(Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time)
Readings
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| ” St Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order” by Francisco de Herrera, the Elder, 1628 |
Reading 1: Exodus 1:8-14, 22
A new king, who knew nothing
of Joseph, came to power in Egypt
He said to his subjects,
"Look how numerous and powerful
the people of the children of
Israel
Come, let us deal shrewdly
with them to stop their increase;
otherwise, in time of war
they too may join our enemies
to fight against us, and so
leave our country."
Accordingly, taskmasters were
set over the children of Israel
to oppress them with forced
labor.
Thus they had to build for
Pharaoh
the supply cities of Pithom
and Raamses.
Yet the more they were
oppressed,
the more they multiplied and
spread.
The Egyptians, then, dreaded
the children of Israel
and reduced them to cruel
slavery,
making life bitter for them
with hard work in mortar and brick
and all kinds of field
work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.
Pharaoh then commanded all
his subjects,
"Throw into the river
every boy that is born to the Hebrews,
but you may let all the girls
live."
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Commentary on Ex 1:8-14,
22
The Book of
Exodus takes up the story of Joseph and his descendants in Egypt, continued
from the Genesis account. In this
passage we hear how the “children of Israel
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8
R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with
us–
let Israel
When men rose up against us,
then would they have
swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed
against us.
R. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
Then would the waters have
overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept
over us;
over us then would have swept
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did
not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
R. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of
the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps
124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8
This lament turns
to praise as the hymn remembers the saving effort of God. It anticipates the end of the slavery
described in Exodus.
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Gospel: Matthew 10:34—11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I
have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not
peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her
mother,
and a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be
those of his household.
"Whoever loves father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up
his cross
and follow after me is not
worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will
lose it,
and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you
receives me,
and whoever receives me
receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet
because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a
righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous
man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup
of cold water
to one of these little ones
to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will
surely not lose his reward."
When Jesus finished giving
these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place
to teach and to preach in their towns.
Commentary on Mt 10:34—11:1
The final remarks
of Jesus to the Apostles as they go out to preach and heal are given in this
passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel. He
reminds them that even though the word they spread reflects God’s love, they
will be received by many badly, dividing households and families.
He goes on to
tell them that those who will fully accept him and his word will undergo
persecution because of him and, even if they loose their lives on His account,
they will be saved. The reward given to
those who accept this word and follow in his way will be great in heaven.
This discourse,
recalled many years after Christ’s death and resurrection has the advantage of
seeing the persecution of those who spread the word and embodies a fuller
understanding of the meaning of Christ’s teaching.
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Reflection:
For the past several days
(including this past Sunday’s Gospel) we have been reflecting upon the sending
of the disciples into the world. We were
told that they were sent “as sheep among
wolves” without any physical means of support or protection. To punctuate that idea St. Matthew’s Gospel
explains that the Gospel we bring to the world will not be accepted by
many. In fact, rather than instantly
bringing peace and the Kingdom of God to those who hear it, the message will
cause division between peoples and even within families. This fact is more true
today, in the United States, than any time since its founding.
It is said that “forewarned
is forearmed.” The Gospel serves as a
warning that as we put on Christ and go into the world we face each day, be
that the world of business, governance, school, or nurturing a family we should
expect the message we bring to cause discomfort to some.
“Why must that be?” We
rhetorically ask that question to point out that if we do this correctly; if we
truly put on Christ, the message we bring and the values that message requires,
and the virtue we must hold as sacred meets resistance from the fallen nature
of mankind. In short, those who would
rather follow another set of values, values focused on their own pleasure, on
concern for their own comfort, or aimed at dominating and demeaning others will
feel threatened by our purity of intent.
The Gospel we bring to the
world is not “Good News” to those who love themselves and embrace materialism
and hedonism. The simple act of helping
one less fortunate can earn the disdain of one inclined toward those
self-centered values. They feel guilt or
even less noble attitudes using the rationale that that unfortunate person is
in his or her situation because they were either not diligent enough or not
“good” enough to take advantage of their situation. They employ the Darwinian mentality of
“survival of the fittest” not realizing that by doing so they reduce themselves
to the mentality of an animal.
Today we faithfully put on
Christ and go into the world. We do so
with a prayer that the face others see is the face of Christ and the good we do
in his name will be for the greater Glory of His Father and ours.
Pax
[2]
The picture is ” St Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order” by Francisco de
Herrera, the Elder, 1628
[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.
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