13th Sunday A

13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

Readings: 2 Kings 4:8‑11,14‑16a    Romans 6:3‑4,8‑11     Matthew 10:37‑42

            In this Sunday's Gospel Jesus identifies himself with his disciples whom he sends on mission.  They are called to heroic sacrifice but are assured that those who welcome them also welcome Jesus and the Father who sent him.  Later in Matthew, we learn that those who welcome Jesus' lowly disciples will be invited into the Father's kingdom (see Matt 25:31‑46).

            The story of Elisha's visit to the Shunanmite woman in 2 Kings is paired with the gospel reading.  Both emphasize hospitality to God's messengers and God's gracious reward for such kindness.  This story is very similar to the tale of Abraham and Sarah's hospitality to their three mysterious visitors (Genesis 18).  Not only does the woman urge the prophet “to dine with her,” but she also provides “a little room on the roof” furnished “with a bed, table, chair, and lamp” for whenever he visits.  The reward for such gracious hospitality to a "holy man of God" is the same as in the Abraham‑Sarah story: the barren old couple will be given a child by God.  Elisha promises the woman: “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.” 

            The second reading is taken from Romans 6 in which Paul, in a diatribe fashion, raises and answers a possible objection to the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ.  The objection is: does Paul's gospel encourage converts to continue in sin "that grace may abound" (Rom 6:1)? Paul's answer is a definitive "No!"  He substantiates this by a reflection on the effects of the baptism which Christian converts received.  Paul explains Christian baptism as an entrance into the death and resurrection of Christ which leads to walking in a newness of life (6:1‑4).   Christian baptism involves an ethical conversion: a "death" with Christ to enslavement to sin and a "resurrection" into a life in which Christians "have become slaves of righteousness" (6:18).

            The Gospel reading is the conclusion of Matthew's second  great discourse in which Jesus sends his twelve apostles on mission “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 10).   This section reflects two of the characteristics of Matthew's Christology.  First, Jesus‑‑ as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and the Son of Man‑‑ is bringing about the war and division expected in the Messianic Age.  His apostles will also experience the sufferings predicted for that age (see 10:16‑25).  In the midst of persecution, however, they are assured of the Father's loving protection (10:26‑33).  But radical choices are demanded of them; they must choose between family loyalties and fidelity to Jesus' message.  They must be willing to take up the cross and lose their lives in order to find them.  Second, the disciples represent Jesus and the Father who sent him (10:40‑42; see 18:5; 28:16‑20).  This principle is similar to a rabbinical tradition that "the representative of a person is like himself" (m. Ber  5:5).  Just as those who welcome prophets and holy men receive  their rewards (see the first reading from 2 Kings 4), so those  who welcome Jesus' disciples, even with something as ordinary as  "a cup of cold water," will not want for a reward.     

            Another important feature of this text is the way Jesus describes his disciples.  He refers to as "one of these little ones" (hena ton mikron).  Children and "little ones" is a favorite Matthean designation for the disciples (see 18:1‑9; 19:13‑15; 25:31‑46).  In fact, in Matthew's famous last judgment  scene, the nations are judged and rewarded with entrance into the Father's kingdom on the basis of the way they have treated Jesus'  brethren: "the least ones" who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, ill and imprisoned (see Matt 25:31‑46).  For Matthew, the authentic disciple is the one who becomes "least" in following the master even to the cross.

12th Sunday A

12^th Sunday of Ordinary Time A

Readings: Jeremiah 20:10‑13  Romans 5:12‑15  

Matthew 10:26‑33

            This Sunday's readings challenge us to acknowledge our commitment to Christ and the gospel, even in face of insult, betrayal, and persecution.  When we are near despair over the apparent failure of the gospel, let us have the faith to pray the words of the responsorial psalm: "Lord, in your great love, answer me" (Ps 69).

            The first reading is one of Jeremiah's laments in which he cries out to God for justice against his enemies who have denounced and persecuted him because of the horror of his message.  Jeremiah has just been imprisoned, beaten, and put in stocks for announcing that the city of Jerusalem is going to be destroyed for its crimes against God and neighbor.  His message to all has been "Terror on every side!"      

            In this lament we are taken into Jeremiah's own heart where he struggles with the unpopularity, isolation, and vulnerability that his mission has brought him.   He hears “the whisperings of many” who denounce him for his message and watch for any misstep on his part.  In his agony Jeremiah's only consolation is his faith in the Lord as a mighty champion who will rise up to vindicate him against his persecutors: “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:/ my persecutors will stumble; they will not triumph.”  By the end of the lament, Jeremiah is already praising the Lord for rescuing him.  “Sing to the Lord,/ praise the Lord,/ For he has rescued the life of the  poor/ from the power of the wicked!”

            In the Romans reading Paul continues to proclaim that the death and resurrection of Jesus has brought salvation for all humanity.  He uses a typological contrast between Adam, the type for sinful humanity, and Christ, the antitype for redeemed humanity.  Just as the disobedient act of the one man, Adam,  unleashed the demonic forces of Sin and Death into the world and brought condemnation in that all fell into sin, so the  obedient act of Christ, the new man, has brought the gifts of  righteousness and grace.  Paul's emphasis is on the confidence Christians should have in the gracious gift of God. “But the gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one man all died, much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound for all.”

            The Gospel selection is linked to the Jeremiah reading by the theme of the persecution of God’s prophets.  It continues Matthew's missionary discourse in which Jesus is sending his disciples out to proclaim the arrival of the kingdom and to heal the sick.  In this section, Jesus has just warned them that they will be hated and persecuted for the sake of the gospel, just as he has been.  In the face of that hatred, they are not to be intimidated because the truth of the gospel will be triumphantly revealed. “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not become known.  What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops.”

            The disciples are also not to be afraid to acknowledge Jesus before the world because its threats can only deprive the body of life but cannot destroy the soul which is protected by the Father's loving care.  To assure his disciples of the Father's providential love Jesus uses a parable drawn from nature. “Are not two sparrows sold for next to nothing? Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted; so do not be afraid of anything. You are worth more than an entire flock of sparrows.”

With this assurance we should have the courage to acknowledge Christ's kingdom before the world.  Jesus warns us that our judgment before the Father will be based on this.  “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever disowns me before men I will disown before my Father in heaven.”  

The Body And Blood of Christ A

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 

    

The readings for the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ 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 (of command) 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

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.” Tragically, those who turn from the revelation of God's love have already condemned themselves by refusing to share in that love.