thoughts of limitation, even depression. Faith tells the world that God's in charge. He made us for himself. And we are his children. Evil and fatalism have no room in a life with God.
The verses above from the book of Wisdom (also called "The Wisdom of Solomon") form a loose defense of Judaism in the centuries before the birth of Christ. This defense was set against the Hellenistic world, a culture that tolerated many gods and reduced religion to the cultic manipulation of those gods. Unlike the Greeks who viewed faith as a social function, the author of Wisdom urged his readers to take their faith to heart, to make a relationship with YHWH personal. It also defended the peculiar tenet of resurrection found in Pharisaical Judaism.
Why are we better than the opinion the world has of us? We are better because God made us for himself. He is the eternal God, and he shares that gift of forever with us. Evil and fatalism cannot take that gift away from us.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

When was the last time you were seriously ill? How close or distant did you feel to God? How did your illness affect your prayer life?
Disease is the great equalizer. At most, it reminds us we are mortal; in these frail bodies of ours, we will suffer the same fate of physical death. At least, it interrupts the expectations we have for daily living. Disease gets in the way of our plans and ambitions. It denies us the strength to continue our routines and finish our projects. In either case, disease can change our attitudes. We can feel close to God or we can reject God. Disease is a challenge to our faith as well as our existence.
Psalm 30 is a thanksgiving hymn for healing from illness. It was composed as a personal song, but was soon adapted for communal use with the re-dedication of the Temple (30:1). (Scholars debate whether this psalm was used for the rebuilding of the Temple after the return from the Exile in 515 B.C., or the re-dedication by the Maccabees in 161 B.C.)
Psalm 30 reminds us to thank God for his blessing, especially after physical illness. Recovery can be seen as God's mercy and kindness. After all, health is a gift. We should treat it as such. We should not be so focused on our daily routines that we forget the gift and its Giver.

Reading 2                                  2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

In 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, St. Paul organized a collection for the Church in Jerusalem. The mother church was persecuted and was in need of money for the poor. The Corinthians were enthusiastic about the idea, but never followed through. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul returned to the collection, not to cast guilty feelings over the faithful, but to appeal to their sense of Christian charity. "Share with others and they will share with you," summed up Paul's sentiment; this was his idea of "equity." Notice this was different than the insight in 8:9 about the Incarnation (Christ was rich, but became poor, that is "Human" for our sake). From the Incarnation to charity required several logical steps Paul does not mention (the love of God in Christ was the agency that established the Church; that love is the glue that binds the local churches together; that love is the reason churches should share with each other). Nevertheless, Paul appealed to the Corinthians on the basis of mutual charity.
"Give to others. In your time of need, someone will take care of you." From a Christian point of view, this is not a belief in Karma (retributive justice), but a hope in divine providence. "I will give to others in need, for I believe God will take care of me." In the good times, we must remember to share the blessings God gave to us. When the times get tough, we cannot depend on others to take care of our needs (they might fail us), but we can lean on God.
So, give. And let God reward you in his own way.

Gospel                                        Mk 5:21-43

The story of Jairus' daughter showed a tender side to Jesus. For the sake of a child, he came, endured ridicule, and raised the dead to life. Like many other passages in Mark, narrative elements foreshadowed the death and resurrection of the Lord.
In the ancient world, two kinds of physicians existed: the philosopher-physician and the folk healer. The former served the rich with advice and philosophic musings. The later served the poor with herbal medicines, incantations, and rituals. Obviously, Jairus sought Jesus out as folk healer, one who would touch the child and heal.
With the high death rate among pre-teens in the ancient world, communal grieving was common place and had the markings of ritual (loud lamentation implied in 5:38b). Communal grieving gathered relatives and friends together with a common purpose. In fact, the crowd in 5:38-40a helped prepare the family for the worst and hastened the grieving process.
Jesus entered the scene opposing the inevitable. He interrupted the messenger with a proclamation of faith for Jairus and ejected the critical crowd from the leader's home. Then, he took the girl's relatives and his closest followers to see his miracle. Jesus raised the girl from death and restored her to her place in the family (the command to "give her something to eat" reflected the notion that place at the table symbolized a place in the family, and, by extension, a place in society).
This narrative reflected a common pattern in the ministry of Jesus: proclamation, opposition, restoration. We can even see his life, death, and resurrection as the model for this pattern. Jesus proclaimed the Good News, was opposed by the leaders unto death, and was restored to his rightful place as the only Son of the Father. He promises the same for us Christians. In spite of opposition to lives that proclaim the Good News, we, too, will see restoration as children of the Father.

=============================================================

Sunday June 23, 2024 – 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 95

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading I                                                                    Jb 38:1, 8-11

The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Who shut within doors the sea,
when it burst forth from the womb;
when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
When I set limits for it
and fastened the bar of its door,
and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stilled!

Responsorial Psalm                                               107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
R. (1b) Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

They who sailed the sea in ships,
trading on the deep waters,
These saw the works of the LORD
and his wonders in the abyss.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

His command raised up a storm wind
which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
their hearts melted away in their plight.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
and the billows of the sea were stilled.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

They rejoiced that they were calmed,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 2 Cor 5:14-17
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.

Gospel                                                                    Mk 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1 Jb 38:1, 8-11

God’s speech from the whirlwind to Job has been a long time coming.
Readers of the book know that Job’s celebrated patience in suffering came to a crashing halt at the end of the second chapter. Beginning with chapter three, and with increasingly acerbic force throughout the book, Job challenged the LORD to give an account not only for his sufferings but for the injustice he saw in every corner of the creation.
The wisdom tradition declared the world’s construction to be a result of a blueprint drawn by the LORD (Proverbs 3:19-20; 8:22-31). Job concluded, to the contrary, that an unjust and irrational world belied any wisdom or careful planning on the part of God (Job 12:13-22).
Indeed, in a blistering description that could easily have been cribbed from a modern newspaper,1 Job insisted that in this world the wicked succeed, the innocent suffer, “the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer” (Job 24:12). Job counted himself among those last, as one whom God had not heeded. Worse, he knew himself to be someone to whom God did not listen and whom God crushed without cause:
“If I summoned him and he answered me,
      I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
For he crushes me with a tempest (se’ara) ,
      and multiplies my wounds without cause;” (Job 9:16-17)
It is fitting, therefore, that the LORD answers from a whirlwind (hasse ‘ara). In the Bible, the whirlwind is often a theophanic sign.2 In other places, however, the whirlwind signals the judgment of God,3 a symbol also familiar to Job’s readers. Which is it here? Perhaps we do not have to choose. The LORD appears, albeit cloaked in storm, in order to respond to Job. The LORD has listened to Job’s voice after all. Nevertheless, this same LORD comes, if not with a crushing tempest, if not with an annihilating judgment, then at least with a pronounced disapproval of Job’s degraded relationship with the LORD. Job has become one “that darkens counsel by words without knowledge” (v. 2).
Where had Job gone wrong? The entire biblical lament tradition indicates that ancient Israelites had no problem questioning God’s behavior with respect to themselves or complaining about God’s treatment of them. In Job’s case, however, it may be that a subtle shift has moved Job from being a man who maintains his integrity in spite of his afflictions (Job 2:3,9) to one who has come to believe that his integrity, identified with his good deeds, ought to have shielded him against affliction: “let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity! (Job 31:6).4
Shortly before Job ended the conversation with his three friends, he expressed his conviction of the utter justice of his complaint. He boasted that if he had a written indictment by God, (his adversary!), he would wear it like a crown and approach the Almighty like a prince (Job 31:35-37). Then, for a time at least, “The words of Job are ended” (Job 31:40b).
The LORD responds not by evaluating the merits of Job’s case, but rather by questioning Job’s knowledge of the mysteries and purposes of God. The appointed text is a portion of two divine speeches (Job 38:2-39:30 and 40:6-41:34). Both speeches are characterized by a barrage of rhetorical questions designed to fully disclose Job’s inadequate understanding of God’s governance of the world.
In the first speech, the LORD specifically challenges Job’s understanding of the architecture of the cosmos (vv. 4-38) as well as the divine care of the creation, illustrated by the LORD’s intimate knowledge of five pairs of untamed animals (38:39-39:30). Verses 4 to 7 reflect the pride of the divine architect who alone knows where and how the foundations of the earth were laid or the true scope of the creation. Images of meticulous planning, measuring, and careful construction counter Job’s earlier derision of God’s counsel. To the contrary, the creation is God’s own temple, the dedication of which was liturgically celebrated by the singing morning stars and the shouts of heavenly beings (v. 7).5
Verses 8 through 11 speak of God’s control of the tempestuous and chaotic sea. Oddly, however, where we might expect an image of the sea as a chaos monster slated for destruction by the divine warrior,6 we find instead a picture of God as midwife and of the sea as a newborn child, bursting from the womb (v. 8). Lest the sea hurt itself and others, God swaddled the child (v. 9) and set limits for this most boisterous infant (vv. 10-11).7
How talk of cosmic architecture or even of God’s care for the sea serve as a proper response to Job is, of course, the question, and one that the preacher must try to answer. Congregants experience suffering in greater or lesser measure and those who suffer deeply, painfully, and without any apparent fault of their own, find pious platitudes no more palatable than did Job his counselors’ consolation.
Job would not be satisfied with an intellectual solution. Job’s deeper need was to know that God had not abandoned him, that God still cared for him. What most suffers need is a visit from God.
Such a visitation is, of course, exactly what we have in Christ Jesus and his cross. More than that, the cross of Christ is a divine participation in every aspect of our humanity, including our suffering.10 We may not see answers for suffering, “but we do see Jesus … now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
We see Jesus and, seeing him, it is enough.

Responsorial Psalm                                               107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
Psalm 107 opens with the words:1
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
And gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south (or, sea) (Psalm 107:1-3).
It seems undoubtedly to have been placed at the beginning of Book Five as an answer to the closing words of Book Four:
Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise (Psalm 106:47).
The fourth and last vignette of Psalm 107, verses 23-32, tells the story of a group of sailors who are saved from shipwreck. It begins, in verse 23, “Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters” and continues, in verse 26, “they mounted up to the heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity.”
The compass point connected with the fourth vignette is rendered in the majority of modern English translations as “the south” (verse 3). The Hebrew text of verse 3, though, clearly has “from the north and from the sea. The difference between the Hebrew text and the English translations seems to be a felt need to have the psalmist refer to the four compass directions. In addition, the word for “south,” (that literally means “right”—”south” when one faces the sunrise) is an easy emendation from the Hebrew word for “sea.”
The sea represented another real threat to those who lived in the ancient Near East. Merchant ships sailing out of the Phoenician ports across the Mediterranean Sea often encountered difficulties in its unpredictable waters (recall the treacherous journeys of Paul in the book of Acts and the story of Jonah). Verses 25-29 depict God as the ruler of the sea, able to command its waters to do his bidding (see also Psalms 29:34; 65:7; 89:9-10; 95:5). A storm on the waters (verses 25-27) leads the sailors to cry out to God (verse 28). God then calms the waters and give the sailors rest “in the haven of their pleasure” (verse 30).
Each of the four vignettes of Psalm 107 follows a precise format:
a description of the distress (verses 4-5, 10-12, 17-18, 23-27)
a prayer to the Lord (verses 6, 13, 19, 28)
details of the delivery (verses 7, 14, 19-20, 29)
an expression of thanks (verses 8-9, 15-16, 21-22, 30-32)
In each vignette, the “prayer to the Lord” and the “expression of thanks” are identical:
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress (verses 6, 13, 19, 28)
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind (verses 8, 15, 21, 31)
The repetition of words in the vignettes provides further evidence that the psalm may have been used in a liturgical setting, as a liturgy of thanks, in which groups of worshipers recited the words of Psalm 107 antiphonally with presiding priests.
Are the four vignettes actual accounts of deliverance by the Lord sung in celebration at a festival? Or is the psalm purely a literary composition, with the four groups representing, in the words of James L. Mays, “all those who have experienced the redemption of the Lord”? Whatever the original Sitz im Leben of Psalm 107, its placement in the Psalter by the shaping community renders it as a hymn celebrating deliverance.
We may never find ourselves literally wandering in a desert wasteland, forced to dwell in a place of deep darkness, sick to the point of death, or caught in a tumultuous storm at sea, each of us have or will face those times when we need desperately the redeeming hand of God. Psalm 107 provides a model for how to handle those times— recognize the situation you are in; cry out to God and tell God what you need; accept the deliverance that God brings; and then give thanks to God.

Reading 2   2 Cor 5:14-17

The experience of being truly loved is transformative.
When someone who sees both our virtues and our flaws is committed to walking with us through life’s highs and lows, it strengthens us and helps us to live more fully as ourselves. When a friend takes our call in the middle of the night because we are anxious about the loss of a job or grieving the loss of a loved one, we gain hope to face another day—not necessarily because our problems have been solved, but because we know that someone deeply cares for us. As seen so often during this trying past year, people often come to know love precisely when they are at the end of their own strength or resources and others step in to give sacrificially of themselves. Such experiences can change us and motivate us to in turn love and care for others.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes as one who has experienced the unsurpassable love of Christ that transformed him from a persecutor of the church into a servant of the gospel. When he confidently declares in verse 17 that, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”, he is speaking out of his own experience into the lives of the Corinthian believers. This new birth is humanly impossible. It only occurs because Christ, fueled by divine love, took on the sin and death that alienates all people from God, who is the source of true life (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 19, 21). Christ’s love is ultimate. It brings people into trusting relationship with God and each other and empowers them to live out that same love, which seeks the good and growth of others. This love compels Paul and his co-workers to continue their ministry of reconciliation amidst ongoing persecution, suffering, and threat of death (5:14, 18; see also 4:8-12).
Death, in fact, is necessary for new life to emerge. Those who are included in Christ share in both his death and resurrection; not just at the moment they come to faith, but as a dynamic process that continually transforms them into the image of the One who is true love.
Paul’s talk of “new creation” thus presents both a promise and a challenge. It boldly affirms that the eschatological era of God’s salvation is now encompassing all of creation because the crucified Messiah has been raised to new life. It assures those who are in Christ that we have been freed from a vain way of living that compels us to prove our worth by our accomplishments and seek our own interests at the expense of others. We live confidently knowing that the Holy Spirit has already claimed us for Christ and is preparing us to receive the fullness of God’s life (5:5-8). When our illusion of control over matters is stripped away, we can expect God to surprise us again and again by doing “a new thing,” making “a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).
But dying is painful. Although God alone can transform us into those who live and love like Christ, we are called to surrender to being made anew. It is often easier for us to keep judging others (including ourselves) by human standards (2 Corinthians 5:16) than it is to allow the Spirit to give us new vision to see everyone through the lens of Christ’s love for them. Embracing newness of life in the Spirit means letting go of the strange comfort of old thought patterns and habits that are not life-giving. Living for Christ means openness to embodying divine love to those we would otherwise deem unlovable. From a human perspective, in fact, even Christ appears to be an outcast or failure because of his shameful death. A crucified Messiah is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23; see also 2 Corinthians 5:16b). Staking one’s life on this Christ might invite ridicule, or even persecution, at some point.
Preaching this text in 2 Corinthians 5 allows us to name these realities inherent to the Christian life. While care should be taken not to attribute all forms of suffering to God’s redemptive work in an individual or community’s life, the text illuminates the reality that until we are finally “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8), there will be struggles. Although Christ has already claimed us, the old era of sin and death still seeks to derail us.
But the text is ultimately one of hope and much needed promise amidst all sorts of challenges. The true love that every human being deeply longs for has already been given to us in Christ. It is a love that knows everything about us and embraces us anyway. It is the love that transforms us to reflect Christ to our neighbors. It is a powerful, reconciling love that makes it possible for people who mistrust or misunderstand each other to be brought into mutually-edifying relationships. Declaring that the old life has passed and God’s new life has already come is an act of faith that refuses to be complacent with anything less than what God has promised us.

Gospel                                                                    Mk 4:35-41
Jesus stills a storm while on a boat at night with his disciples in Mark 4:35-41. Does it sound like just another miracle story? I don’t think so.
We start by remembering the context of Mark 4. Until now, Mark’s readers have been working through parable after parable about sowing and seeds. Yet Mark is not giving agricultural lessons; Mark interprets the work of the Word and the seed as a mystery that pertains to the apocalyptic Kingdom of God. Ever since Mark 1:14-15, Jesus has been preaching the gospel of God and the coming of the Kingdom that brings with it repentance and belief in the good news. The seeds are just Mark’s apocalyptic way of describing a divine reign that is sure to be coming and will grow and spread like a mustard seed.
We would be wise, therefore, to keep our apocalyptic glasses on as we read about Jesus’ trip on the boat and the stilling of the storm. That means that this is not just another boat ride, but the apocalyptic boat ride from hell. This is not just another miracle either, but an apocalyptic revelation of Jesus’ identity.
On the one hand, this boat ride from hell means that the trouble the disciples are facing on the boat is not just existential (the storms of life, as it were), but cosmic. Like most apocalypses, Mark’s Gospel sees the trouble Jesus faces as cosmic in scope. As if to underline this fact, Jesus faces down the storm not with personal bromides (you have to face your fears, friends), but silences the storm and rebukes it (verse 39). Those two verbs are exorcism words common to the rest of Jesus’ Kingdom ministry in Mark 1-3. The storm in verses 35-41 is cosmic, demonic, and worthy of Jesus’ scaled up efforts. As strange as it sounds, Jesus is not offering therapy for our fears but an exorcism for a world out of whack.
On the other hand, this apocalyptic revelation means that the point of the boat miracle should be a disclosure. Apocalypse means “revelation” and so this stilling of the storm should tell us something more. The focus here, however, is not the mysterious Kingdom of God, but the mysterious Jesus himself. The fact that Jesus stills the storm with a word of exorcistic rebuke also tells us something about him. The way there is a little difficult. In the midst of the tossing waves of the storm, the disciples refer to Jesus as “Teacher” (Mark 4:38). After witnessing the stilling of the storm, all the disciples have is deep awe (feared a great fear, says the Greek in verse 41) with deep questions. Who is this? Who is the one whom even wind and sea obey?
Discerning readers of Mark know that the disciples are slow learners and that the outsiders are usually the ones to confess faith. Here, just as at the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel in Mark 16:8, it is left up to the readers to discern who Jesus is when his own disciples fall short or fail. This Jesus, who was “just as he was” in the boat, was way more than ordinary. He was in his weakness a disclosure, a revelation, an apocalypse of the living God among us. Or as Mark puts it in the first verse of chapter one: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God.”
As we interpret the revelatory gospel in this apocalyptic moment, we can’t just turn to our personal therapeutics of faith. More is at stake and the wound is far deeper than just me, my superego, and my id. This wound reflects a kind of cultural trauma, a displacement that asks deep questions that touch on our life together and the shared forces that threaten to upend us all. Please note that the disciples were all in a boat, a beautiful symbol of the church that stands to this day. Even in churches being emptied out by COVID-19, many of their ceilings look like the bottom of a boat. Churches often even call their main sections a nave, a reminder of their shared maritime context. It’s not just me; we disciples as a group are on the boat ride from hell.
But before we constrict our ecclesiologies too tightly around this text, it is sometimes important to remember that we are not the only ones floating together on the stormy sea. In a passing comment at the end of verse 36, Mark notes that “Other boats were with him.” Whatever terrors and revelations that await us in this apocalyptic boat ride and mysterious epiphany of Jesus, it’s good to know that other boats are there, too. And perhaps as we consider the intersectional nature of suffering in a cultural traumatic moment, it is good to note that though we are in the same storm, we are not necessarily in the same boat.

Making the Connection

Recall a time when you were worried about something, perhaps about a test that your doctor ordered, something that happened to a friend, or a news story on TV or radio. Who do you talk to when you have worries or concerns? (friends, parents, teachers, family members) Is/was God in your list? How does talking with other people help you when you are worried? What do you hope that other people will do when you share a concern or worry with them?
What were the disciples worried about in today's Gospel? (the storm) Was Jesus worried about the storm? What was Jesus doing? (No; Jesus was sleeping.) Why wasn't Jesus worried about the storm?
Like the disciples, we can share our worries and concerns with Jesus. When we bring our worries to Jesus in prayer, Jesus can help us see our worries from a different perspective. He can help us face our worries with faith in God's love and protection.
Conclude in prayer by saying an Act of Faith.

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because you have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Amen.
============================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Reading 1                                                                   Jb 38:1, 8-11
"What comes around, goes around." How many times have you heard that cliche? Normally, this phrase is attached to personal suffering. Sinners undergo trial because of their immorality. They suffer because they've made others suffer. This notion is called "retributive justice." God is paying sinners back for their acts, in this life, if not in the next.
But what happens when the sufferer is innocent? This is the question that stares humanity in the face, especially in times of vast suffering. Are hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes really God's vengeance upon a sin-filled humanity? Can genocide ever be justified? The book of Job posed this question. His plight was not a matter of "bad karma." His faith was tested by his circumstances.
The answer God finally gave Job did not completely satisfy, but it was realistic. Suffering, by its nature, robs us of the ability to see the big picture. Complaining to God only provides a temporary catharsis. Ultimately, we must accept God on his terms. Our condition is small compared to the workings of the cosmos. God is in charge. Despite our pain, our only acceptable response is trust.
In Job 38, the Lord addressed Job in the context of creation. Who controls the flow of water (the ultimate power to the desert dweller like the author of Job)? Implicitly, if we cannot manage our own personal suffering, how can we dare to question the Lord who brings water for the life of all things? This is a harsh, but sometimes, necessary outlook, for it puts suffering in context.
Like Job, we will all suffer despite our innocence or guilt. We cannot escape some tragedy in life. But, like Job, we need to suffering as a test of faith, not as divine retribution. As a test, we can endure. We can become stronger in character. We can grow closer to the Lord through our trial.
How have you endured tragedy in your life? How has God made you stronger through it? How is God helping you now, even in your times of trial?

Responsorial Psalm                                               107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
Danger has many forms. We can feel endangered by an immanent threat or by a loss of control. We sense an approaching hurt or a coming catastrophe or a looming presence unknown to us. Danger is more than the discomfort of steeping outside our comfort zones. It is a sharp, visceral sense that life as we know it will dramatically change for the worst or end all together.
When the danger passes, the sense of shock turns to relief. Thank you, Lord for saving us. Psalm 107 is such a thanksgiving for salvation. It praised God for his saving activity among the faithful.
For the psalmist, this chant reduced all danger to the four categories in 107:2-32: life in a foreign land, imprisonment, health, and natural calamities. The fifth category (political oppression) he wove into ending (107:33-40). In each case, God's overwhelming providence worked for the good of his faithful.
This psalm encourages us to have hope in the face of danger. God will protect us. His salvation may not be in a form we want, but he is faithful. He will not let us down.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his mercy endures forever!
How have you thanked God for his mercy, even in the face of danger?

Reading 2                                                               2 Cor 5:14-17

Have you ever heard a "fire and brimstone" preacher? How does that person's message compare to that of your favorite religious leader?
Christians have different spiritualities, depending upon their focus. Some concentrate on God-entering-the-world ("Incarnation theology" where the birth of Christ raised the dignity of creation itself). Others consider the death of Jesus ("expiation theology" where the death of the Lord led to the forgiveness of a sin-filled humanity). A third group sees salvation in terms of the Resurrection (Eastern Orthodox theologies view salvation as a door to a life beyond death without the baggage of judgment). These spiritualities differ in their emphasis on the key event in the life of Christ and are marked by their outlook: current worth of all (Incarnation), guilt-to-forgiveness (Expiation), or hope in an afterlife.
The importance of the events (and their theologies) depend upon the importance placed on their sequence. Incarnation theology will trump the other two if the believer assumes the flow of time (birth to death of Christ). However, faith has a retrospective nature; we tend to see the important events in the life of Christ from the nearest (resurrection) to the farthest (Incarnation). Such an outlook answers the question: "Why do we believe in Christ?" We believe because we experience the Risen Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul assumed both outlooks. In 5:14-15, he argued from the crucifixion to the resurrection, but, in 5:16-17, he argued from the vantage point of the resurrection backward. At first, he saw that as Christ died for others, we all died (notice the past tense of the verb); obviously, Paul considered the purpose of life for the Christian was to live for the One who died for all. The Christian who "died in Christ" (i.e., baptized), whether physically alive or dead, waited for the Second Coming, as if they were in the grave with Christ. For Paul, this was the only way one could escape judgment (implicitly, only the dead cannot be judged, only the living).
However, to know the self-giving nature of Christ's death meant to know the Risen Christ. This was Paul's point in 15:16. And, if one intimately knew the Risen Christ by faith, he or she was changed by that relationship (and by God's Spirit). That person has already received the benefits of the resurrection in the gift of eternal life. He or she is a "new creation."
In the retrospect of faith, we can run our logic forwards, then backwards in time. Our reason and imaginations allow us to do so. We can see the importance of Christ's birth through the lens of his Resurrection. We can also see that we live in a world tinged by sin and its aftereffects. The present situation may give us pause, but our life in Christ gives us hope. The world might deserve some condemnation by a power much higher than we possess, but faith allows us to see the world through the loving eyes of God.

Gospel
Humanity suffers from a common aliment. It is the illusion of control. People like to be in charge of the situation, other people, even nature itself.
When people lose control, they can react in different ways. Some panic, others hunker down and wait out the trouble. In every case, the large ego based upon the illusion of control deflates. Humility fills the void. If the beaten person is honest, he or she will admit that a greater power is in charge. The beaten person feels small, helpless.
The truth is, we can't do it alone, no matter what we do. We need God. The followers of Jesus learned that fact in the narrative of the wind storm.
These readings stress three points: the power of God, the problem of evil in the world, and divine providence. First, God's power is unlimited. He shows us his all-powerful nature in our creation. God created the universe "ex nihilo" (that is, "out of nothing") because he desired to show his glory and share his life with us, his creatures (CCC 317, 319). But his power does not end there. God empowers us to turn away from sin and live with him (CCC 315); this is salvation. Both creation and salvation show us that, with God, nothing is impossible (CCC 276).
But, why does God permit evil to remain in the world? From the Christian viewpoint, we can ask: "Why did God allow his Son to die on the cross?" Reason cannot answer these questions, but faith can. We believe Jesus died on the cross in order to rise from the dead. In the same way, we believe that God allows evil in the world so a greater good can result. This is part of God's plan for us. (CCC 324)
Finally, we call God's action in the world: "divine providence." From the beginning of time to its end, God guides all creation with wisdom and love. We take part in divine providence when we trust in God's will for us (CCC 321, 323).
We humans like to think we are in control, but we are really not. We have freedom within the limits of nature, social construct, and personal character. But we do not have absolute power. Only God is all-powerful. The question that faces us is simple: are we willing to trust God to be in control of our lives?
============================================================

Sunday June 16, 2024 Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 92
Reading 1                             Ez 17:22-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

Reading 2                       2 Cor 5:6-10

Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

Gospel                                    Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”

He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                               Ez 17:22-24

Scholars often refer to Ezekiel as a man who is little less than psychotic. His peripatetic ramblings between Babylon and Jerusalem, either in reality or in his unstable mind, have caused many readers to experience whiplash, finding themselves like spectators at a prophetic ping-pong match. And this is to say nothing of the downright crude allegories of chapters 16 and 23, writings more appropriate for a brown paper bag than a Bible!
Ezekiel is a very long book and has not been heard from the pulpits of our churches very often, save those who would find, in its rich metaphors and allegories, magic keys to the world's end. Which does not seem likely.
Ezekiel was a man of God for his own time, surely at the beginning of and during the exile of Israel to Babylon in the early decades of the sixth century. The scholarly debates have now settled, for the most part, on Ezekiel's residence in Israel, with his "trips" to Babylon being flights of prophetic insight.
Thus, when we read his often difficult words, we are reading a prophet reacting to the end of Israel as he knows it, a land facing an uncertain future, its leaders trudging hundreds of miles eastward toward the world's greatest city, mighty Babylon.
In the long allegory that precedes our text, Ezekiel offers two poems. They describe two great eagles, the first of which breaks off the topmost shoot of an enormous cedar tree -- one of the fabled cedars of Lebanon -- and flies with it to a "city of merchants." That eagle then takes a seed and plants it in fertile soil where it sprouts as a "low-spreading vine," rooted and fixed in that soil (Ezekiel 17:3-6).
In the second poem, another eagle sees that the spreading vine of the first eagle has turned toward him. It has, in fact, been transplanted into "good soil by abundant waters," where the second eagle hopes it becomes a "noble vine," bearing much fruit (Ezekiel 17:7-8).
God then asks a penetrating and ultimately devastating question: Will the vine prosper?
The answer is a resounding no. This so-called noble vine will be pulled up by its roots, its fruit will rot and wither. And the transplanted vine will also not thrive; it too will wither right at its place of transplantation (Ezekiel 17:9-10).
The prophet then helpfully explains the allegory for his readers (Ezekiel 17:11-21).
The historical background is clear: the king of Babylon (the first eagle) comes first to Lebanon (Jerusalem). He takes the top shoot of the cedar (Jehoiachin, king of Jerusalem) and brings him to "the land of trade" (Babylon).
Next, the king takes the "seed" of the land -- Zedekiah, the last king of Israel and a Babylonian puppet -- and places him in "fertile soil, near abundant waters" (Babylon). There, he becomes a "low spreading vine," a vassal to the power of Babylon.
The second eagle (the pharaoh of Egypt) then redirects the vine of Israel toward his land, transplanting the vine to Egypt. He offers Israel military support against Babylon, again in "good soil by abundant waters," this time the Nile.
This refers to Zedekiah's revolt against his Babylonian masters with the connivance of Egypt early in the second decade of the sixth century BCE. The result is disaster.
Furious and eager for revenge against the traitorous vassal, Babylon returns to Jerusalem, destroys the city, and drags its leaders, including Zedekiah, off to exile in Babylon.
In a grisly touch, Nebuchadnezzar orders the sons of Zedekiah to be murdered in the presence of the Israelite king, just before Zedekiah is blinded. That way, the memory of his murdered sons will follow him vividly to his exilic grave.
Thus are history's horrors couched in allegory.
But our text, in the face of such misery and death, offers another sort of allegory altogether. No longer are eagles (world leaders) the active agents; the Lord God will now act.
God will take another sprig from the topmost cedar and will plant the twig on a "high and lofty mountain, a mountain of Israel." The twig itself will bear fruit and will grow into a mighty cedar. Under the shade of this huge tree and in its vast network of branches, "every kind of bird will live" and "winged creatures of every kind" will find their place of safety (Ezekiel 17:22-23).
Some have speculated that the history behind this poem may include Zerubbabel, a grandson of Jehoiachin, who some hoped would restore the fallen throne of David in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel does mean "seed/sprout of Babylon," and the allegories have much to do with seeds and plantings. In a later messianic interpretation, both Matthew 1:12-13 and Luke 3:27 trace the ancestry of Jesus through Zerubbabel.
Allegories, by their very natures, do not always reveal their detailed meanings, especially when so many centuries separate their composition from our own time.
The basic claim is clear in verse 24. Whatever eagles or great trees are to be found in the world are all under the rule and way of God. For it is finally God who "makes the high tree low and the low tree high," who makes "green trees dry and dry trees flourish." It is not finally pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar who has the final word, for "I the Lord have spoken; I will do it."

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

The Verse 1 of Psalm 92 declares it to be “a song for the Sabbath day.”
This is kind of puzzling since the Sabbath is not referenced anywhere in the rest of the psalm. It may be, however, that understanding the setting of the Sabbath is key for interpreting the entire work. This psalm warrants our careful theological consideration.
The Praise of God
The psalm opens with lines that no one faithful to God would doubt: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High.” This proclamation sets the positive tone for the whole psalm and is a worthy reminder of the value of worship. Verse 2 names the two chief qualities of God that become the basis of our thanksgiving and praise: God’s “kindness” and “faithfulness.” “Kindness” is the translation of the single Hebrew word khesed. The Hebrew meaning is difficult to convey with any single English expression, and thus we see different English Bibles using a variety of translations in different contexts: steadfast love, lovingkindness, love, kindness, mercy, loyalty, favor, devotion, goodness, and still others. The range of translations gives a sense of the broad meaning of the word. God’s khesed and faithfulness (Hebrew emunah) are the two primary attributes of God’s covenant relationship with Israel, as expressed in the self-revelation of God given to Moses at Mt. Sinai: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”.
That God is to be praised both morning and night (v. 2) adds to the intensity of the worship. The significance is furthered still by the addition of musical instruments to the praise in v. 3: the lute, harp, and lyre. This suggests a formal setting of worship, as certainly few in ancient Israel would have had access to all three instruments -- and certainly no one could play them all together! Corporate worship is not to be neglected.
What’s Skipped
Verses 5-11 are omitted from the lectionary reading. In these the praise theme is continued, and two additional features, both common in the psalms, are added: God’s provision of victory over enemies, and a contrast between the wicked and the righteous (the latter more common yet in the wisdom literature). The discussion of the wicked sets up the discussion of the righteous that begins in v. 12.
The Righteous Flourish?
The second part of today’s reading begins with an assertion that the righteous flourish (v. 12), comparing their flourishing with that of two important trees of the area, the palm and the cedar of Lebanon. The latter is referred to frequently throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of strength. Verse 14 adds to the picture of the flourishing of the righteous, continuing with the tree symbolism, by asserting that they still produce fruit, even in old age, and that they are “always green and full of sap.” The comparison of those who follow God with thriving trees is a common one in scripture (e.g., Psalms 1:3; 52:8; 104:16).
Isn’t here where the text becomes problematic for us? Our own experience and our knowledge of history teach us that the righteous indeed do not always flourish, that in fact it is precisely the righteous who frequently suffer more than others. This is, of course, a common problem both in scripture and for theology more broadly. In this case, however, a solution is suggested by the psalm itself.
The key is v. 13. The depicted flourishing of the trees includes their location: “They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.” The combination of thriving flora and temple imagery, such as is seen here, is actually quite common. Such is the basis for the picture of paradise as a magnificent garden, filled with the divine presence, seen in both Genesis 1-3 and in Revelation 21-22 (Ezekiel 47:1-12 also presents a wonderful picture of this, specifically in connection with the Jerusalem temple). The flourishing of the righteous is thus rooted in the presence of God.
This fact invites us to think eschatologically about the psalm. If the flourishing of the righteous happens in the house of God, then we are not there yet. As Paul says, we still long “to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (2 Corinthians 5:2). We still live in a world where God’s presence is experienced, to be sure, but not in the fullest sense. For that we wait for the coming of God’s kingdom in power, for “the day of the Lord.” The depiction of the flourishing of the righteous in the psalm is something we look forward to, and for which we praise God in moments when we do experience it in this life.
Here is where the Sabbath connection of the psalm comes in. There is a connection between eschatology and the Sabbath. The New Testament book of Hebrews picks up on this idea of the Sabbath as something to be fulfilled only in God’s kingdom (3:7-4:11). Proclaiming this psalm, then, is an act of faith -- we declare God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, while we yet wait for its promise of the flourishing of the righteous to be fulfilled.

Reading 2                               2 Cor 5:6-10

In 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Paul asserts that we can be confident in all circumstances, whether we are “at home” or “away” from either “the body” or “the Lord.” This theme resonates with his refrains in Philippians that “living is Christ and dying is gain” (Philippians 1:21) and that in any and all circumstances -- whether in plenty or in need -- we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:12-13).
There is a logic of double-negation at work in these verses that runs throughout Paul’s letters. This logic brings to the fore the point that God’s “yes” -- God’s promise, which we receive in Jesus through the Spirit -- is far greater than all our human distinctions and circumstances (2 Corinthians 1:18-22). In Galatians, for example, Paul states that through the Spirit we eagerly await the “hope of righteousness” because “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything”; all that counts is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:5-6). In 1 Corinthians, he makes clear that the foolishness and weakness of the cross of Christ embodies the fact that God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
As depicted in the great hymn of Romans 8, Paul’s point with these negations is to affirm that nothing -- neither death nor life; not angels, rulers, or powers; not height or depth, nor anything else in all creation -- can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). The love of God encompasses everything in reality. Grounded in God’s love through Christ’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s communion, we can be what we have been called to be: an open statement of truth, commending ourselves with confidence to everyone’s conscience before God, regardless of our circumstances (2 Corinthians 4:2; 13:13).
Grounded in God’s love, we can speak truth to one another -- we can risk sincerity -- even when we disagree or might be wrong. God is reconciling the entire world through Christ, in spite of anything we or others have done (2 Corinthians 5:19): God’s promises are always a “yes.” Rooted in that “yes,” our lives can be an open statement of truth -- regardless of where we find ourselves (2 Corinthians 1:20-22).

Gospel                                    Mk 4:26-34

Building on the parable of the sower that opens this parable chapter in Mark, this week's reading offers two more agricultural parables of the kingdom of God, which suggest that, like the parable form itself, the kingdom may be hidden from those unaware of its secret presence (4:11-12), but it is also destined to be revealed in its fullness (4:21-22) and produce a harvest.
The fruit-bearing (4:28-29) in the first parable and the act of sowing (4:31-32) in the second echo vocabulary in the parable of the sower and suggest that we are learning more here about what it means to sow the word and that this sowing of the word is related to the kingdom -- that the word the sower plants is the seed of the kingdom itself.
The first parable of the kingdom is again a story of sowing and harvesting. The sower sows and then sleeps and rises, night and day, as step by step the kingdom grows, invisibly at first and then in the form of a stalk, then a head, then the full grain in the head. The word for grain in 4:29 appears also in 4:7-8 where it is translated fruit (as also, for example, in John 15:1-17). So while this is about the natural progression of rising wheat, it is also, like the image in 4:29, an image of fruitfulness.
We know from the earlier parable that some seed will fall on deaf ears and into rocks and among thorns and will not be fruitful, but in this image as in the earlier one we are encouraged not to dwell too much on that. We cannot control what happens after the word is sown. We just sow it. Only that. The sower here does not even weed or water, just sows and waits in peaceful trust.
Then the one who is over all sends in the sickle (the literal translation of the phrase translated goes in with his sickle) when the time is right. The harvest is a traditional image for judgment. (See Joel 3:13, in particular, and Revelation 14:14-20.) In Mark, it is usually God or Jesus who sends. The implication is that they will manage the kingdom harvest. If there is room for us to plant the seeds of the word, for the rest, we, along with the sower of the parable, can leave that to God.
Psalm 92, a lectionary reading for this Sunday, which compares the righteous to a tree still producing fruit in old age, always green and full of sap, may provide a complementary image for this one, as may an image from the feeding of the 5,000 in 6:40. There the crowds who have been taught by Jesus and then seated in groups on the green grass to be fed are described figuratively as garden plots (translated groups) -- perhaps a glimpse of the kingdom word already bearing fruit in Jesus' ministry.
Like the first parable, the second parable illustrates the growth of the kingdom from something hidden and minute to something fully visible, but it also hints at more features of God's reign. The mustard plant presents the contrast between the smallness of the present kingdom and the relative largeness of it in its fullness. This kingdom will grow generously and abundantly from the smallest of all seeds to the largest of all shrubs.
Unlike the image of the shrub that magically becomes a tree in Matthew and Luke, Mark's mustard plant stays a mustard plant. The word for shrub is translated vegetable and herb. The mustard plant, though a very big shrub, is not a giant thing like the cedar in the Old Testament passage for this Sunday, Ezekiel 17:22-24, where, as here, birds nest in its shade. Jesus chooses a common plant to describe how the kingdom could be working its way into something amazingly large from the tiniest whisper of a beginning.
But he doesn't use an amazingly large object to make the point. He uses the image of a bird nesting in the shade of a shrub. It is an image of expansive gentleness but not of overwhelming, unmissable glory. The kingdom of God is described not in grandiose terms but in terms of ordinary, quiet beauty as an inviting place to call home.
The summary statement in 4:33-34 echoes the statements about parables earlier in the chapter. Parables, we know from 4:11-12, leave outsiders mystified but are an opportunity for further teaching of Jesus' own disciples to learn on their own with him -- the word own is used twice here. All are included in Jesus' teaching, but it is those who follow him who are given further insight. The next passage, the lectionary text for next week, like many others, suggests that this does not make Jesus' disciples immune to terror and confusion. But they do have him close and can, like the birds, nest in safety in the kingdom.
The passage as a whole emphasizes the hiddenness and smallness of the quiet beginnings of the kingdom and also underscores the sense in which the sower does not make the kingdom happen by force of will; indeed the sower of the parable doesn't even water or weed! The sower just sows and then sleeps and rises night and day, and the earth produces of itself, and the mustard plant puts forth its large branches. The kingdom grows organically. And inevitably, as day follows night, God's hidden, mysterious work in the world and in us will be fruitful.
Meanwhile as the kingdom gestates and sprouts, proximity to Jesus and his way puts us in a position to learn more about the kingdom so that we don't miss the quiet growth of the familiar mustard plant in our own garden or indeed the "garden plots" of hungry listeners already springing up around Jesus and nesting in the shade of his fruitful, abundant, sheltering grace.


Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Pray the Lord’s Prayer, emphasizing the phrase “thy kingdom come.”

We live in an age of immediacy. We are used to having at our fingertips contact with our friends, entertainment, and information. How many of you text your friends as soon as you leave a movie theater to tell them whether or not you liked the movie? We aren’t used to waiting. We think of waiting as wasting time and look for ways to save time. What is one time-saving device you would absolutely not want to give up, something that you couldn’t live without? Why?
This Sunday’s Gospel Reading also deals with time, specifically in Jesus’ description of the growth of the Kingdom of God.
Why does Jesus use the seed in these parables to explain the Kingdom of God? (Seeds must be sown. It takes time for the seed to germinate and grow to fruition. Growth occurs bit by bit. ) What do we learn about the kingdom from the mustard-seed parable? (The smallest of seeds can grow into the largest plants. It takes time to mature and “put forth branches.”)
Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. He chose and taught twelve of his disciples to help him. This kingdom is present in the Church today, but it is still in process. Because we are the Church, we bear the responsibility of continuing the work of Jesus and his disciples. We do this by living Christlike lives, by reaching out to others, by inviting others into the kingdom. Just as small seeds grow over time, so our small acts of kindness today have the possibility of making a big difference in the future. God’s kingdom is not yet fully established. It is growing and will come to fullness at the end of time. How rewarding to know that we are helping make it happen.

ADDITIONAL NOTES========================================

Reading 1                               Ez 17:22-24

We live in a media saturated world. News and opinion come at us 24/7 through radio, cable news and the Internet. With all this information, all these voices, all these points of view, how can we make sense of the world, much less explain it to others? One simple way is the use of the allegory. "Our current situation is like a..."
Ezekiel used an agricultural allegory to explain his country's politics. Throughout chapter 17, he employed the image of the eagle and the cedar to explain Judea's plight when the Babylonians took the leading families of the nation into exile. In the allegory, Nebuchadnezzar was an eagle (17:3) who plucked the topmost branch of the tall cedar (King Jehoiachin in 17:4); the Babylonian king appointed the uncle of Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, as governor. The seeds of the appointment (17:5) grew into a vine that first reached out to the Babylonians, then to Egypt (17:6-8). For this duplicity, Ezekiel foresaw doom for Zedekiah and the nation (destroying the vine), for the prophet considered the covenant between Zedekiah and Nebuchadnezzar as binding as the one between God and Israel (17:12-21).
Allegories like the one Ezekiel employed are useful, but we must careful not to abuse them, for they can explain to some, but confuse others. If we use them wisely, they can make a complex situation clear. Allegories, after all, are word pictures.

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

There are good people, then there are...you get the point. Some we admire for their morals; others we admire for their fortitude. Some are role models because they live out their faith; others we admire for trying to live out their faith. Of course, we don't admire the person who doesn't try or who doesn't care to live the moral life.
It's too easy to use a broad brush to separate the good from the bad, the virtuous from the evil; we shouldn't, but we all do it. That attitude did make its way into Scripture, especially Psalm 92.
Psalm 92 was not so much a hymn of praise, but a statement of the faithful against the faithless. More to the point, the song pitted the king (or high priest/governor under a foreign power) loyal to YHWH against the person who denied. it's God. The psalm can be divided into three sections: the context for praise, the juxtaposition of YHWH with the person who denied him and the character of the faithful.
Reading 2                               2 Cor 5:6-10

When reflect on my own mortality, I do have my doubts. Death (or I should say, the prospect of death) inspires dread, for many see death as a dark, lonely end to life. St. Paul, however, had a different view, for truly believed he would not die alone. He had an eternal friend in Christ. We Christians, like Paul, view death as a transition from one type of existence to another; through the transition, we have an intimate companion, Jesus. Of course, this view only comes with faith (5:7).
With this insight, we can now understand Paul's boast. He and his fellow missionaries had courage, simply because death meant life with Christ. Life here meant evangelization; life after death meant divine union (5:6-8). The goal of the follower was to please the Master, for soon all would stand before him to be judged (5:9-10). In such a situation, wouldn't everyone want the judge as a friend? Wouldn't the prospect of such a friend give one courage in the face of death?
As the old song goes, "We have a friend in Jesus." Indeed, a friend to the end (and beyond!).

Gospel                                    Mk 4:26-34

How many times have you told someone, "If you could only see it, you would understand"? Pictures do simplify explanations. Word images do the same thing. They make the difficult easy to communicate.
Jesus understood this principle well when he told the people about the Kingdom of God. He publicly preached with parables.
These verses from Mark can be divided into three parts: the parable of the farmer sowing seeds, the parable of the mustard seed and the public/private modes of Jesus' teaching.
Why did Jesus use parables in his public ministry? Jesus used parables for two reasons: to deflect criticism and to teach effectively. By speaking in analogies and stories, Jesus was able to communicate to his audience without providing a clear reason for the Roman authorities to move against him. If Jesus equated the Kingdom of God with revolution, he would have been quickly arrested, tried and executed. But, by teachings in symbols and stories, he was able deflect charges of treason. (How many Romans could really understand the Kingdom of God as a mustard seed anyway?)
========================================================================

Sunday June 9, 2018 Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 89

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                           Gn 3:9-15

After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."

Responsorial Psalm                 Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (7bc) With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the Lord.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.


Reading 2                                            2 Cor 4:13—5:1

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

Gospel                                         Mk 3:20-35

Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                     Gn 3:9-15

Since God seems not to know where the humans are, does this mean God is not omniscient? When the human explains he was afraid because of his nakedness, does he not know that God will find this strange? How did the human even know there is something to fear in being naked?
God asks the sensible question: How did you know you should hide? Not waiting for an answer, God drives immediately to the suspicion that the knowledge of good and evil has come into the human: "Have you eaten from the tree...?"
This story is hard to hear without centuries of built-up prejudices ruling the interpretation. In order to let the gospel rise to the surface, we have to expunge the ideas that this story tells us the woman is inferior and the snake is despicable. How can we do that?
Rather than seeing this story as depicting necessary dualism between human and divine, human and nature, good and evil, knowledge (bad) and ignorance (bliss), we might notice the harm that comes from such simplistic readings. Seeing the story only through the structures of oppositions leads to divisive and untrue views of creation.
1) The story does not say the woman is a vixen for suggesting that the fruit should be eaten nor is she inferior to the man. If we see the woman in Genesis 3 through the view of her creation as the "helper" (Genesis 2:18), and we define "helper" as a subordinate creature (i.e., he initiates; she obeys or follows), we ignore the more generous interpretation offered by the word "helper" when it is used to refer to God.
2) We might note that this story shows us the possibility that truth does not come only from the divine but from what God has created: the snake, the tree, and the initiative -- the daring -- of the woman in taking a risk.

3) Try shedding the notion that the "fall" story is about sin -- especially sexual sin -- and the shame of the naked body. Try the notion that gaining the knowledge given by the forbidden tree allows the humans to differentiate themselves from the rest of nature. This self-image is necessary for stewardship and care of creation. It also opens the opportunity to know God's goodness in clothing them (Genesis 3:21-22). Once the human beings have shown themselves willing to transgress the boundaries of God, nakedness becomes frightening, since even the boundaries of their bodies no longer seem secure. Blame is their response to fear of vulnerability rather than shame.
4) See what difference it makes to reinterpret the snake's qualities. The Hebrew word for "cunning" is arum which can also be crafty and prudent (Proverbs 12:16) and clever (Proverbs 12:23; 13:16; 14:8; and 22:3). We speak of cunning in negative terms while clever is positive. The snake did not simply cause disobedience but put an end to uncritical obeisance (respect, homage, worship, adoration, reverence, veneration, honor, submission, deference). Consider whether asking a question is evidence of evil, for that is what the snake, in fact, does. Asking what God really said is not the symbol of demonic powers but, rather, using one's intelligence.
5) This Genesis story sets the stage for the vocation of the faithful. In the garden, when confronted with their fear [of nakedness, of vulnerability, of non-differentiation from animals because they are not yet clothed], the humans seek to place blame on someone other than themselves. The adam (creature of dust) blames the woman, and the woman blames the snake. As a story depicting human reaction to threats, this scene is perfect. What, if not blame others, do humans exercise when they are attacked? What, if not oppression of the foreigner, do nations initiate when scared? We have come a long distance from the beginning of this scene. No longer is creation simply a garden in which the creator walks in the evening breeze. Trouble has appeared.
Jesus' way is markedly different from that of the humans in Genesis 3. Jesus re-defines kinship, saying that his family is neither based in biology nor comprised of people like himself: fellow rabbis and theologians. His family are those who do "the will of God." He challenges the expected structures of relationship and of power, creating community out of relationships centered in God. The Old Adam and the New Adam stand in stark contrast. Jesus "refuses the idolatry of security."6
It remains for us humans to acknowledge our fear and, clothed with the garments of God's care for us, to see how we might respond with our weaknesses rather than by asserting power over others. How might such a posture alter our relationships with Earth (and even snakes!)?


Responsorial Psalm                   Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

The lament of Psalm 130 is familiar to our hearing and our living. The psalmist cries out to God from “the depths” (verse 1), from the darkest abyss of human suffering. That abyss takes different shapes in individual and communal human life, but we all have had or will have some experience of it.
Grief, depression, illness, poverty, abuse -- any of these experiences, and so many more, can plunge us into a darkness so deep that it can feel almost like death. That the abyss, the pit, the deep, is so centrally and universally a part of human life is reflected in the Psalms’ repeated reference to it. Augustine, in his exposition on this psalm, likened the abyss to the belly of the whale in which Jonah was trapped: Jonah’s abyss was deep in the water, in the yawning center of the whale’s body, tangled in the “very entrails of the beast.”
In verses 1 and 2, that cry is a demand to be heard, an insistence that God listen to the voice of torment: “Pay attention to my suffering, and for heaven’s sake, have mercy on me!” Often such a demand issues from a sense of God’s absence in the depths. Pain, whether physical, psychological, spiritual, or some combination, can be so isolating that we feel abandoned to our misery, even by God.
But the careful structure of Psalm 130 indicates that the demand here issues not from a sense of abandonment but from a certainty that God will hear. The writer cries out from the sure conviction that God cares. Verse 5 states that the psalmist trusts in the promises that God has made and waits for their fulfillment, and twice in verse six the psalmist describes his or her soul as waiting for the Lord “more than those who watch for the morning.” This phrase may refer to those who, after a night of prayer, receive confirmation of God’s redemption with the new light of dawn. The psalmist is asserting that he or she lives with even greater certainty of God’s attention than these.
Is this the pious boasting of a holier-than-thou jerk, eager to show us up in the faithfulness department? Actually, this text is a careful statement about God’s character, not the psalmist’s, and the key to this understanding is found in verses 3 and 4. “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.”
The psalmist is not asserting the power of God’s judgment or even the extent of human sin, as these verses are often read. The writer is telling us that God is not the kind of God under whose judgment the sinner withers. Rather, “there is forgiveness with God,” as verse 6 states. Forgiveness, in other words, is who God is. This Psalm is about the very character of God, which remains steadfast even in the abyss. God is not to be feared because of the wrath of God’s judgment, but God is revered because “with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem” (verse 7). God’s unchanging love is the essence of who God is, and God’s power is precisely the power to redeem.
It is this God, the writer argues, the God who is mercy and love, who will redeem the people. In similar laments, like Psalm 25:6, the psalmist must call upon God to remember God’s mercy. Not here. He the writer calls on us to remember that God is mercy. We need this reminder especially in the depths of misery. Augustine says that Jonah’s prayer, uttered from the depths of the whale’s body, was not contained by that body. Jonah’s prayer “penetrated all things, it burst through all things, it reached the ears of God.”
Even the prayer that issues from the utter abandonment of human suffering reaches God’s ears, is heard and answered by the God whose very being is love. What’s more, Augustine continues, that love not only hears, but becomes a companion who leads us on our way. God hears the cry from the abyss, meets us in the depth of our pain, and accompanies us in and through it, sharing in our suffering and leading us toward the light of God’s redemption.
The sad truth is that human beings can be downright ignorant in the depths. The deepest suffering not only can tear at our flesh and our hearts, it can strip us of all that makes us who we are, such that we feel that our very selves are lost. To someone in this state, whose stolen self is unable to issue the prayer for God’s hearing, what does Psalm 130 offer?
Together with the gentle companionship of others who have known suffering and redemption, the words of Psalm 130 can be a healing balm to the shattered soul, offering assurance of God’s endless mercy, and of the divine companionship that will remake all that is broken. Psalm 130 issues a calling to the assembled to claim for each and all of us the vast mercy of God and to companion one another through and out of the myriad abysses we each and all encounter.

Reading 2                                        2 Cor 4:13—5:1

Within the context, Paul's words illustrate his profound faith in God's salvation type acts. For a God who can defeat death itself, frail mortal bodies are no challenge to God's power. Instead, God demonstrates God's power in choosing mere mortals to bear witness to divine glory. With so great a God working among the Corinthians, there is no need to allow the sufferings of the present age to deter them from testifying to God's new creation.
Paul's Risky Mission
Paul's life is certainly not an illustration of a health and wealth gospel. The apostle is no stranger to suffering. At the beginning of this letter, he makes reference to severe affliction experienced in Asia (2 Corinthians 1:8). In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27, the apostle recounts beatings, shipwrecks, and other near-death experiences to demonstrate the danger of his mission and the sincerity of his faith. Furthermore, the passage under study immediately follows a catalog of hardships that illustrate human frailty (4:8-12). All these hardships exemplify that "death is at work in us" (4:12).
The stakes are high in Paul's mission. Both death and life are at work. Though death is making small victories -- afflicting, perplexing, persecuting, and striking down (4:8-10), God has already defeated death by raising the Lord Jesus. This same God "will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence" (4:14).
Certitude in God's Power
Underlying the entire message of 2 Corinthians -- and indeed Paul's whole gospel -- is the apostle's certitude in God's power. God made Paul a minister (3:4-6), and it is by God's mercy that Paul has survived numerous hardships (4:1). God is a God of consolation (1:3-7) and reconciliation (5:18-21).
God has chosen mortal bodies in which to display God's power. God is in the act of transforming bodies that are so fragile and vulnerable that Paul likens them to jars of clay (4:7). According to Paul, the reason that God has chosen such fragile vessels is to make clear "this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us" (4:7). The good news is only possible because a powerful God is at work.
It is God's spirit that dwells in us and transforms mortal bodies. If the holy law (Romans 7:12), that could not bring life, brought fleeting glory to Moses' face, how much more lasting glory will God's life-giving Spirit bring to those who love God? (2 Corinthians 3:7-11). This mighty Spirit is working to transform mortal flesh and to bring life (4:11-12).
The apostle's certitude in God's power gives him strength to face any hardship. Since Paul has faith that God who raised Jesus will also raise up those who are in Jesus (4:13-14), he can say with confidence, "We do not lose heart" (4:16).
In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul acknowledges the frailty of our human existence. In the context of this passage, the "outer nature" is subject to all the sufferings of this present age -- beatings, shipwrecks, afflictions, and trials. This outer nature is aptly paralleled to earthen vessels that, by their very nature, are subject to weakness (4:7).
Paul can express hope in the midst of adversity and can subject his body to physical and emotional hardships because he knows with all certainty that God will rectify his body. The Spirit's very presence is his assurance that God is at work creating life and redeeming all creation (5:5).
Building from God
Paul contrasts the transient nature of the "earthly tent" with the eternal nature of the heavenly building from God (5:1). Heaven is the very locus of God's new creation. Paul's appeal to this heavenly building is similar to Paul's reminder in Philippians 3:20 that "our citizenship is in heaven." Though trials and hardships may come in this old age that is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31), Paul calls the church to think in terms of God's new kingdom where death is swallowed up by life.
Unwavering Hope
Amidst real hardships and suffering, Paul expresses hope in God's work to redeem and to transform. The threat of hardship would be enough to drive most believers away, but Paul will stop at nothing to be a bearer of God's good news. He knows that the God who is at work in his mortal body is the same God who resurrected Jesus from the dead.   It is in this God whom Paul places his unwavering hope.

Gospel                                            Mk 3:20-35

So now Jesus comes home. We want to see how this story will play out in his hometown. Up to this point, even with all the excitement, the reports and the prospects have not been good. Even as Jesus continues to heal and to draw crowds and disciple followers, he has to skirt around in the border regions and escape to the mountains (3.1-19). The upshot has been that already only this far in the story the Pharisees and the Herodians conspire how they can destroy him (Mark 3:7). It is telling that the last named disciple Jesus calls is Judas Iscariot, “the one who betrayed him” -- the past tense would seem to mark this already as essentially a done deal (Mark 3:19). So when at the beginning of today’s reading we join the crowds, packed together so tightly that they can’t even get their arms free to grab some food, we sense that somebody has to do something to restore some order.
A Mess of a Family Gathering
And for that his family is ready? Yes, they come ready with restraints to shackle his body and with charges to tame his outlandish speech: “he’s out of his mind; you don’t really need to listen to him.” And the scribes from Jerusalem add a religious stamp to the charges: “he is actually in league with the demonic powers.” That should take care of any mistaken assumptions and relegate to insignificance the clamoring crowds. Those in the know have the essential facts to discount his person and his credentials. Enough said about this Jesus. The threats to the ordering of society, family, and religion have been thwarted once again.
Just more Riddles
So what will Jesus answer to these charges? He seems to offer some help to alleviate the uproar when he picks up a theme with us from the beginning; the talk is about the “kingdom” and about who has authority and power. But as usual his words are always in riddles. But to those who have ears to hear, perhaps we hope especially to us, his riddles make sense. They call us to consider deeply just what is going on here -- to rethink what the story of this Jesus might have to do with how we imagine our world and the ways of God with God’s creation. What is it that God is calling us to see and hear in this Jesus? Who is it that has the power to change our world, and how is that power going to be exercised in those of us who are called to journey along with this Jesus in this Pentecost Season?
The Risk of Blasphemy
The answers to these questions are not always so clear. They will call for a people who are aware of the risk of listening to the wrong sources, who are aware of the risk of joining in the wrong words whose error becomes so much blasphemy. In this Jesus the Spirit of God is at work. That much has been signed at the beginning, in the descent of God’s Spirit upon him at his baptism. God’s benediction on him has been pronounced; the promise is that in his journey among and with us God will be at work. To question or reject that presence and the signs of this kingdom is to risk missing out on the good news that God has in store for us in the person and message of this Jesus.
True Family and the Will of God
There are no guarantees in our hearing. Even those who have all the proper credentials -- whose blood lines would seem to link them to this Jesus, or who claim status among the leaders of the temple in Jerusalem -- are ultimately at risk for missing out on this journey. Jesus puts it very directly. It is not status but action in response to the call of God in the person of this Jesus that marks what it means to belong to his “family.” That would seem to sum it all up simple and to the point. Relationships in this family are dynamic; they flow from the encounter and response to this Jesus.
And yet, at this point in the journey, there remains a hiddenness or a mystery to it all. Relationships in this family are couched in terms of “doing the will of God.” But at this point in the story, just what that “will of God” entails is not specifically detailed. For those of us who thrive on lists, who need “things to do” to establish some comfort level, this story of Jesus will not comply with our wishes. We will have to be willing to come along for the journey. We will just have to trust this Jesus and the invitation to join him and to believe that in his company we will participate in the unfolding of the good news of God’s kingdom among us and in our world.


Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Pray the Lord’s Prayer or the Hail Mary.

Take a few moments to think about the groups or clubs, to which you belong. Make a list of these different groups.
What is your relationship like with the other people in these groups? You most likely share common interests with the other members. You probably spend some time together sharing ideas or things you’ve done. You may even be friends with people in these groups.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is returning to his hometown. Just before this event, Jesus chose his twelve disciples. Think about what Jesus told us about the kind of relationship he wants to have with those who choose to follow him.
Along with the crowds who come to hear Jesus teach, who also comes to see him? (Jesus’ relatives)
At the end of this Gospel, Jesus is surrounded by his disciples and those who want to listen to him teach and preach. These people share a common interest. But Jesus tells them that they must be more than just friends who are part of the same group. Jesus explains that those who follow him must share the kind of love, support, and understanding that we feel with our closest family members.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Reading 1                                           Gn 3:9-15

Sometimes we just don't grow up.
What is freedom? For some, it's self-determination. For others, it's an environment to exist and be accepted one's self. For the immature, it's acting out for purely selfish reasons without consequences. For these people, freedom means "me first" and no responsibilities to others or for others.
The narrative of the Fall in Genesis 3 painted freedom in that light. The first people acted out of self-interest. They wanted to experience evil and be "like gods" without any responsibility to God. So, when these people were confronted by God over their egregious act, they did what every child would do when caught in the act: they shifted the blame. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the snake. So God addressed snake first, then Eve (Genesis 3:16) and, finally, Adam who ultimately bore the most responsibility (Genesis 3:17-19).
This passage focused on the curse of the snake. The devious serpent would slither on the dirt as the lowest of animals, eating dust every day of its life. The tempter would live out its existence as the enemy of humanity, subject to injury by men. It would remain the object of hatred forever because it represented the temptation of pure selfishness.
We all have the child within. And that child supplies us with the facility to wonder, laugh and love. But that child can cause us to falter, even fail, simply because of its belief in the lie that actions have no consequences, rights have no responsibilities. And when we fall to that temptation, we realize a simple fact about our human condition.
Sometimes we just don't grow up.

Responsorial Psalm                 Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

One definition of arrogance is never seeking forgiveness. The arrogant person thinks he or she is above it all. Of course, none of us are God; we just like to play God. Seeking forgiveness is the way we step back from the arrogance of our self-centered universe and see ourselves as we truly are.
Psalm 130 asks for forgiveness. It is a penitent psalm that reaches out to God in hope. Some scholars believe the hymn was a prayer to prepare the worship community to enter the Temple; in other words, the psalm acted as a ritual of spiritual cleansing, much like the washing rituals during the time of Jesus prepared a Jew for communal meals (see John 2:1-12, for example).
The psalm can be divided into three parts: the petition for forgiveness (130:1-4), the call for attentive waiting (130:5-6), and a reminder to the nation of God's covenant (130:7-8). The petition is the most personal part of the psalm, even more personal many of the other preparation psalms (Psalms 15 and 24). The attitude of the petitioner was not despair but distance. The image in 130:1 put the petitioner 'in the depths (of a valley),' whereas YHWH was understood to dwell on the mountaintop (overlooking the depths); the landscape of Palestine with its below sea-level valleys and jutting mountain ranges made the contrast of place dramatic. Yet, even on the mountaintop, YHWH could hear the voice of a sinner so far away. Notice, it is the power of forgiveness that evoked awe (fear of the Lord in 130:4), not divine justice (130:3).
At some point in life, we need to step back from our egos to make things right with others. Forgiveness is the means we use to reestablish relationships. When we ask God for forgiveness, we are seeking a fresh start, a new balance. Unlike the uncertainty with human relations, we can be confident that God will hear out plea, accept our humble hearts, and give us a spirit of yearning for his presence.

Reading 2                                            2 Cor 4:13—5:1

With age comes wisdom. At least that's we want to think. Looking back we consider time not in days or weeks but in years, even decades. Seeing the bigger picture can help us with daily decisions and occasional annoyances; it puts things into perspective.
If we look back, we can also peer ahead. Looking beyond today assists us in measuring the meaning of daily life and correcting our faults. It can also help us see beyond the grave. With this perspective, we can ask the question: what does God have in store for us after death?
In 2 Corinthians, St. Paul presented the bigger picture. He held that faith in Christ saved the person from the Final Judgment and opened the door to a greater life, an eternal life of ever increasing glory. Notice his belief flew in the face of life everlasting as static; for Paul, life with God was dynamic, a dialogue of overflowing love. The Father would give his children life and love, more and more; his children would give him thanks and praise, more and more. This cycle would go on indefinitely.
With this exciting prospect in sight, the experience of momentary suffering meant little to the apostle. Even death had little sway. For material existence in this life could not compare to spiritual life God would give to his children after death. This thought gave Paul great comfort and motivation.
It should do the same for us.

Gospel                                         Mk 3:20-35

Jesus answered the charge with a set of parables: the kingdom/clan and the thief. The first parable was, in a sense, redundant. In the time of Jesus, a kingdom was controlled by a royal clan, with the king as its patriarch. Opposition could challenge the kingdom, but infighting between members of the royal family could topple it. When Jesus compared Satan's legion to a kingdom/clan, he emphasized the danger of internal opposition. In other words, if Satan gave Jesus the power to exorcize the possessed, he worked against himself and, thus, encouraged other demons to revolt. Such weakness would lead to the end of Satan's reign and help usher in the Kingdom. Obviously, this was an absurd notion.
The thief image was more interesting. In this case, the house of the strong man was his dwelling, but it could also mean the wealth of his clan. The thief needed to tie up the strong man in order to plunder his treasure (and that of his family). But, who was the thief and who was the strong man? In other words, demonic possession was a "raid" by the devil into the "house" of God. But, wasn't exorcism a "raid" into the realm of Satan? At its heart, the parable of the thief was about power and who possessed it. Jesus used this parable to imply his power was greater than that of Satan and his followers.
That was a bold assertion. Only God had the power to enter the "house" of the Evil One and take control. If Jesus had this power, then, he came from God. To state Beelzebub was the source of Jesus insulted the true source of his power, the Holy Spirit. Such a statement implicitly rejected Jesus as the Messiah. It also rejected his mission: the forgiveness of sins. If one rejected Jesus and his mission, who could one ever expect to even seek God's forgiveness? (Parallel this statement with the healing of the paralytic in Mark 2:1-12.) But, with Jesus, one could receive forgiveness.
Who really had the unkosher spirit? Who was really driven by the power of the unclean, Jesus or the religious leaders? The flip side to this controversy answered the question. who brought forth the Kingdom? Which the group celebrated the Kingdom?

=============================================================================

Sunday June 2, 2024 The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Corpus Christi - The Feast of Corpus Christi is the Roman Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the Eucharist—known as transubstantiation. Two months earlier, the Eucharist is observed on Holy Thursday in a somber atmosphere leading to Good Friday.
Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus Christ's institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper, which is described in the Christian bible.
Some people call it Holy Thursday, others Maundy Thursday. But what does the “Maundy” in “Maundy Thursday” mean? It’s certainly not a commonly-used word or something you’re likely to hear outside the context of Easter. What did this term mean, and where did it come from?
Etymologically, the consensus is that “Maundy” (MAANDEE) comes from the Latin word Mandatum (itself from the verb Mandare), which is translated “commandment.”
Jesus gave the apostles the greatest commandment (love one another) while he washed their feet.

Lectionary: 168

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                         Ex 24:3-8

When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
"We will do everything that the LORD has told us."
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites
to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do."
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
"This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his."

Responsorial Psalm      Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

R. (13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

Reading 2                                 Heb 9:11-15

Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works
to worship the living God.

For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place for deliverance
from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
Sequence

Lauda Sion

Laud, O Zion, your salvation,
Laud with hymns of exultation,
Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know,
He is more than you bestow.
Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving
Is the quick’ning and the living
Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken,
As we know, by faith unshaken,
Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law’s new oblation,
By the new king’s revelation,
Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces,
Truth away the shadow chases,
Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
His memorial ne’er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking,
Bread and wine we hallow, making
Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns,
Bread into his flesh he turns,
To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives,
But a dauntless faith believes,
Resting on a pow’r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes,
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks;
Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers,
One, as thousands of believers,
Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing,
Of what divers dooms preparing,
Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation,
See how like participation
Is with unlike issues rife.

When the sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but believe ‘tis spoken,
That each sever’d outward token
doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides,
Breaking but the sign betides
Jesus still the same abides,
still unbroken does remain.

The shorter form of the sequence begins here.

Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
Your eternal goodness send us
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav’nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

Gospel                                           Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus’ disciples said to him,
"Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there."
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                         Ex 24:3-8
24:3 Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the decisions. All the people answered together, “We are willing to do all the words that the Lord has said,” 24:4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and arranged twelve standing stones – according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 24:5 He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the Lord. 24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar. 24:7 He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey all that the Lord has spoken.” 24:8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
The first two verses record the appointment of a second session upon mount Sinai, for the making of laws, when an end was put to the first. When a communion is begun between God and us, it shall never fail on his side, if it does not first fail on ours. Moses is directed to bring Aaron and his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, that they might be witnesses of the glory of God, and that communion with him to which Moses was admitted; and that their testimony might confirm the people's faith, in this approach.
In the following verses, we have the solemn covenant made between God and Israel, and the exchanging of the ratifications; and a very solemn transaction it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers through Christ.
According to the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, using a hyssop branch, Moses then sprinkled blood on the altar, the Book of the Covenant, and the people (Heb 9:19-20 and Ex 24:8). The altar represented Yahweh, the book symbolized the covenant treaty in which the Israelites swore an oath to bind themselves to Yahweh in a covenant union, and the blood of the sacrifice cleansed the people of their sins. These actions made the purified Israelites and Yahweh one covenant family united in the blood of the sacrificial victim like human families are united by the link of shared blood.

This event foreshadowed the uniting of Yahweh and the New Covenant people in the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus is the New Covenant mediator and the unblemished sin sacrifice who provides the sacred meal of His Flesh and Blood for His covenant family (Jn 6:53-56). The covenant ratification began at the Last Supper when Jesus announced, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in remembrance of me." And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you" (Lk 22:19-20). In the ritual at Mt. Sinai, the blood and the sacred meal united God and the children of Israel into one covenant family. In the same way, Jesus's blood sacrifice on the altar of the Cross makes the New Covenant people of God one family through the sacrifice and in sharing the sacred meal of the sacrificial victim, which we call the Eucharist ("the Thanksgiving").

Responsorial Psalm      Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

In this final section of the psalm, verses 12-19, the psalmist vows to offer up public expressions of gratitude in the house of the Lord, so full is his heart with thanksgiving for what God has done. He will lift up the cup of salvation, call on the name of the Lord, and offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Leviticus 7:11-15) so that everyone will know what God has done and join the psalmist in giving God praise. The expression “cup of salvation” in verse 13 is found only here and its meaning is unclear. It may refer to a drink offering that often accompanied temple sacrifices (Numbers 15:8-10; 28) or it may be a figurative expression for drinking in the benefits and blessings of God’s salvation.
Read in the context of the passion of Christ, the psalmist’s “cup of salvation” calls to mind another cup, the cup that is poured out for us as the new covenant in Jesus’ blood (Luke 22:21). Here, at an annual Passover meal with his disciples, while remembering and rehearsing God’s mighty act in delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt, Jesus lifts up the cup and proclaims that in him, God is bringing about something new, a new redemptive work for all people.
While ours is not a political liberation like the Exodus nor a healing from sickness like the psalmist, both of these images are helpful metaphors for understanding what Christ has done for us. Sin is like a brutal taskmaster, controlling our wills and enslaving us to the selfish and evil inclinations of our own hearts. Who can deny that we do what we do not want to do and what we do not want to do, we do. Often we act in ways that damage relationships, dehumanize ourselves, and destroy shalom. Similarly, sin is like an untreated sickness that poisons our life as individuals and as communities. It robs people of the life of blessing and human flourishing that God intended for them and leads to death.
Lifting the cup, Jesus announces that the reign of sin is over. In him, there is forgiveness for sin, freedom from guilt, and a new covenant whereby we are restored to new life as God’s kingdom people. In Christ, the old has passed away; the new has come. Redemption and restoration are ours as all are now invited to drink in the benefits and blessings of the cup poured out, Jesus blood shed for us.
The significance of Psalm 116 is that it invites us to remember and rehearse how we too have been “delivered from death” by the death of our Lord and Savior and cultivates in us a posture of thanksgiving and praise for all God’s goodness to us. Whenever we celebrate the Lord’s supper, Christ holds out to us the cup that is poured out as a new covenant in his blood, inviting us to drink in the benefits and blessings of his sacrifice, to say with grateful hearts yes to God, yes to salvation, yes to dying to sin, and yes to our new life as God’s kingdom people in Jesus Christ.

Reading 2                        Heb 9:11-15

The author of Hebrews (probably Paul) continues to show in our text (9:11-14) that "Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come." The previous tents of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies are now a "perfect tent" in Jesus Christ. This is a tent "not made with hands, that is, not of this creation" (9:11). The connection to the Ark of the Covenant and sacrifice of atonement is unique in the New Testament and draws us into the rich history of the "first covenant" now brought to perfection in Jesus Christ.
The perfection in Christ is now spelled out: He entered once for all into the Holy Place, “not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Greek: lutrosis) (9:12). The goat was used for the
people's sacrifice, and the calf was used for the sacrifice for the high priest and his house (Leviticus 16:5-11). Once again we have a connection to Paul in the same section in Romans: "For there is no distinction, all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God; They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22-23). Christ's act of atonement (Greek: hilasterion) on the cross secures an eternal redemption. Christ has entered into the perfect heavenly sanctuary after he provided an eternal redemption, thus securing our eternal redemption by his blood/death on the cross.
The analogy to the first covenant sacrificial system has provided a remarkable way in which the author of Hebrews has drawn us into the history and meaning of the way in which the first covenant attempted to bring the gift of redemption to the people. It was not a perfect system, but it foreshadows the perfect redemption of the blood of the cross in Jesus' redeeming and atoning death.
Our text now brings us to a resounding conclusion: "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of a heifers ashes can sanctify those who have been defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit* offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God" (9:13-14).
What is present in these words stands through all eternity! The imperfection of previous sacrifices is past. There is no more meaning to all things previous. They have had their place in the history of God's salvation for the people, but now all things are new. The blood of Christ is the complete sacrifice. In Christ Jesus redemption is accomplished.
Jesus' final word from the cross in the gospel of John is the word of fulfillment: "It is finished" (John 19:30). The Greek tense signifies that Christ's redemption has been made for all times. It is completed/accomplished/finished in the past and it remains completed/accomplished/finished into the eons of eons.
Our text from Hebrews is also the word for All Saints Day. In the gospel text assigned with this text from Mark 12:28-34, we hear the confession of the scribe who proclaims the truth of our Hebrews text. Jesus had taught him the truth of the first and second commandment, and he responds: " The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:32-33).
Jesus commends the scribe for answering wisely: "You are not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34). This unknown scribe bears witness to the truth that it is not through the blood of animals or the sprinkling of ashes by burning a red heifer that there is ceremonial sacrifice for sinful and defiled persons (9:13-14). Only through the perfect sacrifice of Christ is God's work of salvation brought to perfection or completion: "It is finished" (John 19:30). This is the word from the cross for all the saints in Christ Jesus for all eternity. Amen.

Gospel                            Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

Our text begins with preparation for the evening meal: "On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed" (14:12). All the imagery of this meal is present and its significance in marking the deliverance of the captive Israelites in the Exodus. There is no mistaking what this meal will signify for the life of the new community centered in the deliverance of Christ's death and resurrection.
Details of the preparation and setting for the meal are described: "So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal" (14:12-16). The first watch of the night is noted: "When it was evening, he came with the twelve" (14:17).
During the meal Jesus takes bread, blesses, breaks and gives it to the disciples with the words, " Take it; this is my body" (14:22). Jesus also takes the cup with the words, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God" (14:23-25). With these words, what could the disciples be thinking?
The meal concludes with the singing of the Hallel, and the walk to the Mount of Olives. Here Jesus notes they will all fall away and recalls prophetic words which identify the betrayal of the Son of Man: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." The shepherd will be struck down in crucifixion, but the promise of resurrection will gather the sheep: "But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee" (14:28).

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Most of us eat three meals a day and we don’t give it much thought. But meals don’t just happen. They require planning and preparation.

What are some things that must be done to prepare daily meals? (planning menus, shopping, cooking, setting the table, cleaning up afterward, and so on) What additional things might be required if we are planning a special holiday meal? (invitations, decorations, seating arrangements, and so on)

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus give instructions to his disciples for preparing a special meal for the Jewish celebration of Passover. We also hear some details about the meal that Jesus shares with his disciples; this meal is called the Last Supper.
What do we do today to remember this Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples? (We celebrate the Eucharist.) What preparations are made so that we can celebrate the Eucharist each week? (The worship space is prepared; the priest prepares the homily; lectors, altar servers, and Eucharistic ministers are assigned and prepared.)
Even if we don’t have an official role at the Sunday Eucharist, we should prepare ourselves for this celebration. What are some things that we might do to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Eucharist? (Read and reflect upon the Sunday readings, especially the Gospel; keep the Eucharistic fast; make ourselves present and attentive at the Sunday Eucharist.)
Do one thing this week to better prepare for your celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday. Pray the Lord’s Prayer.

========================================================

Additional Notes
Reading 1                         Ex 24:3-8

These verses from Exodus marked the acceptance of the covenant by the people. Actually, this was the second part of the ceremony; the first part was the meal of the 72 elders with God on the mountain top (see 24:1-2). Moses, burdened by “carrying” the people, cries out to God in distress (Numbers 11:11-15), and God appoints 70 elders (a large, full number) to assist in Moses' prophetic work. Though their “ordination” is temporary, they are a sign that God's leadership will endure even beyond Moses. God's spirit goes where it wills!
Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp, yet the spirit came to rest on them also. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; and so they prophesied in the camp.
So, a communion meal was followed by a sacrifice and sprinkling. God accepted his people (signified by the leadership meal). Then the people accepted the conditions laid down by their God (signified by the sacrifice and the sprinkling).
Sacrifice was made as a sign of self-giving to God. The blood of the animals represented life given by God. Moses used half the blood to sanctify the altars (in essence, claiming them for God). And, after the people agreed to the terms of the covenant, he threw the other half on the audience. When the people received the sprinkled blood, they acknowledged their dependence upon their Maker. Life was used to seal the bond between God and his people.
As God gave life, the people were to respond in kind. This was the underlying logic of sacrifice found in the Old Testament. To do as God does. Not as a way to usurp the Master, but to honor him.

Responsorial Psalm      Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

How does travel affect you? Do you experience discomfort from travel? Does the prospect of leaving home bring you joy or a sense of apprehension? Why?
Middle-class Americans enjoy a freedom of mobility and travel that the ultra-rich would have envied a few centuries ago. We can visit a distant land in a few hours by jet, enjoy a weekend, and return in relative ease. We cannot fully appreciate the struggle and hardships that travel brought our ancestors. Many times, migration and pilgrimage were dangerous undertakings.
Psalm 116 could have been chanted by a pilgrim who arrived at Jerusalem for Passover or one of the other great festivals. The song celebrated life saved and renewed. Clearly, the singer portrayed one at death's door (116:3, 10b-11). The one in danger made a vow to the Lord (116:14, 18). Whether the vow was a result of death's immanence or not, the person professed his faith in divine intervention when the danger passed (116:1-2, 5-8). The person celebrated a thanksgiving sacrifice. (The "cup of salvation" in 116:13 was wine offered at such a sacrifice; the vows paid in 116:14, 18 usually were donations made to the Temple.) In reality, this sacrifice was a communion meal where the worshiper ate from the meat offered to God. In the meal, the worshiper declared his allegiance to YHWH by "calling on the name of the Lord."
Imagine the sacrifice of pilgrimage could bring. We moderns do not encounter such. (After all, tourism would collapse if the travel was portrayed as dangerous, or the possibilities of sickness and imprisonment were high.) Still, we can appreciate what the pilgrim risked along the way and his joy when he reached the goal of his travel. If we had to endure what they faced, we, too, would thank the Lord when we arrived at our destination.

Reading 2                        Heb 9:11-15

These verses from Hebrews continued to put forth one of the themes from the letter: the eternal high priesthood of Jesus Christ. While the Letter to the Hebrews cannot be dated exactly, we can assume the letter was written after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Sensing a loss in his Jewish Christian audience, the author could have used the theme of divine high priesthood to comfort his audience. But, by developing this theme, he was also pointing the way to the understanding Christians had for their own worship (found most clearly in Revelations). The earthly community gathered around the heavenly worship of Christ.
As Christ offered himself to the Father (beginning on the cross), he entered into the heavenly "Holies of Holies." Notice, place also pointed to the time frame. As locale of Calvary became transcendent and universal, the one time death of Jesus on the cross became eternal. This is the import of the phrase, "once and for all," unlike the ongoing sacrifice system in the Temple (to which the author compared the death of Christ).
As the priest, the place, and the activity of Christ's turned the particular into the universal and eternal, the result led to the transcendent. Christians, would receive an eternal inheritance and forever serve the living God. They would turn away from our dead works (notice the word "dead" not only referred to the unless, selfish nature of the acts; the word also paralleled the Jewish notion that foreign idols were "dead," unlike the living God of the Jews; in other words, sin is an act of idolatry). Faith in God allowed them to partake in the heavenly, eternal self-giving of the Christ.
From this point, we can see Christians would soon view their worship as a participation in the worship Jesus gave to the Father. Their self-giving became his. Their prayer and his prayer became one.
When we worship at Mass on Sunday, let us remember the view point of Hebrews. When we pray and share communion, we become one with Christ as he worships the Father.

Gospel                            Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

We could discuss the Last Supper for many pages. (Indeed, how much ink has been spilled over the subject!) For our purposes, we can note the unique preparation for the meal and the institution of the Eucharist itself.
If we read Mark's account closely, we will notice Jesus had already made arrangements for Passover with a wealthy patron in the city. (A rich man in the city could have been a Sadducee, since the religious party consisted of the Temple priests-scribes and the wealthy of the city.) We can presume the man with the jar of water was a servant. He led the two followers to the house where the owner himself (not a servant or patron) showed them a spacious attic room for a private celebration.
Theologically, Mark wished to stress the meal and its aftermath were Jesus' initiative. He was in charge, not his followers, his betrayer, or the Sanhedrin. Because of his relationship with the Father, Jesus obeyed the will of the Father in the unfolding scenes.
Jesus blessed the bread in words similar to the Jewish blessing: "Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the universe, who makes bread come forth from the earth."
"This is my blood of the covenant being poured out for many." This phrase echoed Exodus 24:8:
And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." (RSV)
Just as Moses poured out the blood of a worship sacrifice onto the people to ratify the covenant, Jesus would pour out his blood in a sacrifice meant to worship the Father. Notice covenant was different from an agreement (that implied parties of equal stature); the covenant of Exodus 24:8 was purely God's initiative. We can infer the same quality in the covenant Jesus offered to his followers.
"being poured out for many" In the context of the narrative, this present tense participle has the force of the future ("will be poured out for many").
During the meal, Jesus instituted the Eucharist. He took a meal that celebrated the liberation of Israel from slavery (an event in the past) and transformed it into a meal that looked forward to the Kingdom. He made the change with his self-giving (sharing himself in the form of bread and wine). And he reinforced the change with a declaration of the postponed celebration ("Amen, I say to you that I will no longer drink from any fruit of the vine until that day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God").
The crucified Lord would be the sign of the end times. His sacrifice on the cross would be THE worship of the Kingdom. The blood he spilled would be poured out for "many" (a Semitic phrase "for all people"). The arrangement God made with believers through the sacrifice of his Son was the covenant of the Kingdom!
Obviously, we do not live in the Kingdom, even though we live in constant expectation of God's reign. However, the Eucharist we celebrate makes the Kingdom real because the Lord in truly present. He is with us at Mass so he can be one with us. Our struggles, our pain, our anticipation of the Kingdom becomes his. And the gift of his self-giving becomes ours.

Sunday May 26, 2024 The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Lectionary: 165

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                             Dt 4:32-34, 39-40

Moses said to the people:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."


Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22

R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own

Reading 2                 Rom 8:14-17

Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel Mt 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                      Dt 4:32-34, 39-40
In this chapter we have, a most earnest and pathetic exhortation to obedience, both in general, and in some particular instances, backed with a great variety of very pressing arguments, repeated again and again, and set before them in the most moving and affectionate manner imaginable.
They saw a strange composition of fire and darkness, both dreadful and very awful; and be a striking foil to each other; the darkness made the fire in the midst of it look the more dreadful. Fires in the night are the most frightful, and the fire made the darkness that surrounded it look the more awful; for it must be a strong darkness which such a fire did not disperse. In allusion to this appearance upon Mount Sinai, God is said to show himself for his people, and against his and their enemies, in fire and darkness together, Ps. 18:8, 9. He tells them again (v. 36) what they saw, for he would have them never forget it: He showed thee his great fire. One flash of lightning, that fire from heaven, strikes an awe upon us; and some have observed that most creatures naturally turn their faces towards the lightning, as ready to receive the impressions of it; but how dreadful then must a constant fire from heaven be! It gave an earnest look of the day of judgment, in which the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming fire. As he reminds them of what they saw, so he tells them what they saw not; no manner of similitude, from which they might form either an idea of God in their fancies or an image of God in their high places. By what we see of God is sufficient ground for us to believe him to be a Being of infinite power and perfection, but no occasion given us to suspect him to have a body such as we have. What they heard at Mount Sinai (v. 12): he enlarges upon towards the close of his discourse, v. 32, 33, 36. First, They heard the voice of God, speaking out of heaven. God manifests himself to all the world in the works of creation, without speech or language, and yet their voice is heard (Ps. 19:1-3); but to Israel he made himself known by speech and language, condescending to the weakness of the church's infant state. Here was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, to prepare the way of the Lord. Secondly, They heard it out of the midst of the fire, which showed that it was God himself that spoke to them, for who else could dwell with devouring fire? God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind, which was terrible; but to Israel out of the fire, which was more terrible. We have reason to be thankful that he does not thus speak to us, but by men like ourselves, whose terror shall not make us afraid, Job 33:6, 7. Thirdly, They heard it and yet lived, v. 33. It was a wonder of mercy that the fire did not devour them, or that they did not die for fear, when Moses himself trembled. Fourthly, Never had any people heard the like. He bids them enquire of former days and distant places, and they would find this favor of God to Israel without precedent or parallel, v. 32. This singular honor done them called for singular obedience from them. It might justly be expected that they should do more for God than other people, since God had done so much more for them.

He urges God's gracious appearances for them, in bringing them out of Egypt, from the iron furnace, where they labored in the fire, forming them into a people, and then taking them to be his own people, a people of inheritance (v. 20); this he mentions again, v. 34, 37, 38. Never did God do such a thing for any people; the rise of this nation was quite different from that of all other nations. They were thus dignified and distinguished, not for anything in them that was deserving or inviting, but because God had a kindness for their fathers: he chose them. See the reasons of free grace; we are not beloved for our own sakes, but for his sake who is the great trustee of the covenant. They were delivered out of Egypt by miracles and signs, in mercy to them and in judgment upon the Egyptians, against whom God stretched out his arm, which was signified by Moses's stretching out his hand in summoning the plagues. They were designed for a happy settlement in Canaan, v. 38. Nations must be driven out from before them, to make room for them, to show how much dearer they were to God than any other people were. Egyptians and Canaanites must both be sacrificed to Israel's honor and interest. Those that stand in Israel's light, in Israel's way, shall find it is at their peril.

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22

So we wait.
Sitting here on earth we wait in hope and faith. We sit with the blanket of God’s promises resting upon our laps. We stare out the window waiting for God to roll down our street in brand new Cadillac or pushing a carriage with a cooing child. We wait, we watch. What we are looking for is hard to describe. We are looking for a small bit of sustenance when the ground dries up. We are looking for a little life in a deathly world. We are listening for all those echoes of God’s promises in the world. These faint echoes that resemble and initiate what will become.
The truth is, we don’t hear these echoes as often as we’d like. Most of our life is spent waiting for another vision. Like Hannah, like Abraham and Sarah, like Israel in Babylon we rest our heads on God’s promises, but never stop waiting for them to be fulfilled. This difficult waiting is exacerbated by our finiteness which drives us to create our worlds in our own images, which is not surprising given the circumstances of our own making. Given our limited vantage and the unpredictable action of God, the Christian life requires waiting on God.
Waiting is hard. It is fitting that this lectionary passage comes during ordinary time within the liturgical season because what is more ordinary than waiting. Verse 20 sounds like the Psalmist is trying to convince herself that she is not sick and tired of waiting. The truth is, there is no school that teaches us how to wait. We convince ourselves that we have been faithful, that we are happy, and that the wait isn’t so bad, but mostly it is miserable. I hear deep need in the final verse of the lectionary passage. “May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.” Hope is no longer enough, O God, let your love break into our world and justify our hope. As the psalmist copes with waiting, she begins to remember the times when God delivered the people from danger and fed them in times of hunger (v. 18). Treks across the sea bed. Manna in the wilderness. Deliverance and sustenance. When we wait, our minds wander to those times when God delivered us from danger and provided sustenance during times of need. Times when God was our shield and our help (v 20). When we wait, we begin to remember and remembering soothes our anxiety and renews our hope.
In North America and elsewhere, the outdoor trails of our parks and forests are marked with blazes. Blazes are small directional signs that assure the traveler that he or she is on the right path. The hike requires following the blazes. But the blaze is not the destination, just the marker. Hikers are bound to leave the approaching blaze in the past. The marker is a reminder that you are on the right trail and that while you might not see another marker for a while, it will show up. Indeed, if you travel far and don’t see a marker, it is time to backtrack and remember where the last time you saw a marker. The trail marker is not just reassurance that you are on the right path, it is also a reminder that the trail is bigger than any one person. The steadfast love of God is not just a reassurance that God has chosen you as God’s heritage, but also a reminder that our finitude limits our perspective. The finite always have to wait until they see the next blaze.
So we wait.

Reading 2                               Rom 8:14-17

For many Christians, the Holy Spirit remains a puzzle. The other members of the Trinity, the Father and the Son, are better defined. But there is much confusion about the Spirit. Questions like the following are likely to be in the minds of listeners: Just what does the Holy Spirit do? How would I know if the Holy Spirit is involved in my life? It might be helpful, using our text in Romans as a guide, to describe the work of the Holy Spirit under the following headings.
The Holy Spirit Points to Christ
Often when people speak of the Holy Spirit they associate it with an extraordinary or spectacular event. We tend to let stories like the tongues of fire that appeared on the heads of the apostles (Acts 2:3) or the dramatic conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus define our understanding of how God works in the world. And there is little question that many acts of God are astonishing.
But just as notable is the way God works in a mundane manner. When Paul speaks of the power of the Spirit in our verses he points to our inclusion in God’s family. The Spirit makes us “children of God” (8:14) and so intertwines our lives with Christ that we now understand God as a Father or even a “Daddy” (as Abba might be translated -- see 8:15). In addition, Paul suggests we are now “heirs” with Christ (8:17). In other words, all that the Son shares with the Father (peace, life, righteousness) has now been bequeathed to us as well.
In most cases the Holy Spirit usually does not try to draw attention to itself but rather works on us to strengthen our relationship of faith in Christ. This means the Spirit is very busy indeed. In our stumbling attempts at faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit is at work, overcoming our own desire to be in control. When we seek comfort, the Spirit reminds us of Christ’s seeking of the lost sheep and his forgiveness to a betrayer like Peter. When we need correction, the Spirit calls to mind Christ’s injunction against the love of money or the need to forgive -- even those we classify as enemies.
Those who wonder about the Spirit’s presence in their lives need only look to their struggling faith in Christ and they will find plenty of evidence. Left to our own devices, we wander far from the source of light and truth. But the Spirit has other plans. God’s Spirit continually reaches out to embrace and encourage us.
The Holy Spirit is a Gift
The Holy Spirit is not something that resides in us or is under our control. There is such a thing as the human spirit, of course. This is the source of our imagination and creativity. It enables poets, painters, writers to practice express their gifts and it inspires magnificent works in literature and art. But when we attach the word “Holy” to the word “Spirit” we move beyond the human realm. We are now speaking of God and a force beyond human manipulation. Similar to the wind, the Holy Spirit is not something we can manage or direct (Acts 2:2).
The Holy Spirit Means Trouble
This might strike people as a bit odd. After all, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “helper” (John 16:7). Furthermore, we are told the fruits of the Spirit are things like peace and joy (Galatians 5:22-23). And it is true that to be in a relationship with Christ (the chief task of the Holy Spirit as explained above) does bring a peace that passes all understanding. But those joined to Christ in faith by the Spirit are also returned to the world in lives of self-giving love.
The first thing the Spirit does after descending upon Jesus in his baptism is to drive him out into the desert for a frightening encounter with the devil (Mark 1:12-13). Think about that … the desert … a place traditionally identified with temptation and trial. People should be cautioned about associating the Holy Spirit with “playing it safe” or material abundance. As a wise, older pastor once told me, the “Spirit brings us to where the pain is.”
In fact, our text from Romans assumes that those who are part of God’s family will also experience difficulty. As joint heirs with Christ “we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). Paul’s point is not that we go out and seek suffering. That would turn suffering into a “good work” and simply be another attempt to manipulate God to our own ends. Nor does our participation in suffering mean that we are somehow in the midst of the Spirit’s work.
For example, I do not believe that God wishes things like depression for his children. However, those caught up in the Spirit, that is, those joined to the radical love of Jesus Christ, should not be surprised that it leads to conflict, struggle and trouble. After all, the Spirit not only drove Jesus to the desert; it also propelled him on a ministry that would eventually lead to a cross.

Gospel                                    Mt 28:16-20

Readers today often interpret this passage as a directive to evangelize others. After all, the imperative verb is right there: “make disciples of all nations…” (28:19). Although Jesus uses the formula “Father and Son and Holy Spirit,” Trinitarian theology as we know it took many centuries to develop. Reading it backward into this first century Gospel may not be appropriate.
But if we only read this passage as a manifesto on evangelism, we may be missing out. The passage is also a strong statement of the authority of the risen Jesus. The word “therefore” in “Go therefore and make disciples” suggests that the action of making disciples results from the previous verse: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 20:18). Jesus’ instructions result from the authority he possesses.
Because of this, it is fitting to reflect on this passage on Holy Trinity Sunday. The risen Jesus, fully vested with divine authority, stands before his disciples with one final teaching.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Jesus’ authority has been apparent from the outset of the Gospel. His healing powers testify to his authority over demons and sickness. He casts out demons “by the Spirit of God,” which is evidence of the presence of God’s kingdom (12:28). The power of God’s Spirit comes into the world through Jesus as he shows compassion to those who need him (9:36; 14:14).
Jesus also has the authority of the Son of Man. Many interpreters identify the authority of Matthew 28:18 with the dominion given to the human one in Daniel 7:13-14: “I saw one like a human being [Aramaic: one like a son of man] coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” Because Matthew has already identified Jesus as the Son of Man, the authority given to Jesus evokes this scene from Daniel, in which the human one comes to have authority over all.
As the Son of Man, Jesus already displays the divine authority to forgive sins. He heals a paralyzed man not only for the man’s sake but “so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6). Because the power to forgive resides with God alone, the scribes think Jesus has committed blasphemy. But Matthew presents Jesus as the one who rightly claims this authority because he is the Son of Man.
Jesus’ instructions connect his authority to the topic of baptism. Although baptism has not been mentioned since Matthew 3, in that context John the Baptist connected Jesus’ authority to judge with baptism. John pointed to one “more powerful than I” who “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (3:11-12).
Jesus’ instruction to baptize in Matthew 28:19 calls to mind the baptism “with Holy Spirit and fire” that John foretold. In recognition of the divine authority Jesus possesses, his followers are also to be marked through baptism -- not in John’s name or the Spirit’s name alone but “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (28:19). The Son is evoked alongside Father and Spirit to identify the power that acts in baptism. It is a baptism that fully acknowledges the authority the Son possesses.
Finally, Jesus’ authority as a teacher comes through in these verses. The disciples should teach others “to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is the source of commandments that disciples should obey.
Matthew’s aim was not to convey a fully developed Trinitarian theology but to spread the good news about Jesus. Part of that good news is that Jesus fully shares the authority of the Father and the Spirit. He is a powerful healer, judge, and teacher, because his power is the same divine power known throughout the stories of the Old Testament. Through this power, those who become disciples may experience his mercy and learn to live by his teachings.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about some examples of team mascots or team emblems/logos. They identify the team as a group. Think about the cross. what group is identified by the cross.
As Christians, we claim the cross of Jesus as a mark of our identity. In fact, there is something we do as Catholics when we gather to pray that also shows our identity as Christians. What do we do? (make the Sign of the Cross) What words do we say as we make the Sign of the Cross? (In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.)
When we make the Sign of the Cross, we name ourselves Christians by saying the name of God, who is three Persons in one—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Does anyone know what we call this teaching of our faith? (the Trinity) This Sunday is called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, and on this day we remember that God has revealed himself to us in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Our Gospel for today reminds us of our Baptism, the first time that we were marked with the Sign of the Cross.
In today’s Gospel, what does Jesus tell his disciples to do? (teach all nations about Jesus and baptize in the name of the Trinity) The Church today continues to teach all people about Jesus and to baptize in the name of the Trinity. When we were baptized, the priest, our parents, and our godparents traced a cross on our foreheads. The priest also spoke the name of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as we were baptized with water. These signs remind us that through our Baptism, we share in the life of the blessed Trinity.
Try to remember that we also have been given the power to teach others about Jesus through our Baptism. In conclusion pray the Glory Be to the Father.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

================================================================
Additional Notes
Reading 1                      Dt 4:32-34, 39-40

[4:32-34] In his address to the Israelites, Moses exhorted the people to obey God's Law. Why should the people obey? One reason lay in the nature of Israel's God. Unlike their neighbors' gods (that existed in the powers of nature and seasonal cycles), the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob exercised his power through events. He intervened in the history of a people and formed them into a nation. Unlike their neighbors, the Hebrews could point to a time and a place, and declare, "God spoke and proved his power here." This boast was unique in the ancient world. It meant the God of Israel revealed himself in history, not just in creation.
[4:39-40] While the fulfillment of divinely mandated religious and civic duties was common to all ancient peoples, obeying a God who revealed himself in history implied a special covenant relationship. A God who saved a people and formed a nation in history must be obeyed in a historical context. For example, the people were to treat others with the same compassion in their day-to-day history as God treated them when he freed them from slavery in Egypt.
Soon Israelites believed when a believer fulfilled a religious duty as a historical event, he or she could glimpse into the mind of God. Fulfilling religious duties became a personal event. Fulfillment became the person's way to say "yes" to God, just as the people said a corporate "yes" to God on Mt. Sinai when the received the Law. In this way, the individual could personally hear and see God, just as the people did on Mt. Sinai.
Ultimately, Israelites viewed Moses' exhortation not just to the people as a whole. They saw his speech directed to the individuals in the group. God not only spoke to the nation, he spoke to the every man, woman, and child in Israel. Religious duty was more than a social responsibility. It was personal. To Israel and the Israelite, God said, "I am your God, and you are my beloved." This logic found its end when St. Paul called every Christian "a child of God."

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22

Psalm 33 praised God for what he was, not what he did for his people. It began with praise for the power of his word. As a liturgical psalm, 33:1-3 extolled the Temple musicians to "sing a new song" (a command to recognize a new activity of God among his people;
In 33:4-5, the reason for praise lie in God's word. Like God himself, his word was faithful and true (terms that described the covenant God had with his people). The Lord loved those who returned fidelity in his covenant (justice and right) and he filled the earth with his presence (goodness).
33:6-7 encapsulated the creation story in Genesis 1:1-2. He made the heavens with his word and divided the waters with his breathe (his Spirit). The Lord was in total control because of his creative powers. The only response was universal awe and reverence (33:8); divine providence continued God's plan of creation and even if it thwarted the plans of nations (33:9-11). The people God chose, the Israelites, were blessed with their election (33:12).
He blessed those who follow the covenant with sincere hearts, saving them even from death (33:18-19).
Notice the divine attributes were inferred. God was all-knowing (33:13-15), all-powerful (33:6-7, 9), and all-loving (33:5). The name of YHWH was mentioned 13 times in the psalm; this re-enforced the notion of God's position and power.
Many times, our prayer life shrinks to our own parochial concerns. My prayer is focused on myself, my needs, my wants. But is that really prayer? Isn't prayer at its roots treating God as God?

Reading 2                               Rom 8:14-17

When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, the cult of the Nazorene caused great scandal in Judaism. Not only were these "Christians" declaring Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, they also allowed Gentiles into their company, their homes, and their meal times. Following this "risen" prophet was a heresy. Living in their community made them "unclean." The faith and the fellowship was polluted, in the eyes of those in the synagogue.
Paul fought with the leaders of the synagogue time and time again. For Paul, both the claims of traditional Judaism and the new Christian movement hinged on the question of righteousness. Are we righteous by what we have done? Or, are we made righteous by what God will do? Paul saw focus on the past (in the Law) as the defining tenet for Judaism. But he saw the ever active initiative of God as the force behind the Church. The synagogue clung to the Law and its traditions. The Church depended upon the movement of the Spirit as it faced the end times. It was a battle between the past and the future.
But, Paul would assert one point that it did not matter what people did. Only God's activity and will mattered. Only God could make someone "clean" and "righteous." God's way was the "Spirit." The way of man (i.e., the Law) was "flesh." And only the Spirit could bring "righteousness." Only the Spirit could make one a "child" of God.
This background leads us up to the work of the Spirit in Romans 8:14-17. The Spirit makes believers children of God and heirs of the Kingdom, like the Christ. The work of the Spirit was reflected in two ways here: praise and promise. The Spirit was the cause for intimate prayer to God (reflecting the theme of the Lord's prayer). And the Spirit was the promise of strength to the end times, even through persecution.
So, righteousness was the work of the Spirit. We Christians were to know we were right before God as his children when we prayed to God as Father and when we steadfastly awaited the return of the Savior. For Paul, prayer and promise, not rigorous duty, marked the presence of righteousness.

Gospel                                    Mt 28:16-20

The Church calls Jesus's words in Matthew 28:19-20 "The Great Commission." The mission Jesus gave is universal for the emissaries of the One who has universal power over all the earth. From the time of Jesus's Resurrection, the mission of God the Son became the mission of the Church, as Jesus told the Apostles in John 20:19b ~ As the Father has sent me, so I send you (see CCC 730).
The command to baptize with the theological Trinitarian formula: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" defines the communion between God and the baptized (see Jn 3:3-5 and CCC 1257, 1272-3). Rebirth through water and the spirit in Christian baptism is the means Jesus commands for entrance into the community of the New Covenant Kingdom and for eternal salvation: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mk 16:16a). In the Sacrament of Baptism, the baptized person's life configures to the risen Savior, and that person becomes incorporated into the Body of Christ that is His Church. The formula Jesus gave for the Sacrament of Baptism defines the Trinity and designates baptism as the union of the one baptized with the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This union is the central mystery of faith for all who call themselves Christians and rests on their belief in the rebirth that forms the union of the believer with the life of the Most Holy Trinity (CCC 232-34, 237).
Jesus's promise in 28:20b that God the Son will be with His people always: And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age, fulfills Isaiah's prophecy in 7:14 (quoted in Mt 1:23). Isaiah foretold "the virgin" who would bear a son who shall be called "Emmanuel," which means "God with us." Isaiah's prophecy is also the promise of God the Son's Real (but invisible) Presence in the Eucharist from the time of His Ascension until His return at the end of the Age (see CCC 1374-77 and 1 Cor 11:26-28).

Jesus taught the Church forty days from His Resurrection to His Ascension to the Father in Heaven (Acts 1:3), appearing and disappearing at will. During the time between His Resurrection and Ascension, He continually visited with His Apostles and disciples:
In His death and resurrection, Jesus ushered in a new and everlasting covenant; it is the eighth covenant that fulfills and surpasses all previous covenants (also, see the chart "Yahweh's Eight Covenants
The New Covenant in Christ Jesus is now the 8th final and eternal covenant between God and His people. Its climax will occur in Jesus's Second Advent at the end of time.

=====================================================================

Sunday May 19, 2024 - Pentecost Sunday - Mass during the Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt16nVZ0qSQ - Video Holy Spirit arrives

Lectionary: 63

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                      Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
"Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God."

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Reading 2                 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Gospel                                                      Jn 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                          Acts 2:1-11

Today’s lectionary passage begins with the one hundred twenty gathered together. Luke then describes the coming of the Holy Spirit as the sound of a rushing wind, an apparition of tongues resting on each, and the gift of the ability to speak in other languages. The narrative turns next to the outsiders who witness this spectacle. These include immigrants to Jerusalem from all over the Mediterranean basin. Exegetical notes
When the day of Pentecost had come: Although contemporary Jews commemorate the holy gift of the Law, Torah, at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot, it is not clear whether the ancient harvest festival carried that meaning in Luke’s day. Whether or not it did, Luke’s narrative serves as a Christian appropriation and reinterpretation of the festival day.
…there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind: comprises one long sentence describing the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is no gentle inbreaking. The spirit comes suddenly, even violently upon the gathered. Fiery tongues appear and settle on each of them. Luke makes no distinction here, with regards to gender, as he will in other parts of Acts. Then the gathered begin to speak in “other tongues” as enabled by the spirit. The later verses in this passage clarify that these are known languages of the Mediterranean basin, rather than the spiritual language that Paul calls glossolalia in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Now there were devout Jews: Acts 2 focuses on the growth of belief in Jesus among Jews, not among Gentiles as will be the case in Acts 10. Moreover, these are not pilgrims to the harvest festival; they are immigrants, inhabitants of Jerusalem (Acts 2:5). Their homelands encircle Palestine in all directions (2:9-11). Further, they have mother tongues other than the languages of Palestine (Acts 2:8, 11). This points to the cultural diversity of Jews of Luke’s day, likely caused in part by various diasporas (Jews living outside of Israel).                                      All were amazed and perplexed: Here, “amazed” should be considered a less than pleasant emotion. This is not the joy of a child seeing a magic trick. These have gathered because they also heard the violent wind (Acts 2:6). Their sentiment is closer to bewilderment; they are flummoxed by all of the signs and portents. Some, of course, mock the happenings as a scene caused by people drunk on new wine (2:13). Luke uses their question “What does this mean” to launch into Peter’s speech.
In Luke’s telling, Pentecost engenders fear and bewilderment rather than celebration. The parallel here is to the eschatological day of the Lord. Pentecost is both its forerunner and, paradoxically, its fulfillment. The Holy Spirit proves not to be a quiet, heavenly dove, but rather a violent force that blows the church into being (Acts 2:41-47). That church consists mainly of immigrants, people of different languages and cultures with different mother tongues (Acts 2:5, 9-12, 14). To these, the message goes forth, a message of the coming of the Day of the Lord, full of heavenly portents and prophetic women, slaves, and men. But in the midst of the chaos of Pentecost rests an anchor. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

This reading from Psalm 104 is a case in point.
A quick glance at the text reveals a three-part structure:

Verses 24 through 26 describe the wondrous character of God's creation;
Verses 27 through 30 describe God's providence;
Verses 31 through 35 turn to praise.

The Wonders of Creation (24-26)
In the portion of the Psalm that precedes this reading, the Psalmist has offered an extensive catalogue of the many things that God has created. Accordingly, we have the exclamation of verse 24, "How manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." It is, in one sense, a summary of what came before.
Nevertheless, the crowning example of the sea and its most awesome creature (Leviathan) serves perfectly well to illustrate the point without reference to those earlier verses. What God has created is awesome beyond the comprehension of mortals.
No ancient Israelite could even begin to claim full comprehension of the sea, with its vastness, unpredictability, and dangerous power. Indeed, despite all the efforts of science and exploration that lie between the ancients and our own time, the sea remains in many ways mysterious and in all ways uncontrollable.
The claim here is that God created and therefore has dominion over not only the sea but even its most dangerous and terrifying inhabitant, the whale/sea monster Leviathan. If there are such incredible wonders in the creation, the power, wisdom, and skill of the creator must be even more incredible.
Dependence upon Providence (27-30)
A natural question arising from looking at the near-infinite diversity of creatures is, "How do they all find what they need to survive? How can the world provide for so many different needs?"
The Psalmist turns the improbability of the world furnishing a suitable niche for so many different creatures into another theological observation: it all depends on the providence of God. Whatever lives, says the Psalm, is receiving life, breath, and sustenance from the hand of the Creator. And if that providing hand were ever to be closed, no creature could survive.
The existence of life, then, is an argument for the providence of God!
Praise the Lord! (31-35)

While one might well be tempted to focus on the Pentecost connection mentioned above as the culmination of the treatment of the Psalm, it would be a mistake to disregard the Psalmist's chosen conclusion. The movement from contemplation of the creation through recognition of God's providence must, in the logic of the Psalter, lead to praise.
The proper response of the creature to the Creator is always one of reverent celebration, and the recognition of how extensively God has provided and sustained us is cause for the Psalmist to break out in joyful superlatives.
Praise should come forth "as long as I live," and "while I have being." The Lord's glory is so clearly shown in his creation and providence that the creaturely life must be one of thanksgiving and praise. How else could one respond to such a God?
Seeing the wonders of creation and providence doesn't just encourage us to say, "Wow! God is pretty great." Instead, they demand that the blight of sin be removed, so that the creation may be entirely what God intends it to be.
In Jesus Christ, God has indeed dealt decisively with the blight of sin, not by slaughtering sinners, but by redeeming them. This good news should set off an even more exuberant round of praise than the Psalmist's! But no better beginning could be made to such news than that which closes the Psalm, the first "Hallelujah!" or "Praise the Lord!" of the Psalter.

Reading 2 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

What does it look like to be people of Pentecost, to be those claimed by the Spirit?
In the cultural buffet that is offered under the sign of “spirituality,” this passage from 1 Corinthians makes some important claims about the Spirit through which the church lives, and about the shape of faithful spirituality.
Paul’s discussion begins in verse 3 by insisting that the undeniable sign of the Spirit’s activity will be confession of Jesus as Lord. The Spirit brings faith itself, and specifically faith focused on Jesus as Lord.
This is a radically inclusive claim. As far as the Spirit is concerned, there will be no room for the categories that culture might use to divide the haves from the have-nots (“Jews or Greeks, slaves or free,” verse 13). By the very nature of faith as a divine gift, the Spirit has been and continues to be active in all who confess Jesus as Lord.
Paul indicates how to understand the Spirit’s activity in the church by his identification of the Spirit’s work through the believers as “gifts.” The root of this word points to the nature of these gifts: the gifts (“charismata”) are the result of God’s grace (“charis”). The gifts of the Spirit are the active, experienced instances of God’s grace at work in the church. All believers are given such gifts of the Spirit (notice “everyone” and “each” in 6b-7a).
To be gifted by the Spirit is not something that happens to some believers but not to others. Paul never gives us the impression that he expects some people in the church to be the ones who are ministering, and that there are others who are simply ministered to because they haven’t been given any of the Spirit’s gifts.
It isn’t quite right to simply equate talents with “gifts of the Spirit” either; there is something more involved than simply talent. Paul’s central point about these gifts is made in verse 7, where he notes that these gifts are given to each for the good of the whole church. This allows room for us to rightly identify as gifts of the Spirit those talents that are informed by, summoned by, and “energized” by the Spirit for the good of the church.
We are not talking about being “gifted” individuals who have the talents required to get ahead and earn a good salary or the admiration of others. Paul wants the Corinthians to adopt a new way of looking at spirituality by seeing these abilities as a means through which God is at work with grace and mercy for the whole community. It is that dynamic which transforms talents into gifts of the Spirit. When, by God’s grace and power, talents are reoriented away from us and our own interests and when they become vehicles for God’s love, they are truly the Spirit’s gifts to the church.
Believers are not simply individuals who are empowered and gifted by the Spirit. They are interconnected parts of a single body, and it is to this image that Paul turns near the end of our passage. Others in Paul’s culture used the image of the body to strengthen the hierarchy of society. Philosophers and politicians said that human society was like a body, which had to have a head that told everything else what to do. Of course, the elite rich get to be the head (or the stomach!), and the poor need to keep working as the hands and feet.
Paul overturns this common use of the body image. He questions any assumption that some members of the body are more important than any others. In the body of Christ, behavior will not be determined by concern for honor and status, but by what builds up the whole body, by interdependence, and by love. The work of the Spirit, correctly understood, will result in a unified body of Christ, not in competition or division, since we all receive life and growth from the same flowing baptismal grace (verse 13).

Gospel Jn 20:19-23

Fear colors the scene, as Jesus' followers have secured themselves from the authorities (that is the referent of the problematic expression "the Jews" in 20:19). Note, then, the importance of the language that introduces Jesus' commission: "Peace be with you." Jesus gives peace not "as the world gives" (14:27); he gives peace that provides solace in the face of persecution, a promise of new possibilities, and confidence in his ability to overcome "the world" (16:33). (In this Gospel, "the world" usually indicates a hostile and ignorant response to the truth that Jesus embodies.)
Recalling the moment when God breathed life into the original earth person in Genesis 2:7 (cf. Ezekiel 37:9), Jesus breathes the Spirit of life into (not merely "on") his followers in John 20:22. A new creation is afoot. This creation does not replace "the world." It engages it.
"Forgiving" and "Retaining" Sins
The final verse requires some attention, because many people experience "the Johannine Pentecost" like this:

Jesus bestows peace upon his worried followers. Great!
Jesus fills them with the Holy Spirit. Great!
Jesus tells them they can forgive or retain other people's sins. Huh?

The things mentioned in verse 23 ("Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.") sound at first hearing like responsibilities that few of us would choose for ourselves. Maybe fewer of us would trust an institutionalized church to wield them. What is Jesus talking about?
It is imperative that we make sense of this verse in light of all that has come before it. Too many mistakes have been made in the past by those who have read John 20:23 in isolation or with a sloppy connection to the unrelated words of Matthew 16:19. We must attend to how the Johannine Jesus has already characterized the problem of "sin," the role of the Holy Spirit, and the nature of his ministry. If not, we risk perpetuating a legacy of misuse and polemic that has muddied this verse across the history of its interpretation.
Jesus is not appointing the church as his moral watchdog; nor does he commission it to arbitrate people's assets and liabilities on a heavenly balance sheet.
In John's Gospel, Jesus talks about sin as unbelief, the unwillingness or incapacity to grasp the truth of God manifested in him. To have sin abide, therefore, is to remain estranged from God. The consequence of such a condition is ongoing resistance. Sin in John is not about moral failings; primarily it is an inability or refusal to recognize God's revelation when confronted by it, in Jesus.
Consequently, the resurrected Christ tells his followers (all his followers) that, through the Spirit that enables them to bear witness, they can set people free ("set free" or "release" is a better translation than "forgive" in 20:23) from that state of affairs. They can be a part of seeing others come to believe in Jesus and what he discloses.
Failure to bear witness, Jesus warns, will result in the opposite: a world full of people left unable to grasp the knowledge of God. That is what it means to "retain" sins ("retain" is the opposite of "set free"). Jesus is not--at least, not in this verse--granting the church a unique spiritual authority. He is simply reporting that a church that does not bear witness to Christ is a church that leaves itself unable to play a role in delivering people from all that keeps them from experiencing the fullness that Jesus offers.
Jesus Lives
Receiving the Spirit, the church receives Jesus. And so the church receives Jesus' own capacity to make God manifest, bringing light to the world. The Trinitarian intimacy inferred from John's presentation of these ideas is striking, but even more so is the intimacy expressed between the Divine and humanity.
Such intimacy between God and us is but one consequence of the rich Easter confession about what happens when God raises a corpse to new life. Jesus lives, yes--not apart from us, but in and through us.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Name some situations in which greater peace is needed. These examples could be taken from current events, from history or family life.
Now choose one of the situations named and identify some of the issues involved in this conflict. What are some of the issues being contested? Why is peace lacking in this situation? What would it take to restore peace in this situation?
When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his Resurrection, his first words to them were a greeting of peace.

Why might Jesus’ greeting of peace have been so welcome to his disciples? (They were gathered in the upper room in fear; they had witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross). As witnesses to Jesus’ death, the disciples had been very much a part of a situation of conflict. They gathered together in fear, perhaps because they thought that some people would seek their deaths as well. They needed to hear Jesus’ words of peace and reassurance.
The feast of Pentecost celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ first disciples. This same Holy Spirit is still with us. After breathing upon them and giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit, what does Jesus tell his disciples to do? (to forgive sins)
Just as Jesus sent his disciples to forgive the sins of others, so too are we sent to bring peace to the world. And we also have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us with this task.
Looking back at the situation of conflict you thought about at the beginning, what might the Holy Spirit lead you to do to help bring peace to the situation? No right or wrong answers here jut your thoughts.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work through us to bring peace to the world. Pray the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                          Acts 2:1-11

Breathing and life go hand-in-hand. While we might take both for granted, deny our breath and we will panic about life.
To the ancient peoples, breathing was the sign of spirit, a person's life force. In fact, spiritus (Latin), pneuma (Greek), and ruah (Hebrew) all mean breathe and spirit.
When applied to the God, these words mean breeze or wind; many ancient people believed that winds were the result of God's breath. And, by breathing, God gave life. In Genesis 1:2, God breathed his Spirit upon the waters as a mighty wind and life began.
Among Jew, the once agricultural feast of Pentecost [1] now celebrated the reception of God's Law on Mt. Sinai. Luke changed this feast into the reception of the Spirit by Christians. God's breath filled the house like a mighty wind, and new life began in the followers of Jesus. [2].
Then, flames spread over the followers like a wind driven wild fire. This was a sign for enlightenment (fire in the mind) and passion (fire in the belly) [3]. With insight and motivation, the followers of Jesus spread the Good News to others in ways that were clearly understood [4-6].
As a center for worship on a major feast day, Jerusalem swelled with visitors from all parts of the known world. These visitors (mixed with locals) gathered around and heard the proclamation of God's great acts in their native tongues [7-11].
At the first Christian Pentecost, God breathed his Spirit and changed the followers of Jesus. They were new creatures, for God's very Spirit dwelt within them. With their words proclaiming God's mighty acts, Jesus' followers breathed out God's

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Psalm 104 is a declaration of God's awesome power. It's beginning (104:1-4) and end (104:31-35) praise God for his powerful revelation. Notice the means of revelation not the content were praised; the "winds as messengers" and "fire as ministers," the trembling of the earth and the fire on the mountain spoke to the experience on Mt. Sinai when the nation was formed. These demonstrations of power resulted in the Mosaic covenant and the Law. They also reflected the power YHWH had over creation; notice the image of the heavenly court placed over creation (i.e, "upon the waters"), not within the natural order (as the neighbors of Israel did). God used events of nature for his own ends. These were reasons to bless God throughout life.
104:5-18 presented a desert dweller's notion of creative power. How did the Israelite author know YHWH was God? He controlled the water. After "fixing the earth to its foundations," God separated and channeled the water with the pronouncement of his Word (the divine "roar" and "thunder" in 104:7); compare this verse with Genesis 1:1 when he separated the waters with his breathe (translated "mighty wind" in some texts). Whether on the mountain or down the creek, in the lake or down the river, in the bay or in the seas, the water would not move without approval from God. YHWH controlled water for the benefit of his creation. Animals would receive refreshment, humanity would enjoy the fruits of water flow. God's control of water proved he had a place for every creature in nature.
For the Israelite, God also controlled light and darkness. In 104:19-23, God controlled the rhythms of day and night, whether it be in the celestial cycles of the moon and the sun, or in the wake and sleeping patterns of the animal kingdom.

The power of God is awe-inspiring. As people who live in modern times, we might not be overwhelmed with the notion that God is God because he controls the flow of water or the cycles of light and dark. We can, however, marvel at the power of God in the billions of galaxies he created. Like the Israelite, we might feel small compared to the presence and power of nature that God created. And, like the Israelite, we view our God as a benevolent Creator. He orders all things for his glory and our welfare.
We are to praise God for his power and love.

Reading 2                          1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Unity and diversity. Think of the multicultural world we now live in. Not only are we racially and ethnically mixed, we also have many expressions of tradition and language. In the past, such differences would have been kept separated in the ghetto for two generations until there was cultural assimilation. But, with the many media avenues for news, our differences are much more apparent, even threatening.
The image of the Church far out-dates our culture, but the tensions we face were real to those in Corinth. There were class and ethnic differences in the community. But, in addition, there were many different behaviors that manifest "spiritual gifts." But, unlike some modern commentators who seek to encourage differences over unity or to suppress differences for the sake of unity, Paul encouraged these "spiritual" behaviors as a sign of God's presence. Prophecy, utterances of wisdom, speaking in tongues, teaching, all were different gifts of the Spirit for the good of the community. Notice, Paul pointed to everyone in the community as a person with a spiritual gift. He implied the use of such gifts should be exercised, not suppressed. But, at the same time, he pointed to the reason the gifts were given: the good of others. Gifts were not to be a sign of self-glorification. No, they were for the glory of God!
Like the Corinthians, we all have gifts to offer for the common good and the praise of God. How we use them, however, determines their effectiveness. And our intention. Do our gifts unite or divide? Do they show we are one in the Body of Christ? Or, do they reveal divisions that crack the face of the Church?
The Spirit gave us his gifts. Let us use them wisely.

Gospel                              Jn 20:19-23

With the arrival of streaming services, the Star Wars franchise keeps rolling along. Children of all ages can relive (or look ahead to) the saga of the most profitable series in movie history (and more!). They can root for the Light side of the Force, and boo the Dark Side.
The Holy Spirit found in Christianity does not mirror the dual nature of the impersonal Force. Why? The Holy Spirit brings us love and hope. Love and hope do not have a dark side. And, both love and hope begin with forgiveness.
The Holy Spirit we worship, the Holy Spirit we possess, is the Spirit of divine forgivemess.
The scene in the gospel opened with fear and apprehension on the part of Jesus' followers. John originally wrote "they feared the Jews." Clearly John referred to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees. So the popular translation reflected the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees.
We should also note the relationship between John's community and Jewish synagogues led by Pharisees. By the time John wrote his gospel, Jewish Christians had been excommunicated for their belief in the Messiah. Ostracized and socially persecuted, some Christians reacted in fear, while others boldly proclaimed the gospel. Early Christians needed as sense of stability, a sense of divine peace. Through the words of Jesus, "Peace" was John's prayer for his readers.
With the sight of Jesus, fear turned into great joy. Anxiety turned into relief. Desperation turned into vindication. Most important, a lack of spiritual direction turned into a sense of deep spiritual grounding. The divine presence stood close to them. And with the divine presence came divine peace.
But Jesus gave them more than a witness. He gave them the Holy Spirit. The breath and command to "Receive the Holy Spirit" must be seen as two parts of the same action. "Them" (the followers) was the object of "Jesus breathed on" and the indirect object of "Jesus said." As Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit out, the text inferred, his follower would breathe it in, just as Jesus commanded.
Once the followers breathed in God's Spirit, they shared in the Messiah's power of judgment with the power to declare sins forgiven. John 20:23 referred to the followers' preaching of the Good News. Missionaries like the apostles and Paul, proclaimed a reconciliation of sinners to the Father through Christ; when sinners repented and converted to Christianity, they were cleansed in the waters of baptism. In the context of this verse, the process of reconciliation began with the proclamation of the Good News (declare sins forgiven) and continued through baptism (they are forgiven).
Notice the verb "are forgiven" is in the perfect tense. Forgiveness began in the past, continues into the present, and trails off into the indefinite future. In other words, once forgiven, always forgiven. But, does forgiveness begin with the preacher's declaration? No. The forgiveness of all sin began with Christ on the cross. The apostles and their successors proclaimed a forgiveness that flows from Christ's death and resurrection; the sinner partook in that forgiveness at the point of repentance, of turning one's life over to God.
An aside: Catholics refer to John 20:23 as the basis for the Sacrament of Penance (also known as Reconciliation or Confession).
==========================================================

Sunday May 12, 2024 – 7th Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 63

THE READINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                              Acts 1:15-17,20a,20c-26

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers
—there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one place —.
He said, “My brothers,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry.

“For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
May another take his office.

“Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men
who accompanied us the whole time
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas,
who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed,
“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this apostolic ministry
from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

Responsorial Psalm        psalm 103:1-2. 11-12, 19-20
. (19a) The Lord has set his throne in heaven.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.

The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all you his angels,
you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.
R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.

Reading 2                            1john 4:11-16
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

Gospel                                john 17:11-19
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

REFLECTIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                  Acts 1:15-17,20a,20c-26

Notice in the First Reading that Peter was in charge and his authority unchallenged. Peter was leading the community and making the decisions. He was Jesus's designated successor as the leader of the Church:
Peter is named first in every list of the Apostles (Mt 10:2-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:13-14; Acts 1:13).
He is the only Apostle given a title = Kepha, meaning "Rock," which is translated into Greek as "Petros" and into English as "Peter."
Jesus gives him the "keys of the kingdom" and the power to "bind and loose" (Mt 16:18-19).
Jesus tells Peter it is his responsibility to "strengthen your brothers" (the other Apostles and disciples) after they are all tested during His Passion (Lk 22:32).
Jesus commands Peter to feed the "lambs" and to both tend and feed the "sheep," meaning to guide and teach the community of believers (lambs) and to lead and teach the other ministers (sheep) of the Church (Jn 21:15-17).
Peter demonstrates his leadership and authority over the Apostles: in the selection of Judas' replacement (Acts 1:15-25); in speaking to the crowds after the miracle at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40); in leading the witness for Christ at the Jerusalem Temple (Acts 3:1-7, 12-26); in addressing the Sanhedrin when they arrest the Apostles (Acts 4:8-12); in judging sin within the community (Acts 5:3-11); in the miraculous healings like Jesus (Acts 5:15-16); in the decision to extend the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-48); in opening the Council of Jerusalem (15:6-12); and in many other acts including the deference toward him by the other Apostles (see for example Jn 20:4-7).
Peter is most frequently named Apostle: He is identified 94 times by his title "Kepha/Petros" in the Gospels and 160 times in the Gospels and Epistles. The next most frequently named Apostle is John, 30 times in the Gospels and Epistles.
there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place.
Significantly, 120 of the Christian community were praying together in the Upper Room. The Jewish Mishnah: Sanhedrin, 1.6 records the necessity of a minimum of 120 people to form a legitimate Synagogue. Therefore, according to Jewish custom, they were a legal community.
Peter appears to have an urgent desire to replace Judas before the coming of the Holy Spirit to return the number of Apostles to twelve. His decision signifies that he understood the symbolic significance of the Twelve's leadership among the disciples and for the redeemed Israel of the New Covenant Church. He has understood that the New Covenant Church is a reconstituted Israel. The Kingdom of Israel was "fathered" by twelve tribes in the Theophany at Mt. Sinai. Therefore, so should be Church of the newly redeemed Israel have a full apostolic council of Twelve spiritual fathers when God comes again to dwell among His covenant people (see Lk 22:30).
In the significance of numbers in Scripture, twelve is the number of "divine perfection in government." Jesus has related the importance of the number twelve to the restoration of the new/redeemed Israel from the beginning of His ministry in His selection of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus also linked the twelve tribes physically fathered by twelve men to His Apostles and the importance of the number twelve in Luke 9:17 and 22:30. Judas Iscariot's defection shattered the symbolic integrity of the group. Judas not only sinned against Jesus but also against his apostolic office. They must fill his office before the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Twelve of the new Israel must be present at the birth of the Kingdom of the Church, just as the twelve tribes of Israel were present at the birth of the Kingdom of Israel at Mt. Sinai. After the coming of the Holy Spirit, it will no longer be necessary to maintain the number twelve. The apostolic office of the Magisterium will grow with the growth of the Church.
Notice that Peter decides the qualifications for the office. The candidate had to witness the full extent of Jesus's ministry: from the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Jesus' baptism by St. John the Baptist, continuing to Jesus's resurrection appearance to the Apostles and disciples, and witnessing His Ascension. The two candidates proposed and accepted by Peter were the disciples Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias.
There were two men in the New Testament with the surname Barsabbas:
1. Joseph Barsabbas, called Justus, was a disciple who was a candidate to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:23). According to a tradition mentioned by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in the Holy Land, he once swallowed poison but was miraculously unharmed (Church History, 3.39).
2. Judas Barsabbas, a disciple and influential member of the Jerusalem community, went with Joseph Barnabas and Paul as a member of the delegation of the Council of Jerusalem to the mixed Jewish and Gentile Christian faith community of Antioch, Syria, to deliver the Council's decisions (Acts 15:22-33).
Casting lots was a way of determining the will of God before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. After Pentecost, all such decisions were determined by prayer and discerning the will of the Holy Spirit for the Church locally and universally, a tradition that continued in the authoritative leadership of the Church. The council of "the Twelve" was only in the beginning, and the number of the Apostles' disciples, the Church's first bishops, continued to grow as the Church expanded across the face of the earth, fulfilling the mission Jesus gave them at His Ascension (Mt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). Matthias is not mentioned again in the New Testament. His Hebrew name means "gift of the Lord." According to legends and apocryphal writings, he preached in Jerusalem, where he was martyred by stoning. His saint's day commemoration is May 14th, and he is the protector of engineers and butchers.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM                          PSALM 103:1-2. 11-12, 19-20
The superscription attributes Psalm 103 to David. In the previous psalm, David pleaded for help when he was at the point of death (110:11, 24), but now he thanks his Lord for restoring him. He begins by inviting himself, from the depth of his soul, to bless the Lord (verses 1-2), and in verses 11-12, he testifies to the immensity of his love for God whose kindness is without limits and who forgives His people's sins. In verses 19-20, David acknowledges God rules over all creation from His throne in Heaven and invites the angels and the saints from every generation to bless the Lord God.

READING 2                                              1JOHN 4:11-16
Here is the answer to the question, "What has given life to the Church over the centuries?" The love of God and neighbor has sustained the Church down through the generations of the people of God. God abides in His Church and His Church in God when Christians obey Jesus's command to abide in love (Jn 15:9-17). There are four Greek words for "love." The word Jesus continually uses for His love for us and the love we must show to others is from the noun and verb agape, meaning "spiritual love." However, Jesus redefined agape love in dying for the salvation of humanity as self-sacrificial love.
The force that binds us in agape love is God the Holy Spirit, whose outpouring upon the Church we will celebrate next week when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church on the Jewish Feast of Weeks/Pentecost. It is the mysterious force of the Holy Spirit that fills and indwells every baptized Christian and the whole community of the faithful in the celebration of Christ in the Eucharist. As we pray in Eucharistic Prayer II: "May all of us who share in the Body and Blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit."

GOSPEL                                                 JOHN 17:11-19
Son of destruction," literally "son of perishing" (verse 12), is also translated as "son of perdition." The term only appears in John 17:12, where Jesus refers to Judas Iscariot as "the son of perishing" (or "perdition") and in 2 Thess 2:3 where St. Paul refers to the Antichrist. In Christian theology, the word "perdition" refers to a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person passes after death.
Jesus makes a petition to the Father in 11b, saying, "Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. Knowing the temptations the disciples will face to reject Him in favor of the world, Jesus prays that the disciples will be kept safe from those temptations and the contamination of sin in the world. He prays that they will persevere, remain faithful to the Father's commandments and that their bond to each other will be a unity that reflects the oneness of the Most Holy Trinity (see Jn 10:30).
In His prayer, Jesus repeats the word "one" a significant seven times in the literal Greek text in verses 11, 12, 21 (twice), 22 (twice), and 23. Our English translation repeats the word "one" twice in verse 11 for clarity, but only once in the original Greek text. This seven times repetition stresses the spiritual perfection found in the unity of the Church—the ONE Body of Christ.
Jesus guided and protected His disciples, keeping all of them except the one destined to be lost. The Greek text reads: "except the son of perishing" or "son of perdition." This Semitic expression is a play on the word "to perish" = not one has perished except the son of perishing.
Jesus is speaking of Judas, the man from Kerioth. Iscariot means ish (man) Kerioth (town of his origin). The prophecy of Judas' betrayal of the Messiah appears in such Old Testament passages as Genesis 3:15; Psalms 41:9; 69:25; and Zechariah 11:12-13 (also see Acts 1:16-20 and Mt 27:3-10). During the Last Supper, Jesus quoted from Psalms 41:9 (Jn 13:17-18). The Greek passage reads: "He who eats bread with me lifts up against me his heel" (New Jerusalem Bible, note "l," page 1775; Interlinear Bible: New Testament, volume IV, page 295).
It is interesting that Judas Iscariot, the "son of perishing," carries the name of Jesus's tribe, the tribe of Judah or Yehuda (the name "Judas" is the Greek form of Judah and indicates one from the tribe of Judah). The Hebrew name Yehuda means "Yahweh's people." There is a double irony that Yahweh's people rejected the Messiah except for a faithful remnant who answered God's call. And, within the twelve Apostles, there was both a "loyal Judah" and a "traitor Judah." The faithful Judah, who believed in the Messiah, was the Apostle Judas, son or brother of James, also called Thaddaeus or Jude to distinguish him from the other Judas (see Mt 10:3; Mk 3:19; Lk 6:16; Acts 1:14). And the false Judah was the Judah/Judas from the Judean town of Kerioth.
In John 17:11-17, Jesus asks the Father to give His disciples four gifts:
Unity: so that they may be one just as we are (verse 11).
Joy: I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely (verse 13).
Preservation: keep them from the evil one (verse 15).
Holiness: consecrate them in the truth (verse 17).
In John 17:17-19, the Greek word hagiazo [hag-ee-ad'-zo] means "consecrate, sanctify, or to make holy," and the term aletheia [al-ay'-thi-a], the Greek word for "truth," repeats three times in the Greek text. It is another set of double threes. The word hagiazo indicates spiritual cleansing, but aletheia has power, as in John 8:32: truth will set you free (Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, vol. IV, page 277). The "truth" is both the active force of the consecration and the sphere into which God places the believer. When "consecrated by the Word," one is united with Christ, who is Himself the Truth (Jn 14:6, I am the Way and the Truth, and the Life). Jesus's prayer is that His disciples of every age, including you, may live in His truth and be sanctified (made holy) by their faith in Him as Lord and Savior.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

What are some things that people do to try to be popular with their peers? (wear particular clothes, imitate certain behaviors, talk in a particular way) Why do people want to be popular?
Many young people, and even many adults, do things to try to make themselves popular. Most people do this because they want to be liked and accepted. Jesus taught us that there is something more important than being popular. He even said that his disciples might not be very popular at all.
In today's Gospel, Jesus prays for his disciples, but he doesn't pray that people will like them. He prays for something more important. In fact, Jesus prays for three things. Let's listen carefully to see if we can identify what Jesus asks for from God for his disciples.
What three things does Jesus pray for when he prays for his disciples? (that God will keep them united as Jesus and the Father are united; that God will protect them from the evil one; that God will keep them in the truth) What does Jesus think is more important than being popular in the eyes of the world? (their unity with one another and with God, following God's truth, avoiding temptation and sin)
Sometimes we may face a choice between something we know will make us accepted by others and something we know to be right in God's eyes. When faced with such a choice, we can pray to Jesus to help us choose what will keep us united with God and with the community of disciples, the Church.
Conclude in prayer together that God will continue to protect us from the things that lead us away from God and the Church. Pray together the Lord's Prayer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Notes
Reading 1                                                  Acts 1:15-17,20a,20c-26

God always fills holes. If there is a need, God call someone to help fill that need. Not everyone who is called answers God's invitation. Not everyone is called to a particular ministry. Nevertheless, God's call is always personal, always one on one, yet he uses others to extend his call.
There was a hole in the ministry of the Apostles. Jesus chose twelve men, like the twelve tribes of Israel. For Jews, the number twelve had a significance; it meant "fullness, completion." The number twelve was the right number for the Apostles; eleven would have been too few, thirteen too many.
When Judas went his own way and betrayed the Master, he left the company of the Apostles. His absence created a lack that Peter was determined to fill. According to Luke, the Twelve were sent by the Lord to witness to his resurrection. One person had to be added to restore not only the sense of completion to what Jesus established, but to restore fullness to the mission. This person had to be someone who was a follower from the beginning with John the Baptist, and remained faithful through the tough times until the Ascension. In such a position of leadership, this person had to be a reliable source for passing along the Good News. So, an intimate knowledge of the person and ministry of Jesus was essential.
The assembly brought forth two men. Those gathered prayed over the men. Then, they cast lots, the equivalent of drawing straws. Matthias won and took his place among the Apostles.
Some might object to the notion that God revealed his will through a game of chance. Imagine if we drew cards or rolled dice to determine important decisions in our lives. Yet, God can and does act through such chancy actions. When he calls us, he asks us to take a risk, for his sake. Sometimes we need to pray in order to discern his call and the risk his call implies. Many times, his call entails a leap of faith; he wants us to trust him more and more.
God fills holes. He has his ways to fill those holes. He calls each and everyone of us to a particular ministry. His call requires faith as much as it is a response in faith. Let us say "yes" to his call. Let us allow God to use that ministry to build up our faith.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM                          PSALM 103:1-2. 11-12, 19-20
The psalm ended where it began with a song of praise, but, in this case, with the blessings of the angels, the heavenly host, and all in God's creation.
"Bless the Lord my soul." The term soul can mean "innermost being" or "life." In the later sense, one's life could be seen as a blessing to God. Indeed, the purpose of our lives is to bless the Lord. For the psalmist, blessing the Lord was the purpose of all creation. We are to join in the continuous blessing.

READING 2                                              1JOHN 4:11-16
The philosophy of God contains six classic arguments: five from St. Thomas Aquinas and one from St. Anselm. The Thomistic arguments are: 1) the Prime Mover (all action-reaction needed someone to begin the chain reaction), 2) the Prime Cause (all cause and effect had a single beginning), 3) Cosmological argument (even if matter and motion in the universe are eternal, that does not explain the existence of the universe itself; only a cause outside the universe could bring it into existence), 4) Comparison of Goodness (all things share to some extent in goodness, so there must be an ultimate source of that goodness) and 5) the Teleological argument (from the word "telos" which Greek for "end." All things have a goal; an intelligent designer must be guiding all things toward that goal). St. Anselm was the first person to propose the Ontological argument (the idea of God is the only concept that exists in every conceivable world we can imagine, so he must exist. Gentle reader, if you don't understand any of these arguments, never fear; it took me three weeks in my undergraduate "Philosophy of God" class to appreciate the last one.) These arguments may be rational and cogent, but they lack impact in today's world. People want experience, not pure ideas. If they accept an idea, they want that concept to change them.
The modern argument for the existence of God is one based on experience. How do I know God exists? The idea of a dynamic deity can be life-changing. Critics complain this argument is purely subjective, but believers have used it to justify their actions, both good and bad.
The author of John's first letter used the argument from experience to promote his belief in God. No one has ever seen God, but the author claimed he was an eye witness to what God did. What he saw and what he preached was consistent with the experiences of his followers. The core insight into God's activity and intent was love. God sent his Son because he loved us. We experience that love so we should act accordingly.
Notice the power of his argument lie in the actions of Christians. While we Christians can take comfort in the spiritual depths our faith bring us, our example is our primary witness to the existence of God. When we act in love, our argument for God's existence grows stronger; when we act selfishly, our argument dims.
Many people use the idea of God to justify their acts. They have it backwards. One's acts should justify their faith in God. God acts in life. Charity, Christian love, is the proof of God's activity. While this reason ultimately breaks down (actions cannot supersede faith; God exists in spite of what we do), we should strive to match our actions to our words.
How do I know God exists? I am convinced of his love for me. How can I help convince others he exists? I spread his love to others. It's as simple as that.

GOSPEL                                                 JOHN 17:11-19
What does the word "holy" mean? What does it mean when we call God "holy?" How can Christians live holy lives? What did Jesus mean when he prayed that his followers be holy?
The word holy is tossed about in theology and religious discourse so much, it sometimes loses meaning and focus. Interestingly, the word "holy" in English shares the same root as the word "whole." The English meaning of "holy" has shades of "fullness, completion" and even resonates with "perfection."
At the root of the word, however, "holy" means "radical otherness." Holy as "the Other" leads to a dualistic world view, a notion that reality is to be divided into the "sacred" and the "profane." God and the things that belong to God lie on one side of reality; everything else lies on the other side. The world, then, can be seen in terms of good vs. evil, light vs. dark, holy vs. unholy. If God lies on the other side of reality (he is really "radically other"), then he is separate from us. He is one-of-a-kind. He is unique. As such, God evokes a sense of terrible awe, which inspires both dread and wonder. The dread wishes escape; the wonder inspires worship. God is what we are not; he is beyond our understanding.
When the Israelites referred to God as holy, they had this dual world view in mind. YHWH was "radical Other." The faith of the Hebrews was built on the notion of God as separate, unique, one-of-a-kind; his people would share that unique quality in their identity, their worship, and their lifestyle.
Much has been written in these Sunday gospel studies about the difference between the spiritualities of the Pharisees and the early Christians. To sum up, the Pharisees tried to achieve a strict adherence to the Torah; in other words, they sought to draw a distinct line between themselves and the world at large so they could highlight the notion of kosher. For the Pharisees, holiness equaled a strictly kosher lifestyle. The kosher delineated the holy from the unholy.
Christians, however, equated holiness in a relationship with Jesus. Trust in a professed Savior was the paradigm for a holy life; intimacy with the Savior was the spiritual goal. While early Christians lived highly moral lives like their Jewish counterparts, they did not want to highlight themselves as separate from the rest of society. Instead, their highly moral lifestyle was another tool in the mission to evangelize the world.
With this background, we can analyze the prayer Jesus prayed. The title "Holy Father" was a clue to the thrust of the prayer. God is "Other" yet intimate. Different, yet approachable. God is both holy and Father. Jesus did not address God as his own Father, but as Our Father. Like Jesus, the followers were to have a close relationship with the Creator.
In the Christian vision of the end times, God will transform creation itself. In other words, he will tear down the wall between the sacred and the profane; all things will be holy. While some will be judged unworthy, their sentence will be self-imposed, for they rejected the invitation to join the Holy. But others who accepted the invitation with faith will be part of that transformation. They, too, will be holy.
=================================================================

Sunday May 5, 2024 Sixth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 56

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                              Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

When Peter entered, Cornelius met him
and, falling at his feet, paid him homage.
Peter, however, raised him up, saying,
"Get up. I myself am also a human being."

Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,
"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him."

While Peter was still speaking these things,
the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.
The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter
were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit
should have been poured out on the Gentiles also,
for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.
Then Peter responded,
"Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people,
who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?"
He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Responsorial Psalm                              Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2                                               1 Jn 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sin

Gospel                                                     Jn 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
"As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and remain in his love.

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another."


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                              Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

In a vision Cornelius is told to send for Peter. Who was in Joppa. The humility of Peter is evident when he tells Cornelius to get up for he too is a human being.   When Peter entered he found many people gathered together 28i and said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean.*
He speaks to the household and friends of Cornelius, a notable leader of Roman soldiers who is nevertheless described as "God-fearing" (10:2, 22). This means that he helped the poor and was also known for his regular prayer life (10:2, 32). Peter's "sermon" is startling and even destabilizing. He announces God's radical love is on the move, breaking down cherished and long-held borders and categories.

Peter begins by saying that "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (10:34). God shows no partiality! Think of how that statement challenges and undermines our tendency to confine God to the comfortable categories of our own "religions." In Peter's day, the inclusion of Gentiles in God's mission was profoundly controversial. Many of the original followers of Jesus could not conceive of a messiah meant for non-Jews, even though God's promises to Israel have always had universal trajectory (Genesis 12:3).
We are not that different. We tend to build our own "private" faiths, drawing lines around who is "in" and who is "out." And we get upset when people mess with our religion.

The idea that God shows no partiality has sometimes been misunderstood. This is not an affirmation of a superficial universalism. Peter is hardly claiming the modern creed of many in the West who say that God is all-loving and therefore is far above all human religions. According to this line of thinking, God simply wants us to be kind to others and is fundamentally uninterested in particular religious differences.

Our attempts to control God and keep God safely within our predetermined categories are contradicted by the early Christian preaching about Jesus. Most commentators on this text agree that Peter's speech in Acts 10:38-43 is something like an early Christian creed. At the center of this preaching is the fact that this one "anointed" by God ( the messiah) dies on a tree (10:38-39). But according to Jewish law anyone who dies this way is "cursed," literally cut off from the people of God (Deuteronomy 21:23). So early Christian preaching has God most fully revealed in the most unthinkable of places-in the execution of a criminal on a cross. By whatever measurement-religious, social, cultural--the death of the Jew named Jesus was hideous, shameful, and offensive. But because he bore the sin of the world, the cross becomes a place of forgiveness and reconciliation (I Corinthians 5:21).
God's love is now at loose in the world--this is what animates early Christian preaching. It is a wild and unruly force, winning over the hearts of centurions like Cornelius. It reverses conventional categories of who is "in" and who is "out." It eats with sinners and upholds love of enemies as a new norm. Let us be cautious about all human attempts to corral and control this power. The Holy One of Israel has a way of eluding human attempts to hold him tight. Indeed, our "gods" are too small.

Though interpretations will differ, most Christian traditions can agree that baptism is the place where God's love for them becomes personal. The danger of emphasizing a divine love that is "wild and unruly" (see above) is that it is perceived to be forever on the move and never really landing anywhere. But Acts makes clear there is a close link between baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit (10:47). And it is also true that the early mission of the church was inseparable from baptism (Matthew 28:19).
In other words, God's love takes up residence in human hearts. In baptism we celebrate the new life we have in Christ (Titus 3:5). It is also the place where we are joined to Christ (Romans 6:3-4). When assailed by doubt or overcome by despair, we can always point to our baptism as evidence that God's love has not passed us by. Paul's words ring in our ears: "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Romans 6:5).

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Did you ever try in your mind to imagine the sound of ancient musical instruments and the mindset of the ancient Israelites who played them.
Israel praised with makeshift instruments which craftsmen labored over and their sole purpose was to produce sound that would rise to the skies and be heard by God.

When they thought of God, their first reflex was Praise. Our first reflex might be far more utilitarian: We ask God for stuff, we measure God by whether God seems to be doing what we need, or else, we question God. Why does God allows this or that? Why doesn’t God fix this or that?

Praise is our best counter to evil in the world. If we are "lost in wonder, love, and praise," there is not much chance we will stumble into tawdry sin, or find ourselves jaded and cynical. Praise is the cure for despair and loneliness. If we "make a joyful noise to the Lord" (cf. Psalm 100:1), we experience a quiet in the soul, a community of love.
Psalm 98 praises the Lord "for he has done marvelous things... He has made known his victory" (Psalm 98:1-2). Weaving the universe into existence, fashioning the delicate petals on a rose, crafting massive canyons, musing in wisdom, promising eternal bliss−we could expend every minute of every day noticing some new aspect of the greatness of God.
Of course, the most marvelous "thing" God ever did was to visit us on earth. Jesus, by simply showing up on earth, by teaching, touching, suffering and rising, was and is marvelous. Jesus is the victory of God, and our only sensible response is to praise.

Reading 2                                1 Jn 4:7-10

One of the best-known works of Western art is surely that section of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which depicts God reaching down to touch Adam's fingertip and give him life. So well known is this portion of Michelangelo's monumental work that it appears not merely in art histories and coffee-table display books, but is also used and caricatured in advertising and political cartoons. Only the most jaded of tourists can fail to marvel when gazing up at the mural, so laboriously and painstakingly painted, so powerful in its depiction of the life-giving power of God. We stop, study, appraise and admire. What a masterpiece! What an artist!
In this section of the epistle, John writes, This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world (v. 9). We might be tempted to exclaim, What a masterpiece! What an artist! But "The Sending of the Son" is not simply the title of a painting that we study, admire and appreciate. Michelangelo's painting has power not just because of its artistic merits, but because we can virtually feel the life that flows from God's hand to Adam. Even so, John writes not just that God showed his love among us but that he did so by sending the Son into the world that we might live through him.
God's life-giving love, then, is the theme of this passage. As John develops this theme, he makes three important points: God is the source of all love (4:7-8); God models what genuine love is (4:9-10); and God commands us to love each other (4:11-12). We move from the assertion that God is love to the command that we are to love each other. Indeed, the whole point of the passage is to trace the relationship between God's love and human love, and to show how human love flows from God's own love. The Source of Love (4:7-8)
In exploring the relationship between God's love for us and our love for each other, the Elder makes two statements: love comes from God (v. 7), and God is love (v. 8). The second statement is more far-reaching than the first. To comprehend the sweeping character of the statement God is love, substitute the name of anyone you know--your mother, pastor, friend, a well-known Christian or hero of the faith or even yourself--for "God." Few are the people we would describe simply with the word love. Mom may be the most loving person you have known. She may have shown you what mature, self-giving, genuine love is like. But no matter how full, rich and steadfast her love, the statement "Mom is loving," can never be changed into "Mom is love." For love does not characterize her as it characterizes God.
Because God is love, love comes from God. God is the source of love. Like the electricity running through electrical wires, love comes from God to us, then flows through us to others in the community. When John exhorts his readers, let us love one another, he is encouraging them to allow God's love to flow through them. For because God is love, love must characterize those who claim to be born of God or to know God (v. 7; 3:10, 14; 4:20-21). Those who claim to be doing the will of God and reflecting God's activity in the world will be known by the love they manifest for God and for each other. This was what Jesus told his disciples (Jn 13:35).
In short, God not only gives us the command to love but has also modeled for us what true love is, just as Jesus modeled love for his disciples when he washed their feet before his death (Jn 13:1-17). Love that does not express itself concretely and in service to others is not love (1 Jn 3:16-18). But even more, God also empowers us to love. By confession of the Son whom God has sent, we are born of God and come to know God, who is love (v. 7); we are given life (v. 9); our sins are forgiven (v. 10). We come into the realm of life and love, in which we are given life and are empowered to extend the same kind of life-giving love to others. We come to know the source of love.

Gospel                                    Jn 15:9-17

The theme of these verses is obviously love and the repeated reference to it now (5 times as verb or noun in verse 9 alone; 11 times in the lesson as a whole) clearly gives love the center stage. The effect is now to interpret the whole of the passage on vine and branches in terms of love.
Love is to be seen above all in the love of the Father as shown forth in the love of the Son. Our thoughts are intentionally directed back to the announcement of the depth of God's love for the world as evidenced in the giving of the Son. "God so loved..." (3:16). In the interconnected and unfolding message of John's gospel, it is as if every word and every passage mutually interpret one another. Using a modern analogy, one might imagine that every word in the gospel were hyperlinked to every other word in the gospel, so that "clicking" on one word necessarily explodes and expands into every other word as its commentary and frame of meaning and understanding.
The abiding relationship of vine and branches of last Sunday's lesson, which culminates in the bearing of much fruit, is now given further delineation in terms of love. If abiding is not for its own sake but has an end or a purpose, now that purpose takes shape in love. Love is the fruit of the abiding relationship of Father and the Son, just as it is of the Son and those who follow his words.
Those "words" of Jesus are characterized in this lesson as Jesus "commands" (5 times as verb or noun). Consistent with John's "just as" theology, even these commands which Jesus calls upon his disciples to keep are simply an extension of the commands of the Father which Jesus has already kept. Jesus asks nothing of his disciple community that he has not already modeled in the abiding love which he has with the Father. In this way abiding, loving, and keeping commandments are all bound up together in a mutual relationship.
Lest we miss it, the first section concludes with a direct and clear statement of the outcome or fruit of this abiding love. The commandments of Jesus are not general or scattered but focused and specific: "This is my commandment, love one another as I love you" (12). The repetition of these words again at the conclusion of the second section (17) underscores their
If love for one another is the goal of our abiding in Jesus' love, then the model for that self-giving love is stated clearly in the memorable beginning words of the second section (10-17). There is no greater love than that shown in the giving of one's life for one's friends. Though stated in general terms, the "laying down of one's life" is a pointed reference to God's giving of the Son, and in the narrative an only slightly veiled reference to and anticipation of the passion and death of Jesus on the cross. The power of God's great love in Jesus, confirmed in Easter's promise of the resurrection, always has its frame of reference and its power in Jesus' giving of his life on the cross.
Jesus now speaks of the power of that giving of life to transform the disciples' relationship and calling into a new status. These disciples are no longer to be counted as "servants" but as "friends." In the cross and resurrection they have come to know what this "greater love" has power to accomplish in them through their unity in the abiding relationship with Jesus and the Father. Jesus' words now make it further clear that the power to respond to his command to love one another comes from Jesus' own prior love and calling: "I have called you...; I have chosen you...; I have appointed you... (15, 16
The key guarantor of this abiding relationship that will usher in the fruit of love is the power of prayer. Prayer, too, is grounded in the mutual abiding relationship of Father, Son, and disciple community. The Father will give you whatever you ask in my name (16). When this promise is linked immediately with the repeated reference to Jesus' command to "love one another," it is clear that "whatever we ask" defines and directs Christian prayer toward the fulfilling of the command to love for the other. The promise that such love can be fulfilled resides in the giving that has already preceded in Jesus' love on the cross.
Jesus came so that we might experience an overflowing life (John 10:10). Jesus expresses here the longing and the promise that his joy might be in us and that only in such abiding love and joy is the wholeness of life that the Father's love has in its purview and promise. Just as the power of this love for our lives comes when we draw power from the vine, so our joy comes from knowing that we have been chosen, called, and sent. The abiding power of that love in and through us has power to renew and transform us and the whole of creation.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Has anyone ever participated in an obstacle course. If anyone has, invite him or her to talk about the experience. If no one has, describe a hypothetical obstacle course. (see below)
What kinds of obstacles did you face in your race? How did you overcome them? Were some obstacles more difficult than others? Why? What makes an obstacle course challenging? Why do we choose to run obstacle course?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands his disciples to love one another as he has loved them. I really believe that all of us want to love others as Jesus showed us to love. But sometimes we face obstacles in showing our love for others. What do you think? What obstacles do we sometimes face when we try to show our love for another person? (Accept all reasonable answers
John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus spoke these words to his disciples during the Last Supper. Do you remember what Jesus did during the Last Supper to show his disciples how he wanted them to love one another? (He washed his disciples’ feet.) What do we know that Jesus will do soon after the Last Supper to show his love for his disciples? (He will die on the cross.) For Jesus, even death was not an obstacle in showing his love for his disciples, who were his friends.
Jesus also calls us his friends, and he showed his great love for us in his sacrifice on the cross. God raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus continues to help us show love to others. One way that he helps us is through the promise he made in today’s Gospel. Jesus said that God will give us whatever we ask for. One of the things we ask for from God is help overcoming the obstacles to loving other people.
Conclude in prayer by inviting the young people to think again about one of the obstacles they face when they try to love others. Invite them to ask God to help them overcome this obstacle so that they can love others as Jesus taught. Pray together the

Act of Love.
O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of those whom I have injured.
Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Notes
Reading 1                                  Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

After his vision concerning the abrogation of the "kosher" in Acts 10:9-15, Peter realized God did not want any separation of Greek from Jew. All were his children. All were to be saved. Through the movement of the Spirit, Peter went to the house of Cornelius, a Roman soldier.
The simple greeting found in 10:25-26 marked a turning point in the early Church. Usually, so-called "righteous" Gentiles like Cornelius, who worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, visited and supported Jewish establishments. But the sense of separation many Jews had did not allow reciprocal visits. Jew were to remain segregated from the "nations" to maintain religious purity. To enter the house of a non-Jew no only meant the visitors were unclean, they were polluted by the presence of foreign cultures and their strange gods.
Cornelius represented more than the Gentile world. He was a Roman soldier, a man sworn to maintaining Rome's grip over the Jewish people. In spite of his generous spirit to the local Jewish community, Cornelius was the "enemy" in many eyes.
When Peter crossed the threshold into the house of Cornelius, he not only polluted himself (made himself "un-kosher"), he stepped into the arena of the enemy.
Yet, Peter's visit was God's will. Peter would not have gone there on his own. This was God's initiative. Peter realized God's plan. The Gentiles were to be converted. They had a place in the Kingdom. [10:34-35]
The Spirit confirmed God's plan. While Peter preached the Good News, the Spirit poured its gifts upon the household. Even the Jewish Christians who dared to join Peter in the house of the Gentile witnessed the Spirit's power. If the Gentiles there were "baptized in the Spirit," there was no reason to deny them sacramental baptism and full admission into the assembly of the saved. [10:44-48]
Hence, God set aside the sense of the "kosher" for the salvation of all. This marked a radical shift in the early Church and foreshadowed the dominance of the Church by the Gentiles a few generations after Luke wrote the chronicle we call "Acts."

Responsorial Psalm                                Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

One of the easiest ways to evangelize others is to tell them you will pray for them (of course, be sincere and follow through). If you're bold, ask the person you're trying to evangelize to pray for you. If they agree, you've been successful, for prayer is an exercise of faith.
Prayer can be contagious. I pray for you and you pray for me. It creates a bond between people and commits people to God. But petition prayer is only the first step. The next step in the faith commitment is praise, acknowledging God as the Lord. When we encourage others to praise God in Christ, then we are truly evangelizing them. Praise leads to exhortation which leads to praise.
Psalm 98 was a perfect example of mixing praise with exhortation. As the singer praised God in a liturgical setting, he urged others to praise the Lord. The chant leader became "God's cheerleader," the person who inspired community spirit to worship God.
The psalm can be divided into three sections with a very loose "A-B-A" structure. 98:1b-4 set the tone with an imperative to "Sing a new song" for God's power and deeds. Victory, remembrance of the covenant, and universal reputation were the results of God's activity among his people. 98:7-9 commanded nature itself to give praise for God's control over the cosmos and his justice. The common thread between the beginning and end was the order to praise God (98:1b, 7-8); the difference was the audience (the nations in 98:2, 3b vs. nature in 98:7-9).
The "A-B-A" structure emphasized the center ("B" element). The core of the psalm was the exhortation to praise. Notice if the phrase "all the earth" was deleted, 98:4-6 would stand as liturgical direction to the Temple musicians to praise God in song (direction to harp, trumpet, and horn). By including the phrase "all the earth," the author included the universe in the call to Temple worship. In this way, communal praise had a cosmic dimension.
Prayer can be contagious. Praise can be contagious. Join us in praise to God. Encourage others to that praise. Call everyone and everything to shout joyous song to our Maker. Praise God in Christ!

Reading 2                                                   1Jn 4:7-10

We continue on our study with the high point of 1 John 4. These few verses tied the notion of charity with God and his community. In essence, love defined the God we worship and the movement we align ourselves with. We worship the God of love and belong to the love community.
By defining God as the source of love, the author distanced himself from a spirituality of individual ecstacy. Other studies on 1 John have investigated the difference between the author's emphasis on charity and the escapism of the Gnostic mystics. Here, however, the author clearly pointed to the activity of love as the sign of God's love with us.
Notice this activity of love (mercy, compassion, empathy, personal involvement) defined the Christian view of God. The phrase "God is love" alone could miss the point. This phrase could be interpreted as a reduction of God's power to the transcendent euphoria of new love; we could be fooled into the notion that we can only touch God in such a ecstatic "rush." That was the furthest notion from the author's mind. He was not speaking of an ecstacy; he was speaking of a history. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of his Son was an act of love that defined God. And, how do we know this loving God? Not by our feelings alone. No, by what he has done for us!
God's "love" history sets the bar for us. We know God when we act as he would act. We do not know God when we act in selfish, even hateful ways. Remember, the author had an eye for evangelization. Our actions become invitations or impediments to the Christian community. Our God is a God of love only when we show that love to others.

Gospel                                                        Jn 15:9-17

In the term "friend," Jesus played off the notion of reputation as the highest social value. More than a title of relationship in the time of Jesus, one could use the title "friend" as a bragging point, a tool to raise one's social status. This was more than name dropping. The "friend" of the governor or king shared in the power of the ruler, even vicariously. Remember, it did not matter what someone knew, it mattered who they knew. The "friend" of the rich and powerful exerted influence over his peers.
What would be greater than to be the "friend" of God's Son? This was even better than "friend of Caesar." But, here, Jesus listed the standard for divine friendship: self-giving to the point of death. Only Jesus accomplished such a feat completely. And he did it for his followers. He expected his followers to die a little for others. Humility and charity, of course, negated the selfish quest for "bragging rights." The true "friend" of God's Son rejected any notion of braggadocio.
In fact, Jesus gave the status of "friend" to his followers as a gift in two ways. First, Jesus made his followers his friends through his revelation. Just as the true friend "knew his brother," Jesus allowed his followers to "know" him and his Father through his teaching, his ministry, and his life among them. (Indeed, the presence of the Risen Christ in John's community helped solidify fellowship; in Christ, they "knew" each other.) The Christian way was based upon intimacy of divine friendship, not distant enslavement. The Christian loved God more than he or she feared the divine.
Second, Jesus "chose" his "friends." They did not choose him. This notion of divine "election" has a long history in theology, which we do not need to investigate at the moment. What we should notice, however, is the subject matter of the election. Jesus chose his followers for a mission: to "lay down" their lives as he did, so their self-giving might produce lasting "fruit." Hence, the kernel of Christian spirituality, self-giving ("laying down" life), roots the Christian community, fellowship based upon service (fruit that will last). Both of these notions were based upon love. When Christians truly loved others, even to the point of death, they became "friends" of Jesus and the Father. Like the "friends of the king," their requests would be looked upon graciously.

Obstacle Course

First, they have to run and weave around the pylons, then run to the set of hoops.
For the first three hoops they have to hop on their left foot, then one foot in each for the set of two hoops. Then hop only on their right foot through the 3 hoops at the end.
Run over the set of pylons and jump over them and then the other set.
Then they will go to the other set of hoops, and using quick feet, they run through the hoops as quick as possible (one foot in each hoop).
Once they are through the hoops, they will run to the pylon and taking off from that pylon, they will jump as far as they can (long jump).
Then they will do another obstacle or a sport inspired task/skill to finish off the obstacle course.
Then they will run around the outside of the obstacle course and go to the end of the line to do it again.
When a participant starts the second section, then the next participant in line can start.

==================================================================

Sunday April 28, 2024 Fifth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 53

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                      Acts 9:26-31

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles,
and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord,
and that he had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,
but they tried to kill him.
And when the brothers learned of this,
they took him down to Caesarea
and sent him on his way to Tarsus.

The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

Responsorial Psalm                 Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32

R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts live forever!"
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                                   1 Jn 3:18-24

Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God
and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.

Gospel                                     Jn 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                      Acts 9:26-31

Remember the earlier verses of this chapter were about Saul going to the high priest and asking for papers to go to Damascus and round up those who belonged to the Way,* so that he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He was blinded and led to Damascus where Ananias was sent by the Lord to restore his sight. He preached the word of the Lord and was being threatened, they watched the gates night and day to kill him--The full extent of his danger appears only from his own account ( 2 Corinthians 11:32 ): "In Damascus, the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me"; the exasperated Jews having obtained from the governor a military force, the more surely to compass his destruction. Then the disciples . . . by night let him down--"through an opening in the wall" ( 2 Corinthians 11:33 ). Could have been a window or perhaps a hole in the wall (see pictures at the end of this document) and so he left Damascus and headed for Jerusalem. These verses pick up the story there.
Saul comes to Jerusalem--"three years after" his conversion, and particularly "to see Peter" ( Galatians 1:18 ); no doubt because he was the leading apostle, and to communicate to him the prescribed sphere of his labors, especially to "the Gentiles."
They were all afraid of him knowing him only as a persecutor of their faith.
But Barnabas . . . brought him to the apostles--that is, to Peter and James; for "other of the apostles saw I none," says he fourteen years after ( Galatians 1:18 Galatians 1:19 ). Probably none of the other apostles were there at the time ( Acts 4:36 ). Barnabas being of Cyprus, which was within a few hours' sail of Cilicia, and annexed to it as a Roman province, and Saul and he being Hellenistic Jews and eminent in their respective localities, they may very well have been acquainted with each other before this. What is here said of Barnabas is in fine consistency with the "goodness" ascribed to him ( Acts 11:24 ), and with the name "son of consolation," given him by the apostles ( Acts 4:36 ); and after Peter and James were satisfied, the disciples generally would at once receive him.
And he was with them, coming in and going out at Jerusalem--for fifteen days, lodging with Peter ( Galatians 1:18 ).
He disputed against the Hellenists-- addressing himself especially to them, perhaps, as being of his own class, and that against which he had in the days of his ignorance been the fiercest.
So they went about to slay him--Thus was he made to feel, throughout his whole course, what he himself had made others so cruelly to feel, the cost of discipleship.
The brothers brought him down to Cæsarea and sent him forth to Tarsus--In Galatians 1:21 he himself says of this journey, that he "came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia"; from which it is natural to infer that instead of sailing direct for Tarsus, he landed at Seleucia, travelled thence to Antioch, and penetrated from this northward into Cilicia, ending his journey at Tarsus. As this was his first visit to his native city since his conversion, so it is not certain that he ever was there again. probably was now that he became the instrument of gathering into the fold of Christ those "kinsmen," that "sister," and perhaps her "son," of whom mention is made in Acts 23:16 , Romans 16:7 Romans 16:11 Romans 16:21
The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers. Rather, "the Church," according to the best manuscripts and versions. But this rest was owing not so much to the conversion of Saul, as probably to the Jews being engrossed with the emperor Caligula's attempt to have his own image set up in the temple of Jerusalem.
This incidental notice of distinct churches already dotting all the regions which were the chief scenes of our Lord's ministry, and that were best able to test the facts on which the whole preaching of the apostles was based, is extremely interesting. "The fear of the Lord" expresses their holy walk; "the comfort of the Holy Spirit."

Responsorial Psalm                 Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32

Psalm 22 is the lament of a conflicted individual, and this is evident in the tension established early in the Psalm. Accusatory statements like “I cry by day, but you do not answer” (v.2) and “I am a worm” (v. 6) are juxtaposed with declarative statements such as “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (v.3) and “You took me from the womb; you kept me safe” (v. 9). Indeed, the first twenty-one verses of the Psalm display an individual in distress, full of contradictory statements about the human plight and the goodness of God.
The first twenty-four verses of this Psalm remain in the first person voice, and they are an explicit dialogue with God. But, verse 25 becomes a testimony of sorts that answers the disruption presented in the litany of complaints and questions in the earliest verses of the Psalm. Verse 25 alters the tone of the litany and sets the individual, and even the whole community, towards a “right and creative relationship” with God. Truly, “the individual’s experience should correspond to that of the community and should deepen its faith.”
From verse 25 onward, the Psalmist establishes the strong implication that what the Lord has accomplished for the individual, the Lord will accomplish for the whole world. From the weak, the poor, and those of the lowest status in the community who must seek help from Lord (v. 26) to the ends of the earth and all nations (v. 28-29), those who remember the Lord, turn to the Lord, and worship the Lord (v. 27) will find a generative faith (v. 30-31) that will eventually confirm and testify to the past, present, and future deeds of the Lord.
To give this Psalm an explicitly Christocentric focus on this Sunday in the Easter season might be to trace the dark days of Christ suffering on the cross to the promise that came with the dawn of the resurrection. Verses 25-31, when viewed from the dark days of Good Friday and Holy Saturday to the dawn of the resurrection, promise that all those who are weak and call upon the name of God in their weakness will eat and be satisfied. In biblical times, this might have been the Psalmist (Old Testament) or Christ or Christ’s disciples (New Testament), but its implications are ever contemporary. Yes, even we when faced with suffering -- whether we find ourselves among the weak or the powerful -- will move from darkness to dawn and proclaim the deliverance that comes from God to God’s people. This is the Psalmist’s story. This is Christ’s story. This is our story as we profess during this season. And, this is the story for generations to come. Thanks be to God.
Reading 2                                   1 Jn 3:18-24

This epistle, really a sermon, was written for a community that defined itself over and above and against the world around it.
Those in John's community were children of light and those outside were children of darkness. For example, consider a verse that the lectionary omits: "Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you" (1 John 3:13).
John's epistle is written in part to clarify the meaning of John's Gospel for a community which reads that gospel as its central guide to faith and action.
The author writes, "And this is (God's) commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another just as (Christ) has commanded us" (1 John 3:23).
There are two great themes in the Gospel of John.   First, John's Gospel is the revelation that Jesus Christ is the revealer of God. Above all, Christ reveals that he is the revealer. And second, Jesus not only reveals himself, he commands those who believe in him to love one another.
These two themes help to shape the identity of this relatively small church as they feel battered by the hostile world around it. This is a community that should do two things very well. True members of this community should believe in Jesus Christ as God's own Son, the full revelation of God's own self. And true members of this community should love one another.
But the writer of this epistle is concerned that in both of these ways, the church members he leads are falling away from the truths with which they began.
1 John 3:16 again recalls John's Gospel and that great text where Jesus sets the command to love one another in the even greater context of his own revelatory love: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another" (John 13:34). Here the communal love for brother and sister is placed in the context of the redemptive love that Christ shows for all of humankind on the cross.
1 John makes the same connection between our love for each other and Christ's love for us. "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another" (1 John 3:16).
Here we glimpse the depth of the gift and the gravity of the demand. Christ gives unconditional love for us, even to the point of death. And he demands our unconditional love for each other, even to the point of death.
Yet, as preachers so often do, the preacher who writes this epistle tries to show what love to the point of death might mean, not just at the extreme moments of sacrifice, but in the daily give and take of the loving life.
Concretely, such love means charity. "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help?" (1 John 3:17).
Even in the midst of great economic difficulty, most Americans have more of the world's goods than most of the world can imagine. At its most painful end, Christian love requires giving up our lives. In ways less sacrificial but still surprisingly painful, Christian love requires giving up some of the goods we think we need when we come up against someone who is truly needy.
And concretely such love means living out what we say. The truisms abide because there is truth in them. "Practice what you preach." "Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk." "Sermons in shoes." "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action" (1 John 3:18).
There is a great word from the Gospel of John , "Abide." Jesus abides with those who love him (cf. John 15:5). In that eternal life to which he invites us, there are many "abiding places" -- a better translation than the traditional "mansions" (John 14:2).
1 John makes clear what the Gospel of John also implies: the dwelling in eternal life is not a promise for the future only, but a promise for the present as well. "All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us" (1 John 3:24). The promise of John's Gospel is still being lived out in the community that treasures its words.
There is a network on the Internet called "LinkedIn." It seeks to provide the opportunity for people to stay in touch with each other and to serve as resources for each other in times of particular need.
1 John believes that the church is the people who are Linked In. The presence of the Paraclete links believer to Christ through faith and believer to believer through love.
The epistle's word for that link is richer than the website's. We abide in God and God in us, and we abide in each other, too.
"When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me."

Gospel                                     Jn 15:1-8

The image, of course, has an Old Testament history with the vine used as a metaphor for the people of Israel, in both positive and negative ways.
One entry into this passage could be some history and information on oenology! (en ologee) (the study of wine). For any of you who have visited the Napa Valley in California or some of the well-known Italian or French wineries, you will appreciate the rich history of wine-making that depends so completely on the welfare of the grapevines and the arts and expertise of the vine grower.
Just as circuitous and complex as a vine and its branches, so too are these brief verses. What are some of the key and inter-related themes for this Easter season text?
The most obvious is the identification of relationships: God as the Vine Grower; Jesus as the Vine and we as the branches. Jesus' role as the vine is twice identified, in verse 1 as "the true vine" and in verse 5 as "the vine." This is the life source of the branches.
It is God who tends to the flourishing of the branches, and likewise will "remove[s] every branch" (John 15:2) that gives no yield. What is the key for this work of the vineyard? It is abiding. Interesting is it not that abiding was used in the second reading also. With almost mantra-like force the word "abide" is repeated eight times.
Perhaps the sole exposure to the word "abide" has been in the very self-focused hymn: "Abide with Me." The hymn's mood tends more towards the realities of ceasing activity than increasing it. This passage from John, however, takes the activity of abiding into the briskness of daylight and opportunity.
What is the meaning of abiding in Jesus, the Risen One during this post-Resurrection season?
First, the relationship of abiding means that we cannot "go it alone" in our spiritual lives, as a "free floating spirituality." Jesus notes the impossible cannot happen: "the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless you abide in me" (John 15:4).
It is no secret that one can be deeply engaged in "things of the Church" in publicly meaningful ways, and yet the activities may not be truly connected to Christ. In that case, the vine grower eventually gets around to pruning such branches.
The possibilities of going it alone in American society are widespread and inviting. Carried over into the spiritual life, this fact can have devastating results. Dependency and inter-relatedness are rarely valued to the extent that individualism is. This passage flies in the face of such attitudes with a very different type of invitation to reliance on God.
Is the process of reliance on the vine an easy one? Hardly. The Vine Grower will deal with the branches in a manner that will alter their very being and formation. And to those who think abiding is a free ride, Jesus reminds them that "every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit" (John 15:2b).
If you have clipped your shrubs way back, you may experience the sense of reluctance in having to strip down once luxuriant branches for a greater and unseen future good. But what are the alternatives?
Removal of self or the removal of entire congregations from the reality of abiding in the Vine prompts Jesus to warn that "you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The string of verbs says such branches " people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. " (John 15:6). In selecting between submission to or departure from the Vine, it is truly an all-or-nothing proposal.
Second, beyond the fact of reliance, abiding in Christ the Vine means change! John 15:5 notes that abiding means the opportunity to "bear much fruit." What does that mean? This passage does not define 'bearing fruit!"
As with any lively metaphor, it invites us to expand on its possibilities in our own lives. We are free to make much of metaphors and this one is no exception. It means plenty, abundance, life-giving and pleasing. But what might that be?
We are invited to contextually explore the possibilities of this question with any given group of listeners. Would bearing fruit mean? A renewal of hope for a dying congregation? A recommitment and new unity of purpose in a congregation ripped by conflict? A congregation beginning to see and respond to the poor, the hungry and the imprisoned in their community in a way they had not before?
Abiding in Christ establishes a communication element that does not exist outside of the divine-human relationship. Jesus invites those who are intent on abiding in him to "ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7). What an amazing directive!
Jesus' words show a readiness to respond to requests from the abiding ones for two reasons. The giving of good things to God's abiders glorifies God in the presence of those who may doubt God, thus serving as confirmation of God's activity.
Furthermore, as a result of the human asking and the divine giving, Jesus says "you become my disciples" (John 15:8). The asking proves and is part of the process of discipling, both to those who wish to abide and to those who witness the lives and actions of the abiders.
Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think of the word expert. What makes a person an expert in his or her field? If someone wants to gain knowledge about science, medicine, history, or other subjects, he or she might turn to an expert. And this makes sense. When we want to gain knowledge, we turn to someone who has studied and learned about our area of interest.
But let’s say we want to find out what it means to be a Christian. What expertise might we look for? What makes someone an “expert” Christian?
How does Jesus say we will recognize an expert disciple, or Christian? (He or she will bear fruit.) What do you think Jesus means by this? Do you remember what did Jesus say will allow a person to bear this kind of fruit? (his or her relationship with Jesus)
People become good disciples of Jesus because of their relationship with him. We develop this relationship with Jesus through our reading of Scripture and our life of prayer. But most especially, Jesus promises us that he will remain in us and that we will be his disciples when we share his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
Say a prayer asking God to help us remain faithful to our relationship with Jesus. Pray the Prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester.

Prayer of St Richard of Chichester
Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits Thou hast given me,
For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne
for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, friend and
brother,
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
Follow thee more nearly.

Amen.
================================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                      Acts 9:26-31

Having arrived in Jerusalem, (Saul) was attempting to join the disciples, but all were afraid, not believing that he was a disciple. Barnabas, having taken him in (to help him), brought him to the Apostles and told them how, on the way, he saw the Lord and that HE spoke to him, and how in Damascus he spoke boldly in the name of JESUS. He was going in and out of (their company) in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the LORD; he was both addressing and arguing with the Greeks, but they were attempting to kill him. Recognizing (this fact), the brothers brought him down to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.
So, the Church being built up through the entire (area) of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace; walking in the fear of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Spirit, (the Church) was multiplied (in number).
"He was going in and out of (their company) in Jerusalem" is a Semitic expression indicating a freedom of movement that Saul had in the city.
The scene shifted from Peter's ministry (last week) to Paul's early efforts. Saul of Tarsus, an intellectual Pharisee and opponent of the Christians, had a conversion experience (see Acts 9:1-9). Now, as Paul, he was a strong voice for the young Christian movement. Yet, many in the movement did not trust him [26].
Barnabas befriended Paul and spoke for him to the Church leadership in Jerusalem Once he was introduced, Paul made his own presence known in the Jerusalem [. We know that the reaction negative. Jewish Christians still kept their distance from this former enemy, while Paul's former allies among the Pharisees felt betrayed. In the light of threats from zealous Jewish converts, Paul escaped and returned home
Luke added a final note about the growth in the early Palestinian church
What happened to Paul was not surprising. With a sudden change within a strong character, Paul found his friends were few and far between. In addition, his presence was a threat to others in the Christian community; because of Paul, others might suffer. In the end, Paul went away.

Responsorial Psalm                 Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32

This section was a promise of faithfulness when the Lord acted. Praise would be public and universal. The salvation of the petitioner would be an example to the people of what God can do. The petitioner would offer sacrifice (a thanksgiving offering) to fulfill a vow to God. The petitioner would be so thankful, he would share the communion meal of the sacrifice with the poor of Jerusalem (in other words, the petitioner was most likely the king or high priest; only they were rich enough to afford such a magnanimous gift).
The psalm ended with a call for universal praise (22:27-31). All peoples, the dead, and those to be born were to praise God for his faithfulness and activity.
Many psalms have a tension between the spirituality of the individual and the liturgy of the assembly. The individual can apply psalms to his or her life; the psalm can also represent the condition of the community. Psalm 22 is the paradigm of this tension. A personal song became a psalm of the assembly. But, with the Passion Narratives, the liturgical chant became intensely personal for Jesus of Nazareth. In nine different ways, images or lines from the psalm appear in the Passion. While Jews still apply the psalm to the entire nation, Christians apply it to one person.
For Christians, Psalm 22 will forever be linked with Jesus on the cross. When we recite this psalm, we can identify our adversity with travails of our Savior. If he could remain faithful in the midst of his suffering, we, too, can face our trials with some hope. The tough times won't last forever. There is life after the experience of death. Despite despair, shame, and attack, we can look to Christ on the cross and gain strength.

Reading 2                                   1 Jn 3:18-24

The author of 1 John was a pragmatist. He recognized there was a difference between talking about love and actual love. (Which preacher has more influence, the philosopher or the one who leads by example and experience?) In past studies, we have pointed to love as "charity," love in action. But now the author would take the results of love as an answer to a fundamental question. How do we know where we stand before God?
Before we sink into the discussion of faith vs. works that has shaded the past four hundred years of Western culture, let us remember that the author already assumed his audience had a faith relationship with Jesus. In fact, this was the first of the author's commands. [3:23a] But we should not assume that faith alone answered the question of standing (or as St. Paul addressed the subject "justification"). Yes, we are God's children. And, yes, this standing is a free gift of grace that we can only see through "eyes of faith." But once we have faith, what do we do next? How can we know faith is alive in us? How can we know where we stand before God?
The author pointed to love in action. But he also pointed to this virtue as an ideal, that we could never quite measure up to without divine help. We may (and do) see our failures. Others see them. But what does God see? His will being lived out in those who try to love others. Remember God is so powerful he even uses evil to fulfill his will. (Isn't that the point of the cross?) If evil serves his purpose, how much more will he use our feeble efforts for his plan? [3:19-20] How much more will his use our prayers for his purposes? And see our attempts at charity worth the effort? [3:21-22]
Ultimately, we can know our status before God when we witness the results of our efforts. Did "we" perform the charity? Or, did the Spirit work through us to complete God's work? [3:24b] This is more than just a matter of perspective. It's a matter of power.
How do we know where we stand before God? We will know when our evangelization is not bragging about our efforts, but a witness to God's action in our lives. We will know when we get out of God's way and let him be in charge. Then our small efforts to love will have mighty results.

Gospel                                     Jn 15:1-8

In John's passage on the vine and the branches, Jesus presented the themes of testing and judgment, intimacy, and assurance of God's benevolent providence. Jesus seemed to say, "No matter what happens, stay close to me, produce the fruit of a good Christian life, and my Father will take care of you." The theme of mutual fidelity threaded its way throughout this passage.
John presented the believer with two choices: dependance upon the Lord or condemnation. Indeed, the believer's faith itself was a gift from the Lord. So, the believer could not do anything (even loving the Lord) with God's help.
Depending upon the Lord involved trust in the person of Jesus and accepting the truth of his word. In ancient cultures where illiteracy was the norm, a person's word judged his or her character. It also judged the character of others connected with the person. Did the leader of a group speak wisely and honorably? Or were they foolish and shameful? The foes of Jesus tested him to find his true character. Those interested in joining the Christian community might test followers to measure the character of the Master.
Through the eyes of the community, the words of the Master also judged the honor and wisdom of inquiring strangers. Were they worthy of the gift offered to them? Were they strong enough to follow a demanding life of the Christian?
Hence, the power of the word in the time of Jesus could judge the speaker and the listener. Wisdom and honor demanded truth from the speaker and adherence from the listener. The word of Jesus "cleaned" the listener with its demands (15:2). The words of Jesus were to remain with the follower because they were true (15:7).
Those who were faithful in spite of testing could pray in confidence. They could ask and they could be certain there would be an answer to their requests. Notice that prayer and its answer were to glorify God (15:7-8), not simply fulfill the whims of the follower who prayed. Hence, Christians should pray with utter trust. But their prayers should seek God's will and proclaim God's glory. A goal of prayer was evangelization.
===============================================================

Sunday April 21, 2024 Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 50

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                              Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                                         1 Jn 3:1-2

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

Gospel                                               Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                              Acts 4:8-12

           I. The literary context: “Ya got trouble”
Our first lesson takes place in the larger context of Acts 3:1-4:31, the first instance of conflict between Jesus’ witnesses and local authorities. The precipitating causes are a lame man’s healing (3:1-10) and Peter’s public proclamation (3:11-26). Positive reception for his message riles the temple authorities, prompting them to arrest Peter and John for investigation (4:1-4). Today’s reading features the apostles’ response at that investigation.
II. The text at hand: A new kind of boldness
The authorities gathered for the investigation are no team of scrubs:
“Their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family” (Acts 4:5-6).
Annas was high priest in 6-15 c.e., and his son-in-law Caiaphas is high priest at this time (18-36 c.e.; John 11:49; 18:13).1 In short, Acts 4:5-6 sets the scene for a serious examination by Jerusalem’s foremost leaders.2
The leaders ask directly: “by what power or by what name did you do this?” (4:7) The entire incident recalls earlier words of Jesus:
“When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:11-12).
Not only does Acts 4:5-12 resonate with Luke 12:11-12 in language and tone, it also accurately foresees how Jesus’ followers will respond. Peter is “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:8) and answers in a way that the narrative ultimately calls “boldness” (4:13, parresia). This is the first instance of many in Acts where Jesus’ witnesses proclaim with a “boldness” that stems from the power of the Spirit (4:29-31; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31). Under this intense atmosphere of investigation, the Spirit’s “bold” empowerment first manifests itself, and at just the right time.
“Bold” is certainly what Peter’s answer is. After reiterating the grounds for investigation (Acts 4:9), he declares emphatically:
“Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 11This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ 12There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).
Peter’s response names several themes representative of apostolic preaching in Acts. First, he addresses not simply the leaders, but “all the people of Israel” (v. 10; see 2:14b, 22, 36; 9:15; 13:26, 38, 46; 28:20). Second, after attributing Jesus’ death to the leaders of Jerusalem (cf. 2:23-24; 3:14-15; 4:27-28), he emphasizes that “God raised [him] from the dead” (4:10). More than any other evangelist, Luke emphasizes the resurrection as Jesus’ vindication (Acts 2:22-36; 3:13, 26; 5:30; 10:40; 13:31-38; see also 24:21; 26:8; 26:23). Third, Jesus’ rejection by those in authority fulfills scripture, as implied by Peter’s quotation of Psalm 118:22 in Acts 4:11 (see also Luke 24:44-47; Acts 2:22-36; 3:18; 13:31-38; 26:22-23; cf. Matthew 21:42; 1 Peter 2:7). Fourth, the message of Jesus entails “salvation” (soteria) -- a divine reality that generates wholeness, restoration, and reversal of societal norms (“healed” in Acts 4:9 is literally “saved,” sesotai).3 Fifth, the language of necessity (“must,” dei, v. 12) about being “saved” is distinctive language of Luke-Acts for identifying matters “necessary” to the overarching purposes of God (Luke 2:49; 4:43; 9:22; 13:14, 33; 17:25; 21:9; 22:37; 24:7, 26; Acts 3:21; 19:21; 23:11). Altogether, Peter’s response in Acts 4:8-12 uses distinctive themes of Luke-Acts to express a bold declaration about the saving nature of Jesus.
III. Reflections: “Boldness” in today’s world
In today’s pluralistic society, interpreters rightly stumble over the exclusiveness of Peter’s language: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Taken at face value, this word excludes. However, in its original context the apostles did not aim to exclude future religious movements, but rather to validate the message of Jesus before a hostile audience and world. In this context, the Spirit’s “boldness” empowered a frank and straightforward emphasis that was seemed necessary. Whether or not a “boldness” empowered by the Spirit today should be so one-dimensional is another question. In short, the contexts of the first audiences of Acts 4:5-12 are very different than our own. While Peter’s words undoubtedly emphasize the distinctiveness of salvation associated with Jesus, how the same Holy Spirit empowers us to express the good news of Jesus “boldly” today is a matter of ongoing dialogue and discernment. Nonetheless, as with the earliest apostles, we are no less in need of Spirit-driven boldness today, lest the world never recognize “companions of Jesus” (Acts 4:13) in their midst.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

It is probable that David penned this psalm when he had, after many a story, weathered his point at last, and gained a full possession of the kingdom to which he had been anointed. He then invites and stirs up his friends to join with him, not only in a cheerful acknowledgment of God’s goodness and a cheerful dependence upon that goodness for the future, but in a believing the expectation of the promised Messiah, of whose kingdom and his exaltation to it his were typical.
He celebrates God’s mercy in general, and calls upon others to acknowledge it, from their own experience of it (v. 1): O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is not only good in himself, but good to you, and his mercy endures forever, not only in the everlasting fountain, God himself, but in the never-failing streams of that mercy, which shall run parallel with the longest line of eternity, and in the chosen vessels of mercy, who will be everlasting monuments of it. Israel, and the house of Aaron, and all that fear God, were called upon to trust in God (Ps. 115:9-11; here they are called upon to confess that his mercy endures forever, and so to encourage themselves to trust in him, v. 2-4. Priests and people, Jews and proselytes, must all own God’s goodness, and all join in the same thankful song; if they can say no more, let them say this for him, that his mercy endures forever, that they have had experience of it all their days, and confide in it for good things that shall last forever. The praises and thanksgivings of all that truly fear the Lord
In verses 19-29 we have an illustrious prophecy of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the chief priests and scribes, and none of them could charge him with misapplying it, Acts. 4:11 . Now observe here, the preface with which this precious prophecy is introduced, v. 19-21. The psalmist desires admission into the sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him that cometh in the name of the Lord: Open to me the gates of righteousness. So the temple-gates are called, because they were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to come nigh, as the sacrifices there offered are called sacrifices of righteousness. Those that would enter into communion with God in holy ordinances must become humble suitors to God for admission. And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us we must go into them, must enter into the holiest, as far as we have leave, and praise the Lord. Our business within God’s gates is to praise God; therefore we should long till the gates of heaven be opened to us, that we may go into them to dwell in God’s house above, where we shall be still praising him. The psalmist triumphs in the discovery that the gate of righteousness, which had been so long shut, and so long knocked at, was now at length opened. He promises to give thanks to God for this favor (v. 21): I will praise thee. Those that saw Christ’s day at so great a distance saw cause to praise God for the prospect; for in him they saw that God had heard them, had heard the prayers of the Old-Testament saints for the coming of the Messiah, and would be their salvation. The prophecy itself, v. 22, v. 23. This may have some reference to David’s preferment; he was the stone which Saul and his courtiers rejected, but was by the wonderful providence of God advanced to be the headstone of the building. But its principal reference is to Christ; and here we have, His humiliation. He is the stone which the builders refused; he is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, Dan. 2:34 .
Let the exalted Redeemer be met, and attended, with joyful hosannas, v. 25, v. 26. Let him have the acclamations of the people, as is usual at the inauguration of a prince. Let every one of his loyal subjects shout for joy, Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord! This is like Vivat rex—Long live the king, and expresses a hearty joy for his accession to the crown, an entire satisfaction in his government, and a zealous affection to the interests and honor of it. Hosanna to the Son of David; long live King Jesus; let him reign forever. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, do their part in this great solemnity, v. 26. Let them bless the prince with their praises: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Jesus Christ is he that cometh —ho erchomenos, he that was to come and is yet to come again.
The psalmist concludes with his own thankful acknowledgments of divine grace, in which he calls upon others to join with him, v. 28, v. 29. He will praise God himself, and endeavor to exalt him in his own heart and in the hearts of others, and this because of his covenant-relation to him and interest in him: "Thou art my God, on whom I depend, and to whom I am devoted, who ownest me and art owned by me; and therefore I will praise thee.’’ Peace in heaven to us through Christ, and therefore glory in the highest.

Reading 2                                         1 Jn 3:1-2

The apostle, in the last verse of the preceding chapter, having declared that everyone who works with righteousness is born of God, begins the chapter with an exclamation expressive of his high admiration of the love of God in calling them his children, although they are not acknowledged to be such by the men of the world, because carnal men have no just notion of the character of God. Behold what manner — The word ποταπην, thus rendered, signifies both how great, and what kind of love — Love immense, condescending, and kind, compassionate, forgiving, patient, forbearing, sanctifying, comforting, enriching, exalting, and beautifying, the Father — Of universal nature, of men and angels, and of our Lord Jesus Christ; hath bestowed on us — Fallen and depraved creatures, sinful, guilty, and dying; that we should be called sons, (τεκνα, children,) of God and be constituted his heirs, and joint-heirs with his only-begotten and beloved Son: and all this on the easy condition of turning to Him, in repentance, faith, and new obedience. Therefore the world is not acquainted with our true character, our principles and practices, our disposition and behavior, our present privileges and future expectations; and therefore does not acknowledge us for what we really are, nor esteem and love us, but hates and persecutes us; because it knew him not. As if he had said, Since the enmity of carnal men against the divine will, and the divine nature, is so great that Christ himself, the image of the invisible God, inhabited by the fullness of the Deity, was unknown and hated when he dwelt in the flesh, it is no wonder that we are hated also in those respects in which we resemble him. Nevertheless, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. At the day of judgement, it is probable that the wicked will have a transient sight of Christ as he is, but will not thereby be made like him, in body or mind.

Gospel                                               Jn 10:11-18

"One flock, one shepherd . . ."
On this Sunday of Easter the gospel lesson shifts from historical recounting of the events following to resurrection to Christological reflection. The goal is to assist us as we, like Mary and the disciples, seek to understand what happened and is happening to us, the flock of the good shepherd.
In the years, decades, and centuries, to our own time, the followers of Jesus have sought for ways to express, in words and images, who was and who is this person Jesus Christ. John, for example, opened his gospel account with the grand vision of the one who was before all time and through whom all things came into being. Jesus was the very Word of God made flesh. And they turned to the images Jesus had taught them about himself. He told them that he was the vine and they were the branches. He told them that he was the bread of life and living water that would quench their thirst forever. And he taught them that he was their shepherd; they were his flock.
Some of the earliest images of Jesus found in churches and tombs were not portrayals of Jesus on the cross, or the infant in the manger. Rather, they picture Jesus as the gentle shepherd. And what may be one of the earliest paintings of all is of a very young Jesus, dressed in a short white tunic, who has draped a lamb over his shoulders. "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me." (John 10:14) What does it mean to understand the risen Christ as our shepherd? And what kind of flock are we to be?
I think that it is fair to say that most of us do not have much experience with shepherds or with sheep. I believe many of you have heard of or been to a County Fair. I never want to miss the animal barns: cows, pigs, and of course the sheep. In each pen are lovely, wooly sheep being taken care of the 4H boys and girls. Just outside of the barn there will always be one of the 4H members washing, combing, and trimming their lamb. I love the fact that sheep really do say, "Baaaa." But I am afraid that is my only contact with sheep and their caretakers.
When Jesus spoke of shepherds and sheep, he was speaking to people who had everyday experiences with lambs, sheep, goats, and kids. Even if they made their living as a carpenter or fisher, they knew or watched the shepherds all of the time, moving the sheep and goats from the pens to the fields. They drank the milk of those animals, turned that milk into cheese, and eventually ate the animals. Those animals provided not just daily nourishment, they were essential for important religious rituals. All of Jesus' friends and followers had grown up telling and re-telling the story of Moses and the flight out of Egypt. Each year they heard the call to "take a lamb for each family" (Exodus 12:3b) and prepare the Passover meal.
It is important to recognize that this passage not only offers us a functional description of what God in Jesus will do for us. Jesus is also making an ontological statement. He is not only describing what a good shepherd does and will do. He is making the claim that he is the good shepherd. Therefore, it must have seemed quite strange and startling for Jesus' friends and followers to hear Jesus tell them that he was the good shepherd. After all, they knew who the good shepherd was -- God. The scriptures were filled with images of God as the shepherd of the chosen people.
Jesus then described the divine sheepfold. To be his followers was to enter into his sheepfold. He came to be the one who cared for and fed them. It was a dangerous job; protecting the sheep from wolves and bandits. As the good shepherd Jesus had not only to be willing to, he did, lay down his life for the sheep that God had given him.
Like Ezekiel, Jesus then contrasts himself with the hired hand. The hired hand, he explained, thinks only of himself and not the sheep; running away when danger approaches. (Was Jesus suggesting to the Pharisees that they were hired hands?) Jesus then explains that not only is he the shepherd who will give up his own life for the flock, but he has done this willing. It may have looked like he was captured and executed by the authorities, but in reality, "No one takes it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." (John 10:18)
What does it mean to be a sheep of Jesus' flock? It means that we enter through his gate. Jesus is the way to salvation. We know his voice and follow him. He cares for us, keeping us safe. And when we wander away, which we know we do all too often, he comes searching for us.
These are wonderful, comforting images, but this passage includes one other challenging thought. The good shepherd decides who is in the sheepfold, we do not. "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold." (John 10:16) The Pharisees and the disciples alike thought that they knew who the chosen ones of God were. But this shepherd is telling them, and telling us, that there will be "one flock, one shepherd" and it is God, in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, not we, who bring together that flock.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Have you ever known someone to give up something important in order to help you? Think about a friend who chose to attend your party instead of going to a ballgame, or a parent who stayed up with you at night when you were sick.
When we give up something important to us to help another person, or we give up something say for Lent we are said to make a sacrifice. Think about a time when you made a sacrifice for another person.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the example of a shepherd to demonstrate the kind of service we wrote about. He used this example because it was familiar to his listeners. But today we’re less familiar with the work of shepherds. What other models might we use to teach the kind of sacrificial service that Jesus described?
Whenever we serve others in ways that put their needs before our own, we are following the example that Jesus gave us.
Pray the Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Prayer for Generosity.

Eternal Word, only begotten Son of God,
Teach me true generosity.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve.
To give without counting the cost,
To fight heedless of wounds,
To labor without seeking rest,
To sacrifice myself without thought of any reward
Save the knowledge that I have done your will.
Amen.
===============================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                              Acts 4:8-12

Have you ever been criticized for doing good as a Christian? Ever since the beginning of the Church, good deeds in the name of Christ make one a target for skeptics.
After Peter's speech from last week, the authorities arrested the two Apostles. The next day they were on trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court that judged civil and religious matters in Jerusalem. In today's reading, Peter answered the high priest's question: "By whose authority do you do these things (i.e., heal the disabled man and preach)?"
Luke portrayed Peter as an effective preacher. First, he was "...filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Effective preaching can only be done in the Holy Spirit, for only God can truly change hearts.) Next, Peter changed the focus of the debate. Instead of concentrating on the question of his authority to heal and preach, Peter answered with results. In whose name is the disabled man healed and saved? Jesus, the Nazorean. Healing can only come about when the source is recognized (i.e., with faith). So, Peter made Jesus the basis of his arrest. In doing so, he set Jesus ( and his followers) apart from his country's leaders. By their actions they were guilty of defying God's will. Peter sighted Psalm 118:22 to make his point. But God's will was done through their actions. The healed man is proof of God's activity.
Finally, Peter ended with the focus on Jesus. His name was the only one that could save. His comments placed the leaders into the camp of the non-believers, those who opposed God's will.
Peter was arrested for healing and preaching in the name of Christ. The good he did opened the door to evangelization. The good we do can open doors for our Lord. Like Peter, we need to be open to the Spirit, so God can move through us.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

Some days are just so glorious they shout praise to God. Springtime or early summer seem to have their share of those days. The sunshine spreads everywhere. The cool morning feels good to the skin. The colors of foliage and flowers seem overwhelming. These are days of hope. On these days, it feels good to be alive.
Some psalms were written for these days, especially Psalm 118. Some of the most famous lines in Scripture come from this song of praise. "This the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad." "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was done by the Lord, so it is not wonderful in our sight?" The psalm is most appropriate for Eastertime because of its praise imagery.
In the book of psalms, 118 ended a cycle of praise psalms (113-118). It was recited with the fourth cup of wine during the Passover and could have been used at the Feast of Tabernacles (the fall feast of Succoth). Stylistically, many verses repeat as "hooks" to encourage a communal participation. Thematically, however, the psalm was a royal prayer of thanksgiving for victory over the nation's enemies.
In 118:1-4, the psalm's introduction addressed the nation with an imperative to praise. The nation (house of Israel), the priests (house of Aaron), and the gathered faithful (those who feared the Lord) were to honor YHWH because of his covenant (endless love).

The next section turned personal for the king. His prayer (118:5-9) was one of confident hope; with God at his side, whom should he fear? Faith in God was better than faith in his army (mortals) or its commanders (princes). The answer to his prayer (118:10-14) rejoiced in the realization of that prayer. The nation (or capital, Jerusalem) was surrounded, but the nation prevailed because of divine providence, not because of the strength of the army. The response to God's intervention was a victory shout by the Israelite army despite the looming disaster (118:15-18) and the victory parade through the entrance to the Jerusalem (118:19-25); the Lord raised his hand and saved the nation. "The day the Lord made" could also be interpreted as the "day of the Lord," a time of judgement against the nation's enemies.

Reading 2                                         1 Jn 3:1-2

How can we know we are God's children? When we act like him and dare to hope we will be like his Son.
In the context of 1 John, these verses point to the two ways we can demonstrate our status as God's children: moral living and the expectation of salvation at the Final judgment. Both are rooted in God's love for us.
Love is powerful. When we know we are loved, we look at the world through different eyes. The impossible seems possible. Hardened hearts become soft. Forgiveness is a reality. Intimacy is encouraged , not rejected. When we love, and we know that we are loved, we can have the empathy to look at the world through the eyes of others. It is no less with God's love. When we know God loves us and we return his love, we are changed. We view others as God does. We are his children. So are our enemies. Such love and knowledge of love leads to compassion and reconciliation.
God's love presents challenges, however. How can we sustain the enthusiasm we feel about his love? How can we live out his love? To answer the first question, we must remember that we are temporal beings, with free will, changing feelings, and shifting experiences. Because of these factors, God's love is not always in our field of view. While God always offers his love to us, our awareness can only periodically glimpse at his affection for us.
So, his love requires a constant focus. It demands we live as if we always experience his love, in spite of our feelings. In this sense, our response to his love is a lifestyle that assumes his love is always present (the answer to the second question). In other words, his love can only take root when we pass his love along to others. This was the author's point in the context for these verses. Love (i.e., charity) determines Christian morality.
Love also gives hope. God's love gives us hope that we will live with him. The author clearly pointed to his hope in 3:2. God's love impels us to look ahead, to look beyond.
But the cynics of the world take a critical view of a life built on love. "Not realistic," they insist. In their view, the world is built on power, money, and popularity. Love becomes a commodity at best, a hindrance at worst. Only fools love. Only fools believe.
So, we are fools. Fools for Christ. Fools that love. Fools with hope. Such foolishness is vastly superior to the cynics' dark world. Such foolishness is better than despair. Such foolishness lets us know we are God's children. Because we can love like God loves us. And we will be like his Son.

Gospel                                               Jn 10:11-18

Sacrifice seems to be an ugly word these days. No political leader dare breathe the word, lest he or she loses the next election. No media star or technological CEO dares mention the concept, lest they be called "hypocrite." In these days of the hyper-economy and the "ME!" culture, the notion of giving up a desire or putting off a pleasure for the good of others is "verboten." Self-indulgence, not self-giving, is society's keyword.
Yet, beyond the self-absorbed veneer of culture, people are willing to give up for something greater. They are willing to sacrifice for those they love and for that in which they have faith. Sacrifice is the yardstick that measures one's character and values. Self-giving proves the worth of one's words and intent.
Just how far should we be willing to sacrifice for others and for our ideals? Look to Jesus for the answer.
What defined true Christian leadership? In this passage, Jesus pointed to himself as the model. He was willing to put himself in harms way for his followers. Jesus exemplified a highly esteemed cultural value for his time: loyalty. His loyalty would extend to his own death. Any follower who desired leadership in the Christian community should be willing to face the same fate. They must be loyal to the Lord and his followers, no matter the cost.
Unlike the loyal leader, the hireling played to the audience, but fled at the sight of any danger. Notice that the hireling's courage and personal integrity were questioned. Jesus inferred leadership would be tested. Indeed, any who aspired to leadership must be willing to be tested. With testing came disappointment and the possibility of disillusionment. After all, to walk in the footsteps of the Master meant a journey to the cross. The entire journey would bring joy and pain. Sometimes on a day by day basis.
Notice, like many of the other passages from John, Jesus painted two contrasting pictures of spiritual leadership: the loyal leader and the coward. But, underneath the contrasting pictures, Jesus emphasized leadership was a process of ongoing choices between self-giving and selfish preservation. The loyal leader died for his (or her) flock (even a little each day) in to hope of resurrection. But, the hireling didn't want to die for flock, because he (or she) had another agenda. How did a Christian leader know if he (or she) was a good shepherd? The shepherd empowered the sheep to an intimate relationship with the Lord and his Father. This was the value for which one would willingly give up his (or her) life.
In this Sunday's passages, John presented Jesus as the dedicated shepherd. Like the shepherd, Jesus would lead even if it meant his death. He would not be a charlatan who gave a performance of holiness for his audience, only to flee at any sign of danger. His leadership bound the follower to himself in intimacy. And his Father loved him for the sacrifice he would make for his sheep and for power he would use to rise up from the dead.
The Father's love was his command to Jesus: give of yourself completely. The death of Jesus would be the sign of the Father's command/love. In these short verses, "I lay my life down" was mentioned five times. It became the thread through which the believer was to understand the devotion of Jesus. That devotion (and the power that flowed from it) came from the Father. That devotion wants to fill us now.
Jesus gave his all for us. He did it for love. The love he had for the Father. The love he had for all people. In that love he claimed his place as the Good Shepherd.
We are to shepherd in the same fashion, to sacrifice out of love. We are to lead by giving of self for the good of others. More important, we are to lead in a way that brings others to Christ and through Christ to the Father. So we can lead in this fashion, we need to sacrifice self interest and ego. But the rewards of love make that sacrifice worth the cost.
==============================================================

Sunday April 14, 2024 Third Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 47

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                             Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

Peter said to the people:
"The God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus,
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
Now I know, brothers,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away."

Responsorial                 Psalm Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9

R. (7a) Lord, let your face shine on us.
or:
R. Alleluia.

When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
or:
R. Alleluia.

O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
or:
R. Alleluia.

As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep,
for you alone, O LORD,
bring security to my dwelling.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                          1 Jn 2:1-5a

My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep
his commandments.
Those who say, "I know him," but do not keep his commandments
are liars, and the truth is not in them.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.

Gospel                                   Lk 24:35-48

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way,
and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                             Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

One of the primary themes of Acts, seems to be the expansion of boundaries that separate individuals and group.
We all know what it’s like to be part of a group. We share common interests, beliefs, commitments, etc. We are part of an in-group. Some among us have experience being part of the out-group. Some have been more marginalized to the out-group more than others, but relegation to the out-group knows no boundaries.
One of the things Luke tries to accomplish in Acts is the expansion of these boundaries, even while making clear distinctions between those who follow Christ and those who do not. The episode narrated in 3:12-19 serves as an example of this tension. In response to the healing of the paralyzed man (read 3:1-11), a large crowd gathers in Solomon’s portico (3:11), a roofed colonnade likely on the south side of the Herodian Temple complex that remained from Solomon’s Temple. Peter explains what has happened (3:12), providing another important parallel between Jesus and Peter, teaching in the temple (cf. Luke 21:37). Here, as in his previous speech, Peter appeals to their common identity by addressing the crowd as “Israelites” and by attributing the healing of the man to “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus..”
This is significant because it links the healing “in the name of Jesus” with “the God of our ancestors,” thus emphasizing a commonality within Judaism and the significance of Jesus within that tradition. Peter also appeals to Israel’s identity by reminding the crowd of the promise of a “prophet like Moses” (which is evident in some Qumran texts and Josephus), other prophets (3:24), and of God’s covenant with Abraham that supports an inclusive identity (which Luke is highlighting) by asserting, “in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (3:25; cf. 3:12–3).
Bet even while appealing to this common identity, Peter sharpens the distinctions between the Christians and the crowd. Mikael Parsons notes the structure within the inner frame of Peter’s speech:

A The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus
B whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence
when he had decided to release him.
B / You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you, and you killed the Author of life
This pattern “underscores the fundamental difference between the actions of Peter’s audience … and the mighty deed of God.” Thus, the “God of Abraham” has subverted the actions of the Judean authorities and affirmed the words of Peter and the Christ followers.
Although the crowd rejected Pilate’s attempts to release Jesus (Luke 23:4, 16, 22), thereby participating in Jesus’ death, Peter acknowledges that his hearers and their rulers acted in ignorance (Acts 3:17), even though God had clearly “foretold [this] through all the prophets” (Acts 3:18). But ignorance is not excuse for their rejection of Jesus. They must now “repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19). By distinguishing the Christ group from the crowd in the temple, Peter draws a distinct boundary between the Christ group and those outside the Christ group. Though they share a common ethnic identity, the two groups are radically different in their response to Jesus. Members of the in-group are those who believe that Jesus is the resurrected Messiah, having demonstrated that belief in the boundary crossing rituals of baptism in Jesus’ name and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Members of the out-group, however, reject Jesus, had him killed, and now must be reconciled through repentance and return to God so that they may be forgiven of their rejection of the Messiah. The core contrast between in-group and out-group here is that in-group members believe in Jesus while out-group members reject him. Belief is contrasted with violence here to distinguish between the in-group and out-group, thus serving to point toward another less prominent identity marker in the narrative.
What does it mean to be part of the in-group, the Christ movement? What identity markers help us know who is ‘one of us’ and who is not? In many ways, our task remains the same as Luke’s -- to help expand the boundaries of who can be part of the Christ group, and to make distinctions that highlight how our group’s values are different from others around us.

Responsorial                 Psalm Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9

People are troubled about many things, but God 'puts gladness in our hearts.' Psalm 4 is a good text any time of year because it offers wisdom and imparts faith. But on the Third Sunday of Easter, it has a special job to do.
Psalm 4 deals honestly with unbelief: outside the church, inside the church, or even within preachers. At Easter time, the words "Christ is Risen!" are answered with "Alleluia, he is risen indeed." But unspoken responses might include: "Oh really?" or "I doubt it;" or "I wish I believed that;" or even "You've got to be kidding." Even preachers may privately wonder if Easter is too good to be true.
But God has heard all this before. In the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Easter, Jesus tells his frightened, doubting disciples, "Peace be with you" (Luke 24:36). Likewise, Psalm 4 offers peace to troubled hearts and trust to doubting minds.
To use Psalm 4 on the Third Sunday of Easter, it is helpful to note that the other texts for this day all address the problem of unbelief. Preachers would like the message, "Christ is arisen!", to prompt a worldwide chorus of Alleluias. But from the first Easter down to the present, the good news that Jesus lives brings different responses - even among his followers. Some people receive the message with joy. Others are skeptical or fearful, and still others reject the message out of hand.
The Gospel lesson addresses the problem of unbelief within the inner circle itself. The disciples have just heard two of their own members say that Jesus is risen, yet they are "startled and terrified" and "doubts arise in their hearts" when Jesus appears (Luke 24:37-38). Even some of the disciples find it hard to believe, yet Jesus offers peace.
In this Easter context of faith and doubt, and hoping against hope, Psalm 4 begins with a prayer for help. "Answer me when I call, O God..." (4:1). And it ends with a statement of faith. "You have put gladness in my heart...You alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety" (4:7-8). Beginning and ending with God - always a good idea for the preacher.
But the middle part of the Psalm addresses other people, and these people have various responses to God's grace. Some believe in God, and some do not. Among the believers, some are so anxious they can't sleep at night, even with a "Sleep Number" bed. Still others seem to be wondering what God has done for them lately: "There are many who say, 'O that we might see some good!'" (4:6). Thus, the Psalmist has some choice words to each of these groups of people.1

To the unbelievers: (4:2) "How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?" This sounds like Peter's sharp rebuke of his listeners in Acts 3:14-15. But quickly Peter changes his tone and calls these people "friends," so that they might listen to his proclamation. Psalm 4 is a good vessel for this proclamation. Verse 1 says that 'God gave us room when we were in distress.' Easter means that God sets us free from the fear of death - God 'gives us room.' In the Psalms, this language means that God lifts us out of a tight spot. What could be tighter than the grave! To the unbelievers (and we all have our moments), God gives "room." Room to rise from the grave of unbelief, room for faith.

To the sleep deprived believers: (4:4) "When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent." The fear of death, our own or a loved one's, is enough to keep anyone awake at night and tempt us to find relief anywhere we can. But the Psalmist exhorts us to pray and trust. For insomniac believers, who believe but have trouble trusting, the Psalm ends up with these wonderful words: "I will both lie down and sleep in peace" (4:8).

To the folks who wonder if God has done anything good for them lately: (4:6) the Psalm says that God's life giving power is our true wealth. It's Easter, but we've been in one of the worst economic slumps since the 1930's. People in the congregation might be thinking, "Okay, so Jesus rose from the dead, but can you say the same for my pension?" Perhaps this is irreverent talk, but it gets at the issue of where we put our trust. Verse 7 says that God's presence puts gladness in our hearts "more than when their grain and wine abound." A preacher might have a bit of fun coming up with current versions of 'grain and wine abounding.'

The Psalm ends on a note of peace and confidence. "I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety" (4:8). In an Easter context, combine Psalm 4 with the hymn "All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night:"

Reading 2 1 Jn 2:1-5a

Ask a non--Christian--even ask some Christians--what the point of Christian faith is.
For many, it is "Jesus came so that I'll live forever." In the Gospels, however, Jesus never promises that he will be crucified and his disciples will be the risen ones.
Such self--centeredness renders us deaf to a keynote in all of this Sunday's lections: the capacity of the risen Christ to draw individuals into authentic life together.
On the subject of sin: If (on the one hand) we say we don't have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us . But if (on the other hand) we confess our sins, he is dependable, righteous, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And if (on the one hand) we say we haven't sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word (his promise of forgiveness) is not in us.
This last possibility breaks the pattern, leaving the listener hanging without a countervailing "other hand." Note that the writer of 1 John does not play the role of omniscient scold, rampantly condemning a few misguided souls while claiming for himself and the majority superior righteousness. Real churches act in this way. For no matter how truthful the gospel they have received, all Christians are capable of both clear--eyed contrition and self--deluded evil.
The author hastens to pastoral comfort (1 John 2:1-2). He writes, not to stir up sin or despair, but to console a riven church that Jesus Christ is a living, righteous force that releases us from our sins.
The images for that redemption are both judicial and cultic. Christ is our advocate (parakletos) with the Father, adopting the role that Jesus in the Fourth Gospel attributes to the Holy Spirit who comes after him (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-11). At the same time, Jesus has sacrificed himself as the expiation (hilasmos) for sins; not merely ours, but the whole world's (1 John 1:7; 2:2; see also Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:11--10:18).

Gospel Lk 24:35-48

The Gospels tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after they discovered that his tomb was empty. Part of the mystery of Jesus' Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form. The bodily form was not one that the disciples recognized though. In John's Gospel, Mary of Magdala does not recognize that the figure standing before her is Jesus until he speaks to her. In Luke's Gospel the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him until he breaks bread with them. The resurrected Jesus had a physical presence, but the disciples couldn't recognize Jesus unless he allowed them to. His resurrected body, nonetheless, showed the marks of his crucifixion.
From readings such as today's Gospel, we also see that in his resurrected body, Jesus seems to be free of physical constraints. He appears to the disciples despite the fact that the doors were locked.
Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” During the meeting, Jesus also shows the integral connection between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The story of Thomas illustrates our Christian experience today: We are called to believe without seeing. In fact, all Christians after the first witnesses have been called to believe without seeing. Thomas's doubt is hardly surprising; the news of Jesus' appearance was incredible to the disciples who had seen him crucified and buried. Thomas's human nature compelled him to want hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death was indeed the same Jesus who had been crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to act on that desire. He is our witness that Jesus is really risen.
Our faith is based on the witness of the Church that has preceded us, beginning with Thomas and the first disciples. Through Baptism we receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus brought to the first disciples. We are among those who are “blessed” because we believe without having seen.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Try to recall a recent holiday or celebration that included special food. Try to think about your favorite aspects of gathering with family or friends for this meal. Observe that food is important for our physical nourishment, but gathering for meals nourishes us in other ways as well. Try to identify some of the benefits of sharing meals with others and write them down.
In the Gospel of Saint Luke, there are many descriptions of meals that Jesus shared with others. At these meals, the disciples were given food and more. This Sunday we hear about a meal that Jesus shared with his disciples after his Resurrection.
After sharing this meal, what does Jesus tell his disciples? (They are to be witnesses to all that Jesus said and did.) How did sharing this meal with Jesus strengthen the disciples to be his witnesses? (Some reasonable answers, are they knew that Jesus was not a ghost, but was truly present with them, and their minds were open to understand the Scriptures.)
We also share a meal with Jesus and are given a mission to be his witnesses when we celebrate the Mass. What are the final words of the Mass? (“Go in peace to love and serve the Lord; Thanks be to God.”)
These final words of the Mass remind us that the Eucharist sends us to be witnesses to Jesus today, especially by helping others know that Jesus forgives sins. What are some ways in which we might help others know that Jesus forgives sins?
Conclude in prayer that our frequent celebration of the Eucharist will help us choose to teach others about the forgiveness of sins we receive from Jesus. Pray the Psalm for this Sunday, Psalm 4.

===========================================================

Additional Notes -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                             Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

The book of Acts was divided into two parts: the Jerusalem ministry of the Apostles (i.e., St. Peter) and the travels of St. Paul. Peter's speech was made in part one. Peter preached to the crowd after the healing a well-known disabled person in the name of Jesus.
The focus of the crowd was on Peter and John as the sources of the event. Peter and John, however give credit to Jesus the Messiah. Many people, even today, confuse healing with magic. Magic uses trickery, while healing comes from God in response to prayer and need. Magic gives glory to the magician; healing gives glory to God.
In Acts 3:13-15, Peter preached against the crowd in order to cause a reaction. Along with the Jewish leaders, the citizens of Jerusalem who called for Jesus' blood at Passover share in the guilt of his death. Peter placed the crowd's guilt against the innocence of Jesus, God's glorified servant (3:13), the Holy and Righteous One (3:14), and the author of life (3:15). Jesus and the crowd stood opposite from each other. The crowd committed evil, while Jesus followed God's will.
Just as important, Luke wrote about Jesus in a way that was beyond the ordinary. The "author of life" title hint at the divinity of Jesus. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus revealed God present and active.
n 3:15, Peter proclaimed that he and the other early disciples were "witnesses." Spreading the Good News was done by word of mouth, beginning with eye witnesses. Early preaching stressed such first hand accounts and focused upon the Apostles as the source of such accounts. Any preaching different from the Apostles were considered second rate. (Did this mean that there were competing groups of non-Apostolic Christians preaching a different gospel? Most likely).
In 3:17, Peter recognized the ignorance of the crowd. The sin of the crowd was not their ignorance, but their lack of discernment. They acted in a way contrary to God's will. Would they have acted differently if they sought intimacy with God? (Would we?)
Finally, in 3:18-19, God showed he could work, even through ignorance and spiritual sloth. While people could always look backward for insight, they are always faced with Peter's challenge of faith. Did they want to say "yes" to God and change? (Do we?)
The speech of Peter pointed to the Good News and its demands. God offered them a chance and a choice. He offers us the same. Will we believe? Will we turn toward him?

Responsorial                 Psalm Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9

Almost everyone can point to a time in life when they were deeply happy. For some, courtship and marriage were those times of joy. For others, high school or college days stand out. Some even point to the birth of children. In hindsight, some events stand out as times to savor.
Then, there are times that are unpleasant. Events can verge on tragic; the burdens of daily life become overwhelming. These are the times we might reminisce in the experiences of our youth, even indulge in melancholy. Then, we might pray for better times ahead.
Why are some times better than others? Why do some yearn for the "good old days" or look forward to the "green pastures" that lie ahead? Isn't today enough? These were the kind of questions Psalm 4 posed. It was a prayer of supplication that could be divided into three sections: 1) call for God's answer (4:1) from the criticism of enemies (4:2), a reminder of God's power and the need for faith in the Lord (4:3-5), and the popular prayer for better times (4:5) with the caveat that the present can give more joy than any imagined future (4:5-8). These three sections created an implied dialogue between the person under attack and the desire to escape to a better time.
Notice night time sleep marked the test of happiness. 4:5 had the imperative to cease sinning and to reflect in silence on one's bed. 4:8 was an act of faith that the faithful person could lie down and sleep in the peace only the Lord could provide. Sleep was a time of restoration and rest; dreams were also a means for God to reveal his will. For the ancient Jew (and many modern believers), the quantity and quality of sleep implied a test for a clear conscience and a place close to the Lord.
There is certainly nothing wrong with fondly remembering the past or planning for the future. But, should we look behind or ahead for some sense of spiritual fulfillment? If we do, we will only play a game of "what was?" or "what could be?" and not "what is." If nothing else, Psalm 4 plants us in the spiritual present. We might not have everything we want, but God gives us all we need for now and that is more than enough.

Reading 2                          1 Jn 2:1-5a

Expiation should not be confused with "propitiation," a legal term from the Latin "to favorably influence." As a legal term, propitiation focused upon the transgressor, not his act. In this case, the death of Jesus "favorably influenced" God to forgive those who deserved punishment. Jesus would be the one who "replaced" the sinner in the eyes of a wrathful God. Such an understanding presupposed the unwavering anger of God until the death of his Son (or until the sinner accepted the offer of grace). Expiation, by viewing the act, not the sinner, does not presuppose the wrath of God in the salvation of sinners.
How do we know we walk with the Lord? Both feelings and insights can fool us. But, when our actions match our interior life, we can have a better measure of our spiritual journey. When our actions surprise us, when we act out of character for the better, then we know that God is in control.
The author of 1 John addressed these issues. His struggle with Gnosticism (the belief that salvation was based on secret knowledge) has been documented in other studies in this series. Unlike those who believed salvation was the release the spirit (i.e., feelings and insight) from an evil material plane, the author stressed a practical spirituality. Growth with the Lord was rooted in charity, a love that was expressed in service.
The author seemed to define sin as indifference to the Lord's commands, as much as it was breaking those commands. Of course, the author would define the Lord's commands in terms of charity ("love one another," see 1 John 4:7). In other words, the Christian really knew God when he or she served others. Those who ignored or actively rejected service did not know the Lord. They were "liars," a code word for those in league with the Anti-Christ. But, those who did sin had an advocate, a paraclete, in the person of Jesus Christ. Repentance was always possible.
Implicitly, the author did not discriminate in service. It was easy to serve those who loved us. But, if we refused to serve our enemies, we were "liars," just as much as those who rejected Christianity. So, the real test of the Christian journey fell to charity toward enemies. We are to serve, just as Jesus did in his death of expiation.
How do we know we walk with the Lord? How do we treat our enemies? That is the real test. When we serve those who we would rather not serve, when God surprises us with such opportunities, then we know we walk with the Lord. It is then, we know that He is in charge.
Reflect on your service to others. How does your service include those who you dislike? Or, of those who dislike you?

Gospel                                   Lk 24:35-48

This passage began like other Resurrection narratives. Jesus appeared with the greeting of "Shalom," God's peace. The reaction of the disciples to their first sight of the Lord is the same. They felt fear and a sense of awe.
Yet, in spite of the testimony from the women and the two travelers, the disciples still could not believe their eyes when Jesus appeared before them. Why were they so upset? The appearance itself might not have caused their discomfort. After all, visions were far more accepted in the culture of Jesus than in the modern Western culture with its scientific scepticism. The disciples had advanced knowledge that Jesus was risen. But they were not ready for the TYPE of experience they encountered. The appearance of the risen Lord was so new, it was outside the experience or comprehension of the disciples. They could not rightly interpret the experience; they could not put it into a proper context. In fact, they were powerless. Only Jesus could validate the experience and supply its proper understanding.
HE said to them,"Why are you troubled, and what thoughts arise in your hearts? See MY hands and MY feet that (it is) I MYSELF. Touch ME and see (ME). A spirit does not have flesh and bones just as you see ME having." Having said this, HE showed them (HIS) hands and feet. Since they still did not believe from joy, and (since they) wondered, HE said to them,"Do you have something in this place to eat?"They gave to him a piece of cooked fish. Having taken (it) before them, he ate (it).
First, Jesus would prove their experience was no hoax. Like the appearance to Thomas in John's gospel, Jesus showed his wounds and challenged his followers to "touch" him. The experience of the Risen Lord was tactile. Jesus has substance, unlike a ghost. Unlike John 20, Jesus showed his followers his hands and feet (not his hands and side). Here, Luke inferred Jesus had been nailed in his feet.
This passage also paralleled John 21 with the subject of the cooked fish. In John 21:9-14, Jesus was cooking the fish. He blessed it and gave it with his followers to eat. But in Luke, the disciples gave Jesus the cooked fish to eat. If Luke 13:35-48 is combined with the narrative from the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), both stories involved the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30, 35 and John 21:13). The most notable narratives with the blessing of bread and fish were the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30-44, 8:1-9; Matthew 14.13-21, Matthew 15.32-39; Luke 9.10-17; John 6.1-14). A meal that featured fish and bread was common around the Sea of Galilee and in Jerusalem (dried fish was sold in the marketplaces as food for the common people). Such meals were a regular part of life on the road with Jesus and his followers. Whether meals of fish and bread had any religious significance to the apostolic communities is a matter of some debate among scholars (were they meals of leadership?). If there was a so-called "fish and bread Eucharists" (as John Dominic Crossan likes to call them), the rituals died quickly as Christianity spread to areas that did not have a ready supply of fish.
The deeper issue did not lie with the meal but with the quality of the vision experience. Jesus appeared as a living, solid form. This would have a great impact on the spirituality of Christianity. The holy could be found in the tangible. Holiness was not only a matter of ecstacy, touching the transcendent, while leaving the world behind. No, God reached his people through his creation, not in spite of it. This insight became the foundation of the Church's self-awareness as the Body of Christ. It also grounded the worship in the Church as sacramental. The believer could encounter the Risen Christ through the bodily senses. His followers saw, touched, and heard the Risen One. We see, hear, and touch Christ today through the sacraments, through shared witness and serve to others. But, when we, like the early followers, experience Christ through the common items of the world, what is his message?
He said to them,"These (things I refer to) are MY words I spoke to you when I was still with you, because everything having been written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms needed to be fulfilled." Then HE (thoroughly) opened their minds so as to understand the scriptures. HE said to them,"Thus it has been written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that a repentance and a forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these (things)."
Jesus reminded his disciples that he prophesied his resurrection during his earthly ministry. Then he placed in the greater context of the Scriptures: the Law, the prophets, and the psalms. The "Law and the prophets" were code words for the Hebrew Scriptures which the Pharisees revered. The "Law...and the psalms" were revered by the Sadducees as basis for Temple worship. By including the term "psalms" with the "Law and the prophets" (an unusual combination), Luke not only wanted to change the interpretation of Scripture through the words of Jesus, he wanted to validate the newly developing forms of Christian worship. This change was a radical shift from the way Jesus' early Jewish followers lived (a live dominated by spirit and regulations of the Pharisees and Sadducees). The new Christian communities among the Gentiles (to which Luke addressed his gospel) had new needs, new insights, and new ways to live out the Christian message. No wonder Luke edited in 24:45 ("Then HE thoroughly opened their minds so as to understand the Scriptures.") The followers needed to open their minds and hearts to new possibilities as they fulfilled the mandate to preach repentance and forgiveness everywhere in the name of Jesus. After all, they were witness to a new reality.
=================================================================

Sunday April 7, 2024  Second Sunday of Easter
(Or Sunday of Divine Mercy)

Lectionary: 44

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                               Acts 4:32-35

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                                   1 Jn 5:1-6

Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one that testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.

Gospel                                                     Jn 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.



REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                               Acts 4:32-35

From the start, the risen Jesus charged his witnesses to share the good news of his resurrection with the world (Luke 24:44-48; Acts 1:1-8). After all, this is the climactic (eschatological) sign of God's light-giving, life-saving purpose for all people and places, even "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8; cf. 13:47). The resurrection forges new communities of light and life. Only in such fellowship (koinonia) is the meaning of the resurrection progressively discerned and demonstrated, learned and lived out.
As in our own day, the early church worked out its resurrection faith through regular communal practices, such as baptism, the Eucharist, scripture study, and prayer. An earlier summary reports (following Peter's Pentecost sermon): "So those who welcomed his message were baptized... They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:41-42).
But they also engaged in a radical resurrection practice not so popular today: "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common (koina)" (4:32).
What a remarkable group! They held everything "in common," yet were notably uncommon by normal social standards, both in the limited goods, zero-sum world of Mediterranean antiquity and in the private-boosting, wealth-expanding economy of modern Western capitalism.
How did Christ's resurrection motivate such a unified, generous community? Or, conversely, how did the practice of communal goods inform the early church's understanding of the living Christ?
First, Christ's resurrection is inextricably connected with his crucifixion. God did not raise Jesus from just any death, but death on a cross, signifying ultimate self-emptying and sacrifice. Jesus dies bankrupt and bereft, stripped of all earthly possessions (including clothes - cf. Luke 23:34) and reliant only on his Divine Father into whose hands he commits his breath/spirit (pneuma, Luke 23:46).
It is out of this experience of complete surrender that God brings fresh, resurrection life to Jesus. Losing his life, he saves it. Forfeiting "the whole world" of self-aggrandizing profit, he gains the true wealth of God's kingdom. The crucified and risen Jesus thus inspires his followers to find new life as they "deny themselves and take up their cross daily" (Luke 9:23). They relinquish all they are and own into God's hands or, more literally, at the feet of God's apostles in Acts 4:35.
Second, raising Christ from the grave signals anew God's creative sovereignty over all creation (cf. Acts 4:24). According to one biblical image, God's bringing life from death is likened to a seed falling into the ground, "dying," and then bursting forth, "rising" in fruitful bloom and flower (see John 12:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:36-38).
Resurrection thus stakes afresh God's claim on the whole earth. "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it" (Psalm 24:1). "The land is mine," God announces, as grounds for the Sabbath/Jubilee provisions of restoring properties to original owners and remitting debts so "there will be no one in need among you" (Leviticus 25:23; Deuteronomy 15:4). Finally, the resurrection of Christ marks the "first fruits" not only of a new, singular beginning, but also of a climactic restoration of all things.
For the early church, this conviction forged a close nexus between Christ's resurrection, ascension and parousia (final re-appearing). "Christ is risen!" joined naturally with "Christ is coming again soon!" Hence, with this imminent hope of a remade world, investing in "lands and houses" for the long haul might seem unnecessary at best, unfaithful at worst.
There is some question about whether selling one's possessions was compulsory (as with the apocalyptic Jewish sect at Qumran) or voluntary for membership in the earliest Christian community. But our summary text suggests it was the norm, if not the rule. And although Peter informs Ananias in the next chapter that he was free to dispose of his property as he wished (Acts 5:4), the fact that Ananias publicly lies about contributing all the proceeds from a land sale (and then drops dead!) demonstrates the strong community pressure to pool all possessions for the common good (5:1-6).
Of course, however much we might admire the radical communitarian practice of the early Jerusalem church, we may also pity, even decry, their shortsighted, impractical economic vision. Quite possibly, it contributed to hard times down the line, requiring assistance (bailout) from the more prosperous congregation in Antioch (11:27-30).
Turns out they were in it for the long haul, or at least a longer haul than they expected. And the clock is now ticking well past the 2000-year mark. It is all too easy, then, for us not simply to pity the early church's practice, but to dismiss it altogether.
But we thereby also run the risk of dismissing their vibrant resurrection faith that ignited their extraordinary common-fellowship (koinonia) in the first place. And resurrection faith that does not profoundly shape communal practice lacks depth of meaning and breadth of appeal.
So, how shall we live out our faith in the risen Christ today?

Responsorial Psalm        Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

On Easter Sunday, the church proclaims, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his mercy endures forever!" (Psalm 118:1).
Jesus Christ is risen. And in Christ, we too shall rise. God's mercy endures forever! The words of Psalm 118 have long been used to herald Easter. "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad" (118:24).
In its ancient Jewish context, Psalm 118 was most likely an entrance liturgy to the Temple, used at the festival of Passover. It proclaimed God's deliverance from Egypt and, later on, from the Exile. The Psalm was a liturgical script, complete with speaking parts for leaders and congregation. One can hear the jubilant call and response in 118:2-4: "Let Israel say, 'His mercy endures forever.' Let the house of Aaron say, 'His mercy endures forever.' Let those who fear the LORD say, 'His mercy endures forever.'"
Since New Testament times, Psalm 118 evokes for Christians the story of Easter.
New Testament writers used Psalm 118 "as a means of understanding and articulating the significance of Jesus."3 (See Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7.) Christians have long read this Psalm with Jesus in mind.
"The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice in it and be glad" (Psalm 118: 22-24).
The ancient church relied on the words of the New Testament writers, and during the Middle Ages, Psalm 118 continued to inspire Christian worship.
Just as the Psalmist was delivered by God, so now Christ empowers us, comforts us, and snatches us out of the realm of death. All this is done, so that we might proclaim the deeds of the Lord. Easter is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it and be glad! (118:24).

Reading 2                               1 Jn 5:1-6

True love for the people of God, may be distinguished from natural kindness or party attachments, by its being united with the love of God, and obedience to his commands. The same Holy Spirit that taught the love, will have taught obedience also; and that man cannot truly love the children of God, who, by habit, commits sin or neglects known duty. As God's commands are holy, just, and good rules of liberty and happiness, so those who are born of God and love him, do not count them grievous, but lament that they cannot serve him more perfectly. Self-denial is required, but true Christians have a principle which carries them above all hindrances. Though the conflict often is sharp, and the regenerate may be cast down, yet he will rise up and renew his combat with resolution. But all, except believers in Christ, are enslaved in some respect or other, to the customs, opinions, or interests of the world. Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual armor by which we overcome. In and by faith we cleave to Christ, in contempt of, and in opposition to the world. Faith sanctifies the heart, and purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains sway and dominion over souls. It has the indwelling Spirit of grace, which is greater than he who dwells in the world. The real Christian overcomes the world by faith; he sees, in and by the life and conduct of the Lord Jesus on earth, that this world is to be renounced and overcome. He cannot be satisfied with this world, but looks beyond it, and is still tending, striving, and pressing toward heaven. We must all, after Christ's example, overcome the world, or it will overcome us to our ruin.

Gospel                                    Jn 20:19-31

What is a disciple to do in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection?
Following the Easter story of Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene, two parallel stories in John explore the responses of disciples to the message of his resurrection. Although Thomas is often singled out as deficient in belief, his story shares much in common with the response of the disciples as a whole. The twin accounts present the disciples as both believing and disbelieving. The gift of the Holy Spirit enlivens the disciples to continue Jesus’ ministry without rendering them perfect believers.
Thomas is missing when the other disciples encounter Jesus. Yet he hears from them the same proclamation they heard from Mary Magdalene: “We have seen the Lord!” (20:25; cf. 20:18). Like Thomas, the disciples were not immediately transformed by Mary’s proclamation of the good news. They remain behind locked doors, where they are gathered out of fear (20:19). Like Thomas, the disciples only respond with joy to Jesus’ presence after he shows them his hands and his side (20:20, 27). Although “doubting Thomas” gets his reputation from this story, his response of unbelief is not unique, but instead is typical of disciples of Jesus.
There are two theological issues at stake in the portrait of the disciples vis-á-vis Thomas. The first is the question of whether the disciples achieve perfect or complete belief following Jesus’ resurrection. Much of the language of the Farewell Discourse (John 14-17) has led readers to expect that it will. Jesus has spoken of a future time when the disciples would “know” (14:20), “testify” (15:27) and “do greater works” than Jesus has done (14:12). Although they manifest doubt during Jesus’ earthly life, the language of the Farewell Discourse suggests a future time when the disciples overcome these deficiencies. Many scholars read the resurrection stories as just such accounts, where the disciples’ belief is seen in its maturity.
However, the disciples are not presented simply as believers, even after Jesus’ resurrection. Even after his first appearance and the gift of the Holy Spirit (also foreseen in the Farewell Discourse (14:16-17), the disciples remain behind locked doors the second week as well (20:26). They proclaim the Easter message, “We have seen the Lord!” but their actions do not fully match their understanding. Although the narrator proclaims “blessed” the one who has not seen and yet has believed (20:29), this is true of none of Jesus’ disciples. Instead, John portrays the disciples as still reaching toward belief in Jesus.
Even Thomas’s confession, “My Lord and my God!” (20:28) does not mark the completion of his faith. His statement is a significant confession, but it is not the end of the story. In the next chapter, Thomas is named as one of seven disciples. The pattern is familiar: they initially do not recognize Jesus (21:4), but come to understand him (21:7). Yet they finish with a question about his identity that they dare not ask even as they know the answer (21:12). Although John’s language projects a future time in which disciples will understand Jesus, that perfect knowledge always lies outside the boundaries of the Gospel story. The disciples embody a belief that reaches toward but never quite achieves complete understanding of Jesus.
The second theological question these verses raise explicitly is the reader’s relationship to Jesus’ disciples. What is expected of later followers of Jesus, and should they understand themselves as like or unlike the disciples of the story? In verses 19-23, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit onto the disciples. Is this a special possession of the early church? Some interpreters imagine “the disciples” here as a limited group of the twelve (minus Judas and Thomas) who are commissioned as official apostles with particular duties that raise them above the level of the average believer. Jesus’ words to them, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them...” (20:23), reinforce the perception for many that the disciples have a unique role.
Yet it may be better to understand the disciples as a group that reflects John’s understanding of discipleship as a whole. As is often the case in John, “the disciples” who appear in 20:19 are unnumbered and unnamed. Although John clearly knows of the designation “the twelve,” he uses the phrase to identify disciples who are part of Jesus’ most intimate group of associates (6:71; 20:24) rather than to specify the actions or characteristics of the group.
Although readers may be primed to expect Jesus’ last supper to be eaten with the twelve (cf. Matt 26:20; Mark 14:11), or that he will appear to the eleven alone in his resurrection (Matt 28:16; Mark 16:14; Luke 24:33, 36), John specifies only that “the disciples” are present in each case (13:5; 20:19). This designation suggests a more open-ended group of people included in Jesus’ words and actions.
But what then does it mean for Jesus to breathe out the Holy Spirit and to tell this larger group of disciples, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them”? The passage is a commissioning scene, but it is a commissioning of the church as a whole, not an elite group of leaders. John’s language seems to grant broad powers to the church to forgive or retain sins. It may help to remember that throughout John’s Gospel “sin” has referred to the rejection of Jesus and his ministry (e.g., 8:24; 9:41; 15:22-24). Jesus’ presence already reveals and condemns people’s belief or unbelief (cf. 3:17-19; 5:22). In Jesus’ absence the church steps into this role. The image is not a narrow one of a priest assigning penance but a broader recognition that the church becomes the arbiter of acceptance or rejection of Jesus.
Even so, part of our modern difficulty with this text may be that Jesus leaves this authority in the hands of disciples who are not themselves free from sin. John seems well aware of this, having positioned the story of commissioning in the midst of the disciples’ struggle to come to terms with their resurrection faith. Instead of trying to “solve” the problem of this responsibility granted to the church, I would say instead that the passage seems consistent with John’s portrait of the disciples. They are called to do much more than they are capable of. Yet they occasionally achieve great clarity, and in those moments they manifest the hope of the resurrection.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Identify five things that you and people might argue about. Write them down on a piece of paper.
Try to act out in your mind one or more of the items.
Jesus knew human beings well. He knew that we would have arguments. But he gave us the remedy for hurt feelings in the gift of reconciliation.
What disagreement among the disciples is heard in this Gospel? (Thomas didn’t believe that the other disciples had seen Jesus.) How did Jesus begin the process of reconciliation for the disciples? (He appeared again when Thomas was present; he shared with his disciples the power to forgive sins.) What gift did Jesus give to his disciples to help them forgive sins? (the Holy Spirit)
Jesus has also given us the power to be people who forgive and reconcile with one another. Whenever we act to bring peace and resolution, we are acting in the spirit of Jesus.
Pray the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The feast of Divine Mercy, according to the diary of Kowalska, receives from Jesus the biggest promises of grace related to the Devotion of Divine Mercy, in particular that a person who goes to sacramental confession (the confession may take place some days before) and receives holy communion on that day, shall obtain the total expiation of all sins and punishment. That means each person would go immediately after death to heaven without suffering in purgatory. Additionally, the Roman Catholic Church grants a plenary indulgence (observing the usual rules) with the recitation of some simple prayers

ADDITIONAL NOTES----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                               Acts 4:32-35

What does the word "community" really mean? How do we really sense "community?"
In the early chapters of Acts, Luke painted an ideal portray of the Church in Jerusalem. Early Christians created this "ideal" more out of need than out of some sense of utopia. After all, many of believers left their extended families to become Christians. They banded together and shared their possessions/incomes. This was not a commune, as many liberal scholars would like to think, but more like a fraternal organization. Friend helping friend. [32]
The Apostles were spiritual and organization leaders of this group. They were the ones who distributed goods to the poor in the community, so everyone could live. Eventually, the Apostles ordained deacons to care for the poor (i.e., the widows and the orphans who were homeless). Again out of necessity. [33, 35]
The spirit of unity was expressed in financial outreach. The "haves" shared with the "have-nots." Notice that those with property were not forced to sell their possessions for the Church; the offerings were made freely. This point would be made later in Acts 5:1-10. [34]
Like the early Christian community, our parishes or assemblies are quilt works. Different people from different backgrounds earning different salaries with different needs. This diversity creates a tension that can tear the community apart. Or it can spark a growing together. The resources for growth are usually present. Openness is needed to make that growth happen. Openness to others. Openness to the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

The king ended the psalm with a song of praise (and a sacrifice?) and a refrain to praise the Lord (a repetition of 118:1).
We cannot leave the psalm without noticing the number of times the divine name was invoked. This fact added emphasis to the imperative of praise. Praise the Lord for what he has done for the nation. Despite the near calamity, YHWH saved his people again (and again). The repetition of the divine name tried to match the number of times the Lord acted on behalf of the king and the nation.
The imperative to praise for the Lord's activity in life should give us pause. How many times has he acted in our lives to save us from near disaster? How many times has he given us second chances? If we gave praise to God for as many times as he intervened in our lives, we would spend most of our time in prayer.
Not a bad thought, is it?

Reading 2                                   1 Jn 5:1-6

1 Everyone believing that JESUS is the CHRIST has been born from God, and everyone loving the (parent) having given birth loves the (CHILD) having been born from him.
2 In this, we know that we love the children of God whenever we love God and perform his commands.
3 For this is the love of God, that we might keep his commands, and his commands are not heavy.
4 So, everyone having been born from God conquers the world; and this, our faith, is the victory, the (one) having conquered the world.
5 Who else is the (one) conquering the world except the (one) believing that JESUS is the Son of God?
6 This is the (ONE) having come through water and blood, JESUS CHRIST, not in water alone, but in water and in blood; and the Spirit is the (one) testifying because the Spirit is Truth.
5:1 "everyone loving the (parent) having given birth loves the (CHILD) having been born out of him" In the context of the verse, the parent was God the Father, and the child was God the Son.
These verses were covered in some detail with the study of 1 John 5:1-9 on the Baptism of the Lord (Cycle B). In that study, It wasmentioned the practical nature of Christianity. It was a religion that integrated prayer with acts of charity. It was not an esoteric religion many contemporaries of the author and his audience wanted. They were Gnostics, those who believed Jesus came as a spirit (in some non-material body) that gave a secret knowledge that led to salvation. With this knowledge (and its practice), one could "save" himself from the evil of the material world. The author of the letter opposed this view with his emphasis on "water, blood, and the Spirit," a clear indication of his belief that God worked in the physical world. (Please see that study for more details.)
In this season of Easter, the reading reaffirms our belief that the Risen Lord is still present and at work in our material universe. HE shares his struggle of water (his Baptism) and blood (his death), and everything in between. He also shares the Spirit, the gift of his resurrection. The Risen Lord is with us in a very real sense.

Gospel                                                     Jn 20:19-31

In his gospel, John gave the reason the followers gathered together behind locked doors. They feared the Jewish leadership. "If they killed Jesus," the followers reasoned, "the leadership would certainly be looking for us." [20:19a]
Barred doors made Jesus' followers look more suspicious. At the time, trust within the Jewish community was built upon open access. Doors were never locked. Neighbor children could enter one's house at will. Jews lived private lives in the open. Anyone who locked their doors (save the rural family who lived miles from their neighbor), cut themselves off from the community.
Suddenly Jesus appeared in the locked room and greeted his followers with " Shalom." [20:19b] Shalom ("peace" in Hebrew) meant God was working in the world. When God worked, he put the world in balance. No war, no hatred, no cynicism could overcome God's providence. When God worked, he put the spirit in balance. No fear, no doubt, no lack of trust could overcome the sheer joy of God's presence. Shalom meant everything was right in God's world.
When his followers saw Jesus alive with his deadly wound, they realized the "Shalom" of Jesus, for they witnessed God's activity in the world. Fear left them, for now they believed. Joy entered their hearts. [20:20]
Again Jesus said "Shalom" with a command and a gift. The command: Go into the world. As the Father send Jesus into the physical world, Jesus would now send his followers into the cultural world. [20:21]
With the command came the gift: the Holy Spirit. In Greek (pneuma) and Hebrew (ruah), the word "spirit" can be translated as "breath" In 20:22, the word "breathe on" in Greek can be seen only here and in Genesis 2:7 of the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Bible used by the early Church) where God breathed life into Adam. So, when Jesus breathed on his followers, he gave them his Spirit. When the followers took in the Spirit, they received his newly risen life. [20:22]
Now they could obey the missionary command to proclaim repentance and forgive sin. Jesus told his followers to forgive or retain sin like a knot loosening or tied closely together. If the followers forgive, however, they must loosen the sinner from the guilt now and in the future. Sin was never to be brought up again. [20:23]
Without the Resurrection, Christianity would be nothing more than a school that taught the wisdom of a great teacher. With the Resurrection, however, Christianity became a road to intimacy with God.
The Resurrection justifies the life, works, and teachings of Jesus. Through the lens of the Resurrection, we can see this life, these works and teachings in the context of Scripture and realize "Jesus is Lord." Faith in the Resurrection leads us to the conclusion Jesus is true God and true man.
Through the Resurrection, we receive the gift of a new eternal life, free from evil. We become one with our Savior who died and rose for us.
=========================================================

Sunday March 31, 2024  Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord - The Mass of Easter Day
He is Risen, Alleluia. Have a happy and Blessed Easter!!

Lectionary: 42

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                           Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said:
"You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

"The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.



Reading 2                              Col 3:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.


Gospel Jn 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                           Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Today’s reading features Peter’s message to the gathered household of Cornelius. After opening exchanges (10:24-33), Peter addresses directly the context at hand:
Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,* “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. The Greek is bolder about God’s lack of partiality: “God is not a partiality-shower (lit. ‘face-taker,’ prosopolemptes).” The concept appears elsewhere in Scripture regarding God’s lack of favoritism toward the rich and powerful (Deuteronomy 10:17; Lev 19:15; 2 Chronicles 9:17; Psalm 82:2; Sirach 35:15-16; Colossians 3:25; Ephesians 6:9; James 2:1, 9), but applying this same language to Jew-Gentile distinctions is quite new (also in Romans 2:11). The next verse only accentuates this meaning: “in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” The language of “acceptable” (dektos) is rare in Luke-Acts, and first occurs to describe the nature of Jesus’ ministry as “the year of the Lord’s acceptance (dektos).” As these factors show, Peter’s message opens with one of the boldest declarations in Luke-Acts about the nature of God’s favor toward non-Jews.
Due to convoluted phrasing, translations render verses 36-37 in various ways. But two focal points in the text clearly emerge: God’s message entails “preaching peace by Jesus Christ,” and this Jesus “is Lord of all” (v. 36). Both points would have a sound spoken loudly to hearers within the Roman Empire. The phrase “preaching peace” (euangelizomenos eirenen, lit. “proclaiming the good news of peace”) uses language employed elsewhere in association with Roman emperors (“good news” and “peace” regarding Augustus’s birth, OGIS 2:458; cf. Luke 2:14). Even more, the phrase “Lord of all” implies the inferiority of all rival lords, both human and divine (Epictetus calls Caesar “lord of all” in Discourses 4.1.12; Pindar calls Zeus the same in Isthmian 5.53). These parallels would be striking to a centurion of a leading cohort in the Roman army (Acts 10:1). However, Roman rulers are not the only rivals on the horizon: Peter’s speech later recalls how Jesus’ ministry confronted the oppressive power of the devil (Acts 10:38), a cosmic foe still at large in Acts (13:8-13; 26:18; cf. 19:11-20).
The rest of Peter’s message (Acts 10:37-43) summarizes Jesus’ ministry, passion, and resurrection (vv. 37-38, 39b-41). Peter also emphasizes how Jesus’ followers are now witnesses (vv. 39, 41) called to testify -- with ancient prophets -- that he is both judge of all and source of forgiveness for believers (vv. 42-43). In fact, verses 37-43 spotlight major themes from Luke-Acts: John’s baptism, the Spirit’s presence, the devil’s oppression, the apostles’ testimony, Jesus’ resurrection, and the fulfillment of scripture. These verses summarize the highlights of Luke’s story about Jesus so that the audience in Cornelius’s home may hear the story authentically.
In the lectionary, Acts 10:34-43 appears most notably on Resurrection Sunday, and on that day is hardly the focal text. But this story’s contributions are not only independently profound, they are complementary to the message of Easter.
First, more directly than anywhere else in Luke-Acts (and arguably the New Testament), Acts 10:34-35 declares that “in every nation” God shows no favoritism to particular peoples. For a church now overwhelmingly Gentile that holds dear an Easter story entirely about Jewish characters, this is no small detail. For our benefit Peter’s message proclaims: God does not play favorites.
Second, the passage declares “he is Lord of all,” using politically- and religiously-charged language (kyrios, “lord”) to claim Jesus’ lordship over earthly and supernatural forces. In this way Acts 10:34-43 makes explicit what the resurrection story only implies: Jesus is Lord over all things -- death, the devil, and all the forces that defy God.
Third, the message of Jesus is powerful. Just outside the bounds of our first reading, Peter’s message is interrupted by an unexpected guest: the Holy Spirit (vv. 44-45). Although the narrative of Acts complicates a formulaic relationship between the proclaimed message and the Spirit’s presence, the Spirit’s advent at several occasions (e.g., 2:37; 10:44) implies there is a mysterious power about the message of Jesus.
Whereas today’s Gospel reading states “he is risen,” our first reading declares boldly a message no less profound: “he is Lord of all.”

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.

Given that the occasion of this Sunday is so prominent (as it should be), we will inevitably end up interpreting this Psalm through the lens of Easter resurrection.
When testifying one first narrates what one has seen and heard [e.g., "the Lord did not give me over to death" verse 18] and then declares what one believes about what has been seen and heard [e.g., "The Lord has become my salvation," verse 14, and "I shall not die, but I shall live," verse 17]. This Psalm is a leader's testimony to the people.
This individual song of praise becomes a communal song of praise as it moves others to testify to what God has done in their lives. The celebrant could be any one of us who has born witness to God's mighty act of delivering us from bondage when we cannot free ourselves.
iImagine how this Psalm picks up where the shorter ending of the Gospel of Mark leaves off; that is, you break the silence of the women who first witnessed the empty tomb by proclaiming, "He is risen!" In doing so you encourage others do the same. Let the "Alleluias" return.
Finally, it is worth focusing a bit on verse 22 ("The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes."). Architecturally, the cornerstone is key; it is key for the stability of the structure and, additionally, as a kind of capstone that points to the architectural plans perfect execution.
The Psalm suggests that what has become the cornerstone was once a stone that the builders rejected. For whatever reason, it was once of no use but now, unexpectedly, has become the chief cornerstone. It is possible that the Psalmist has moved from a place of rejection to restoration and is now celebrating God's role in this. Could it be that when we testify as the Psalmist did we, too, are rejoicing at the unexpectedness of now being the one to testify!
Talk about unexpected . . . whoever imagined a baby from Bethlehem would grow up, die an untimely death and rise from his own tomb! Because the leap has already been made from cornerstone as inanimate object to cornerstone as metaphor for a person, it is no surprise that the leap is made in the New Testament to identify Jesus as the cornerstone, the chief cornerstone even. [Note that this Psalm (this verse) is one of the most often quoted in the New Testament. (See, for example, Matthew 21:41, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:6-7, Ephesians 2:20.)]
The news that God has defeated death must be proclaimed on this day that the Lord has made. Rejoice! Alleluia!

Reading 2                              Col 3:1-4

Colossians is in many ways "the epistle in the middle."
It seems to be midway in the development from the historical Paul to documents such as Ephesians and 1-2 Timothy and Titus that are clearly written in a later generation to update Paul for a new day. Chapter 3 begins the advice-giving section of the letter. The theme of the whole section (3:1-4:6) is stated in 3:1, "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." The implications of what it means to "seek the things that are above" are drawn out in the succeeding verses.
Why is Col 3:1-4 read on Easter Sunday? The answer is as brief as the reading:
*the text refers to the resurrection of Jesus,
*it connects believers to it, and
*it outlines a basic ethical response that the author hopes will guide believers.
The text does refer to the resurrection of Jesus. He has been raised, and he is currently to be found "above," "seated at the right hand of God." One of the characteristics of Colossians, Ephesians, and the post-Paul era in general is that the time categories used by Paul, such as "this age" and "the age of ages," are now transformed into spatial categories of above and below--or, as in v. 2, "above" and "on earth." In that "above" realm, Christ is seated at God's right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and judgment; the reference to being seated at the right hand has its origin in Ps 110:1, one of the most quoted passages in the New Testament (see Eph 1:20, Acts 2:34, Heb 1:3).
Our passage also connects believers to the resurrection. The resurrection affects not only Jesus but all those who trust in him. In the undisputed letters of Paul the believer is not already resurrected with Jesus. In fact, Paul is quite careful to avoid that language (see Rom 6:4, for example). The author of Colossians had no such qualms. The reference to being "raised with" refers to baptism, in which the believer is identified with the death of Jesus and dies to the world's demands (Col 2:20). But the believer is also raised with Jesus to a life of new behavior.
And so, the author directs the listeners to "seek the things that are above, where Christ is." "To seek" does not mean to go on a scavenger hunt for an illusive set of behavior standards, but rather it means to orient our lives on the things that are above. The author calls on believers to lift their vision, to look beyond the complications and messiness of daily life and to find direction for living from "above." And so, v. 2, believers are to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth." "Set your minds on" translates the Greek word fronei/te phroneite, which refers to a person's orientation or basic stance to life. Where do believers get their orientation--from the "things that are on earth" or from "above?" The author knows that it is difficult for believers to orient their lives properly. And so the author uses the present tense imperative, which signals an ongoing action and a continual need to re-orient, to re-set one's life. In our neighborhood the electricity goes off with some regularity--any major storm or wind almost certainly will mean a blackout. When the power comes back on, I have to spend quite awhile resetting clocks, radios, televisions, and VCR/DVD players. So, too, believers get off track. Our "power" goes off--or better expressed, our ability to access that power goes off. When we reconnect we need to reset our lives. And so for the author of our passage, setting our minds on the things that are above is not a one-time-only decision but a decision that needs to be made over and over again.
And how can believers do that? They can do so by remembering that we have died, v. 3: "for you have died" (see also 2:12, 20). And since the death of believers has occurred in baptism, our passage is close to Luther's counsel that believers need to return every day to our baptisms and kill the old Adam and the old Eve.
Even though the author of Colossians is more relaxed in his use of resurrection language than are the undisputed letters of Paul, he too reserves some things for the end of time. And so the resurrected life of believers, real though it may be (v. 1) is for the moment hidden with Christ. And so, also, the future glory of believers is, well, future! That glory will be revealed only when Christ himself is revealed. And that Christ is our very life, v. 4, by which the author reminds us that Christ is the source of life.
The Colossians text helps us to connect the wonderful good news of Easter to our lives today. When Jesus is killed and when he is raised, in some way we are killed and we are raised with him. And his past-tense resurrection and our past-tense-but-still-future resurrection help us to lift our eyes to the heavens above, both to see the resurrected Christ and to orient our lives to him.


Gospel                                        Jn 20:1-9

In the beginning . . . In the new beginning . . .
John presents us with the narrative that lies at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus, who was crucified, has been raised. We watch as Mary, Peter, and an unnamed disciple discover that Jesus' tomb is now empty; the outward and visible sign that Jesus has conquered death and a new creation has begun. And we are witnesses to the moment when Mary meets her risen Lord. Her grief turns to joy and she brings to us the good news that has been proclaimed throughout the ages, "I have seen the Lord."
This portion of John's gospel is a play that unfolds in three distinctive acts; a story about people searching, about sadness and fear, about action, surprise, and joy. And it is a story that takes us full circle back to the opening of the gospel.
The scene opens on a solitary figure walking through the darkness. Mary Magdalene has broken through her fear in order to tend to the body of her teacher and friend. All gospel accounts of this moment vary on some points. But what is consistent is the day and that it is Mary Magdalene who is the first to go to the tomb.
When Mary finds that the stone has been removed she jumps to conclusions. Her perception of what has happened is that someone has entered and stolen the body. But the author does not tell us if she entered or even looked in the tomb. Did she really know that the body of Jesus was not there? (How often do we jump to conclusions about God's actions in our lives?) Nevertheless, she runs back to tell Peter what she believes has happened.
Act two shifts to the experiences of Peter and the unnamed disciple intriguingly identified only as "the one whom Jesus loved." Over the years there have been many suggestions as to whom these two might represent: Jewish and Gentile Christians, Petrine and Johannine Christians. Could it be that the beloved disciple is unnamed because, as one biblical scholar has suggested, this person is to represent us?
Like Mary they run. The unnamed disciple, perhaps younger, arrives first. Since he could be the junior partner, he waits until the senior partner, Peter, arrives. He allows Peter to be the first to enter. Inside, Peter discovers that the tomb is, indeed, empty. And unlike the four-day dead Lazarus, who stumbled out of his tomb hindered by his burial wrappings (John 11:44), the cloths are still in the tomb. The details are intriguing. The author describes the placement of the wrappings, but also notes that the cloth that had covered Jesus' head has been rolled up and put in another part of the tomb. We should note that the tomb is truly empty when Peter and then the other disciple enter. There is no angel; no heavenly messenger.
John tells us that the beloved disciple "saw and believed." But what did he believe? It could be that he believed Mary was correct -- someone had stolen the body of Jesus. Or did he believe what Jesus had said the night of their last meal together, that Jesus had "conquered the world!" (John 16:33)
Act two ends as the two go home. There are no shouts of joy, no celebration. The emptiness of the tomb does not seem yet to have made a difference. (How many people in your congregation will not be feeling joy, hope, or certainty this Easter morning?)
The focus returns to Mary standing outside of the tomb. Weeping, she does, this time, enter the tomb. It would seem that neither Peter nor the disciple have offered any words of comfort or encouragement to Mary. But Mary does not find an empty tomb. While the body of Jesus is not there, like the synoptic gospel accounts, there are two angels. In response to their almost ridiculous question, (of course she should be weeping,) Mary repeats her interpretation of the situation; the theft of her friend's body.
Finally she repeats the question once again to a man she believes is the gardener. This may not be as ridiculous an understanding as it seems. It could be that John is giving us clues on how we might understand what has happened. Two things drive us back to the beginning of John's gospel encouraging us to view this, not as the end of the story, but a new beginning.
First, in the opening of John's gospel, Jesus' first words are a question directed at the disciples of John the Baptizer. "What are you looking for?" (John 1:38) And here, in this beginning, this new creation, Jesus asks Mary the very same question, "Whom are you looking for?" (John 20:15) A new ministry is beginning, a new story. Is Jesus asking the same question of us this Easter morning? What are we looking for? It was when Jesus called her by name that Mary recognized her beloved Rabbouni. Is Jesus calling our name? And when John's disciples called out to this Rabbi, he invited them to "Come and see" (John 1:39). Are we being called to see the new things that God is doing in our lives and in our world?
Second, unlike the synoptic gospels that begin at dawn, John's tale begins in the dark, the absence of light. This is the writer who, at the opening of his gospel took us not to a stable, but to the very opening of creation, "In the beginning." Could it be that John is taking us back, once more, to that primordial darkness when "the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2). The author is echoing Paul's declaration that in the death and resurrection of Jesus we are experiencing a new creation, "everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
And where are we? In a garden. Without knowing it, Mary has correctly identified Jesus as the gardener who is bringing a new world, a new life, and a new creation into being, as he had done before:
"All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:3-5).
In the first creation story God drove Eve and Adam out of the garden. But in this new creation Jesus sends Mary out of the garden rejoicing. She is sent out to tell everyone the darkness has not overcome the Word made flesh who had lived among us. She had seen her Rabbi, and she now understood that she has seen "the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) "I have seen the Lord." (John 20:18) Her message declares to us the new beginning that God has prepared for all of us

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Remember that last Sunday we heard and reflected upon the events of Jesus' passion and death on the cross. How do you think the disciples felt on the day of Jesus' death and during the days that followed? What do you think they were doing on these days? (gathering together to comfort one another, remembering Jesus' life and his importance to them)
Today's Gospel reading is about what happened on the morning of the third day after Jesus' death.
Mary of Magdala found something unusual when she visited Jesus' tomb. What did she find? (The stone had been removed.) What did Mary do next? (She ran to tell Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved.)
If you were Mary of Magdala, Simon Peter, or the Beloved Disciple, what would you have thought when you found the stone removed and Jesus' tomb empty? Today's Gospel tells us that Mary of Magdala thought that someone had taken Jesus' body. The disciples did not yet understand that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
During Lent we prepared ourselves to remember and celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection. During the season of Easter, the Church asks us to reflect and meditate upon Jesus' Resurrection and what it means for us as Jesus' disciples today. We can spend time during the Easter season thinking about Jesus' Resurrection and the gift of eternal life that he gives to us.
Pray today's psalm, Psalm 118.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Reading 1 Acts 10:34a, 37-43
In the first reading, we hear St. Peter's homily to the household of the Roman Centurion Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile ready to embrace Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The encounter takes place after Jesus's Resurrection as the Apostles began to fulfill the mission Jesus gave them to carry the news of His Gospel of salvation beyond Jerusalem and out into the world (Mt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). In his discourse, Peter proclaimed the living Christ and preached the kerygma, the basic Gospel message of the Church:

Jesus was rejected and put to death.
God vindicated Christ by raising Him from the dead.
The glorified Christ commissioned the Apostles to take their testimony of the Christ-event to the world.
Everyone who believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness for their sins through Him.

Peter began his discourse by announcing that God's revelation of Israel as His chosen people did not mean He withheld His divine favor from the Gentiles. Peter told his Gentile converts that God's divine plan for the salvation of humanity through Israel culminated in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Peter told them that Jesus was put to death by crucifixion, using the significant phrase "by hanging him on a tree" (verse 39). Being "hung on a tree" was the sign of someone cursed by God under the Law of Moses (Dt 21:22). Peter used the phrase to convey that Jesus, who was without sin, took upon Himself the penalty of the sins of old covenant Israel and all humanity for the sake of their salvation. He became, of His free will, an unblemished sin sacrifice (also see references to Dt 21:22 and Jesus's death in Jn 19:31, Acts 5:30, 13:29, and Gal 3:13). As St. Paul explained in Galatians 3:13 ~ Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree," that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Then, in Acts 10:39-41, Peter testified to having witnessed Jesus's Resurrection from the dead on the third day (as the ancients counted without the concept of a zero-place value). He assured the Gentiles that Christ commissioned His disciples to preach the Gospel of salvation by testifying that Jesus is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead and that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name (Acts 10:42-43). It is the same message the Church preaches today as she continues to fulfill the mission Jesus gave her to baptize and spread the Gospel message of salvation to the ends of the earth (Mt 20:19-20; Mk 16:15-16; Acts 2:38).

Responsorial        Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Psalm 118 is a hymn of thanksgiving from the last of the Hallel            Psalms (Ps 113-118). The congregation sang this hymn in liturgical worship at the Jerusalem Temple for eight days, beginning with the Feast of Passover (Nisan 14) and continuing during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 14-21). It was also verses 25-26 that the crowd shouted as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm/Passion Sunday (Mt 21:9; Mk 11:9-10; Lk 19:38; Jn 12:13).
Psalm 118 begins by proclaiming God's enduring covenant love for His people (verses 1-2). Verses 16-17 refer to "the Lord's right hand" that has been "lifted high." Christians understand these verses to refer to Jesus Christ, who, in His Resurrection, has given those who believe in Him as the Messiah and Son of God new life and victory over death and that He was raised to Heaven to sit at God's right hand (Lk 22:69; Acts 2:33-34; 7:55-56). Jesus is the "stone which the builders," the religious authorities of the Old Covenant, "rejected" only to become the "cornerstone" of the New Covenant faith (verse 22).
Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22-23 when He taught in the Temple on Monday of His last week in Jerusalem, applying the verses to Himself in Matthew 21:42. After Jesus's Resurrection, St. Peter testified at his trial before the same court that condemned Jesus that Jesus is the "cornerstone," and the religious authorities are the "builders" who rejected Him, applying Psalm 118:22 to Christ in Acts 4:11. Peter quoted Psalm 118:22 again, identifying Jesus as "the cornerstone" in 1 Peter 2:7. St. Paul also wrote that Jesus is the "cornerstone" in Romans 9:33 by referring to a related prophecy in Isaiah 28:16b. And in Ephesians 2:19-20, Paul wrote that Christians are part of God's household ... built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone [cornerstone]. Finally, Christ fulfilled Psalm 118:23 in His works that are "wonderful in our eyes" (verse 23) because He has made it possible for those who accepted Him as the Redeemer-Messiah and Son of God to receive the gift of eternal salvation.

Reading 2         Colossians 3:1-4
In the First Reading, St. Peter proclaimed the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Second Reading, St. Paul told the Colossian Christians about the implications that Jesus's sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection have for all who profess belief in God the Son. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, all who accept Him as Savior have died to their old sinful selves and are "raised up" out of the waters of baptism to a new life in Christ (also see Rom 5:9-10; Eph 2:5-6). Christians are reborn through water and the Spirit (Jn 3:3, 5). And by the Spirit's presence within them, Christians enjoy a new life and a new relationship with God. They are no longer children in the family of Adam but adopted children in the family of God. Christians are also heirs through Christ whose suffering they share in their earthly exile, knowing they will have a share in His glory when they reach the end of their temporal lives or when He returns in glory (Rom 8:14-17; 2 Thes 4:16-17).
For Christians, the new life remains hidden while we continue in this temporal world, but we will realize its fullness when we join Christ in the life to come. St. Paul urges us to "think of what is above" or what is to come and not focus on earthly and temporal (Col 3:2). The risen, living Christ is the source of our salvation. He has freed us from the false attachments to the material things of this world. If we limit ourselves to only thinking of temporal pleasures and challenges, we will lose sight of what is glorious and eternal.

Gospel            John 20:1-9
Significantly, verses 2-8 repeat the word "tomb" seven times (1 twice, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8). In the symbolic use of numbers in Scripture, eight is the number of salvation, regeneration, and renewed life, and seven is the number of spiritual perfection (see the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture").
20:1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark
On the first day of the week in the Greek text is day one of the week, a Hebrew idiom. Fr. Brown, in his commentary, The Gospel According to Luke, pointed out that the use of the Greek word for the 4th Night Watch, proi [pro-ee], translated here as "early" in verse 1, is evidence that John used Roman time in his Gospel. He also used Roman place names like the Sea of Tiberias instead of the Sea of Galilee and "the sixth hour" for dawn/six AM Roman time in John 19:14. In the first century AD, the Jews and Romans had the same four Night Watches separated into the same time divisions identified by trumpet signals (Mk 13:35). However, the Jews did not use the word proi for the 4th Night Watch from 3 AM to dawn. The use of this word and that it was still dark suggests it is the 4th Watch Roman time. The Roman day officially began at midnight, with the hours counted from the first hour after midnight; most modern nations keep Roman time. "The first day of the week" for the Jews is the day we call "Sunday" (the seventh-day Sabbath (our Saturday) was the only day of the Jewish week that had a name). It was the "first day" because it was the first day of the Creation event (Saturday was day #7; therefore, day #1 was our Sunday). Resurrection Sunday became the first day of the New Creation in Christ!
According to the schedule of the seven God-ordained annual Sacred Feasts, it was also the Feast of Firstfruits. Leviticus 23:5-14 commanded the observance of the Feast of Firstfruits on the day after the Sabbath of the week of Passover/Unleavened Bread. Sunday, the "first day of the week," became the New Covenant Sabbath, set aside for humanity to commune with God. Christians called it the "Lord's Day," the day of worship for New Covenant believers (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10). After the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks), which also fell on a Sunday fifty days as the ancients counted after Firstfruits (Acts 2; Lev 23:15-21; Num 28:26-31), it became the New Covenant Church's custom to worship on the first day of the week. As Catholics, we still observe the Old Covenant custom of beginning the next day at sunset; therefore, our Sunday Vigil Mass should occur at sundown on Saturday (unfortunately, this is not always strictly observed).
John 20:1 seems to suggest that Mary Magdala was alone. However, "the other Mary," Mary of Clopas (the wife or daughter of Clopas), who was the mother of James and Joseph, may have accompanied or followed soon after her. There may have been two or three groups of women going to the tomb that morning. The other Gospels list Mary Magdala as one of several women who went to Jesus's tomb on Resurrection Sunday. However, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was not present with the other women. Perhaps it was because she knew He was no longer in the tomb and that He rose from death as God's firstfruits of the New Creation on the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits.
The disciple Mary from Magdala, a fishing village on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, is a central figure in the story of Jesus's Resurrection. The Gospels mention her by name twelve times. She was present at the crucifixion and in the Resurrection accounts. From the Gospel of Luke, we learn that Jesus performed an exorcism on her, casting out seven evil spirits (Lk 8:2) before she became one of His women disciples. Luke also includes the information that she was one of several wealthy women (with Joanna, the wife of Cuza, Herod Antipas' steward, and Susanna) who provided for Jesus and his disciples. According to some traditions, Mary Magdala was the sinful woman who anointed Jesus at Simon the Pharisee's home. However, that woman's identity as Mary Magdala cannot be confirmed, nor is she ever identified in Scripture as a prostitute.
Mark and Luke's Gospels record that the women came to the tomb with aromatic resins and herbs to anoint Jesus's body on the third day after Jesus was laid in the tomb (as the ancients counted with no zero place-value from Friday to Sunday). The women did not come the day before because the crucifixion was "Preparation Day" (Friday) for the Jewish Saturday Sabbath (Mk 15:42), and they did not have time to prepare His body since it wasn't until sometime after 3 in the afternoon when the Romans removed Jesus from the Cross. The Sabbath began at sunset, and Mosaic Law prohibited all work on the Sabbath. It was a day of rest, and even preparing the dead for burial was forbidden. The women met on the way to the tomb. The Gospel of Mark recorded that they were concerned about who would help them roll the stone away from the tomb entrance, but when they arrived, they discovered that the stone, which was very big, had already been rolled back (Mk 16:3-4).
Mary saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved ...
Here, the expression "the other disciple" is joined for the first time to "the beloved" or "the one whom Jesus loved." This expression helps to identify the "other disciple" who had access to the house of the high priest Annas, as John Zebedee, or at least as the same man as the "beloved disciple" (Jn 18:15). From the time Jesus told Peter and John to prepare the Upper Room for the Passover Meal in Luke's Gospel (Lk 22:7-8), and from now on in the Gospel of John and Acts of Apostles and Galatians, St. Peter was continually paired with St. John Zebedee. This pairing helps to confirm the identity of the "beloved Apostle" as St. John Zebedee, as the Fathers of the Church identified him. Mary told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."  Mary's "we" confirms the Synoptic accounts that she was not alone, and other women came with her. Luke 24:10-11 records that Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, went with her to tell the Apostles the news of Christ's Resurrection. The Gospel of Luke records that the Apostles did not believe the women (Lk 24:9-11).
3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
If the "other disciple" is indeed St. John, he is a much younger man than St. Peter, and it is reasonable that he should run faster and arrive first at the tomb. He did not enter the tomb because he recognized Peter's priority and superiority as the one to whom Jesus entrusted the "keys of the Kingdom" with authority over His Kingdom of the Church (Mt 16:16-18). All the previous lists of the Apostles named Peter first, followed by Andrew, and John followed James, his brother. However, from now on, when the Apostles are named, John comes immediately after Peter, who continues first in the lists (see Acts 1:13).
There must have been enough daylight for the two Apostles to see into the tomb's interior, suggesting that the opening was to the east. There may be a connection to the instructions for God's desert Tabernacle that the entrance was to always face toward the east (Ex 27:13; 38:13). The entrance gate to the Jerusalem Temple was also in the east, with the Sanctuary's Holy of Holies in the Temple complex's westernmost part. All early Christian churches, including St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, had an east-facing entrance.
The Biblical text mentions linen cloths plural. The cloths mentioned in verse 7 are probably the sidon, burial shroud, and the soudarion, a cloth that covered Jesus's head when He was removed from the cross and then used in His burial. The Gospel of John mentions a cloth similar to Lazarus's burial garb (see Jn 11:44). A rolled cloth was usually passed under the deceased's chin and tied on the top of the head to prevent the mouth from falling open. The disciple probably observed these textiles lying on the shelf of the tomb where the body had lain. The observation that the one cloth was still "rolled up" could indicate it was still in an oval loop with the ends tied as it had been when it was around Jesus's head and chin. It was separate, perhaps because it was still lying where Christ's head had been, while the shroud was still intact on the shelf. The Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be Christ's burial cloth, is over 14 feet long.
Two relics are known as the soudarion of Christ (also spelled sudarium). One has the image of the face of Jesus on the veil of the woman who used it to wipe Jesus's face as He struggled while carrying the Cross to Golgotha. She is known as Veronica (meaning "true image"). This holy cloth is in Rome at the Vatican. The other is the cloth placed over Christ's face when His body was removed from the cross and used in His burial because it contained His bloodstains. According to Jewish tradition, the blood must accompany the body; that is why a person who died violently remained unwashed before burial. The face-cloth, soudarion, is a precious relic kept at the Camara Santa of the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain. Scientists tested the blood on the soudarion and found that it matched the blood type of the bloodstains on the Shroud of Turin; they are type AB positive.
When Mary Magdala first came to them, the disciples did not believe her testimony that Jesus was not in the tomb. It hadn't occurred to them or Mary that He had resurrected as He prophesied (see Jn 20:11-13). They knew what Jesus promised, but they didn't understand. St. Matthew tells us that even the chief priests and the Pharisees knew of Jesus's claim that He would arise from the dead in three days (Mt 27:62-66). Knowing Jesus's prophecy, the religious leaders requested that the Pilate place a guard and seal the tomb. Jesus prophetically predicted His Resurrection repeatedly in His attempt to prepare His disciples:
Jesus not only predicted His Resurrection, but He also emphasized that His Resurrection from the dead would be the prophetic "sign" to authenticate His claim that He is the Redeemer-Messiah:
Perhaps they were thinking of resurrection in the same way Martha of Bethany understood in John Chapter 11 when Jesus spoke to her about her brother's resurrection. She assumed Jesus was speaking of the resurrection of the dead at the Final Judgment (Jn 11:24). Or, perhaps they "knew" in the same way that we "know" that one day we will face a final judgment before the throne of God when He holds us accountable for our lives. We "know," but do we understand?
However, after seeing the tomb's interior, they believed and recalled the Scriptures that prophesied these events. St. John may have referred to Psalm 16:10, Hosea 6:2, Jonah 1:17, or Jonah 2:1 and 9. However, it was also possible that since there is no specific Old Testament reference here, it may be that John intended to suggest the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament in Jesus's Resurrection.
The fulfillment of prophecy is what Jesus would explain to two disciples on their way to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday in Luke 24:25-27 ~ And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. And again to the Apostles in Luke 24:44-45 ~ He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then, he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
St. Paul would make this same reference to Scripture in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul wrote: The tradition I handed on to you in the first place, a tradition which I had myself received, was that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was buried; and that on the third day, he was raised to life, in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3-4 (NJB). It is a truth we especially acknowledge on the celebration of our Savior's Feast of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday as we testify to the empty tomb, and by receiving Christ in the Eucharist, we also declare our belief!
============================================================

OK get a comfortable chair your favorite soothing or relaxing drink and settle into Passion Sunday! Besides the normal long Gospel reading I added two sections. First a Medical description of what Jesus really suffered on the cross (prepare yourself for a brutal reading) and a description of the the perfume that the women anointed Jesus with. Hope you find it all informative and faith enhancing! God Bless!

Sunday March 24, 2024 Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
Lectionary: 37 and 38

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                               Is 50:4-7

The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

Responsorial Psalm                  Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24.

R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

All who see me scoff at me;
they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:
"He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,
let him rescue him, if he loves him."
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Indeed, many dogs surround me,
a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

They divide my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, be not far from me;
O my help, hasten to aid me.
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
"You who fear the LORD, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him;
revere him, all you descendants of Israel!"
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Reading 2                                Phil 2:6-11

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.


Gospel Mk 14:1—15:47

The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
were to take place in two days' time.
So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way
to arrest him by treachery and put him to death.
They said,
"Not during the festival,
for fear that there may be a riot among the people."
When he was in Bethany reclining at table
in the house of Simon the leper,
a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil,
costly genuine spikenard.
She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.
There were some who were indignant.
"Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil?
It could have been sold for more than three hundred days' wages
and the money given to the poor."
They were infuriated with her.
Jesus said, "Let her alone.
Why do you make trouble for her?
She has done a good thing for me.
The poor you will always have with you,
and whenever you wish you can do good to them,
but you will not always have me.
She has done what she could.
She has anticipated anointing my body for burial.
Amen, I say to you,
wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world,
what she has done will be told in memory of her."

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,
went off to the chief priests to hand him over to them.
When they heard him they were pleased and promised to pay him money.
Then he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
his disciples said to him,
"Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there."
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.

When it was evening, he came with the Twelve.
And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me,
one who is eating with me."
They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one,
"Surely it is not I?"
He said to them,
"One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish.
For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."

While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them,
"All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be dispersed.
But after I have been raised up,
I shall go before you to Galilee."
Peter said to him,
"Even though all should have their faith shaken,
mine will not be."
Then Jesus said to him,
"Amen, I say to you,
this very night before the cock crows twice
you will deny me three times."
But he vehemently replied,
"Even though I should have to die with you,
I will not deny you."
And they all spoke similarly.
Then they came to a place named Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples,
"Sit here while I pray."
He took with him Peter, James, and John,
and began to be troubled and distressed.
Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch."
He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed
that if it were possible the hour might pass by him;
he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you.
Take this cup away from me,
but not what I will but what you will."
When he returned he found them asleep.
He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep?
Could you not keep watch for one hour?
Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing.
Then he returned once more and found them asleep,
for they could not keep their eyes open
and did not know what to answer him.
He returned a third time and said to them,
"Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
It is enough. The hour has come.
Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.
Get up, let us go.
See, my betrayer is at hand."

Then, while he was still speaking,
Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived,
accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs
who had come from the chief priests,
the scribes, and the elders.
His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying,
"The man I shall kiss is the one;
arrest him and lead him away securely."
He came and immediately went over to him and said,
"Rabbi." And he kissed him.
At this they laid hands on him and arrested him.
One of the bystanders drew his sword,
struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his ear.
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Have you come out as against a robber,
with swords and clubs, to seize me?
Day after day I was with you teaching in the temple area,
yet you did not arrest me;
but that the Scriptures may be fulfilled."
And they all left him and fled.
Now a young man followed him
wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body.
They seized him,
but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.

They led Jesus away to the high priest,
and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
Peter followed him at a distance into the high priest's courtyard
and was seated with the guards, warming himself at the fire.
The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin
kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus
in order to put him to death, but they found none.
Many gave false witness against him,
but their testimony did not agree.
Some took the stand and testified falsely against him,
alleging, "We heard him say,
'I will destroy this temple made with hands
and within three days I will build another
not made with hands.'"
Even so their testimony did not agree.
The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus,
saying, "Have you no answer?
What are these men testifying against you?"
But he was silent and answered nothing.
Again the high priest asked him and said to him,
"Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed One?"
Then Jesus answered, "I am;
and 'you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power
and coming with the clouds of heaven.'"
At that the high priest tore his garments and said,
"hat further need have we of witnesses?
You have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think?"
They all condemned him as deserving to die.
Some began to spit on him.
They blindfolded him and struck him and said to him, "Prophesy!"
And the guards greeted him with blows.

While Peter was below in the courtyard,
one of the high priest's maids came along.
Seeing Peter warming himself,
she looked intently at him and said,
"You too were with the Nazarene, Jesus."
But he denied it saying,
"I neither know nor understand what you are talking about."
So he went out into the outer court.
Then the cock crowed.
The maid saw him and began again to say to the bystanders,
"This man is one of them."
Once again he denied it.
A little later the bystanders said to Peter once more,
"Surely you are one of them; for you too are a Galilean."
He began to curse and to swear,
"I do not know this man about whom you are talking."
And immediately a cock crowed a second time.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him,
"Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times."
He broke down and wept.

As soon as morning came,
the chief priests with the elders and the scribes,
that is, the whole Sanhedrin held a council.
They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
Pilate questioned him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
He said to him in reply, "You say so."
The chief priests accused him of many things.
Again Pilate questioned him,
"Have you no answer?
See how many things they accuse you of."
Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them
one prisoner whom they requested.
A man called Barabbas was then in prison
along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion.
The crowd came forward and began to ask him
to do for them as he was accustomed.
Pilate answered,
"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?"
For he knew that it was out of envy
that the chief priests had handed him over.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd
to have him release Barabbas for them instead.
Pilate again said to them in reply,
"Then what do you want me to do
with the man you call the king of the Jews?"
They shouted again, "Crucify him."
Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?"
They only shouted the louder, "Crucify him."
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,
released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged,
handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace,
that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.
They clothed him in purple and,
weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.
They began to salute him with, AHail, King of the Jews!"
and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him.
They knelt before him in homage.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the purple cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon,
a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country,
the father of Alexander and Rufus,
to carry his cross.

They brought him to the place of Golgotha
— which is translated Place of the Skull --
They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,
but he did not take it.
Then they crucified him and divided his garments
by casting lots for them to see what each should take.
It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.
The inscription of the charge against him read,
"The King of the Jews."
With him they crucified two revolutionaries,
one on his right and one on his left.
Those passing by reviled him,
shaking their heads and saying,
"Aha! You who would destroy the temple
and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself by coming down from the cross."
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes,
mocked him among themselves and said,
"He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Christ, the King of Israel,
come down now from the cross
that we may see and believe."
Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which is translated,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
"Look, he is calling Elijah."
One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed
and gave it to him to drink saying,
"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
When the centurion who stood facing him
saw how he breathed his last he said,
"Truly this man was the Son of God!"
There were also women looking on from a distance.
Among them were Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome.
These women had followed him when he was in Galilee
and ministered to him.
There were also many other women
who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

When it was already evening,
since it was the day of preparation,
the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea,
a distinguished member of the council,
who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God,
came and courageously went to Pilate
and asked for the body of Jesus.
Pilate was amazed that he was already dead.
He summoned the centurion
and asked him if Jesus had already died.
And when he learned of it from the centurion,
he gave the body to Joseph.
Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down,
wrapped him in the linen cloth,
and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock.
Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses
watched where he was laid.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                               Is 50:4-7

Isaiah 50:4-7 is part of a larger poem that extends to 50:11.
Its subject is a servant of God (50:10), who speaks of his life in God’s service with both pride and pugnacity. The poem begins with his boast of being attentive to the word of God (verse 4), and he proclaims that his calling is “to sustain the weary with a word.” Then the poem takes a surprising turn: “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.” (verse 6).
This poem is in that portion of Isaiah (chapters 40-55) written in the final years of the Babylonian exile, so speaking a message of comfort to the weary exiles of that time would seem to be a compelling and attractive calling. Inviting torture is less so. And yet this servant, suffering so horribly, goes on to declare, “The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced;…” (verse 7a). He is a compelling and strong character, whose dignity and ferocity are at odds with his beaten visage, and the prophet of Second Isaiah offers him to the people in exile as a powerful symbol of courage and hope in the midst of profound suffering. Indeed, the prophet offers the model of the servant to the people and calls them to be like him -- to understand their own suffering as he does -- rooted in the call to be faithful servants of God.
There are several poems in Isaiah 40-55 whose focus is this individual whom God calls “my servant.” These include 42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12. While there has been a tendency to view these poems as sounding a distinct note within Second Isaiah and excising them from their context, contemporary scholarship has moved away from this treatment of the servant poems and made solid arguments for regarding them as integral to Second Isaiah’s work and message.
Understood within the context of Second Isaiah, the servant poems are best seen as part of the prophet’s effort to inspire and transform the people in exile from seeing themselves as helpless slaves of Babylon (see Isaiah 49:7) to servants of God, endowed with dignity and purpose. This commentary is not the place for a comprehensive study of the imagery of the servant in Second Isaiah, but a few notes on servant imagery within the book might be helpful:
No Name
The servant of God is never given a name in these poems, suggesting that the poems about the servant are not descriptions of a historical individual (or, at least, are not only descriptions of an actual person) but are deliberately non-specific in order to allow the people to imagine themselves as the servant. When there is a particular name associated with the servant, the name is “Israel” or “Jacob” (41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3, 5-6), indicating that the prophet’s intent is for the people as a whole to see themselves as the servant and not to associate the term with one particular person.
Blameless Individual
The servant of these four servant poems is a blameless individual, whose faithfulness to God is unparalleled and whose suffering is extreme (see especially 52:13-53:12). Some have argued that the servant cannot possibly be the people in exile because they were not beyond reproach, but Second Isaiah begins with the admission that the suffering of the people has exceeded the fault: “[Jerusalem] has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (40:2b).
Also consider the perspective of 52:4-5, which reads: “Now therefore what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause?” The above examples demonstrate that there is room within the framework of Second Isaiah to regard the people in exile as suffering undeservedly.
Babylon?
The people to whom the prophet writes were living in exile, but there is only a single mention of the people serving Babylon in Second Isaiah. In fact, Babylon is not even mentioned by name in that single text:
“Thus says the LORD, the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers:” (49:7a).
The Hebrew word translated “slave” here is the same word translated as “servant” in the texts that speak of God’s servant in the rest of Second Isaiah. Considering the fact that the people in exile were under the control of Babylon, it is surely significant that the prophet does not speak of their lives and their labor as belonging to anyone but God. As God’s own servant, the people are divinely called and empowered, and they will ultimately be vindicated (42:1, 6-7; 43:10; 44:1-5; 49:1-6; 50:4, 7-9; 52:13, 53:5, 10-12).
Reading Isaiah 50:4-9a in light of the servant imagery we find throughout Isaiah 40-55 highlights the fact that the servant is not to be viewed simply as a description of a particular person in history. Open ears, learned and sustaining speech, a staunch faith and a willingness to suffer are the hallmarks of the ideal servant of God. God’s calling to be “my servant” is issued to the people in exile, struggling to maintain their identity as God’s own people in the midst of the Babylonian empire. It is a powerful calling, and it issues through the ages to Judea in first century ce and to us as well.
This poem is, of course, the Old Testament reading for this Sunday, which is the Sunday of the Passion. This text will serve as background for most sermons delivered this Sunday, but it is my hope that it will deepen our sense of gratitude for the one we profess as Christians to have fulfilled the calling to be God’s servant in the truest sense.
I hope that gratitude is not the only response to this servant song and to the story of the Passion, however. In both the Passion of Christ and the suffering of the servant of God in Second Isaiah, a call is issued. The call is not to a life of ease but to a life in the service of God, grounded in our faith. May our ears ever be open to the word of God and our mouths ever ready to speak a word of comfort. May our faces never be hidden out of fear or shame because the God “who vindicates me is near.”

Responsorial Psalm                  Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24.

Psalm 22 is a prayer of complaint that, perhaps more than any psalm, serves as a link between the Old Testament and the story of Jesus' passion.
Indeed, this psalm is an appropriate lectionary reading as we prepare for Holy Week because the Gospels cite and allude to it at least five times in the crucifixion account. It is important to recognize, however, that Psalm 22 is not important simply because it appears in the New Testament. Rather, the New Testament writers drew from it because of its profound expressions of suffering and faith.
Psalm 22 has "an intensity and a comprehensiveness" that is almost unequaled among psalms of this type. The psalm has two main parts: (1) a prayer for help in verses 1-21a; and (2) a song of praise in verses 21b-31. Both of these sections have two prominent divisions in which repetition of a main theme, sometimes with exact vocabulary, strengthens the psalm's expression of both complaint and praise. Verses 1-11 has two complaints (verses 1-2, 6-9), contains some of the most striking language in the Psalms. The psalm opens with the famous cry of dereliction, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
At the other end of this section the psalmist complains,
"But I am a worm not a man, scorned by men, despised by the people" (verse 7). In both cases, however, the complaint is followed by an extended confession of trust that recalls God's protection in the past (verses 3-5, 9-11). The first confession of trust is corporate ("In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted and you rescued them" verse 5) and second individual and personal ("Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother's breast," For you drew me forth from the womb, made me safe at my mother’s breasts. verse 10).
The prayer for help in verses 12-21a focuses on the nature of the psalmist's trouble. The verses leading up to 17-20 include images of animals that circle the psalmist waiting to devour and destroy. These images are followed in both cases by complaints of physical weakness. The section concludes with a concatenation of petitions for God to be near and to save from the sword, the dog, and the lion (verses 19-21a).
The second major portion of the psalm turns to praise and assurance that God has heard and answered. This section offers praise and thanksgiving that matches the repeated calls for help in verses 1-21a. Verse 21b responds tersely to the complaints of verses 1-18 by saying "From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me." The rest of the psalm then promises praise to God, promises that progress from the psalmist's profession before worshippers (verses 22-25) to the praise of those who "sleep in the earth" (verse 29).
The psalmist's promise of praise dominates verses 22-26. Twice the psalmist pledges to honor God by recalling God's goodness (verse 22) and by making vows in the midst of the congregation (verse 25). After both promises of praise the psalmist then declares God's past goodness to those in trouble and those of lowly estate ("the afflicted," verse 24; "the poor" and "those who seek him," verse 26; the word translated "afflicted" and the word translated "poor" are actually the same, ?an? ). Verses 27-31 then expand the promise of praise so that every person in human history is included: "all the families of the nations" (verse 27), "all who sleep in the earth" (verse 29), and "future generations" (verse 30).
The connection between Psalm 22 and the story of Jesus' suffering and death is natural given the extensive description of suffering the psalm contains. Perhaps the most obvious connection between the passion story and Psalm 22 is Jesus' cry of God-forsakenness: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46). Other portions of the psalm provide an outline of the experience of Jesus on the cross.
In all four Gospels (Mark 15:24; Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:24) the description of the soldiers' activity beneath the cross draws on Psalm 22:18:

"they divide my garments among them,;
and for my clothing they cast lots."
Not only does the psalmist cry out to God with unparalleled expressions of pain and loss (verse 1), but the writer also expresses hope in something close akin to resurrection (verses 29-30). Thus, Psalm 22 is appropriate for the hope that accompanies Jesus' passion as well as the grief. It anticipates a vision of God who holds the believer even after death that will only be expressed fully centuries later.

Reading 2                                Phil 2:6-11

What's in a name? From a biblical perspective -- everything!1
A name was believed to represent the essence of a person's character. The name Jesus, of course, is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means "he saves."
"The name that is above every name..."
In Philippians Paul incorporates into his letter what is most likely an early Christian hymn. In this hymn we see how Jesus embodies his given name, "he saves." Being "in the form of God," he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped or exploited, as something to be held onto at all costs and used to his own advantage. Rather, he willingly " ….emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. (2:6-8).
Jesus is not a passive victim, but enters fully and willingly into his mission. He empties himself of all claims to divine glory and honor to become a human being -- not a human of high status and honor, but a lowly slave serving other human beings. He humbles himself even to the point of dying a slave's death, for the shameful and tortuous form of execution by crucifixion was reserved for slaves and rebels against Roman rule.
This Jesus is the one whom God highly exalts and to whom God gives "the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (2:9-11). In exalting Jesus, God gives Jesus his own name -- "Lord" -- and confers on him Lordship over all creation. One day every knee will bend before him, "in heaven and on earth and under the earth," and every tongue join in confessing together that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This hymn makes the astonishing claim that the one we call God and Lord is most fully revealed in the crucified one. The one who humbled himself and took the form of a slave shows us who God is and how God acts. God's essential character is shown to be one of self-emptying love rather than self-aggrandizement or grasping for power and glory. God's high exaltation of Jesus confirms the divine nature of his mission and ensures that one day he will be acknowledged by all for who he truly is. Jesus, the one who saves, is God's anointed one (the Messiah or Christ), and Lord of all.
Does our life together reflect "the same mind that was in Christ Jesus"? Are we looking to the interests of others rather than our own interests? Are humility and servanthood evident among us?

Gospel Mk 14:1—15:47

Palm Sunday is a day to set the tone for those who will be worshiping together throughout Holy Week and to rehearse the drama of Holy Week for those who will not gather with the worshiping community again until Easter Sunday.
To allow worshipers to move from the joy of the parade into Jerusalem to the joy of the parade out of the tomb without experiencing the somberness of the temple conflicts, the eschatological predictions of future suffering and redemption, the anointing, the last supper, the arrest and trial, the mobs, the crucifixion and the burial is to rob the Paschal Mystery of much of its mystery.
The lectionary for this Sunday divides the readings into the Liturgy of the Palms (anchored by Mark 11:1-11) and the more extended Liturgy of the Passion (focused on Mark 14:1 -- 15:47). But if congregations are willing to forego their usual liturgical format, worship can be structured around a sequence of dramatic readings from the gospel lections (as well as the other lections). Such a format invites worshipers to experience an extended narrative in a way that the confines of Sunday worship rarely allow. Hymns, prayers, communion, and other acts of worship can be included in the service at places that invite the congregation to respond appropriately to the different readings.
Begin with commentary on the scenes in chapter 15 leading up to Jesus' death, focusing on how Jesus' identity is misunderstood. The religious leaders, Pilate, the crowds, and soldiers are all confused about who Jesus is.
Move to a wide angle lens approach and offer a sympathetic reading of these opponents indicating that their misunderstanding should be no surprise given that Mark presents even the disciples as being confused.
Walk through key moments in Mark where the disciples exhibit misunderstanding, e.g., in the parables discourse where insiders are supposed to understand the mystery of the reign of God but Jesus has to interpret the parables for them (4:10-13, 34), in the miracle of calming storm where they question who Jesus is (verses 40-41), when Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ (seemingly understanding) only to be rebuked by Jesus and called Satan after he rejects Jesus' self-understanding as one who must suffer and die (8:27-33), and after the other two passion predictions where the disciples respond inappropriately (arguing over who is the greatest in 10:30-37 and asking to sit on Jesus' right and left hand in glory in 11:32-40).
The strategy behind such a survey would be the cumulative effect of presenting the disciples' misunderstanding. Thus the climax of the narration should be Peter's denial (14:66-72) that is the last scene before the lectionary reading begins in 15:1: when he says in his last denial, "I do not know this man you are talking about," he thinks he is lying, but he is not.
Sum up the misunderstanding in terms of the fact that no human in Mark's narrative calls Jesus the Son of God. The title of the book declares it (1:1). The heavenly voice announces it at Jesus' baptism (1:11) and transfiguration (9:7), but the disciples do not "get it." But finally one person does -- the very man who crucified Jesus, the Gentile, the Roman oppressor, the centurion. When he sees Jesus die, he recognizes him: "Truly this man was God's son" (15:39).
This long narration of Mark's story through the christological lenses of misunderstanding and the messianic title of Son of God finally allows the preacher to claim, on the congregation's behalf, our contemporary misunderstanding of who Jesus Christ, the Son of God is. And it allows the preacher to lead the congregation to the rejection, suffering and death of the cross, even today, as the place where we can truly understand who Jesus is for us (pro nobis).
Preachers with different theological orientations will naturally interpret the significance of the cross in different ways, but reclaiming its centrality (through the lens of Mark) for interpreting the Christ event and indeed contemporary Christian existence is not a bad way to start off Holy Week.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

This week we celebrate Holy Week, which is the most important week in the Church year because it is when we remember Jesus’ death on the cross for our salvation. On Palm Sunday, we hear two Gospel readings. The first Gospel tells us how Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was greeted by the crowds. The crowds shouted praises to God because they thought Jesus was coming to save them.
In the second Gospel reading for this Sunday, which is also called Passion Sunday, we hear the details about several events: Jesus’ Last Supper, his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas’s betrayal, the arrest of Jesus, Peter’s denial of Jesus, and how Jesus was accused and sentenced to death. This year we read the passion from Mark’s Gospel. Let’s prayerfully listen to a portion of this Gospel.
When we hear this Gospel, we discover that Jesus was alone when he died on the cross. Before he died, Jesus cried out to God, asking why God had abandoned him. Jesus felt completely abandoned and alone as he died on the cross. But the Gospel also tells us that some were looking on from the distance—Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, Salome, and many other women.
In dying alone on the cross, Jesus identifies himself with all those who are forgotten and alone in our world. Jesus wants us to bring his good news to those who feel alone. The women who looked on from a distance had ministered to Jesus as he traveled throughout Galilee. They felt helpless in the face of Jesus’ Crucifixion, but they were there.
God appeared to be absent when Jesus died on the cross, but we know that he wasn’t. By raising Jesus from the dead, God was saying to all of those who are forgotten and alone in the world that he cares for them.
Conclude by praying for those who feel alone and abandoned. Ask God to help our Church to reach out to all people, comforting them with the assurance of his care and love. Pray the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

==========================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Reading 1                               Is 50:4-7

These verses were part of the so called "Suffering Servant" Songs. Scholars have identified Isaiah 50:4-9 as a sliver of the Songs from this chapter. The sliver described the call of the Servant to preach, despite opposition.
In the context of the times, Second Isaiah used these verses to address his critics among the exiles in Babylon. A general pessimism had descended upon Jewish populace in the city. When Second Isaiah saw promise in the coming reign of Cyrus, the Persian conqueror. Cyrus respected local religions and customs. Second Isaiah pinned his ambitions upon the Persian. Whether the prophet wrote before or after the conquest of Babylon in 539 B.C. has been an open question. No matter. Second Isaiah wrote to raise the hopes of the exiles and presented the possibility of return. Isaiah 50:4-7 spoke to the resistance the prophet may have felt. God called him to proclaim an unpopular message and the prophet would remain true to his call [50:4-5]. His critics would try to shame him. Indeed, the prophet would allow his opposition to shame him. But God would vindicate him [50:6-7].
Second Isaiah used one of the Servant Songs to refer to his own ministry. And he projected his message onto this unidentified leader (or group) who would bear the burden of leadership and judgment. Leadership made one open to criticism and to judgment. The Servant would face both as part of God's plan. As long as the Servant remained true to his call, he would stand with honor before God, not before men.
No wonder early Christians adopted the image of the Suffering Servant and applied it to Jesus!

Responsorial Psalm                  Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24.

Tough times can be shared events, like 9/11. They can also be intensely personal, like the loss of a loved one. Tough times can be opportunities to reach out to others or reject them. Tough times can shake, but ultimately define our character. Tough times can present us with a faith challenge and a faith choice: turn to God or turn away from God. Tough times can bring out the best and the worst in us.
Psalm 22 was "snapshot" of life in adversity. It asked the question: Why God? Why do I feel abandoned? Why do my enemies surround and threaten me? Why do I wilt in the face of all this opposition? The psalm didn't try to really answer these questions. Instead, it responded with an act of the will. The psalm ended with an act of faith and a universal song of praise. No matter what my troubles are, my God will save me and I will proclaim his glory before everyone.
Many psalms have a tension between the spirituality of the individual and the liturgy of the assembly. The individual can apply psalms to his or her life; the psalm can also represent the condition of the community. Psalm 22 is the paradigm of this tension. A personal song became a psalm of the assembly. But, with the Passion Narratives, the liturgical chant became intensely personal for Jesus of Nazareth. In nine different ways, images or lines from the psalm appear in the Passion. While Jews still apply the psalm to the entire nation, Christians apply it to one person.
For Christians, Psalm 22 will forever be linked with Jesus on the cross. When we recite this psalm, we can identify our adversity with travails of our Savior. If he could remain faithful in the midst of his suffering, we, too, can face our trials with some hope. The tough times won't last forever. There is life after the experience of death. Despite despair, shame, and attack, we can look to Christ on the cross and gain strength.

Reading 2                                Phil 2:6-11

For over the past 60 years, most biblical scholars have seen this passage as a hymn sung in early Christian communities. Paul adopted (even adapted) the song for his letter to the Philippians. The original form is hotly debated; some group the verses into two stanzas (6-8 & 9-11); others group the verses into three stanzas (6-7a, 7b-8, & 9-11). Whether Paul made additions or subtractions to the hymn is unknown. The author, influences, and background are speculative. But, the verses do reflect the early Christian belief that identified the Christ as Isaiah's Suffering Servant.
Notice hymn began with the divine (2:6) and returned to the divine (2:9-11). But, the focus was on Jesus. He existed in God and did not "seize" Godhood. Instead, Jesus descended to the level of humanity. 2:7b-8 used two phrases built around the verb "becoming." In 2:7c, "becoming in the likeness of men" referred back to Jesus emptying himself into the form of a servant (2:7b). In 2:8b, "becoming obedient until death" referred back to the humiliation of Jesus (2:8a). The core of the hymn used "emptying" for the Incarnation and "humbling" for the Passion, the two pillars of our faith in Christ. God responded with the resurrection (2:9a) and glorification (2:9b) of Christ. The response of the follower is worship (2:10) and profession of faith (2:11).
So, why did the Christians sing this hymn? They worshiped and professed faith in Christ because of the self-giving nature of their Savior and because of God's activity. The divine Son of God was humble in his birth and death. God was faithful to his Son and his followers. He gave both eternal life.

Gospel Mk 14:1—15:47

The preparation for the Last Supper was unusual but necessary when we view it in context of the gospel. Jesus' life was in danger, so preparations had to be done in secret. The sign for contact was unusual: a man doing a woman's chore. While this might have been obvious to the people in the neighborhood, we must remember the city's population growth at the time of the Passover. The city was bursting with visitors; many households in the city were hosting guests and family members from out of town. The bustle that the holiday brought distracted people. A sign that was obvious to one person would be ignored by another, and, even if the sign were noticed, there would not be time enough to gossip about a man fetching water from the neighborhood pool.
The size of the room implied the Last Supper would be celebrated in a wealthy man's house in a well-to-do part of the city (possibly the "Upper City?"). While multi-story building were not unusual in ancient times, a banquet room on a second story suggested the owner's status as a leader in the community. Both economic and political arrangements were negotiated over meals in the homes of leaders; a banquet room indicated the place for such deal-making.
The preparation for the Passover, then, suggested Jesus had a wealthy patron in Jerusalem who felt honored to host the meal for the traveling Rabbi.
Mark placed the Last Supper in the context of betrayal. Mark 14:17-21 announced Jesus' knowledge of the plot against him and the involvement of Judas in that plot. Mark 14:27-31 prophesied the abandonment of the Master by his disciples. Thematically, these two passages created a quasi "stair-step" or "A-B-A" form to highlight the words of institution. In other words, Mark saw the Eucharist in terms of mental anguish. The commitment of intimacy found in the breaking of bread and the sharing of a cup was thread bare. Jesus gave his life to his followers. What did they give in return? Very little beyond bravado.
Two differences between the betrayal of Judas and the abandonment of the disciples were a matter of timing and intent. The prophecy of Judas' betrayal preceded the Last Supper, while the comment on abandonment was after the self-giving of the Master. Judas would dip the morsel in the common dish along with Jesus, a sign of not only fellowship, but of a interwoven destiny. Judas would be condemned for his duplicity. Those who would abandon Jesus, however, would be forgiven and become witnesses to the Resurrection. Why? They were innocent, without guile. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus would scandalize them and cause their loss of commitment.
The Last Supper glued the two prophecies together and acted as a counterpoint. As the commentary pointed out before, what Jesus did for his followers, they could not do for him. The stair-step format of these passages did put a focus on the institution Eucharist; the betrayal-abandonment comments only heightened that focus. "This is My Body...This I My Blood of the covenant, poured out for many" clearly stated the intent of Jesus; he would give is all for his followers. This gift would be fulfilled only with the realization of the Kingdom, when the Lord would "drink of the fruit of the vine anew." That fulfillment would come in the Resurrection.
============================================================

Medical Description of the Crucifixion

1. It is the most painful death ever invented by man and is where we get our term “excruciating.”
2. It was reserved primarily for the most vicious of male criminals.
Jesus refused the anesthetic wine which was offered to Him by the Roman         soldiers because of His promise in Matthew 26: 29, “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
3. Jesus was stripped naked and His clothing divided by the Roman guards. This was in fulfilment of Psalm 22:18, “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”
4. The Crucifixion of Jesus guaranteed a horrific, slow, painful death.
Having been nailed the Cross, Jesus now had an impossible anatomical position to maintain.
5. Jesus’ knees were flexed at about 45 degrees, and He was forced to bear His weight with the muscles of His thigh, which is not an anatomical position which is possible to maintain for more than a few minutes without severe cramp in the muscles of the thigh and calf.
6. Jesus’ weight was borne on His feet, with nails driven through them.
As the strength of the muscles of Jesus’ lower limbs tired, the weight of His body had to be transferred to His wrists, His arms, and His shoulders.
7. Within a few minutes of being placed on the Cross, Jesus’ shoulders were dislocated.
Minutes later Jesus’ elbows and wrists became dislocated.
8. The result of these upper limb dislocations is that His arms were 9 inches longer than normal, as clearly shown on the Shroud.
9. In addition prophecy was fulfilled in Psalm 22:14, “I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint.”
10. After Jesus’ wrists, elbows, and shoulders were dislocated, the weight of His body on his upper limbs caused traction forces on the Pectoralis Major muscles of His chest wall.
11. These traction forces caused His rib cage to be pulled upwards and outwards, in a most unnatural state. His chest wall was permanently in a position of maximal respiratory inspiration. In order to exhale, Jesus was physiologically required to force His body.
12. In order to breathe out, Jesus had to push down on the nails in His feet to raise His body, and allow His rib cage to move downwards and inwards to expire air from His lungs.
13. His lungs were in a resting position of constant maximum inspiration.
Crucifixion is a medical catastrophe.
14. The problem was that Jesus could not easily push down on the nails in His feet because the muscles of His legs, bent at 45 degrees, were extremely fatigued, in severe cramp, and in an anatomically compromised position.
15. Unlike all Hollywood movies about the Crucifixion, the victim was extremely active. Think about that for three hours.
The crucified victim was physiologically forced to move up and down the cross, a distance of about 12 inches, in order to breathe.
16. The process of respiration caused excruciating pain, mixed with the absolute terror of asphyxiation.
17. As the six hours of the Crucifixion wore on, Jesus was less and less able to bear His weight on His legs, as His thigh and calf muscles became increasingly exhausted.
There was increasing dislocation of His wrists, elbows and shoulders, and further elevation of His chest wall, making His breathing more and more difficult
Within minutes of crucifixion Jesus became severely dyspnoeic (dis-pa-noyic short of breath).
18. His movements up and down the Cross to breathe caused excruciating pain in His wrist, His feet, and His dislocated elbows and shoulders.
19. The movements became less frequent as Jesus became increasingly exhausted, but the terror of imminent death by asphyxiation forced Him to continue in His efforts to breathe.
20. Jesus’ lower limb muscles developed excruciating cramp from the effort of pushing down on His legs, to raise His body, so that He could breathe out, in their anatomically compromised position.
21. The pain from His two shattered median nerves in His wrists exploded with every movement.
22. Jesus was covered in blood and sweat.
23. The blood was a result of the Scourging that nearly killed Him, and the sweat as a result of His violent involuntary attempts to effort to expire air from His lungs.
Throughout all this He was completely naked, and the leaders of the Jews, the crowds, and the thieves on both sides of Him were jeering, swearing and laughing at Him.
In addition, Jesus’ own mother was watching.
24. Physiologically, Jesus’ body was undergoing a series of catastrophic and terminal events.
25. Because Jesus could not maintain adequate ventilation of His lungs, He was now in a state of hypoventilation (inadequate ventilation).
26. His blood oxygen level began to fall, and He developed Hypoxia (low blood oxygen).
In addition, because of His restricted respiratory movements, His blood carbon dioxide (CO2) level began to rise, a condition known as Hypercapnia.
27. This rising CO2 level stimulated His heart to beat faster in order to increase the delivery of oxygen, and the removal of CO2

28. The Respiratory Centre in Jesus’ brain sent urgent messages to his lungs to breathe faster, and Jesus began to pant.
29. Jesus’ physiological reflexes demanded that He took deeper breaths, and He involuntarily moved up and down the Cross much faster, despite the excruciating pain.
The agonizing movements spontaneously started several times a minute, to the delight of the crowd who jeered Him, the Roman soldiers, and the Sanhedrin.
30. However, due to the nailing of Jesus to the Cross and His increasing exhaustion, He was unable to provide more oxygen to His oxygen starved body.
31. The twin forces of Hypoxia (too little oxygen) and Hypercapnia (too much CO2) caused His heart to beat faster and faster, and Jesus developed Tachycardia (persistent increased heart rate)
32. Jesus’ heart beat faster and faster, and His pulse rate was probably about 220 beats/ minute, the maximum normally sustainable.
33. Jesus had drunk nothing for 15 hours, since 6 pm the previous evening.
Jesus had endured a scourging which nearly killed Him.
34. He was bleeding from all over His body following the Scourging, the crown of thorns, the nails in His wrists and feet, and the lacerations following His beatings and falls.

35. Jesus was already very dehydrated, and His blood pressure fell alarmingly.
36. His blood pressure was probably about 80/50.
37. He was in First Degree Shock, with Hypovolaemia (low blood volume), Tachycardia (excessively fast Heart Rate), Tachypnoea (excessively fast Respiratory Rate), and Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating).
38. By about noon Jesus’ heart probably began to fail.
39. Jesus’ lungs probably began to fill up with Pulmonary Oedema (too much fluid in the lungs)
40. This only served to exacerbate His breathing, which was already severely compromised.
41. Jesus was in Heart Failure and Respiratory Failure.
42. Jesus said, “I thirst” because His body was crying out for fluids.
43. Jesus was in desperate need of an intravenous infusion of blood and plasma to save His life
44. Jesus could not breathe properly and was slowly suffocating to death.
45. At this stage Jesus probably developed a Hemopericardium. (Hema-pera-cardeeum – blood in the pericardial sac of the heart which is a fibrous sac that encloses the heart and great vessels. It keeps the heart in a stable location in the mediastinum, facilitates its movements, and separates it from the lungs and other mediastinal structures.)
46.Plasma and blood gathered in the space around His heart, called the Pericardium.
47. This fluid around His heart caused Cardiac Tamponade (fluid around His heart, which prevented Jesus’ heart from beating properly).
48. Because of the increasing physiological demands on Jesus’ heart, and the advanced state of Hemopericardium, Jesus probably eventually sustained Cardiac Rupture. His heart literally burst. This was probably the cause of His death.
49. To slow the process of death the soldiers put a small wooden seat on the Cross, which would allow Jesus the “privilege” of bearing His weight on his sacrum (small bony structure at bottom of the lumbar vertebrae (tail bone))
50. The effect of this was that it could take up to nine days to die on a Cross.
51. When the Romans wanted to expedite death they would simply break the legs of the victim, causing the victim to suffocate in a matter of minutes. This was called Crucifragrum.
52. At three o’clock in the afternoon Jesus said, “Tetelastai,” meaning, “It is finished.”
At that moment, He gave up His Spirit, and He died.
53. When the soldiers came to Jesus to break His legs, He was already dead. Not a bone of His body was broken, in fulfilment of prophecy (above).
54. Jesus died after six hours of the most excruciating and terrifying torture ever invented.
55. Jesus died so that ordinary people like you and me could go to Heaven.

Respiratory Inspiration - is the process of taking air into the lungs. It is the active phase of ventilation because it is the result of muscle contraction. During inspiration, the diaphragm contracts and the thoracic cavity increases in volume. This decreases the interalveolar pressure so that air flows into the lungs.

Spikenard (spike nard) was an expensive perfume mentioned in the Song of Solomon (1:12; 4:13–14) and in the gospels’ accounts of women anointing Jesus (Mark 14:3; John 12:3).
Spikenard had a strong, distinctive aroma, similar to an essential oil that clings to skin and hair and continues to give off its heady perfume. It was also thought to have medicinal properties. According to Eastman’s Bible Dictionary, spikenard “is the root of an Indian plant, the Nardostachys jatamansi, (nardo stan chees   jata man see) of the family of Valeriance, growing on the Himalaya mountains and in India. It is distinguished by its having many hairy spikes shooting out from one root.” The ointment prepared from the root was highly valued. Spikenard symbolized the very best in ancient cultures the way that “Tiffany diamond” or the “gold standard” does to us.
Spikenard had a unique fragrance, and the presence of its aroma was an indication that the very best had been offered. In the Song of Solomon, spikenard is mentioned in reference to the love between bride and groom. In Song of Solomon 1:12, the bride says, “While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.” Those words imply that, despite all other fragrances in the room, only his bride’s would matter to the groom. The presence of spikenard represented their passion for each other and their desire to have only the best define their love.

When Mary of Bethany broke her alabaster jar of spikenard (John 12:3) and bathed the feet of Jesus with the oil, she, too, wanted only the best to define her love for Him. It has been speculated that this jar may have been Mary’s dowry or her inheritance. In other words, this jar of spikenard ointment may have been all she had of value, and she poured it out on Him. Her extravagant gift is a picture of the kind of offering expected of each of us. Only the best was worthy of her Lord, and she was willing to give everything as an act of worship.
A denarius (or "penny") was what an agricultural worker typically was paid for one day's labor (probably 10 hours, sunup to sundown) Mt. 20:2-9). Was worth about 15 cents.

Note Rev. 6:6 which sets the price of wheat at a penny per measure, or barley at a penny for 3 measures. I have been told that a measure here is enough to feed a person for a day. In other words, it would take an agricultural worker's entire wages for a day to feed himself on wheat; or he would be able to feed himself and two other family members on barley. This verse is obviously indicating a difficult time.
To put the value in today’s dollars let’s assume a minimum wage of $7.50 per hour today. Since some had said the jar was worth 300 days wages it would be worth 7.50 times 10 times 300 or $22,500.00. WOW!!!

===================================================================

Sunday March 17, 2024 – Fifth Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 35

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                   Jer 31:31-34

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers
the day I took them by the hand
to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
for they broke my covenant,
and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.
I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives
how to know the LORD.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15.

R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Reading 2                   Heb 5:7-9

In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Gospel                       Jn 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
'Father, save me from this hour'?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name."
Then a voice came from heaven,
"I have glorified it and will glorify it again."
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
Jesus answered and said,
"This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself."
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                             Jer 31:31-34

On this Sunday, we hear words of promise from the prophet Jeremiah, words about a new covenant and a renewed relationship between God and God's people.
The words are addressed to a people in exile, far from home and bereft of hope. The covenant between God and Israel, the covenant made so long ago at Sinai, is (or seems to be) broken. God has not protected Israel from harm and they have been taken into exile.
Into such a situation, the prophet speaks words of promise. But he frames those promises in terms of the very relationship in question. The prophet speaks of a covenant -- like the one made at Sinai -- between the Lord and Israel. "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31).
There is both continuity and discontinuity with what has come before. The continuity lies in the character of God and the love God continues to have for a wayward people. God will not abandon Israel forever. God will not forget God's promises made so long ago at Sinai:
I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. (Exodus 29:45; cf. Exodus 6:7)
And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. (Leviticus 26:12)
Just so, in this new covenant, God promises, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33). The relationship is not new. Israel knows this God, and God knows this people. The promises Jeremiah speaks build on a long and shared history between God and Israel, a history marked by wavering on the part of the people and by faithfulness on the part of God. God continues to love this wayward people; they continue to be God's treasured possession. In this new covenant there is indeed continuity with what has come before.
The discontinuity is, of course, implied with the term, "new." This is a new covenant with Israel, not like the covenant at Sinai, "a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says GOD" (Jeremiah 31:32). Still, what is new about this covenant is not so much its content, but the means by which God will bring it about.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says GOD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know GOD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says GOD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)
The old covenant, written on stone tablets and scrolls, will be replaced by the new covenant, written on flesh. The first set of stone tablets was broken (Exodus 32:19), the second set written again (Exodus 34:1) and hidden away in the Ark of the Covenant (Deuteronomy 10:5). The book of the law, containing the stipulations of the covenant, likewise was stored beside the Ark (Deuteronomy 31:24-26) and mostly forgotten until it was rediscovered in the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 22), in the early days of Jeremiah's prophetic career.
Unlike the old covenant, then, written on stone tablets that can be broken and scrolls that can be lost, the new covenant will be written within the people, on their very hearts. No need for remedial religious education, because everyone will know GOD, from the king to the stable boy, from the oldest elder to the youngest child.
And it will all be GOD's doing. "I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more." The people have not demonstrated a great aptitude for faithfulness during the many years of the old covenant, so this time GOD will do it differently. This time, the covenant relies solely on GOD's mercy, GOD's ever-present grace in forgiving a disobedient people and calling them back into relationship with him.
And it is all God's doing. In and through Jesus Christ, the God of Jeremiah continues to forgive, renew, reform, and call God's people into right relationship with him and with one another. God is faithful, even when we are not.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15.

In verses 1 -- 5, the psalm begins with a cry for forgiveness, emphasizing the urgency of the situation with a series of imperative verbs: have mercy, blot out, wash, and cleanse. The picture behind the Hebrew word translated "transgressions" in verses 1, 3, and 13, is one of rebellion, as when children rebel against parents (see also Isaiah 1:2). The literal sense of the Hebrew translated "iniquity" (verses 2, 9) is "to be bent out of shape." For example, in Psalm 38:6, the Jewish Publication Society Bible gives the translation "I am all bent." The word translated "sin" (Hebrew hata' in verses 2, 3, 4, 9) or "sinner" (5 and 13) in non-theological contexts means "to miss the target." Judges 20:16 tells of 700 left-handed sling-shotters who could "sling a stone at a hair and not miss (hata')."

Balancing these words for sin are three Hebrew picture-words for forgiveness. The Hebrew translated "blot out" in verse 1 is also used to "wipe" a dirty dish (2 Kings 21:13). To "wash" in verses 2 and 7 could better be translated "scrub," as one scrubs dirty clothes (Exodus 19:10, 14). "Cleanse" in verse 2 and "be clean" in verse 7 is the same word used for washing clothes in a river (Leviticus 13:6, 34, 58).
In verses 13 -- 17, the one praying looks forward to being happy and right with God once again (verses 8, 11-12). Once he/she experiences the joy of being forgiven, he/she vows to witness and teach others about it and sing and praise God (verses 13-15). In verses 16 and 17 the psalmist says, "The sort of sacrifice the Lord desires is not something I bring as an offering. Rather, the Lord wants me, broken spirit, broken heart and all" (see also Micah 6:6-8).

Reading 2                             Heb 5:7-9

Christ was obedient not only in his death, but from the moment of his coming into the world.
This is the message of today's epistle reading. The author's declaration here is close to Paul's statement in Romans 3:25, where he speaks of God putting forward Jesus "as an expiation through faith in his blood." Yet, it is not Paul that the author of Hebrews has in mind.
What we find here is a positive explanation of Christ's priestly act. What is said about Christ is in reply to the inability of the priestly or Levitical sacrificial system to perfect the individual's conscience. The author said in 9:14 that the perfection of conscience was the goal of worship. The speaker here is Christ. In fact, it is only the second time in the book that Jesus himself speaks. More importantly, these words are ascribed to Christ "when [he] came into the world" (Hebrews 10:5). Thus, the complete obedience that is the essence of Christ's priesthood is also expressive of his character. One may clearly see this in his faithful and obedient sacrifice on the cross, but the author wants us to understand that Christ was faithful at the moment of his coming into existence. Jesus is the son who "learned obedience through what he suffered" (5:8), and did so from the beginning.
The actual verses quoted from the psalm come from the Septuagint (i.e., the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) rather than the Hebrew. This is most evident in the use of the term "body," which does not appear in the Hebrew rendition. (It has "ear.") The point appears to be that Jesus was committed entirely to God, including his body.
It was through a single-minded obedience of Christ's will and -- most pointedly -- body, says Hebrews, that our sanctification through God's will has come about. The author wants us to see that the incarnation is explained by the atonement, but the atonement would never have come about without Christ's faithful obedience. Moreover, the sacrifice offered up by Jesus was so perfectly complete that no repetition of it is either necessary or possible. It was offered "once for all" (10:10). Although Jesus "learned obedience from the things he suffered," which implies that he grew in his understanding of the divine will, the reading for today wants us to be certain that even at the moment of the incarnation Jesus was thoroughly committed to carrying it out.

Gospel                                 Jn 12:20-33

This lectionary periscope is the opening section of Jesus’ final discourse for the world.
Greeks arrive on the scene, find Philip, and make one of the most extraordinary requests of the entire Gospel, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Jesus’ discourse that follows is, in part, a response to this request. If you wish to see Jesus, then this is what you will and must see. There is a reason this verse finds itself carved on or engraved in our pulpits. It is a summative theology of preaching, particularly for the Fourth Gospel. Any sermon on the Gospel of John has this as its goal, the very real presence of Jesus that needs to be experienced by any or all of our human senses. Jesus’ response to the request of the Greeks announces that the hour has come (meaning the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension). In many respects, what follows is an interpretation of the hour for the world to hear. One way to view Jesus’ last public discourse is as an interpretation of the “final” sign in the Gospel: Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Both this discourse and the Farewell Discourse are based on the fact that the hour is here. These two discourses share that perspective and shape what Jesus will say and how he will say it in the chapters that follow.
A call to discipleship
An immediate example of how Jesus’ last public words foreshadow his personal words to the disciples is the image offered in John 12:24. The metaphor of bearing fruit will receive fuller treatment in the image of the vine and the branches in chapter 15. Verse 25 is further commentary on the agricultural metaphor presented in verse 24, but viewed through the lens of the Farewell Discourse has less to do with function of Jesus’ death as it does with the possibility of what the disciples will do when Jesus is gone. They will do greater works than these (John 14:12) because Jesus is returning to the Father. So much of this last discourse from Jesus is about discipleship. To serve Jesus (John 13:16) is to follow Jesus and to follow Jesus is to do the works that he did, to feed and tend his sheep (John 13:36-37; 21:15-19), to testify on his behalf (John 15:27).
Don’t forget who Jesus is
John 12:27 is demonstrative of how different the portrait of Jesus is in the Gospel of John. John’s Jesus would never ask for this cup to pass (John 18:11) but willingly lays down his life in the events that are to come. John 12:28-30 should be reminiscent of both the baptism of Jesus and the event of the Transfiguration in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36), the latter omitted from the Fourth Gospel and the former, the baptism of Jesus, does not include the words from heaven, neither for the benefit of the crowd nor for Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus does not need confirmation of who he is (John 12:30). He is perfectly aware of his origin, his relationship with God, and his identity (John 1:1). The voice from heaven does not confirm Jesus’ origin, his relationship to God, or his identity, but rather testifies that in Jesus, God’s name has been glorified (John 12:28-30).
A moment of decision
This section of John’s Gospel, particularly 12:31-33, is also the moment of judgment because this is the last time the “world” will hear Jesus’ words. To listen to Jesus is to believe in him and this, for all intents and purposes, is the last chance. The ruler of this world will be cast out, which will be acted out in the next chapter, with the departure of Judas to the dark side (13:27-30). This is another example by which to know that what Jesus says is true. Verses 32-33 at first glance seem to foreshadow the crucifixion. At the same time, literally, “what sort of death he was about to die” suggests that the “the sort of death” includes also that that death leads to his resurrection and ascension. When Jesus is lifted up from the earth to draw all people to himself, that lifting up is simultaneously all three events: crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The Farewell Discourse provides confirmation of this in that Jesus’ parting words are not just in anticipation of his death, but in anticipation of his ascension, perhaps a far more difficult reality to face than his inevitability in a tomb. To what extent the ascension is even harder theologically because of the resurrection? Jesus must prepare his disciples for his twice departure, his death and his ascension.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

There is a question that we sometimes hear people ask, “What’s in it for me?” Have you ever heard someone ask that question, or have you ever asked that question yourself? What are some of the situations in which you have heard this question? What does it mean?
“What’s in it for me?” is a common question in our society.
After reading todays Gospel, what do you think Jesus might say about the question?
“What’s in it for me?” is the wrong question for followers of Jesus. Jesus certainly didn't ask this question as he journeyed to the cross. What does today’s Gospel tell us Jesus was thinking about when he thought about his death on the cross? (his Father, God; all sinners; the entire world) Jesus teaches his disciples that those who want to follow him must serve others, thinking about others’ needs before their own.
We are approaching the end of Lent. What might you do between now and Easter to show your willingness to follow Jesus in this way?
Pray the Prayer of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Dearest Lord,
teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve You as You deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward
save that of knowing I am doing Your Will.

===========================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Reading 1                   Jer 31:31-34

At first, Jeremiah preached for the religious reforms of King Josiah. When succeeding kings turned away from the reforms, however, Jeremiah railed against the royal and religious abuses. With the coming Babylonian exile, Jeremiah preached the destruction of the nation. But, Jeremiah offered a ray of hope with a new covenant that God would offer to a chastened people.
With the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of people to Babylon, the institutions of the old covenants were gone. The ark of the covenant in the Temple (which represented God's covenant at Sinai) was gone. The Temple which represented worship to God was gone. The institution of the king (which represented God's covenant to David) was gone. Their absence led the way for a new covenant.
The new covenant God offers was an intimate one. The people would no longer rely on institutions or culture for a relationship with God. God himself would reach out to his people. The new covenant would be with people's hearts. People would intuitively know ethical conduct and true worship based upon the love God has for them and the love they returned.How would people know God's love? People would know God through his forgiveness. Forgiveness is a way to "re-create" people anew. When God stated he would no longer remember the people's sin, he meant that the memory and the consequences of immoral acts would be erased from the natural order. It would be as if God had created the universe so that the immorality never existed! The people would return to God with grateful hearts.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15.
In 51:1-9, the prayer can be divided into a prayer for mercy (51:1-2), an acknowledgment of offense (51:3-5) and, again, a prayer for mercy (51:7-9). Thematically, this a very loose "A-B-A" structure, but there is a marked differences, especially in the notion of washing/cleansing. In 51:7, a sprinkling with hyssop (a plant dipped in water, then tossed lightly over the congregation) was far different than the cold water washing implied in 51:2 (clothes rung in a stream and beat against a rock). At the core of 51:3-5 was an intimate knowledge of evil that was at the root of sin. The singer knew his sin because he experienced it. He was always cognizant of his failing, even from his conception. (This was more likely a metaphor for the guilt the signer felt than a slap against the moral integrity of his mother.) 51:6 stood out in this section, as it recognized divine wisdom came to a humble heart; human wisdom implicitly came from a proud heart.
51:10-13 continued the petition for mercy; it was an extension of 51:7-9. Notice the plea for a clean heart and steadfast spirit both mimicked God's steadfast mercy and depended upon his presence/Holy Spirit (51:11-12); to live the Law (and, hence, a sin-free life) depended upon God. Life in God's presence was a clear definition of salvation and spiritual renewal (51:12). As a result, the leader would have the moral and spiritual authority to teach sinning subjects and facilitate their return to YHWH (51:13).
51:14-17 turned the petition of mercy toward praise. "If you keep me from death, I will praise you." This was not a conditional statement ("If you do this for me, I will do this for you") but a recognition that, for the Jew, only the living can praise the Living God. More important, these verses recognized that only the humble can truly praise God; the haughty and the proud are so full of themselves, they can only offer mere words of praise.

Reading 2                            Heb 5:7-9

Although this reading was Hebrews 5:7-9, it was part of a long sentence that covered 5:6-10. So, the entire sentence has been translated in the literal form. The references about Melchizedek form bookends to the activity of the Christ, according to the author of Hebrews.
Who was Melchizedek? In Genesis 14:18-20, we read,
And Mel-chizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed (Abram) and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"
Two items stand out. Melchizedek was the king of Salem ("peace" or Shalom) and was a priest of God Most High, who the Jews identified as YHWH. Since Melchizedek was a king-priest of God Almighty with no origin or destiny (he suddenly appeared then disappeared), traditions used him as a symbol for an eternal priesthood. From the time of the Davidic dynasties onward, many believers saw Melchizedek was an archetype for the institution of Aaron's priesthood. When the priesthood became corrupt in the eyes of many, they equated Melchizedek with the coming Messiah, the king-priest who would liberate the nation and re-institute pure worship in the Temple.
Then, the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D. And the dreams of many for the Messiah died in the toppled ruins of Jerusalem.
The author of Hebrews, however, spiritualized the image of the king-priest "according to the rank of Melchizedek." The Christ liberated (with eternal salvation) and offered true worship in heaven before God directly. Notice the steps of the author's logic. With his own death ("loud shouts and tears"), the Christ offered worship ("requests and prayers") to the "One having the power to save him from death" (in this sense, from the permanence of death; hence the resurrection of the Christ). His death was a sign of his Son-ship, for it showed his perfect obedience to the Father. God completely perfected his Christ in his resurrection. So, though his death (his priesthood and sacrifice) and his resurrection (his anointing as King), he became the cause of eternal salvation. In this way, the Christ fulfilled the Melchizedek image.
So, the author of Hebrews presented us with a thumb nail image of the Messiah. The risen Lord is our King as our Servant. The risen Lord is also our means to worship the Father. He is our Victim and High Priest. His reign and worship is eternal.

Gospel                       Jn 12:20-33

Some of the (non-Jews) were going up (to Jerusalem) so that they might worship in the (Passover) festival. 21 Then, these people came to Philip, the one from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were asking him, saying, "Sir, we want to see JESUS." 22 Philip came and told (the request) to Andrew. Andrew and Philip came and told (it) to JESUS.
"(non-Jews)" is literally "Greeks." Greeks, in this sense, were not citizens of the peninsula region known as Greece, but were simply non-Jews of the eastern Mediterranean or the Fertile Crescent. With the conquest of Alexander the Great, Greek language and culture dominated the area. Many city dwellers adopted Greek as their primary language and culture. These non-Jews were later known as "righteous" Gentiles, people who honored the Jewish people and their God.
"...going up (to Jerusalem)...in the (Passover) festival." The context of 12:12-19 set the identification of the place and the holy day. Since Jerusalem was established on a high point between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, and since the Temple was set on a high point in the city, the notion of "going up" made some sense.
Philip was a Greek name. Some scholars speculate these Greek speaking Gentiles went to Philip because they thought he spoke Greek and, so, could act as a go-between.
"Sir" is literally "Lord." In the context, they approached Philip with a formal address.
Why did Philip go to Andrew? In a group oriented culture, a request by two people in front of the group was honorable. A request in private might smack of favoritism.
John opened this section with "Greeks," Gentiles who spoke the language of commence and adopted the dominant culture at the time. They came to Philip with one request: to see Jesus. The verb "to see" meant more than "to behold with the eyes." These foreigners wanted to investigate the possibility of becoming disciples. They had heard about Jesus (i.e., his reputation or "glory") and wanted to "see" if they could follow him.
Like many other times in his gospel, John wove several themes into the scene. The foreigners were fellow pilgrims, seekers of the true God. They mingled with the Jews at Passover, a celebration of the people's freedom by God's hand. (Did a mixture of "Greeks" and Jews represent John's community?) The stage was set for the universal Messiah to reveal his true self, his true "glory." The Passover of the people would become the Passover of the Messiah.
JESUS answered them, saying,
"The hour has come so that the Son of Man might be given glory.
Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falling to the ground dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it carries much fruit. 25 The one loving his (life) destroys it. The one hating his (life) in this world will save it into eternal life.
If someone might give service to ME, let him follow (me). Where I AM, there also will be MY servant. If someone might give service to ME, the Father will honor him.
"The hour has come..." The "hour" as a moment in time has the same meaning as the "right time."
"...Son of Man might be given glory." Glory, here, did not mean human praise alone but self-giving. The Son of Man did not seek the praise of men, but the opportunity to unite all people to God. And, so, to give them eternal life. Jesus spoke of a glory only service brings.
12:25 "(life)" is literally "soul." Jews did not think of the soul as separate part or different aspect of the person. They did not divide the person into body and soul. For the contemporaries of Jesus, "soul" equaled "life" or better "they way one spends his or her life." In this sense, life was a set of daily activities that reflected a person's real values.
"loving (life)...hating (life)" The culture of Jesus used extreme and exaggerated language to make a point. Jesus was not talking about the extremes of self-indulgence vs. self-abasement (even self-abasement performed out of pride is a form of self-indulgence). He used the language to clarify a comparison of values. Does one dedicate his or her life to promote the self or to promote the good of others?
In this passage, Jesus' monologue can be divided into two parts: 1) the self-giving of the Son and his followers and 2) the glory of the Father and the Son. In first part, Jesus defined the glory of the Son as his death and resurrection. His followers are assembled, the Jewish old-timers and the Gentile neophytes. They were gathered by his reputation (i.e., his 'glory"). Now he would reveal what that glory meant: dying to self.
The analogy of the wheat grain addressed the priorities of people. Those who selfishly clung to life would remain on the stalk alone, and would wither away. Those who gave their lives to others would die, but see others live and would enjoy eternal life. They would bear "much fruit." Notice those who gave up their lives unselfishly followed Jesus to his death. Jesus did not follow them.
The glory of Jesus was a paradox with external and internal dimensions. Externally, the common people in antiquity viewed death on the cross as the ultimate shame. Yet, the self-giving of Jesus revealed his status as the only Son of God. Hence, he had the greatest "glory," for he obeyed the will of his Father. (Remember, in a group-oriented culture, obedience to the patriarch was equivalent to family loyalty; what one did for the "father" of the clan benefited the entire family).
But, through his obedience, Jesus revealed his glory as God's "Servant." This image was the internal paradox of the community. To be a servant of the Lord (his follower), one must serve him and others. The servant served the servants, creating an equality among the followers of Jesus. So, the "glory" of the Christian community lie in humility, the quality of giving true deference to others. Leadership was to exercised in love and humble service, not in power and brutality. The Father would honor those who truly followed in the footsteps of the Master. For the Father loved the humble.
27 Now MY soul has been troubled and what might I say: 'Father, deliver ME from this hour?' But, because of this, I came to this hour. 28 Father, give glory to your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven: "I gave (it) glory and I will again give (it) glory." 29 There was a crowd standing (there) and, having heard (the voice) said, "Thunder occurred." Others were saying, "An angel has spoken to HIM." 30 Jesus answered and said:
"This voice did not happen for my sake, but for your sake.
31 Now the judgment of the world is this: Now, the ruler of this world will be thrown outside (his realm). 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me."
33 (He was saying this, signifying what sort of death he was going to die.)
12:27 "soul" in this verse is the same word translated as "life" in 12:25. So the verse could be translated loosely as, "The way I have lived my life now distresses me (because it leads to the cross)." While Jesus admitted to self-doubt, he never wavered from his role, as the rest of 12:27 stated.
12:30 "not for my sake, but for your sake" is literally "not because of me, but because of you."
12:32 "I will draw everyone to me." The verb "draw" paints a fishing image of gathering a large catch in a net.
Despite any misgivings, Jesus faced his "hour" because of the Father's will. His death would reveal the glory of the Father (i.e., define what sort of God the Christians believed in). And glorify the "name" of the Father. Since the name revealed the character and inner strength of the person, according to ancient belief, "glorifying the name of the Father" meant revealing the power of the Father. Jesus would show the God's power with an outpouring of his love. Jesus' prayer and the heavenly response, then, affirmed the coming of Jesus' "hour."
As the cross revealed the Father's love, it also reveal the Father's judgment. The ruler of the world (the Evil One) would be ejected. And everyone would be lifted up with Jesus, on the cross and in the resurrection (the image in 12:32 could refer to either). John, then, affirmed God's love did not save anyone from suffering on this earth, or even physical death. But, the faithful Christian would enjoy the presence of God now and in the life to come. All of this, because of Jesus.
Christ's death began something new. A new relationship with God in God's new time. The dying breath of Jesus released his Spirit upon the world. It established a new covenant and marked the beginning of the end times. Nothing would ever be the same.
How did the death of Jesus create this new relationship and new time? We can find the answer in his self-giving, his self sacrifice. The image of Jesus on the cross reveals what sort of God we believe in and what sort of response he asks for. First, when Jesus freely gave himself over to sinful men, he clear showed the world his Father was full of love. His Father was willing to go to any length to bring all of us into a love relationship with himself. Second, the image of Jesus on the cross invites (does not demand) us to love God in return. Thus, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God offers himself to all of us in love, and, through the cross, we all can respond in kind.
Notice the cross marked the end of disobedience. His Son obeyed. And through his Son's obedience, we can participate in God's love, that which empowers obedience. Through his Son's obedience, we are justified before God, for we now can love as God loves us.
Love has a cost. It involves suffering and sacrifice. We, as Christians, follow Jesus to the cross where he shows us the way to the Father.
What does the cross mean to you? Have you ever meditated on a crucifix, seen a Passion Play, or participated in a "Way of the Cross?"
There is a folly to the cross. And that folly still exists today. The glory of the Christian is the cross, for the cross points to God's love far better than any other blessing received in life. It is a universal sign of God's love. And a universal invitation to follow Jesus. Let us pray we, too, can show others God's love, even though his love leads to the cross. And to the resurrection

Sunday March 10, 2024 - Fourth Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 32

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1         2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people
added infidelity to infidelity,
practicing all the abominations of the nations
and polluting the LORD’s temple
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them,
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets,
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed
that there was no remedy.
Their enemies burnt the house of God,
tore down the walls of Jerusalem,
set all its palaces afire,
and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon,
where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons
until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah:
“Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths,
during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest
while seventy years are fulfilled.”

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6.

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

For there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Reading 2 Eph 2:4-10
Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —,
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.


Gospel jn 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                           2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

Confusion. Times we're clueless. Subjects in which we pray for "enlightenment," a journey away from "darkness."
It's easy to use the analogies of "light" and "darkness" when academic notions are discussed. "Light" is mastery of the subject. "Darkness" is ignorance. However, when we apply these analogies to the faith and morality, we can no longer speak of "light" as mastery, but as commitment. "Light" becomes faithfulness. "Darkness" becomes rejection.
In Jesus' discourse to Nicodemus, he spoke of "light" and "darkness." But, the light was not the believer's commitment to God. The "Light" was Christ, the Father's commitment to his creation.
This Sunday's gospel presents Jesus' final comments to Nicodemus, who visited the Master at night. John used this opportunity to contrast light from dark, salvation from condemnation. He saw the "world" as those who hid from the light (dishonorable) and those who act in the light (the honorable). Of course, the honorable look to Jesus.

John paralleled the symbols of the bronze snake and the cross. According to Genesis 2, the poisonous snake personified evil (i.e., Satan). John saw everyone in the world had been bitten by that snake. And the only way to be saved was to look up to the crucified One, just as the Israelites looked up at the bronze snake to be saved.

Like any good Hebrew, John did not believe in fate. All evil had its roots in the freely chosen acts of people. But, John saw there was only one way to reject evil: a trust relationship with God's Son. The Father had given the world his Son, a much greater gift than creation itself. For, through the Son, God was present to his people.
John implicitly equated the "sin" of rejecting the Son to the "original sin" of Adam. Those who did not "trust in the name of God's only begotten Son" did not trust in his power to make God present. They insisted on finding their own way, like Adam. Those who chose their way condemn themselves, simply because they did not walk with their Creator.
Throughout this study, we have seen analogies. Light vs. dark. Acquitted vs. judged. Saved vs. condemned. Analogies make understanding easier, especially in the moving themes of John. Unfortunately, analogies sometimes break down when we are faced with real life.
There is, however, one constant, unchanging factor in our faith life: God's faithfulness to us. God invites us to respond in kind. His invitation is his Son, the One he gave to the world. Do we accept the faithfulness we find in his Son? Do we commit ourselves to return his faithfulness? These are the questions the gospel of John asks us.


Responsorial Psalm                        Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6.
We all have to survive tough times, whether we like it or not. Sometimes the tough times are communal (like 9-11); we have the support of others to sustain us. Sometimes the tough times are personal; the support of others is not guaranteed to help us through divorce, illness, loss of job, etc. Tough times present us with choices. We can wallow in self pity and lash out at others, or we can use these times to grow spiritually. (Personally, I've experienced the results of both choices).
Psalm 137 presented the exiles in Babylon with the choices of tough times. Physically and spiritually, they were in a foreign environment. In 137:1-4, the people were so depressed they would not sing national songs before their captors (despite the fact they might sing this psalm in private). Of course, their lament was also mixed with their opposition to the Babylonians. They refused to give their jailers the satisfaction of belittling them.

In the heat of tough times, it's easy to curse instead of bless, cling to pride despite all else is lost, and treat the critic as the hated enemy. Those reactions are natural. However, grace might cause the person to think twice. After all, Jesus told us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.
When the tough times are over, we still might be tempted to indulge in some sort of "payback." These "scars" are also natural. But we should also remember that, after the resurrection, Jesus still had the scars to his wounds. We, too, will suffer the after affects of our tough times. The question remains: in the end, do tough times hinder us or transform us?

Reading 2                            Eph 2:4-10

In the cosmology of Ephesians, "this world" refers to the present age in enmity with God (cf. 1:21). Here "air" is understood to be the zone between earth and the heavens which is inhabited and ruled by antagonistic forces exercising control over the world below. Later in Ephesians, this ruler is labeled the devil (4:27; 6:11). The term "flesh" depicts the human condition so turned in on itself that one's passions, cravings, and mindset are in total disrepute and disobedience thus marking us as children of wrath. While this was the former existence of Christians, it remains the current reality of all non-Christians (verse 2b).
Verses 2:4-7 presents God's intervening actions and the transformation they wrought. Though we were children of wrath, God acted out of the wealth of divine mercy and abundance of love (verse 4). This divine conversion had nothing to do with how loveable we were, but with how incredibly loving God is. Thus, God made us alive with Christ, raised us with Christ, and sat us in the heavenly places where Christ now rules over all powers and dominions (2:5-6 echoing 1:20-21). In the Greek, the three verbs "made alive, raised, and seated" all have a prefix meaning "with," highlighting how God did to us what God had previously done to Christ. This emphasizes the divinely wrought solidarity shared between Christ and Christians
Gospel                                 jn 3:14-21
The central verse in this passage is perhaps the best known Bible verse in the world.
John 3:16 shows up in many public places. Hoisted on posters, etched on jewelry, and isolated from this passage, "For God so loved the world..." has become emblematic of the central message of Christian faith. This centrality is not undeserved. The power of this verse, however, is enhanced when it is read carefully and in context.
The lectionary divides Jesus' speech to Nicodemus, which begins in 3:11 and extends to 3:21, at verse 14. The passage begins with a play on the word "lift up." It describes God's command to Moses to lift up the serpent in the wilderness and the lifting up that is in store for Jesus. The passage makes little sense without the background story from Numbers 21:4-9. In that narrative, the people became "impatient" on their way. Still in the wilderness after their departure from Egypt, and despairing of being able to survive in a land with no food and water, they complained against God and Moses.
Consequently, terrible serpents appeared, bit the people, and killed them. When they repented, the Lord told Moses to make a serpent and set it on a pole so that anyone who had been bitten might look at it and live. The serpent was a mark of God's anger and God's mercy. God's people might be saved by the God of life, if only they would look upon the image of that which would have brought about their death.
To see the Son of Man lifted up calls for "belief" for the sake of eternal life, not simply a restoration of earthly life. God once saved the people by calling upon them to gaze on the serpent. Now, God would save the people by having them gaze in belief upon the Son, lifted up.
Next comes John 3:16, in which the "so" is often misunderstood. The Greek houtos means "so" in the sense of "just so," or "in this way," or the more archaic, "thusly." We could translate the verse as "This is the way God loved the world, with the result that he gave his only Son, in order that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 is not about how much God loved the world. It is about in what way God loved the world.
The single most important thing to notice about this verse is that God loved the world. God deeply loved the world that God created, and God longs for this creation to live. It is not only God's own people whom God will save, as in the Numbers story. It is the cosmos that God has loved, precisely by having given the only son,. God loved by having given the son, a non-coercive act that sets in motion real consequences.
Yet God's action was not disinterested. The purpose of God's having sent the Son was to save the world, just as the purpose of commanding Moses to erect a serpent on a pole was to save the people from death. The son came to save, to grant eternal life because God loved the world. That was Jesus' announcement. I'm here because the God who loved you of old, still does. He sent me to tell you, to show you, to gather you up into life with him forever.
Jesus' coming is like the bringing of a light into a dark space. The contrast of light and dark is intense. Indeed, the coming of the Son into the world leads to numerous pairs of contrasting realities:

condemn and save
believe and not believe
stay in the darkness and come into the light
do evil and doing what is true

These opposites express the sharp distinction that is created when our dark cosmos is entered by the light of God. Like the people in the story in Numbers, we have already been bitten or are in imminent danger of being bitten. Death is inevitable. When the bronze serpent is brought into the world, we look and live, or we do not. As Jesus comes into the world, we trust that which bears God's gracious love, or we do not. We receive eternal life or we continue to live apart from God, condemned.
If this begins to sound like a theology that demands our deciding to believe or not, we have several reminders in the context that help us to hear more deeply what John wants to say.
First, these verses are embedded in a story where Jesus continues to engage, argue, and persuade people who are slowly transformed into believers. In John 3, Nicodemus is the seeker by night who is left in confusion, only to reappear in 19:39 to help care for Jesus' body. He has emerged from darkness into light over the course of Jesus' ministry.
So also the Samaritan woman of John 4 whose long conversation with Jesus ends in a tentative belief, far from where she first began. Consider the blind man healed in John 9, whose move from darkness to light happens rather quickly in physiological terms, but more slowly in terms of identifying Jesus. The intense contrast between believing and not believing, darkness and light, and evil and truth are descriptions of realities, but not of the process by which human beings come to recognize truth, light, life, and God's own son.
Finally, verses 18-21 follow the first and most important contrast, the contrasting ways to depict God's own goal and longing. God's way of loving the world was to send the Son to save it. Jesus is God's expression of love and longing. The light comes to find us, to illuminate our path for our sake, because God wants us. God reaches out through the Son with the sheer purpose of sharing everlasting life with us.
Yes, John tells us there are real consequences in our daily life and our everlasting relationship with God. But he tells us in order to help us see the contrasts, look clearly at our lives, appreciate the gracious gift of God as a gift of love, and live in fearless confidence of that love. Have we ever been so truly and consistently desired by another as we are by God? No indeed. God loved the world in this way that he gave the Son so that we might live forever with God.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about a time when you did something that you knew to be wrong. What did you do afterward? Did you tell someone else about what you did, or did you try to hide what you had done? How did you feel afterward?
When we have done something wrong, we are often tempted to hide what we have done from others. Sometimes we even think that we can hide our sins from God. Our Gospel reading today talks about this.
According to the gospel , why did Jesus come into the world? (to save the world) How does he do this? (through his death and Resurrection, by exposing and then forgiving our sins)
Because Jesus died for our salvation, we do not hide our sins from God. Instead we confess our sins to God, confident that God forgives us. In what sacrament do we experience God’s forgiveness? (the Sacrament of Reconciliation) During Lent, many people take the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that they can experience the joy of God’s forgiveness.
Thank God for his mercy and forgiveness available to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Pray the Act of Contrition.

===========================================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES
The First Reading 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
The citizens of the Kingdom of Judah failed to repent their personal sins and their communal sin of apostasy from their covenant with Yahweh despite the many warnings by God's holy prophets of an impending divine judgment. Their failure led to God's judgment against the Kingdom of Judah, using the Babylonian army as the instrument of His divine punishment. Among the prophets the inspired writer had in mind in verse 16 were the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah and the 6th-century BC prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In the summer of 587 BC, the Babylonians attacked and destroyed Jerusalem and the magnificent Temple of Yahweh built by David's son, King Solomon (2 Kng 24:18-25:30; Jer 52:12-30). Most of the surviving citizens were taken away as captives to Babylonia to join Judeans exiled in two earlier deportations in 605 and 598 BC.
God commanded the seventy years' exile punishment in the 6th century BC through the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 25:11 and 29:10). Seventy years was the number of Sabbath years of rest the citizens of Judah failed to observe according to the Law: The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, let the land, too, keep a Sabbath for the LORD. For six years, you may sow your field, and for six years, prune your vineyard, gathering their produce. But during the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath for the LORD, when you may neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard" (Lev 25:1-4). The Sabbath year was a test of faith and obedience in which the people had to rely on God to meet their food needs. The people failed to keep the Sabbath years, and therefore, they owed God's land seventy years of complete rest, which became the duration of the exile that was a communal penance for the people. The seventy years appear to run from the fall of Jerusalem in 587 to the Temple's rebuilding in 517 BC, with funds provided by Cyrus of Persia.
The 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah was the first to deliver God's message that a king named Cyrus was to liberate God's covenant people from exile (Is 44:26-45:7). This prophecy was fulfilled historically in King Cyrus of Persia (ruled 539-530 BC). The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus dates from the fall of 539 BC. In the first year of his reign over a united Persia, Cyrus issued an edict in the fall of 538 BC, commanding the return of Judah's citizens to their homeland (also see Ezra 1:1-4).
For the covenant people, the blinding of Davidic King Zedekiah and the death of his sons appeared to be the failure of God's covenant promise to King David that a Davidic son would sit on the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam 7:12-16, 29; 23:5; Sir 45:25; 47:11/13). However, the inspired writer of 2 Kings 25:27-30 recorded that a Davidic heir did survive (also see Jer 52:31-34). And we learn from Matthew's genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:12-17) and the genealogy in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 3:23-31) that the promised line of David did continue. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the covenant God made with David, as the angel told Mary: "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end" (Lk 1:31-33). Jesus is the eternal King who came to call all those displaced by sin in their relationship with God back from exile and to full restoration as citizens in the Promised Land of His eternal Kingdom.

Responsorial Psalm 137:1-6

This psalm is a lament of the Judean exiles recalling the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Yahweh's holy Temple. The Babylonians' conquest resulted in the forced deportation of the Davidic Kingdom of Judah's citizens on the tenth day of the fourth month (June-July) in 587/6 BC. "Zion" is the mountain upon which the Israelites built the Jerusalem Temple of Yahweh (also identified as "Moriah" in 2 Chron 3:1). However, the word "Zion" also came to be identified with the faithful of the Old Covenant Church (Is 28:16.
During the covenant people's resettlement in Babylon, their captors urged them to share their national hymns. They refused because most of the songs were part of liturgical worship sung in the Temple that was the "House of Yahweh," many of which were composed by the great King David. They will not sing Yahweh's joyous hymns, but in their lament, they promise not to forget either their hymns of praise, or Yahweh, or their homeland where they worshiped the God of Israel in beauty and truth.
Make this psalm your Lenten prayer. Recite it as you repent your sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation after your restoration to fellowship with God, and as you worship the Lord and sing songs of praise with the community of the faithful of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant liturgy of worship.

The Second Reading Ephesians 2:4-10

St. Paul states that salvation from sin and death is God's gift, and we should accept it in faith. Our good deeds cannot purchase our hoped-for justification and salvation; we cannot work our way to Heaven. Instead, our good deeds must be a manifestation of our purification and gratitude to God for His abundant love and mercy. The sinner who receives God's forgiveness and restoration of fellowship with Him and the faith community should desire to do something good in return for the gift of God's mercy and grace.
In this verse 10, as in Colossians 2:12 and 3:1-4, the use of the past tense indicates that the future event of Christians' resurrection and glory united to Jesus in Heaven is considered an accomplished event. In other words, Jesus is victorious; He has conquered sin and death! All we have to do is to have the faith to claim victory in our journey to salvation. It is another example that one's salvation is not a one-time event but is a process. St. Paul expresses this concept in his letters in the past, present, and future tenses. As Christians, who are God's masterwork, having received the gift of grace and a new life through the Sacrament of Baptism, we must provide a living example of our radically altered spiritual life. When we live up to the challenge of a holy life, we ratify God's calling in electing us for eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven (2 Pt 1:10).

The Gospel of John 3:14-21
Jesus compares Himself to the healing image of the bronze serpent God told Moses to construct and raise above the Israelites' heads on a standard in the wilderness journey to the Promised Land (Num 21:4-9).   All the people had to do when the bites of deadly snakes afflicted them was to look at the figure raised above them on the standard to be saved from death.
The incident in the wilderness was a foreshadowing of Christ's crucifixion. We must look to the crucified Christ, believe that He is the only Son of God, and be "lifted up with Him" to be saved from the "bite" of eternal death. If we believe, we can receive true salvation, the gift of eternal life (Jn 3:18). When we turn in faith to Christ, repenting our sins, He cleanses us by the purifying blood and water that flowed from His pierced side (Jn 19:34; Zec 13:1). It is the reason St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:23, we preach Christ crucified, and it is why in every Catholic Mass, an image of the crucified Christ must be present.
Notice that Jesus uses the title "Son of Man" for Himself in verse 14. It is Jesus' favorite Messianic title for Himself. The title stresses Jesus' humanity, while the previous verse (not in our reading) stressed His divine origin as the one who has gone up to Heaven except the one who came down from Heaven, the Son of Man (Jn 3:13). Verse 13 is a reference to the Prophet Daniel's vision of the divine Messiah who had the appearance of a son of man/looked like a man in Daniel 7:13-14, which Jesus will allude to at His trial before the Sanhedrin before His crucifixion.

John 3:16 is one of the best-known verses in the Bible. When Jesus says God the Father did not send Him into the world to judge the world, He means that God sent Him into the world to announce the Kingdom of God and to offer the gift of salvation. Judgment comes later and depends on whether or not one decides to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
Jesus continues in verses 18-21 to say that to believe in His "name" is to believe everything that He revealed about His true nature, human and divine. It is to believe Jesus is the Son of God, to believe that He died for our sins and that He rose from the dead to raise those who believe in Him to eternal life.  But is there any in-between in so far as judgment is concerned? No. In rejecting Christ, one rejects salvation and eternal life. There is no "middle ground." This is what Peter preached in Acts 4:11-12 to the members of the Jewish Law Court when he said, "This is the stone which you, the builders, rejected but which has become the cornerstone. Only in him is there salvation; for of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved" (emphasis added).
But what about the poor soul who never heard the Gospel and therefore never had the choice? They will be judged by their consciences and the innate, natural law that God has placed in the heart of every human being (see Rom 2:12-16). However, there is a problem because sin can erode one's conscience to the point where a conscience will no longer be aware of the degree of wickedness. That is why the spread of the Gospel across the earth is so important and so necessary to bring salvation to every human being (also see Lk 12:47-48 and CCC # 846-48).
So then, to what is Jesus calling Nicodemus, a man who came to Him in darkness (see Jn 3:1-2)? He called Nicodemus to come out of the "darkness" of unbelief and into the "light" of faith. He can come into the "Light" by professing belief in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God and the "Light of the world" (Jn 1:5; 8:12), who offers the gift of God's divine grace and restoration of fellowship with God to all men and women. Grace, in its most intimate definition regarding Christ, is nothing less than divine sonship.  CCC# 1997: "Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life ..." This gift of the grace that God gives to us is His own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our souls, to heal us of sin and to sanctify us. This gift is the sanctifying or deifying grace we receive in Baptism. It is a gift of His life that God makes to us, and in turn, we become a new creation. St. Paul wrote: So for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see. It is all God's work; he reconciled us to himself through Christ and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation. I mean, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone's faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-18; also see CCC # 1999).
At the beginning of our lives, God made us as creatures and fashioned after His image. He made us in His image, but we are still creatures, nonetheless. Christ is the eternal Son "begotten" of the Father. He is the image of the Father while we are created in the image of the Father. In the New Creation, Christ gives us, through His own life, rebirth into permanent sonship. In 1 John 1:3, John writes: You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God's children, which is what we are! (emphasis added).  We are no longer just called children of God by being part of His creation. We ARE children of God by the blood of Christ, which unites us in our rebirth.
In Greek, the word is anothen, meaning = "from above"; we are reborn "from above" to become God's children. This rebirth from above is the most distinctive feature of Christianity.  It is what Pope Pius XI expressed when he said: "Ours is a religion of Divine Sonship. We are made partakers of the divine nature."  St. Peter wrote, His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire (2 Pt 1:3-4; emphasis added).  Also, see CCC# 1994-5.
God's grace "is a participation in the life of God" (CCC# 1997) through which we receive the gift of divine sonship, and by His grace, we are justified. Catholic Christians define justification as that which has been merited for us by Christ's Passion on the altar of the Cross. Like conversion, justification has two aspects: Moved by grace, we turn away from sin and to God. In submitting our lives to God, we accept forgiveness and righteousness in our transformed souls, which the Holy Spirit has infused with the very life of Christ.   Justification includes the remission of our sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner person, which is for us an on-going process in our lifelong journey toward salvation: "Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life" (CCC#1996, also see Jn 1:12-18; 17:3; Rom 8:14-17).
We are not just called "children of God" as creatures of the Creator like the people of God in the Old Covenant. The distinctive feature of divine sonship in the New Covenant is that we are no longer children in the exiled family of Adam. We become, through our Baptism by water and the Holy Spirit, reborn from above as genuine children in the family of God, infused with the life of the Son. The Catholic Church teaches that justification and salvation consist of not just being declared the children of God and thereby being only "declared just" but of actually receiving a mystical infusion of the life of Christ through which we are, in fact, justified. It was the opinion of St. Augustine that the gift of salvation and the justification of the wicked was a more extraordinary work of God than the creation of Heaven and earth because "heaven and earth will pass away but the salvation and justification of the elect...will not pass away."  He also believed "that the justification of sinners surpasses the creation of the angels in justice, in that it bears witness to a greater mercy."   Jesus came to call all men and women out of their displaced exile of sin and into eternal life as citizens in the Promised
Land of Jesus' heavenly Kingdom.

===================================================================

Sunday March 3, 2024 - Third Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 29

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                            Ex 20:1-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
"I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.

"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."

Responsorial Psalm                         Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

Reading 2                   1 Cor 1:22-25
Brothers and sisters:
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Gospel                                 Jn 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in his name
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Ex 20:1-17

God’s own introduction to these words is important for an appropriate understanding: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” The Ten Commandments are not a law code, a body of laws that are meant to float free of their narrative context. This introductory line about redemption -- often omitted from printed versions of the Ten Commandments, unfortunately -- is recognized in Judaism as the first word; “you shall have no other gods before me” is the second word.
This opening word of God accomplishes several things. It keeps the commandments personally oriented: I am the Lord your (singular) God. Obedience to the commandments is relationally conceived. These are words given to you by your God. The law is a gift of a God who has redeemed you. The Ten Commandments, then, are a gracious word of God and they begin with a word of good news about what God has done on behalf of “you” as a member of the community of faith. The commandments are to be read through the lens of that redemptive confession. God’s saving actions have drawn the people of God into a new orbit of life and blessing, to which the people respond by giving a certain “commandment shape” to their lives.
The Ten Commandments are an integral part of the covenant between God and people at Mount Sinai. This covenant is a specific covenant within the already existing covenant with Abraham. The Sinai covenant does not establish the relationship between Israel and God. Israel has long been God’s people when Sinai happens (“Let my people go”). These commandments are given to an already elected, redeemed, believing, and worshiping community. They have to do with the shape of daily life on the part of those already in relationship with God. The commandments give shape to Israel’s vocation. At the same time, the Ten Commandments specify no judicial consequences for disobedience. Their being obligatory is not conditional on their being enforceable. Their appeal is to a deeper grounding and motivation: these are the commands of the Lord your God, who has created you and redeemed you.
“You shall have no other gods before me” introduces the commandments and gives shape to all the others. Idolatry is the focus. But how will we define idolatry? It commonly has reference to material images; the story of the golden calf comes to mind. In such cases, “other gods” is shaped by the commandment against graven images in Exodus 20:4. “Other gods” could include any person, place, or thing that we hold to be more important or as important as God. These “other gods” could also lift up the long-standing gods who have long been worshiped among us, such as money, property, fame, power … the list is long. The command is to be absolutely loyal to God. In the evangelists language, the call is to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. This commandment is the grounding for all other commandments, which draw out what loyalty to God entails in various aspects of the relationship.
Less well remembered is that idolatry includes the language one uses to speak of God. Might the problem of idolatry for us often be verbal images? Our ideas about God and the verbal images we use for God can be idolatrous; they often have as high a standing in our thinking/speaking about God as does God himself. Or, we can reduce God to a set of fixed propositions and make God into a settled, unchanging God. Is that not to break the first commandment? And negatively affect the way in which the other commandments are kept?
The Ten Commandments are not new commandments for Israel (see Exodus 16:22-30), but they are a convenient listing of already existing law for vocational purposes. Moreover, the Commandments were not thought to be transmitted in a never-to-be-changed form. They were believed to require adaptation in view of new times and places. This is shown by a comparison of the Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5; the latter text contains some important new developments. For example: the wife -- on a list of property in Exodus 20:17 -- is removed from that list in Deuteronomy 5:21; wife is exchanged with house and given her own commandment, perhaps reflecting a changing role for women in that culture. Might additional changes be made in the commandments in view of changing times and places? Such as, you shall not covet your neighbor’s husband! What commandments might you add to the ten?
Before the Ten Commandments were given, the Bible talks much about law; indeed, laws are already specified in the pre-sin creation accounts (Genesis 1:28). Such commands are reflective of God’s law given for the sake of the world before sin. To obey these commandments and others which follow in their train is to act as one was created to act. And so commandments become an integral part of the life of the community of faith before we get to Mount Sinai.
While the address of the commandments is individual, the concern is not some private welfare. The focus of the commandments is vocational, to serve the life and health of the community, to which end the individual plays an important role. The first commandment lays a claim: How you think about God will deeply affect how you think about and act toward your neighbor.
The first commandment is positively formulated in Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Notably, Jesus uses this positive formulation of the first commandment. The commandment to love one another does not set the Ten Commandments aside, however; it opens up the particularities of the Ten Commandments to limitless, on-the-move possibilities in view of new times and places.

Responsorial Psalm                         Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11.

The Psalm touches on a number of major biblical themes -- creation, law, sin, forgiveness, and ethical conduct among them -- and also offers a rich set of imagery and well-known language on which to draw.

There are three clear sections of the Psalm:
Verses One through Six
Here the Psalmist offers a vivid description of the glories of creation, focused particularly on the heavens might of the One who could and did arrange and regulate such a spectacle.
Verses Seven through Ten
The focus of the Psalm switches abruptly from God's creation to God's torah (law, instruction). This torah is praised repeatedly, whether it is referred to as "commandment," "precepts," "decrees," or any of the other various terms deployed here. The value of God's instruction for "reviving the soul...making wise the simple...rejoicing the heart...enlightening the eyes...enduring forever...[and being] true and righteous altogether" certainly goes a long way toward explaining why it is more valuable and desirable than the richest gold and the sweetest honey.
Verses Eleven through Fourteen
Recognizing all of the virtues of torah, the Psalmist now turns specifically to its value as a guide to right conduct. At first glance, the ethical consequence of receiving torah seems straightforward: if one keeps the law, great reward will result. If one does not, the consequences alluded to in the line "by them is your servant warned" would instead come into play. The difficulty, as the Psalmist goes on to point out, is that one does not always even realize when one has transgressed the law. Thus, the Psalm concludes with a series of pleas to God for forgiveness of unconscious sin, for protection against evil influences, and for the acceptability to God, deserved or otherwise, of the Psalmist's words and thoughts.
Todays reading focuses on versers 8 thru 11.

The flow of the Psalm through these three sections (with torah serving as the bridge between creation and human conduct) offers a number of possible directions for proclamation. Depending on the specific context and concerns that you personally have, exposition could focus on:
The Psalm's case for Scripture (or for torah) as the essential guide and authority for determining Christian moral and ethical conduct. It is, in the structure of the Psalm, only after God gives torah to enlighten, make wise, and so forth that a person can be "warned" and guided to proper conduct and choices.
The need for God's sovereign and gracious salvation even in the light of torah. The recognition of "hidden faults" and of the need for God's protection from evil influences is a deep admission of human inability to live according to the law, and therefore of the powerful need for forgiveness and the Gospel.
The failure of "natural theology" to offer full, saving knowledge of God. In effect, the Psalm could be construed as saying "The heavens may tell of God's glory, but it is only after God gives torah that the believer can make enough sense of the creation to recognize sin, to cry out for forgiveness, and to place all hope and trust in God's grace.
While any of these approaches to the text might well suit a particular moment in the life of the church, there is a more straightforward and broadly applicable way to engage Psalm 19 as well.
This text is a celebration of three great gifts of God: creation, torah, and forgiveness. Its reading and interpretation can and should summon the people of God to join in, giving thanks for the particular ways these gifts have been manifest in their lives and the life of their community. Such a celebration is appropriate for any of us, and will surely be found acceptable in God's sight

Reading 2                   1 Cor 1:22-25

In this text Paul is not seeking to answer age old questions regarding how we humans come to know God.
Likewise he is not trying to provide a theological treasure-map to guide our human quests to find the divine. Instead, Paul is presenting the divine enterprise which intentionally thwarts all human attempts to know or find God. This is the divine initiative of the cross.
Paul's theological perspective is decidedly top-down. In the cross God has deliberately chosen to reveal God's own self and unleash divine power whose goal is human salvation. The irony (indeed the paradox) of this divine scheme is that the cross is the last place where humanity would expect to discover God's ultimate wisdom and power.
At times we may find folk who are baffled why more people were not converted to Christian faith through the preaching of Paul. Actually just the opposite should baffle us: why would any first century person have been converted to Christian faith through the preaching of Paul?
The core of Paul's preaching is the word of the cross (1:18) and the proclamation of Christ crucified (1:23). Yet this is not a message geared to win friends or influence people. The cross was a lousy marketing tool in the first century world (as it most likely remains in the twenty-first century). Here it is important to realize fully the first century realities of crucifixion. This was the enactment of capital punishment meted out by the forces of the Roman Empire. It was reserved for those disreputable individuals or groups such as rebellious slaves, insurrectionists, pirates, or brigands who had threatened the divinely sanctioned social order of the Empire. Thus the cross was the imperial instrument used to suppress subversion.
As a public spectacle, crucifixion was an act geared to shame its victims through degradation, humiliation, and torture before, during, and even after death ensued. At the same time, it was a political statement which declared that all who threatened the imperial social order would find themselves co-crucified with the current victim. In some Jewish circles, it could also be regarded as a sign of divine curse (cf. Deuteronomy 21:23).
Given this reality, it would be sheer idiocy (not just mere foolishness) to speculate how the cross might be a means of divine revelation. Paul, however, goes much further. He does not speculate on what God might or might not be doing through the cross. Rather, he openly, boldly, and regularly proclaims the cross as the intentional and exclusive means God has chosen to encounter humanity and initiate our salvation. The cross is the divine activity which both embarrasses and embraces humanity in an inclusive way.
God's embarrassing action in the cross relates to humanity's attempts to establish its own appropriate means for encountering God. According to 1:22, Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom. Here, Paul is referring to attempts to encounter God, either through miraculous divine manifestations (such as the events surrounding the Exodus) or elaborate philosophical systems and their eloquent rhetorical schemes. The proclamation of Christ crucified does not fit such human criteria - it is offensive to Jewish sensibilities and idiotic to Gentile intelligence (1:23).
God, however, is not a reactive deity. God has not sought out humanity according to the ways humanity has sought out God. Rather, God has intentionally and decidedly destroyed the ways and means by which humanity decided to get to God (1:19, quoting Isaiah 29:14). Through the four rhetorical questions in 1:20, Paul declares that God has rejected and embarrassed the best and brightest of human efforts to understand, explain, and experience God.
At the same time, God embraces humanity through the cross, both as the event of Good Friday and as an act of proclamation. Both Jews and Gentiles are called into relationship with God through the word of the cross (1:24). Suddenly that which outwardly seems moronic and weak, the apparent oxymoron of Christ crucified, becomes divine revelation, divine power, and divine salvation (1:18, 21). We do not get to God, or find the key to knowing God through our efforts. Rather, God comes to us and establishes the terms of the encounter of faith in the proclamation of the cross.
Throughout 1 Corinthians, Paul is confronting various forms of social, theological, spiritual, and moral elitism which have fractured and stratified God's church in Corinth (1:11-13). The core of Paul's appeal is for a unified perspective and purpose among the Corinthians (1:10). By opening 1 Corinthians with this unrelenting focus on the cross, Paul both undercuts elitist perspectives and undergirds foundational Christian unity. God has outsmarted and outmaneuvered human attempts to set the agenda regarding the who and the how of our getting to God (1:25).
At the same time, the cross becomes the epistemological key for understanding not only God, but understanding ourselves as those called by God. Hence the proclamation of the word of the cross by Paul and contemporary preachers does not impart a new understanding of the divine. Rather, it provides people with the experience to encounter God anew precisely where God has most clearly displayed God's own self, own power, and own wisdom. The cross always remains, at one and the same time, offensive idiocy and divine delight (1:21). Paul's preaching never downplays, disguises, or dismisses the power and wisdom of God manifested in the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you feel the power of the cross?

Gospel                                 Jn 2:13-25

I wondered what kind of stone the original 10 commandments were written on? What do you think?? According to tradition passed down the original ten commandments where etched in Blue Sapphire by God. This was to symbolize the link between the earth and God.
A man was hoping to stop in to a new café that had opened in, near his church. But when he got there one of the plate glass doors had been shattered.
Lights were on inside. A man sat at the counter, working at a computer. Two people came up behind him, apparently also intending to visit the shop. They tried to see if the store was open, in spite of the broken glass. They finally caught the eye of the person sitting at the counter, who, it turned out, was the owner. He informed them through the shattered glass that the store had been broken into early that morning and they had stolen the cash register.
The reaction of the two people behind him was astonishment: “They stole the cash register!”
He thought to himself, “What else would you steal? The coffee beans?”
However, as he reflected on it, their astonishment made sense. Somehow this symbol, so central in a culture of commerce, was something that could not be touched. Their reaction was in response to the sense that a center of commerce had been so dramatically upset.
He felt for the owner. It’s not easy to cope with economic loss as well as the feeling of exposure to potential violence, which is becoming very common in our cities. Still, it seemed to shine a light on how we can become so accustomed to a financial system, its familiarity taken as its normalcy, that it masks a deeper and more troubling dysfunction.
That is, they were astonished by the theft of a cash register; but how did they feel about the brazen presence of poverty and inequity in our communities.
John’s story of Jesus cleansing the temple brings this experience to mind. Whereas we tend to get used to what might be called “embedded” realities in church and society, Jesus proclaims a radical vision of temple and society.
In John, proclamation corresponds to or emerges from incarnation and this text’s account of incarnation may startle us. This periscope follows on the heels of Jesus changing water into wine. In that text, Jesus’ actions are unseen. We don’t see the water turned into wine. We only hear Jesus’ command to the servants to fill the jars with water. Everything occurs on the down low, so that only the servants recognize the miracle. Everyone else simply marvels that the host has saved the best wine until last.
By contrast, in this text, Jesus acts with bold, kinetic, and unmistakable gestures. In the Greek, the narrator depicts Jesus’ actions in the temple in one long sentence, extending from verse 14-16. This seems to be John’s way of underscoring Jesus’ intensity. It could also reflect the way a witness recounts an accident or a robbery in the middle of public area. They tell the story in a rush, as if the thing itself were still shocking to the senses. But in these retellings, often a single feature remains in the memory of the witness, something said (or not said) or something done (or not done).
Obviously, a lot happened in several short bursts of christological energy: Jesus came upon (or “found” (New International Version) those who were selling sacrificial animals, “seated at their tables” (established, part of the landscape, so to speak) (John 2:14); took a whip of cords (15a); drove the animals out (like an alarmed shepherd might drive its flock away from a poisonous well, perhaps); emptied coins and turned over tables (15b).
In the span of two verses, Jesus has radically upended the firmly embedded!
All this Jesus did in one nearly seamless rush of holy zeal -- but our witness singles out Jesus’ words to those who sold doves: "Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace.” (John 2:16b). It brings to mind Luke, who records that Jesus’ family brought two doves to the temple, to satisfy the prescribed offering for the birth of a son (Luke 2:24). Since they were poor, offering a lamb for a sacrifice was out of the question. Perhaps, though, there was “price gouging” even in the temple -- but it was so ordinary, so much a part of the warp and weft of temple life, that it wasn’t something noted by anyone. Maybe it was as much a part of Roman life as it was a part of religious life.
Given the level of upset, we can understand why the people in the temple might have wanted an explanation for Jesus’ actions. The narrator’s use of the term “the Jews” (John 2:18a) needs to be addressed critically by the interpreter, both in light of John’s narrative purpose and in a post-Holocaust world. According to some theologians, John’s “the Jews” represents “those who question Jesus and do not know him” (544). This is a much broader, more inclusive category than “the Jews” -- and perhaps that is helpful.
In any event, Jesus’ answer reflects the Johannine penchant for misunderstandings and double-meanings, something that we will encounter again in the story of Nicodemus in John 3:1-16, among others. Now, however, it focuses on the double meaning of temple and being raised. Jesus’ opponents believe that he is speaking of the bricks and mortar of the temple but he is speaking of the temple of his body (see also 1 Corinthians 16:19-20).
The wordplay is, I think, instructive but at the same time, we shouldn’t spiritualize this text. Jesus’ actions in the temple may “parable” the much deeper and more profound completion of his life through resurrection, but it does not thereby negate the way in which Jesus upends the embedded powers and attitudes that can become so firmly entrenched in our worldviews.
Our devotion to property values even at the expense of affordable housing options seems to speak to this concern. The so-called “tiny-house” movement seems to hold promise as a means of providing affordable housing for the insufficiently housed and the unhoused. However, the initiative is getting push-back from established communities. One owner objected to a tiny-house initiative in her community saying, “I think tiny homes are great and people can enjoy them if they like, but please don’t put them in our neighborhood. My home is my sanctuary and it’s going to be destroyed by different thinking.”
She is right. Her version of sanctuary will be “destroyed” by different thinking. She worries that existing home values could drop by $100,000 if the tiny-house initiative goes through -- not an insignificant sum of money. But could this be analogous to the anxieties of those who did not know Jesus? They were afraid of losing something that took forty-six years to build. Something will be lost, of course. Jesus dies on the cross. Calvary delivers an enormous hit on heaven’s property value. But the resurrection and ascension of Jesus suggest that this is only the beginning of the formation of much larger, more expansive community.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

What are some places that we believe are holy? (churches, shrines, altars, the tabernacle) What makes a place holy? (A place is holy because we experience God’s presence there.) What do we do at holy places? (worship God, gather for celebrations)
Just as we have important holy places where we gather to pray and to worship God, there was a special holy place for the Jewish people in Jerusalem when Jesus was alive. This place was the Temple. It was first built by King Solomon to house the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments. That first temple was destroyed in 587 B.C., long before Jesus was born. But a second temple was built in its place when the Jewish people were able to return to Jerusalem. This is the Temple that Jesus knew, and it had recently been expanded under King Herod. But Jesus does an unusual thing at the Temple in today’s Gospel.
What did Jesus do in today’s Gospel? (He cleared out the merchants and moneychangers from the Temple.) Why do you think that he did this? (He said that they were making the Temple look more like a marketplace.) The merchants were selling animals to people who came to worship at the Temple. The people offered the animals in sacrifice as part of their prayer. The moneychangers were exchanging Roman coins for temple coins because the Roman coins were engraved with the image of the emperor, who said that he was like a god. These coins could not be used when making an offering at the Temple.
What was Jesus’ response to the people who asked for a sign to show his authority to do this? (Jesus said that he would destroy this Temple and raise it up in three days.)
What do the people say in response? (They said that such a feat would be impossible; they knew that it had taken 46 years to build the Temple.) The Gospel tells us that Jesus' disciples would later have a different understanding about what he said. What would the disciples understand Jesus to mean? (The disciples would understand this to be a reference to Jesus' death and Resurrection.) When did the disciples begin to understand this? (only after Jesus' Resurrection)
The Gospel of John was written many years after Jesus' death and Resurrection. The Romans had destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Jewish people could no longer worship there. This was a terrible and sad event for the Jewish people. But the Jewish people continued to worship God in their homes and in synagogues. In today's reading, we hear one way in which the Christian community tried to understand the destruction of the Temple.
As Christians, we experience God's presence in many ways. We believe that the places where we gather as a community to pray—our churches— are holy. We also believe that Christ is present in a special way in the Eucharist, which is reserved in the tabernacle in our churches so that we can pray in Christ's presence.
Pray the Lord's Prayer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL NOTES

Exodus 20:1-17
The popular English title for this series of laws is the "Ten Commandments." In fact, the word "commandment" (mitzvah, plural = mitsvot) is not in this passage. The title "Ten Commandments" is the English translation of the Hebrew phrase 'aseret ha-devarium (see Ex 34:28, Dt 4:13 and 10:4), which means "The Ten Words. " It is what the Septuagint version of the Old Testament translated into Greek as deka logoi = Decalogue (also see Hos 4:2; Jer 7:9; Ez 18:5-9; JPS Commentary: Exodus, page 107).
Don't miss the significance of the opening line:  1 In those days, God delivered all these commandments: 2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.  It is both the preamble identifying God the great King and the historical prologue summarizing the great King's relationship to His vassal people and His deeds on their behalf.  Deuteronomy 5:6 repeats this statement of identity and historical summary. In this historical review, Yahweh bases His claim to the people's allegiance on His role as Israel's liberator from Egyptian slavery.
The Decalogue/Ten Commandments sum up and proclaim God the Divine King's Law, which He commands His vassal people to follow. They are an amalgamation of religious, civil (secular), and social justice obligations. The numbering of the commandments is different according to various traditions. However, the laws divide into two categories: those laws concerning humankind's relationship with God and those laws concerning relationships with others. Roman Catholics have traditionally followed the division and numbering established by St. Augustine in which the first three laws (verses 3-11) pertain to one's relationship with God and the last seven with one's relationship with humanity (verses 12-17; see the traditional list in the Catechism between #2051 and 52).
Taken as a whole, the entire body of the Ten Commandments illustrates that one's social behavior cannot be separated from religious conscience and obligations to God since one is deeply rooted in the other. Living the whole Law of the "ten words" was for the Old Covenant people of God a path to life: Keep them and put them into practice: such is Yahweh's command to you. Stray neither to right nor to left. Follow the whole way that Yahweh has marked for you, and you will survive to prosper and live long in the country which you are going to possess (Dt 5:32-33).  However, in the New Covenant, Jesus Christ reveals the full meaning of the "ten words" (CCC 2056). The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians. The Second Vatican Council confirms this teaching: The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord ... the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel in every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments (Lumen Gentium 24).  Also, see the list of the same Ten Commandments repeated in Deuteronomy 5:1-22.

Psalm 19:8-11
The response is: "Lord, you have the words of everlasting life."
This psalm is another psalm attributed to King David. The psalm describes the Law of Yahweh using seven synonyms: perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, true, and just. The Law is a gift intended to bring happiness to one's life and proclaim the glory of God. The qualities of the Law bestow benefits to those who are obedient to its precepts and commandments. In verse 9, "fear of Yahweh" is part of the Law that commands men and women to honor, respect, and fear offending God. Living the Law in obedience is a greater reward than anything the material world can offer because the Lord God will reward faith and adherence to the Law. He is the author of the Law who has "the words of everlasting life."

1 Corinthians 1:22-22
In this passage, Paul writes about the two kinds of Christians that made up the New Covenant Church in the 1st century AD: Jews and Gentiles. The first group is composed of Jewish Christians who want the supernatural in their worship services. They are the sort who keep asking, "What does the worship service do for me?" and not "what am I giving to the worship service of myself." The second group, composed of Greek culture Gentile Christians, are the rationalists who want analysis and insight that gives wisdom. However, in only focusing on the rational, they do not grasp the value of the wonder of the mystery of faith that cannot be analyzed and defined.
It is human to want proof, whether for a message's truth to be guaranteed by miracles or by a logical argument based on philosophical axioms. This desire is not in itself reprehensible, but it is unacceptable if it becomes a condition in which the mind refuses to submit to faith and belief. The truth is the Cross of Jesus Christ is a paradox; it is the weakness of Christ made strong in His glorious Resurrection. St. Paul counsels that both groups need to respond with faith and understand that the "sign" and the "wisdom" are found in Christ crucified. There can be no Resurrection without the crucifixion. Together these two events form the glorious manifestation ("sign") of the wisdom and the power of God for the salvation of humanity.

John 2:13-2
This event is the first of the three Passover Feasts mentioned in John's Gospel (see Jn 2:13; 6:4; 12:1). The day of the Passover sacrifice preceded the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were two of the seven annual Sacred Feasts decreed by God at Mt. Sinai (Lev 23:5-44). Passover was the feast that began the liturgical year, celebrated annually on the 14th of Nisan [Abib /Aviv], which corresponds to our March/April time frame (Ex 12:1; 13:4). Sundown of the day after the Passover sacrifice began the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread as the ancients counted (Nisan 15-21). However, as was the custom in the 1st century AD, St. John's Gospel refers to the entire eight days as "Passover," and the Synoptic Gospels use the terms Passover and Unleavened Bread for the combined feasts (Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12; Lk 22:1).
Jesus went up to Jerusalem
At its highest point, Jerusalem is approximately 2,600 feet above sea level and built across three mountain ridges. God's Holy Temple was built on a mountain called Moriah. The place-name only appears twice in the Bible: where Abraham, in a test of faith, was to travel three days from Beersheba to the land of Moriah to offer his son Isaac to God as a sacrifice (Gen 22:1-2), and where Solomon built Yahweh's Temple (2 Chron 3:1). The Jerusalem Temple was the only place where God's ordained priests could offer sacrifice to the God of Israel. The people offered sacrifices in atonement for their sins as a covenant people and as individuals so communion with God could be restored (Dt 12:8-12).
These animals were sold as "clean" animals, acceptable for sacrifice (Lev 11:1-30). The doves and pigeons were the sacrifices of the poor (Lev 5:7).  The Law of the Covenant required that a Temple tax of a half-shekel once a year. Coins that bore the Roman Emperors' portraits or other pagan images were not accepted for paying the tax (Ex 20:4) or for making donations to the Temple treasury for the poor. Money-changers, for a profit, exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage, which bore no images.
The Temple police strictly enforced the rule that no weapons or sticks were allowed in the Temple precincts. Jesus may have taken the rushes used as bedding for the animals to fashion His whip. The area for the animal market and money changing tables was an outer court (herion in the Greek text) and was probably the largest courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles. This court was set aside for instructing the Gentile peoples concerning the One True God and where they could pray. They could not have access to any other parts of the Temple precinct. Since they had not yet submitted to the necessary rites concerned with conversion and becoming members of the Covenant family, Gentiles could not offer sacrifice at the Temple altar or attend Temple services. However, they could bring acceptable sacrifices to the chief priests to offer God on their behalf. The Gentiles' outer courtyard was the one place where they had the opportunity to come close to God in His Sanctuary.
Perhaps because the doves were the sacrifices for the poor, Jesus seems to be less harsh with the dove sellers. Jesus is both fully God and man.  He experienced all the human desires and conditions that we experience. However, unlike us, He was not tempted to sin, nor did He sin. His anger was righteous. He was angry at the profane activates that polluted the sanctity of His Father's house. The money-changers and merchants were robbing Israel through their inflated exchange rates, and the priests had a cut of the profits. He was also angry because turning the Court of the Gentiles into a market denied them the opportunity to worship, robbed them of being instructed in the true faith, and denied them the opportunity to pray in peace without the stink and clamor of the animals and the haggling of the money-changers (CCC# 583-84).
John 2:15 should read: He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
The words "poured out" are significant in Scripture; this is liturgical language. These words appear in the Hebrew Old Testament, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, and in the New Testament in connection with the "pouring out" of the blood of the sacrifice on the altar and the "pouring out" of God's wrath. In this case, it is the "pouring out" of God's wrath. This action is a prophetic sign performed by Jesus as the promised Supreme Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:14-20. Such a sign performed by a Prophet is called in Hebrew an ot and indicates a future fulfillment. In this case, Jesus' action signifies the Temple's destruction, which took place in AD 70 when God poured out His judgment on the Old Covenant people for rejecting the Messiah and therefore rejecting God's New Covenant of salvation.
John 2:16 should read: Make not the house of my Father a house of trade.
There is a word-play on the double use of the word "house," and Jesus is also making a very powerful statement about His identity. He is the Messiah, and He identifies Himself as God's Son because He calls God His "Father." Notice that when John the Baptist identified Jesus as "the Son of God" in John 1:24, he was not identifying Jesus as "a son of God" like David or the other Davidic kings but as God's only-begotten [monogenes] Son (Jn 1:18; also see God's affirmation in Mt 3:17; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22). Jesus is affirming this claim. The early Church Father, Origen, in his Homilies on St. John, writes: "And from thenceforth Jesus, the Anointed of God, always begins by reforming abuses and purifying from sin; both when he visits his Church, and when he visits the Christian soul..." (Homily on St. John, 1).
17 His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
The words of Scripture the disciples recall are in Psalm 69:9(10). The verse expresses the suffering of the righteous who call out to God to save them from the wounds they suffer through the insults that sinners heap upon God. The Psalm ends in a promise that God will save Zion. Zion always refers to Israel but in the sense of a redeemed Israel, the Church. The disciples connect this passage to Jesus' righteous anger in response to the misuse of His Father's house and the promise of Psalm 69 that He will redeem His people.
18 At this, the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?"  19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this Temple [naon], and in three days I will raise it up."
Notice that the Greek words naon/naos indicate the Sanctuary of the Temple area, which included the Holy Place, and the "inner sanctum" called the Holy of Holies. Jesus' response, however, is a prophetic statement of His death and resurrection. The risen Christ's Body is one of the great symbols of Christianity (see Rev 21:22 and 1 Cor 12:12ff). Christ's resurrected Body is the focus of worship "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:21ff). It is the shrine of the Presence of God (Jn 1:14) and the spiritual temple from which the living waters of salvation flow (Jn 7:37-39; 19:34; Rev Chapter 22).
In this passage, Jesus declares His Body, Himself personally, and His Body the Church, to be the true Temple! The physical resurrection of Christ's Body is the foundation for His New Covenant people being constituted as the Temple because, in receiving Christ in the Sacrament of Eucharist, our bodies become His living Temple. Christ lives in us; therefore, we are the Body because we have received the Body of Christ (1 Cor 3:10-11, 16-17; Eph 1:20; 2:5-6).
Jesus is also challenging the Temple authorities to destroy His body. The irony is that they will try to "destroy" the temple of His Body when they contrive to have the Romans condemn Jesus to crucifixion. However, there is a double fulfillment in Jesus' prophecy in verse 19. Jesus' Body arose from the grave in divine glory (CCC# 586 & 994), but after its physical destruction by the Romans in AD 70, the Jerusalem Temple was never rebuilt. The Arab shrine, the Dome of the Rock, stands on the site today.
20 The Jews said, "This temple [naos] has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?"  21 But he was speaking about the temple [naon] of his body.  22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
The comment in verse 20 can help us date this event. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus confirms that Herod the Great spent 46 years rebuilding the Temple begun by the Jews who returned from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC. He records that Herod started reconstructing the Temple in 19 BC (Antiquities of the Jews, 15.11.3). That would date the event of Jesus' first Temple cleansing in the first year of His ministry to the spring of AD 28. This date agrees with Luke's statement that John the Baptist and Jesus began their ministry in the 15th year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius = 28 AD.
The Jerusalem Temple had been an "empty house" ever since the Temple's rebuilding after the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile in the late 6th century BC. God did not take possession of the rebuilt Temple the way He had filled and indwelled the desert Tabernacle (Ex 40:34-45) and Solomon's Temple (1 Kng 8:10-11). The Holy of Holies was an empty room because no Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place of God among His people, graced its sacred space. The Ark was removed by the prophet Jeremiah and lost to history just before the Temple's destruction in 587/6 BC (2 Mac 2:1-8; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.4 & The Jewish War, 1.7.6 & 6.4.7).
When God was at rest on His Glory Throne, He judged His Creation-Temple in the Garden of Eden. When He found wickedness contaminating it, He cleansed it, banishing the offenders, Adam and Eve (Gen 3:24). In this event in John's Gospel, Jesus, the Son of God, comes to the Temple on the Sabbath; He assessed the Temple, judges it as contaminated, and cleanses it by banishing the offenders.
In Jesus' first Temple cleansing, God returned to claim His holy house. For the first time in centuries, God's presence is in His Temple, fulfilling the prophecy in Malachi: And suddenly there will come to the Temple the LORD [Yahweh] whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts [Yahweh Sabaoth]. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and purifying, and he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that 5they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD [Yahweh] (Mal 3:1-3). He came to purify His people for a new liturgy of worship and a new temple that will be His Body united with the Body of believers that will become His New Covenant Church.
St. John continually reminds us that much of the true meaning of what he and the other disciples witnessed remained unrevealed to them until after Jesus' resurrection. We should remember that it is on the New Covenant Sabbath, Sunday, the Lord's Day, that we come to appear before God's throne of judgment in the Liturgy of worship to have the fitness of our spiritual condition examined. If we are free of sin, we can enter His rest in the Holy Eucharist that becomes our foretaste of Heaven (Heb chapters 3-4).
Is there an eschatological warning in this event of Jesus' Temple cleansing; the first of three such cleansings:

The first cleansing in the first year of Jesus' ministry in John 2:13-25.
The second on Sunday of His last week in Jerusalem in Matthew 21:12-17.
The third on Monday of His last week in Jerusalem in Mark 11:15-19.

The word "eschatological" means "last things." It can refer to God's judgment as it was visited on peoples of the earth down through Salvation History (i.e., the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, on Jerusalem and the Old Covenant for the rejection of Christ in AD 70). It can also refer to God's judgment at the end of creation as we know it. It is good for us to remember that Jesus banished the offenders from His Father's house in a dramatic manifestation of His righteous wrath and His fierce judgment. In the same way, on the final "Day of Judgment," Christ will return to judge the world as His Temple, and His judgment will be fierce: ...but now he has given this promise: "I am going to shake the earth once more and not only the earth but heaven as well." The words "once more" indicate the removal of what is shaken, since these are created things, so that what is not shaken remains. We have been given possession of an unshakeable kingdom. Let us, therefore, be grateful and use our gratitude to worship God in the way that pleases him, in reverence and fear. For our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:26-29 NJB).
We miss the force of this statement in the modern translation of John 2:23-3:1. The more literal reading is: 2:24 But himself Jesus did not trust himself to them, because of his knowing all, 25 and that no need he had that any should testify concerning man, for he knew what was in man.  3:1 But there was a man of the Pharisees....  In the modern translation, we miss the significant three-part repetition of the word "man." In Scripture, any repetition in threes or mention of three indicates the theological importance of the next event. Since Jesus is fully man but also God, He can read the intentions of the hearts of people. Here, He detects deficient faith in those men who have been amazed at His signs but who fail to grasp the significance of His mission. This perception will relate to the Pharisee Nicodemus in the next passage. At his first meeting with Jesus, Nicodemus, whose name means "people crusher" (demos = people, nico = crusher or conqueror), represents such inadequate belief. Later he came to accept Jesus as his Redeemer-Messiah. See CCC #473.
And how would you categorize yourself? Are you one who needs "signs" to bolster your faith? St. John Chrysostom, writing in the late 4th century, commented: "Many people are like that. They carry the name of faithful, but they are fickle and inconstant..." (Homilies on St. John, 23, 1). Faith is a matter of obedience and trust. It takes courage to have faith, but even more, it takes love. If you obediently place your love and faith in Jesus, you will never be disappointed. St. Paul had this advice for believers: But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ (2 Thess 3:3-5).
==========================================================================

Sunday February 25, 2024 Second Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 26

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he replied.
Then God said:
"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you."

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing--
all this because you obeyed my command."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

Reading 2                            Rom 8:31b-34

Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised--
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
Gospel                                 Mk 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

The story named by Christians “the sacrifice of Isaac” and by Jews “the akedah” (the “binding” of Isaac) has engendered heated debate over the centuries. Is it a story of an abusive God, a misguided Abraham, religious violence at its worst? Or is it a story of faith and obedience?
Trying to get around the difficulties, many argue that it is simply an etiological tale about the shift from human sacrifice to animal sacrifice. This seems likely. It is certainly the case that other biblical texts expressly forbid child sacrifice (e.g. Leviticus 18:21; Jeremiah 7:30-34; Ezekiel 20:31). The practice is known in the cultures surrounding Israel and may have been practiced in Israel as well (hence the prophetic condemnation of it).
There is more here, though, than such a history-of-religions interpretation allows. The akedah is a foundational story for Judaism and Christianity in ways that are too complex to trace in this short essay. Even before the canon was closed, the akedah became associated with worship at the Jerusalem Temple. In 2 Chronicles 3:1, the mountain of the Temple is called “Mount Moriah,” the mountain of the akedah. (In fact, “Moriah” appears in the Bible only in these two passages.) Hence, the sacrifice of the ram in place of Isaac becomes the foundational act for all the Temple sacrifices that follow.
For Christianity, the sacrifice of the beloved son has obvious resonance with Jesus’ death. That’s why Genesis 22 is appointed as one of the readings for the Easter Vigil (and sometimes as one of the readings on Good Friday). In addition, the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son became for early Christians one of the greatest examples of his faith: “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac … He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead” (Hebrews 11:17, 19). In the history of Christian interpretation, Genesis 22 has continued to be understood as a story of faith against all odds, and as a foreshadowing of God’s self-giving in Jesus Christ.
Despite this rich history of interpretation, well-meaning people through the centuries, horrified by this story, have attempted to negate it in various ways. And it is true that it can be a dangerous text, especially in an era of religious extremism.
Still, there is a theological depth in this story that should not be passed over. The narrative has gripped the religious imagination of Jew and Christian alike for thousands of years. It is worth looking at its details.
The Hebrew prose of this story is beautiful and succinct. Abraham does what God demands, and sets out with his son. Abraham doesn’t say much. Isaac says even less, and one is left to imagine what they are thinking and feeling. The narrator uses repetition to heighten the poignancy: “The two of them walked on together,” as the father and son walk together in silence on the third day (22:6). Together in purpose, together in love. The narrator continually emphasizes the relationship between the two, as if we need to be reminded: “Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac.” “Isaac said to Abraham his father, “My father!” and he said, “Here I am, my son” (22:7).
“Here I am” -- in Hebrew hineni. It’s the same word Abraham used to answer God’s call in verse 1: “Here I am.” Abraham is attentive to God, and equally attentive to his beloved son. Here I am.
And Isaac says, “See, we have fire, and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham, heart torn in two, says, “God will see to the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
They reach the place of sacrifice, and Abraham builds an altar. Again, as if we need to be reminded, the narrator emphasizes the relationship between father and son. “He bound his son Isaac … Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son” (22:9-10).
At that moment, the LORD calls to him with great urgency, “Abraham, Abraham!” And Abraham replies for the third and final time in the story, “Here I am.” One can imagine that his tone now is one of unspeakable relief and hope.
Then, as Abraham had told Isaac, God provides; God provides a ram to take the place of the beloved son. “So Abraham called that place ‘The LORD will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided’" (22:14).
There is a word-play here and in verse 8 that is worth noting. The Hebrew word (ra’ah) translated “provide” is literally the word for “seeing.” So the last phrase can be translated, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided” or “On the mount of the LORD he shall be seen.” Given the association of Mt. Moriah with the Temple Mount, both translations speak truth about God’s presence and God’s providence.

Responsorial Psalm               Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

A single voice speaks here, drawing us into the psalmist's experience and, in effect, leading us to compare our own with his.
The voice here:

is upbeat and hopeful, not remorsefully agonizing over sin
tells a personal story of rescue in answer to his prayer
tells the story publicly to other worshipers (and God [verses 16-17]), perhaps at the temple (see verses 18-19)
moves from a declaration of love for God (verses 1-2), through a moving report about the rescue experience (verses 3-11), to a series of thankful promises (verses 12-15, 18-19)

In short, the psalm has two topics: why the Psalmist loves God, and how he plans to show gratitude. Really? Psalm 116 for Maundy Thursday?
When I first read Psalm 116, I couldn't quite connect it with Maundy Thursday. I wondered, "What were those people who organized the lectionary thinking?"
But, after further reflection, these topics seem right on target for the occasion. Remember: this is the evening we remember both Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet and his command (Latin, mandatum, hence the English "Maundy") to love one another. "Love" is the psalmist's first word, and he commands himself (verses 12-19) to respond to the love of God he'd seen in action.
Two questions arise for me. First, why should I obey Jesus' command? And second, how shall I carry it out? But with Jesus' teaching in the background, Psalm 116 provides the answers, appropriately fitting the context of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday.
Granted, it's humanly impossible to "repay" God fully. The bill for rescue is incalculable. As I see it, however, the "big one" should be something God really likes, and it should be something sacrificial.

Reading 2                            Rom 8:31b-34

Amazingly enough, this is a question that we should be asking ourselves regularly. ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?' In Romans 8 alone, Paul has written extensively to prove this very point. God loves us, he sent his son Jesus to die for us, he gave us the Holy Spirit to be our counselor and guide and to remind us of everything Jesus told us. In lieu of this, this question holds amazing implications for us as believers... understanding the dynamics of how God feels about you will change your life. When holding this perspective in view and weighing everything else that happens against this revelation of God's love towards you, then the rest seems unimportant. David held this perspective throughout his entire life, he wrote in the Psalms, "The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6). He penned this in the midst of turmoil and unrest. However he could write this because he knew God and knew that God loved him and in light of that, nothing else mattered.
Just as asking this question is important, so is reminding ourselves of the answer. ‘If God is for us, then who is against us?' Who can be our foe if God is on our side? Paul goes on in the next couple of verses to explain how God is the one who justified us ( Romans 8:33 ) and Jesus is the one who died for us (Romans 8:34) so in reality who can bring an accusation against us. This is so important to understand. So many people miss it in life if they do not understand the extent of God's love towards them. Jude tells us to keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21) because he knew that having this revelation equips the saints to be powerful in the kingdom.
It is amazing to me to know that God chose me and called me to be his child. It is amazing to know he died for me and sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for me. It is amazing to know that nothing can separate me from his love. Understanding this will empower you to overcome any obstacle you face. Understanding this will release you from the fear that keeps you in chains. David said in the Psalm, "The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). And in today's passage Paul asks, "What, then, shall we say in response to this? What is there to say? This revelation leaves us speechless.
Today, we are blessed to know and understand that God loves me and nothing can or will separate me from Him.

Gospel                                 Mk 9:2-10

Transfiguration is one of those "non-holidays" that appears in lectionaries with its own particular set of readings, but doesn't draw much attention from local congregations.
The Transfiguration has many of the elements of the story of a superhero. There's an arduous trek up a mountain; a tightly knit company of friends on a "mission" together; the appearance of other-worldly figures in dazzling light; the transformation of the hero into an equally dazzling figure; a command from a powerful voice from another dimension; a determined descent to battle those other powers back home. Jesus is not exactly a superhero...is he?
Well, "no." And "yes." Inherent in the story of the Transfiguration is the promise of a kind of life beyond what is apparent to earthly eyes most of the time. Both Moses and Elijah, two figures whose passing's were mysterious, were believed by many Jews to be God's precursors of the end times. Because Elijah went bodily into heaven (2 Kings 2:9-12) and Moses' grave was never found (he was buried by God himself in Deuteronomy 34:4-7), these two men of the faith were thought to be available for God to send back. God would send them to inform humankind that God's reign was at hand. It is no accident that these two appear with Jesus on the mountain. They discuss that change already prophesied by Jesus (Mark 1:15) and as the two messengers disappear into the cloud (a sign of God's presence, cf. Exodus 40:34-38), the word comes to "Listen to Jesus," the only one left. Now Jesus becomes the divinely chosen precursor of the turn of the age.
Moses, Elijah, and even God are not the only signs for the alert that God's reign are coming. Peter, contrary to popular portrayal, makes the connection that is too obscure for us to make. According to some Jewish expectation and as stated in the book of Zechariah the prophet (see 14:16-21), God would usher in the new age, the "Day of the Lord," during the Feast of Booths. This God-commanded festival kept by Jews for centuries, was considered a possible time for God's taking control of God's creation and beginning the age of shalom. So Peter's question about building booths is neither laughable nor mistaken. Peter is clear that the end times are coming and the Feast of Booths was upon them. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus need not construct their own booths for the celebration.
Peter was wrong about the timing, as Mark suggests (verse 6). Had he forgotten Jesus' prediction of suffering and death or did he think God had just trumped Jesus' prediction and advanced the timetable? We don't know. But the word from the cloud, "Listen to him," is a reminder to pay attention to Jesus' reliable words (including those predictions in 8:31). He will not be a superhero as we understand it, but as one who lays down his life and thus opens glory to many.
Since this story so emphasizes the dazzling glow of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah that we also need to pay attention to glory. The best known earlier example of a dazzling face transformed by being in the presence of God is that of Moses (Exodus 34:2, 29-35). After Moses has been in conversation with God about the future life of God's people, he descends from the mountain so reflecting the light of God's glory that he must cover his face lest he frighten the people. There are surely similarities to Jesus as he seeks to form a new people of God, has climbed a mountain, and is in conversation with God. Also important, in Daniel the "Son of Man" is also dazzling white. The mysterious messianic figure who will bring about God's will and God's justice, is a supernaturally stunning figure (Daniel 7:9-14). As Jesus is transfigured Peter, James, and John and Mark's audience catches a glimpse of his reality as Son of Man, God's chosen messenger of the God's reign.
Putting all this together, we have a story that reassures Jesus' core disciples and Mark's readers: Jesus' predictions of betrayal, death, and resurrection are to be trusted. The struggles yet to come for Jesus should in no way diminish confidence in his promises or his predictions of resurrection. As Mark's gospel drives toward the bitterness of the passion and the ambiguity of an ending without a resurrection appearance, this story itself shines as a beacon of hope.
Recall that James and John believe in that glory and try to claim a place at Jesus' side there (10:35-37). They don't understand the price of that glory, even when Jesus tries to remind them. Even glory can be misunderstood.
We follow in trust that God is forming us into a new people through Jesus, through whatever comes our way.

Making the Connection
In photographs, scrapbooks, and journals, we record memorable experiences and reflect on the significance of these events in our lives. Events in the life of Jesus, such as the Transfiguration, are recorded in the Gospels to deepen our understanding of Jesus.
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

In your mind visualize a memorable event you witnessed (for example, a wedding ceremony, a graduation, or a spectacular scene in nature)
Try to describe one of the specific events that you have been glad to witness.
What might you do to preserve these memories in addition to taking photos (for example, describe the event in a letter, write about it in a journal, keep mementos of it in a scrapbook).
In this Sunday’s Gospel, three of Jesus’ disciples witness a spectacular event that leads one of them to say, “It is good that we are here!”
What do the disciples witness in today’s Gospel? (Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus; Jesus’ clothes become dazzling white; a voice from heaven speaks about Jesus.) Who are Elijah and Moses? (Elijah was a prophet of Israel who helped the Israelites stay faithful to Yahweh. Moses led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and delivered the Ten Commandments.) Why do you think Peter says, “It is good that we are here!”? What does Peter want to do? (make tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus)
It was good that Peter was present at the Transfiguration, but not for the reason he thinks. What instruction does Jesus give to his disciples after the Transfiguration? (not to tell anyone until after Jesus has risen from the dead)
Peter and the other disciples were privileged to witness the Transfiguration so that they would later understand the meaning of Jesus’ passion, death, and Resurrection. What do they learn about Jesus at the Transfiguration that will help them understand Jesus better? (Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises that God made to Israel. Jesus will be glorified by God. Jesus is the Son of God.)
In the Transfiguration, we glimpse the glory of Jesus’ Resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter. During Lent, we take time to seek greater appreciation for the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection by learning more about him. What are some things you can do this Lent to learn more about Jesus? (Maybe things such as reading the Bible, spending time in prayer, paying close attention at Mass.) Choose one of these practices to focus on during Lent.
Conclude by praying that you will grow in appreciation for the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection as you learn more about Jesus during Lent. Pray Psalm 116.

========================================

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The First Reading Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 ~ The Testing of Abraham
No other event recorded in the Old Testament so prefigures the Passion of the Christ as Abraham's test of obedience in Genesis chapter 22. The event is the last record of Abraham's direct experience with the divine and God's final command to His servant Abraham. The Jews call this event the Akedah, which means the "binding" of Isaac. Christians, from the Church's earliest years, have seen it as an archetype for the sacrifice of Jesus (Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, 3.18).
1 God put Abraham to the test.
These events took place about ten years or more after Ishmael's exile (Abraham's son by the slave Hagar) when Isaac was about 13 years old since he could carry the wood for the sacrifice (Gen 22:6). The narrative begins by revealing that God tested Abraham's covenant relationship with Him through a covenant ordeal. A covenant ordeal tests the obedience and faith of a person in the special relationship of a covenant union with God. In Abraham's covenant ordeal, God tested his faith, trust, and obedience when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. It was also a covenant ordeal for Isaac, who did not resist.
The importance of the opening statement allays any doubt concerning God's purpose in Abraham's covenant ordeal. It was a test, and He did not intend a human sacrifice. Human sacrifice, especially child sacrifice, was widely practiced in the ancient Near East and was an abomination to God. Archaeological excavations in Canaanite cemeteries have found thousands of clay jars containing the bones of sacrificed children.
There is a difference between Satan tempting us and God testing us. Satan tempts us to sin to separate us from our relationship with God and to destroy us (1 Chr 21:1; Mt 4:1; 1 Pt 5:8; Rom 6:23). God never tempts us to do evil. St. James wrote, No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity, it gives birth to death (Jam 1:13-15, also see Sir 15:11-15). God only tests us to strengthen and allow us to prove ourselves worthy (Ex 20:20; Dt 8:2; 1 Kng 10:1; 1 Ch 29:17; 2 Chr 9:1; Dan 1:12, 14; Wis 3:1, 4-7; 1 Cor 10:13).
Yahweh first called Abraham in a test of faith and obedience when He told him to leave the city of Ur and "go to the land I will show you" (Gen 12:1). In the final call in Genesis 22, Yahweh again commanded Abraham "go," but this time to "go to the land of Moriah." Genesis 22:4 identifies the land of Moriah as a significant three-day journey from Abraham's camp at Beersheba. 2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies the Land of Moriah with the mountain range where the city of Jerusalem stood. It is the same location where the Temple of Yahweh would be built a thousand years after Abraham, during King Solomon's reign. Significantly, the same Hebrew words "go to" (lek-leka) are found in God's first command in Genesis 12:1 and again in the final command in 22:2 (Interlinear Bible: Hebrew-English, page 27, 50; Waltke page 301). These particular words do not appear together anywhere else in the Old Testament (Waltke, page 301).
The event in Genesis 22 was a test of Abraham's faith and obedience, as clearly stated in 22:1; however, it was also a test of Abraham's trust in God to fulfill His covenant promises despite what seemed to be impossible odds against the fulfillment. God promised Abraham many descendants through Isaac and the gift of the land of Canaan to Isaac's descendants, but that promise seemed unattainable if he sacrificed his "only son" (Gen 12:1-3; 15:5-6; 17:19). This is the reason Bible scholars, both ancient and modern, refer to Abraham's test as a "covenant ordeal." There is no doubt

Abraham passed the test of his covenant ordeal. At the most dramatic moment, as Abraham was about to plunge the knife into the chest of his submissive son, the Angel of Yahweh stopped him by calling out to Abraham. The major difference in the outcome of the intended sacrifice is that Yahweh spared Abraham's son by providing a male sheep (ram) for the sacrifice. Near that site, God's "beloved Son, Jesus, would become the Lamb of Sacrifice. However, some questions remain:

Did Isaac struggle against his father when tied and placed on the altar?
Why was Abraham prepared to go through with Yahweh's command to sacrifice his son?

Evidently, Isaac submitted and did not struggle, even though Scripture recorded that he was bound (Gen 22:9), probably a foreshadowing of Jesus secured by nails to the altar of the Cross. The inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (probably St. Paul) answered the second question when he wrote that Abraham believed God would give him descendants through this son with whom the covenant was to continue. The writer of Hebrews assures us that Abraham's faith and trust in God's promises led him to believe that God would raise his son from the dead to keep those promises (Heb 11:17-18). God kept His covenant promises to Abraham in the new Israel of the New Covenant Church by raising His beloved Son from the dead to fulfill the promise of an uncountable number of descendants in a worldwide blessing and a home in the true "Promised Land" of Heaven (Mt 20:17-19).
In their commentaries on this passage, the Church Fathers point out that when the Angel of Yahweh stopped Abraham and showed him the male ram "caught up" (sebeck in Greek and achaz in Hebrew) in a tree to offer in sacrifice in place of the boy, Abraham realized that Yahweh had indeed provided the sacrifice (as he told Isaac in Genesis 22:8). At that moment, Abraham's son was "given back" to him on the third day after their journey of death had begun (Gen 22:4). The Church Fathers saw this event as foreshadowing the Passion of the Christ "caught up" (like Isaac's ram of sacrifice) on the tree of the Cross and also given back to His Father on the third day in His Resurrection from death.
The Church has always read Abraham's story of testing and faith in offering his beloved son Isaac on an altar as foreshadowing how God, like Abraham, did not withhold His beloved Son from the altar of the Cross:
Jesus died for all the beloved sons and daughters in the human family as a sign of God's love for the world. Jesus is the true Son that Abraham rejoiced to see (Jn 8:56; Mt 1:1). He is the beloved Son of God sent to suffer and die in atonement for our sins (Is 53:3) so that we might be strengthened in our tests of faith on our journeys to eternal salvation. Jesus's sacrificial death, Resurrection, and Ascension give us the hope of reaching Heaven and the blessing of union with the Most Holy Trinity at the end of our life's journey.
Abraham's willingness to trust God with his life and his son's life was not just belief but a work of faith. We are all called to "works of faith" in our journeys to salvation. St. James, writing to the Church about the necessity of demonstrating living and active faith, held Abraham up as an example of such faith: Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. Thus, the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called "the friend of God" (Jam 2:21-23).

Responsorial Psalm 116:10, 15-19
Psalms 113-118, called the Hallel ("praise God") Psalms, were sung in the Temple on special feast days, including the Feast of the Passover. In verse 10, the psalmist testifies that he kept his faith even during great distress. Expressing grief over misfortune does not imply a lack of faith.
Then, in verses 15-19, the psalmist wrote about how God watched over the lives of the righteous. Their deaths were a matter of significance because they were precious to God, who accepted their deaths as a sacrificial offering. The psalmist views himself as a "beloved son"/servant of Yahweh, raised to know and love God all his life from the teachings of his mother, the Lord's "handmaid." He expressed confidence that God watched over him. Even in distressful times, he attended worship in God's holy Temple. Despite his troubles, as a faithful son/servant of the Lord, he offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the Liturgy of communal worship as he fulfilled his vows and praised the Lord.
The responsorial phrase "I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living" is from verse 9. It refers to the psalmist's participation in Temple liturgy, where he stood in the presence of God, which is a foretaste of Heaven, the true "land of the living." Our response is an epithet associated with worship in the Jerusalem Temple that also appears in Psalms 27:13, 52:7, and Isaiah 38:11.

The Second Reading Romans 8:31-34
In verse 31, St. Paul summarized what it means to be a beloved son/daughter in God's covenant family through the Sacrament of Baptism. St. Paul promised that the elect would emerge victorious from all the attacks and sufferings they endured since God would acquit His chosen of their sins through His beloved Son. We have died with Christ in Baptism and resurrected with Christ to a new life (see Rom 6:4-5). God the Son now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us in our earthly struggles and ready to greet us when we have completed our journey to eternal salvation (see Eph 2:4-6).

The Gospel of Mark 9:2-10
The experience with the divine on the Mount of Transfiguration was a revelation of the New Covenant Kingdom of the Messiah to the three Apostles: Peter, James, and John. The Gospels of Matthew 17:1-8 and Luke 9:28-36 record the same experience.
The disciples and Apostles must have been frightened and discouraged after Jesus's first prediction of His death in Mark 8:31-33 (also see Mt 17:1-8; Lk 9:28-36; 2 Pt 1:16-18). To give them the vision to grasp in their darkest hour in the fulfillment of His prediction, Jesus took Peter, James, and James' brother John Zebedee up a "high mountain" to let them witness a manifestation of His glory. It was an experience that would confirm for them that Jesus is the Son of God and that He will come in glory when all He told them took place.
The selection of three from the twelve Apostles was not a demonstration of favoritism. God does not have favorites. It was instead a demonstration of hierarchy in the future administration of Christ's kingdom. The fact that the event took place on a mountain is significant. Throughout salvation history, mighty works/revelations of God often took place on mountains, including the Theophany of God on Mt. Sinai (see Gen 22:2, 11; Ex 19:16-20; 1 Kng 18:19-39; 19:11-18; 1 Chr 21:15-17; 2 Chr 3:1; and Mt 5:1-2).
Jesus, the new Moses, ascended a mountain like God's great prophet in Exodus (Ex 24:12). Jesus did this not to find a revelation of God (like Moses) but to give a revelation of God the Son to His three Apostles. Two traditions identify the mountain. One tradition identifies Mt. Hermon near Caesarea Philippi. However, the more famous tradition names Mt. Tabor, an isolated mountain about eight day's journey for a religious Jew (a religious Jew could not travel on the Sabbath) from Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus and the Apostles were staying (Mk 9:27). Mt. Tabor is west of the Sea of Galilee in the northeast portion of the Plain of Esdraelon that rises to a height of 1,843 feet. Christians have celebrated Mt. Tabor as the site of the Transfiguration since the 4th century AD.
In the epiphany on the Mt. of Transfiguration, the three Apostles witnessed the coming together of the Old and New Covenants with Christ as the beginning and the end of divine revelation. Moses and Elijah represented the Old Covenant Church, embodying the Law and the prophets of the old Israel, while Peter, James, and John represented the new Israel of the New Covenant. The three Apostles also embodied the hierarchy of the new Israel, the Church of the people of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It was a vision of the supernatural the Apostles would need to strengthen themselves and their brother Apostles in the covenant ordeal they were going to face in the climax of the final year of Jesus's ministry.
If it was near the pilgrim feast of Booths, Peter's suggestion about making booths/tents on the mountain is reasonable. Peter realized that the old covenantal order was no longer binding, and it was unnecessary to go to the Jerusalem Temple to worship God when they could worship God the Son on the mountain. If this is why Peter suggested building booths, then the Transfiguration event took place near the seven-day festival of Booths/Tabernacles in the early fall. The Gospel of John confirmed that Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths in His ministry's second year (Jn chapters 7-8).
The Greek word in Mark 9:7 for the shadow of the cloud cast over them is episkiazo. It is the same word found in the account of the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Virgin Mary in the Incarnation (Lk 1:35). It is also the same word used in the Greek translation of Exodus when God's Spirit overshadowed the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 40:34).
The voice from Heaven in verse 7 is the same voice heard when Jesus was baptized (Mt 3:17; Mk 3:11; Lk 3:22). It was at Jesus's baptism that, for the first time, the Most Holy Trinity was clearly manifested in an event. The same manifestation occurred in the Transfiguration: God the Father's voice was heard from Heaven, God the Son was present in His glory, and the overshadowing cloud represented God the Holy Spirit.
The voice from Heaven said: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him."
In this significant event, Jesus is "transfigured" both in time and meaning to confirm Peter's confession of Jesus as the "Messiah and the Son of the Living God" (Mt 16:16; also see Mk 8:29; Lk 9:20) and the prediction of His coming Passion (Mt 16:21-23; Mk 8:31-33; Lk 9:22). The pronouncement of the Divine Voice, "this is my beloved Son," is confirmation of Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah, and the command: "Listen to Him," is a warning to listen to Jesus's announcement of His coming Passion and to cooperate in His mission.
The command of the Divine Voice of God from heaven, "Listen to Him," also confirms that Jesus is the prophet like Moses that God promised the covenant people in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. That prophecy ends with a promise and a command: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command. If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it (Dt 18:18-19 NJB; emphasis added).
Coming down from the mountain after the Transfiguration experience, Jesus commanded the three Apostles not to reveal what they discovered about His true identity. Notice He did not tell them to never talk about the experience. He only asked them to remain silent until His death and resurrection.
The Apostles must have wondered if "rising from the dead" meant to have life returned so one could go on living everyday life as in the case of the Synagogue official's daughter (Mt 9:18-19, 23-26; Mk 5:22, 35-43; Lk 8:41, 49-56), or did it mean something else? It is a question that wasn't fully answered until Jesus's Resurrection, His forty days teaching the Church after His Resurrection, and finally answered at His Ascension to the Father in Heaven.
Abraham felt the wonder of God's love and mercy after passing a test of faith that must have been the darkest experience of his life (First Reading). Despite his afflictions, the Psalmist felt his connection to God as a beloved son. And in faith, he praised God for His intercession in his life. In the Gospel reading, the Apostles Peter, James, and John felt doubt and fear concerning Jesus's announcement of His coming Passion and death. But their Lord allowed them to become the privileged witnesses to His glory in the Transfiguration of the Beloved Son that gave them confirmation of His divine nature. These experiences of God can be part of your life today when you confidently claim the mantle of sons/daughters in the Sacrament of Baptism and in faith, "walk before the Lord" in anticipation of one day being with Him "in the land of the living." After all, beloved children, it is as St. Paul wrote in the Second Reading: "If God is for us, who can be against us!"
======================================

Sunday February 18, 2024  First Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 23

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Gn 9:8-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
God added:
"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth,
and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will recall the covenant I have made
between me and you and all living beings,
so that the waters shall never again become a flood
to destroy all mortal beings."

Responsorial Psalm                         Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9.

R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Reading 2                            1 Pt 3:18-22

Beloved:
Christ suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,
who had once been disobedient
while God patiently waited in the days of Noah
during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.
It is not a removal of dirt from the body
but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God,
with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Gospel                       Mk 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1

The story of Noah and the flood is one of those biblical narratives that we are so familiar with we think we know the whole story.
In fact, what we tend to think of as the story is one of two interpretations that are common in our culture. The most common interpretation is very much a children's story of animals and rainbows. This is a story about God's love for animals, about remembering God's love each time we see a rainbow, even about the bright side of every storm.
The second common interpretation is a story that is most definitely not for children. In this interpretation, God is so angered by human rebellion that God floods the whole earth, wiping out nearly everything in a fit of divine rage. This is a story about a God whom you'd be crazy to want to have anything to do with, a God of wrath who is ready and willing to strike down sinners.
Neither of these stories is the whole story, of course, and neither contains much truth. A truer story is that God has a myriad of ways of calling us back to the harmony that God intended for us. Our text for today, in which God establishes a covenant with Noah and his descendants, tells us that God is hanging up the bow, putting aside forever the option of destruction and seeking us as God's own.
God sends the flood, then, not as an act of revenge, but out of grief over the rending of right human relationship with God. Note that human betrayal of God's intention has effects beyond human beings; human sin has issued in the corruption of all the earth (6:11), and therefore in its destruction.
That destruction, of course, is not total. God doesn't wipe away the creation entirely and then walk away. The flood is in fact the means of re-creation. God washes the earth clean and both God and the earth begin again. The re-creative nature of the flood is underscored by parallels between this narrative and the creation narrative of Genesis 1.
Thus all of creation is given a new beginning, a new opportunity to live in the harmony that God intended. Note, however, that this new beginning is also a continuation; God does not create new beings, but begins anew with a remnant of the beings created at the beginning.
Which brings us to the covenant, the sealing of the newly-restored relationship between God and God's creatures. The sign of this covenant, God's bow (rainbow) in the clouds, is precisely the bow of battle. Ancient depictions of a deity armed with bow and arrow are not unusual. To hang up one's bow is to retire from battle. That bow in the clouds is the sign of God's promise that whatever else God does to seek our restoration, destruction is off the table.
An implication of this promise is that God will try everything else. God will seek us and seek us, despite or perhaps because of God's knowledge of every sin, every grief, and every shame that veils our vision of God's reality and of our own as God's creatures. Whatever dwells in our hearts that keeps us from hearing the harmony of all life in God's care, God will not give up on loving us into restoration.

Responsorial Psalm

The psalm is intimate and intensely personal, voiced in the first person singular and addressing God in the second person singular. And woven through this appointed portion of the psalm are four key themes: the psalmist's total surrender to God and variations on three imperatives addressed to God: don't let me be put to shame; show, teach, and lead me in your paths; and remember yourself and your character and forget me and mine.
The psalmist's surrender is rendered most beautifully in the opening line, "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul." Allow yourself to contemplate this offering of the deepest, truest part of the self to God. The act of submission is touching in its profound vulnerability and simultaneously strong in its volition (foreshadowing Jesus' insistence in John 18 that "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.").
This theme of surrender reappears in verse 2, "My God in you I trust ..." and again in verse 5, "for you I wait all day long." A sermon that enters the psalm through this self-offering could remind Christians that the "path" toward which God finally "leads" us is the way of the cross. It should not be lost on us that the self-offering of a lifted up soul is a first action on that way.
The first imperative "Do not let me be disgraced ..." reveals the sliver of human fear and doubt that restrains the psalmist's trust. (Some commentators prefer to translate this phrase as Let me not be disappointed ...) The psalm is the testimony of one strong in faith: "Yes, you are God; yes, I trust you; yes, I am as sure as I can be that your ways are right."
And yet then comes, "but please, please don't disappoint me; please let me be right about you!" Here with the psalmist we come face-to-face with all that's at stake when we surrender ourselves in faith -- even when that surrender is to the God whose gracious mercy we know so well. The shadow side of trust is the yearning for that trust to be vindicated. The wonderful circular paradox is that the imperative that issues from that sliver of doubt is addressed to the one we've already been empowered to trust.
The second imperative, "make known to me your ways ... teach me your paths," plays on the iconic metaphor of "life as journey." We can infer that the psalmist believes that many paths are available and that confusion among them is inevitable -- thus the need for instruction and guidance. The psalmist asks God to be present and directive about the proper way to go (verses 4, 7, and 9).

Reading 2

What Peter has in mind here appears to have little to do with the classic salvation history that later Church Fathers like Clement and Augustine would develop out of this text, a scheme in which righteous humans are released from the bonds of Hell. Instead, Peter is assuring his audience of the cosmic implications of their baptismal vows. The one in whom they have placed their faith, he insists, is indeed the Lord of all creation, of heaven and earth, of things seen and unseen.
The impact of this proclamation can be better understood when we consider the chapters that precede this hymnic affirmation of the triumphant Christ. Those to whom Peter addressed his epistle were experiencing in their own lives the kind of suffering that was the result of turning their backs on the Hellenistic status quo. Their pleas to God during this time were not unlike those of the Psalmist: "do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me" (25:2). Their baptism, ironically, is at once the source of their hope and the reason for their earthly trials.
In drawing on the story of Noah, Peter wants to assure his readers that they are indeed the church, a new ark rising and falling with the waters of adversity, yet proceeding toward the day of peace when the chaos around them would recede and a new world would be established. And that day would come, for the Lord into whose body they had been baptized is indeed the Lord of creation. He had made himself known to the spirits of disobedience -- even from the first day of his earthly ministry (Mark 1:14-15, passim) -- and placed them on notice. Though it might appear to the aliens and exiles that these wayward angels still held sway over their lives, the waters were indeed subsiding.
Lent offers us the opportunity to search our conscience, to consider the implications of our baptism, and to assess which side we are really on. Ostensibly, the waters that wash us clean are the source of our salvation, but our actions sometimes suggest an allegiance to the chaos that lies just beyond the walls of the ark. Christ proclaims from the right hand of God that the spirits have been bound, but we too often insist through our words and our deeds that they should once again be set free.


Gospel                       Mk 1:12-15

We have here a brief account of Christ’s temptation, and the beginning of His preaching after John was arrested.
His temptation. The good Spirit that descended upon him, led him into the wilderness, v. 12. Paul mentions it as a proof that he had his doctrine from God, and not from man—that, as soon as he was called, he went not to Jerusalem, but went into Arabia, Gal. 1:17 . Retirement from the world is an opportunity of more free converse with God, and therefore must sometimes be chosen, for a while, even by those that are called to the greatest business. Mark observes this circumstance of his being in the wilderness —that he was with the wild beasts. It was an instance of his Father’s care of him, that he was preserved from being torn in pieces by the wild beasts, which encouraged him the more that his Father would provide for him when he was hungry. Special protections are earnests of seasonable supplies. It was likewise an intimation to him of the inhumanity of the men of that generation, whom he was to live among—no better than wild beasts in the wilderness, nay abundantly worse. In that wilderness, the evil spirits were busy with him; he was tempted by Satan; not by any inward injections (the prince of this world had nothing in him to fasten upon), but by outward solicitations. Solicitude often gives advantages to the tempter, therefore two are better than one. Christ himself was tempted, not only to teach us, that it is no sin to be tempted, but to direct us where to go for succor when we are tempted, even to him that suffered, being tempted; that he might experimentally sympathize with us when we are tempted. The good spirits were busy about him; the angels ministered to him, supplied him with what he needed, and dutifully attended him. Note, The ministration of the good angels about us, is matter of great comfort in reference to the malicious designs of the evil angels against us; but much more does it befriend us, to have the indwelling of the spirit in our hearts, which they have it, the evil one touches them not, much less shall he triumph over them.
A general account of Christ’s preaching in Galilee. John gives an account of his preaching in Judea, before this (ch. 2 and 3), which the other evangelists had omitted, who chiefly relate what occurred in Galilee, because that was least known at Jerusalem. Notice when Jesus began to preach in Galilee; After John was put in prison. When John had finished his testimony, then Jesus began his. Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Christ came to set up the kingdom of God among men, that they might be brought into subjection to it, and might obtain salvation in it; and he set it up by the preaching of his gospel, and a power going along with it. Observe the great truths Christ preached; The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. This refers to the Old Testament, in which the kingdom of the Messiah was promised, and the time fixed for the introducing of it. They were not so well versed in those prophecies, nor did they so well observe the signs of the times, as to understand it themselves, and therefore Christ gives them notice of it; "The time prefixed is now at hand; glorious discoveries of divine light, life, and love, are now to be made; a new dispensation far more spiritual and heavenly than that which you have hitherto been under, is now to commence.’’. There is much in the doctrine of Christ, that is astonishing; the more we hear it, the more cause we shall see to admire it.

Making the Connection

What are some temptations that you face? Make a list of some of these temptations.
What is one thing that regularly tempts you? Circle this item on your list.
In Mark’s Gospel, we don't hear details about how Satan tempted Jesus, nor do we hear how Jesus succeeded in resisting temptation. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ battle with Satan continues throughout his life, to be concluded only at his death on the cross. For details see Matthew’s Gospel (4:1-11).
During Lent, we focus on resisting temptation in our lives. We renew our commitment to resist certain temptations, but our efforts during Lent are only the beginning. We pray that what we begin during each Lent will continue long after.
How will you try to resist the temptation you circled? What help will you need to do this? Remember, no one succeeds in resisting temptation alone. God helps us!
Pray the Act of Contrition.

Here’s one version for reference
My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong
and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance,
to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ
suffered and died for us.
In his name, my God, have mercy.

=========================================================================
ADDITIONAL NOTES

Genesis 9:8-15
The bow is an ancient weapon used both for hunting and war. God demonstrates His desire for peace with humankind and Creation by hanging His "bow" that stretches from earth to Heaven and horizon to horizon. Never again will He make "war" upon the earth using water. The visible sign of His promise and the renewed covenant formed with Noah and all Creation is the seven-colored bow we see in the sky, often after a rainstorm.
Significantly, the rainbow has seven colors. Seven is one of the so-called "perfect" numbers in Sacred Scripture, reflecting fullness and perfection, especially spiritual perfection. Seven is a number connected to the first Creation event, the Flood, and the renewed creation after the Flood, founded on a renewed covenant. In its seven-color display, the rainbow recalls the seven days of the first Creation event and symbolizes the oath swearing necessary for a renewed covenant.
In Hebrew, the number seven is sheba or shava, which also means "oath" or "to swear an oath." To swear an oath in Hebrew is to literally "seven one's self." The number seven figures prominently in Genesis Chapter 1 in the Creation account and the formation of the covenant with Adam:
Through the events of the Great Flood, water became a covenantal symbol of exterior and interior purity. In 1 Corinthians 10:1, St. Paul described the children of Israel passing through the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea) as a baptism/immersion unto Moses when the people passed from a life of slavery to a new life as the chosen people of Yahweh. Covenant ritual purification by water in sprinkling and immersion became essential to the Sinai Covenant's religious rituals (Lev 8:6; 14:9; Ezek 36:25; Mk 1:4-5). All of the Old Testament water rituals prefigured Christian baptism in the washing away of the old life of sin and rebirth by the power of water and the Holy Spirit. In the Sacrament of Baptism, with Christ, we die to sin and death in the waters of baptism, and we resurrect with Christ into a new life as a child of God.
Scripture mentions God's "bow"/rainbow in Psalm 45:3-6; Ezekiel 1:26-28 (above the heavenly throne); Habakkuk 3:8-9; Revelation 4:3 (above God's throne) and 6:2. God's war bow will not play another prominent role in Sacred Scripture until Revelation 6:2. Then, the war bow God hung in the heavens as a sign of the Noahide Covenant will become a symbol of judgment. It will be taken up again and carried by the mysterious "Rider on the White Horse": Immediately I saw a white horse appear, and its rider was holding a bow; he was given a victor's crown, and he went away, to go from victory to victory.
God purged human wickedness from the earth in the Great Flood; however, because humanity's free will remained, Noah's son Ham abused this gift, and sin returned. After the Great Flood, sin continued to grow in men and women's lives, and human wickedness again came to affect all of God's Creation. The destiny of all living creatures became linked to human destiny for good or evil. It is why St. Paul wrote that it is through Christ's saving act of self-sacrifice that all humanity and all Creation can be freed from and redeemed by God's grace.

Psalm 25:4-9
The title of Psalm 25 attributes it to David. The psalm is in an acrostic pattern, and each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The response is from verse 10 and reminds us of God's everlasting covenant relationship with David and us through David's descendant, Jesus of Nazareth (2 Sam 7:16; 23:5; Mt 1:1).
The psalmist petitions the Lord to instruct him in righteousness, and he acknowledges that God is his Savior (verses 4-5). He asks for God's forgiveness for past sins because he has confidence in God's compassion, love, and goodness (verses 6-7).In verses 8-9, the psalmist writes of how God responds to both sinners and the humble. The humble are those who confess their sins to the Lord. God instructs and leads the humble and repentant sinner on the path to salvation.
St. Augustine wrote concerning this psalm: "Moreover, the one who follows the Lord's paths, and sees that he has been set free through no merit of his own, and takes no pride in his own efforts, will draw nearer to the Lord; in times to come, he will avoid the severe judgment that will be handed down to those who question all these things, for he has experienced the mercy of the one who came to his aid"

1 Peter 3:18-22
In this passage, St. Peter links Noah and his family's death and resurrection experience, when they passed through the sin-cleansing waters of the Great Flood over the earth, with Christian baptism. The words "put to death in the flesh" in verse 18 affirm that Jesus indeed died as a human being. However, St. Peter writes that death was not victorious over Christ because "he was brought to life in the Spirit." Peter refers to Jesus's Resurrection in the new and transformed glorified life in which He was free from the weakness of natural human life (see 1 Cor 15:45).
Then, St. Peter testifies that, like all humanity before His Resurrection, Jesus descended into the netherworld or the grave that is Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek, referred to as "prison" in verse 19. Sheol/Hades is not the Hell of the Damned and will continue as a state of purification until the return of Christ and the Final Judgment (Rev 20:14; CCC 1030-32). From the time of Abel's death, all humanity was imprisoned, awaiting the coming of the promised Redeemer-Messiah in Sheol. However, their condition was not the same. Sinners were being purified of their sins, and the righteous were in the company of Abraham (in "Abraham's Bosom'), waiting for their liberation (see Jesus's description of Sheol in Lk 16:19-31). Under the seven Old Testament covenants, there were no eternal blessings or judgments. Heaven was closed since the fall of Adam (CCC 536, 1026).
Descending from His tomb to the "prison" of Sheol, Jesus preached the Gospel of salvation to those who had waited since the first human deaths in salvation history. He even preached to those souls who died in the time of Noah (1 Pt 3:18-20). Sheol/Hades is the poorly translated "hell" of the English version of the Apostles' Creed (see CCC 633 and 1033).
St. Peter wrote about the event that saved those members of Noah's family in the waters of the Great Flood when they experienced a renewed Creation, which prefigured Christian baptism. In Christian baptism, the faithful are saved through washing in spiritual waters as they receive the gift of new life and become a new creation through water and the Spirit (Jn 3:3-5). Peter testifies that Jesus then led those who accepted His Gospel of salvation out of the "prison" of Sheol and into the gates of Heaven, opened for the first time since the Fall of Adam (CCC 536, 1026).
At the time of His liberation, Christ has gone into Heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him (1 Pt 3:22b). Since that time, the gates of Heaven have remained open to those made righteous, washed in the atoning blood of Christ Jesus (see Rev 4:1; CCC 1023-1029).
.
Mark 1:12-15
In St. Mark's Gospel, the story of God's plan for Jesus's mission continues to unfold:

The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the desert.
Satan tempted Jesus.
Jesus defeated Satan's temptations.
Angels ministered to Jesus among wild beasts, showing Jesus's authority over Heaven and earth (only in Mark's Gospel).

Satan (whose title means "Adversary") was once an angel created by God to be good. However, when God tested the angel spirits by giving them the gift of free will, Satan chose to lead a rebellion against the LORD (see Jn 8:44; CCC 391-92). St. Michael and his army of angels defeated Satan and the fallen angels who joined him, who became demon spirits (Rev 12:7-9).    God exiled Satan and his demon spirits from Heaven and cast them into the "fiery pit," or "lake of fire," or Gehenna, as Jesus referred to the Hell of the Damned. Satan, the liar and deceiver of humankind, in the guise of a serpent, tempted Adam and Eve into the sin of rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-7; Rev 12:9).
Jesus's testing by Satan and His 40-day ordeal in the desert wilderness recall other similar ordeals of other agents of God in the Old Testament. In Scripture, 40 is a number symbolizing both testing and consecration (for example, see Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-7; Ex 24:15-18; 34:28; Num 14:34-35; Dt 9:9, 18 and 1 Kng 19:4-8).
Like Adam and Eve in the first Creation, Satan tested Jesus, but then the experiences differed. Jesus is the new Adam who resisted Satan's temptations (1 Cor 15:22, 45; CCC 411). He is the new Adam of the new Creation. Like Satan tested the first Adam concerning the obedience of his covenant obligation to God in the Garden of Eden, Jesus experienced the test of a covenant ordeal. A comparison to Adam's test also appears in how God tested the faith and obedience of the children of Israel in their wilderness experience in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. Unlike the first Adam, whom God exiled from the Garden Sanctuary of Eden, and unlike the Exodus generation, Jesus passed His test. For their failures in obedience and faith, God condemned the Exodus generation to an exile of 40 years of wandering and the loss of entrance into the Promised Land, except for Caleb and Joshua, who remained obedient and faithful (Num 14:34-35).

Lent reminds us that Jesus's self-sacrifice removed the veil of separation between humankind and God that resulted from sin. When the Israelites made the image of the Golden Calf, breaking the first of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:4-5), it was as great a fall from grace as Adam's sin. Like Adam, their punishment was separation from continual access to the Divine Presence. God intended to dwell among them above the Ark of the Covenant, but as a result of their sin, a thick veil/curtain separated the people from God's Divine Presence above the Ark in the Holy of Holies. When Jesus gave up His life on the Cross, the curtain that separated the people from God's presence was torn from top to bottom, opening the way to a renewed relationship with the Almighty (Mk 15:38).
In Jesus's resurrection from death, He was victorious over Satan, and through the Sacrament of Baptism and our resurrection to new life, we have a part in that victory (Rom 5:12-14, 17-20). During Lent, we remember our share in Christ's victory as we renew our baptismal vows. The rituals and symbols of the Mass remind us that our Savior chose to break the barrier of separation between the sinner and God to make us vessels of grace and reveal the beautiful mystery of the Eucharist in our lives. We reaffirm our commitment to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus as we sing in today's psalm: "Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth, to those who keep your covenant."

==================================================

Sunday February 11, 2024 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 77

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                   Lv 13:1-2, 44-46

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
"If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch
which appears to be the sore of leprosy,
he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,
or to one of the priests among his descendants.
If the man is leprous and unclean,
the priest shall declare him unclean
by reason of the sore on his head.

"The one who bears the sore of leprosy
shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,
and shall muffle his beard;
he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!'
As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean,
since he is in fact unclean.
He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp."


Responsorial Psalm Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11

R. (7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.


Reading 2 1 Cor 10:31—11:1

Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or
the church of God,
just as I try to please everyone in every way,
not seeking my own benefit but that of the many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.



Gospel Mk 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

He said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Lv 13:1-2, 44-46

So just what is leprosy?
It is a progressive infectious disease caused by a bacteria that attacks the skin, flesh, nerves, etc.; it is characterized by nodules, ulcers, white scaly scabs, if not treated will cause the wasting of muscles, deformities, mutilation, and the eventual loss of sensation, ( and is contagious.)

Leprosy was a deadly disease dreaded by everyone in ancient Israel. It is worse than cancer. When somebody has leprosy, he or she becomes automatically ostracized or separated from the community. Thus, as we see in today's first reading, when a leper is going on the street he has to cry, "unclean, unclean... He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp" (Lv 13:45-46).
Today's Gospel passage presents a scenario in which a leper came to Jesus, kneeling down and begging him saying, "if you wish, you can make me clean." (Mark 1:40) Moved with pity, Jesus stretches out his hand touching the leper saying, "I do will it. Be made clean." (Mark 1:41) The Bible tells us that the leprosy left him immediately. What is the significance of this message? What challenges does it give us today?
There are times in our lives when we may be overwhelmed by all kinds of situations confronting us. There are situations that make us become isolated, abandoned, rejected, depressed, and lonely. At times we find ourselves lonely, even amidst the crowd! There are times when problems make our life so miserable, like that of an ostracized leper. There are times when families and friends may not be able to help, but there is somebody whose will is best. We need to approach Him and say, "Lord, let your will be done for me.” The Lord has promised never to abandon us, even if mothers could abandon their children (CF I S. 49:14 – 16).
On a spiritual level, that deadly disease affecting human life today is sin. It is so deadly because it separates us spiritually from our Lord.
Before making any crucial decisions Jesus usually withdraws into solitude to have a deeper encounter with his Father. This is our model. We too must find time within our busy schedule to pray. It is in prayer and deep meditation that we can encounter Jesus profoundly and embrace peace. It is during those quiet moments that we can hear him loud and clear. Such an encounter with Jesus also brings us healing of mind and body. The ancient Latin dictum “Ora et labora” (work and pray) should be our motto as Christians, not “Laborare est Orare” (working is praying), as we see in many cases today working is not synonymous with praying. If you want to encounter Jesus in his busy world, then you need to embrace solitude.
This passage explains to us also why we need our weekly days off, monthly recollection, annual retreat, and annual vacation. Some years ago, in a parish in the United Kingdom a pastor had worked for 14 years in a row without taking any vacation. The people were so concerned because he was running out of energy and zeal. Let us not forget that a car that runs all day, without stopping for fuel refill, will soon run out of gas.
My friends ask me why I go on spiritual retreat. I respond "I need all the help that I can get." Anyone, lay or cleric; living is a busy area; needs recollection, retreats and quiet moments as often as necessary. It is a busy world. We cannot be too busy for prayer and retreat. May the Lord give us many opportunities to encounter him and his healing power as we continue our journey in a busy world.

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11

Long before the insights from contemporary psychology concerning repression, biofeedback loops, and psychosomatic disorders, the ancient psalmist knew very clearly that unacknowledged and unresolved guilt could have serious physical consequences. There is no reason to think that the language of Psalm 32 is purely metaphorical -- “my bones wasted away; I groaned all day long.”
Unacknowledged and unresolved guilt was taking its toll. And it is still happening!
It is no wonder that some of the most penetrating analyses of sin and guilt have come in recent years not from biblical scholars and theologians, but rather from psychiatrists. For instance, Karl Menninger was motivated by his concern for mental health and a healthier society to ask Whatever Became of Sin? He was concerned that unacknowledged and unresolved guilt inevitably comes out in various forms of unhealthy “escapism, rationalization, and reaction or symptom formation.”
Therefore, he called for a recovery of the concept of sin; and he suggested that clergypersons should take the lead: “It is their special prerogative to study sin -- or whatever they call it -- to identify it, to define it, to warn us about it, and to spur measures for combatting it and rectifying it.”
The appearance of Psalm 32 in the lectionary offers a prime opportunity for clergypersons to take up the challenge “to study sin.” And almost certainly, it will be a challenge! As Menninger points out, sin-talk has not been and is not very popular. For one thing, it can sound archaic and overly judgmental. Then too, our concern for privacy and proper appearances makes confession of sin (or weakness or need) a bit risky.
As Gerald Wilson notes, “The cults of independence and perfection have prevented many a struggling evangelical Christian from admitting his or her fears, failures, and helplessness until the crisis was so great that it can no longer be denied and broke out with the utmost devastation for all those concerned.” This reality, of course, underscores the importance of the challenge “to study sin.”
Perhaps the language of verses 3-4 suggests that the psalmist had arrived (or was about to arrive) at a devastating breaking point. If so, then she or he offers us a very important example of the benefits of confronting and confessing one’s sin. What ends up broken in Psalm 32 is neither the psalmist’s life nor the lives of those with whom the psalmist is concerned. Rather, what ends up broken is the psalmist’s silence!
While neither God nor the psalmists are in favor of sin, the real problem in Psalm 32 is not the psalmist’s sin but rather the psalmist’s failure to acknowledge and confess sin. It is crucial; therefore, that the silence be broken for, as James L. Mays points out, “the silence is the rejection of grace.”
The tragic thing about the failure to confess sinfulness and need is that we close ourselves off from the liberating grace of God. A more literal translation of verse 5c emphasizes this liberating dimension: “and you took away the guilt of my sin.” A burden has been lifted! God bears the burden of sin with us or even for us!
This, of course, is pure grace, anticipating both Jesus’ proclamation of the realm of God (see Luke 7:36-8:3) and Paul’s proclamation of the good news of justification by grace (see Romans 4:6-8 where Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2).
To be sure, Psalm 32 is about sin and guilt; and it is rightly numbered among the Church’s seven Penitential Psalms (see Psalms 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). But Psalm 32 is even more clearly about the divine willingness to forgive. This willingness is grounded in God’s essential character -- that is, God is gracious, merciful, and steadfastly loving (see Exodus 34:6-7; and note “steadfast love” in Psalm 32:10).

Reading 2                   1 Cor 10:31—11:1
The apostle urges he people to refrain where they will give offense, while yet he allows it lawful to eat what was set before them as common food, though it had been offered in sacrifice. "Another man's conscience is no measure to our conduct. What he thinks unlawful is not thereby made unlawful to me, but may be a matter of liberty still; and as long as I own God as a giver of my food, and render him thanks for it, it is very unjust to reproach me for using it." This must be understood abstracted from the scandal given by eating in the circumstance mentioned. Though some understand it to mean, "Why should I, by using the liberty I have, give occasion to those who are scandalized to speak evil of me?" According to that advice of the apostle (Rom. 14:16), Let not your good be evil spoken of. Note, Christians should take care not to use their liberty to the hurt of others, nor their own reproach.

The apostle takes occasion from this discourse to lay down a rule for Christians' conduct, and apply it to this particular case (v. 31, 32), namely, that in eating and drinking, and in all we do, we should aim at the glory of God, at pleasing and honoring him. This is the fundamental principle of practical godliness. The great end of all practical religion must direct us where particular and express rules are wanting. Nothing must be done against the glory of God, and the good of our neighbors, connected with it. No, the tendency of our behavior to the common good, and the credit of our holy religion, should give direction to it. And therefore nothing should be done by us to offend any, whether Jew, or Gentile, or the church, v. 32. The Jews should not be unnecessarily grieved nor prejudiced, who have such an abhorrence of idols that they reckon every thing offered to them thereby defiled, and that it will pollute and render culpable all who partake of it; nor should heathens be countenanced in their idolatry by any behavior of ours, which they may construe as homage or honor done to their idols; nor young converts from Gentilism take any encouragement from our conduct to retain any veneration for the heathen gods and worship, which they have renounced: nor should we do anything that may be a means to pervert any members of the church from their Christian profession or practice. Our own humor and appetite must not determine our practice, but the honor of God and the good and edification of the church. We should not so much consult our own pleasure and interest as the advancement of the kingdom of God among men. Note, A Christian should be a person devoted to God, and of a public spirit.

Gospel                       Mk 1:40-45

Last Sunday's gospel lesson impressed upon us the scope of Jesus' ministry and mission, and the power of the good news of His preaching and healing to impact the lives of all who flocked to hear the message of forgiveness and presence of God's new reign. With today's lesson there is no relenting in the intensity and success of that mission, whose fast-paced movement by now has developed a kind of rhythm.
In the final words of last Sunday's lesson, we heard that Jesus' mission encompassed all of Galilee and drew the whole world to Jesus' doorstep. But today, once again much like in the case of Peter's mother-in-law (1:29), we are drawn back to the particular, to the impact of Jesus' healing power upon the life of one individual. In fact, the whole movement of today's lesson mirrors that of last Sunday's verses, Mark 1:29-39. Whereas that lesson began with the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and ended with reference to Jesus' mission throughout the whole of Galilee, this lesson begins with the healing of a person with leprosy and ends with reference to the spread of Jesus' fame and people coming to Him from "everywhere."
The clear effect of the progression of these texts is to proclaim the power of the good news, present from the very beginning in Jesus' mission and ministry. Whereas in the other synoptic gospels this story needs some time to work its way out, in Mark this power has its "epiphany" already in Mark's unique portrayal of the ministry and preaching of John the Baptist. When Jesus announces the "kingdom of God" has already come near and the reign of God is upon us in this good news, His preaching compounds and strengthens that message. "Immediately," (to use Mark's favorite word) the powers that be are engaged. Jesus' healing and casting out of demons acknowledge His authority and power as something to be reckoned with. In Jesus' presence lives will be changed. But as the story progresses, beginning especially in last Sunday's lesson, there are signs that such power will not go unchallenged. The new and the old are bound to clash; the new will not be contained by the old. That impending clash becomes more explicit in Mark 2:1-12 and 2:13-22, but it already breathes beneath the surface in this Sunday's lesson.
The leper's arrival and request press the issues of the good news squarely: "If you are willing, you have the power to make me clean" (a translation). The words "if you wish, you can..." disguises and softens Mark's loaded words of "will" and "power." Here, we are invited to face the issue of how Jesus will address the matter of "clean and unclean" in the particular realities of this world. That particularity is clear in the leper's question, which is not about cleansing and power in general, but about the power to make "me" clean. Ultimately, the issue of the good news is whether it has the power to effect change in my life and yours.
The leper's question recognizes that if there is to be healing, it will be dependent on a God who "wills" that it be so. The "if" in his question leaves that matter provocatively up in the air. As such his words remind us that hearing the arrival of this Jesus as good news is contingent on finding in him the epiphany of a God who actually "wills" that this healing be so. But his words also recognize that such actuality takes more than "will." The will to cleanse remains only a possibility until it meets the appearance of One who has the "power" to deliver on the promise of that will. This issue of power is central, for it stands both at the beginning and end of this lesson, though it is unfortunately disguised in the English translations. It is here in the leper's request (verse 40). It is there again in verse 45, where strangely and surprisingly we hear that the successful spread of the word about Jesus means He no longer "has the power" to go around "openly." Instead, He must stay in secret in the wilderness. (Literally, he does not have the ability for "epiphany").
Of course these matters of power will ultimately move this story to the cross. But for now, Jesus' immediate answer is clear. Jesus is moved with compassion. He reaches out, touches the leper, and says, "I do will it." If there is any question of the requisite power to cleanse, it is avoided and leapt over. The "I will" becomes immediate reality in Jesus' command: "Be made clean" (Mark 1:41-42).
In Jesus, "I will" is the power of the good news to change lives and the message of Epiphany; that in Jesus this will and power of God is clearly revealed. Boundaries are crossed; issues of power are addressed; unclean becomes clean; the sick become whole. And Jesus will get into trouble for this!
The trouble is perhaps suggested in the refusal of this good news to be restrained, even by Jesus' own command. Jesus gives the former leper two commands, " See that you tell no one anything " and " show yourself to the priest," neither of which he obeys. Instead, this man goes out and "preaches" the "word" mightily (Greek: polla; literally, "in many words"). And his preaching is effective, so much so that Jesus becomes hampered in His own ministry (Mark 1:45).
This epiphany story draws us into a number of tensions of discipleship and faith. The leper's story makes clear that God's will in Jesus to touch, to cleanse, and to make whole is not just imagination or wish. Instead, it is promise that has the power to touch the particularity of lives, broken and suffering from the powers of the unclean in this world. It also makes clear that the proclamation of this good news has the power, even today, to burst the boundaries of constraint that would keep this good word from being heard. The story of this Jesus will get out!

Making the Connection

You have so many choices in the course of the day that you may not even realize how many decisions you make. Try to list some of the decisions that you have made since you woke up this morning. Things like: (choosing what clothes to wear, choosing what to eat for breakfast, and so on)
Most of us have become pretty good at making good choices that relate to our daily routines. But sometimes we are faced with a choice that is more difficult.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is faced with this kind of choice. A man approaches Jesus, asking to be healed. Jesus was faced with the choice of whether to heal him or not.
What did the man want Jesus to do? (cure his leprosy) Why might Jesus not want to do this? Remember that leprosy is a disfiguring skin disease and that in Jesus’ time, people with leprosy were not permitted to have contact with people who did not have the disease. What did Jesus decide to do? (He healed the man with leprosy; he touched him as part of the healing.)
As Christians, we face similar choices with the decisions that we are asked to make. We have the choice to love, the choice to help, or to do nothing. We show the depth of our faith when, like Jesus, we choose to love and to help, even when this is difficult for us.
Conclude by praying together that we will have the courage to help and heal others, even if doing so is difficult. Pray together the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
It was the duty of the priests of the Sinai Covenant to preside over the prescribed communal and individual voluntary sacrifices in the liturgical worship services. They also had other duties to perform for the community, as recorded in this section of the Book of Leviticus, including public health duties. They were to examine and decide on health issues that could harm the entire community. The procedure for suspicious skin conditions consisted of examination and isolation for seven days before the priest reached a final determination. The chief concern in these public health examinations was the dangerously contagious skin disease of leprosy. Today, some medications can contain and control leprosy; however, in the ancient world, the condition condemned a person to a life of miserable isolation and a slow and disfiguring death.
It was a tragedy for a covenant member to be diagnosed with a contagious skin disease like leprosy. They were expelled from the community and forced to live alone or in groups with others in the same physically "unclean" state (Lk 17:12). They were required to show physical signs of their forced separation by shaving their heads, wearing torn garments, and covering their beards, all signs of death, penance, and mourning (Lev 10:6; Ezek 24:17). They could not offer sacrifices in the desert Sanctuary, nor, in Jesus's time, could they join the congregations of the local Synagogues or worship in the Jerusalem Temple because their unclean condition made them "unfit" for communal worship.
In 2 Kings 5:8, the prophet Elijah invoked God's divine name and healed a Gentile leper named Naaman. His act proved that the mercy of Israel's God was not limited to the Israelites, and He was more powerful than any human contagion, whether it was leprosy or sin. The miracle also prefigured the healing and restoration of the Gentile peoples of the earth to fellowship with God. Elijah's deed, under the power of the Holy Spirit, proved he was Yahweh's holy prophet.
Jesus also healed lepers (today's Gospel Reading). However, He is far more than a prophet like Elijah. Jesus is God visiting His people (Ezek 34:11-12, 15-16) to heal, restore, and raise them to a holy, internal purity. He will raise them to holiness through the Sacrament of Baptism in His death and resurrection and make them fit for worship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11
The psalm is attributed to King David after God forgave him of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, which led to her husband's arranged death.
In the Church's Penitential Psalms, we celebrate the happiness of the person who acknowledges that God forgives his sins through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. However, Christ's blood does not merely cover our sins (as in the old covenants) but washes us clean and restores us to fellowship with God and the community of the faithful. In this connection, Church Father and Archbishop of Constantinople St. John Chrysostom (c. 344/354-407) wrote, quoting Psalm 32:5, "Shall I remind you of the different paths of repentance? For there are many, each distinct and different, and they all lead to heaven. The first way of penance consists in the accusation and acknowledgment of sin [...] For this reason, the psalmist says: 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.'  Therefore, if you condemn in yourself the deed by which you gave offense, the confession will obtain your pardon before the Lord; for the one who condemns his offense makes it more difficult for himself to commit that sin again. Ensure that your conscience is always alert: it will be your private prosecutor, and then there will be no one else to accuse you before the tribunal of God. This is the first and best path of penitence" (De diabolo tentatore, 6).

1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Every Christian is morally responsible for his actions and the negative or positive influence his actions might have on others. It is the correct use of Christian freedom expressed first negatively (verse 32) and then positively, as exemplified in Paul's life (verse 33), and finally, as grounded in Christ (11:1). All actions should give glory to God by living "in imitation of Christ." In this way, others who view your life as sanctified to God may be encouraged to follow your example, leading them to conversion and eternal salvation.
Such small actions as wearing a cross or offering a prayer before meals in a public place give a witness to others of your faith in Christ Jesus. St. Basil the Great (c. 330/357-379), bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor, commented on this passage from 1 Corinthians by writing: "When you sit down to eat bread, do so, thanking him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank him for his kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore him, who, in his wisdom, has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise the Creator" (Hom. in Julittam, martyrem).

The Gospel of Mark 1:40-45
In the First Reading, we read about a person diagnosed with leprosy. Under Mosaic Law, those persons were virtually excommunicated from the community and doomed to live in poverty and isolation. Lepers had to wear torn garments with an uncovered head. They had to cry out "unclean" wherever they went and remain outside the community in deserted places. The life of a leper was like a living death. Not only was a leper ritually unclean, but anyone who came in contact with a leper could also become unclean. A leper could not worship in the Temple until a priest pronounced the person healed and eligible for ritual purification. Anyone in contact with a leper could not worship in the Temple until they had also undergone ritual purification (Lev 13-14).
The Old Testament mentions several cases of leprosy: for example, Miriam (Num 12:10), Naaman (2 Kng 5:10), Gehazi (2 Kng 5:25), King Uzziah (2 Kng 15:5), and four lepers at the siege of Samaria (2 Kng 7:3). In the New Testament, Jesus healed lepers (Mt 8:1-4; Mk 1:40-42; Lk 5:12-16; 7:22; 17:11-19) and gave the same healing power to His disciples (Mt 10:8). On Jesus's last teaching day in Jerusalem, Simon the (former) Leper, who lived in Bethany, welcomed Jesus and His disciples to dinner in His honor on the Wednesday before His crucifixion (Mt 26:6; Mk 14:3).
The leper in our Gospel story makes a bold move by coming to Jesus. He takes the risk because he has confidence that Jesus can heal him (Mk 1:40). Jesus feels compassion for the man and is not made "unclean" by coming into contact with the leper. Instead, the leper was "made clean" by contact with Jesus, just as we are "cleansed" by contact with Jesus in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Notice that there is a sacramental quality to Jesus healing the man. Jesus stretches out His hand (verse 41), just as God, by His "outstretched hand," performed mighty acts to save the Israelites in the Exodus experience and in other glorious deeds in the history of the covenant people (Ex 13:9; 14, 16; 15:6; etc., and as Jesus's disciples prayed in Acts 4:30). His divine word accompanies this ritual sign as Jesus says, "I will do it. Be made clean." And like God's divine words that brought about the Creation event (Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29; Ps 33:9; Is 48:13), Jesus's words brought about what He commanded (Jn 1:1-5), whether in healing a leper, raising the dead (Mt 9:24-26; Mk 5:41-42; Lk 7:14-15; Jn 11:43-44), or changing bread and wine into His Body and Blood (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:19-20).

Jesus asked the man to keep secret the source of his healing. This event is the first instance of what Biblical scholars call the "messianic secret" in Mark's Gospel, where Jesus insisted on concealing His true identity until He chose to make the revelation.
Notice that Jesus told the man to show himself to a priest (according to the Law in Lev 14:1-20). The old Sinai Covenant and its laws were still in place until Jesus fulfilled its old Mosaic Law and replaced it with the New Covenant (Lk 22:20; Heb 8:7, 13). In the meantime, Jesus obeyed the old covenant Law (Mt 5:17-20). Jesus told the man to show himself to a priest because he had the power under the Law to confirm the man's healing. Then, under the priest's direction, the man could return to the Temple on the eighth day after his examination to perform the purification ritual, offer the necessary sacrifices, be restored to the community, and return to fellowship with God (Lev 14:10).
Significantly, the ritual of purification for a leper was on the "eighth day" when the man could be restored to the community and fellowship with God in Temple worship. The eighth day is symbolically the day of the healed person's "resurrection" to a new life. The number eight in the significance of numbers in Scripture represents salvation, regeneration, and new life. The eighth day will be when Jesus Christ is resurrection from the dead; the day after the seventh day Jewish Sabbath (see CCC 349). See the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture".
45 The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Jesus cautioned the healed man not to reveal the miracle (verse 44). His true identity must not come too soon. Jesus must fulfill the words of the prophets before opposition to His ministry climaxes in His Passion. However, the healed leper could not keep quiet in his joy over his healing and restoration to his family and community (verse 45a). The former leper experienced restoration to the community. Still, as for Jesus, it became impossible for Him to enter the town because of the many people who wanted to see Him (verse 45b). Ironically, Jesus and the man have traded places. Jesus healed the man at a personal cost and took on the leper's previous position outside the towns. However, Jesus was not isolated because the people came to Him as news continued to spread about His miraculous healing and His authoritative teachings.

========================================

Sunday February 4, 2024 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 74

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                         Jb 7:1-4, 6-7

Job spoke, saying:
Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?
Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
I shall not see happiness again.

Responsorial Psalm                       Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (cf. 3a) Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                               1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach,
I offer the gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.


Gospel                                 Mk 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                         Jb 7:1-4, 6-7

I have been allotted months of futility: Job saw his present suffering like the futile, discouraging work of a servant or a hired man. He felt there was no hope or reward, only weariness.
The words hard service in Job 7:1 are descriptive of military service. The Latin Vugate translates, The life of man is a warfare upon earth. The early English Coverdale translation has it, Is not the life of man upon earth a very battle? With this Job communicated both the struggle of life, together with the idea that he has been drafted unwillingly into this battle.
Wearisome nights have been appointed to me: Job described his physical condition in painful terms. He suffered from insomnia and his skin affliction came back again and again.
Clarke comments on My flesh is caked with worms: “The figure is too horrid to be further illustrated.”

Job mourns the futility of life.
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle: Job did not mean this in a positive sense, as in saying “My, look how fast the time is going by.” As described in the previous verses, in this season of affliction time is dragging by for Job through his sleepless and painful nights. Yet when he looked at his life in totality, it seemed to be a meaningless blur, spent without hope and as a breath.
“Ibn Ezra noted long ago the play on the word [tiqwah, ‘hope’], which can also mean ‘thread.’ Job’s days move fast like a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end through want of thread. Both meanings were equally intended. This is the kind of overtone in meaning that cannot be reflected in a translation without a footnote.”
“Worse than the disease itself, Job lost all hope of being healed. He believed his only release from pain was death.”


Responsorial Psalm                       Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

- Praise the Lord! Psalm 147 begins and ends with these words, which are both a declaration and an encouragement of praise to Yahweh. This hallelujah begins and ends the five psalms that end the Book of Psalms.
- “There is no heaven, either in this world, or the world to come, for people who do not praise God. If you do not enter into the spirit and worship of heaven, how should the spirit and joy of heaven enter into you?”
- it is good to sing praises to our God: It was right for the Psalmist to tell himself and others to praise the Lord, and he assumed that God’s people would do it with singing. The goodness of praise comes from the truth that it is, in itself, pleasant and beautiful.
- Psalm 33:1 says, praise from the upright is beautiful. True praise is beautiful to God, to His people, and to the individual worshipper.
- Praise is pleasant and beautiful for humanity, “It is decent, befitting, and proper that every intelligent creature should acknowledge the Supreme Being: and as he does nothing but good to the children of men, so they should speak good of his name.”
- If praise is beautiful, “As on the contrary, an unthankful man is an ugly, ill-favoured spectacle.”

(2-6) The care and power of God.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
- The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers together the outcasts of Israel: The Psalmist quickly began to describe the goodness and greatness of God, to give himself and others reasons to praise God. The first reason is God’s active care for Jerusalem and a likely reference to its restoration after the exile.
- “The twelfth chapter of Nehemiah tells how the Levites were brought to the city to lead a grand celebration ‘with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres’ (Neh. 12:27)”. It would have been fitting for them to sing this Psalm, especially Psalm 147:2-3.
- Consider the many kinds of outcasts that Jesus gathers and blesses today.
· Outcasts may be the very poorest and most despised among men
· Outcasts may be those who have made themselves so by their wickedness
· Outcasts may be those who judge themselves to be outcasts
· Outcasts may be backsliders from the church
· Outcasts may be those who have fallen into great depression of spirit
· Outcasts may be those who suffer for righteousness’ sake
- He heals the brokenhearted: God does not only care for communities, but also for individuals. Those who hurt – the brokenhearted and the wounded – are special objects of His care.
- Hearts are broken through disappointment. Hearts are broken through bereavement. Hearts are broken in ten thousand ways, for this is a heart-breaking world; and Christ is good at healing all manner of heart- breaks. There are many reasons why Jesus is good at healing the brokenhearted.
· Jesus is educated for this work, having His own heart broken
· Jesus is experienced in this work, having healed broken hearts for 2,000 years
· Jesus is willing to take the worst patients, and has never yet lost a patient
· Jesus heals broken hearts with medicine that He himself provides
- “That God tells the number of the stars is only what we should expect of Him….But that He should be able to bend over one broken heart and bind it with His sympathy and heal its flowing wounds, this is wonderful, amazing, divine.”
Binds up their wounds: “As a good shepherd, Zechariah 11:4, that good Samaritan, Luke 10:34, and as a good surgeon dealeth by his patient.”
- He counts the number of the stars, He calls them all by name: The same God who cares for the lowly individual also knows and names all the stars. His majesty extends in both directions, from the span of the universe to the individual need.
- The Psalmist allowed us to the make the logical point – that if God knows and names all the stars, He certainly knows me and names me.
- Apparently in the days of Matthew Poole (1624-79), astronomers numbered 1,025 stars. “He telleth the number of the stars, which no man can do, Genesis 22:17. For those thousand and twenty-five which astronomers number, are only such as are most distinctly visible to the eye, and most considerable for their influences.” Now (2016) scientists estimate that there are 1 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. God knows the exact number.
- He calls them all by name: “Calling them all by names (lit., He calls names to them all) is not giving them designations, but summoning them as a captain reading the muster roll of his band. It may also imply full knowledge of each individual in their countless hosts.”
- The ‘stars’ are not forces or deities as in the ancient Near East but created entities over which the Lord is sovereign.
- Great is our Lord, and mighty in power: The Psalmist again described God in the high aspects of His majesty (His understanding is infinite) and in the lowest and most compassionate aspects of His majesty (the Lord lifts up the humble).
- “It turns upside down the familiar argument that in so great a universe our small affairs are too minute to notice.”
- His understanding is infinite: “There is no fathoming his wisdom, or measuring his knowledge. He is infinite in existence, in power, and in knowledge, as these three phrases plainly teach us.”
- The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground: This is much like the phrase repeated three times in the Scriptures – God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).
- “He reverses the evil order of things. The meek are down, and he lifts them up; the wicked are exalted, and he hurls them down to the dust.”
- “As a man ranks himself in one or other of these two divisions, he may expect from heaven storm or sunshine, mercy or judgment.”

Reading 2                               1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

This dialectic - preach or be damned - arises from Paul's self-reflection on his role as apostle. Paul is presenting his self-understanding, describing the manner in which he presents himself, and the ultimate motivation which drives him. Preach, or be damned.
To be fair Paul doesn't actually say "damned." Rather, he says "woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). As with the Old Testament "woes" that one reads in numerous prophetic oracles (cf. Isaiah 45:9; Hosea 7:13; see also Matthew 23:13-36), this is serious business. This is not the "whoa" of amazement or surprise, but the "woe" of suffering and punishment. In effect, Paul is calling trouble down upon himself should he fail to preach the gospel. "Woe to me if I fail to proclaim the gospel! I must preach or be damned!" With this attitude, Paul sets the stage for a striking reflection on his own calling as apostle, and provides a refreshing resource for our reflection on what it means to be called, commissioned to serve God and our neighbor, and proclaim the gospel.
There is much in this passage that may be familiar, primarily Paul's summary of the nature of his apostleship. One of Paul's most oft-quoted phrases is found here, that he will be "all things to all people" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Among the Jews, Paul is a committed and observant Jew, as he proudly declares elsewhere (Philippians 3:4-6). To those under the law, Paul will conduct himself as one also under the law, even though he is not subject to that law (1 Corinthians 9:20). To those outside the law, he will appear and present himself as one also outside of the law, even though, in a potentially confusing turn-around, he is "not free from God's law" (verse 21). To the weak, Paul will give himself as one who is weak, though he has reason to boast (verse 22).
This fourfold summary of "all things" is at heart a repetition of two things in an A-A-B-B pattern. The Jews and those under the law are best read as one and the same. Likewise, those outside the law, the Gentiles, are also the "weak." Think of this as a Pauline version of "There are two kinds of people." "And," Paul says, "I am whatever they need me to be, a little A-ish or a little B-ish." Though free in Christ Jesus, Paul submits himself, to the point of being a slave, to his neighbors, willing to be "all things to all people."
As with most familiar things, one must be careful not to read "all things to all people" as though Paul is saying that "everything goes." As noted above, Paul is talking less about "all things" than articulating a basic two-part distinction: those under the law, and those outside the law, which covers everyone. What Paul is driving at is not some pluralist vision of all things being equal. He is driven by the need to deliver the gospel to all people, not just the chosen people or the insiders. Outside of this text, Paul explicitly says that theological relativity and idolatry are not a part of the gospel (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). In other words, Paul is stressing that he has given up all claims to his own particularity; but not the particularity of the gospel; in order to "win more," and "save some." The question is, why?
Why is Paul willing to do this? Why be all things to all people? Why risk appearing a chameleon of compromise? Why give up freedom for servitude? Why? Preach or be damned. For Paul this is not a question, or a matter of choice. It is a matter of necessity, of compulsion, of apostolic imperative. It is the gospel that is for all people, the gospel that drives him to reach out both to Jew and to Gentile, to the one struggling under the burden of the law and the one blissfully ignorant of its demands. For Paul the gospel is needed by both kinds of people, it is the one thing that is for all people. This is why he does what he does.
And this brings us again to the remarkable way in which Paul describes the apostolic imperative which drives him, and what it means for us. At the beginning of this little passage from 1 Corinthians, Paul holds in tension a set of contradictory terms: boasting and obligation, reward and commission. The calling, the obligation to proclaim the gospel is not a cause for boasting or arrogance; neither is it a means to an end or a reward. For Paul the gospel, as a blessing to be shared (1 Corinthians 9:23; 10:17; 11:23-26), is both obligation and reward, commission and compensation. Paul does not talk here of his calling or his "Christian life" as something motivated by heavenly reward, or something in which to take pride. Paul, who is accustomed to the occasional pride filled boast, takes a different tack here. He is motivated by the joy from servitude to Christ, the reward of a slavish devotion to all his neighbors, both those under God's law and those unaware of it.


Gospel                                 Mk 1:29-39

As Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee he has called disciples. In the Capernaum synagogue he healed a man with an unclean spirit by "rebuking" the spirit and calling it out of him. The amazed local folks talk about this new teacher and exorcist everywhere. Meanwhile, after the healing in the synagogue, Jesus returns to Simon Peter's house. There lies Simon Peter's mother-in-law in the grip of a fever. This is no small matter in the ancient world. A fever was not only debilitating for a short while, but was often a symptom of a condition that would lead to death. We know nothing from Mark about this fever -- its intensity, its duration, or its cause -- but we do know a valued family member was unable to be up and about her work. Her calling had been taken from her by an illness.
Jesus simply "raises her up." In Mark's direct and uncomplicated style he says, "...and the fever left her and she served them." The verbs are interesting. Simon Peter's mother-in-law is raised up by Jesus, a word that takes on powerful meaning in Mark's gospel and in subsequent Christian communities. In 16:6 the word is applied to Jesus himself. Mark uses egeiro in many healings (see, for example, 9:27). The word suggests that new strength is imparted to those laid low by illness, unclean spirits, or even death, so that they may again rise up to take their place in the world. That's where the second interesting verb comes into play.
Simon Peter's mother-in-law "served" immediately after having been raised. The verb is diakoneo, the same verb Jesus uses to describe the essence of his own ministry in Mark 10:45. It is "to serve" rather than "to be served" that characterizes the Christ of God. It is also "to serve" that characterizes his disciples. Simon Peter's mother-in-law is far from being an exemplar of a pathetic, un-liberated woman for whom serving men is her whole life. Rather she is the first character in Mark's gospel who exemplifies true discipleship. (Side bar: it will be women who are described as having served Jesus in 15:41 as well. This is not a verb used of Jesus' male disciples who famously do not quite "get it" within the gospel itself.)
Needless to say, the second healing really got around among the people. All kinds of folks were brought to Jesus for help. Capernaum's sick were laid before his door and he healed illnesses and cast out demons by the score. Please notice that these two activities were not identical. The ancients did not believe that all illnesses were demonically caused. They knew as well as we do that people get sick for all manner of reasons.
But please notice in addition, that illness bore a heavy social cost: not only would a person be unable to earn a living or contribute to the well-being of a household, but their ability to take their proper role in the community, to be honored as a valuable member of a household, town, or village, would be taken from them. Peter's mother-in-law is an excellent case in point. It was her calling and her honor to show hospitality to guests in her home. Cut off from that role by an illness cut her off from doing that which integrated her into her world. Who was she when no longer able to engage in her calling? Jesus restored her to her social world and brought her back to a life of value by freeing her from that fever. It is very important to see that healing is about restoration to community and restoration of a calling, a role as well as restoration to life. For life without community and calling is bleak indeed.
Jesus' ministry involves restoration of those cut off from community to a full role in the community. Those who have been seriously ill in our own time will understand the joy of simply being back as a participant in the "ordinary" processes of community life. Truly, there is nothing ordinary about life in community. Jesus wields the power of God Almighty to bring about participation: it is God's will for creation to be serving in community with others.
This discussion leads naturally to the end of the passage where suddenly Jesus seems to reject his call to heal and insists that he must proclaim throughout the villages and towns of Galilee the message he came to deliver. That proclamation, or announcement, continues to be in both word and deed as Jesus goes forward. In 1:15 we heard that message from Jesus: "the reign of God has come near. Repent and trust the good news." We have seen in the story of the man possessed and of Peter's mother-in-law how good that good news was: part of God's reign is the casting out of demons and the turning aside of illnesses; it has to do with restoration of those oppressed to a full role in their communities; it has to do with creating a people raised up to serve each other. And people do come in numbers, trusting that Jesus will heal and restore.
Yet his calling at this point in Mark's gospel is to share the in-breaking of God's kingdom through healing and announcement. Jesus is the herald with the power to bring in a foretaste of the kingdom, even as he promises that it is continuing to "draw near." As he goes throughout the Galilee he does not rely simply on words to make his point, but on the casting out of demons.
How vital it is to know that the coming of God's kingdom is indeed good news? One could imagine God's reign coming as a reign of terror. Humans have plenty of experience with powerful kings doing terrible things to those over whom they reign. Will God be like that? Will it be punishment and brutality for those who don't get on board? No. Jesus shows over and over again, that God's power serves the people. From the very beginning of his ministry Jesus casts out those spirits opposed to God's people, those things which lay them low, as part of his heralding the kingdom. God comes to restore, to save and God's power is sufficient to do it.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about times when you were ill. What did you want most when you were sick? What did other people do to help you when you were sick? How have you helped others who were sick?
In today’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus cured Simon's mother-in-law, who was sick with fever. We also hear how Jesus cured many other people. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel.
What did Simon’s mother-in-law do after Jesus healed her? (She served Jesus and his disciples.) We see in her example that one of the things that those who are ill need most is a sense of purpose and the opportunity to make a contribution.
The Church continues to bring Jesus’ healing presence to those who are sick. What are some things that our Church does for those who are sick? (We visit the sick; we bring Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist; we pray for those who are sick; we celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.)
Conclude in prayer asking Jesus to be with those who are sick. Pray prayers of petition for those who are sick; after each petition, pray “Jesus, heal us.” Conclude by praying the Glory Be to the Father.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL NOTES 20240204

Reading 1                                           Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
Life is Painful and Fleeting

Job's description of the sufferings of human existence recalls divine judgment in the Fall of Adam that impacted all Adam's descendants (Gen 3:17-19). Job describes life as a desperate struggle in which humankind lives like a slave who suffers in being unable to find shade/rest from the scorching sun or a hired man who barely makes enough to live. He knows that life is brief, and at this point in Job's story, his suffering makes him believe he can never be happy again (verse 6).
Such is the world's plight resulting from the corruption of original sin (CCC 215, 390, 397-98, 404, 412) and personal sin (CCC 1852, 1868). No one can escape the struggle that makes the life of every human a battle against sin: "The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity" (Gaudium et spes, 37; CCC 409).
Job's experience was the human condition before the Incarnation of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. There was no hope of Heaven since the Fall of Adam. The introduction of sin into the world closed its gates, and death consigned all humans to the abode of the dead, Sheol in Hebrew (CCC 536, 633). However, with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, St. Mark dramatically describes Heaven as "torn open" (Mk 1:10; CCC 1026). In Christ, humanity received the hope of eternal life and His promise that those who suffered from injustice would receive God's mercy and justice
Responsorial Psalm                       Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

The psalmist begins with a call to praise God for His goodness (verse 1). The LORD has gathered up His people, the Israelites, from exile and has led them home to rebuild Jerusalem. He has healed the broken hearts and has bound their wounds (verses 2-3). He is the Creator who made the stars, lifts up the downtrodden, and judges the wicked (verses 4-6). Those who receive God's mercy trust in the Lord's wisdom, not in their efforts or merits (verse 5). For Christians, the psalm invites us to praise God not only because He was the Savior and Provider of His covenant people in the past but because, in His mercy and love, He has made Himself present among humanity through the Incarnate Christ, the Word made flesh. He continues to make Himself present to humankind in the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, healing, consoling, and saving us until the end of time.

Reading 2                               1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

St. Paul confessed that he felt compelled to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ; he knew it was his divine calling. In doing so, he asked for no reward, even though he could have expected it since Jesus told His disciples the laborer deserves his payment (Lk 10:7). But Paul did not expect just compensation for preaching the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. He earned his living by tent-making (Acts 18:3; 1 Cor 4:12; 2 Cor 12:13; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9), hoping the additional sacrifice would make his divine reward even more substantial in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Like St. Paul, the Holy Spirit calls all Christians to serve as Jesus's apostles (those "sent" through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation) to preach the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and His "good news" of God's gift of eternal salvation. In his preaching, Paul wrote that he was compelled to become all things to those he preached to better connect with the people who heard him to increase their openness to his message. St. Josemaria Escriva wrote: "He must become all things to all men in order to save all men" (Christ Is Passing By, 14). Vatican II defined what this apostolate involves: "The witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, incite them to a more fruitful life; 'for Christ's love urges us on' (2 Cor 5:14) and in the hearts of all should the Apostle's words find echo: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel' (1 Cor 9:16)" (Apostolicom actuositatem, 6).

Gospel                                 Mk 1:29-39

Jesus healed many people and cast out demons that He immediately silenced, refusing to let them reveal His true identity (see Mk 1:23-26). The demon spirits knew Jesus's true identity and feared Him, recognizing His divine power (verse 34). Demons are spiritual beings who are fallen angels. God created them to be good; however, through their own free will choice, they became evil by rebelling against God and following Satan, who was himself once an angel (see Rev 12:7-9 and CCC 391-95). The testimony of demons is not the kind of witness Jesus wanted to His true identity. His identity as the divine Messiah must be revealed slowly through His miracles and teaching.
In verse 35, we read that Jesus rose before dawn and withdrew alone to pray. Jesus's action raises the question: shouldn't we do the same if Jesus felt it was necessary to devote time to private prayer? All four Gospels record that several times Jesus withdrew from His disciples for personal prayer. However, the crowds of people continued looking for Him. Sympathetic to the people's needs, Simon Peter went to find Jesus (verses 36-37). In verse 38, Jesus agreed to return and gave the reason for His mission. He came to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the children of Israel, the same fulfillment statement St. Mark made in 1:14-15, After John had been arrested, Jesus came to the Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God saying: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel"
Jesus's message is as relevant today as it was to the Jews in the 1st century AD. Repent, believe in the Gospel (good news) of Jesus's gift of eternal salvation, and offer yourself to Him for spiritual healing. Then, commit yourself to Christ and let Him raise you to a new spiritual life. The Greek verb for the "raising" of Peter's mother-in-law is the same verb Jesus used when He commanded Jairus' daughter to "arise" and return to life (Mk 5:41-42), and it will appear again to describe Jesus's Resurrection (Mk 14:28; 16:7). Jesus's promises He will "raise up" to new life all those who believe in Him and come to Him in the waters of Christian Baptism and receive Him in the Eucharist (see Jn 6:40, 44, 54; 1 Cor 6:14; 2 Cor 4:14; baptism is commanded as necessary for salvation in Mk 16:16). And for our part, in gratitude, we should respond in serving the Lord like Simon -Peter's mother-in-law and like St. Paul who, despite personal hardships, committed his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was martyred for his faith.
=============================================================

Sunday January 28, 2024 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 71
Reading 1                       Dt 18:15-20

Moses spoke to all the people, saying:
"A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.
This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said,
'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.'
And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,
and will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.
Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name,
I myself will make him answer for it.
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name
an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"


Responsorial Psalm           Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2                             1 Cor 7:32-35

Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.


Gospel                                Mk 1:21-28

Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                       Dt 18:15-20

How do we know if one speaks for God or if God is being used to promote a social or political agenda? This question is as old as the ages, and this text from Deuteronomy goes hand-in-hand with the Gospel lesson from Mark. These questions are asked over and over again about Jesus. Is he the real deal? Is he really speaking for God, or is he just another itinerant prophet?
The literary setting for Deuteronomy is at the end of Moses' life as the wandering Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land. Moses is the only leader they have ever known, and his impending death puts the community in jeopardy. Deuteronomy represents Moses' last words to Israel, both present and future. The style is one of a sermon. In other words, it is not simply information, but it encourages and cajoles, calling the people to belief and a life lived according to God's instruction. It is the equivalent of Moses' ancient life instruction book to the people of Israel.
To fully grasp the meaning of this passage in a modern context, some explanation is necessary. What is the modern equivalent of ancient prophets? First, most people are unfamiliar with exactly what a prophet was in the ancient near eastern context. In biblical times, prophets were not rare. Indeed, 2 Kings tells that the king of Israel had 400 prophets at his disposal (1 Kings 22:6)! The problem was not finding a prophet - it was finding a prophet that was truly speaking for God.
Prophets performed a wide range of functions, including some that are condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. Prophets of the Lord are the mouthpieces for God, and their proclamations are made without the common acts of divination or speaking to dead spirits. Prophets of ancient times should probably be thought of as preachers, for they interpret the word of God to the people. Ancient Prophets, however, were distinct from priests who were responsible for leading the people in worship. The only function of an ancient prophet was to declare the word of God to the people. They did not run meetings or organize the congregation.
You can see the modern day equivalent of prophets any given Saturday in New York City. As you go about your tasks, it is not uncommon to see an individual or a group standing on milk cartons and telling the passersby that "God loves them," or that "they are going to hell," or that "they are one of the lost ten tribes of Israel." This religious cornucopia is now intensified by multiple cable television stations and internet sites. Prophets or preachers are still standing up and telling the people they speak for God. Often the messages are contradictory, and we still wonder which ones are true and which are false.
This passage begins with the reason why prophets are needed. It reaches back to the giving of the law in Exodus 19 and 20. When the people heard God speak they were so frightened, they begged Moses to speak with God and be their mediator. Prophets, then, are selected by God ("I raise up" verses 15, 18; "I will put my words" verse 18; "I command" verse 18) for the sake of the people. Prophets answer to God, not to the people, so they are free to speak the truth. Prophets also come "from among their own people" (verse 18). These speakers of truth are home grown. They know the ways and the hearts of the people they speak to and connect with them. They who speak for God must also be paid attention to, for to ignore their calls is the same as ignoring God (verse 19).
The hanging question is the same today as it was in ancient days: how do we know which of the many preachers/prophets who speak are truly speaking for God? The answer in the text is clear. If what the prophet says comes true, then the prophet is speaking for God. It seems like a good answer, but it does not answer all of our questions. Prophets talk of eternal things and life after death. Some of what they say is simply unknowable in this life. The test in Deuteronomy certainly helps us with some prophets who claim to speak for God, but not all. What is clear is that if a prophet/preacher leads folks astray, it is the prophet and not the people who are at fault. Unfortunately, unscrupulous prophets tend to prey on those who are the weakest and most vulnerable.
This text also speaks to Jesus' life and ministry. His truths were not easy to hear, and eventually it was his truth telling that would result in death on a cross. Some would not believe him because he did not have the right pedigree, and did not hang out with the right people. Others did not believe him because they had already formed their own ideas of what the Messiah was to be, and Jesus' message of grace and forgiveness was nothing like they envisioned. Still others were clear that this was Joseph's son who could not possibly be proclaiming God's will. Yet all of the things in the Deuteronomy text can be shown in Jesus' life, preaching, and death.


Responsorial Psalm           Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

    The psalm’s combination of a double call to worship (the lectionary reading) and a prophetic word is best explained with a liturgical or festival setting. The psalm celebrates and interprets the reign of God in the congregation’s liturgical setting. We might envision a procession, but the specific festival setting has been debated.
Jewish tradition ties the psalm to the beginning of Sabbath; others have suggested the Feast of Tabernacles or a covenant renewal festival. The movement of the psalm does suggest a connection to the beginning of worship, but it is difficult to be more specific. Verses 1-7 offer praise to God in the form of a double call to worship. The first summons to praise is in verses 1-2 followed by reasons for the praise in verses 3-5. The second call to worship in verse 6 narrows the focus to God’s covenant people, and verse 7 gives the reason for that call to praise. The last line of verse 7 introduces a prophetic word from God, an oracle. In contemporary terms, the first seven verses call the congregation to come to worship and the last verses deliver the prophetic word in the tradition of verses 8-11, a call to faithfulness. Re-enacting the liturgical setting helped us all to envision the movement and import of the psalm.
In the book of Psalms, this text comes in a cluster of psalms that celebrate the kingship of YAHWEH, an emphasis appropriate for Christ the King Sunday. The emphasis on YAHWEH’s kingship forms a response to the crisis of exile urgently articulated at the end of Book III in Psalm 89. The Davidic Kingdom has fallen, but the kingship of YAHWEH endures as a sign of hope for the community.
The psalm opens with a call to praise. The rendering “come sing joyfully to the Lord” is probably too tame for the Hebrew verbs that call for shouting and singing aloud, a noisy shout of homage similar to the shouting at the entrance of a human king. The call is for a procession to worship with this joyful singing. The movement is to the outer courts and then toward the sanctuary, the holy place of worship and the place of divine presence.
With verse 3, the liturgist brings the congregation to the reason for offering praise to God. The call to praise followed by the reason the congregation should offer praise is the classic style of praise in the Hebrew Psalter. The reason given in Psalm 95 is that YAHWEH is king, here tied to creation language. God created the world from its depths to its heights, from the sea to the dry land, all the world, and God reigns over it. The psalm begins with the broad realm of creation, a call to praise applicable to all peoples.
Reflecting its common ancient Near Eastern setting, the psalm portrays YAHWEH as preeminent among the gods, as king throughout creation and ruler over the powers of chaos and disorder. God created and reigns over creation. Thus all God’s creatures are called to praise.
The second call to praise narrows the focus. The congregation is now called to come and bow down, to kneel before the creator. The scene is analogous to an encounter with a human king with kneeling and bowing in homage. Now the congregation comes into the presence of the sovereign and bows awaiting a royal declaration. The opening call to worship portrays God as creator and ruler over creation.
The emphasis in the second call to worship is that the congregation belongs to God. God created this people and leads them and provides for them and protects them. The reason for praise in verse 7 alludes to the ancient Near Eastern royal image of God as shepherd of the people. God is “our Maker” and “our God.” The reference reminds the congregation that God’s mighty acts in history created this covenant people.
This double call to worship then makes it clear that God as both creator and redeemer is central to ancient Israel’s faith tradition. These verses at the beginning of Psalm 95 call to mind the familiar Psalm 100. These emphases characterize the cluster of psalms that celebrate the kingship of YAHWEH. The psalm’s concluding verses speak a prophetic warning by bringing to mind historical events in which the community did not trust YAHWEH. The call is to live a life of trust and faithfulness.
The sequence of Psalm 95 is important for readers. The psalm begins with the praise of God and moves to a prophetic warning spoken by God. The warning hopes that the community will trust in God, that is, will live out the praise articulated in verses 1-7. God’s gracious acts of creation and of calling out the community lead to the challenge for a response of praise and of lived faith.
Psalm 95 sings praise to God as sovereign and calls for faithfulness in response, in contrast to their ancestors’ response in the wilderness. So the psalm brings the past to bear on the present liturgical context. Those who do not heed the warning of history may have the misfortune of repeating it. The solemn warning that concludes the psalm hopes for a better response to the praise sung in verses 1-7.

Reading 2                             1 Cor 7:32-35

It is always helpful to understand the context of a scripture. In this instance, it is critical. To understand we must understand the rest of the chapter.
Corinth was an important and wealthy city on the isthmus (narrow strip of land) separating Northern and Southern Greece. The Apostle Paul spent 18 months there on his Second Missionary Journey and established a church there. Acts 18 gives us considerable detail about Paul’s work in Corinth during that time.
At the conclusion of his visit to Corinth, Paul left to visit Ephesus, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Galatia (Acts 18:18-23). After leaving Corinth, Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Corinth warning them “to have no company with sexual sinners” (5:9), but that letter has been lost to us.
Paul is writing this letter in response to a report from Chloe’s people about problems in the Corinthian church (1:11). In this letter, he provides apostolic guidance for dealing with those problems.
In chapters 1-6, Paul dealt with problems brought to his attention by people from Corinth. Now, in chapter 7, he begins to address “the things about which you wrote to me” (7:1).
First, he addresses a slogan of these Corinthian Christians, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (7:1). This slogan is an expression of asceticism—self-denial as a spiritual discipline.
We need to keep in mind that Corinth is a Greek city and these Corinthian Christians have been influenced by Greek philosophy, which tends toward dualism. Dualism sees the physical (such as the human body) as intrinsically evil and the spiritual (such as the soul) as good. The slogan, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” is consistent with Greek dualism—but at odds with the Judaism and Christianity, which see the whole person—indivisible body and soul. Corinthian Christians probably felt comfortable quoting this slogan to Paul, because Paul was unmarried and had expressed his preference for that state (as he does in this chapter, in verse 8).
In chapter 15, Paul will deal with another expression of dualism. Some Corinthian Christians said that “there is no resurrection of the dead” (15:12)—a belief consistent with Greek dualism but not with the Christian faith. In that chapter, Paul will emphasize strongly the bodily resurrection of Christ—and the Christian hope of bodily resurrection “at the last trumpet” (15:52).
In 7:1-24, Paul seeks to reorient these Corinthian Christians—to draw them away from an ascetic focus (emphasizing self-denial) to an eschatological focus (emphasizing the Second Coming of Christ). In the process, he answers a series of questions about marriage and divorce:
• Should a married couple refrain from conjugal relations? Paul answers, “Don’t deprive one another” (7:5).
• Should the unmarried remain that way? Preferably! (7:8-9).
• Should Christians who are married to unbelievers divorce their spouses? No! (7:10-16).
• Should men who have been circumcised try to reverse the procedure? (How would one do that?) Should men who have not been circumcised seek circumcision? Paul answers “Let each man stay in that calling in which he was called” (7:20).
• Should slaves seek freedom? Paul answers “Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God” (7:24).
The key to understanding Paul’s advice on these matters is found in our scripture text for this week. “The time is short” (7:29a). “For the mode of this world passes away” (7:31b). Paul is looking for the Second Coming of Christ, which he believes to be imminent. Therefore, Christians shouldn’t allow themselves to be distracted by lesser concerns. They should maintain a steady state, insofar as possible—not marrying—not divorcing—not being circumcised—not seeking freedom from slavery. His counsel reflects his belief that the Second Coming is just around the corner.
The question, then, is what this text has to do with us. After waiting two thousand years for Christ to come, we are less likely to believe that he will come in the next few months or years (although, hopefully, we have not lost hope that he will, indeed, come again).
What this text calls us to do is to maintain an eschatological (end of time) perspective— to appreciate the fact that Jesus’ death and resurrection ushered in a new era—to remember that, as Christians, we live with one foot in this world and the other foot in the kingdom of God.
If we can maintain an eschatological perspective, it will buy us a great deal of freedom. We can carry on with normal lives—marrying, working, raising children, and planning for retirement—but without succumbing to the kind of preoccupation with material things that always threatens to ensnare us.
It is difficult to live in a world that celebrates sex, money, and power as ultimate values without being affected by that perspective. However, events occasionally intrude on our lives and force us to think more deeply. When the doctor says “cancer”—or when we learn that our child has been in a bad accident—or when a spouse dies—suddenly the things that seemed so important a few minutes earlier fade into the background. In the crisis, we quickly reorient ourselves to that which is truly important.
This text calls us to live that kind of refocused life as a matter of course.


Gospel                                Mk 1:21-28

To attribute symptoms of shouting and convulsing with possession by an unclean spirit is not consonant with our understanding of the causes of mental or physical illness. Exorcism may appear alien. Jesus’ confrontation in the synagogue has been read as Jesus teaching over and against “Judaism,” while it is more historically accurate to see Jesus’ deeds and words, his ‘new teaching” to make sense within, and not outside, the ideals of Jewish covenant faithfulness.
Within the narrative world of the gospel of Mark, this encounter is the first public deed of power in his ministry. The story sets up the conflict that structures the first half of the gospel and that was displayed in the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness. It is the conflict between the power of evil, associated with Satan (Beelzebul, Mark 3:22) and demons and the power of God exercised through Jesus. This cosmic conflict is reflected in the earthly realm by the struggle of Jesus with demons, the controversy between Jesus and “scribes and Pharisees,” and the tension between Jesus and his “mother, sisters, and brothers” (Mark 3:31-35).
The cosmic conflict has a social political dimension; possession by demons (legion) is parallel to occupation of the countryside by Roman power (Mark 5:1-13) The conflict is described in violent terms “have you come to destroy us?” Elsewhere it is likened to a battle for ownership of a house (Mark 3:21-27). People who suffer the effects of being occupied or “possessed” by demons lose their ability to control their movements and their voices; either they are immobilized or compelled to move destructively (Mark 9:20-22). They are self-destructive (Mark 5:5). Exorcism by Jesus results in healing and restoration.
In this episode the authority of Jesus’ teaching contrasts with that of the scribes and is paired with his dramatic and effective exorcism of the unclean spirit. Those who witness it are amazed both by the authority of his teaching and his authority over the unclean spirits. The impact of his actions causes his reputation to grow throughout Galilee.
Within the account of the exorcism is a dialogue, initiated by the unclean spirit(s) who calls Jesus of Nazareth by name and appears to know his purpose -- “have you come to destroy us?” The unclean spirit makes a demonic “confession”/recognition and calls him “the holy one of God.” Jesus’ responds by commanding him to “Be silent” and to “come out of him.” That the unclean spirit is the first to name Jesus and acknowledge his power is an early instance of Mark’s ironic reversals and surprises. Evil forces have the most to lose in the coming of Jesus and the “good news.” Apprehending the threat Jesus poses, the spirit exits the man with one last spasmodic movement and one final cry.
The possession by demons illustrates the reality of evil and gives it, even for modern hearers, a shape and a sound. In this first skirmish, Jesus prevails, but not without the unclean spirit protesting and acting out. The voice of the prophet crying in the empty wilderness, the voice from heaven speaking at the baptism, and here the voice of the man, which is at the same time, the voice of the unclean spirit, who shouts and cries out the name of Jesus, not with admiration but with fear. Is the cry with a loud voice with which he comes out, a death rattle, or a curse? As the story proceeds the opposing forces will gather strength, will do more damage, and will seem to silence Jesus himself (Mark 14:61). Jesus commands the spirit to “be silent” with the same word as he commands the sea to “be still” “be silent” (Mark 4:39). He rebukes the unclean spirit, the sea (Mark 4:30) and even Peter (Mark 8:33).
There are risks in identifying the forces of evil and of God in contemporary struggles too, specifically, particularly if one assumes oneself and ones’ own “people” to be on the side of God. The community that performed and heard Mark’s gospel, was powerless and poor in a country occupied by a powerful empire. The theological imagination of the victory of God’s power over illness, disability, and danger was for them, lifesaving good news.
The ancient world view that attributes illness to unclean spirits that lies behind this story, although outdated medically, does dramatize forces that wreak havoc within individual, communities, and countries -- mental illness, addiction, sexual abuse, and racial hatred. The gospel proclaims Jesus’ “authority” over even the most unclean of spirits that continue to take us over.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Let’s assume that you would like to learn a new skill—you want to learn to play the piano. What are some requirements that you should include on your list of qualifications for a piano instructor? (a degree in music, experience with the instrument, experience with teaching, and so on) Would it be enough to find a person who could read music? Is it enough to look for someone who has a college degree in music? No, when looking for the best piano teacher, we usually look for someone who has both a music degree and experience in playing the piano and teaching students.
What do we mean when someone is said to “walk the walk and talk the talk”? (It means that there is consistency between the person’s words and actions.) Why is this important? (People are credible if their actions and words are consistent.)
In today's Gospel we saw one of the ways in which Jesus’ actions demonstrated the power and authority behind his words.
How did the people respond to Jesus’ teachings and healings? (They were amazed and astonished; they recognized that he spoke and acted with authority.)
As people of faith, we want others to observe consistency between our words and actions. In what ways does the Church demonstrate the power of the words we teach about Jesus? (through outreach to the poor and the sick, in our work for justice, and so on) In particular, when we act with justice toward others, we demonstrate the authority and power of what we believe about God.
Conclude in prayer that people will observe in our actions for justice the authority and power of our faith in God. Pray the

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday January 21, 2024 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 68

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                             Jon 3:1-5, 10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, "
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.


Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.


Reading 2                            1 Cor 7:29-31

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.

Gospel                                     Mk 1:14-20

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                             Jon 3:1-5, 10

A little review reminding you of the first request from God to Jonah.
Jonah is more than just a big fish tale. It is a story with a point, and it is worth telling the whole story.
If we follow the lectionary reading, we enter the story of Jonah right in the middle of the action. “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time.” We all know what happened the first time. God said, “Get up and go to Ninevah … and Jonah got up and ran away towards Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.”
Jonah’s no Peter, Andrew, James, or John. He doesn’t leave what he’s doing and immediately follow God’s call. He jumps on the first boat going in the opposite direction and he hides in the hold of the ship, hoping that somehow God won’t take notice. It’s as if Peter, Andrew, James, and John, upon encountering Jesus, jumped into their fishing boats and rowed like madmen for the opposite shore, as far away from this dangerous itinerant preacher as they could get.
Jonah did just that, trying to get as far away from the LORD, and the LORD’s bizarre instructions, as he could get. Go to Nineveh? The capital of the Assyrian Empire, that destroyer of Israel, that brutal occupying force. It was unthinkable.
So Jonah runs away, but God sends a storm. The sailors are more pious than Jonah but they eventually reluctantly throw Jonah overboard. The sea calms down immediately, and God appoints a big fish to swallow Jonah.
Jonah, totally immersed in sea water and fish blubber, does indeed sing a prayer: “You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood enveloped me.” The sea in the ancient Near East, of course, is the symbol of chaos, of danger, of wildness. But even in the heart of the seas, God hears Jonah’s prayer. God speaks to the great fish, and the fish vomits him out onto dry land.
That’s where we enter the story. The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” And, this time, still covered in sea water and fish vomit, Jonah obeys. He walks into the city, one day’s journey, and preaches the shortest sermon ever recorded:
It’s a sermon of 5 words in Hebrew -- “Forty days more, and Nineveh will be overthrown!”
The response is electric. Immediately, the people of Nineveh believe God. The people declare a fast. The king, not to be outdone, orders human and animal alike to fast and put on sackcloth. Then all those sackcloth-covered cows and sheep and people bellow out their repentance to God, and God changes his mind about the punishment, and does not bring it about.
Here’s the thing, you see, here’s the thing all of us have found out about following the call of God in and through the waters: God is God and does not act as we think the Almighty should act. In good faith, we follow where we hear God’s call, we go to the city, or the suburb, or to small town and rural America, and we are prepared to bring God’s word to that place, and what we find is that God is already there before us. We find that no people, and no place, not even Nineveh, can properly be called God-forsaken.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

In many of the texts, God teaches us humility, trust and joy in the presence of God. Learning nice little moral lessons, or memorizing factoids about God is not the point. Instead God invites us to be changed by divine mercy and love. The work of Psalm 25 is to express receptivity, or even to make us receptive. The Psalm can be used as a refrain to support the other texts, as a theme for prayer, or the focus of an entire sermon.
Originally, this Psalm was a Hebrew acrostic; that is, it began with the first letter of the alphabet, and ended with the last. But this is more than a word game. It is about God’s A- Z mercy in your life, even when you feel abandoned. Taken as a whole, Psalm 25 is a prayer for help, growing more intense as it progresses.
In verses 1-9, The Psalm begins in an attitude of worship: “To you, Oh Lord, I lift up my soul.” Lifting up the hands is an ancient posture of prayer, expressing our dependence on God. This simple gesture opens a person to receive God’s blessing. So too, the worshipper ‘lifts up’ their soul to receive God’s love. God’s love takes many forms and in Psalm 25:1-9 these include instruction and wisdom.
Repeatedly the Psalmist asks to be taught God’s ways. “Make known to me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths” (verse 4). “Guide me by your fidelity, and teach me” (verse 5). “God instructs sinners in the way…and teaches the humble”. To know about God is a starting point, but the Psalmist wants something more. The Psalmist wants to be with God, to walk in God’s path.
People want to be instantly gratified, but if we really need something we will wait for it. “For you I wait all day long” (verse 5). Waiting was hard for the Psalmist, who was in desperate need of help. Enemies were seeking to inflict harm. It seems that the enemies were external -- the “wantonly treacherous ones” who put the Psalmist to shame, see(verses 2-3). Shame comes from outside and is inflicted by individuals or groups. But “enemies” may also be within us, for example, guilt or regret for the “Remember no more the sins of my youth” (verse 7). Pride can make us unteachable, but so can guilt and shame. Then we can’t move forward, can’t hear God’s voice of wisdom, or receive blessing and forgiveness.
And yet we may become most teachable when we are vulnerable, when our illusions of superiority and self-sufficiency have been stripped away. So the Psalmist who implores God, lead me in your truth and teach me.
This is a relationship with God, a two-way communication in which the Psalmist both receives God’s teaching and dares to instruct God. The Psalmist tells God what to remember: steadfast love and mercy (verse 6). And the Psalmist tells God what to forget: “the sins of my youth” (verse 7).
A person I know has a dog that when she takes it for a walk the dog takes the leash in her mouth, so that she can lead my acquanitence. It is an endearing gesture and always makes her laugh. If this give and take happens between animals and humans, surely it happens between us and God. And as we live in that relationship, we wait, and receive, and lift our souls. We learn, change and grow more and more into the image of God in which we are created.


Reading 2                            1 Cor 7:29-31

People who hear this passage read will find it puzzling. They do not have a sense of the imminent coming of Christ, and they can hardly live day-to-day "as though not" having dealings with the world. It is important therefore, to set it in the context of 1 Corinthians and within the larger framework of Paul's ethical teaching, as done here.
It is helpful to put side-by-side two words: "disengagement" and "engagement." In his ethical thinking, and in our passage for today, Paul calls upon persons of faith to disengage from the world and its ways of living. One should step back and see how being entangled with it can be a captivity preventing one from living the new life in Christ. But that is not the end of the matter, for we continue to live in this world and have to deal with it. In Paul's way of thinking, disengagement is not an end in itself. Rather, being disengaged and set free, a person can engage the world from the perspective of being one who is "in Christ." And Paul provides a lot of exhortation in his letters concerning that life, as mentioned in previous verses.

In the end, the primary message of this text is that nothing in this world can compare to the eternal fellowship we have with God and Christ. Dealing with the world is inevitable and important - we need to deal with it well for the sake of our families, our nation, and ourselves. But we need to maintain an "eschatological reserve," knowing that this is not all there is, for we look to the eternal beyond that which is passing away. Still, we should remain invested in the world and its ongoing concerns. Indeed, those who pray for the kingdom and expect Christ to come in glory are bound to be engaged in the world and its struggles. Knowing the certainty of God's ultimate reign beyond history, we work to align the present and future with it.


Gospel                                     Mk 1:14-20

We have seen that the announcement that the kingdom of God is near also appears in Matthew 10:7 and Luke 10:9, 11. Closely connected with this announcement in the tradition known to Luke (a so-called Q tradition), was the call to repentance (Luke 10:13). Perhaps the juxtaposition of the announcement of the reign of God and the call to repentance in the summary of Mark 1:15 is rooted in similar traditional material. In any case, the theological basis for the juxtaposition is clear. Announcing that God's reign is near has the consequence of an urgent call for repentance, that is, aligning one's values and way of life with God's ways. In today's epistle reading (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) Paul similarly calls for an examination of our priorities in light of the kairos.
This section (Mark 1:16-20) then illustrates what the urgent call of the kingdom looks like. Jesus, walking along the Sea of Galilee, sees the two brothers Simon and Andrew, fishermen, casting their nets in the sea. He calls them to follow, and immediately, in obedience, they leave their nets and follow him. The same happens with James and John. The kai euthys ("and immediately") of 1:18 and 1:20, a favorite turn of phrase of Mark, gives expression to the urgency of the call. The time is here, God's kingdom is near; there is no time to lose!
It is striking that these four men would drop everything to follow Jesus if they did not already know him. Indeed, some scholars have speculated that they actually knew Jesus, or knew about him, before he called them into discipleship (cf. John 1:35-40). Whatever the history of the relationship between Jesus and these four men may have been, however, the story gives effective expression to the urgency of the call to discipleship.
Consider also that Mark portrays Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom coming not only as a gift ("good news"), but also with a demand ("repent"). I believe this is a salutary warning that we dare not limit the force of Jesus' preaching of the kingdom by imposing upon it a rigid Law-Gospel grid. If we try to impose such a grid on his preaching and teaching, we will not understand them in their integrity. To be sure, the indicative ("the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near") precedes the imperative ("repent and believe in the good news"). What humans do comes as a response to God's prevenient action. Still, we must not overlook that the one who promises the kingdom to sinners is the same one who calls sinners to repentance and who calls disciples to give up all that they have to follow him. To put it in Pauline terms, Christ is my life (cf. Philippians 1:21); my life is a total gift from him. Therefore I must also be willing and prepared to forfeit everything for him (Philippians 3:7-8; cf. Mark 8:35). Since in Jesus everything is given to me, in Jesus everything is demanded of me. The four disciples' willingness to throw in their lot completely with Jesus illustrates that attitude.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Imagine that your school principal is looking for volunteers to help clean up the school grounds on an annual community service day. What recommendations might you make about how to recruit people to help with this project? (put up posters around the school building, send flyers home with students, make phone calls to parents, extend invitations to particular individuals) Do you think any of these methods would be more effective than the others? Which one, and why?
People are more likely to contribute to a project if they receive personal invitations. This kind of invitation shows that their particular talents are needed. And we all like to feel needed.
Jesus seemed to know this about human nature, as we saw in today's Gospel.
Whom did Jesus call in today's Gospel? (four fishermen: Simon, Andrew, James, and John) What did you notice about the way in which these four people responded to Jesus' call? (They immediately put aside their work to follow Jesus.) Jesus called these four fishermen to be his disciples, and he promised them important work, to be “fishers of men.”
Jesus also invites us personally to be his followers. He has important work for us. Our hope and prayer is that we will respond to Jesus as quickly and enthusiastically as these first disciples did.
Conclude in prayer that we will be like the first disciples and answer Jesus' invitation. Pray the Prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.

========================================================================

Sunday JANUARY 14, 2024   Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 65

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                   1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19

Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."

At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.

Responsorial Psalm             Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Reading II                       1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20

Brothers and sisters:
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.

Gospel                                     Jn 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1               1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19


The opening chapters of 1 Samuel provide background for the institution of Israel’s monarchy.
After a narrative on Hannah’s unlikely pregnancy (1 Samuel 1) and her accompanying prayer (1 Samuel 2), 1 Samuel 3 describes the call narrative for the Israelite leader.
The story is familiar to many of us. Eli is aged, both physically and emotionally from the parenting heartaches at the end of 1 Samuel 2. And as the young Samuel ministers under Eli, he hears God’s voice three times. Upon finally realizing through Eli’s direction that this was, indeed, the voice of God, he gives his stunning answer in verse 10, “Speak for your servant is listening.” The word of God to Samuel reveals the next phase of God’s activity and in revealing to Samuel, his prophetic credibility is established.
But within this familiar story, sometimes we can miss certain details in our reading. Those details are exegetically significant, as the Bible tends to be laconic.

“The word of the Lord was rare/precious; visions were not frequent” (1 Samuel 3:1).

Both of these phrases do not occur anywhere else in the entire Hebrew Bible. In biblical Hebrew, the descriptor of “rare/precious” is typically reserved for an item like jewelry, the idea of something extremely valuable due to pure lack of supply. Certainly, the preceding chapters reveal an anarchic time in Israel from the wider political chaos of Judges (particularly Judges 17-21) or the activities of Eli’s sons with little word from God.

Eli’s eyes are dim (1 Samuel 3:2).

Eli is already aged in the previous episode. But the statement that his eyes had grown dim ties this passage to a weakened Isaac (Genesis 27:1) and contrasts with the model of Moses who had excellent sight even as he died (Deuteronomy 34:7). Whether the weakened leadership of Eli or the religious debauchery, Eli’s lack of vision reveals a hopeless social state of Israel.

Samuel is confused, not just average confused, but really confused.

Three times, Samuel responds to a calling. Among those three times, Samuel responds, “Here I am” four times, once to God (1 Samuel 3:4) and three times to Eli (vv. 5, 6, 8). Although Samuel’s obedience and alacrity are admirable, he mistook an ailing Eli for God’s actual voice. The reason is explained that despite Samuel’s anointing, he was still very young in faith. In fact …

“Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:7).

The meaning of this phrase is difficult, but consider this sample of biblical characters who similarly did not know the Lord: Pharaoh (Exodus 5:2), the generation after Joshua (Judges 2:2), the sons of Eli, or as the Bible calls them, “scoundrels” (1 Samuel 2:12), Judeans about to be punished through exile (Jeremiah 8:7).
This is not exactly flattering company!

“yet”

But there is one key word that separates Samuel from this list in that, “Samuel did not yet know the Lord”. I don’t mean to open up the narrative on free will, determination, sovereignty. It is there, but it is theologically tangential to the crux of this passage.
Seems like two overarching themes emerge within these details of Samuel’s call. First, Samuel learns to forego his own agency in favor of God’s agency.
Interestingly, during the primary call (1 Samuel 3:10), Samuel no longer answers, “Here I am.” Why is that? Is Samuel less confused (definitely)? Is Samuel less panicked (probably)?
Verse 11 affirms Samuel’s deference when God responds, “See, I am about to do something.” Structurally, the passage outlines movement from Samuel’s repeated “Here I am” replies to God’s “See, I am.” When Samuel suppresses his own voice to hear God’s, he gets the spectacular proclamation beginning with the word that, “Will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.” God then declares that prophetic fulfillment has finally arrived. Remember, the Word of the Lord had been rare and precious.
Samuel’s eagerness is commendable (“he ran” v.5), but an overzealous human spirit needs to take a backseat to God’s sovereignty (cf. 2 Samuel 7:5). Though we should be slow to judge Samuel, as in those times the Word of God had been rare.
Second, Samuel displays his full humanity. This passage informs our understanding of the rest of the life of Samuel. The Lord was with Samuel, but somehow, this divine appointment does not at all diminish the totality of the human experience. In 1 Samuel 3, Samuel undergoes eagerness, confusion, maturity, growth, realization, knowledge, panic, and affirmation.
Eventually, we see Samuel as a successful prophet (1 Samuel 3:20), military leader (1 Samuel 4), and interceder for the people of Israel when they fail (1 Samuel 15). Towards the end of his life, the corruption of his own sons will ironically mirror Eli’s failure (1 Samuel 8:1-3).
Why does the passage unabashedly display the full humanity within one of Israel’s pivotal prophets? I suspect that this helps us relate to the struggles of our own communities as they walk with God. I suspect that this helps us relate the biblical texts to our own lives.
The word of the Lord is precious. But instead of saying “Here I am,” perhaps we can quietly ask God to “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Responsorial Psalm             Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

Psalm 40, classified as an Individual Lament, consists of two seemingly distinct parts, verses 1-10 and verses 11-17, suggesting to many scholars that two originally separate psalms were joined at some point to form a single psalm.
In the psalm's first ten verses, the psalmist recounts God's deliverance from some life-threatening situation--described in verse 2 as "the pit of destruction" and "the muddy clay". The content of verses 11-17 resembles an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving, which generally consists of three parts: (1) an Introduction, in which the psalmist declares the intention of giving thanks and praising God; (2) a Narrative, in which the psalmist tells what has happened that has prompted the words of praise; and (3) a Conclusion, in which the psalmist praises God for all that God has done (see Psalm 30 for a good example of an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving). For the most part, 40:1-10 consists of the Narrative of an Individual Hymn.
In the lament portion of Psalm 40, the brief Expression of Trust (verse 17) states that the psalmist is "poor" and "needy" and that God is "my help" and "my deliverer." This commentator reads verses 1-10 as part of the Lament Psalm's Expression of Trust and, therefore, as an integral part of the Individual Lament, rather than as a separate composition added to the beginning of the Lament. God, as "help" and "deliverer," has brought this "poor" and "needy" one "up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog" (40:2). In addition, verbal parallels link verse 10 to verse 11, strengthening the case for the psalm being read as a whole. Verse 10's two occurrences of "faithfulness" ('emet) is echoed in verse 11, as the occurrence of "steadfast love" (chesed).
Thus, let us explore verses 1-10 as part of the Expression of Trust of this Individual Lament, with verse 11 beginning the psalm's Petition.
The reader learns in verse 1 that the psalmist has "waited patiently" for the Lord. The Hebrew verbal root here is qavah, which carries the idea of "hopeful anticipation" or "anxious waiting." In addition, the syntactical structure of this verb in verse 1 is "Infinitive Absolute" plus "Perfect." (Pull that Hebrew grammar off the shelf!) The Infinitive Absolute plus the Perfect emphasizes or intensifies the action of the verb. So, in Psalm 40:1, the psalmist is "actively, anxiously awaiting, with every fiber of the being" for the Lord. This is no quiet resignation--the psalmist is fully confident that God will come to the rescue.
And God, indeed, rescues the psalmist from the "pit" (or, "well"--bor), the "bog" (or, "mire"--teet). A number of psalms use these words as symbols of death (bor--Psalms 7:15; 28:1; 88:6; 143:7 and teet--Psalms 18:42; 69:14). Thus, we may surmise that the threat to which the psalmist refers is not a minor life-event, but a serious situation in which the very being of the psalmist is threatened.
God hears and sets the feet of the psalmist on a secure rock and puts a "new song" in the psalmist's mouth. The phrase "new song" (sheer hadash) occurs six times in the Psalter (33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; and 149:1), but the best insight into its meaning comes perhaps in Isaiah 42:10 (the only place where "new song" appears outside the Psalter). Isaiah 42 is a song of celebration of the "servant," discussed four times in the book (42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12). In the context of Isaiah 42, the "new song" marks a new beginning, a radical change from what has come before. Psalms 96 and 98, classified as Enthronement Psalms, psalms which celebrate the kingship of God over all the earth, contain the same sentiment. Recognizing God as king establishes a new world order--no human king can surpass the power and majesty of Yahweh king. The singer of Psalm 40 celebrates a new beginning after being rescued from the "pit" and the "bog."
Verses 4-10 address the outcome of the deliverance and the "new song." The psalmist declares that those who trust in God will be "happy" (NRSV). The word translated in the NRSV as "happy," and in the NASB and the NIV as "blessed" is 'ashrey, from a Hebrew root that means "go straight, advance, follow the track." It appears twenty-six times in the Psalter. While "happy" and "blessed" are acceptable translations for the Hebrew root word, a better translation seems to be "content." "Blessed" brings to mind the Hebrew word baruk, which carries cultic/sacred connotations. "Happy," at least in our twenty-first-century context does not convey the full depth of the root word. A better translation is, in this commentator's opinion "content," which conveys a deep-seated sense of peace and feeling settled.
The psalmist's sense of contentedness ('ashrey) comes not from listening to the words of the proud (verse 4), from pursuing things that only fleetingly offer satisfaction (false gods--verse 4), or from offering burnt or sin offerings--pious acts of worship (verse 6). Rather it comes from trusting in God (verse 4). The word "trust" is derived from the Hebrew root batach, which means "to feel secure, be unconcerned, to totally rely on another." When humans totally rely on God, they may not be immune to the exigencies of life--the pit and the bog, but they can see beyond the exigencies to a new vision--a new song, and summon all those around them to hear "the glad news of deliverance (verse 9).
Thus, the faithfulness ('emet) and steadfast love (chesed) of God is passed from one generation to the next (verses 10-11).

Reading 2                       1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20

First Corinthians stands as a masterful example of a leader addressing a divided congregation and honestly critiquing the views of each side.
Prior to this passage, Paul repeatedly attempts to move people away from an attitude of "It's all about me" to a focus on the one who calls and saves them. He opens the letter with twenty references to God or Christ in the first ten verses.   He frequently reminds them of the source of their lives (1:28-31; 3:6-7, 11, 16, 21-23; 4:7) as he addresses a host of competing positions.
Various factions in the congregation label others as wise or foolish, weak or strong; fight over who was the best pastor before the current one; bring lawsuits against one another; argue over sexual morality, whether it's better to be married or single, what makes a healthy marriage, what constitutes grounds for divorce, what are appropriate dietary practices; what is the correct understanding of resurrection and the afterlife; and on and on. When conflict becomes that pervasive, no conflict management plans have any hope of succeeding unless the people involved can move beyond self-absorption, step back, and see a bigger picture of a higher calling. Paul seeks to accomplish that.
We will focus on two central elements of this passage.
"'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be dominated by anything" (6:12-13). Paul seems to be correcting a misinterpretation or over-application of one of his core ideas (see also Galatians 5:1, Romans 8:1-2). Teachers and preachers often find themselves in the dismaying position of hearing a key point applied in ways they never imagined. This particular idea, that Christ has set us free, lies near the center of the gospel. But Paul begins to clarify its limits.
Christ does not set us free so that we can do whatever we want to do; Christ sets us free so that we can do whatever God wants us to do. Paul's message does not proclaim individual or communal license. For example, Paul argues that over-indulgence in food represents a misunderstanding of who we are as people of God (verse 13a).
This is an alien concept in an American culture where over a third of adults are obese and we have the Food Network. It's not that eating things we like is bad (all things are lawful). However, eating things we like without regard to larger considerations can be harmful to our individual health and harmful to the health of society (not all things are beneficial). A third of the US adult population is obese, and almost a billion people on the planet live in constant hunger (see websites for Bread for the World or US Department of State, Office of Global Food Security). This is as much as anything else a spiritual problem, individually and communally.
Paul notes one trap of focusing too much on our own freedom. What we start to do freely (because we want to, like to, or just because we can) can become our master. As the Eagles' song goes, "these things that are pleasing you hurt you somehow" (from "Desperado"). I can, freely, ignore a healthy diet, not exercise, start smoking, get drunk daily, take cocaine, buy on credit until I'm drastically in debt, and be mean to family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
Soon, what I chose freely -- any one of them -- can dominate my life. I will no longer be free. The cosmos does not actually revolve around me. God, by grace, can set us free from those dominations, but even though the power of a free will is immediate, the way back to health will still be long and hard. Paul cautions us to choose our paths carefully lest the things we freely choose become our undoing or become an imposition on our neighbors and, collectively, foster suffering or oppression.
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (6:19-20). Again, Paul's words here have both individual and communal implications. In the original Greek, the pronouns in this verse are plural. Since he's addressing a community his words should be understood both as addressing individuals (each of you in this community) and the entire group (all of you together).
So, it is appropriate to understand this personally -- "my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within me" -- and communally -- "this body of people, part of the body of Christ, is a temple of the Holy Spirit within us." What I do (or don't do) in my body matters. What we do (or don't do) as a body of believers' matters.
This takes us back to Paul's over-arching purpose in this letter, to focus our attention on the fact that our lives originate in Christ (we were bought with a price) and that we live not for our own sakes but for the sake of God's purposes. My individual body is not mine. It is God's creation to be used for God's purposes. The body of Christ -- congregationally, denominationally, and across the globe -- is not ours. It is God's creation to be used for God's purposes.
The fights, the desires, the pettiness, the selfishness that can consume us are all diversions from, perversions of that for which we were created. We were bought with a price, to glorify God in our bodies. This remains true for both individuals and groups. Paul calls the people back to the fundamental reality of their lives -- it's not "my" life and it's not "my" church. Only when an individual or a congregation gets that can they be free. And, if they get it, the freedom is glorious for each individual, for the congregation, and for God.

Gospel                                     Jn 1:35-42

To lead into todays gospel let’s review the first part of this chapter.
The Gospel of John is a dramatic, gripping narrative.
John 1:29-42 divides into two main parts: verses 29-34 and verses 35-42.
Act I: Background
The play has already begun at John 1:1, of course, with the great Prologue (1:1-18) in which John the Baptist first appears (1:6-8; 15). John the Baptist looms large in 1:19-28. The leaders of Jerusalem interrogate John, asking after his identity. John treads the path of via negative, which the Prologue has taught us to expect from him. The Prologue states that John was not the light, but was a testifier (from the Greek martyr whence we derive the English word martyr). Likewise, John triply confesses that he is NOT the Messiah (verse 20), he is not Elijah (verse 21), and he is not "the prophet" (probably a reference to Moses' declaration in Deuteronomy 18:15).
Still, the leaders press antagonistically, demanding a statement, so John turns to Scripture and places his ministry in the context of words of the prophet Isaiah. They ask him about the meaning of his baptizing practices and he immediately does what he does best in the Fourth Gospel: he testifies to Jesus and his preeminence in the spirit of the words already mentioned in the Prologue at verse 15. And he makes a key observation about the Inquisitors: they do not know Jesus; here we should hear dramatic music or a gong or something of that sort since we are supposed to recall 1:11 at this point ("He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him"). John the Baptist and Jesus have not yet interacted in the narrative but we have been superbly set up for that pregnant imminent moment.
Act II: Jesus and John the Baptist Interact (verses 29-34)
The day after his run-in with the authorities, John the Baptist (JB) sees Jesus and testifies about his identity: "See the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." Note the following:
1. Jesus takes away the sin of the world (Greek: kosmos), not the church, just as in 3:16 we hear that God so loved the world and in 4:42 the Samaritans recognize Jesus as the savior of the world. Jesus himself declares in 12:32: "And when I am lifted up from the earth [referring to his crucifixion], I will draw everyone to myself."
2. Try not to read the atonement theology that you are familiar with from Hebrews and perhaps Paul into the Gospel of John. Jesus becomes a Paschal Lamb of sorts in that every holy metaphor, tradition and space dear to Judaism (and Samaritanism, for that matter) finds its fulfillment in Jesus according to the Johannine community, including the Temple (chapters 2 and 4), Moses, scripture (chapter 5:39ff), the manna in the wilderness (chapter 6), the various "festivals of the Judeans," Abraham (chapter 8, especially verses 53-59), and so on.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the significance of Passover would in some way be fulfilled in Jesus for John. Indeed, in John Jesus is killed a day earlier than he is in the Synoptic Gospels. That is, by the time he is enjoying the Last Supper in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he is already dead in John. In John, he is killed on the day when the Passover Lamb is sacrificed (for a helpful chart on this, go to http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jesus-Death.htm ).
But Jesus is never considered a ransom in John nor is he a "lamb led to the slaughter" whose death was a "humiliation" (as in Acts. 8:31-32). In fact, Jesus clearly and repeatedly states that he lays down his life of his own accord. He has the power to lay it down and the power to take it up again (10:17-18). No, John simply piles up metaphors on Jesus to impress upon you the significance, identity, and ultimacy of Jesus. He is simultaneously the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd (chapter 10) who knows his sheep and who asked Peter to feed his lambs (chapter 21).
Act III: Come and See (verses 35-42) Todays Gospel.
The Final Act of John's inaugural proclamation parallels the previous day. Once again John sees Jesus and testifies: "See the Lamb of God." On the basis of hearing the testimony of another person, John's disciples follow Jesus. It begins with Jesus directly addressing them: "What do you seek?" (Jesus always asks pointed, direct questions in John). He invites them to "Come and See." They hang out with Jesus (Greek: meno, "abide") which leads to their deep intimate encounter with him. This results in a rich, eternal-life-giving experience of their own with Jesus such that their faith is no longer derivative of someone else's but is now based on their own intimate relationship with Jesus.
And so goes the pattern throughout John, as you see already in verse 41. Andrew has been found by Eternal Life and what does he do? He immediately testifies that Jesus is the Messiah (remember 20:31?) and invites his brother Simon to come and see/encounter Jesus for himself. An intimate encounter occurs and Simon follows. In the passage right after ours, Philip becomes a follower and immediately testifies to Nathaniel, using the same words as Jesus did: "Come and See" (1:46).
The Samaritan woman does the same thing in chapter 4. She hangs out and engages Jesus deeply, his identity is revealed to her, she is flooded by Eternal Life and she goes out to testify and to tell her fellow Samaritans to "Come and See." They do come and they "hang out" with Jesus (verse 40) and they have a direct revelation of their own which leads them to testify: "They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."
What are we waiting for? Let's go testify for the sake of Abundant, Eternal Life!

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Try to imagine that you are seeking information about a sports team or a club that you wish to join. What are some things that you could do to find out if this particular sport or club is something you want to be a part of? (Read information about the team or club, research what other people or organizations report about the team or club, talk to other people who have been part of the team in the past or who have been members of the club, or talk to current members.) Now think about which method of information gathering would be the most persuasive and helpful to your decision making.
The ideas you named above would be helpful in providing the information you need. But the experiences of other people are often more persuasive than other forms of information. Advertisements are good examples of ways in which information is provided by presenting the experiences that people have had with a particular product. In today’s Gospel, we learned how Jesus’ first disciples learned about Jesus.
Who does the Gospel say was the first to tell people about Jesus? (John the Baptist) Who was next? (Andrew and another disciple) Whom did Andrew tell? (his brother, Simon) The first community of Jesus’ disciples learned about Jesus from other people. When these people came to Jesus, they learned for themselves who Jesus was, and then they wanted to be his followers.
This is one of the most important aspects of our faith. No one is a disciple of Jesus alone. To be a follower of Jesus is to be part of a community of disciples. Today we call that community the Church.
Conclude in prayer that the Church will continue to witness to others all that we have learned about Jesus. Pray the Apostles’ Creed.

“The word of the Lord was rare/precious; visions were not frequent” (1 Samuel 3:1).

Eli’s eyes are dim (1 Samuel 3:2).

Samuel is confused, not just average confused, but really confused.

“Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:7).

“yet”

Try to imagine that you are seeking information about a sports team or a club that you wish to join. What are some things that you could do to find out if this particular sport or club is something you want to be a part of? (Read information about the team or club, research what other people or organizations report about the team or club, talk to other people who have been part of the team in the past or who have been members of the club, or talk to current members.) Now think about which method of information gathering would be the most persuasive and helpful to your decision making.
The ideas you named above would be helpful in providing the information you need. But the experiences of other people are often more persuasive than other forms of information. Advertisements are good examples of ways in which information is provided by presenting the experiences that people have had with a particular product. In today’s Gospel, we learned how Jesus’ first disciples learned about Jesus.
Who does the Gospel say was the first to tell people about Jesus? (John the Baptist) Who was next? (Andrew and another disciple) Whom did Andrew tell? (his brother, Simon) The first community of Jesus’ disciples learned about Jesus from other people. When these people came to Jesus, they learned for themselves who Jesus was, and then they wanted to be his followers.
This is one of the most important aspects of our faith. No one is a disciple of Jesus alone. To be a follower of Jesus is to be part of a community of disciples. Today we call that community the Church.
Conclude in prayer together that the Church will continue to witness to others all that we have learned about Jesus. Pray together the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
=======================================================

Sunday JANUARY 7, 2024 The Epiphany of the Lord

Lectionary: 20

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                     Is 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.

R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Reading 2                          Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Gospel                            Mt 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage."
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel."
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage."
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                     Is 60:1-6

I believe that, as preachers, we must always begin from this simple but poignant realization. Too easily can we craft the words of proclamation by slipping beyond the limit imposed by context. We shape an overarching narrative to bolster a particular viewpoint (our own viewpoint, our own cultural bias), applying the story to ourselves without much disruption of practice. The prophetic voice, however, always calls for disruption of some sort, even in its most jubilant and comforting exclamations.
Too simplistically, we can read Isaiah 60 on Epiphany and conjure up images of the three magi bearing gifts, finally making it to the manger. We can reduce epiphany to a cute story that satisfies our deepest longing for narrative integrity. And yet, epiphany is so much more than a story of three magi. Even of that story, T. S. Eliot writes, “I should be glad of another death.”1
The liturgical season that Isaiah 60 inaugurates is a season of revelation. Epiphany, in the early church, was not about the arrival of the magi but the revelation of Jesus Christ, at his baptism, to the whole world as God’s only and beloved child. Epiphany is God’s self-revelation to the world, the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. It was one of the three major feasts of the liturgical calendar around which faith communities organized the rhythms of their life: Easter, Epiphany, Pentecost (not Christmas or a nativity scene or magi!).
Isaiah 60 is part of Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66). Rather than being the voice of one prophet, it is assumed that this prophecy arises out of the Isaianic school, a school of disciples dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the prophecies of first and second Isaiah, as well as speaking those prophecies to a new and complex situation. There are several passages in Third Isaiah that are almost direct citations from Second Isaiah (including the text for today -- see Isaiah 49:12, 18).
Third Isaiah is situated in the sixth century BCE as the exiles from Babylonian returned to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, a major conflict had arisen between those who remained and those who returned. Living conditions were extremely difficult. Jerusalem was in ruins. The people were now divided again not against some outside threat or enemy but among themselves.
The remnant associated with the Isaianic school were on the margins of power. They were a small group. It is possible that they were embattled against those who had much more narrow, exclusionist understanding of what it meant to serve God (rather than the inclusive position argued in Third Isaiah where, for example, even foreigners and eunuchs can serve at the altar).
When reading Isaiah 60 publicly, without also reading at least the preceding chapter, the radical irruption of light and glory, consolation and joy is missed. Chapters 58 and 59 are characterized by gloom, by despair, by a call to repentance (the ways of the wicked are crooked, our transgressions are many, our sins testify against us). They are also marked by a yearning for light and glory to come (we wait for the light but there is only darkness).
The opening line of Isaiah 60 is like a thunderbolt of glory (exegetes, of course, interpret this sudden change of tone to different editorial sources). What surprises the reader or hearer is the abruptness of the shift from doom and gloom to light and glory. Perhaps what is most surprising in this shift is God’s response to the people’s crooked ways and their sense of despair: they are not to mend their ways first (out of fear) rather God comes, God irrupts, God arises and shines forth in glory!
This coming, this shining forth is unconditional. God is always a God whose glory is salvific. The people’s repentance, the mending of ways, the living out of justice is a response to this coming! It is not an attempt to be made right with God but it is thanksgiving for the one who comes, who reveals life and salvation in the midst of the community.
God’s glory in the Hebrew scripture is always God’s presence. The glory of the Lord appears in the wilderness when the people complain about lacking food and God promises manna; when the Arc of the Covenant is completed, the glory of the Lord descends and fills it so that even Moses could not enter it; when Moses asks to see God’s glory, God responds, “You cannot see my face”; it is the glory of the Lord that fills the sanctuary in Isaiah 6 (Holy! Holy! Holy! Kabod in Hebrew – Glory! Glory! Glory!). Throughout the Hebrew scriptures God’s presence, God’s very own face, is designated by glory. God does not posses glory -- God is glory.
Now this glory and light arises among the people, it is the Lord who arises among them, giving what the Lord gives: life and salvation. But this giving is not just for the remnant of Israel, it is not just for those who have returned from exile, but for all the nations. Now, all the nations will come with what is specific to them -- their own little “glories” -- and bring them to the Lord. Just as in Isaiah 6, the Temple could not contain the glory now also here, the people of Israel cannot contain it. The presence of God expands outwards toward the whole cosmos.
A sermon based on today’s texts might want to embody this glory in a doxological manner. Who is this God who now enters into our midst? Who is this God who now actually shows us God’s face, the face of a child? God’s glory is no longer far off in some heavenly realm, experienced as a cloud, but it is calling all people together. Even the story of the magi is a call of a radical responsibility toward all those who have been excluded from our classical narrative. All are swept up in singing a cosmic doxology.

Responsorial Psalm                    Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.

In America, the relationship between political leadership and faith matters is tenuous, superficial, and rather manipulative.
Candidates know that they must declare their spiritual mettle in order to win elections, and once in a while a pastor like Billy Graham makes a cameo appearance in the White House.
For ancient Israel, God and the things of God were prior to and at the heart of things political. God’s prophets were even in position to bring down divine judgment on a reigning king. Psalm 72 is a remarkable hymn, a prayer we believe was used on the day of a new king’s coronation -- and many believe the prayer would have been repeated annually at a festival of the king’s enthronement.
With some imagination, we can picture the raucous day. Still grieving the previous king’s death (or perhaps harboring a sense of relief that he was no more), caravans of citizens would gather around the hillsides of Jerusalem. Hearing the blowing of the shofar, they would gather for worship, for the anointing of the one they fantasized might just be a king like David, the kind of king they had prayed for so long.
A magnificent, noisy, joyful procession would make its way from down in the valleys of Kidron and Hinnom up the spur of the hill, winding past the royal palace (which archaeologists now believe they have uncovered!) toward the temple. Horns blaring, dancers somersaulting, crowds shouting, then a hushed silence as the sacred oil was poured by the high priest over the young king’s head, soaking into his hair and garments, soiling his feet and the ground. See the moment -- and read Psalm 72.
The very notion of praying for a ruler is instructive. What if Americans measured the amount of time they expend complaining about a president or governor or mayor and instead of grousing, actually offered up intensive prayers for the leader in question? The Episcopalians prescribe, as part of their weekly worship regimen, prayers for the president (or for the queen if the praying is being done in the British Commonwealth). During campaigns, many voters are terrified that if the one they are not supporting wins, catastrophe will strike. But wouldn’t it make sense, if that dreaded candidate is elected, that we pray constantly that we will be proven wrong, and that the new leader will in fact prosper?
But even if we pray for a leader, what would the objective be? We might pray for military success, or wizardry with the economy, a quelling of political opposition, or the greatness of our nation. In Psalm 72, we overhear something very different, and we should be uneasy.
The Psalm begins by asking God to “Give the king Your justice… and Your righteousness… May he defend the cause of the poor, and give deliverance to the needy.” Such a campaign in our day would be lambasted as “liberal,” and a debate would be touched off about governmental programs versus private sector aid or, more likely, the conversation would drift toward blaming the poor, and insisting they get busy and take care of themselves.
The cluster of Hebrew terms used in these phrases is telling. “Justice” is not fairness or the good being rewarded and the wicked punished. Rather, mishpat (“justice”) is the Bible’s subversive term for God’s desired state of affairs: mishpat is when the poorest are cared for. A society is just to the degree to which every person has enough and is lifted up; a king is measured, not by hordes of chariots or the gold in the treasury, but by whether the cause of the poor was defended, whether the needy were delivered. Similarly, “righteousness” isn’t smug goodness; zedekah (“righteousness”) is being in sync with God’s ways, embodying God’s will.
Sadly, modern church people in America tend to vote for the more conservative candidates who are prepared to shirk any responsibility for caring for the needy. Not only that, many congregations themselves do little to nothing to engage the poor, advocate for their cause, or ensure that those who oppress the needy are fought tooth and nail. Psalm 72 is an ancient liturgy, a museum piece of an old prayer, but the designs of God that shout from its verses echo across the centuries and raise hard questions pointed right at today’s church.
The most fascinating verse in Psalm 72 is the verse 11: “May all kings fall down before him.” Israel was a small time power, forced into subservience more often than relishing independence. The other kings most certainly would not be falling down before him! Was this national pride? A fantasy? A sick dream? Or a Messianic hint, that in God’s good time, God’s king would be the one before whom all would bow (Philippians 2:10).
But notice why those kings in verse 11 will bow down: “For he delivers the needy when he calls… He has pity on the weak… From oppression he redeems their life” (verses 12 and 13). Other kings never do such things; but one day the truth will be made palpable, and they will realize the wisdom, wonder, and grace of God’s way.
The lectionary mandates that this Psalm be read on January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas, the Epiphany. What a perfect time to weigh God’s desires for leadership, to contemplate what God would like to see done down here for the oppressed, for those who have nothing! The greens we wear and with which we decorate our sanctuaries intimate the growth and life that are the natural result of God have come down to earth to be the kind of King that not only was wanted by God, but desperately needed by God’s people.
During Epiphany, when leaves do not yet hang from the trees, and our yards and the fields are brown and lifeless, we look to God for the Spring to come, for a new day when we give life, and abundantly. Psalm 72:6 dreams that the king will be “like rain that falls… like showers that water the earth.” We are not purveyors of death or condemnation, and we do not dwell in oblivion in our fortress churches. We go out into the world, and seek to be the Body of Christ, to be Jesus out in the world, the Jesus who was the king prayed for over so many centuries.

Reading 2                          Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season for the church calendar.
By the sixth day in January, the wider society has long moved past the celebrations of Christmas. Employees have returned to work, children have returned to school, and stores are beginning to set out Valentine’s merchandise.
The church, on the other hand, persists a full 12 days after Christmas Day to remember the visit of the wise men to the young Jesus as recorded in Matthew’s gospel (2:1–12). First noted in the fourth century, this celebration of the revelation of God to humanity called the faithful to reflect upon the awesome reality of the Incarnation. God became man; in Christ, the two natures were neither confused nor divided. The revelation of this unity prepared the way for another, for the Gentiles to be joined with God’s people Israel.
It is the revelation of this second mystery that Paul proclaims in Ephesians 3. Actually, this mystery seems to be forefront in his mind from the very beginning of the letter. He hints at it in the first chapter when he declares that his readers have been chosen by God for adoption, a description fitting for those who were not born into the people of God (2:11).
Then, in chapter 2, he describes the mystery explicitly. They, as Gentiles, were formerly separate from God and his people, but now in Christ, the two have been made one (2:12-13). Because of his proclamation of this mystery, Paul is a prisoner (3:1). If we look to Luke’s narrative in Acts, Paul ends up in chains because the Jewish leadership finds great offense at this aspect of his message and actions, namely that he teaches “against the law” and “brings Greeks into the Temple” (Acts 21:28).
Paul, however, seems undaunted by his circumstances. In his view, this is the task to which God has called him, to administer this aspect of God’s grace. His tone conveys a sense of grateful awe that God saw fit to reveal this great mystery to him. For Paul, Epiphany is not just one day, but describes his entire life and calling. He preaches, and subsequently he has been imprisoned for this preaching, because God has revealed this mystery to him. Paul mentions that he wrote about this mystery briefly before. It is not clear if he is referring to his statements in chapters 1 and 2 of this letter or if this refers to another letter to the Ephesians to which we no longer have access.
Even if we are missing another explanation, thankfully, Paul’s description of his understanding of the mystery seems clear from the following verses. The Spirit has now made known what in former times was concealed, namely that the Gentiles are now fellow heirs, fellow members of the same body, and fellow participants in the promises.
A compact reference to Paul’s extended discussions in Galatians and Romans, Ephesians 3:6 asserts the reality that in Christ through the gospel, those who were once not God’s people have been grafted in and become children of the promise. Paul now serves this mystery and does so because God’s power energizes him. This task has cost Paul his freedom. Nevertheless, he does not do it begrudgingly, but gratefully.

The rich alternative economy in which grace comes to unexpected recipients is not a new thing according to Paul’s understanding. It might have just recently been revealed to the apostles and prophets, of whom Paul considers himself to be the least important, as he, a former persecutor, was the last (1 Corinthians 15:8), but Paul finds proclamations of God’s gracious mystery in Israel’s Scriptures to make his case.
Even more, he asserts here that the mystery has been hidden with God, who is the creator of all things, suggesting that this mystery has always been God’s plan. This hunch proves correct in the following verse. This mystery in Christ -- Lord over all peoples, both Jew and Gentiles -- was the eternal plan of God, but only in the last days has God made it evident and begun its fulfillment. When God brings these groups together -- Jew and Gentile -- the church displays the creative diversity of his wisdom. It is not just Paul, the other apostles, or even the Ephesians who now can see this mystery, but also the authorities and rulers (3:10).
Paul might have in mind those Jewish leaders who instigated his imprisonment, but also the heavenly authorities, the spiritual forces whom ancients believed wielded control over the functions of the visible world. The Ephesians now have boldness and confident access to God, an amazing statement for those who would have had no access to the presence of God as manifest in the Jewish temple. Now that the mystery has been revealed, those who were excluded are now included. As they trust Jesus’ faithful actions, which display the faithfulness of God to his ancient plan, they can participate as full members of the people of God.
The great celebration of the Incarnation, according to Paul, flows into the great celebration of the church. As we exhibit unity -- of different races, classes, and genders (as Paul says in Galatians 3:28) -- we display the mystery of God who brings all his creation together in the unity of the God-man, the Jewish baby worshipped by the Gentile kings from the East.

Gospel                            Mt 2:1-12

God is so determined to proclaim the “good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10) that God reaches beyond fields in the region around Bethlehem to “the East” (some scholars say Persia).
God reaches beyond shepherds at the bottom of the barrel to Wise Ones at the top. God reaches beyond people scared witless by God’s glory to those who observe the glorious star at its rising, and methodically, persistently, and sincerely follow it to a king. All along the way, God directs them, first by a star, then via a verse from Micah, and finally in their dreams.
Yes, I am aware that I am conflating Matthew and Luke; this is precisely what the liturgical year does as well. Preachers overly concerned about biblical literacy might use this occasion to untangle the Christmas story in order to teach that the Magi never made it to the manger. But then the preacher needs to explain that Matthew makes no mention of a manger. Better to save this for Sunday School and preach the Epiphany gospel in its liturgical and calendar context.
That said, in our church we move our Magi from one spot to another during the days of Christmas, rather than placing them in the crèche on Christmas Eve, and only bring them to “the house [where] they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage” (Matthew 2:11) on Epiphany. Placing the Magi in the manger on Christmas Eve misses how far God reaches to ensure that all people -- emphasize all -- receive the good news of Christ’s birth.
While Christian tradition holds that the Magi were kings (an interesting contrast between these kings’ response to Jesus’ birth and the way Herod, king of God’s people, responded), a more precise description might be that the Magi belonged to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, which paid particular attention to the stars. This priestly caste gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science.
So these Wise Ones from the East were scientists and practiced other religions, and God used their faith and knowledge to bring them to the Christ. More ironic, God used scientists who practiced other religions to let King Herod and the chief priests and scribes of the people in on the news that their Messiah had been born.
God seems to do whatever it takes to reach out to and embrace all people. God announces the birth of the Messiah to shepherds through angels on Christmas, to Magi via a star on Epiphany, and to the political and religious authorities of God’s own people through visitors from the East. From a manger, where a child lies wrapped in bands of cloth, God’s reach, God’s embrace in Christ Jesus, gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Jesus eats with outcasts and sinners. Jesus touches people who are sick and people who live with disabilities. Jesus even calls the dead back to life. Ultimately, Jesus draws all people to himself as he is lifted up on the cross. In Christ Jesus, no one is beyond God’s embrace.
God’s radical grace is wondrously frightening. I experience a bit of a shudder as I think of the implications of portraying the Magi as scientists who practiced another religion, because to do so pushes me to expand my understanding of both the ways God reaches out to people to announce good news in and through Christ and what it means for individuals to have faith and for gatherings of the faithful to be church.
The Magi did not come looking for the Christ through preaching, liturgy, sacrament, a welcoming congregation, or a vital social ministry. They came seeking the Christ after studying the night skies. As someone who holds on to favorite, cherished ways that God works to proclaim the gospel and bring people to faith, it’s always wondrously frightening to realize anew that God’s own work of embracing all people is more “mystery” than “formula,” because God’s ways are always bigger than my understanding.
The alternative, of course, is to join Herod in not seeing God’s ever-expanding embrace, or feeling threatened by it, and instead giving way to just plain fear: “When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3). Herod jealously reached out himself, just far enough to violently protect his place and preserve his power.
We too can feel jealous when visitors show up seeking Christ due to experiences outside of our purview and control. We have our own ways of reaching out, just far enough to slaughter someone’s experiences of God’s grace for the sake of our patterns, practices, and perspectives. And so the stage is set for another liturgical year of proclaiming Christ overcoming the conflict between God’s ever expanding embrace and our need to protect and preserve, a drama resolved on the cross and continuing in our day.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think of the best gift you ever received. What was it? What made it special? Was it the gift itself, the thought that went into it, or the person who gave it to you?
Many people around the world give gifts on the feast of the Epiphany instead of giving gifts on Christmas. As we read today’s Gospel, it might become clear why that is.
What gifts were given to Jesus by the Magi? (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) Let me tell you a bit about each of these. Gold is familiar to most of us. We associate gold with wealth and royalty. Frankincense was often used by priests for worship in the Temple. Myrrh is a perfume and was used to prepare a body after death. We often understand this gift to foretell Jesus’ suffering and death.
What made these gifts special? (Accept all reasonable answers.) These gifts showed that the Magi truly recognized the infant Jesus for who he would be for them and for us: Savior. We too are called this season to offer our gifts to Jesus. What might we offer to show that we recognize who Jesus is? (Accept all reasonable answers.)
Conclude by praying that we will always recognize Jesus as our Savior, as the Magi did. Sing or say the song “We Three Kings.”

CCC 633: "Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, hell, Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek, because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into 'Abraham's bosom'; 'It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell [Sheol/Hades]' (Roman Catechism I,6.3). Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him."
CCC 635: "Christ went down into the depths of death so that 'the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live' ..." (see Jn 5:25; Mt 12:40; Rom 10:7; Eph 4:9).

At the time of His liberation, Christ has gone into Heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him (1 Pt 3:22b). Since that time, the gates of Heaven have remained open to those made righteous, washed in the atoning blood of Christ Jesus (see Rev 4:1; CCC 1023-1029).

Mark 1:12-15

In St. Mark's Gospel, the story of God's plan for Jesus's mission continues to unfold:

The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the desert.
Satan tempted Jesus.
Jesus defeated Satan's temptations.
Angels ministered to Jesus among wild beasts, showing Jesus's authority over Heaven and earth (only in Mark's Gospel).

Satan tested Adam and Eve's obedience to God's command not to eat the forbidden fruit.
Moses and Elijah had a 40-day testing experience before God's divine revelation.
God tested the Israelites in the wilderness and then condemned them to 40 years of wandering in judgment for their faith and obedience failures.

Like Adam and Eve in the first Creation, Satan tested Jesus, but then the experiences differed. Jesus is the new Adam who resisted Satan's temptations (1 Cor 15:22, 45; CCC 411). He is the new Adam of the new Creation. Like Satan tested the first Adam concerning the obedience of his covenant obligation to God in the Garden of Eden, Jesus experienced the test of a covenant ordeal. A comparison to Adam's test also appears in how God tested the faith and obedience of the children of Israel in their wilderness experience in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. Unlike the first Adam, whom God exiled from the Garden Sanctuary of Eden, and unlike the Exodus generation, Jesus passed His test. For their failures in obedience and faith, God condemned the Exodus generation to an exile of 40 years of wandering and the loss of entrance into the Promised Land, except for Caleb and Joshua, who remained obedient and faithful (Num 14:34-35).
Jesus's victory over temptation, sin, and death would usher in a new Israel and a new Edenic Sanctuary in the true Promised Land of Heaven (CCC 877). Adam's failure brought death and alienation from God, but the victory of Jesus brought eternal life and union with the Most Holy Trinity!
St. Mark's Gospel does not have as detailed an account of Jesus's Temptation as in Matthew and Luke's Gospels. However, he provides information not in the other two versions in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. Mark agrees with the other Synoptic Gospel accounts that the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22) led Him into the desert, where He remained for 40 days. Mark does not give the details of the three times Satan tempted Jesus. However, in agreement with Matthew's account, he provides the information that angels ministered to Jesus after His ordeal. The additional information Mark provides is that Jesus was "among the wild beasts."
Lent reminds us that Jesus's self-sacrifice removed the veil of separation between humankind and God that resulted from sin. When the Israelites made the image of the Golden Calf, breaking the first of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:4-5), it was as great a fall from grace as Adam's sin. Like Adam, their punishment was separation from continual access to the Divine Presence. God intended to dwell among them above the Ark of the Covenant, but as a result of their sin, a thick veil/curtain separated the people from God's Divine Presence above the Ark in the Holy of Holies. When Jesus gave up His life on the Cross, the curtain that separated the people from God's presence was torn from top to bottom, opening the way to a renewed relationship with the Almighty (Mk 15:38).
In Jesus's resurrection from death, He was victorious over Satan, and through the Sacrament of Baptism and our resurrection to new life, we have a part in that victory (Rom 5:12-14, 17-20). During Lent, we remember our share in Christ's victory as we renew our baptismal vows. The rituals and symbols of the Mass remind us that our Savior chose to break the barrier of separation between the sinner and God to make us vessels of grace and reveal the beautiful mystery of the Eucharist in our lives. We reaffirm our commitment to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus as we sing in today's psalm: "Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth, to those who keep your covenant."

===========================================================================

Sunday February 11, 2024 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 77

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                   Lv 13:1-2, 44-46

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
"If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch
which appears to be the sore of leprosy,
he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,
or to one of the priests among his descendants.
If the man is leprous and unclean,
the priest shall declare him unclean
by reason of the sore on his head.

"The one who bears the sore of leprosy
shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,
and shall muffle his beard;
he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!'
As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean,
since he is in fact unclean.
He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp."


Responsorial Psalm Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11

R. (7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.


Reading 2 1 Cor 10:31—11:1

Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or
the church of God,
just as I try to please everyone in every way,
not seeking my own benefit but that of the many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.


Gospel Mk 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

He said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Lv 13:1-2, 44-46

So just what is leprosy?
It is a progressive infectious disease caused by a bacteria that attacks the skin, flesh, nerves, etc.; it is characterized by nodules, ulcers, white scaly scabs, if not treated will cause the wasting of muscles, deformities, mutilation, and the eventual loss of sensation, ( and is contagious.)

Leprosy was a deadly disease dreaded by everyone in ancient Israel. It is worse than cancer. When somebody has leprosy, he or she becomes automatically ostracized or separated from the community. Thus, as we see in today's first reading, when a leper is going on the street he has to cry, "unclean, unclean... He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp" (Lv 13:45-46).
Today's Gospel passage presents a scenario in which a leper came to Jesus, kneeling down and begging him saying, "if you wish, you can make me clean." (Mark 1:40) Moved with pity, Jesus stretches out his hand touching the leper saying, "I do will it. Be made clean." (Mark 1:41) The Bible tells us that the leprosy left him immediately. What is the significance of this message? What challenges does it give us today?
There are times in our lives when we may be overwhelmed by all kinds of situations confronting us. There are situations that make us become isolated, abandoned, rejected, depressed, and lonely. At times we find ourselves lonely, even amidst the crowd! There are times when problems make our life so miserable, like that of an ostracized leper. There are times when families and friends may not be able to help, but there is somebody whose will is best. We need to approach Him and say, "Lord, let your will be done for me.” The Lord has promised never to abandon us, even if mothers could abandon their children (CF I S. 49:14 – 16).
On a spiritual level, that deadly disease affecting human life today is sin. It is so deadly because it separates us spiritually from our Lord.
Before making any crucial decisions Jesus usually withdraws into solitude to have a deeper encounter with his Father. This is our model. We too must find time within our busy schedule to pray. It is in prayer and deep meditation that we can encounter Jesus profoundly and embrace peace. It is during those quiet moments that we can hear him loud and clear. Such an encounter with Jesus also brings us healing of mind and body. The ancient Latin dictum “Ora et labora” (work and pray) should be our motto as Christians, not “Laborare est Orare” (working is praying), as we see in many cases today working is not synonymous with praying. If you want to encounter Jesus in his busy world, then you need to embrace solitude.
This passage explains to us also why we need our weekly days off, monthly recollection, annual retreat, and annual vacation. Some years ago, in a parish in the United Kingdom a pastor had worked for 14 years in a row without taking any vacation. The people were so concerned because he was running out of energy and zeal. Let us not forget that a car that runs all day, without stopping for fuel refill, will soon run out of gas.
My friends ask me why I go on spiritual retreat. I respond "I need all the help that I can get." Anyone, lay or cleric; living is a busy area; needs recollection, retreats and quiet moments as often as necessary. It is a busy world. We cannot be too busy for prayer and retreat. May the Lord give us many opportunities to encounter him and his healing power as we continue our journey in a busy world.

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11

Long before the insights from contemporary psychology concerning repression, biofeedback loops, and psychosomatic disorders, the ancient psalmist knew very clearly that unacknowledged and unresolved guilt could have serious physical consequences. There is no reason to think that the language of Psalm 32 is purely metaphorical -- “my bones wasted away; I groaned all day long.”
Unacknowledged and unresolved guilt was taking its toll. And it is still happening!
It is no wonder that some of the most penetrating analyses of sin and guilt have come in recent years not from biblical scholars and theologians, but rather from psychiatrists. For instance, Karl Menninger was motivated by his concern for mental health and a healthier society to ask Whatever Became of Sin? He was concerned that unacknowledged and unresolved guilt inevitably comes out in various forms of unhealthy “escapism, rationalization, and reaction or symptom formation.”
Therefore, he called for a recovery of the concept of sin; and he suggested that clergypersons should take the lead: “It is their special prerogative to study sin -- or whatever they call it -- to identify it, to define it, to warn us about it, and to spur measures for combatting it and rectifying it.”
The appearance of Psalm 32 in the lectionary offers a prime opportunity for clergypersons to take up the challenge “to study sin.” And almost certainly, it will be a challenge! As Menninger points out, sin-talk has not been and is not very popular. For one thing, it can sound archaic and overly judgmental. Then too, our concern for privacy and proper appearances makes confession of sin (or weakness or need) a bit risky.
As Gerald Wilson notes, “The cults of independence and perfection have prevented many a struggling evangelical Christian from admitting his or her fears, failures, and helplessness until the crisis was so great that it can no longer be denied and broke out with the utmost devastation for all those concerned.” This reality, of course, underscores the importance of the challenge “to study sin.”
Perhaps the language of verses 3-4 suggests that the psalmist had arrived (or was about to arrive) at a devastating breaking point. If so, then she or he offers us a very important example of the benefits of confronting and confessing one’s sin. What ends up broken in Psalm 32 is neither the psalmist’s life nor the lives of those with whom the psalmist is concerned. Rather, what ends up broken is the psalmist’s silence!
While neither God nor the psalmists are in favor of sin, the real problem in Psalm 32 is not the psalmist’s sin but rather the psalmist’s failure to acknowledge and confess sin. It is crucial; therefore, that the silence be broken for, as James L. Mays points out, “the silence is the rejection of grace.”
The tragic thing about the failure to confess sinfulness and need is that we close ourselves off from the liberating grace of God. A more literal translation of verse 5c emphasizes this liberating dimension: “and you took away the guilt of my sin.” A burden has been lifted! God bears the burden of sin with us or even for us!
This, of course, is pure grace, anticipating both Jesus’ proclamation of the realm of God (see Luke 7:36-8:3) and Paul’s proclamation of the good news of justification by grace (see Romans 4:6-8 where Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2).
To be sure, Psalm 32 is about sin and guilt; and it is rightly numbered among the Church’s seven Penitential Psalms (see Psalms 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). But Psalm 32 is even more clearly about the divine willingness to forgive. This willingness is grounded in God’s essential character -- that is, God is gracious, merciful, and steadfastly loving (see Exodus 34:6-7; and note “steadfast love” in Psalm 32:10).

Reading 2                   1 Cor 10:31—11:1
The apostle urges he people to refrain where they will give offense, while yet he allows it lawful to eat what was set before them as common food, though it had been offered in sacrifice. "Another man's conscience is no measure to our conduct. What he thinks unlawful is not thereby made unlawful to me, but may be a matter of liberty still; and as long as I own God as a giver of my food, and render him thanks for it, it is very unjust to reproach me for using it." This must be understood abstracted from the scandal given by eating in the circumstance mentioned. Though some understand it to mean, "Why should I, by using the liberty I have, give occasion to those who are scandalized to speak evil of me?" According to that advice of the apostle (Rom. 14:16), Let not your good be evil spoken of. Note, Christians should take care not to use their liberty to the hurt of others, nor their own reproach.

The apostle takes occasion from this discourse to lay down a rule for Christians' conduct, and apply it to this particular case (v. 31, 32), namely, that in eating and drinking, and in all we do, we should aim at the glory of God, at pleasing and honoring him. This is the fundamental principle of practical godliness. The great end of all practical religion must direct us where particular and express rules are wanting. Nothing must be done against the glory of God, and the good of our neighbors, connected with it. No, the tendency of our behavior to the common good, and the credit of our holy religion, should give direction to it. And therefore nothing should be done by us to offend any, whether Jew, or Gentile, or the church, v. 32. The Jews should not be unnecessarily grieved nor prejudiced, who have such an abhorrence of idols that they reckon every thing offered to them thereby defiled, and that it will pollute and render culpable all who partake of it; nor should heathens be countenanced in their idolatry by any behavior of ours, which they may construe as homage or honor done to their idols; nor young converts from Gentilism take any encouragement from our conduct to retain any veneration for the heathen gods and worship, which they have renounced: nor should we do anything that may be a means to pervert any members of the church from their Christian profession or practice. Our own humor and appetite must not determine our practice, but the honor of God and the good and edification of the church. We should not so much consult our own pleasure and interest as the advancement of the kingdom of God among men. Note, A Christian should be a person devoted to God, and of a public spirit.

Gospel                       Mk 1:40-45

Last Sunday's gospel lesson impressed upon us the scope of Jesus' ministry and mission, and the power of the good news of His preaching and healing to impact the lives of all who flocked to hear the message of forgiveness and presence of God's new reign. With today's lesson there is no relenting in the intensity and success of that mission, whose fast-paced movement by now has developed a kind of rhythm.
In the final words of last Sunday's lesson, we heard that Jesus' mission encompassed all of Galilee and drew the whole world to Jesus' doorstep. But today, once again much like in the case of Peter's mother-in-law (1:29), we are drawn back to the particular, to the impact of Jesus' healing power upon the life of one individual. In fact, the whole movement of today's lesson mirrors that of last Sunday's verses, Mark 1:29-39. Whereas that lesson began with the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and ended with reference to Jesus' mission throughout the whole of Galilee, this lesson begins with the healing of a person with leprosy and ends with reference to the spread of Jesus' fame and people coming to Him from "everywhere."
The clear effect of the progression of these texts is to proclaim the power of the good news, present from the very beginning in Jesus' mission and ministry. Whereas in the other synoptic gospels this story needs some time to work its way out, in Mark this power has its "epiphany" already in Mark's unique portrayal of the ministry and preaching of John the Baptist. When Jesus announces the "kingdom of God" has already come near and the reign of God is upon us in this good news, His preaching compounds and strengthens that message. "Immediately," (to use Mark's favorite word) the powers that be are engaged. Jesus' healing and casting out of demons acknowledge His authority and power as something to be reckoned with. In Jesus' presence lives will be changed. But as the story progresses, beginning especially in last Sunday's lesson, there are signs that such power will not go unchallenged. The new and the old are bound to clash; the new will not be contained by the old. That impending clash becomes more explicit in Mark 2:1-12 and 2:13-22, but it already breathes beneath the surface in this Sunday's lesson.
The leper's arrival and request press the issues of the good news squarely: "If you are willing, you have the power to make me clean" (a translation). The words "if you wish, you can..." disguises and softens Mark's loaded words of "will" and "power." Here, we are invited to face the issue of how Jesus will address the matter of "clean and unclean" in the particular realities of this world. That particularity is clear in the leper's question, which is not about cleansing and power in general, but about the power to make "me" clean. Ultimately, the issue of the good news is whether it has the power to effect change in my life and yours.
The leper's question recognizes that if there is to be healing, it will be dependent on a God who "wills" that it be so. The "if" in his question leaves that matter provocatively up in the air. As such his words remind us that hearing the arrival of this Jesus as good news is contingent on finding in him the epiphany of a God who actually "wills" that this healing be so. But his words also recognize that such actuality takes more than "will." The will to cleanse remains only a possibility until it meets the appearance of One who has the "power" to deliver on the promise of that will. This issue of power is central, for it stands both at the beginning and end of this lesson, though it is unfortunately disguised in the English translations. It is here in the leper's request (verse 40). It is there again in verse 45, where strangely and surprisingly we hear that the successful spread of the word about Jesus means He no longer "has the power" to go around "openly." Instead, He must stay in secret in the wilderness. (Literally, he does not have the ability for "epiphany").
Of course these matters of power will ultimately move this story to the cross. But for now, Jesus' immediate answer is clear. Jesus is moved with compassion. He reaches out, touches the leper, and says, "I do will it." If there is any question of the requisite power to cleanse, it is avoided and leapt over. The "I will" becomes immediate reality in Jesus' command: "Be made clean" (Mark 1:41-42).
In Jesus, "I will" is the power of the good news to change lives and the message of Epiphany; that in Jesus this will and power of God is clearly revealed. Boundaries are crossed; issues of power are addressed; unclean becomes clean; the sick become whole. And Jesus will get into trouble for this!
The trouble is perhaps suggested in the refusal of this good news to be restrained, even by Jesus' own command. Jesus gives the former leper two commands, " See that you tell no one anything " and " show yourself to the priest," neither of which he obeys. Instead, this man goes out and "preaches" the "word" mightily (Greek: polla; literally, "in many words"). And his preaching is effective, so much so that Jesus becomes hampered in His own ministry (Mark 1:45).
This epiphany story draws us into a number of tensions of discipleship and faith. The leper's story makes clear that God's will in Jesus to touch, to cleanse, and to make whole is not just imagination or wish. Instead, it is promise that has the power to touch the particularity of lives, broken and suffering from the powers of the unclean in this world. It also makes clear that the proclamation of this good news has the power, even today, to burst the boundaries of constraint that would keep this good word from being heard. The story of this Jesus will get out!

Making the Connection

You have so many choices in the course of the day that you may not even realize how many decisions you make. Try to list some of the decisions that you have made since you woke up this morning. Things like: (choosing what clothes to wear, choosing what to eat for breakfast, and so on)
Most of us have become pretty good at making good choices that relate to our daily routines. But sometimes we are faced with a choice that is more difficult.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is faced with this kind of choice. A man approaches Jesus, asking to be healed. Jesus was faced with the choice of whether to heal him or not.
What did the man want Jesus to do? (cure his leprosy) Why might Jesus not want to do this? Remember that leprosy is a disfiguring skin disease and that in Jesus’ time, people with leprosy were not permitted to have contact with people who did not have the disease. What did Jesus decide to do? (He healed the man with leprosy; he touched him as part of the healing.)
As Christians, we face similar choices with the decisions that we are asked to make. We have the choice to love, the choice to help, or to do nothing. We show the depth of our faith when, like Jesus, we choose to love and to help, even when this is difficult for us.
Conclude by praying together that we will have the courage to help and heal others, even if doing so is difficult. Pray together the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
It was the duty of the priests of the Sinai Covenant to preside over the prescribed communal and individual voluntary sacrifices in the liturgical worship services. They also had other duties to perform for the community, as recorded in this section of the Book of Leviticus, including public health duties. They were to examine and decide on health issues that could harm the entire community. The procedure for suspicious skin conditions consisted of examination and isolation for seven days before the priest reached a final determination. The chief concern in these public health examinations was the dangerously contagious skin disease of leprosy. Today, some medications can contain and control leprosy; however, in the ancient world, the condition condemned a person to a life of miserable isolation and a slow and disfiguring death.
It was a tragedy for a covenant member to be diagnosed with a contagious skin disease like leprosy. They were expelled from the community and forced to live alone or in groups with others in the same physically "unclean" state (Lk 17:12). They were required to show physical signs of their forced separation by shaving their heads, wearing torn garments, and covering their beards, all signs of death, penance, and mourning (Lev 10:6; Ezek 24:17). They could not offer sacrifices in the desert Sanctuary, nor, in Jesus's time, could they join the congregations of the local Synagogues or worship in the Jerusalem Temple because their unclean condition made them "unfit" for communal worship.
In 2 Kings 5:8, the prophet Elijah invoked God's divine name and healed a Gentile leper named Naaman. His act proved that the mercy of Israel's God was not limited to the Israelites, and He was more powerful than any human contagion, whether it was leprosy or sin. The miracle also prefigured the healing and restoration of the Gentile peoples of the earth to fellowship with God. Elijah's deed, under the power of the Holy Spirit, proved he was Yahweh's holy prophet.
Jesus also healed lepers (today's Gospel Reading). However, He is far more than a prophet like Elijah. Jesus is God visiting His people (Ezek 34:11-12, 15-16) to heal, restore, and raise them to a holy, internal purity. He will raise them to holiness through the Sacrament of Baptism in His death and resurrection and make them fit for worship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11
The psalm is attributed to King David after God forgave him of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, which led to her husband's arranged death.
In the Church's Penitential Psalms, we celebrate the happiness of the person who acknowledges that God forgives his sins through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. However, Christ's blood does not merely cover our sins (as in the old covenants) but washes us clean and restores us to fellowship with God and the community of the faithful. In this connection, Church Father and Archbishop of Constantinople St. John Chrysostom (c. 344/354-407) wrote, quoting Psalm 32:5, "Shall I remind you of the different paths of repentance? For there are many, each distinct and different, and they all lead to heaven. The first way of penance consists in the accusation and acknowledgment of sin [...] For this reason, the psalmist says: 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.'  Therefore, if you condemn in yourself the deed by which you gave offense, the confession will obtain your pardon before the Lord; for the one who condemns his offense makes it more difficult for himself to commit that sin again. Ensure that your conscience is always alert: it will be your private prosecutor, and then there will be no one else to accuse you before the tribunal of God. This is the first and best path of penitence" (De diabolo tentatore, 6).

1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Every Christian is morally responsible for his actions and the negative or positive influence his actions might have on others. It is the correct use of Christian freedom expressed first negatively (verse 32) and then positively, as exemplified in Paul's life (verse 33), and finally, as grounded in Christ (11:1). All actions should give glory to God by living "in imitation of Christ." In this way, others who view your life as sanctified to God may be encouraged to follow your example, leading them to conversion and eternal salvation.
Such small actions as wearing a cross or offering a prayer before meals in a public place give a witness to others of your faith in Christ Jesus. St. Basil the Great (c. 330/357-379), bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor, commented on this passage from 1 Corinthians by writing: "When you sit down to eat bread, do so, thanking him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank him for his kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore him, who, in his wisdom, has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise the Creator" (Hom. in Julittam, martyrem).

The Gospel of Mark 1:40-45
In the First Reading, we read about a person diagnosed with leprosy. Under Mosaic Law, those persons were virtually excommunicated from the community and doomed to live in poverty and isolation. Lepers had to wear torn garments with an uncovered head. They had to cry out "unclean" wherever they went and remain outside the community in deserted places. The life of a leper was like a living death. Not only was a leper ritually unclean, but anyone who came in contact with a leper could also become unclean. A leper could not worship in the Temple until a priest pronounced the person healed and eligible for ritual purification. Anyone in contact with a leper could not worship in the Temple until they had also undergone ritual purification (Lev 13-14).
The Old Testament mentions several cases of leprosy: for example, Miriam (Num 12:10), Naaman (2 Kng 5:10), Gehazi (2 Kng 5:25), King Uzziah (2 Kng 15:5), and four lepers at the siege of Samaria (2 Kng 7:3). In the New Testament, Jesus healed lepers (Mt 8:1-4; Mk 1:40-42; Lk 5:12-16; 7:22; 17:11-19) and gave the same healing power to His disciples (Mt 10:8). On Jesus's last teaching day in Jerusalem, Simon the (former) Leper, who lived in Bethany, welcomed Jesus and His disciples to dinner in His honor on the Wednesday before His crucifixion (Mt 26:6; Mk 14:3).
The leper in our Gospel story makes a bold move by coming to Jesus. He takes the risk because he has confidence that Jesus can heal him (Mk 1:40). Jesus feels compassion for the man and is not made "unclean" by coming into contact with the leper. Instead, the leper was "made clean" by contact with Jesus, just as we are "cleansed" by contact with Jesus in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Notice that there is a sacramental quality to Jesus healing the man. Jesus stretches out His hand (verse 41), just as God, by His "outstretched hand," performed mighty acts to save the Israelites in the Exodus experience and in other glorious deeds in the history of the covenant people (Ex 13:9; 14, 16; 15:6; etc., and as Jesus's disciples prayed in Acts 4:30). His divine word accompanies this ritual sign as Jesus says, "I will do it. Be made clean." And like God's divine words that brought about the Creation event (Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29; Ps 33:9; Is 48:13), Jesus's words brought about what He commanded (Jn 1:1-5), whether in healing a leper, raising the dead (Mt 9:24-26; Mk 5:41-42; Lk 7:14-15; Jn 11:43-44), or changing bread and wine into His Body and Blood (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:19-20).

Jesus asked the man to keep secret the source of his healing. This event is the first instance of what Biblical scholars call the "messianic secret" in Mark's Gospel, where Jesus insisted on concealing His true identity until He chose to make the revelation.
Notice that Jesus told the man to show himself to a priest (according to the Law in Lev 14:1-20). The old Sinai Covenant and its laws were still in place until Jesus fulfilled its old Mosaic Law and replaced it with the New Covenant (Lk 22:20; Heb 8:7, 13). In the meantime, Jesus obeyed the old covenant Law (Mt 5:17-20). Jesus told the man to show himself to a priest because he had the power under the Law to confirm the man's healing. Then, under the priest's direction, the man could return to the Temple on the eighth day after his examination to perform the purification ritual, offer the necessary sacrifices, be restored to the community, and return to fellowship with God (Lev 14:10).
Significantly, the ritual of purification for a leper was on the "eighth day" when the man could be restored to the community and fellowship with God in Temple worship. The eighth day is symbolically the day of the healed person's "resurrection" to a new life. The number eight in the significance of numbers in Scripture represents salvation, regeneration, and new life. The eighth day will be when Jesus Christ is resurrection from the dead; the day after the seventh day Jewish Sabbath (see CCC 349). See the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture".
45 The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Jesus cautioned the healed man not to reveal the miracle (verse 44). His true identity must not come too soon. Jesus must fulfill the words of the prophets before opposition to His ministry climaxes in His Passion. However, the healed leper could not keep quiet in his joy over his healing and restoration to his family and community (verse 45a). The former leper experienced restoration to the community. Still, as for Jesus, it became impossible for Him to enter the town because of the many people who wanted to see Him (verse 45b). Ironically, Jesus and the man have traded places. Jesus healed the man at a personal cost and took on the leper's previous position outside the towns. However, Jesus was not isolated because the people came to Him as news continued to spread about His miraculous healing and His authoritative teachings.

===============================================================

Sunday February 4, 2024 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 74

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                         Jb 7:1-4, 6-7

Job spoke, saying:
Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?
Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
I shall not see happiness again.

Responsorial Psalm                       Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (cf. 3a) Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2                               1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach,
I offer the gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.


Gospel                                 Mk 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                         Jb 7:1-4, 6-7

I have been allotted months of futility: Job saw his present suffering like the futile, discouraging work of a servant or a hired man. He felt there was no hope or reward, only weariness.
The words hard service in Job 7:1 are descriptive of military service. The Latin Vugate translates, The life of man is a warfare upon earth. The early English Coverdale translation has it, Is not the life of man upon earth a very battle? With this Job communicated both the struggle of life, together with the idea that he has been drafted unwillingly into this battle.
Wearisome nights have been appointed to me: Job described his physical condition in painful terms. He suffered from insomnia and his skin affliction came back again and again.
Clarke comments on My flesh is caked with worms: “The figure is too horrid to be further illustrated.”

Job mourns the futility of life.
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle: Job did not mean this in a positive sense, as in saying “My, look how fast the time is going by.” As described in the previous verses, in this season of affliction time is dragging by for Job through his sleepless and painful nights. Yet when he looked at his life in totality, it seemed to be a meaningless blur, spent without hope and as a breath.
“Ibn Ezra noted long ago the play on the word [tiqwah, ‘hope’], which can also mean ‘thread.’ Job’s days move fast like a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end through want of thread. Both meanings were equally intended. This is the kind of overtone in meaning that cannot be reflected in a translation without a footnote.”
“Worse than the disease itself, Job lost all hope of being healed. He believed his only release from pain was death.”


Responsorial Psalm                       Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

- Praise the Lord! Psalm 147 begins and ends with these words, which are both a declaration and an encouragement of praise to Yahweh. This hallelujah begins and ends the five psalms that end the Book of Psalms.
- “There is no heaven, either in this world, or the world to come, for people who do not praise God. If you do not enter into the spirit and worship of heaven, how should the spirit and joy of heaven enter into you?”
- it is good to sing praises to our God: It was right for the Psalmist to tell himself and others to praise the Lord, and he assumed that God’s people would do it with singing. The goodness of praise comes from the truth that it is, in itself, pleasant and beautiful.
- Psalm 33:1 says, praise from the upright is beautiful. True praise is beautiful to God, to His people, and to the individual worshipper.
- Praise is pleasant and beautiful for humanity, “It is decent, befitting, and proper that every intelligent creature should acknowledge the Supreme Being: and as he does nothing but good to the children of men, so they should speak good of his name.”
- If praise is beautiful, “As on the contrary, an unthankful man is an ugly, ill-favoured spectacle.”

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
- The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers together the outcasts of Israel: The Psalmist quickly began to describe the goodness and greatness of God, to give himself and others reasons to praise God. The first reason is God’s active care for Jerusalem and a likely reference to its restoration after the exile.
- “The twelfth chapter of Nehemiah tells how the Levites were brought to the city to lead a grand celebration ‘with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres’ (Neh. 12:27)”. It would have been fitting for them to sing this Psalm, especially Psalm 147:2-3.
- Consider the many kinds of outcasts that Jesus gathers and blesses today.
· Outcasts may be the very poorest and most despised among men
· Outcasts may be those who have made themselves so by their wickedness
· Outcasts may be those who judge themselves to be outcasts
· Outcasts may be backsliders from the church
· Outcasts may be those who have fallen into great depression of spirit
· Outcasts may be those who suffer for righteousness’ sake
- He heals the brokenhearted: God does not only care for communities, but also for individuals. Those who hurt – the brokenhearted and the wounded – are special objects of His care.
- Hearts are broken through disappointment. Hearts are broken through bereavement. Hearts are broken in ten thousand ways, for this is a heart-breaking world; and Christ is good at healing all manner of heart- breaks. There are many reasons why Jesus is good at healing the brokenhearted.
· Jesus is educated for this work, having His own heart broken
· Jesus is experienced in this work, having healed broken hearts for 2,000 years
· Jesus is willing to take the worst patients, and has never yet lost a patient
· Jesus heals broken hearts with medicine that He himself provides
- “That God tells the number of the stars is only what we should expect of Him….But that He should be able to bend over one broken heart and bind it with His sympathy and heal its flowing wounds, this is wonderful, amazing, divine.”
Binds up their wounds: “As a good shepherd, Zechariah 11:4, that good Samaritan, Luke 10:34, and as a good surgeon dealeth by his patient.”
- He counts the number of the stars, He calls them all by name: The same God who cares for the lowly individual also knows and names all the stars. His majesty extends in both directions, from the span of the universe to the individual need.
- The Psalmist allowed us to the make the logical point – that if God knows and names all the stars, He certainly knows me and names me.
- Apparently in the days of Matthew Poole (1624-79), astronomers numbered 1,025 stars. “He telleth the number of the stars, which no man can do, Genesis 22:17. For those thousand and twenty-five which astronomers number, are only such as are most distinctly visible to the eye, and most considerable for their influences.” Now (2016) scientists estimate that there are 1 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. God knows the exact number.
- He calls them all by name: “Calling them all by names (lit., He calls names to them all) is not giving them designations, but summoning them as a captain reading the muster roll of his band. It may also imply full knowledge of each individual in their countless hosts.”
- The ‘stars’ are not forces or deities as in the ancient Near East but created entities over which the Lord is sovereign.
- Great is our Lord, and mighty in power: The Psalmist again described God in the high aspects of His majesty (His understanding is infinite) and in the lowest and most compassionate aspects of His majesty (the Lord lifts up the humble).
- “It turns upside down the familiar argument that in so great a universe our small affairs are too minute to notice.”
- His understanding is infinite: “There is no fathoming his wisdom, or measuring his knowledge. He is infinite in existence, in power, and in knowledge, as these three phrases plainly teach us.”
- The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground: This is much like the phrase repeated three times in the Scriptures – God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).
- “He reverses the evil order of things. The meek are down, and he lifts them up; the wicked are exalted, and he hurls them down to the dust.”
- “As a man ranks himself in one or other of these two divisions, he may expect from heaven storm or sunshine, mercy or judgment.”

Reading 2                               1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

This dialectic - preach or be damned - arises from Paul's self-reflection on his role as apostle. Paul is presenting his self-understanding, describing the manner in which he presents himself, and the ultimate motivation which drives him. Preach, or be damned.
To be fair Paul doesn't actually say "damned." Rather, he says "woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). As with the Old Testament "woes" that one reads in numerous prophetic oracles (cf. Isaiah 45:9; Hosea 7:13; see also Matthew 23:13-36), this is serious business. This is not the "whoa" of amazement or surprise, but the "woe" of suffering and punishment. In effect, Paul is calling trouble down upon himself should he fail to preach the gospel. "Woe to me if I fail to proclaim the gospel! I must preach or be damned!" With this attitude, Paul sets the stage for a striking reflection on his own calling as apostle, and provides a refreshing resource for our reflection on what it means to be called, commissioned to serve God and our neighbor, and proclaim the gospel.
There is much in this passage that may be familiar, primarily Paul's summary of the nature of his apostleship. One of Paul's most oft-quoted phrases is found here, that he will be "all things to all people" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Among the Jews, Paul is a committed and observant Jew, as he proudly declares elsewhere (Philippians 3:4-6). To those under the law, Paul will conduct himself as one also under the law, even though he is not subject to that law (1 Corinthians 9:20). To those outside the law, he will appear and present himself as one also outside of the law, even though, in a potentially confusing turn-around, he is "not free from God's law" (verse 21). To the weak, Paul will give himself as one who is weak, though he has reason to boast (verse 22).
This fourfold summary of "all things" is at heart a repetition of two things in an A-A-B-B pattern. The Jews and those under the law are best read as one and the same. Likewise, those outside the law, the Gentiles, are also the "weak." Think of this as a Pauline version of "There are two kinds of people." "And," Paul says, "I am whatever they need me to be, a little A-ish or a little B-ish." Though free in Christ Jesus, Paul submits himself, to the point of being a slave, to his neighbors, willing to be "all things to all people."
As with most familiar things, one must be careful not to read "all things to all people" as though Paul is saying that "everything goes." As noted above, Paul is talking less about "all things" than articulating a basic two-part distinction: those under the law, and those outside the law, which covers everyone. What Paul is driving at is not some pluralist vision of all things being equal. He is driven by the need to deliver the gospel to all people, not just the chosen people or the insiders. Outside of this text, Paul explicitly says that theological relativity and idolatry are not a part of the gospel (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). In other words, Paul is stressing that he has given up all claims to his own particularity; but not the particularity of the gospel; in order to "win more," and "save some." The question is, why?
Why is Paul willing to do this? Why be all things to all people? Why risk appearing a chameleon of compromise? Why give up freedom for servitude? Why? Preach or be damned. For Paul this is not a question, or a matter of choice. It is a matter of necessity, of compulsion, of apostolic imperative. It is the gospel that is for all people, the gospel that drives him to reach out both to Jew and to Gentile, to the one struggling under the burden of the law and the one blissfully ignorant of its demands. For Paul the gospel is needed by both kinds of people, it is the one thing that is for all people. This is why he does what he does.
And this brings us again to the remarkable way in which Paul describes the apostolic imperative which drives him, and what it means for us. At the beginning of this little passage from 1 Corinthians, Paul holds in tension a set of contradictory terms: boasting and obligation, reward and commission. The calling, the obligation to proclaim the gospel is not a cause for boasting or arrogance; neither is it a means to an end or a reward. For Paul the gospel, as a blessing to be shared (1 Corinthians 9:23; 10:17; 11:23-26), is both obligation and reward, commission and compensation. Paul does not talk here of his calling or his "Christian life" as something motivated by heavenly reward, or something in which to take pride. Paul, who is accustomed to the occasional pride filled boast, takes a different tack here. He is motivated by the joy from servitude to Christ, the reward of a slavish devotion to all his neighbors, both those under God's law and those unaware of it.

Gospel                                 Mk 1:29-39

As Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee he has called disciples. In the Capernaum synagogue he healed a man with an unclean spirit by "rebuking" the spirit and calling it out of him. The amazed local folks talk about this new teacher and exorcist everywhere. Meanwhile, after the healing in the synagogue, Jesus returns to Simon Peter's house. There lies Simon Peter's mother-in-law in the grip of a fever. This is no small matter in the ancient world. A fever was not only debilitating for a short while, but was often a symptom of a condition that would lead to death. We know nothing from Mark about this fever -- its intensity, its duration, or its cause -- but we do know a valued family member was unable to be up and about her work. Her calling had been taken from her by an illness.
Jesus simply "raises her up." In Mark's direct and uncomplicated style he says, "...and the fever left her and she served them." The verbs are interesting. Simon Peter's mother-in-law is raised up by Jesus, a word that takes on powerful meaning in Mark's gospel and in subsequent Christian communities. In 16:6 the word is applied to Jesus himself. Mark uses egeiro in many healings (see, for example, 9:27). The word suggests that new strength is imparted to those laid low by illness, unclean spirits, or even death, so that they may again rise up to take their place in the world. That's where the second interesting verb comes into play.
Simon Peter's mother-in-law "served" immediately after having been raised. The verb is diakoneo, the same verb Jesus uses to describe the essence of his own ministry in Mark 10:45. It is "to serve" rather than "to be served" that characterizes the Christ of God. It is also "to serve" that characterizes his disciples. Simon Peter's mother-in-law is far from being an exemplar of a pathetic, un-liberated woman for whom serving men is her whole life. Rather she is the first character in Mark's gospel who exemplifies true discipleship. (Side bar: it will be women who are described as having served Jesus in 15:41 as well. This is not a verb used of Jesus' male disciples who famously do not quite "get it" within the gospel itself.)
Needless to say, the second healing really got around among the people. All kinds of folks were brought to Jesus for help. Capernaum's sick were laid before his door and he healed illnesses and cast out demons by the score. Please notice that these two activities were not identical. The ancients did not believe that all illnesses were demonically caused. They knew as well as we do that people get sick for all manner of reasons.
But please notice in addition, that illness bore a heavy social cost: not only would a person be unable to earn a living or contribute to the well-being of a household, but their ability to take their proper role in the community, to be honored as a valuable member of a household, town, or village, would be taken from them. Peter's mother-in-law is an excellent case in point. It was her calling and her honor to show hospitality to guests in her home. Cut off from that role by an illness cut her off from doing that which integrated her into her world. Who was she when no longer able to engage in her calling? Jesus restored her to her social world and brought her back to a life of value by freeing her from that fever. It is very important to see that healing is about restoration to community and restoration of a calling, a role as well as restoration to life. For life without community and calling is bleak indeed.
Jesus' ministry involves restoration of those cut off from community to a full role in the community. Those who have been seriously ill in our own time will understand the joy of simply being back as a participant in the "ordinary" processes of community life. Truly, there is nothing ordinary about life in community. Jesus wields the power of God Almighty to bring about participation: it is God's will for creation to be serving in community with others.
This discussion leads naturally to the end of the passage where suddenly Jesus seems to reject his call to heal and insists that he must proclaim throughout the villages and towns of Galilee the message he came to deliver. That proclamation, or announcement, continues to be in both word and deed as Jesus goes forward. In 1:15 we heard that message from Jesus: "the reign of God has come near. Repent and trust the good news." We have seen in the story of the man possessed and of Peter's mother-in-law how good that good news was: part of God's reign is the casting out of demons and the turning aside of illnesses; it has to do with restoration of those oppressed to a full role in their communities; it has to do with creating a people raised up to serve each other. And people do come in numbers, trusting that Jesus will heal and restore.
Yet his calling at this point in Mark's gospel is to share the in-breaking of God's kingdom through healing and announcement. Jesus is the herald with the power to bring in a foretaste of the kingdom, even as he promises that it is continuing to "draw near." As he goes throughout the Galilee he does not rely simply on words to make his point, but on the casting out of demons.
How vital it is to know that the coming of God's kingdom is indeed good news? One could imagine God's reign coming as a reign of terror. Humans have plenty of experience with powerful kings doing terrible things to those over whom they reign. Will God be like that? Will it be punishment and brutality for those who don't get on board? No. Jesus shows over and over again, that God's power serves the people. From the very beginning of his ministry Jesus casts out those spirits opposed to God's people, those things which lay them low, as part of his heralding the kingdom. God comes to restore, to save and God's power is sufficient to do it.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about times when you were ill. What did you want most when you were sick? What did other people do to help you when you were sick? How have you helped others who were sick?
In today’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus cured Simon's mother-in-law, who was sick with fever. We also hear how Jesus cured many other people. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel.
What did Simon’s mother-in-law do after Jesus healed her? (She served Jesus and his disciples.) We see in her example that one of the things that those who are ill need most is a sense of purpose and the opportunity to make a contribution.
The Church continues to bring Jesus’ healing presence to those who are sick. What are some things that our Church does for those who are sick? (We visit the sick; we bring Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist; we pray for those who are sick; we celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.)
Conclude in prayer asking Jesus to be with those who are sick. Pray prayers of petition for those who are sick; after each petition, pray “Jesus, heal us.” Conclude by praying the Glory Be to the Father.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL NOTES 20240204

Reading 1                                           Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
Life is Painful and Fleeting

Job's description of the sufferings of human existence recalls divine judgment in the Fall of Adam that impacted all Adam's descendants (Gen 3:17-19). Job describes life as a desperate struggle in which humankind lives like a slave who suffers in being unable to find shade/rest from the scorching sun or a hired man who barely makes enough to live. He knows that life is brief, and at this point in Job's story, his suffering makes him believe he can never be happy again (verse 6).
Such is the world's plight resulting from the corruption of original sin (CCC 215, 390, 397-98, 404, 412) and personal sin (CCC 1852, 1868). No one can escape the struggle that makes the life of every human a battle against sin: "The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity" (Gaudium et spes, 37; CCC 409).
Job's experience was the human condition before the Incarnation of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. There was no hope of Heaven since the Fall of Adam. The introduction of sin into the world closed its gates, and death consigned all humans to the abode of the dead, Sheol in Hebrew (CCC 536, 633). However, with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, St. Mark dramatically describes Heaven as "torn open" (Mk 1:10; CCC 1026). In Christ, humanity received the hope of eternal life and His promise that those who suffered from injustice would receive God's mercy and justice
Responsorial Psalm                       Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

The psalmist begins with a call to praise God for His goodness (verse 1). The LORD has gathered up His people, the Israelites, from exile and has led them home to rebuild Jerusalem. He has healed the broken hearts and has bound their wounds (verses 2-3). He is the Creator who made the stars, lifts up the downtrodden, and judges the wicked (verses 4-6). Those who receive God's mercy trust in the Lord's wisdom, not in their efforts or merits (verse 5). For Christians, the psalm invites us to praise God not only because He was the Savior and Provider of His covenant people in the past but because, in His mercy and love, He has made Himself present among humanity through the Incarnate Christ, the Word made flesh. He continues to make Himself present to humankind in the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, healing, consoling, and saving us until the end of time.

Reading 2                               1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

St. Paul confessed that he felt compelled to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ; he knew it was his divine calling. In doing so, he asked for no reward, even though he could have expected it since Jesus told His disciples the laborer deserves his payment (Lk 10:7). But Paul did not expect just compensation for preaching the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. He earned his living by tent-making (Acts 18:3; 1 Cor 4:12; 2 Cor 12:13; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9), hoping the additional sacrifice would make his divine reward even more substantial in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Like St. Paul, the Holy Spirit calls all Christians to serve as Jesus's apostles (those "sent" through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation) to preach the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and His "good news" of God's gift of eternal salvation. In his preaching, Paul wrote that he was compelled to become all things to those he preached to better connect with the people who heard him to increase their openness to his message. St. Josemaria Escriva wrote: "He must become all things to all men in order to save all men" (Christ Is Passing By, 14). Vatican II defined what this apostolate involves: "The witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, incite them to a more fruitful life; 'for Christ's love urges us on' (2 Cor 5:14) and in the hearts of all should the Apostle's words find echo: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel' (1 Cor 9:16)" (Apostolicom actuositatem, 6).

Gospel                                 Mk 1:29-39

Jesus healed many people and cast out demons that He immediately silenced, refusing to let them reveal His true identity (see Mk 1:23-26). The demon spirits knew Jesus's true identity and feared Him, recognizing His divine power (verse 34). Demons are spiritual beings who are fallen angels. God created them to be good; however, through their own free will choice, they became evil by rebelling against God and following Satan, who was himself once an angel (see Rev 12:7-9 and CCC 391-95). The testimony of demons is not the kind of witness Jesus wanted to His true identity. His identity as the divine Messiah must be revealed slowly through His miracles and teaching.
In verse 35, we read that Jesus rose before dawn and withdrew alone to pray. Jesus's action raises the question: shouldn't we do the same if Jesus felt it was necessary to devote time to private prayer? All four Gospels record that several times Jesus withdrew from His disciples for personal prayer. However, the crowds of people continued looking for Him. Sympathetic to the people's needs, Simon Peter went to find Jesus (verses 36-37). In verse 38, Jesus agreed to return and gave the reason for His mission. He came to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the children of Israel, the same fulfillment statement St. Mark made in 1:14-15, After John had been arrested, Jesus came to the Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God saying: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel"
Jesus's message is as relevant today as it was to the Jews in the 1st century AD. Repent, believe in the Gospel (good news) of Jesus's gift of eternal salvation, and offer yourself to Him for spiritual healing. Then, commit yourself to Christ and let Him raise you to a new spiritual life. The Greek verb for the "raising" of Peter's mother-in-law is the same verb Jesus used when He commanded Jairus' daughter to "arise" and return to life (Mk 5:41-42), and it will appear again to describe Jesus's Resurrection (Mk 14:28; 16:7). Jesus's promises He will "raise up" to new life all those who believe in Him and come to Him in the waters of Christian Baptism and receive Him in the Eucharist (see Jn 6:40, 44, 54; 1 Cor 6:14; 2 Cor 4:14; baptism is commanded as necessary for salvation in Mk 16:16). And for our part, in gratitude, we should respond in serving the Lord like Simon -Peter's mother-in-law and like St. Paul who, despite personal hardships, committed his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was martyred for his faith.
=============================================================

Added something new this week. When I put the reflections section together I do some research and gather data and then edit it. I save my notes. Last week the scripture study group that I lead at church noticed I was referring to notes other than what I was sharing on the screen. We talked about it and they said they'd like to see those if I wouldn't mind. I said no problem at all. So I mailed them out along with my usual presentation which is what I put here on the web site. They really liked them. So I also added my Additional notes below.

Sunday January 28, 2024 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 71
Reading 1                       Dt 18:15-20

Moses spoke to all the people, saying:
"A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.
This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said,
'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.'
And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,
and will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.
Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name,
I myself will make him answer for it.
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name
an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"


Responsorial Psalm           Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2                             1 Cor 7:32-35

Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.


Gospel                                Mk 1:21-28

Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                       Dt 18:15-20

How do we know if one speaks for God or if God is being used to promote a social or political agenda? This question is as old as the ages, and this text from Deuteronomy goes hand-in-hand with the Gospel lesson from Mark. These questions are asked over and over again about Jesus. Is he the real deal? Is he really speaking for God, or is he just another itinerant prophet?
The literary setting for Deuteronomy is at the end of Moses' life as the wandering Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land. Moses is the only leader they have ever known, and his impending death puts the community in jeopardy. Deuteronomy represents Moses' last words to Israel, both present and future. The style is one of a sermon. In other words, it is not simply information, but it encourages and cajoles, calling the people to belief and a life lived according to God's instruction. It is the equivalent of Moses' ancient life instruction book to the people of Israel.
To fully grasp the meaning of this passage in a modern context, some explanation is necessary. What is the modern equivalent of ancient prophets? First, most people are unfamiliar with exactly what a prophet was in the ancient near eastern context. In biblical times, prophets were not rare. Indeed, 2 Kings tells that the king of Israel had 400 prophets at his disposal (1 Kings 22:6)! The problem was not finding a prophet - it was finding a prophet that was truly speaking for God.
Prophets performed a wide range of functions, including some that are condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. Prophets of the Lord are the mouthpieces for God, and their proclamations are made without the common acts of divination or speaking to dead spirits. Prophets of ancient times should probably be thought of as preachers, for they interpret the word of God to the people. Ancient Prophets, however, were distinct from priests who were responsible for leading the people in worship. The only function of an ancient prophet was to declare the word of God to the people. They did not run meetings or organize the congregation.
You can see the modern day equivalent of prophets any given Saturday in New York City. As you go about your tasks, it is not uncommon to see an individual or a group standing on milk cartons and telling the passersby that "God loves them," or that "they are going to hell," or that "they are one of the lost ten tribes of Israel." This religious cornucopia is now intensified by multiple cable television stations and internet sites. Prophets or preachers are still standing up and telling the people they speak for God. Often the messages are contradictory, and we still wonder which ones are true and which are false.
This passage begins with the reason why prophets are needed. It reaches back to the giving of the law in Exodus 19 and 20. When the people heard God speak they were so frightened, they begged Moses to speak with God and be their mediator. Prophets, then, are selected by God ("I raise up" verses 15, 18; "I will put my words" verse 18; "I command" verse 18) for the sake of the people. Prophets answer to God, not to the people, so they are free to speak the truth. Prophets also come "from among their own people" (verse 18). These speakers of truth are home grown. They know the ways and the hearts of the people they speak to and connect with them. They who speak for God must also be paid attention to, for to ignore their calls is the same as ignoring God (verse 19).
The hanging question is the same today as it was in ancient days: how do we know which of the many preachers/prophets who speak are truly speaking for God? The answer in the text is clear. If what the prophet says comes true, then the prophet is speaking for God. It seems like a good answer, but it does not answer all of our questions. Prophets talk of eternal things and life after death. Some of what they say is simply unknowable in this life. The test in Deuteronomy certainly helps us with some prophets who claim to speak for God, but not all. What is clear is that if a prophet/preacher leads folks astray, it is the prophet and not the people who are at fault. Unfortunately, unscrupulous prophets tend to prey on those who are the weakest and most vulnerable.
This text also speaks to Jesus' life and ministry. His truths were not easy to hear, and eventually it was his truth telling that would result in death on a cross. Some would not believe him because he did not have the right pedigree, and did not hang out with the right people. Others did not believe him because they had already formed their own ideas of what the Messiah was to be, and Jesus' message of grace and forgiveness was nothing like they envisioned. Still others were clear that this was Joseph's son who could not possibly be proclaiming God's will. Yet all of the things in the Deuteronomy text can be shown in Jesus' life, preaching, and death.


Responsorial Psalm           Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

    The psalm’s combination of a double call to worship (the lectionary reading) and a prophetic word is best explained with a liturgical or festival setting. The psalm celebrates and interprets the reign of God in the congregation’s liturgical setting. We might envision a procession, but the specific festival setting has been debated.
Jewish tradition ties the psalm to the beginning of Sabbath; others have suggested the Feast of Tabernacles or a covenant renewal festival. The movement of the psalm does suggest a connection to the beginning of worship, but it is difficult to be more specific. Verses 1-7 offer praise to God in the form of a double call to worship. The first summons to praise is in verses 1-2 followed by reasons for the praise in verses 3-5. The second call to worship in verse 6 narrows the focus to God’s covenant people, and verse 7 gives the reason for that call to praise. The last line of verse 7 introduces a prophetic word from God, an oracle. In contemporary terms, the first seven verses call the congregation to come to worship and the last verses deliver the prophetic word in the tradition of verses 8-11, a call to faithfulness. Re-enacting the liturgical setting helped us all to envision the movement and import of the psalm.
In the book of Psalms, this text comes in a cluster of psalms that celebrate the kingship of YAHWEH, an emphasis appropriate for Christ the King Sunday. The emphasis on YAHWEH’s kingship forms a response to the crisis of exile urgently articulated at the end of Book III in Psalm 89. The Davidic Kingdom has fallen, but the kingship of YAHWEH endures as a sign of hope for the community.
The psalm opens with a call to praise. The rendering “come sing joyfully to the Lord” is probably too tame for the Hebrew verbs that call for shouting and singing aloud, a noisy shout of homage similar to the shouting at the entrance of a human king. The call is for a procession to worship with this joyful singing. The movement is to the outer courts and then toward the sanctuary, the holy place of worship and the place of divine presence.
With verse 3, the liturgist brings the congregation to the reason for offering praise to God. The call to praise followed by the reason the congregation should offer praise is the classic style of praise in the Hebrew Psalter. The reason given in Psalm 95 is that YAHWEH is king, here tied to creation language. God created the world from its depths to its heights, from the sea to the dry land, all the world, and God reigns over it. The psalm begins with the broad realm of creation, a call to praise applicable to all peoples.
Reflecting its common ancient Near Eastern setting, the psalm portrays YAHWEH as preeminent among the gods, as king throughout creation and ruler over the powers of chaos and disorder. God created and reigns over creation. Thus all God’s creatures are called to praise.
The second call to praise narrows the focus. The congregation is now called to come and bow down, to kneel before the creator. The scene is analogous to an encounter with a human king with kneeling and bowing in homage. Now the congregation comes into the presence of the sovereign and bows awaiting a royal declaration. The opening call to worship portrays God as creator and ruler over creation.
The emphasis in the second call to worship is that the congregation belongs to God. God created this people and leads them and provides for them and protects them. The reason for praise in verse 7 alludes to the ancient Near Eastern royal image of God as shepherd of the people. God is “our Maker” and “our God.” The reference reminds the congregation that God’s mighty acts in history created this covenant people.
This double call to worship then makes it clear that God as both creator and redeemer is central to ancient Israel’s faith tradition. These verses at the beginning of Psalm 95 call to mind the familiar Psalm 100. These emphases characterize the cluster of psalms that celebrate the kingship of YAHWEH. The psalm’s concluding verses speak a prophetic warning by bringing to mind historical events in which the community did not trust YAHWEH. The call is to live a life of trust and faithfulness.
The sequence of Psalm 95 is important for readers. The psalm begins with the praise of God and moves to a prophetic warning spoken by God. The warning hopes that the community will trust in God, that is, will live out the praise articulated in verses 1-7. God’s gracious acts of creation and of calling out the community lead to the challenge for a response of praise and of lived faith.
Psalm 95 sings praise to God as sovereign and calls for faithfulness in response, in contrast to their ancestors’ response in the wilderness. So the psalm brings the past to bear on the present liturgical context. Those who do not heed the warning of history may have the misfortune of repeating it. The solemn warning that concludes the psalm hopes for a better response to the praise sung in verses 1-7.

Reading 2                             1 Cor 7:32-35

It is always helpful to understand the context of a scripture. In this instance, it is critical. To understand we must understand the rest of the chapter.
Corinth was an important and wealthy city on the isthmus (narrow strip of land) separating Northern and Southern Greece. The Apostle Paul spent 18 months there on his Second Missionary Journey and established a church there. Acts 18 gives us considerable detail about Paul’s work in Corinth during that time.
At the conclusion of his visit to Corinth, Paul left to visit Ephesus, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Galatia (Acts 18:18-23). After leaving Corinth, Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Corinth warning them “to have no company with sexual sinners” (5:9), but that letter has been lost to us.
Paul is writing this letter in response to a report from Chloe’s people about problems in the Corinthian church (1:11). In this letter, he provides apostolic guidance for dealing with those problems.
In chapters 1-6, Paul dealt with problems brought to his attention by people from Corinth. Now, in chapter 7, he begins to address “the things about which you wrote to me” (7:1).
First, he addresses a slogan of these Corinthian Christians, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (7:1). This slogan is an expression of asceticism—self-denial as a spiritual discipline.
We need to keep in mind that Corinth is a Greek city and these Corinthian Christians have been influenced by Greek philosophy, which tends toward dualism. Dualism sees the physical (such as the human body) as intrinsically evil and the spiritual (such as the soul) as good. The slogan, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” is consistent with Greek dualism—but at odds with the Judaism and Christianity, which see the whole person—indivisible body and soul. Corinthian Christians probably felt comfortable quoting this slogan to Paul, because Paul was unmarried and had expressed his preference for that state (as he does in this chapter, in verse 8).
In chapter 15, Paul will deal with another expression of dualism. Some Corinthian Christians said that “there is no resurrection of the dead” (15:12)—a belief consistent with Greek dualism but not with the Christian faith. In that chapter, Paul will emphasize strongly the bodily resurrection of Christ—and the Christian hope of bodily resurrection “at the last trumpet” (15:52).
In 7:1-24, Paul seeks to reorient these Corinthian Christians—to draw them away from an ascetic focus (emphasizing self-denial) to an eschatological focus (emphasizing the Second Coming of Christ). In the process, he answers a series of questions about marriage and divorce:
• Should a married couple refrain from conjugal relations? Paul answers, “Don’t deprive one another” (7:5).
• Should the unmarried remain that way? Preferably! (7:8-9).
• Should Christians who are married to unbelievers divorce their spouses? No! (7:10-16).
• Should men who have been circumcised try to reverse the procedure? (How would one do that?) Should men who have not been circumcised seek circumcision? Paul answers “Let each man stay in that calling in which he was called” (7:20).
• Should slaves seek freedom? Paul answers “Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God” (7:24).
The key to understanding Paul’s advice on these matters is found in our scripture text for this week. “The time is short” (7:29a). “For the mode of this world passes away” (7:31b). Paul is looking for the Second Coming of Christ, which he believes to be imminent. Therefore, Christians shouldn’t allow themselves to be distracted by lesser concerns. They should maintain a steady state, insofar as possible—not marrying—not divorcing—not being circumcised—not seeking freedom from slavery. His counsel reflects his belief that the Second Coming is just around the corner.
The question, then, is what this text has to do with us. After waiting two thousand years for Christ to come, we are less likely to believe that he will come in the next few months or years (although, hopefully, we have not lost hope that he will, indeed, come again).
What this text calls us to do is to maintain an eschatological (end of time) perspective— to appreciate the fact that Jesus’ death and resurrection ushered in a new era—to remember that, as Christians, we live with one foot in this world and the other foot in the kingdom of God.
If we can maintain an eschatological perspective, it will buy us a great deal of freedom. We can carry on with normal lives—marrying, working, raising children, and planning for retirement—but without succumbing to the kind of preoccupation with material things that always threatens to ensnare us.
It is difficult to live in a world that celebrates sex, money, and power as ultimate values without being affected by that perspective. However, events occasionally intrude on our lives and force us to think more deeply. When the doctor says “cancer”—or when we learn that our child has been in a bad accident—or when a spouse dies—suddenly the things that seemed so important a few minutes earlier fade into the background. In the crisis, we quickly reorient ourselves to that which is truly important.
This text calls us to live that kind of refocused life as a matter of course.


Gospel                                Mk 1:21-28

To attribute symptoms of shouting and convulsing with possession by an unclean spirit is not consonant with our understanding of the causes of mental or physical illness. Exorcism may appear alien. Jesus’ confrontation in the synagogue has been read as Jesus teaching over and against “Judaism,” while it is more historically accurate to see Jesus’ deeds and words, his ‘new teaching” to make sense within, and not outside, the ideals of Jewish covenant faithfulness.
Within the narrative world of the gospel of Mark, this encounter is the first public deed of power in his ministry. The story sets up the conflict that structures the first half of the gospel and that was displayed in the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness. It is the conflict between the power of evil, associated with Satan (Beelzebul, Mark 3:22) and demons and the power of God exercised through Jesus. This cosmic conflict is reflected in the earthly realm by the struggle of Jesus with demons, the controversy between Jesus and “scribes and Pharisees,” and the tension between Jesus and his “mother, sisters, and brothers” (Mark 3:31-35).
The cosmic conflict has a social political dimension; possession by demons (legion) is parallel to occupation of the countryside by Roman power (Mark 5:1-13) The conflict is described in violent terms “have you come to destroy us?” Elsewhere it is likened to a battle for ownership of a house (Mark 3:21-27). People who suffer the effects of being occupied or “possessed” by demons lose their ability to control their movements and their voices; either they are immobilized or compelled to move destructively (Mark 9:20-22). They are self-destructive (Mark 5:5). Exorcism by Jesus results in healing and restoration.
In this episode the authority of Jesus’ teaching contrasts with that of the scribes and is paired with his dramatic and effective exorcism of the unclean spirit. Those who witness it are amazed both by the authority of his teaching and his authority over the unclean spirits. The impact of his actions causes his reputation to grow throughout Galilee.
Within the account of the exorcism is a dialogue, initiated by the unclean spirit(s) who calls Jesus of Nazareth by name and appears to know his purpose -- “have you come to destroy us?” The unclean spirit makes a demonic “confession”/recognition and calls him “the holy one of God.” Jesus’ responds by commanding him to “Be silent” and to “come out of him.” That the unclean spirit is the first to name Jesus and acknowledge his power is an early instance of Mark’s ironic reversals and surprises. Evil forces have the most to lose in the coming of Jesus and the “good news.” Apprehending the threat Jesus poses, the spirit exits the man with one last spasmodic movement and one final cry.
The possession by demons illustrates the reality of evil and gives it, even for modern hearers, a shape and a sound. In this first skirmish, Jesus prevails, but not without the unclean spirit protesting and acting out. The voice of the prophet crying in the empty wilderness, the voice from heaven speaking at the baptism, and here the voice of the man, which is at the same time, the voice of the unclean spirit, who shouts and cries out the name of Jesus, not with admiration but with fear. Is the cry with a loud voice with which he comes out, a death rattle, or a curse? As the story proceeds the opposing forces will gather strength, will do more damage, and will seem to silence Jesus himself (Mark 14:61). Jesus commands the spirit to “be silent” with the same word as he commands the sea to “be still” “be silent” (Mark 4:39). He rebukes the unclean spirit, the sea (Mark 4:30) and even Peter (Mark 8:33).
There are risks in identifying the forces of evil and of God in contemporary struggles too, specifically, particularly if one assumes oneself and ones’ own “people” to be on the side of God. The community that performed and heard Mark’s gospel, was powerless and poor in a country occupied by a powerful empire. The theological imagination of the victory of God’s power over illness, disability, and danger was for them, lifesaving good news.
The ancient world view that attributes illness to unclean spirits that lies behind this story, although outdated medically, does dramatize forces that wreak havoc within individual, communities, and countries -- mental illness, addiction, sexual abuse, and racial hatred. The gospel proclaims Jesus’ “authority” over even the most unclean of spirits that continue to take us over.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Let’s assume that you would like to learn a new skill—you want to learn to play the piano. What are some requirements that you should include on your list of qualifications for a piano instructor? (a degree in music, experience with the instrument, experience with teaching, and so on) Would it be enough to find a person who could read music? Is it enough to look for someone who has a college degree in music? No, when looking for the best piano teacher, we usually look for someone who has both a music degree and experience in playing the piano and teaching students.
What do we mean when someone is said to “walk the walk and talk the talk”? (It means that there is consistency between the person’s words and actions.) Why is this important? (People are credible if their actions and words are consistent.)
In today's Gospel we saw one of the ways in which Jesus’ actions demonstrated the power and authority behind his words.
How did the people respond to Jesus’ teachings and healings? (They were amazed and astonished; they recognized that he spoke and acted with authority.)
As people of faith, we want others to observe consistency between our words and actions. In what ways does the Church demonstrate the power of the words we teach about Jesus? (through outreach to the poor and the sick, in our work for justice, and so on) In particular, when we act with justice toward others, we demonstrate the authority and power of what we believe about God.
Conclude in prayer that people will observe in our actions for justice the authority and power of our faith in God. Pray the

The Temple hierarchy sent a delegation of priests and Levites to question John the Baptism and ask him if he was the promised prophet (Jn 1:19-21).
The Samaritan woman recognized that Jesus was a prophet (Jn 4:19).
After Jesus fed the over 5,000 men on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Seeing the sign that he had done, the people said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world" (Jn 6:14).
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecies of Jacob-Israel and the prophet Zechariah (Gen 49:11 and Zec 9:9), the people shouted the messianic greeting, "Hosanna to the son of David." And other people asked, "Who is this man," the Jewish crowd answered, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in the Galilee" (Mt 21:10-11).

For Christians, a single event in the Gospels unquestionably reveals that Jesus isn't just "a prophet," but He is the promised prophet in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. God's command in Deuteronomy is that the people must listen to the prophet like Moses that He will send to speak His words. On the Mt. of Transfiguration, when Jesus revealed Himself in His glory to the Apostles Peter, James, and John in the presence of Moses and Elijah, the Apostles heard a voice from heaven commanding: "This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor.  Listen to him" (Mt 17:5; emphasis added; also see Mk 9:7; Lk 9:35). The command to "listen," found in all three Synoptic Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, is the same command to "listen" in Deuteronomy 18:19. Also, Jesus testified to the divine origin of His words when He said: "And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me" (Jn 14:24) in fulfillment of Moses' prophecy that the future prophet like him would speak the word of God.
Jesus also revealed to the Jewish crowd that He was the prophet Moses prophesied and wrote about in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. Jesus said: "Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you have placed your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be the one who accuses you. If you really believed him, you would believe me too, since it was about me that he was writing; but if you will not believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?" (Jn 5:45-47). And, in his teaching at the Temple after Pentecost, St. Peter spoke of the promise of Christ's Second Coming and referred to the prophecy of "a prophet like Moses" in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. Peter told the Jewish crowd: "Then he will send you the Christ he has predestined, that is Jesus, whom heaven must keep till the universal restoration comes which God proclaimed, speaking through his holy prophets. Moses, for example, said, 'From among your brothers the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me; you will listen to whatever he tells you. Anyone who refuses to listen to that prophet shall be cut off from the people.' In fact, all the prophets that have ever spoken, from Samuel onwards, have predicted these days" (Acts 3:20-24 NJB). Later, addressing the Sanhedrin and giving his witness of Jesus as the Messiah, St. Stephen referred to the same prophecy (Acts 7:37).
The prophet was God's representative to the people when the civil and religious authorities neglected to fulfill their duties as holy leaders. In the name of God, the prophets chastised priests and kings who failed the covenant people, like the prophets Samuel (1 Sam 3:19-4:1) and Nathan (2 Sam 12:1-15). They also called down the judgments of covenant lawsuits upon an apostate covenant people like the prophets Isaiah (Is 1:2-4; 34:8), Jeremiah (Jer 1:16; 11:1-8), Ezekiel (Ez 11:10-12; 17:19-21), Hosea (2:4/2-15/13; 12:3/2), and Jesus of Nazareth (Mt 24:31-36). Jesus Christ is God's supreme prophet, whose words are the pathway to life for all who hear and obey! The Virgin Mary gave the best advice for us in this regard when she told the servants at the wedding at Cana: "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn 2:5)!

Responsorial Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7a, 7b-9
In the opening two verses, the psalmist gives an invitation to come to the Lord in worship, an invitation he will repeat in verse 6. The invitation suggests this was a psalm that faithful pilgrims sang on the journey to the Jerusalem Temple. Verses 6-7a express the psalm's theme: God is our Divine King and Creator who nourishes and guides us as a shepherd cares for his flock.
In verse 7b, we hear the voice of God speaking to His people, calling them to listen to His voice today!  It is a message that echoes down through salvation history. Verses 8-10 carry God's warning to all generations that those who hear His voice. They must not act like the children of Israel when they tested Him in the wilderness journey out of Egypt at Meribah (Ex 17:1-7) and Massah (Num 20:2-13). On both occasions, the Israelites hardened their hearts against God. They "tempted" and "tested" Him by questioning His goodness and fidelity and attempted to force Him to act in their favor as if His previous deeds and acts of mercy were not enough to prove His love for the people. Do not test God in your unbelief; be faithful, obedient, and believe!

The Second Reading 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Writing in the spring of AD 57, St. Paul tells the Corinthian Christians in 7:25 that he has no direction from the Lord in these matters but is giving his opinion. He believed it best for Christians to remain as they were: the married to stay married and the celibate to remain celibate (1 Cor 7:26-28). Paul also expressed the opinion that in answering the call to devote one's life to the Lord, it is a commitment better achieved in a state of celibacy to not have a heart divided between the Lord and family obligations.
In Matthew chapter 19, Jesus also raised the question of a consecrated celibacy when He said: "Some are incapable of marriage ... because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it" (Mt 19:12 NAB). For this reason, the Latin Rite of the Church requests the commitment of a celibate priesthood as a discipline of greater devotion. The Catechism teaches: "All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate 'for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.' Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to 'the affairs of the Lord,' they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart, celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God" (CCC 1579 quoting Mt 19:12 and 1 Cor 7:32). Catholic priests in the Latin Rite live in imitation of Christ, who was Himself celibate. The Church also welcomes the service of consecrated virgins who live together in a life of chastity in service to God and humanity in imitation of the Virgin Mary, who was a virgin her entire life (see CCC 1618-20).

The Gospel of Mark 1:21-28

After His baptism by John the Baptist in Perea on the east side of the Jordan River (Mk 1:9-11; Jn 1:28) and His temptation (Mk 1:12-13), Jesus traveled north to the region of the Galilee and the fishing village of Capernaum. The covenant people worshipped, prayed, and offered their sacrifices at the liturgical worship services that took place twice daily, seven days a week, at God's holy Jerusalem Temple.   They could also observe the Sabbath obligation at their local village Synagogue when they prayed as a community and studied Scripture. As a faithful member of the covenant community, Jesus kept the Sabbath obligation in the Capernaum Synagogue. Our New Covenant worship services have elements of both the Synagogue and the Temple. We study the Word of God in the Liturgy of the Word and take part in the sacrifice by coming forward to the holy altar to offer our lives to Christ and receiving His gift of grace in the Eucharist.
In verse 22, the people compared Jesus' teaching to the scribes. Unlike the scribes, Jesus taught with authority and a genuine understanding of Sacred Scripture. The scribes and Pharisees were part of the Old Covenant religious leadership. From the beginning of Jesus' ministry, these two groups continually challenged Jesus' teaching authority. The scribes were usually Levites (the lesser ministers who served the chief priests) and received training as teachers of the Law. The Pharisees were the most influential religious sect in first-century AD Judea, and many scribes aligned themselves with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were strict interpreters of the Law and considered themselves more righteous than the ordinary covenant members they held in contempt. They also controlled the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. Jesus will severely chastise the Pharisees for their lack of charity and hypocrisy on His last teaching day in Jerusalem before His Passion when He calls them a "brood of vipers" (see Mt 23:1-36). The other sects with influence in this period were the Sadducees (mostly represented by the chief priests and the Herodian aristocracy) and the ultra-conservative Essenes. The Essenes lived in cities and separate communities, dedicating themselves to asceticism, voluntary poverty, mysticism, and daily ritual immersion (baptisms of repentance and purification).
In verses 23-26, Jesus healed a man possessed by an "unclean spirit." The "spirit" is "unclean" because it resists the holiness of God. The demon-spirit knows and fears Jesus, recognizing not only His true identity but His divine power. Demons are spiritual beings that are the fallen angels created by God to be good but who, through their own free will choice, became evil by rebelling against God to follow Satan, himself once an angel (see Rev 12:7-9 and CCC 391-95). Jesus commanded the spirit to be silent when it called out His true identity in verse 25. Jesus did not want a demon spirit to witness to His true identity. His identity had to be revealed slowly through His acts and His teachings.
Many commentators see Jesus' unfolding story in St. Mark's Gospel as centered on the "mystery" of His true identity and the mystery of God's divine plan that Jesus came to fulfill. The Greek word "mysterion" in the singular is used just once in Mark 4:11, and its context in that passage is the "kingdom" of Jesus Christ. "Mysterion" in the singular does not appear in the other Gospels where it only appears in the plural (Mt 13:11; Lk 8:10). The word only appears in the singular again in Romans 16:25. It is "the mystery" associated with Jesus' true identity as the Kingdom of God incarnate and God's reign that is breaking into the world to radically alter human life forever. Related to this revelation of the Kingdom is the sense that Jesus' true identity must remain a secret until the climax of His mission. Concerning the mystery of Jesus' true identity in Mark's Gospel:

Demons knew it and were silenced (1:44, 3:11; 5:5).
The disciples came to understand His true identity but were warned not to reveal it (1:44; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30).
Jesus taught in parables to conceal His mission and identity to those "outside" the Kingdom who were not willing to understand. God only granted understanding of the mystery to those who embraced Christ with an open heart (4:10-12).

Following Jesus' example of casting out demon spirits who torment humans, the Church has always recognized the need for freeing victim souls from the power of demon spirits through the rite of exorcism (CCC 1673). The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation offer protection from demon spirits through the filling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the soul of the believer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday JANUARY 14, 2024   Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 65

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                   1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19

Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."

At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.

Responsorial Psalm             Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Reading II                       1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20

Brothers and sisters:
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.

Gospel                                     Jn 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1               1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19


The opening chapters of 1 Samuel provide background for the institution of Israel’s monarchy.
After a narrative on Hannah’s unlikely pregnancy (1 Samuel 1) and her accompanying prayer (1 Samuel 2), 1 Samuel 3 describes the call narrative for the Israelite leader.
The story is familiar to many of us. Eli is aged, both physically and emotionally from the parenting heartaches at the end of 1 Samuel 2. And as the young Samuel ministers under Eli, he hears God’s voice three times. Upon finally realizing through Eli’s direction that this was, indeed, the voice of God, he gives his stunning answer in verse 10, “Speak for your servant is listening.” The word of God to Samuel reveals the next phase of God’s activity and in revealing to Samuel, his prophetic credibility is established.
But within this familiar story, sometimes we can miss certain details in our reading. Those details are exegetically significant, as the Bible tends to be laconic.

“The word of the Lord was rare/precious; visions were not frequent” (1 Samuel 3:1).

Eli’s eyes are dim (1 Samuel 3:2).

Samuel is confused, not just average confused, but really confused.

“Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:7).

“yet”

Try to imagine that you are seeking information about a sports team or a club that you wish to join. What are some things that you could do to find out if this particular sport or club is something you want to be a part of? (Read information about the team or club, research what other people or organizations report about the team or club, talk to other people who have been part of the team in the past or who have been members of the club, or talk to current members.) Now think about which method of information gathering would be the most persuasive and helpful to your decision making.
The ideas you named above would be helpful in providing the information you need. But the experiences of other people are often more persuasive than other forms of information. Advertisements are good examples of ways in which information is provided by presenting the experiences that people have had with a particular product. In today’s Gospel, we learned how Jesus’ first disciples learned about Jesus.
Who does the Gospel say was the first to tell people about Jesus? (John the Baptist) Who was next? (Andrew and another disciple) Whom did Andrew tell? (his brother, Simon) The first community of Jesus’ disciples learned about Jesus from other people. When these people came to Jesus, they learned for themselves who Jesus was, and then they wanted to be his followers.
This is one of the most important aspects of our faith. No one is a disciple of Jesus alone. To be a follower of Jesus is to be part of a community of disciples. Today we call that community the Church.
Conclude in prayer that the Church will continue to witness to others all that we have learned about Jesus. Pray the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.

=======================================================

Sunday JANUARY 7, 2024 The Epiphany of the Lord

Lectionary: 20

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                     Is 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.

R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Reading 2                          Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Gospel                            Mt 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage."
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel."
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage."
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                     Is 60:1-6

I believe that, as preachers, we must always begin from this simple but poignant realization. Too easily can we craft the words of proclamation by slipping beyond the limit imposed by context. We shape an overarching narrative to bolster a particular viewpoint (our own viewpoint, our own cultural bias), applying the story to ourselves without much disruption of practice. The prophetic voice, however, always calls for disruption of some sort, even in its most jubilant and comforting exclamations.
Too simplistically, we can read Isaiah 60 on Epiphany and conjure up images of the three magi bearing gifts, finally making it to the manger. We can reduce epiphany to a cute story that satisfies our deepest longing for narrative integrity. And yet, epiphany is so much more than a story of three magi. Even of that story, T. S. Eliot writes, “I should be glad of another death.”1
The liturgical season that Isaiah 60 inaugurates is a season of revelation. Epiphany, in the early church, was not about the arrival of the magi but the revelation of Jesus Christ, at his baptism, to the whole world as God’s only and beloved child. Epiphany is God’s self-revelation to the world, the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. It was one of the three major feasts of the liturgical calendar around which faith communities organized the rhythms of their life: Easter, Epiphany, Pentecost (not Christmas or a nativity scene or magi!).
Isaiah 60 is part of Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66). Rather than being the voice of one prophet, it is assumed that this prophecy arises out of the Isaianic school, a school of disciples dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the prophecies of first and second Isaiah, as well as speaking those prophecies to a new and complex situation. There are several passages in Third Isaiah that are almost direct citations from Second Isaiah (including the text for today -- see Isaiah 49:12, 18).
Third Isaiah is situated in the sixth century BCE as the exiles from Babylonian returned to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, a major conflict had arisen between those who remained and those who returned. Living conditions were extremely difficult. Jerusalem was in ruins. The people were now divided again not against some outside threat or enemy but among themselves.
The remnant associated with the Isaianic school were on the margins of power. They were a small group. It is possible that they were embattled against those who had much more narrow, exclusionist understanding of what it meant to serve God (rather than the inclusive position argued in Third Isaiah where, for example, even foreigners and eunuchs can serve at the altar).
When reading Isaiah 60 publicly, without also reading at least the preceding chapter, the radical irruption of light and glory, consolation and joy is missed. Chapters 58 and 59 are characterized by gloom, by despair, by a call to repentance (the ways of the wicked are crooked, our transgressions are many, our sins testify against us). They are also marked by a yearning for light and glory to come (we wait for the light but there is only darkness).
The opening line of Isaiah 60 is like a thunderbolt of glory (exegetes, of course, interpret this sudden change of tone to different editorial sources). What surprises the reader or hearer is the abruptness of the shift from doom and gloom to light and glory. Perhaps what is most surprising in this shift is God’s response to the people’s crooked ways and their sense of despair: they are not to mend their ways first (out of fear) rather God comes, God irrupts, God arises and shines forth in glory!
This coming, this shining forth is unconditional. God is always a God whose glory is salvific. The people’s repentance, the mending of ways, the living out of justice is a response to this coming! It is not an attempt to be made right with God but it is thanksgiving for the one who comes, who reveals life and salvation in the midst of the community.
God’s glory in the Hebrew scripture is always God’s presence. The glory of the Lord appears in the wilderness when the people complain about lacking food and God promises manna; when the Arc of the Covenant is completed, the glory of the Lord descends and fills it so that even Moses could not enter it; when Moses asks to see God’s glory, God responds, “You cannot see my face”; it is the glory of the Lord that fills the sanctuary in Isaiah 6 (Holy! Holy! Holy! Kabod in Hebrew – Glory! Glory! Glory!). Throughout the Hebrew scriptures God’s presence, God’s very own face, is designated by glory. God does not posses glory -- God is glory.
Now this glory and light arises among the people, it is the Lord who arises among them, giving what the Lord gives: life and salvation. But this giving is not just for the remnant of Israel, it is not just for those who have returned from exile, but for all the nations. Now, all the nations will come with what is specific to them -- their own little “glories” -- and bring them to the Lord. Just as in Isaiah 6, the Temple could not contain the glory now also here, the people of Israel cannot contain it. The presence of God expands outwards toward the whole cosmos.
A sermon based on today’s texts might want to embody this glory in a doxological manner. Who is this God who now enters into our midst? Who is this God who now actually shows us God’s face, the face of a child? God’s glory is no longer far off in some heavenly realm, experienced as a cloud, but it is calling all people together. Even the story of the magi is a call of a radical responsibility toward all those who have been excluded from our classical narrative. All are swept up in singing a cosmic doxology.

Responsorial Psalm                    Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.

In America, the relationship between political leadership and faith matters is tenuous, superficial, and rather manipulative.
Candidates know that they must declare their spiritual mettle in order to win elections, and once in a while a pastor like Billy Graham makes a cameo appearance in the White House.
For ancient Israel, God and the things of God were prior to and at the heart of things political. God’s prophets were even in position to bring down divine judgment on a reigning king. Psalm 72 is a remarkable hymn, a prayer we believe was used on the day of a new king’s coronation -- and many believe the prayer would have been repeated annually at a festival of the king’s enthronement.
With some imagination, we can picture the raucous day. Still grieving the previous king’s death (or perhaps harboring a sense of relief that he was no more), caravans of citizens would gather around the hillsides of Jerusalem. Hearing the blowing of the shofar, they would gather for worship, for the anointing of the one they fantasized might just be a king like David, the kind of king they had prayed for so long.
A magnificent, noisy, joyful procession would make its way from down in the valleys of Kidron and Hinnom up the spur of the hill, winding past the royal palace (which archaeologists now believe they have uncovered!) toward the temple. Horns blaring, dancers somersaulting, crowds shouting, then a hushed silence as the sacred oil was poured by the high priest over the young king’s head, soaking into his hair and garments, soiling his feet and the ground. See the moment -- and read Psalm 72.
The very notion of praying for a ruler is instructive. What if Americans measured the amount of time they expend complaining about a president or governor or mayor and instead of grousing, actually offered up intensive prayers for the leader in question? The Episcopalians prescribe, as part of their weekly worship regimen, prayers for the president (or for the queen if the praying is being done in the British Commonwealth). During campaigns, many voters are terrified that if the one they are not supporting wins, catastrophe will strike. But wouldn’t it make sense, if that dreaded candidate is elected, that we pray constantly that we will be proven wrong, and that the new leader will in fact prosper?
But even if we pray for a leader, what would the objective be? We might pray for military success, or wizardry with the economy, a quelling of political opposition, or the greatness of our nation. In Psalm 72, we overhear something very different, and we should be uneasy.
The Psalm begins by asking God to “Give the king Your justice… and Your righteousness… May he defend the cause of the poor, and give deliverance to the needy.” Such a campaign in our day would be lambasted as “liberal,” and a debate would be touched off about governmental programs versus private sector aid or, more likely, the conversation would drift toward blaming the poor, and insisting they get busy and take care of themselves.
The cluster of Hebrew terms used in these phrases is telling. “Justice” is not fairness or the good being rewarded and the wicked punished. Rather, mishpat (“justice”) is the Bible’s subversive term for God’s desired state of affairs: mishpat is when the poorest are cared for. A society is just to the degree to which every person has enough and is lifted up; a king is measured, not by hordes of chariots or the gold in the treasury, but by whether the cause of the poor was defended, whether the needy were delivered. Similarly, “righteousness” isn’t smug goodness; zedekah (“righteousness”) is being in sync with God’s ways, embodying God’s will.
Sadly, modern church people in America tend to vote for the more conservative candidates who are prepared to shirk any responsibility for caring for the needy. Not only that, many congregations themselves do little to nothing to engage the poor, advocate for their cause, or ensure that those who oppress the needy are fought tooth and nail. Psalm 72 is an ancient liturgy, a museum piece of an old prayer, but the designs of God that shout from its verses echo across the centuries and raise hard questions pointed right at today’s church.
The most fascinating verse in Psalm 72 is the verse 11: “May all kings fall down before him.” Israel was a small time power, forced into subservience more often than relishing independence. The other kings most certainly would not be falling down before him! Was this national pride? A fantasy? A sick dream? Or a Messianic hint, that in God’s good time, God’s king would be the one before whom all would bow (Philippians 2:10).
But notice why those kings in verse 11 will bow down: “For he delivers the needy when he calls… He has pity on the weak… From oppression he redeems their life” (verses 12 and 13). Other kings never do such things; but one day the truth will be made palpable, and they will realize the wisdom, wonder, and grace of God’s way.
The lectionary mandates that this Psalm be read on January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas, the Epiphany. What a perfect time to weigh God’s desires for leadership, to contemplate what God would like to see done down here for the oppressed, for those who have nothing! The greens we wear and with which we decorate our sanctuaries intimate the growth and life that are the natural result of God have come down to earth to be the kind of King that not only was wanted by God, but desperately needed by God’s people.
During Epiphany, when leaves do not yet hang from the trees, and our yards and the fields are brown and lifeless, we look to God for the Spring to come, for a new day when we give life, and abundantly. Psalm 72:6 dreams that the king will be “like rain that falls… like showers that water the earth.” We are not purveyors of death or condemnation, and we do not dwell in oblivion in our fortress churches. We go out into the world, and seek to be the Body of Christ, to be Jesus out in the world, the Jesus who was the king prayed for over so many centuries.

Reading 2                          Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season for the church calendar.
By the sixth day in January, the wider society has long moved past the celebrations of Christmas. Employees have returned to work, children have returned to school, and stores are beginning to set out Valentine’s merchandise.
The church, on the other hand, persists a full 12 days after Christmas Day to remember the visit of the wise men to the young Jesus as recorded in Matthew’s gospel (2:1–12). First noted in the fourth century, this celebration of the revelation of God to humanity called the faithful to reflect upon the awesome reality of the Incarnation. God became man; in Christ, the two natures were neither confused nor divided. The revelation of this unity prepared the way for another, for the Gentiles to be joined with God’s people Israel.
It is the revelation of this second mystery that Paul proclaims in Ephesians 3. Actually, this mystery seems to be forefront in his mind from the very beginning of the letter. He hints at it in the first chapter when he declares that his readers have been chosen by God for adoption, a description fitting for those who were not born into the people of God (2:11).
Then, in chapter 2, he describes the mystery explicitly. They, as Gentiles, were formerly separate from God and his people, but now in Christ, the two have been made one (2:12-13). Because of his proclamation of this mystery, Paul is a prisoner (3:1). If we look to Luke’s narrative in Acts, Paul ends up in chains because the Jewish leadership finds great offense at this aspect of his message and actions, namely that he teaches “against the law” and “brings Greeks into the Temple” (Acts 21:28).
Paul, however, seems undaunted by his circumstances. In his view, this is the task to which God has called him, to administer this aspect of God’s grace. His tone conveys a sense of grateful awe that God saw fit to reveal this great mystery to him. For Paul, Epiphany is not just one day, but describes his entire life and calling. He preaches, and subsequently he has been imprisoned for this preaching, because God has revealed this mystery to him. Paul mentions that he wrote about this mystery briefly before. It is not clear if he is referring to his statements in chapters 1 and 2 of this letter or if this refers to another letter to the Ephesians to which we no longer have access.
Even if we are missing another explanation, thankfully, Paul’s description of his understanding of the mystery seems clear from the following verses. The Spirit has now made known what in former times was concealed, namely that the Gentiles are now fellow heirs, fellow members of the same body, and fellow participants in the promises.
A compact reference to Paul’s extended discussions in Galatians and Romans, Ephesians 3:6 asserts the reality that in Christ through the gospel, those who were once not God’s people have been grafted in and become children of the promise. Paul now serves this mystery and does so because God’s power energizes him. This task has cost Paul his freedom. Nevertheless, he does not do it begrudgingly, but gratefully.

The rich alternative economy in which grace comes to unexpected recipients is not a new thing according to Paul’s understanding. It might have just recently been revealed to the apostles and prophets, of whom Paul considers himself to be the least important, as he, a former persecutor, was the last (1 Corinthians 15:8), but Paul finds proclamations of God’s gracious mystery in Israel’s Scriptures to make his case.
Even more, he asserts here that the mystery has been hidden with God, who is the creator of all things, suggesting that this mystery has always been God’s plan. This hunch proves correct in the following verse. This mystery in Christ -- Lord over all peoples, both Jew and Gentiles -- was the eternal plan of God, but only in the last days has God made it evident and begun its fulfillment. When God brings these groups together -- Jew and Gentile -- the church displays the creative diversity of his wisdom. It is not just Paul, the other apostles, or even the Ephesians who now can see this mystery, but also the authorities and rulers (3:10).
Paul might have in mind those Jewish leaders who instigated his imprisonment, but also the heavenly authorities, the spiritual forces whom ancients believed wielded control over the functions of the visible world. The Ephesians now have boldness and confident access to God, an amazing statement for those who would have had no access to the presence of God as manifest in the Jewish temple. Now that the mystery has been revealed, those who were excluded are now included. As they trust Jesus’ faithful actions, which display the faithfulness of God to his ancient plan, they can participate as full members of the people of God.
The great celebration of the Incarnation, according to Paul, flows into the great celebration of the church. As we exhibit unity -- of different races, classes, and genders (as Paul says in Galatians 3:28) -- we display the mystery of God who brings all his creation together in the unity of the God-man, the Jewish baby worshipped by the Gentile kings from the East.

Gospel                            Mt 2:1-12

God is so determined to proclaim the “good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10) that God reaches beyond fields in the region around Bethlehem to “the East” (some scholars say Persia).
God reaches beyond shepherds at the bottom of the barrel to Wise Ones at the top. God reaches beyond people scared witless by God’s glory to those who observe the glorious star at its rising, and methodically, persistently, and sincerely follow it to a king. All along the way, God directs them, first by a star, then via a verse from Micah, and finally in their dreams.
Yes, I am aware that I am conflating Matthew and Luke; this is precisely what the liturgical year does as well. Preachers overly concerned about biblical literacy might use this occasion to untangle the Christmas story in order to teach that the Magi never made it to the manger. But then the preacher needs to explain that Matthew makes no mention of a manger. Better to save this for Sunday School and preach the Epiphany gospel in its liturgical and calendar context.
That said, in our church we move our Magi from one spot to another during the days of Christmas, rather than placing them in the crèche on Christmas Eve, and only bring them to “the house [where] they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage” (Matthew 2:11) on Epiphany. Placing the Magi in the manger on Christmas Eve misses how far God reaches to ensure that all people -- emphasize all -- receive the good news of Christ’s birth.
While Christian tradition holds that the Magi were kings (an interesting contrast between these kings’ response to Jesus’ birth and the way Herod, king of God’s people, responded), a more precise description might be that the Magi belonged to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, which paid particular attention to the stars. This priestly caste gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science.
So these Wise Ones from the East were scientists and practiced other religions, and God used their faith and knowledge to bring them to the Christ. More ironic, God used scientists who practiced other religions to let King Herod and the chief priests and scribes of the people in on the news that their Messiah had been born.
God seems to do whatever it takes to reach out to and embrace all people. God announces the birth of the Messiah to shepherds through angels on Christmas, to Magi via a star on Epiphany, and to the political and religious authorities of God’s own people through visitors from the East. From a manger, where a child lies wrapped in bands of cloth, God’s reach, God’s embrace in Christ Jesus, gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Jesus eats with outcasts and sinners. Jesus touches people who are sick and people who live with disabilities. Jesus even calls the dead back to life. Ultimately, Jesus draws all people to himself as he is lifted up on the cross. In Christ Jesus, no one is beyond God’s embrace.
God’s radical grace is wondrously frightening. I experience a bit of a shudder as I think of the implications of portraying the Magi as scientists who practiced another religion, because to do so pushes me to expand my understanding of both the ways God reaches out to people to announce good news in and through Christ and what it means for individuals to have faith and for gatherings of the faithful to be church.
The Magi did not come looking for the Christ through preaching, liturgy, sacrament, a welcoming congregation, or a vital social ministry. They came seeking the Christ after studying the night skies. As someone who holds on to favorite, cherished ways that God works to proclaim the gospel and bring people to faith, it’s always wondrously frightening to realize anew that God’s own work of embracing all people is more “mystery” than “formula,” because God’s ways are always bigger than my understanding.
The alternative, of course, is to join Herod in not seeing God’s ever-expanding embrace, or feeling threatened by it, and instead giving way to just plain fear: “When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3). Herod jealously reached out himself, just far enough to violently protect his place and preserve his power.
We too can feel jealous when visitors show up seeking Christ due to experiences outside of our purview and control. We have our own ways of reaching out, just far enough to slaughter someone’s experiences of God’s grace for the sake of our patterns, practices, and perspectives. And so the stage is set for another liturgical year of proclaiming Christ overcoming the conflict between God’s ever expanding embrace and our need to protect and preserve, a drama resolved on the cross and continuing in our day.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think of the best gift you ever received. What was it? What made it special? Was it the gift itself, the thought that went into it, or the person who gave it to you?
Many people around the world give gifts on the feast of the Epiphany instead of giving gifts on Christmas. As we read today’s Gospel, it might become clear why that is.
What gifts were given to Jesus by the Magi? (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) Let me tell you a bit about each of these. Gold is familiar to most of us. We associate gold with wealth and royalty. Frankincense was often used by priests for worship in the Temple. Myrrh is a perfume and was used to prepare a body after death. We often understand this gift to foretell Jesus’ suffering and death.
What made these gifts special? (Accept all reasonable answers.) These gifts showed that the Magi truly recognized the infant Jesus for who he would be for them and for us: Savior. We too are called this season to offer our gifts to Jesus. What might we offer to show that we recognize who Jesus is? (Accept all reasonable answers.)
Conclude by praying that we will always recognize Jesus as our Savior, as the Magi did. Sing or say the song “We Three Kings.”

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

Born a king on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign

Oh, star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light

Myrrh is mine, it's bitter perfume
Breaths a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

Oh, star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There were two readings available this week I chose the first , not sure what you missal has.

Sunday December 31. 2023 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Lectionary: 17

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                  Sir 3:2-6, 12-14

God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.

Responsorial Psalm                              Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Reading 2                                                  Col 3:12-21

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

Gospel                                                       Lk 2:22-40

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
They took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
—and you yourself a sword will pierce--
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                       Sir 3:2-6, 12-14

Jesus, son of Sirach wrote his wisdom treatise (also known as "Ecclesiasticus" or "Book of the Church") as a text book to train young men entering the bureaucracy in Jerusalem. Authored prior to the Maccabean revolt against the Syrians in 180 B.C., the book contained praises for wisdom and advice for the moral life, especially interpersonal and family relationships. These verses addressed the duty a son owed his parents.
Notice the verses expound upon the Fourth Commandment. A brief reflection on the list of the commandments revealed the esteem placed upon the extended family as the pillar of society. Honoring one's parents was the most important of the commandments that addressed human affairs (more important than murder, theft, adultery, and bearing false witness). Sirach seemed to state that honoring parents was a sign of righteousness. It forgave sin [3:3]. It was a means of divine blessing (children and prayers heard) [3:5]. It was the guarantee of a long life and temporal power [3:6-7]. Even the patience required for the care of elderly parents strengthen character. And God would also look upon the son offering such care with compassion [3:12-14].
Ancient cultures like that in Judea were family-oriented and elderly-centered. Our American culture is just the opposite. What was common necessity then is now considered optional. Yet, the advice given in Sirach is as meaningful today as it was over two millennia ago. Honoring parents creates strong families and strong societies.
The fourth commandment is based upon a deeper command from God: love others as self. Love assumes and builds up respect. How have you shown love and respect to your family members? How have you expected such treatment in return?

Responsorial Psalm                Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Our Psalm Reading, which gives us the Promise for the week, is a blessing given by temple priests to families and pilgrims as they ascend to the Temple to celebrate the New Year. It presents to us the ideal Jewish family, whose very lives revolve around the LORD and are guided by His Word. The outcome of such righteousness and reverence produces abundant fruits of labor, as well as peace and harmony in the family.
This short psalm was a beatitude for the humble, Law-biding family man. The man in awe of the Lord would prosper, have a "proper," child-bearing wife (hidden in the family's compound), and children who would surround the father at the table. (Notice the two agricultural analogies: the vine represented the fertile wife bearing many children and the olive plants represented the productive off-spring to bring the father wealth.) The form of Psalm 128:1b-4 was "A-B-A," where the man feared the Lord (1b and 4) would prosper with wife and many children.
This man would receive the blessing of the Temple and share in the festivities of Jerusalem. The end of the blessing wished the man long life to see his grandchildren.

Reading 2                                Col 3:12-21

In the Second Reading, which is the source of our Order, St. Paul exhorts his readers to uphold godly obligations and to practice invariably Christian virtues. Meekness, patience, compassion, and kindness all reflect an essential virtue, which is humility. Only a humble person can be forgiving and truly thankful because only he realizes that everything comes from God. As a result, he is able to attain peace and prove the genuineness of his love, which is the fruit of the Spirit that binds everything in perfect harmony and enables him to conquer the empire of the flesh. The Reading concludes, appropriately, with directions for the family, where the virtues are fundamentally applied and tested.
How should Christians respond to the gift God offered us in Christ Jesus? First, the author listed Christian virtues and lifestyle (in opposition to the vices listed in 3:5-9). But, note the author seemed to address the community as a whole. The compassion and forgiveness in 3:12-14 expressed how the church at Colossae should act. It should have the reputation as a community filled with love.
Next, the author seemed to address the community in worship. Christ called them into one body (assembly). So, the church should be a eucharistic ("thank-filled" in English) people [3:15]. 3:16a-b listed the proclamation of the word and homily. The community's response was song [3:16c]. 3:17 summed up the worship attitude of the assembly: give thanks to God through Christ ("offer eucharist") for everything said or done.
Have you ever questioned the reputation of the church where you worship? What do outsiders think of your community? Beyond the quality of church leadership lays a deeper question. What do we, the faithful, bring to the table of the Lord? The author of Colossians gave a clear outline how the community should answer the question: virtues and attitudes to be found in worship. How we measure up indicates how the church is seen by others.

Gospel                                     Lk 2:22-40

Lastly, St. Luke describes the Holy Family in our Gospel, whose obedience and faithfulness to the Word are quite evident. He presents them as the first stewards of God’s Love and the very model of Christian families and communities. The story of Jesus’ presentation in Jerusalem is one of the few stories in the canonical gospels that have to do with Jesus’ childhood.
Along with the stories of the circumcision and naming of Jesus (Luke 2:21, January 1 every year), the visit of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12, Epiphany every year), the slaughter of the innocents (Matthew 2:13-23, First Sunday after Christmas in year A), and Jesus in the temple as a twelve-year-old (Luke 2:41-52, First Sunday after Christmas in year C), this story gives one a rare opportunity to review Jesus’ childhood.
The scarcity of information about Jesus’ childhood reminds us that the gospels are not biographies, or at least not primarily that. They are kerygmatic narratives -- they seek to proclaim the gospel and to undergird and strengthen faith in Christ. The little information that they give us about Jesus’ childhood is not intended, say, to explain the development of his character or personality. It is clear that Luke’s childhood stories seek to make theological points: Jesus was born a Jew among Jews. He came under the law of Moses. And, although he fulfilled the law in honoring his father and mother (Luke 2:51), his ultimate obedience was to his heavenly Father (Luke 2:49; cf. Mark 3:35). As such, our Gospel lesson is easily linked to the epistle reading for the day, where Paul tells us that Jesus was “born of woman” and “born under the law” so that he might redeem those who were under the law (Galatians 4:4-5).
The presentation in Jerusalem is motivated by specific requirements of the law of Moses. According to Leviticus 12, after a woman gives birth to a son, she is impure for forty days. At the end of that period, she is to bring an offering to the temple, which the priest offers as a sacrifice, effecting her purification. In addition, Exodus 13:2, 12, 15 state that every first-born male (which “opens the womb”), whether human or animal, “belongs” to the Lord (cf. 34:20). While (clean) animals (Leviticus 27:27) would be sacrificed, first-born sons needed to be redeemed (Exodus 13:12-15). According to Numbers 3:46-51, the redemption involved the payment of five shekels to the priesthood. However, according to another tradition in Numbers 3:11-13; 8:16-18, the tribe of the Levites takes the place of the first-born sons of Israel as the Lord’s possession. Thus the biblical notion of redemption included the idea that the first-born son “belongs” to the Lord in a special way and is dedicated to serve him (as the Levites were also dedicated to serve him).
Luke has apparently taken this old idea of the first-born son being dedicated to God’s service and made it fruitful for his narrative. The Torah contains no requirement that the first-born son be presented at the temple. However, Luke alludes to the story of Samuel. When Hannah, who had no children, prayed to God for a son, she vowed that, if she had a son, she would give him to God for all his days (1 Samuel 1:11). And indeed, after Samuel was born, Hannah brought him to the temple, and he was “lent” to the Lord for life (1 Samuel 1:24-28). It is clear that Mary in Luke takes the role of Hannah (cf. Luke 1:46-55 with 1 Samuel 1:11; 2:1-10) while Jesus takes the role of Samuel (cf. Luke 2:40, 52 with 1 Samuel 2:26). Thus when Joseph and Mary present Jesus to the Lord in Jerusalem, they are in effect dedicating his life to God (no redemption money is given). Jesus will be “holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:23). With these words Luke subtly alters the language of Exodus 13:2, 12 from a command to consecrate (hagiazein) the first-born to God to a declaration about Jesus. Luke’s wording is reminiscent of Luke 1:35, where the angel Gabriel tells Mary that her son will be “holy” and will be called the “Son of God,” because he will be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Luke’s wording is perhaps also (though more distantly) reminiscent of other stories that speak of Jesus as a “holy one” with a special relationship to God (e.g., Mark 1:24). The story thus sets the stage for Jesus’ life dedicated fully to his heavenly Father (Luke 2:49).
As noted above, Paul speaks of Jesus as having been born under the law in order to redeem those who were under the law. Instead of being redeemed, Jesus himself will by his death redeem others. This happens when Jesus takes upon himself the curse of the law -- indeed, “becomes” the curse (of the law) -- by being crucified on the tree (Galatians 3:13). That is the scandal of the cross, by which God saves the world (1 Corinthians 1:21, 23). The idea is, to be sure, more Pauline than Lukan. Yet the scandal of the cross is hinted at in Luke 2:34. Jesus will be the cause of many rising and falling in Israel -- he will be both the stone upon which some stumble and the stone of salvation (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6-8). In any case, Luke’s account certainly gives credence to Paul’s claim. The dedication of Jesus to God at the temple sets Jesus on the way to his work of redemption.
Simeon and Anna appear as devout Jews who are awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises of consolation and redemption for Israel. These sections of Luke’s story are drenched with the language of Deutero-Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 40:1; 42:6; 49:6, 13; 52:9, 10). Simeon and Anna thus become spokesman and spokeswoman for the salvation and redemption that is to come through Jesus. Simeon gets a glimpse of the salvation that one-day the whole world (“all flesh”) will see (cf. Luke 3:6, Luke’s addition to Mark): forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death (Acts 13:38-39, 46-47). That is the ultimate meaning of Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God. Making the Connection
Our families have the primary role in teaching us about the traditions of our faith and how we express our faith. The family of Jesus is a model for Christian families in this important task.

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

What are some ways in which we express our faith in God? What do we do to show that we are Catholic? (daily prayer, reading Scripture, gathering for Mass, praying the Rosary) From whom did you learn the importance of these expressions of our faith?
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. For many of us, our families have played an important role in teaching us about our Catholic faith. Jesus also learned about his faith from his parents. Today’s Gospel presents Jesus’ family as a model for family life. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel to see what we might learn to imitate in our own lives.
What are Mary and Joseph doing in todays gospel? (They are honoring the traditions of their Jewish faith by bringing the infant Jesus to the Temple.) Why do you think it is important that we know this about Jesus’ family? (It shows Jesus’ family’s faithfulness to their religious tradition; it shows that Jesus learned his faith from his family.) Are there ways that Catholic families express their faith that are similar to the way that Jesus’ family expressed their faith? (bringing a child to church for Baptism, bringing children to weekly Mass, and so on)
We learn from many people how to express our faith in God, but our families have a special role in teaching us about God and our Catholic faith. Take some time to write a prayer of thanksgiving to God for your family and for all that we have learned from them about God and our faith.
Conclude in prayer, asking God to bless and strengthen our families. Pray the Lord’s Prayer.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday December 24, 2023 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 11

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                  2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
“Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”
Nathan answered the king,
“Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you.”
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?’
“It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.”

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29

R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2                                                   Rom 16:25-27

Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel                                                      Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                           2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

David being at rest in his palace, considered how he might best employ his leisure and prosperity in the service of God. He formed a design to build a temple for the ark. Nathan here did not speak as a prophet, but as a godly man, encouraging David by his private judgment. We ought to do all we can to encourage and promote the good purposes and designs of others, and, as we have opportunity, to forward a good work.
Blessings are promised to the family and posterity of David. These promises relate to Solomon, David's immediate successor, and the royal line of Judah. But they also relate to Christ, who is often called David and the Son of David. To him God gave all power in heaven and earth, with authority to execute judgment. He was to build the gospel temple, a house for God's name; the spiritual temple of true believers, to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. The establishing of his house, his throne, and his kingdom forever, can be applied to no other than to Christ and his kingdom: David's house and kingdom long since came to an end. The committing iniquity cannot be applied to the Messiah himself, but to his spiritual seed; true believers have infirmities, for which they must expect to be corrected, though they are not cast off.

Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
Many psalms that begin with complaint and prayer end with joy and praise, but this begins with joy and praise and ends with sad complaints and petitions; for the psalmist first recounts God’s former favors, and then with the consideration of them aggravates the present grievances. It is uncertain when it was penned; only, in general, that it was at a time when the house of David was woefully eclipsed; some think it was at the time of the captivity of Babylon, when king Zedekiah was insulted over, and abused, by Nebuchadnezzar, and then they make the title to signify no more than that the psalm was set to the tune of a song of Ethan the son of Zerah, called Maschil; others suppose it to be penned by Ethan, who is mentioned in the story of Solomon, who, outliving that glorious prince, thus lamented the great disgrace done to the house of David in the next reign by the revolt of the ten tribes. I. The psalmist, in the joyful pleasant part of the psalm, gives glory to God, and takes comfort to himself and his friends. This he does more briefly, mentioning God’s mercy and truth (v. 1) and his covenant (v. 2-4), but more largely in the following verses, wherein, 1. He adores the glory and perfection of God (v. 5-14). He pleases himself in the happiness of those that are admitted into communion with him (v. 15-18). He builds all his hope upon God’s covenant with David, as a type of Christ (v. 19-37).

Reading 2                          Rom 16:25-27

Paul is now concluding this long and excellent epistle, and he does it with a great deal of affection. As in the main body of the epistle he appears to have been a very knowing man, so in these appurtenances of it he appears to have been a very loving man. So much knowledge and so much love are a very rare, but (where they exist) a very excellent and amiable—composition; for what is heaven but knowledge and love made perfect? It is observable how often Paul speaks as if he were concluding, and yet takes fresh hold again. One would have thought that solemn benediction which closed the foregoing chapter should have ended the epistle; and yet here he begins again, and in this chapter he repeats the blessing (v. 20), "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen.’’ And yet he has something more to say; nay, again he repeats the blessing (v. 24), and yet has not done; an expression of his tender love. These repeated benedictions, which stand for valedictions, speak Paul loth to part. Now, in this closing chapter, we may observe, I. His recommendation of one friend to the Roman Christians, and his particular salutation of several among them (v. 1 - 16). II. A caution to take heed of those who caused divisions (v. 17 - 20). III. Salutations added from some who were with Paul (v. 21 - 24). IV. He concludes with a solemn celebration of the glory of God (v. 25 - 27

.
Gospel                                 Lk 1:26-3

And in the sixth month
After Elizabeth's conception; for so long was John the Baptist conceived before Christ, and so long he was born before him; and it seems as if there was the same distance between the public ministry of the one, and the other: John was before Christ, as man, being his forerunner; but Christ was preferred unto him as mediator, and existed before him, as the eternal Son of God:
the angel Gabriel was sent from God;
the same angel, that near five hundred years before gave Daniel an exact account of the time of the Messiah's coming, and six months ago acquainted Zacharias with the conception, birth, character, and office of his forerunner:
unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth;
the whole country of Galilee was mean and contemptible with the Jews: they observe, though through mistake, that no prophet arose out of it, ( John 7:52 ) and Nazareth particularly was exceeding despicable in their eye: hence those words of Nathanael, "can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" ( John 1:46 ) and yet hither an angel was sent by God; and here dwelt the mother of our Lord.
Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Who are some examples of people who have changed the world for the better by their work or contribution? (Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine, Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb, and so on) What prepared these people to make these great contributions?
Who are some people of faith who have made extraordinary contributions to the world? (Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Saint Francis of Assisi, and so on) What prepared these people to make extraordinary contributions to the world?
Today’s Gospel offers to us another example of a person of faith who made an extraordinary contribution to the world: Mary, the mother of Jesus. This Gospel gives us several clues about what prepares a person of faith to do extraordinary things.
What extraordinary thing was Mary asked to do in this Gospel? (to be the Mother of God’s Son, Jesus) What was Mary’s response? (First she asked how this would be possible, and then she answered yes.) What does this Gospel tell us prepared Mary for her most amazing job? (Mary was said to have been filled with God’s grace even before the angel visited her. The Gospel also says that the Holy Spirit would prepare her to give birth to Jesus.)
What do you think prepares people of faith, ourselves included, to do extraordinary things in our world? (God’s grace, the Holy Spirit) It is the Holy Spirit working within us that enables ordinary people to make extraordinary contributions in our world. Because Mary was filled with God’s grace, she was able to cooperate with God’s plan for salvation by becoming the mother of Jesus.
Conclude in prayer for the awareness to be open to God’s grace and the Holy Spirit in order to be able to cooperate in God’s plan for salvation. Pray the Magnificat.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever

====================================================

Sunday December 17, 2023 Third Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 8

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                  Is 61:1-2a, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.

Responsorial Psalm                               Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54.

R. My soul rejoices in my God.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
R. My soul rejoices in my God.

the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
R. My soul rejoices in my God.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R. My soul rejoices in my God.

Reading 2                                                   1 Thes 5:16-24

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

Gospel                                                       Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                            Is 61:1-2a, 10-11

The Messiah, his character and office. (1-3) His promises of the future blessedness of the church. (4-9) The church praises God for these mercies. (10,11)
The prophets had the Holy Spirit of God at times, teaching them what to say, and causing them to say it; but Christ had the Spirit always, without measure, to qualify him, as man, for the work to which he was appointed. The poor are commonly best disposed to receive the gospel, James 2:5; and it is only likely to profit us when received with meekness. To such as are poor in spirit, Christ preached good tidings when he said, Blessed are the meek. Christ's satisfaction is accepted. By the dominion of sin in us, we are bound under the power of Satan; but the Son is ready, by his Spirit, to make us free; and then we shall be free indeed. Sin and Satan were to be destroyed; and Christ triumphed over them on his cross. But the children of men, who stand out against these offers, shall be dealt with as enemies. Christ was to be a Comforter, and so he is; he is sent to comfort all who mourn, and who seek to him, and not to the world, for comfort. He will do all this for his people, that they may abound in the fruits of righteousness, as the branches of God's planting. Neither the mercy of God, the atonement of Christ, nor the gospel of grace, profit the self-sufficient and proud. They must be humbled, and led to know their own character and wants, by the Holy Spirit, that they may see and feel their need of the sinner's Friend and Savior. His doctrine contains glad tidings indeed to those who are humbled before God.
Those only shall be clothed with the garments of salvation hereafter, that are covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness now, and by the sanctification of the Spirit have God's image renewed upon them. These blessings shall spring forth for ages to come, as the fruits of the earth. So duly, so constantly, and with such advantage to mankind, will the Lord God cause righteousness and praise to spring forth. They shall spread far; the great salvation shall be published and proclaimed, to the ends of the earth. Let us be earnest in prayer, that the Lord God may cause that righteousness to spring forth among us, which constitutes the excellence and glory of the Christian profession.

Responsorial Psalm                              Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54

Mary praises God, characterizing God as one who cares for the lowly and frustrates the intentions of the powerful.
Mary's extended statement of praise (often called the Magnificat, the first word of the Latin translation of her statement) comes in response to her relative Elizabeth's Spirit-inspired words in 1:41-45, which confirm what the angel Gabriel promised Mary in 1:26-35. As with the other two "canticles" in Luke 1-2 (the Benedictus and the Nunc dimittis), the words of the Magnificat come from numerous passages in the Old Testament. The specific form and themes of Mary's praise closely resemble those in Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, which comes after the birth of that woman's son, the Prophet Samuel.

The Magnificat does not speak directly about Jesus; rather, it is a description of God. It moves at a rapid pace, progressing through a series of strong, decisive verbs that characterize God's actions throughout Israel's history. Mary speaks about a God who reverses things, who is capable of overturning human authority and structures. Her statement begins by speaking about God's recent actions on her behalf (vv. 47-49) and then turns its attention to God's activity on behalf of and against others (vv. 50-55). Mary is announcing that her story, God's choice of blessing her to bear God's Son, is a part of the ongoing drama of God's activity in the world. This casts Mary as a prophet, one who boldly interprets her experience in light of God and God's history.

Reading 2                   1 Thes 5:16-24

The Lord's coming again into this world assumes therefore a very different character from that of a vague object of hope to a believer as a period of glory. In chapter 5 the apostle speaks of it, but in order to distinguish between the position of Christians and that of the careless and unbelieving inhabitants of the earth. The Christian, alive and taught of the Lord, ever expects the Master. There are times and seasons; it is not needful to speak to him concerning them. But (and he knows it) the day of the Lord will come and like a thief in the night, but not for him: he is of the day; he has part in the glory which will appear in order to execute judgment on the unbelieving world. Believers are the children of light; and this light which is the judgment of unbelievers, is the expression of the glory of God-a glory which cannot endure evil, and which, when it shall appear, will banish it from the earth. The Christian is of the day that will judge and destroy the wicked and wickedness itself from off the face of the earth. Christ is the Sun of righteousness, and the faithful will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
The world will say, "Peace and safety," and in all security will believe in the continuance of its prosperity and the success of its designs, and the day will come suddenly upon them. (Compare 2 Peter 3:3.) The Lord Himself has often declared it. ( Matthew 14:36-44 ; Mark 13:33-36 ; Luke 12:40 , &c.; 17:26 , &c.; 21:35 , &c.)
The apostle applies this difference of position- namely, that we belong to the day, and that it cannot therefore come upon us as a thief-to the character and walk of the Christian. Being a child of the light he is to walk as such. He lives in the day, though all is night and darkness around him. One does not sleep in the day. They that sleep, sleep in the night: they that are drunken are drunken in the night; these are the works of darkness. A Christian, the child of the day, must watch and be sober, clothing himself with all that constitutes the perfection of that mode of being which belongs to his position-namely, with faith and love and hope-principles which impart courage and give him confidence for pressing onwards. He has the breastplate of faith and love; he goes straight forward therefore against the enemy. He has the hope of this glorious salvation, which will bring him entire deliverance, as his helmet; so that he can lift up his head without fear in the midst of danger.
Faith and love naturally connect us with God, revealed as He is in Jesus as the principle of communion; so that we walk with confidence in Him: His presence gives us strength. By faith He is the glorious object before our eyes. By love He dwells in us, and we realize what He is. Hope fixes our eyes especially on Christ, who is coming to bring us into the enjoyment of glory with Himself.
Consequently the apostle speaks thus: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath " (love is understood by faith, that which God wills-His mind respecting us) "but to obtain salvation." It is this which we hope for; and he speaks of salvation as the final deliverance "by our Lord Jesus Christ I would here call the reader's attention to the way in which the apostle speaks of the Lord's coming in the different chapters of this epistle. It will be noticed that the Spirit does not present the church here as a body. Life is the subject-that of each Christian therefore individually: a very important point assuredly.
Now this renunciation of self-will, and this practical sense of the operation and presence of God, gives power to warn the unruly, to comfort the fearful, to help the weak, and to be patient towards all. The apostle exhorts them to it. Communion with God is the power and His word the guide in so doing. In no case were they to render evil for evil, but to follow that which was good among themselves and towards all. All this conduct depends on communion with God, on His presence with us, which makes us superior to evil. He is this in love; and we can be so by walking with Him.
In the angels He glorifies Himself in creation: they excel us in strength. In Christians He glorifies Himself in reconciliation, to make them the first fruits of His new creation, when He shall have reconciled all things in heaven and on earth by Christ. Therefore it is written "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" They have His nature and His character.
In general the words "soul and spirit" are used without making any distinction between them, for the soul of man was formed very differently from that of animals in that God breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life, and it was thus that man became a living soul. Therefore it suffices to say soul as to man, and the other is supposed. Or, in saying spirit, in this sense the elevated character of his soul is expressed. The animal has also its natural affections, has a living soul, attaches itself, knows the persons who do it good, devotes itself to its master, loves him, will even give its life for him; but it has not that which can be in relationship with God (alas ! which can set itself at enmity against Him), which can occupy itself with things outside its own nature as the master of others.
The Spirit then wills that man, reconciled with God, should be consecrated, in every part of his being to the God who has brought him into relationship with Himself by the revelation of His love, and by the work of His grace, and that nothing in the man should admit an object beneath the divine nature of which he is partaker; so that he should thus be preserved blameless unto the coming of Christ.

Gospel                                   Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

Have you caught the "holiday spirit" yet? How do you get into the holiday mood? Do you rely on others or events to spark your "Christmas feeling?"
Christmas is coming soon. The lights, the sounds, the smells of the holidays are in the air. No matter where we go, we are reminded of holiday cheer. In fact, many of us rely on this atmosphere to bring us out of our doldrums. We expect people, places, or events to create the mood that Christmas brings.
Human nature tempts us to lean on others to bolster our condition. We expect others to "fix" us when we are down, sustain us when we are "up." We are tempted to treat God the same way. God, the Mr. Fix-it for our souls.
What happens when God doesn't "fix" us? How many times have we been disappointed when our expectations of God are unfulfilled? How many times have we confused faith with expectation? How many times have we forgotten that God defines himself?
John the Baptist had expectations about the One to come. Did Jesus fulfill his expectations? Or, did Jesus define his mission on his own terms?
John the Baptist preached against King Herod because he married his brother's wife. So, the king had his soldiers arrest John. When he was in jail, John heard the kinds of things Jesus was doing. John sent some of his followers to Jesus with a question. "Are you the one John said would come? Or, is there someone else we should expect?" they asked.
"Go tell John what you see and hear," Jesus answered. "Blind people can now see. Deaf people can now hear clearly. Crippled people can now walk. People with diseases are now healthy. Dead people live again. And the poor have the Good News preached to them. The person who doesn't doubt me is really happy!"
As John's people left, Jesus began to talk to the crowd about the Baptist. "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swaying in the wind? What did you go out to see? Someone dressed in expensive clothes? People who wear expensive clothes live in a king's palace. So, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, a prophet and much, much more! God talked about John in the Bible:
'I am sending my messenger ahead of you.
He will prepare the way for you.'
Listen! No one who has ever lived is more important than John the Baptist. But the humblest person in God's Kingdom is greater than John!"
Matthew's gospel faces us with the difference between what we expect of others and what they can deliver. John expected someone greater than he. Jesus gave an answer that may have been different from what John expected. In that exchange we discover how Jesus saw his own ministry and the ministry of John the Baptist.
With his comments about his own ministry and that of John's, Jesus implicitly compared the two. John prepared people for the Kingdom; Jesus involved people in the Kingdom. John stood as a Kingdom signpost. As Messiah, Jesus was the Kingdom. As the one preparing the populace, John was greater than anyone else up to that point. But, was John ready to partake in the kingdom? Was he willing to accept the witness of his two followers about Jesus' works? Everyone who still considered the faith question was the least in the Kingdom. [11:11
The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask. So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his Father's works; they bear witness that he is the Son of God. But his miracles can also be occasions for "offense"; they are not intended to satisfy people's curiosity or desire for magic. Despite his evident miracles some people reject Jesus; he is even accused of acting by the power of demons.
By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness, and death, Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he did not come to abolish all evils here below, but to free men from the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God's sons and causes all forms of human bondage.
We expect much from the Lord who gives us much. His gifts challenge us to pass them along to others, especially those in need. As Jesus has freed us from need, so we, too, must free others from need.
Sometimes, however, all we can do is stand in awe. While these experiences help to strengthen our faith, we should not depend upon them in the future. An experience of God is a gift, not an expectation. Once we build our faith solely upon awe experiences, we focus upon them as if they were magic. We might think that these experiences should be an everyday event; if we have a "down" day, our prayer life dwells only upon a return to the "wow" experience. When we do not have a consistent spiritual high, we might be tempted to reject faith as an illusion. We might forget the passion of Christ; even pain and depression are paths to God. Even "down" days are God's gifts to us.
What do we expect from God? Miracles or magic. Miracles engage us in a faith dialogue with God; we become part of the miracle as it becomes a part of us. Magic, however, is meant for entertainment. It impresses us, but does not change us. Miracles demand a response; magic demands applause. Do we pray to be engaged or impressed?
As Christmas approaches, it's time to ask the question. What do we expect from God? Do we want to follow him? Or, do we want him to fix us? Do we seek to be with him? Or, do we expect him to be with us?
Have we confused faith with expectation? Faith puts God in charge. Expectation puts us in charge. Faith allows God to surprise us. Expectation does not.
What should we expect from God? Nothing. What should we believe God can do? Everything! Even the surprise of his Son born in a poor stable.
As a part of preparing for Christmas, reflect on your expectations of the holidays. Are they realistic? Can people or events fulfill your ideals? Or can you set aside your expectations so God can surprise you?

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

There are many things that we accept on the word of other people. For example, we believe our parents and grandparents when they tell us about what life was like when they were children. We believe the scientists who report to us the results of their observations and experiments. We believe our teachers when they teach us about the facts of history. What are some examples of things that you accept on the word of others?
Why do we believe what people tell us? What makes the word of another person believable? (They have actual experience with the things that they are explaining, they have learned something we have not, or because their word to us has previously proved trustworthy.)
This is also the way it is with what we believe about Jesus. Today’s Gospel talks about John the Baptist and how he gave witness to Jesus.
What did John the Baptist tell the Jewish leaders when they asked about his authority and preaching? (John said that he was not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet.) What did John the Baptist say when they asked about the baptisms that he was performing? (John said that he was baptizing in preparation for another person.) John offered this testimony about himself and about Jesus because he knew Jesus was the Son of God who was coming to save the world. He told the people that Jesus was among them even though they did not yet recognize him.
The people who came to see John the Baptist believed his words to them. If we were to continue reading in John’s Gospel, we would hear how John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Son of God when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. John then announced to the people that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Where do we look to hear testimony about who Jesus is? (the Bible, the Church, the people of faith in our lives) We believe these witnesses to Jesus because they have proven themselves to be trustworthy and because they witness to a person they know, Jesus.
Conclude in prayer that you will continue to grow in faith and in your ability to recognize Jesus’ presence in all aspects of life. Pray the Act of Faith.

During the season of Advent, many of us do many things to prepare for our celebration at Christmas. What are some things that you do to prepare for Christmas? Make a list.
Many people are very busy during the season of Advent doing all these things. But let’s consider for a minute how these things prepare us to receive Jesus. Look over the list you have just made. How do these things prepare the way for Jesus? (Some of these things prepare the way for Jesus more than others.)
What did John the Baptist do to prepare the way for Jesus? (He preached repentance and baptized people as a sign of forgiveness of sins.) Having heard today’s Gospel, is there anything else that you think that we should be doing during Advent to prepare the way for Jesus? (Try to identify ways in which we might repent for our sins, seek forgiveness, and change our lives so that we might invite others to be followers of Jesus.)
One of the things that the Church invites us to do during the season of Advent is to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. During Advent, we seek forgiveness for our sins and look for ways in which we can be better followers of Jesus.
Pray silently, asking God to forgive your sins and promise to do one thing this week to be a better follower of Jesus. Pray the Act of Contrition.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday December 3, 2023   First Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 2

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                    Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.

Responsorial Psalm                              Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Reading 2                                                  1 Cor 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel                                                       Mk 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                        Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7

Isaiah 56-66 is thought to be from the post-exilic phase—after Cyrus of Persia gave the Jewish exiles permission to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple.
Isaiah 63:7 – 64:12 is a lengthy prayer of lament. Why lament? Hasn’t God arranged their release from servitude in Babylon? Hasn’t God miraculously raised up Cyrus of Persia, who not only allowed them to return to Jerusalem, but even provided resources for their journey and the rebuilding of the temple.
But their return has been painful. The city and temple lay in ruins, and their neighbors have made rebuilding difficult. Internal divisions have impeded progress. Life in Jerusalem has hardly been a bed of roses.
The prophet reminds the Lord that he is their father (63:16b). Then (astonishingly) the prayer continues, Why do you make us wander, LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we do not fear you?*Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. (63:17).

I beg your pardon! Who was it that rebelled? I thought it was Israel. Who was it that walked out the door? Surely it was Israel. How is Israel’s infidelity suddenly God’s fault?
But the prophet is not cataloging facts, but is instead unburdening his heart of its pain. He is also trying to find words that will persuade the Lord to return to Israel (63:17b)—to save them—to make life easier for them.
The one offering the prayer concludes chapter 63 by saying, “Too long have we been like those you do not rule, on whom your name is not invoked.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you” (63:19)—which is another way of saying “We regret to inform you that we have not enjoyed any benefit lately from our relationship with you. This has been very disappointing to us. Please take immediate action to remedy this unfortunate situation.”
Again, the prayer is drawing attention to the unsatisfactory quality of the current relationship of Israel with God and highlighting the plight of the Israelites in the hope of motivating God to save Israel.
And then begins our reading with the next verse, 64:1—a continuation of this prayer.
As when brushwood is set ablaze, or fire makes the water boil!
Then your name would be made known to your enemies
and the nations would tremble before you,
(v. 1a). We heard this kind of language earlier in the first section of this book, when Isaiah warned the people of the consequences that they would suffer for failing to rely on the Lord. But then he raised the hope of salvation, saying: “You will be visited by the Lord of Armies with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise, with whirlwind and storm, and with the flame of a devouring fire” (29:6), “that the mountains might quake at your presence” (v. 1b). Israel is seismically active due to the Rift Valley through which the Jordan River flows—so the people have experienced earthquakes. They associate earthquakes with God’s presence and/or God’s judgment (Exodus 19:18; Job 9:6; Psalm 18:7; 68:8; 99:1;
In this instance, this prayer of lament asks that God would announce his presence by an earthquake.
But at the moment Israel is not seeing mountains quake or fire or smoke or any other evidence that God is present. That fact lies in the background of this prayer of lament.
Would that you might meet us doing right, that we might be mindful of you in our ways! Indeed, you are angry; we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. (v. 4).
The distinguishing quality of God is that he works for—helps—saves—”those who wait for him.”
Those who worship other gods might claim to have seen demonstrations of their gods’ power, but there is no sense of those gods being in any kind of personal relationship with their people or taking care of their people. The best that can be said for those gods is that they, when placated, visit no harm on their people.
“who waits for him” (v. 4b). Waiting for the Lord means waiting with hope or expectation. Throughout scripture, we find an emphasis on waiting for the Lord (Genesis 49:18; Psalm 37: 9; Hosea 12:6; Zephaniah 3:8; Romans 8:25; Galatians 5:5). To “wait for” the Lord is to live in faith—to live in the expectation that God’s “compassion doesn’t fail”—that his mercies never come to an end—that his faithfulness is not only great but assured. To “wait for” the Lord is to live in the certainty that the Lord has the power and the will to bless those who are faithful. To “wait for” the Lord is to see beyond one’s present circumstances (such as the exile) to a future blessed by the hand of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm                  Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

  Study Tools
GIVE EAR, O SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL
Belief in the God of Israel is not blind faith, but an informed trust. One expression of our confidence that the LORD is in control of all things is to make our complaints known to Him. In Psalm 80 the writer bemoans the plight of the divided tribes of Israel, and boldly expresses his perplexity at God’s dealings with them.
The Psalmist uses two metaphors: that of God as shepherd (Psalm 80:1-7; Psalm 80:17-19), and that of Israel as a vine (Psalm 80:8-16). Both of these Jesus applies to Himself (John 10:11; John 10:14; John 15:1). He as the God-man embraces both.
Asaph begins his prayer with an appeal that God will hear (Psalm 80:1). Sometimes our Shepherd seems distant, and deaf to our cries. We might need, like the Psalmist, to remind ourselves just who He is - “the one who dwells between the cherubim” - and what He has done on behalf of His church in the past (1 Samuel 7:12).
It is customary to think of our salvation as a single event, ‘when I got saved’. In one sense this is true, but it is also an ongoing event in our lives. The changes and so-called chances of life may present us with new problems as we grow from one level in our Christianity to another, so we need to call on God anew to continue His saving work within us (Psalm 80:2).
There is a refrain throughout the Psalm, growing in intensity and boldness. The appeal for our restoration is first addressed to “God” (Psalm 80:3), then to “God of hosts” (Psalm 80:7), and finally to the “LORD God of hosts” (Psalm 80:19). The prayer that God’s face would shine upon us reminds us of the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), and of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ transfiguration.
There is a picture in the Hebrew language of the LORD “fuming” against the prayers of His people (Psalm 80:4): “How long You fume?” This may not be anger on God’s part, but rather an expression of the Psalmist’s frustration that his prayers seem unable to penetrate the cloud of God’s glory. Sometimes our prayers might seem to reach no higher than the ceiling: nevertheless we must still pray, and tell Him about it!
This Psalm is different to another great Shepherd song, Psalm 23. There the LORD sets a table before us, but here He allegedly feeds us with the bread of tears (Psalm 80:5). God is unchangeable, but our experience of His Providence may vary from time to time.
Sometimes our neighbors bring us strife, or our enemies laugh at us (Psalm 80:6). Or, as Jesus warned us, a man’s foes may be those of his own household (Matthew 10:36). The solution is the same: we must look to Him to shine upon us, “turn us” and save us (Psalm 80:3; Psalm 80:7; Psalm 80:19), and “return” to us (Psalm 80:14).
Psalm 80:17 is clearly Messianic. It is Jesus who is at the right hand of God, ever interceding on our behalf (Romans 8:34): Jesus, whose favourite name for Himself whilst He was upon the earth was “the Son of man” (Mark 14:62). It was Jesus who was “made strong”, strengthened by an angel in the garden of Gethsemane in order that He might do God’s will (Luke 22:43).

Reading 2                      1 Cor 1:3-9

It was customary for Greek and Roman letter-writers in the first century A.D. to prefix their epistles with “greetings” (Acts 15:23; James 1:1). Paul regularly uses a pun, replacing “greetings” with “grace” (1 Corinthians 1:3). In what may be a second pun here (1 Corinthians 1:4), Paul gives thanks for the Corinthians’ “grace” - possibly hinting at their gifts.
The “grace” which we receive “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” - and for that matter from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4) - is more than just free forgiveness, although it is inclusive of that. “Grace” is also an empowering for ministry (1 Corinthians 3:10), as Paul himself testifies (1 Corinthians 15:10). “Grace” is the source of the spiritual gifts given for the benefit of all (1 Corinthians 12:8-11), and those of the leadership in particular (1 Corinthians 12:28-31).
By adding the word “peace” - the traditional Hebrew greeting - Paul internationalizes the Gospel. “Peace” does not just indicate the absence of war, but is about being complete, perfect and full. “Peace” speaks to us of health, success, well-being, rest, and harmony - and is part and parcel of our “peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
When Paul makes this special greeting, he does so as the ambassador of Christ. “Grace and peace” are the offering which we receive from the God who is pleased for us to call Him “Father” (Galatians 4:6). “Grace and peace” is the gift which we receive from God’s Son, with whom we are “joint-heirs” (Romans 8:17).
Paul offers thanksgiving to God for the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:4). This is good pastoral care: Paul wants the Corinthians to know that, even if he does have some stern words to speak to them, it is because his heart longs for them. The Apostle offers his thanksgiving to God, not just once but “always” on their behalf, and particularly gives thanks for their gift of grace.
In fact Paul celebrated the Corinthians’ giftedness, especially in speech and knowledge, in which they were enriched by God (1 Corinthians 1:5). This is part of God’s grace to them. In this the testimony of Christ has been confirmed in them, and strengthened among them (1 Corinthians 1:6).
Again Paul affirms their giftedness (1 Corinthians 1:7), by which they can patiently wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ in His glory. As with all His people, God will not hold them liable to charges, and will confirm their blamelessness at the second coming (1 Corinthians 1:8). He who has begun a good work in us will see it through to the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
“God is faithful,” Paul reminds us (1 Corinthians 1:9). Our faith may waver, but the Lord’s kingdom is steadfast and true, far outliving the kingdoms of men (Daniel 6:26). The Lord is the One who helps us in the midst of our temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13).
The Lord is the One who calls us into the fellowship of His Son (1 Corinthians 1:9). We may think that we enter into fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ as so many individuals: but ultimately we enter in as part of His body, the church. This fellowship begins at conversion, continues in our communion with other believers, and is eternal.

Gospel                                Mk 13:33-37

We have the application of this prophetic sermon. As to the destruction of Jerusalem, expect it to come very shortly. As to the end of the world, do not inquire when it will come, for of that day and that hour knoweth no man. Christ, as God, could not be ignorant of anything; but the Divine wisdom which dwelt in our Savior, communicated itself to his human soul according to the Divine pleasure. As to both, our duty is to watch and pray. Our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, left something for all his servants to do. We ought to be always upon our watch, in expectation of his return. This applies to Christ's coming to us at our death, as well as to the general judgment. We know not whether our Master will come in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but, as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore we must expect death. Our great care must be, that, whenever our Lord comes, he may not find us secure, indulging in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty. He says to all, Watch, that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Making the Connection

Imagine the following situation: You are a teenager and your parent has instructed you to clean your room. Imagine that your room is really messy. Your parent will be inspecting your room in one hour and will expect it to be clean. What do you do? Probably most of you would not procrastinate since you know the deadline is imminent.
Now imagine this same situation with one minor change: You do not know when your parent will return to check on your room. Does this change how you will act after your parent leaves? If so, how?
Sometimes we act differently when we don’t have a deadline. Without a deadline, we often succumb to the temptation to procrastinate or to let ourselves be distracted by other things. Jesus warned his disciples that the coming of the Son of Man would be much like the second situation we considered. Think about His warning found in today’s Gospel.
In today’s Gospel Jesus is responding to a question from his disciples about how they will know when the Son of Man, Jesus, will return in glory. What does Jesus tell them about when this will happen? (Only the Father knows when the Son of Man will return in glory.) Why do you think this is more like the second situation we discussed above? (The timeframe is unknown.) What does Jesus tell his disciples that they should do in the meantime? (They should be alert and watchful.)
During Advent, we do more than just prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Christ. The Church also wants us to remember that we must keep ourselves ready to receive Christ when he comes to us in our daily lives and at the end of time. Like the disciples, Jesus wants us to be watchful and alert so that we might recognize the signs of Christ in our midst. What are some things that we do to keep ourselves ready to receive Christ? (daily prayer, reading Scripture, staying faithful to God’s commandments, and so on)
Pray that we will use the season of Advent to re-commit ourselves to being watchful and alert to the signs of Christ in our midst. Read as a concluding prayer Paul’s words to the Corinthians found in today’s second reading, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, or pray the Lord’s Prayer.

=================================================================

Another video to ponder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvWvplUri_M

Sunday November 26, 2023 The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Lectionary: 160

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading 1                                                  Ez 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.
As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

Responsorial Psalm                                Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2                                                     1 Cor 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

Gospel                                                      Mt 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                  Ez 34:11-12, 15-17

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16
"Pride goes before the fall." But after the fall, what happens next? This was the question Ezekiel tried to answer for his contemporaries taken into captive exile.
As the son of a priest, Ezekiel was taken into exile by the Babylonians. Soon after, Ezekiel felt the call to prophesy among his countrymen. Through visions and strange behavior, Ezekiel tried to explain why the Jews were in exile. And he looked ahead to God's salvation.
While the Jews lost all because of their sin, they would be gathered together by the power of God. The Lord would bring the Diaspora (communities of Jews spread throughout the world) back to worship in Jerusalem, like a shepherd gathers lost sheep who strayed from the flock [34:11-12]. He cared for the injured. He would return the lost sheep (the Jews in the Diaspora) and would give them a place of safety, with lush pastures [34:13-14]. But there would be judgment, for not all the lost would be innocent [34:15-17].
Responsorial Psalm                     Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
Many of David's psalms are full of complaints, but this is full of comforts, and the expressions of delight in God's great goodness and dependence upon him. It is a psalm which has been sung by good Christians, and will be while the world stands, with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction. I. The psalmist here claims relation to God, as his shepherd (v. 1). II. He recounts his experience of the kind things God had done for him as his shepherd (v. 2, 3, 5). III. Hence he infers that he should want no good (v. 1), that he needed to fear no evil (v. 4), that God would never leave nor forsake him in a way of mercy; and therefore he resolves never to leave nor forsake God in a way of duty (v. 6). In this he had certainly an eye, not only to the blessings of God's providence, which made his outward condition prosperous, but to the communications of God's grace, received by a lively faith, and returned in a warm devotion, which filled his soul with joy unspeakable. And, as in the foregoing psalm he represented Christ dying for his sheep, so here he represents Christians receiving the benefit of all the care and tenderness of that great and good shepherd.
From three very comfortable premises David, in this psalm, draws three very comfortable conclusions, and teaches us to do so too. We are saved by hope, and that hope will not make us ashamed, because it is well grounded. It is the duty of Christians to encourage themselves in the Lord their God; and we are here directed to take that encouragement both from the relation wherein he stands to us and from the experience we have had of his goodness according to that relation.

Reading 2                              1 Cor 15:20-26, 28

1 Corinthians 15 is Paul’s most extensive presentation of Christ’s Parousia and our bodily resurrection as a result of Christ’s future coming.
That is because some of the Corinthians have rejected the notion of our bodily resurrection. We do not know for sure why this is the case. It could be that they view the soul as the immortal entity of human existence which is housed in a mortal, disposable body. Or perhaps they hold a realized eschatology which sees Christians as already participating in Christ's resurrected reality. In any case, throughout this chapter Paul mounts a sustained argument that presents the resurrection of Christ as the foundational basis for our future bodily resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:19 is not the opening of a new section but the closing of a unit begun in 15:12 wherein Paul draws out the logical inferences to the proposition that there is no resurrection of the dead. If indeed there is no resurrection of the dead, then:

Christ has not been raised (15:13);
Apostolic preaching is in vain since Christ’s resurrection is a central component of such proclamation (15:14a recalling 15:4);
The Corinthians’ faith is in vain (15:14b, 17a);
The apostles are thus false witness about God (15:15);
We are still in our sins (v. 17);
Dead Christians are non-existent entities (v. 18)

In 1 Corinthians 15:19 Paul then presents the concluding implication of this argumentative chain. If Christian hope is limited by the boundary of mortal existence and does not extend to the hope of the resurrection, then Christians are the most pathetic of people since their hope is based on a mere illusion of life beyond death.
Beginning in 15:20, Paul flips around his argument. He opens with the emphatic temporal marker, “but now,” to present divine reality: Christ has been raised from the dead. His intentional use of the perfect, passive verb, “had been raised” highlights how Christ was raised by God in the past and remains resurrected into the present and future. Christ’s resurrection is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep (a euphemism for death as a transitory but not permanent state of existence). First fruit was the first of the harvest offered to God as its choicest portion which also vouchsafes the rest of the crop. In his resurrection, Christ is the choicest portion of the eschatological harvest which also vouchsafes the rest of the eschatological harvest (an image he will repeat in 15:23a).
Most English translations of 1 Corinthians 15:21 do not quite capture what Paul is highlighting. There is no verb in the parallel clauses of v. 21a and v. 21b. Our translations seek to solve this dilemma by inserting the verbs “came/come” as if Paul is presenting the means by which death and resurrection arrive. Actually, the assumed verb should be “is” as Paul presents the reality of death and resurrection, i.e., through a human is death and through a human is resurrection of the dead.
In 1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul elucidates this reality claim. In Adam, all die. Here Paul is reflecting his broader theological perspective that Sin and Death invaded creation and enslaved humanity through Adam’s disobedience (see Romans 5:12-21). On the one hand, in baptism we were incorporated in Christ’s death and thus died to Sin so that Sin is no longer our enslaving lord (Romans 6:1-14). Nevertheless, Death still holds sway over our mortal existence so that our Adamic reality means we all die. This, however, is not the last word or our final destiny because all humanity defined by Christ will be made alive. Paul’s intentional use of the future, passive verb, “will be made alive” shows that this is a divine future event occurring at Christ’s Parousia. We do not have a mortal soul which will continue to live on after we die. Rather, we are mortal bodies who die, but through the resurrecting power of God we will be made alive.
Paul then goes on to present the culminating chain of events which will unfold at Christ’s Parousia as the end of created time and space. Christ will obliterate every antagonistic power and rule which stands in opposition to God and God’s salvific plan (1 Corinthians 15:24b, 25b). For Paul, these malevolent powers are both human and non-human. This recalls his prior claim in 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 that the rulers of this age did not comprehend God’s hidden plan and so crucified Christ. Ironically, they inadvertently began the divine sequence of events which will result in their own destruction because God has raised Christ from the dead, and his future coming will involve their annihilation. The final and ultimate enemy which Christ will obliterate is Death itself (15:26). In Paul’s theological perspective, Death is not simply the powerful ally of Sin. Death is the cosmic dark lord who has attempted to have final say over everything which God had created. Thus Paul is not thinking about death in existential terms, though he does understand that all of us feel the sting of death in our own mortal, bodily existence. Instead, Paul is thinking on a cosmic scale. In this regard, the ultimate theological question for Paul is not: “What happens to us when we die?” Rather, the ultimate theological question is, “Who has final say regarding the existence of everything in the cosmos, Death or God?” Paul’s answer is clear: At Christ’s Parousia the final victory will belong to God as humanity marked by Christ will be raised; Christ will destroy all that stands in opposition to God; and Christ will hand over everything he has liberated back to God so that God will be the everything in everything (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
Here we discover that Easter is much bigger than Easter. On the first Easter, God established the course toward which God is drawing all reality. On that day, God did not simply change the existence of Jesus from being dead to being alive. God changed the destiny of the cosmos in the first fruit defeat of Death by raising Christ from the dead. The divine victory at Christ’s future coming will culminate in the ultimate obliteration of the ultimate enemy of God coupled with our bodily resurrection into eternal life.
Gospel Mt 25:31-46

The Lord's teaching on the final judgment challenges every disciple of Jesus to be a harbinger of God's kingdom in a broken world.
The teaching opens with apocalyptic images that convey Christ's kingship. The image of the Son of Man coming in glory reflects imagery from Daniel 7:13-14 and recalls other places in Matthew's Gospel where Jesus foretells the coming judgment (24:30-31; 26:64).
In chapter 24, after Jesus privately warns his disciples of dark days ahead when false prophets will arise and many will lose faith, Jesus tells his followers that the suffering will be interrupted by "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (24:30). He will send out his angels to gather all the elect (24:31). In the passage under study, which marks the end of Jesus' eschatological discourse (24:1-25:46), the Son of Man has arrived with his angels and is now seated on the throne, where he is called the king (25:34).
The portrait of Christ as King is a fearsome one in this text. All the nations of the world have gathered before him and behold his majesty. This imagery recalls Zechariah 14:1-21 where every nation will recognize the kingship of the Lord as the Lord stands upon the Mount of Olives -- Jesus' own location as he teaches his disciples (Matthew 24:3).
From the throne, the king uses his authority to separate the people. To illustrate the separation of one individual from another, Jesus likens himself to a shepherd who separates his flock of sheep from the goats who are grazing in the same pasture. The sheep receive the place of honor and inherit God's kingdom (25:34).
Jesus calls the sheep those who are "blessed by my Father" (25:34). Who are the blessed ones? The blessings of the beatitudes foreshadow Jesus' eschatological teaching. Although the Greek word for "blessed" in 25:34 is not the same as the one employed in the beatitudes, both convey a blessing from God.
In the beatitudes, Jesus blesses those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake and who are reviled for their faith (5:10-11; cf. 24:9-14). Likewise, Jesus' teaching on the blessing of the sheep comes after he has warned his disciples that they will be hated by the world and tortured for his sake (24:9). In Christ's kingdom, the blessed ones are those who do not retaliate with violence, but bear witness to a new empire by serving others (25:31-46).
The righteous ones performed these deeds with no idea that they were ministering to Christ. Jesus says that whenever they gave food to the hungry, welcomed a stranger, clothed the naked, or visited the sick or imprisoned, they acted in kindness toward Jesus himself. Jesus can identify with the least of these because he has walked in their shoes (cf. 8:20).
On the other hand, those who have failed to see the needs of the disadvantaged have acted as though they have never seen Jesus. They have not followed in Christ's footsteps. They have not continued to do the work that the Master has called them to do (24:45-51). They have not displayed who the real King is.
Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus' teaching has announced and illustrated the kingdom of God. God's kingdom does not function like a typical kingdom. This divine reign has invaded the world and is good news -- especially to those on the fringes of society. This rule welcomes those who have no status and seeks to serve others rather than exploit them.
The righteous have inherited this kingdom. Those who claim to follow Jesus and hope to endure to the end (24:13) are called to live faithfully to God's righteous empire.
Those who have experienced God's kingdom cannot go back to life as it once was. One scripture writer said, "The difference between followers of Jesus and those who do not know Jesus is that those who have seen Jesus no longer have any excuse to avoid 'the least of these.'"1
The blessed ones are those who have seen a King who is not like the kings of this world. They are blessed because they know a King who brings real peace, who sees the needy, and who hears the cries of the oppressed. In God's kingdom, no one is hungry, naked, sick, or alone. To bear witness to Christ as King is to be a messenger of this kingdom--to serve others and thereby profess the invasion of God's glorious empire.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Picture in your mind a crying child and a smiling child. Picture in your mind two clear drinking glasses. Think that one glass has a small amount of cooking oil and the other glass the same amount of water. You can try it if you’d like but The two liquids look alike. By the looks of them, it is hard to tell if one tastes good and one tastes bad.
Now think about the two pictures. Can you tell if either of the children in the pictures has been misbehaving? (No. The crying child might be showing kindness by being sad that someone has been hurt, and the smiling child might be showing meanness because he or she is happy that someone else has gotten into trouble.)
Sometimes people escape punishment for their bad behavior, and sometimes good actions are not rewarded. This doesn’t seem fair to us. Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel that we don’t have to worry about this because God will judge all behavior when Jesus returns.
In the Gospel this week, Jesus tells us that life may seem unfair at times; the consequences of good behavior and bad behavior get mixed up. Imagine pouring the oil into the water and stir with the fork. But Jesus says that we should not worry about this because someday he will return to separate the good from the bad. Once the liquid settles, the oil will separate and rise to the top. God can tell the difference between those who serve him and others and those who reject him by not caring for others. Those who follow him will live with him forever. Those who do not have chosen not to live with him. This will be a lonely choice for them. What do you think Jesus wants us to do? (He wants us to be doing good things for others, especially those who are hungry, ill, naked, or imprisoned.) Jesus says that when we do these things for anyone, we are doing them for him.

Conclude in prayer, asking God to help us serve others. Pray the Act of Love.
O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of those whom I have injured.
Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is the Israel war along with Euphrates River drying up a sign of the end times? Some videos to check.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TEPcdg_dR0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dieD4-eucg

Sunday November 19, 2023 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 157

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                   Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

When one finds a worthy wife,
her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.
She obtains wool and flax
and works with loving hands.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Reading 2                                                    1 Thes 5:1-6

Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security, "
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.

Gospel                                                         Mt 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.
After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"


REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                    Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of sayings and wisdom poems that found its present form after the return of the exiles from Babylon. However, many verses surely came from the period of the monarchy in Judea before its fall.
The poem of an ideal wife (31:10-31) comprised the last major section of Proverbs. The poem described the perfect wife as prudent, industrious, and wise. Such a woman would make a prosperous business person by today's standards. But, unlike today, the ideal wife in Proverbs did all this in the shadow of her husband. According to the custom and culture, the wife was part of the husband's family, so her loyalty belonged to her spouse. Even in acts of charity [31:20] she was to advance his reputation [31:23]. Above all, two qualities stand out, stability [31:25] and fidelity to the God of Israel [31:30 b]. Notice that the qualities of sensuality and femininity were absent [31:30a].
If we strip away the notion of the wife, the remaining qualities would describe a faithful believer. Prudent and wise. Generous and industrious. Stable and faithful. We should strive for these qualities in our lives.
Do you see any of these qualities in yourself? In your spouse (if you are married)? How have these qualities improved your life?

Responsorial Psalm                   Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
This, as the former, is a psalm for families. In that we were taught that the prosperity of our families depends upon the blessing of God; in this we are taught that the only way to obtain that blessing which will make our families comfortable is to live in the fear of God and in obedience to him. Those that do so, in general, shall be blessed (v. 1, 2, 4), In particular, I. They shall be prosperous and successful in their employments (v. 2). II. Their relations shall be agreeable (v. 3). III. They shall live to see their families brought up (v. 6). IV. They shall have the satisfaction of seeing the church of God in a flourishing condition (v. 5, 6). We must sing this psalm in the firm belief of this truth, that religion and piety are the best friends to outward prosperity, giving God the praise that it is so and that we have found it so, and encouraging ourselves and others with it.

Reading 2                            1 Thes 5:1-6

Concerning the time span and the exact moment (of the end time), brothers, you do not have need (for anything) to be written to you, for you yourselves surely know that the Day of the Lord comes thus as a thief in the night. When (people) say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction rises upon them, just like the (sudden) birth pang in the (pregnant) womb. But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the day should overtake you as a thief. For you are all sons of light, sons of the day. We are neither of the night, nor of the dark. So then, we should not fall asleep, but we should remain awake and sober.
"The time span and the exact moment" is "chronos" and "kairos" in Greek. "Chronos" is the flow of time (as in "chronological time"). "Kairos" is the exact moment (as in "the right time"). Paul echoed Jesus' warning in Acts 1:7 about speculation over the end times.
After Paul reassured the Thessalonians about the fate of those who died before the return of Jesus, he turned his attention to the favorite hobby of many Christians: speculating about the end times. He reminded his audience that trying to pinpoint the time frame of Jesus' return was futile. In fact, the Day of the Lord will come as a shock! Paul echoed a favorite image of Israel's prophets for the arrival of the Lord: the rushing onset of labor (Jer. 6:24; 22:23; Mic. 4:9). Notice that Paul implicitly saw this as God's work alone. This belief contradicted that of many Jews who believed that revolution or a righteous life would hasten the coming of the Lord. Paul inferred this was God's work alone, not man's.
Faith, however, empowered the Christian. He or she certainly knew that the Lord would return; they just didn't know when. This anticipation was not merely to be felt, but to be lived in a Christian lifestyle. Notice the qualities Paul used for the Christian who looked to the coming of Jesus. Living as children of the light, of the day. Living sober, alert lives. Paul would compare these qualities to those who lived shamefully in the shadows or in a stupor, like the sleepy or the drunk (see 5:7, not translated).
How we live reflects how seriously we take the Christian message. We should live like we are ready for the coming of the Lord.
Are you ready for the coming of Jesus? How can you get ready for his return?

Gospel                              Mt 25:14-30

Have you ever felt like an outcast? What attitude or chain of events caused your feelings?
Think back to your childhood or adolescence. At one point you may have felt ostracized by your peers. They may have wanted more than you could give. Or, they may have rejected you for whom you were and what you could offer them. They may have taunted you mercilessly. Their barbs may have stung deeply. For a while you might have felt that the world stood against you.
In last week's parable (Matthew 25:1-30), Jesus compared his followers to an unlikely image: unmarried teenage girls. Imagine the faces of the men in Jesus' audience who heard this parable. Utter amazement and shock. In a society that segregated by gender and that lived in clans ruled by patriarchs, the thought of men being compared to silly young girls seemed outlandish. How dare the Master berate Christian men like that?!
If that image stopped males in their tracks, imagine the power of the image in this week's gospel. The Kingdom was like an extortionist and his three henchmen. The shock must have been unbearable.
Contemporaries of Jesus believed all the wealth of the world was limited and the distribution of riches was preordained. In addition, the economic systems of the ancient world existed for many generations and had grown rigid over time. While someone could quickly amass a fortune, the general populace suspected that person of theft, bribery, or extortion. In a culture wary of change, only the devious and immoral could rise up the economic latter.
When Jesus began the parable, he created additional suspicions. The rich man most likely lived abroad (i.e., he was a foreigner). As he prepared for his journey home, he delegated his underlings to invest his fortune. While the eight silver talents described in 25:15 had a current value of $3 million, such wealth seemed uncountable to the impoverished contemporaries of Jesus. [25:14-16]
The two of the man's employees doubled the money they were given. How could they do this? Since the story assumed the rich man and his employees were non-Jews, they could lend money at exorbitant rates (30% to 50%) and enforce repayment with the threat of prison. If someone could not repay, he was jailed until his family could repay the loan (this was actually a ransom). The populace hated such lenders for their power and their wealth. They drained the poor people, taking an unfair share of a harvest or grain production as repayment. [25:24-25]
(Another explanation made the extortionist and his men tax collectors who could demand any surcharge they wanted. 50% surcharges were common. The tax collector had the power of imprisonment to enforce his levies. The poor hated these collectors as much as lenders.)
What would a cautious, honorable employee do? Bilking money from the poor was immoral. Without government controls or insurance, no investment was truly safe. So the honorable man would bury his master's money. Hidden away far from one's dwelling, no thief could find a man's gold or silver. And, since inflation in the ancient economic order was unimaginable, money maintained constant buying power from generation to generation. Even Jewish rabbis insisted that anyone who buried his master's money was not liable for it, since this was the most prudent course of action. [25:18]
Yet, Jesus belittled the prudent man and praised the extortionist as the image that revealed the Kingdom. Why would Matthew's audience be attracted to this parable? There are three possible answers. First, God worked outside the boundaries of good taste or the moral edicts of the self-righteous. God even used evil for his own ends (witness the crucifixion). Anything, even the greed of evil men, could reveal the Kingdom.
Second, Jesus ministered to the outlaw and the outcast. These people helped to form the original Christian communities. The outlaw and the outcast identified with principles in the parable as their own.
Third, Matthew's audience lived on the fringes of society. Excommunicated by Pharisaical Judaism, the Jewish-Christians of Matthew's community felt persecuted by their Jewish brethren and ignored by the non-Jews. The believers in the evangelist's community only had each other for financial and moral support. To be sure, the early faithful heard the words "Christian" and "sinner" whispered in the same sentence. For, they suffered the same public ridicule as the extortionist and his underlings.
How did Matthew's audience understand the parable? Let us look into Matthew's gospel for clues. Since the master gave his servants wealth, he meant those riches invested, even risked, for increased returns. The only parallel to an increase occurred in Matthew 13:3-9, the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus interpreted these images in Matthew 13:18-23, where the preacher represented the sower and the Word represented the seed. The increase of the harvest represented the power of the Word in the hearts of people who became Christians.
If we draw a parallel between the two parables, the uncountable riches were the Word and the servants of the master were evangelizing Christians. Since God's Word was dynamic, the results of its use were equally dynamic. Those who preached the Word enjoyed its fruits and the promise of the Master's favor.
The most difficult parallel lay between the foreign master and God. How could anyone envision God as a ruthless extortionist? Yet, early Christians did foresee the coming of the Kingdom in violent terms. The final judgment would come swift and sure. Those who rejected the Lord would be, in turn, rejected. These included "lukewarm" or "fence sitting" followers, Christians in name only. [25:30]
The moral of the parable revealed God's ways. "...the person who has a lot will get more until its more than enough. But the person who doesn't have much will have the little he owns taken from him." [25:29] Like the extortionist, God expected much from his creatures, far more than occasional lip-service. To those who responded with loving service, he would give more, including the very life of his Son. But to those who gave little love, even that small amount would dry up and wither away. Through the eyes of the world, God ruled without mercy. But, through the eyes of his faithful, he ruled with justice and love.
While we might not realize it, we live in the end times. Ever since Christ ascended to his Father, Christians have waited anxiously for the return of their Lord in glory. For the past 2000 years, the Church has recognized the current moment as a time of favor, yet a time of judgment.
As we discussed last week, the risen Christ is fully present to us, his followers, yet we struggle against evil as they journey to meet the Lord. Sometimes, we might fall to our own self-delusions of holiness, sometimes to the lure of worldly temptation, sometimes to wiles of the Evil One. Ultimately, we will undergo a final trial, a choice between ". . . apparent solution to (our) problems . . . " and the truth. (CCC 675) A pseudo-messianic persona or force the Church calls the "Anti-Christ" will lead the battle against us. This persona or force can include cults of personality or ideologies. In the end, the "Anti-Christ" (has and) will challenge God's People. Only God can deliver his faithful from the final test. We cannot save ourselves.
"The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil . . . " (CCC 677)
How have you waited upon the Lord, in spite of the challenges you face? Has your waiting been active? Think about it.
God has his ways. Sometimes we feel his blessing. Sometimes we feel his distance. There are even times God may feel like the enemy. We enjoy times of intimacy as graced moments. But we might fail to realize that in times of distance and estrangement God offers us his life.
God demands much from us. Indeed, he demands everything! His edicts may sound unreasonable and may turn others away. Outsiders may view Christianity as extortion.
But, he gave everything in return, the very life of his only Son. For, he is the door to eternal life.
Always remember God has great plans for you. You just need to keep the faith and pray for the a direction. He will surely provide it in His time.
Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

What are some things that you have learned to do well? Try to make a list of at least five things.
We all have particular skills and abilities, and each person’s combination of skills and abilities is unique. Our skills and abilities are among God’s many gifts to us.
What are we to do with the skills and abilities that we have been given? Think about it: Jesus taught about what to do with our abilities in a parable that we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel. Today’s Gospel uses the word “talents.” When Jesus used this word, he was referring to a kind of coin. Today we use this word to describe a person’s special abilities.
Why were the first two servants rewarded by the master? (They used the talents that they were given and returned more money to the master than they were given.) Why was the third servant punished by the master? (He buried the talents that he was given and returned to the master only the money he had received.) What do you think this means about what Jesus wants us to do with our talents? (Jesus wants us to develop and use the gifts and talents that we have been given.)
One of the things that Jesus would like us to do is to use our gifts and talents to help others. Look back over the list of skills and abilities that you made earlier. Make a list now of all of the ways that you can think of to use your skills and abilities to help others.
Jesus does not want us to bury our talents. Choose one thing from your list that you will do this week. Write that one thing on a slip of paper. Place that slip of paper in your purse or wallet as a sign of your commitment and offering to God.
Conclude in prayer, thanking God for his gifts and asking for his help in using these gifts to serve others.
Pray for the help of the Holy Spirit.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

===============================================================

Sunday November 12, 2023 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 154

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                    Wis 6:12-16

Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire;
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil
shall quickly be free from care;
because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her,
and graciously appears to them in the ways,
and meets them with all solicitude.

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reading 2                                                       1 Thes 4:13-18

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.

Gospel                                                       Mt 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                    Wis 6:12-16

Every national leader exercises authority with an eye to history. Vanity demands leaders make their mark on the world and leave a legacy. Many kings and presidents have pondered the question: how will future generations judge me?
What is the key to a favorable legacy, as well as a peaceful and profitable rule? The author of the Wisdom of Solomon had his favorite answer: wisdom! In fact he was so enamored with the virtue that he personified it in his writing. The image of wisdom the author painted was that of a young lover, a woman who waited eagerly by the gate to a man's house (so the virtue was easily available), yet aloof enough to only be available to those who sought her. "Lady Wisdom" was no commoner; she was "resplendent and unfading.." Like a classy lover, the virtue was intimate and reliable, a confidant in need. This was a virtue of those groomed for position and power.
The Wisdom of Solomon was written in the so-called "inter-Testamental" period (200 B.C. to 150 A.D.) . Composed by a Greek-speaking Jew (most likely in Alexandria, Egypt), the book was used to instruct young Jewish males in the ways of leadership.
Like the young Jews who heard these words, we, too, should seek wisdom as our guide to leadership. The comfort it brings far outweighs gains from turf battles or displays of ego. When we act wisely, we act for the good of all, not for the self.
Look upon the leadership in your community and church. How is that leadership exercised? With wisdom? How have you exercised leadership? How wise have you been in your dealings with others.
Remember it’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

What is your morning routine? How does prayer fit into that routine?
Have you ever noticed that activities done first thing in the morning become easily acquired habits, while those activities done later become sporadic? Wise people "front load" their day, so those activities they deem important will be accomplished. Of course, a wise person limits the number of activities in the morning, so they don't conflict with demanding time schedules.
What does the wise Christian do first thing in the morning? The obvious answer is prayer. But is the prayer merely habitual reaction or is it a deeply felt yearning for God that day?
Psalm 63 was a morning prayer that cried out for divine intimacy. The speaker in the psalm prayed for God to come close; he saw worship in the Temple as the highest activity in life.
Throughout the night, the psalmist would bless God (63:5 described both the Jewish form of blessing and the Jewish stance of blessing with arms outstretched); blessing itself was an activity on par with eating the finest feast. Even in the pre-dawn when the spirit was the weakest, the psalmist took comfort in the Lord's help.
The psalm ended with a prayer for the king. Even though enemies pursued the king, they would fail, for the trust of the king was in the Lord. (Notice the voice of the one praying 63:10-12 and the king seem to be the same.) These last verses and the desert tone of the psalm itself (...my soul thirsts...like a lifeless, parched land without water) supported the spirit of the title: a psalm of David while he was in the wilderness.
Despite the title, the psalm acted as a dawn prayer in Temple worship. The priest in the early morning hour would praise God, while he anticipated the coming sacrifice and communion meal.
Prayer first thing in the morning is obviously a good idea, but that prayer should set the tone for the rest of the day. While such prayer is no guarantee for an anxiety free day, it can help put other activities and goals for the day in perspective.

Reading 2                         1 Thes 4:13-18
Here is comfort for the relations and friends of those who die in the Lord. Grief for the death of friends is lawful; we may weep for our own loss, though it may be their gain. Christianity does not forbid, and grace does not do away, with our natural affections. Yet we should not be excessive in our sorrows; this is too much like those who have no hope of a better life. Death is an unknown thing, and we know little about the state after death; yet the doctrines of the resurrection and the second coming of Christ, are a remedy against the fear of death, and undue sorrow for the death of our Christian friends; and of these doctrines we have full assurance. It will be some happiness that all the saints shall meet, and remain together forever; but the principal happiness of heaven is to be with the Lord, to see him, live with him, and enjoy him for ever. We should support one another in times sorrow; not deaden one another's spirits, or weaken one another's hands.
Think about a New Orleans Funeral
And this may be done by the many lessons to be learned from the resurrection of the dead, and the second coming of Christ. What! comfort a man by telling him he is going to appear before the judgment-seat of God! Who can feel comfort from those words? That man alone with whose spirit the Spirit of God bears witness that his sins are blotted out, and the thoughts of whose heart are purified by the Holy Spirit, so that he can love God, and worthily magnify his name. We are not in a safe state unless that it is the way with us, or we are desiring to be so.

Gospel                              Mt 25:1-13

We conclude the church year with three parables from Matthew 25. Matthew is using themes from Jewish apocalyptic literature. First a strong inducing of the end of the world, second diametrically opposed realities, third a belief that God is in charge and will bring a judgment against the unrighteous and vindicate the righteous. Finally, this school of Jewish thought of apocalyptic literature provides ethical standards for life under great difficulties. When we hear readings from apocalyptic literature elsewhere in the liturgy it is good to keep these themes in mind. Such writing was meant to give hope to people in persecution, to give them comfort and challenge us as well. An ethical note is found in today’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins waiting for a bridegroom. In a time of great trial, it is important to be prepared. Of course this story is meant to remind us about the end of time and Jesus eventual return. And no one, as Jesus has earlier warned knows when that will happen except the Father. We want to be living in such a way as to be ready for Jesus arrival. There’s a dualism here as well as the wise and foolish virgins. The wise prepare the foolish do not. When the doors to the wedding reception are locked those who were unprepared won’t be able to enter despite their protests that they are friends of the groom. Words alone won’t get us in. Crying out even the proper title of respect and faith is insufficient preparation for entry into the kingdom. One must remain ever ready and accomplish God’s will. Good advice even as we await the Lord’s coming.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Let’s imagine that we are planning a surprise party for a friend. How would we go about preparing for this party? Let’s make a list of the things we would need to do to prepare. Create a list that includes items such as preparing an invitation list, setting the date and place for the party, planning the food, choosing the decorations, planning activities, and so on.
There’s a lot of preparation needed for a surprise party. What would happen if the guest of honor arrived before we were ready? What would happen if the guest of honor was delayed in his or her arrival?
In Jesus’ time, the bridegroom traveled from his home to the home of the bride to meet the bride and bring her back to his home. The virgins in this parable were family members and friends of the bride, whose job it was to greet the bridegroom and escort him to the bride. What did they need to do to be prepared for this job? (They had to prepare their lamps and meet the bridegroom.) What happened in the story? (Some of the women didn’t bring enough oil for their lamps, and when the bridegroom was delayed, they were unable to meet him.) Were these foolish virgins able to attend the wedding feast? (No, they were unable to accompany the bridegroom to the feast; they were not able to attend the feast because they arrived too late.)
Jesus concludes this parable by reminding his listeners that we must stay prepared to receive the Kingdom of Heaven because we do not know when the Kingdom of Heaven will come. What are some things that we should be doing to stay prepared to receive the Kingdom of Heaven? (praying every day, learning what God wants us to do, obeying the Commandments)
Pray for the strength to prepare to receive the Kingdom of Heaven when it comes. Pray the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Prayer to the Holy SpiritCome, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Sunday November 5, 2023 Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 151

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                               Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts,
and my name will be feared among the nations.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.
You have turned aside from the way,
and have caused many to falter by your instruction;
you have made void the covenant of Levi,
says the LORD of hosts.
I, therefore, have made you contemptible
and base before all the people,
since you do not keep my ways,
but show partiality in your decisions.
Have we not all the one father?
Has not the one God created us?
Why then do we break faith with one another,
violating the covenant of our fathers?


Responsorial Psalm                             Ps 131:1, 2, 3R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

Reading 2                                                       1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13Brothers and sisters:
We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.

Gospel                                                          Mt 23:1-12Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                               Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10     The Book of Malachi is the last of the books of the Minor Prophets and the final book in the Christian Old Testament before the beginning of the New Testament Gospels. The inspired writer is unknown. The book's title, "Malachi," is from Malachi 3:1 and means "my messenger." The book dates to the return of the "faithful remnant" of the Judahite exiles from Babylon around 460 BC. They had rebuilt the Temple and restored public worship.
However, the Levitical chief priests and lesser ministers were failing in their covenant obligations. Malachi's message focuses on religious ritual and the liturgy of worship as an expression of fidelity to Yahweh and His Covenant.
In verse 1, God reproves the priests for not honoring Him and their shortcomings in not adequately teaching the people the commands and prohibitions of God's Law (Mal 2:8). Also, they failed to lead their congregation with impartiality, favoring some members while ignoring others (Mal 2:9; see Dt 10:17; Rom 2:11). He accuses them of not being faithful to the covenant God made with the tribe of Levi concerning their ministerial service (Ex 40:12-15; Lev 2:13; Num 3:12; 18:1-7, 15-19; Dt 18:1-8; 33:8-11; Sir 45:7/8, 15/18-19). A priest's ministry is not his own; he is the Lord's representative to His covenant people. God's ordained minister is His messenger (mal'ak), and his instruction to the people should have the wisdom and impartiality of God's Word and His holy Law. In the Old Covenant, the priest stood before the congregation as a redeemed man. However, in the New Covenant, the burden of a priest's holy service is greater since he stands before the congregation in the image of Jesus Christ!

Responsorial Psalm                             Ps 131:1, 2, 3The psalmist uses the imagery of a baby enjoying the comfort and security of its mother's lap (verse 2) to provide a model for Israel's faith in their Lord. This short psalm is an excellent daily prayer for every Christian. On our journey through life's struggles, we can find internal peace and freedom from anxiety by focusing on the Lord if we give up self-sufficiency (verse 1). If we continually turn to God and His Word, Jesus Christ, we can reject the lures of sin in the secular world, trust in God, and feel secure like a little child in the arms of a loving parent.

Reading 2                                                       1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13In contrast to the priests Malachi reproved in the First Reading, St. Paul and his missionary team were examples of righteous and humble ministers of the Lord. St. Paul visited the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia (Greece) with Sts. Silvanus, Timothy, and the other team members during his second missionary journey in about 50 A.D. (Acts 17:1-13). Paul viewed the founding of the church in Thessalonica as a team effort; therefore, he wrote in the first person plural ("we," "us," or "our").
St. Paul compared his missionary team working among the Thessalonian converts to a mother nursing her children. Paul and his team gently nurtured the Thessalonians, newly reborn in the Sacrament of Baptism, with the Gospel of salvation. He reminded them of the love his team showed the converts as they worked "night and day in order not to burden" any of them in proclaiming the Gospel (verse 9b). Paul may be referring to their labor to support themselves, so they were not a financial burden to the converts. During his missionary journeys, Paul usually supported himself as a tentmaker, so he did not burden a fledgling community with the cost of caring for him (Acts 18:3; 20:33-34).
In verse 13, St. Paul took no credit for their efforts for himself or the team. He humbly gave all the credit for the mission's success among the Thessalonians to God, who was at work in them and in those who received their Gospel message with open hearts.

Gospel                                                          Mt 23:1-12

The "chair of Moses" in verse 2 refers to the teaching and ruling authority the Pharisees and scribes held over the people in the local Jewish synagogues. The teaching authority in the Temple belonged to the chief priests. The 1st-century A.D. Jewish priest and historian Flavius Josephus wrote that the Pharisees' power was so great that they changed some liturgical practices in the Temple. They ended the chief priests' recitation of the Ten Commandments during the worship service because they said it gave the wrong impression that those commandments were more important than the other articles of the Law. Later, after Jesus's Resurrection, they changed the day of the week for the observance of the Feasts of Firstfruits and Weeks/Pentecost, so those feasts no longer fell on the first day of the week, our Sunday (Antiquities of the Jews, 13.8.4). As a result of this change, those feasts longer coincided with Jesus's Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit to the New Covenant community on the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost. They were the only two annual holy feasts with a prescribed day of the week instead of a specific date with a changing day of observance from year to year (Lev 23:5-44).
In verse 2, Jesus upheld the authority of the people's religious leaders as the successors of Moses. However, He warned the people to do what they said but not imitate their actions because they did not practice what they preached. Some of Jesus's criticisms of the Pharisees and scribes include:

The Pharisees' misinterpretation of Mosaic Law made it a burden to the people.
Their excessive display of piety was only a sham to put them in a good light.
They delighted in being honored and singled out for praise, putting themselves above ordinary people.

5 All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
The phylacteries (the Greek word for tefillin in Hebrew) were small leather boxes containing Scripture passages. God commanded that they be fastened with leather straps to a Jewish man's arm and forehead during prayer time. The man wore the arm straps on either the right or left arm and hand. A left-handed person wrapped the straps on the right arm and hand, and the right-handed person on the left arm and hand (Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:8; 11:18). Like the tassels worn on the four corners of the outer cloak (Num 15:37-39; Dt 22:12), they were signs that identified Jewish men as the people of God. In obedience to the Law, Jesus wore the tassels on His outer garment (Mt 9:20; 14:36). The requirements for phylacteries or tassels did not apply to women.
In verses 8-10, Jesus advised the people not to single out their religious leaders for excessive titles of honor and praise that would make them equal to God the Father and the Messiah. He did not mean we should call no man father or teacher. That would mean one couldn't refer to the head of one's family, one's male progenitor, as "father." Jesus even referred to Abraham as "father Abraham" (Lk 16:24). However, men who have those titles should not be held equal in authority to God or the Messiah (speaking of Himself). It was a continuation of Jesus's teaching to His disciples on practicing humility in serving God (Mt 18:1-5; 19:30; 20:16, 25-28). The genuinely humble do not seek out special recognition for themselves. The praise they seek is God's praise. As St. Peter wrote in his letter to the Church, So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1 Pt 5:6).

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

Think about some leaders you know. What are some key characteristics of these leaders? What are some of these leaders responsibilities?
Do any of these leaders inspire you to want to be a leader? Why or why not?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks to the crowd about some of their religious leaders. In fact, he is rather critical of these religious leaders.
What does Jesus tell the crowd about some of their religious leaders? Why? (He tells them to follow what they teach, but not to follow their example; Jesus says that they do not practice what they preach.) Jesus then tells the crowd what characteristic he looks for in a good leader. What does he say? (Jesus says that leaders should be humble; a good leader serves others.)
In what ways are the leaders we named earlier like the kind of leader that Jesus described? Are there others we might list as leaders in the model of Jesus? Who?
Pray petitioning God for the wisdom to grow to be people who humbly serve others as Jesus taught. Pray the Act of Love.

  Act of Love
O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of those whom I have injured.
Amen.
============================================================

Video - cut and paste into your browser. Around section 1:28 check out the shape of the river. Looks a lot like OMEGA. HMMMM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fByyTSPlkLY

I'll be posting more videos in future weeks as it seems like the bible Revelations section is starting to happen.

Sunday October 29, 2023 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 148

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                  Ex 22:20-26

Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

Reading 2                                                  1 Thes 1:5c-10

Brothers and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
not only in Macedonia and in Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.

Gospel                                                      Mt 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

------------------------------ REFLECTIONS -----------------------------------

Reading 1     Ex 22:20-26

“My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword.”

Did our loving, life-affirming God just utter those words?

Such references to violence and vengeance often turn people away from exploring the Old Testament. In fact, it is uncommon for the Church to use passages such as the above in its sacred liturgy. Even in the New Testament we see God striking sinners dead! (Read Acts 5.) How can there be any place for violence and vengeance in the Bible?

To understand, we first have to consider that Israel’s belief in one God (monotheism) developed over a loooong period of time. In its earliest history, the people who would become the nation of Israel imagined God as one of many gods. These gods were understood in very human terms, with human characteristics and behaviors reflecting the worldview of the time. From this perspective, it was important that Israel's God be strong enough to be able to take care of Israel. Perception is everything, and no one would follow a "wimpy" God--what was the point of a god, they thought, except to protect his or her people?

So early on, the Lord God of Israel was understood primarily as a “warrior” who went before Israel in battle. But as time went on, Israel came to understand that God's life-affirming role went beyond protecting God's people against their enemies. In particular, Israel's experience of exile enabled the nation to see God as the very fabric of their lives and of their hearts, the “creator” God whose love for them was expressed in many different ways.

And even today God's power is an important part of our understanding of who God is. Even as the ancient worldview of "many" gods moved aside for Israel's fierce monotheism, God's role as a warrior for the defenseless and upright continued (check out Exodus 22:20-23 and any of the prophetic writings--Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and so on).

Israel, like us, had to mature spiritually in an understanding of God. It is all part of the spiritual process that reveals a caring, merciful and just God to whom we draw closer each day in knowledge and love.

We really don't know our God if we don't know the contours of our relationship with God, from the beginning. The Catholic Biblical School can help with that!

Responsorial Psalm                               Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

Verses 1 and 51 establish the historical setting of this Davidic psalm: “after the Lord has rescued him from his enemies and from the hand of Saul,” and after David became king of Israel. 2 Samuel 22:1-51 has this same Hymn of David's thanksgiving and praise for Yahweh, his Lord, even repeating the same words from verse 1. Our response is from verse 2. David’s song gratefully proclaims that God is his rock, shield, deliverer, and Savior. David acknowledges that God has delivered him from all his enemies, including his greatest enemy, death in battle. He declares that he is God's anointed agent (Ps 18:51; also see 1 Sam 16:12-13; 2 Sam 5:3), and attributes his victories not to his success, but because God loves him.
It was because of David’s faithful love for God that he received an unconditional covenant in which God promised his “house” (dynasty) and his kingdom would endure forever (2 Sam 7:11-16, 29: 23:5: Sir 45:25). David’s descendant, Jesus of Nazareth (Mt 1:1; Lk 1:32), fulfilled his covenant promise. Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of David, rules from Heaven over an eternal kingdom.

Reading 2      1 Thes 1:5c-10

    Thessalonica was (and still is) an important seaport about 185 miles (300 km) north of Athens. In Paul’s day, the region in which Thessalonica was located was known as Macedonia. Today, it is northern Greece. In return for its support of Augustus, the Romans made Thessalonica a free city in 43 B.C.
Paul, Silas, and Timothy visited Thessalonica on Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (NOTE: Silas is his name in the book of Acts, written by Luke. In Paul’s writings, he is known as Silvanus). Paul and Silas had been in Philippi, but were imprisoned there on the complaint of the owner of a slave girl from whom Paul had exorcised a demon. An earthquake freed them that night, but they remained in the jail until the following morning. Learning that they were Roman citizens, the magistrates apologized, freed them, and asked them to leave Philippi (Acts 16).
They then went to Thessalonica, where on three successive Sabbaths they attended the synagogue and presented their case for Jesus as the Messiah. They made a number of converts, primarily among devout Greeks (Acts 17:4)—Gentiles sympathetic to Judaism, but who had not yet become full-fledged Jewish proselytes.
Jewish leaders, unhappy about these conversions, complained to the authorities that Paul and Silas were claiming that there was a king named Jesus (Acts 17:7). As a result of the ensuing conflict, Paul and Silas left for Berea (Acts 17:10). Jewish leaders from Thessalonica followed them to Berea, “agitating the multitudes” (Acts 17:13). Silas and Timothy stayed temporarily in Berea, while Paul went to Athens (Acts 17:14). Paul sent word to Silas and Timothy to rejoin him, which they did (Acts 17:15).
Paul then went to Corinth, where he stayed for a considerable time (Acts 18). Silas and Timothy rejoined him there (Acts 18:5). It was there, after opposition by Jewish leaders, that Paul said, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!” (Acts 18:6).
Paul sent Timothy to assist the church at Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Timothy brought back a good report (3:6ff.), but expressed concern about their understanding of the status of “those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
• Paul assures the Thessalonian Christians that “the dead in Christ will rise first” when Jesus comes again (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
• He reminds them that “the day of the Lord (will come) like a thief in the night” (5:2)—and that the unrepentant will find no escape (5:3).
• He reminds them also that they are “children of light” (5:5), which assures their salvation (5:8-9).
• He encourages them to “build each other up” (5:11)—and “to respect and honor” “those who are over you in the Lord” (5:12-13)—”to admonish the disorderly”…and to “be patient toward all” (5:14).
• He says, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks” (5:16-18).
• He tells them to “test all things” (5:21) and to “abstain from every form of evil” (5:22).

But Timothy has visited Thessalonica again, and his report tells us that that the Christians there continued to enjoy strong faith in Christ and an abiding relationship with Paul and his colleagues.
“and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God“ (v. 9b). This is key! The Thessalonian Christians had turned from the worship of idols—inanimate, dead idols—to the worship of the living God. They had moved from the worship of that which is counterfeit to that which is real. People had noticed the difference in their lives, and were favorably impressed. The proclamation of the Gospel was enhanced by their witness.
“and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom (the true God) raised from the dead—Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come“ (v. 10). The early Christian community eagerly awaited Christ’s Second Coming. Paul had obviously included this emphasis in his earlier preaching in Thessalonica, and he will emphasize it again in this letter (5:2-6).
The fact that God raised Jesus from the dead authenticated his status as Son of God. Later, it also authenticated the proclamation of the apostles.
It was appropriate for these Christians to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming, because Paul had assured them that Christ would deliver them from the wrath to come. They would not suffer the judgment that the wicked would experience at the end of time.

Gospel      Mt 22:34-4
Are you familiar with the musical play – “Fiddler on the Roof.”
The play is set in an impoverished Russian village, Anatevka, populated largely by Jewish families, at a time when Russia was ruled by the Tsar. The people of the village were of simple faith and lived close to the land. They heard little news of the outside world and their lives were governed strictly by their age-old traditions.

As the curtain opens for the first act, the attention of the audience is drawn to the roof of a house on the stage. A violin begins a haunting tune and the shadow of a fiddler, violin tucked under his chin, is seen playing and dancing gaily on the roof.
The lights come on the stage and the first person we meet is Tevye the dairy farmer. His opening words go something like this. “A fiddler on the roof? Sounds crazy no?… You might say that every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant simple tune without breaking his neck … It isn’t easy! … How can we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word. Tradition! Because of our tradition we have kept our balance for years … Because of our tradition everyone knows who he is and what God expects of him…. Tradition! Tradition! Without our tradition our life would be as shaky as… as … as a fiddler on the roof!”
Like Tevye, the Pharisees were concerned with tradition. Like Tevye, the Pharisees knew that without Israel’s traditions life would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof. Like Tevye, they knew the importance of knowing who we are and what God expects of us.
The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus by asking him a theological question. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (v. 36). The Pharisees asked Jesus attempting to trick him with a theological question. Jesus answered by quoting the Old Testament and the tradition that the Pharisees respected so much. He said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (vv. 37-39).
There is nothing new in Jesus’ answer. This is not something original. In Jewish writings long before Jesus’ time, these two commandments summarized the whole of the law. In fact, Luke’s Gospel attributes this summary not to Jesus but to the Jewish lawyer who asked Jesus what he must do to receive eternal life (Luke 10:26-27). Jesus asked him,
“What is written in the law? How do you read it?” The lawyer replies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Every Pharisee, every Jew — even Tevye the dairy farmer in the village of Anatevka — knew those words. These words are the essence, the beginning and the ending of the Jewish piety. In Deuteronomy we read, “Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one: and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). These words were to be recalled in the morning and in the evening. They were to be taught to the children. And they were recited just before the moment of death.
“A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (v. 39), Jesus continued. Jesus went to the heart of the Pharisees’ tradition — and his own. He quoted the Law in Leviticus dealing with right conduct toward the neighbor. He went on, “The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (v. 40).
The Jews had been out to trap Jesus. First, the Pharisees and the Herodians had a go with a question whether taxes should be paid to the Emperor or not. A question to get Jesus to condemn himself with his own answer.
Then the Sadducees try out a tricky question on Jesus about a woman who marries seven times. Which husband will she have when the dead will be raised to life? Again a question to trick Jesus because the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection.
And now the Pharisees test Jesus again to try and find out where he stands in regard to the traditional faith, the faith of the fathers. And in his reply, we find that Jesus had a great respect for tradition. He goes to the very heart of the Jewish faith and quotes passages of the Old Testament. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel we hear that Jesus hasn’t come to do away with Israel’s faith. We hear him say, “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus has great respect for the traditional faith, but not necessarily the traditional interpretation of the Pharisees.
The Jewish idea of responsibility when it comes to who is to be loved goes like this. Everyone was to love God, that was compulsory. But everyone else was graded as to how much love they were to be given. There were those people to whom it was a responsibility to show love. Those on the outer circles of the community, like outcasts, sinners, tax collectors, Gentiles, Samaritans etc, some were to be loved less, or others were owed no love whatsoever. The Pharisees had established many laws to help people in their observance of this command. These laws told people whom they were to love, and whom they could ignore.
By saying that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love your neighbor, this gives a new slant to the traditional interpretation. To love God that was clear enough but to also say to love one another in the same breath puts both of these commands on an equal footing. One is not more important than the other. To love God is to love my neighbor and to truly love my neighbor is to love God. In fact, we can’t make any sense out of Jesus’ radical command to love our enemies unless we first recognize the love that God has for us and loves us in such a radical way even though we are his enemies because of sin.
The love of God and the love of our neighbor are inseparable. You cannot claim to love God if you don’t love your neighbor. Essentially the entire law of God can be boiled down to two simple commandments: Love God with your whole being; and love whomever God puts next to you as you love yourself.
In all honesty, it doesn’t take much imagination to realize that this kind of love has been in short supply in our lives. In fact, if we could love perfectly then there would be no more sin in our world. If we loved perfectly, if we were able to be truly committed to other people, then there would be no more violence, or war, what we say and do would only be gentle, kind and caring.
Because this is not the case Jesus came to pay for our lovelessness. He showed us what true love is. His love touched the dumb, the deaf, the diseased, the disabled. His love warned, wept and washed dirty feet. His love told of a shepherd searching for lost sheep, a Father rushing out to embrace and kiss his lost son as he welcomed him home. His love turned the other cheek, and willingly walked that extra mile. His love carried a cross — and died upon it! His love welcomed each of us into God’s family, forgiving our sin in the water of our Baptism. Because of Jesus you are perfect saints in the eyes of God. Eternal life is yours in Christ. Forgiveness of sins is yours. The perfect love of God is yours.
We no longer have to love; we get to love.
We don’t love in order to get to heaven; we love because heaven is already ours in Christ.
We don’t love in order to win God’s favor; we love because we already have God’s favor in Christ.
We don’t love so that God will love us; we love because God has loved us in Christ with the greatest love we will ever know, the crucified love of Jesus.
Jesus came to make us more loving. What form this loving takes is not important, but what is important is that it does take place. When you fail, remember Jesus loves you, and let his love shine through you into the lives of the people around you.

Making the Connection
Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

What laws do you think are the most important laws in our country? (laws that prohibit killing, laws that protect our environment, laws that protect our freedom of speech)
Each of these examples are laws that are essential to maintaining our society. To the Jewish people of Jesus’ time, the Law was central to the expression of their faith.
Turn to the Book of Leviticus. This book of the Bible contains many laws for how to live a life of holiness according to Jewish tradition.
Browse the Book of Leviticus to locate examples of laws. Think of some examples.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, the Pharisees try to trick Jesus with questions about religious laws.
How does Jesus answer the Pharisees’ question about the Law? (He summarizes all the laws into two commandments: love God and love your neighbor.)
We sometimes think that laws are restricting—that they prevent us from doing certain things. Jesus teaches us that the heart of God’s Law is love. The commandments, in fact, free us from those things that get in the way of loving God and loving our neighbor.
Pray the Our Father, remembering that God sent his Son to teach us this important lesson about the law of love

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday October 22, 2023 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 145

THE READINGS -----------------------------------------------------------------

Reading 1                                                   Is 45:1, 4-6

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.

Responsorial Psalm                                Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10

R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Reading 2                                                   1 Thes 1:1-5b

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God,
how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Gospel                                                      Mt 22:15-21

The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.