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| “St Michael and the Devil” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1518 |
(Monday of the Thirty Second Week in
Ordinary Time)
Reading 1: Titus
1:1-9
Paul, a slave of God and
Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of
God’s chosen ones
and the recognition of
religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie,
promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time
revealed his word
in the proclamation with
which I was entrusted
by the command of God our
savior,
to Titus, my true child in
our common faith:
grace and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
For this reason I left you in
Crete
so that you might set right
what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in
every town, as I directed you,
on condition that a man be
blameless,
married only once, with
believing children
who are not accused of
licentiousness or rebellious.
For a bishop as God’s steward
must be blameless, not arrogant,
not irritable, not a
drunkard, not aggressive,
not greedy for sordid gain,
but hospitable, a lover of goodness,
temperate, just, holy, and
self-controlled,
holding fast to the true
message as taught
so that he will be able both
to exhort with sound doctrine
and to refute opponents.
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Commentary on Ti
1:1-9
This selection is
the introduction to St. Paul Crete
(which according to the best scholarship, Paul himself never visited.). He continues to remind Titus of the character
attributes of Presbyters (Elders) and Bishops in parallel with 1
Timothy 3: 1-7. The list of these attributes falls into four
basic areas and is not intended to be a complete list but rather foundational
guidelines. These include;
irreproachable conduct, his family should be Christian (in newly converted Crete this would have been a special emphasis), an upright
and welcoming person, and have a good grasp of Christian doctrine.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see
your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and
its fullness;
the world and those who dwell
in it.
For he founded it upon the
seas
and established it upon the
rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your
face.
Who can ascend the mountain
of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy
place?
He whose hands are sinless,
whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your
face.
He shall receive a blessing
from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks
for him,
that seeks the face of the
God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your
face.
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Commentary on Ps
24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Psalm 24 is a processional
song. It recalls that God is the great creator and he calls his people to be
faithful. It asks the question; who can come into his presence? The psalmist
answers; only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God) may do so.
Those who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life
from the savior. It focuses on the character of the one who worthily seeks God
and the one who is worthy to come into God’s kingdom and stand before him. We
are answered; “He whose hands are
sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.”
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Gospel: Luke
17:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will
inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through
whom they occur.
It would be better for him if
a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of
these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke
him;
and if he repents, forgive
him.
And if he wrongs you seven
times in one day
and returns to you seven
times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the
Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you
have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this
mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in
the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
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Commentary on Lk
17:1-6
The second saying involves
forgiveness, both of self (“Be on your guard!”) and of others.
The use of the number “seven” relates to Hebrew numerology and
demonstrates the depth of forgiveness required of the Christian. (cf. Genesis
4:24). The implication is perfect of complete
forgiveness as referenced in 1 Corinthians 13:4f, 7.
The disciples request for
increased faith is answered in a way that implies that faith is evidenced first
by results and understood later. “It is
the quality rather than the quantity of faith that must be revitalized. The nuance of the Greek verbs indicates that
if you ‘would say…it would already have obeyed you’ almost as though
fulfillment anticipates faith.”[4]
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Reflection:
While the three sayings of
Jesus in St. Luke’s Gospel certainly merit deep reflection, we cannot help but
be drawn to St. Paul’s instructions to Titus about the character of Christian
pastors and ministers in the Church. St. Luke’s Gospel passage actually gives us hope as we
reflect upon the qualities of the Christian leader.
If we evaluate our own
character against St. Paul
Those of us with Children are
tested even further. We certainly have
our hands full in trying to insure they have strength of character to retain
their faith in face of a secular society that not only dissuades them from
Christian moral principles but actively punishes them for acting upon them.
Our great hope and solace is
that first line in St. Luke’s Gospel today; “Things
that cause sin will inevitably occur.”
Jesus recognized that “Sin happens” (a better bumper-sticker). We are called to recognize that reality; but
we are challenged to identify it immediately and correct it. God help us if we let ourselves fall into complacency
where sin is concerned. We are called to
be examples of God’s commandments – first and greatest; “Love God, and love one
another.”
We as leaders of others (yes,
we all have that job to a greater or lesser extent, which is why the letter to
Titus is so scary) are called to be examples of that lived faith and the love
that must flow from the Son through us to all we meet. We are called to spend time in introspection,
making sure that what we do is appropriate for one of God’s adopted children.
Today we have a lot to think
and pray about – our call to be examples to others; our challenge to forgive
perfectly, our call to be a people of faith.
Today we pray only to be the best Christians we can be.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “St Michael and the Devil” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1518
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 44:123.
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