14th Snday (A) Ordinary Time

 

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

Readings: Zechariah 9:9‑10  Romans 8:9,11‑13  Matthew 11:25‑30

            Our culture tends to seek security through military might and mental cleverness, but today's readings invite us to follow the gentle and humble Jesus who offers himself as the very Wisdom of God.  In gratitude for Jesus' "easy" yoke of wisdom let us sing the refrain of this Sunday's responsorial psalm: "I will praise your name forever, my king and my God" (Ps 145).
            The first reading is from an oracle in the Book of Zechariah which speaks in apocalyptic fashion of God's coming as a powerful warrior to establish a kingdom of peace for Zion/Jerusalem (ch. 9). In the midst of the vision "daughter Zion" is invited to rejoice in the coming of the Messianic king.  In contrast to the expectations for a warrior Messiah (see Ps 2) who might come on a horse, the mount in time of war, the Book of Zechariah envisions the Messiah coming upon an ass, the ordinary mount in peace time, as a humble king of peace and a just savior who will banish the implements of war.
                        See, your king shall come to you;
                        a just savior is he,
                        meek, and riding on an ass,
                        on a colt, the foal of an ass . . .
                        He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
                        and the horse from Jerusalem.
                        The warrior's bow shall be banished,
                        and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
When Jesus, at the end of his ministry, enters Jerusalem riding an ass, Matthew will note that Jesus acts in fulfillment of this passage (Matt 21:1‑11).
In the second reading Paul is speaking to the Roman Christians about the liberating effects on them of Jesus' death and resurrection.  Formerly, they had been in the "flesh," given over to their lower instincts which lead only to sin and death.   But now, because of Christ's victory over sin and death, they are "in the spirit," and their mortal bodies are also destined for resurrection.
                        If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
                        dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the
                        dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also
                        through his Spirit dwelling in you.
In light of Christ’s victory, Paul exhorts the Roman Christians to affirm the life‑giving power of God's Spirit which dwells in them and to put to death the evil deeds of the body.
                        We are debtors, then, brethren‑‑ but not to the flesh,
                        so that we should live according to the flesh.
                        If you live according to the flesh, you will die;
                        but if by the spirit you put to death the evil deeds

                        of the body, you will live.
            The Gospel reading from Matthew is made up of two parts:  Jesus' prayer of thanksgiving to the Father and his invitation to those "who are weary and find life burdensome" to come to him and find rest.  Both parts are closely tied to the immediate context in the gospel and to Matthew's theology.
            In the prayer Jesus contrasts “the learned and the clever” with “the merest children.”  “The learned and clever” are the  religious leaders who in the next chapter will accuse Jesus of  being possessed by Beelzebul when he allows his hungry disciples  to pluck grain on Sabbath and when he heals a man with a withered  hand on the Sabbath (Matt 12:1‑32).  Their stringent legalism keeps them from receiving Jesus as the gentle servant who brings the very Wisdom and revelation of God.
            “The merest children” are the needy (lepers, possessed,  paralytics, the blind, the deaf and mute, tax collectors, sinners, and Jesus' rag‑tag disciples) who have found in his healing ministry and teaching the very revelation and Wisdom of  God (chs. 8‑11).  To them Jesus, like Lady Wisdom in Proverbs and Sirach, offers the further invitation to take upon themselves the gentle yoke of God's wisdom which he himself exemplifies in his teaching (chs. 5‑7) and his actions (chs. 8‑11).
                        Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
                        and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you
                        and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart;
                        and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke
                        is easy, and my burden light.
 

The Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

 

 

The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29)
Readings: Acts of the Apostles 12:1-12  2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18  Matthew 16:13-19
On this feast the Church honors the apostles Peter and Paul, who were strengthened by the risen Christ to bear witness to the gospel, even to the point of shedding their blood in martyrdom.  Let us learn to share in their faith as we sing the refrain of the responsorial psalm: “The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him” (Ps 34).
In the Acts reading, an angel of the Lord rescues Peter from prison in an episode that is analogous to God’s power in raising Jesus after his trial and passion in the gospel.  Like Herod Antipas who beheaded John (Lk 9:7-9) and sought to kill Jesus in Galilee (Lk 13:31-33), Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great (Lk 1:5), persecutes members of the Church and has James, the brother of John, killed by the sword.  Seeing that this is pleasing to the Jews, he proceeds to arrest and imprison Peter during the feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover, the same time that Jesus’ arrest, passion and resurrection took place (Luke 22-24).  Before recounting Peter’s miraculous escape, Luke juxtaposes Herod’s plans to suppress the gospel with the Church’s fervent prayer in Peter’s behalf.
He (Herod) intended to bring him (Peter) before the people
after Passover. Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer
by the Church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.
Peter’s rescue from the heavily guarded prison is God’s response to the Church’s prayer; earthly powers cannot thwart the spread of the gospel which must reach the ends of the earth (cf. the whole of Acts).
In the account of the miracle, Peter is quite passive, again to highlight the power of the resurrection in defeating the forces that would oppose it.  He is in a dreamlike state throughout as the angel, bathed in light, instructs him to get up, and, after the chains have fallen from his wrists, to put on his belt, sandals, and cloak, and follow him pass the guards and through the iron gate leading out to the city.  Only when the angel has left him, does Peter exclaim: “Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”  
In the reading from Second Timothy the Pauline author gives us Paul’s last testament to his beloved disciple, and it too proclaims the Lord’s power to strengthen his apostles, even in the face of the ultimate test of martyrdom.  Paul is in prison, being poured out like a sacrificial libation, as his departure from this life is at hand.  Using a favorite metaphor of the athlete who has completed a competition and is awaiting his laurel crown, Paul is confident of God’s reward for his faithful service.
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which
the Lord, just judge, will award to me on that day . . .
But the author’s purpose in writing to Timothy is to strengthen his disciple, so he adds, “and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.”  The concluding section is a doxology stressing that Paul has not triumphed by his own resources, like some Stoic philosopher, but through the power of the Lord who “stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be complete and all the Gentiles might hear it.”  Paul prays that “glory” be given to the Lord, who will rescue him from every evil threat and bring him safely to his heavenly kingdom.
Matthew’s account of Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” at Caesarea Philippi also proclaims God’s saving presence with his apostles and the church, who must bear witness against the forces of evil.  In Jesus’ blessing of Simon son of Jonah, which is unique to Matthew’s gospel, he announces that the apostle’s confession was not through “flesh and blood,” but on the basis of a revelation from his heavenly Father.  Jesus then goes on to solemnly proclaim that Simon is Peter, “rock” (petros), the foundation stone of his Church which will be protected so that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
Let us celebrate this feast in the spirit of praise and joy to God for giving us faith in the risen Christ through the testimony of his apostles, and let us ask the Lord to keep us true to their teachings.
 

Raphael's painting of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena

                Corpus Christi: Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ A

         Readings: Deuteronomy 8:2‑3,14‑16  1 Corinthians 10:16‑17
                                                John  6:51‑58
   
This Sunday's readings present three aspects of the mystery of the Eucharist: (1) as a remembrance of the Lord's past care for his people, (2) as a union with Christ and one another, and  (3) as an anticipation of our eternal life through Christ in God.   In gratitude for the gift of the Eucharist, let us sing the refrain of the responsorial psalm: "Praise the Lord, Jerusalem" (Ps 147).
 In order to understand Moses' words to the Israelites in the reading from Deuteronomy, we need to remember the genre and setting of the book.  Deuteronomy is composed as Moses' farewell to the people after their journey of forty years from Sinai to the plains of Moab, just across the Jordan from the promised land of Canaan.  Moses is about to die; he will not be able to enter the land with the people, and so in his farewell he prepares them for the dangers they will face in the land of milk and honey.
    In this section Moses reminds the Israelites that the Lord is about to bring them into “a good country . . . a land where (they) can eat bread without stint and where (they) will lack nothing .  . .”  (Deut 8:7‑9).  The danger of this prosperity will be that they may forget the Lord who has sustained them for the difficult forty years of wandering in the desert with the gift of “manna, a food unknown to (them) and (their) fathers.”  Each will be tempted to think that “It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has obtained for me this wealth” (Deut 8:17).  The antidote to forgetfulness is remembrance of the lessons of the wilderness, especially the manna which was given “in order to show . . . that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.”

           In the second reading Paul is warning the Corinthians that they are not free to participate in the banquets honoring pagan deities, even though they may know that these idols are nothing.  Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that in their Eucharistic banquets "the cup of blessing" they drink is "a sharing in the blood of Christ" and the bread they break is "a sharing in the body of Christ."  Through this sharing in Christ's covenant of sacrificial love they are united to one another.  "Because the loaf of bread is one, we, many though we are, are one body for we all partake of the one loaf."  Paul then goes on to warn the Corinthians that those who partake in the pagan banquets are united to "demons" (see Deut 32:17). "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons.  You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons" (1 Cor 10:21).
          The Gospel reading is part of John's bread of life discourse given by Jesus after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes (John 6).  One of John's themes in this discourse is a contrast between the manna that God sent down to the Jewish ancestors in the desert (John 6:30‑33,51‑58) and Jesus who proclaims “I am the living bread come down from heaven.”  The difference between the manna and Jesus is that between temporary and lasting sustenance.  “Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the one who feeds on this bread shall live  forever” (John 6:58).
          In John's theology Jesus who gives his “flesh for the life of the world” is the only link to the Father.  All of the images of Jesus in John express this same basic idea.  He is “the Lamb of  God who takes away the sins of the world” (1:29), the living  temple (2:19‑21), the Son sent to be lifted up for the world's salvation (3:14‑17), the living water (4:14), the light of the world (8:12), the “sheep gate” and “the good shepherd” (10:7,14),  the “resurrection and the life” (11:25), “the way and the truth  and the life” (14:6), and “the true vine” (15:1).  The particular focus of the image of Jesus as “the living bread” is that the Eucharistic sharing in Jesus' life‑giving death brings a unity with Jesus and the Father which stretches into all eternity.   
“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
                        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 feed on me
                        will have life because of me.

Trinity Sunday - A

 

Trinity Sunday A
Readings: Exodus 34:4‑6,8‑9  2 Corinthians 13:11‑13  John 3:16‑18

            "Live in harmony and peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you."  This exhortation from the conclusion of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians captures the spirit of the Trinity Sunday readings.  God reveals himself to us as a God of love and peace who calls us to live in harmony and peace.  For this wondrous gift we can joyfully sing the verses of the Canticle from Daniel as our responsorial psalm: "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestors,/ praiseworthy and exalted above  all forever . . ." (Dan 3:52).
            In order to appreciate the revelation of the Lord's gracious name in first reading from Exodus, we need to know the events that immediately preceded it in Exodus 32‑33.  While Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the instructions for the building of the ark and tabernacle, the Israelites violate the covenant by making a golden calf and worshiping it.  Their very existence as God's people has been endangered.  When Moses discovers the calf and the people's wild dancing, he angrily smashes the tablets of the covenant.  To insure the survival of the people, Moses repeatedly intercedes for them and begs the Lord to accompany this "stiff‑necked" people as they march on from Sinai toward the promise land.   Finally, the Lord promises Moses that he will reveal his sacred name, and he instructs him to cut two more stone tablets and return to  Mount Sinai.

            The revelation that occurs on the mountain is a high point in the Biblical tradition.  We learn that the Lord is a merciful and gracious God.  When he descends in a cloud, he proclaims his sacred name, "Lord" (written YHWH in Hebrew consonants).  Then the Lord reveals the character of that name by crying out: "The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."  Despite the repeated sins of Israel and the whole human family, the Lord is ever ready to begin again in mercy and grace.  Having heard this revelation, Moses bows down in worship and says, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company.  This is indeed a stiff‑necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.”  In response the Lord promises to lead the people into the promise land and re‑establishes the covenant with the people.   
            The Second Corinthians reading is from the concluding sentences of Paul's letter, and it was chosen for Trinity Sunday because of its blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!"  Paul's conclusion is closely related to the problems facing the Corinthian community.  They were badly divided into factions over the question of leadership.  Some "super-apostles" were claiming spectacular signs and wonders as credentials for their apostolic status.  In contrast, Paul has insisted that the real marks of the true apostle are sufferings in behalf of the gospel of the cross (see 2 Corinthians 11‑13).  In the conclusion Paul wants to bind the community together in harmony and peace.  He asks them to "Greet one another with a holy kiss" and concludes with the blessing, reminding them of the "grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (the gift of forgiveness), "the love of God" and "fellowship (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit" that is the heart of the Christian gospel.
            The Gospel reading is a theological reflection at the end of Jesus' dialogue with Nicodemus in John.  In many ways it summarizes the whole message of John's Gospel.  God's action in sending his only Son into the world is done out of love with the purpose of bringing believers to an eternal life which shares in the very life of God.  “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.” In John, the Son's moment of glory comes when he fully reveals God's love by laying down his life for his followers (see John 10:14‑18; 12:23‑26). God's intention in sending the Son into the world is not condemnation, but salvation.  “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” However, those who turn from the revelation of God's love have already condemned themselves by refusing to share in that love.
 

Pentecost

 



                                     Pentecost Sunday A B C

      Readings: Acts 2:1-11 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13   John 20:19-23

“Lord send out your spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (Ps 104).  In remembering the first Christian Pentecost, we fervently pray in the refrain of the responsorial psalm that God’s Holy Spirit renew the world and the church with the gifts of unity, peace, joy and forgiveness.
The Acts reading describes the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples at the Jewish pilgrimage feast of Pentecost (Shavuoth) in fulfillment of prophetic expectations of the final age when all the nations will know the God of Israel.  Isaiah 66 speaks of God’s coming in the following way: “For behold the Lord will come as a fire . . . with a flame of fire . . . I am coming to gather all the nations and tongues” (Is 66:15.18).  As Peter will affirm in his Pentecost sermon, the prophet Joel announced: “God says: ‘It will come to pass in the last days,/ that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh’” (Acts 2:17).  Luke’s account of Pentecost has all of these elements.  The Spirit descends upon the gathered group of one hundred and twenty would-be witnesses with a noise “like a strong driving wind.”  Tongues “as of fire” part and rest on each of them, and the Holy Spirit enables them to speak in different languages to Jewish pilgrims from most of the known world.  In a symbolic reversal of the confusion of tongues at the tower of Babel story (Genesis11), the disciples speak in understandable languages of “the mighty works of God.”  As Peter will proclaim in his Pentecost sermon, Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension have begun the final age when all are called to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:14-41).
In the reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul insists that the Holy Spirit’s various gifts are meant for the common good of the community and for the unity of what were previously divided groups.  In Corinth some were using the possession of spectacular gifts like tongues as a basis for claiming superiority within the community.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that one Spirit gives various gifts--wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working miracles, prophecy, tongues and interpreting tongues--for the building up of the whole community, and not for the exaltation of the individual (12:4-11).  He also uses the body of Christ metaphor to express the interdependence of all members--Jews or Greeks, slave or free--upon one another because they share a common baptism “into one body.”

The Gospel selection is John’s account of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles on Easter night.  John places all the key saving events--the Resurrection, the ascent to the Father and the bestowal of the Spirit--on Easter (John 20:1-23).  When Jesus appears to the disciples on the evening of that first day of the week, he has already ascended to the Father as he had announced to Mary Magdalene (John 20:17).  He can now give them the gifts he had promised in the farewell discourse: peace, joy, and the Spirit/Paraclete (John 14-17).  Twice he greets the apostles with “Peace be with you” (cf. John 14:27).  When they see his hands and his side as proof that he was crucified and has now returned to the Father, the disciples experience the joy that Jesus had promised them (cf. 16:20-24).  Finally, Jesus sends them into the world as he was sent by the Father.  He breathes on them and says: “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.”  As God “breathed” life into Adam in Genesis, Jesus is recreating the community of disciples with the life of God’s forgiving love.