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| “Demolition Of The Sacred Stone Of Baal” by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1511 |
(Saint John Eudes, Priest)
Reading 1: Judges 2:11-19
The children of Israel
Abandoning the LORD, the God
of their fathers,
who led them out of the land of Egypt
they followed the other gods
of the various nations around them,
and by their worship of these
gods provoked the LORD.
Because they had thus
abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth,
the anger of the LORD flared
up against Israel
and he delivered them over to
plunderers who despoiled them.
He allowed them to fall into
the power of their enemies round about
whom they were no longer able
to withstand.
Whatever they undertook, the
LORD turned into disaster for them,
as in his warning he had
sworn he would do,
till they were in great
distress.
Even when the LORD raised up
judges to deliver them
from the power of their
despoilers,
they did not listen to their
judges,
but abandoned themselves to
the worship of other gods.
They were quick to stray from
the way their fathers had taken,
and did not follow their
example of obedience
to the commandments of the
LORD.
Whenever the LORD raised up
judges for them, he would be with the judge
and save them from the power
of their enemies
as long as the judge lived;
it was thus the LORD took
pity on their distressful cries
of affliction under their
oppressors.
But when the judge died,
they would relapse and do
worse than their ancestors,
following other gods in
service and worship,
relinquishing none of their
evil practices or stubborn conduct.
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Commentary on Jgs 2:11-19
In this passage
from the book of Judges the chronicler recounts how the Children of Israel fell
away from God and began to follow secular worship of Baal and Ashtaroth. This led them to destruction, all they
attempted turned to disaster. Even when
Judges (leaders of the faith) were appointed and who were faithful to God and
the Law, the people ignored them. Even
those who followed them would fall away once a particular judge died. Nothing was possible without God’s help and
support.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40,
43ab and 44
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your
people.
They did not exterminate the
peoples,
as the LORD had commanded
them,
But mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as
you favor your people.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for
them.
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to
demons.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as
you favor your people.
They became defiled by their
works,
and wanton in their crimes.
And the LORD grew angry with
his people,
and abhorred his inheritance.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as
you favor your people.
Many times did he rescue
them,
but they embittered him with
their counsels.
Yet he had regard for their
affliction
when he heard their cry.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as
you favor your people.
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Commentary on Ps
106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43ab and 44
Psalm 104 is a
historical psalm. Here it laments the
failure of the people to follow God’s instruction to remain faithful and apart
from the secular society into which they had come (in actuality they were to
have destroyed those societies but did not).
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Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22
A young man approached Jesus
and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do
to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you
ask me about the good?
There is only One who is
good.
If you wish to enter into
life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall
not kill;
you shall not commit
adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false
witness;
honor your father and your
mother;
and you shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have
observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you
wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give
to the poor,
and you will have treasure in
heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this
statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
Commentary on Mt 19:16-22
Jesus’ encounter
with the rich young man is also captured in Mark 10:17-31. In
St. Matthew’s account the young man asks Jesus what “good” he must do to attain
“eternal life” (equivalent to entering into life or being saved as used in
other parts of St. Matthew’s Gospel – see Matthew 19:17 and Matthew 16:25). Following the Lord’s grammatical clarification
(“There is only One who is good” a statement implying only God possesses the
ability to act without sin – completely good.) the young man asks which
commandments he must follow.
“The first five
commandments cited are from the Decalogue (see Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy
5:16-20). Matthew omits
Mark's "you shall not defraud" (Matthew 10:19; see Deuteronomy 24:14) and adds Leviticus 19:18. This combination of commandments of the Decalogue
with Leviticus 19:18 is partially the same as Paul's enumeration of the demands
of Christian morality in Romans 13:9.”[4]
The Lord’s concluding remarks
tell the Christian community that wealth can be a barrier to achieving eternal
life. This thought is continued in
verses 23-30
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Reflection:
Here is that nagging question
again; “what good must I do to gain eternal life?” It is a
question, judging from history, the answer to which people and societies have
not wanted. We see that clearly in the
account from the Book of Judges. The
Chronicler, as the author(s) is called, reflects upon the weakness of the descendants
of Isaac and Jacob who were brought to the land they occupied. God instructed them to destroy the secular
cultures that were thriving in the region so future generations would not be tempted
to fall away from the commandments contained in the Covenants of Sinai. When they came to do so, they could not. The life-styles were seductive and the riches
they encountered could not be thrown away.
We can imagine, on a
compressed time scale what took place.
The original settlers, faithful to all God had commanded (except this
little thing – we can conquer this land with God’s help, but we don’t need to
destroy all this good stuff, we can just ignore it) occupied the land God had
promised. The first generation was
probably pretty faithful to the promises, but riches and all that they can buy
are tempting. Parents always want better
for their children than they themselves had so they indulge their children. The strict adherence to the Law is not what
it might have been and many second generation Israelites did not even make a
pretense of trying to follow Mosaic Law – in fact the violated one of the
cardinal commandments of the Decalogue – they participated in idol worship (Baal
and Ashtaroth).
Having lost sight
of the precepts of their faith, adopting secular values and customs, they fell
from grace and were overthrown. Leaders,
faithful to the old traditions and laws would arise and call many back to the
faith but once that leadership passed, they would revert. It is much easier to go with the flow, as
they say.
Jesus, in the
story about the young man who begged “what good must I do to gain eternal life?,” called the young man to place his faith before
material goods and the comfort that goes along with it. He knew that with possessions comes
responsibility. One cannot own
something, even an inanimate object, without it commanding responsibility from
the owner. Anything that detracts from
one’s responsibility to God places a barrier between that person and eternal
life.
The parallels between this situations
and what has happened historically to people of faith is obvious. It goes in cycles, seemingly. When the Holy See in Rome gained ascendancy
and the Latin Church gained so many members that it was seen (by secular
sources) as a political power, some of those at the very top of the structure
were tempted beyond their ability to refrain from the abuses of power and the
Holy Mother Church for a time was thrown into disarray. Great lions of the faith appeared, St Francis
of Assisi
The religious orders grew,
became wealthy and were themselves in need of reform. Always it is the same. With wealth and power, there is overwhelming
temptation to be dominated by the power that comes with material wealth.
Since the death of Blessed
Pope John Paul II we have seen the affect this has had in some of the most
fervent of the faithful. Fr. Marcial
Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ had, prior to his death,
apparently become a victim. The Church
even recently has conducted “Apostolic Visitations” to review the “quality of
life” of women’s religious orders and institutes in the United States to insure
this situation has not occurred elsewhere.
While it is tempting, we had
best not pass judgment on those who have apparently fallen into the same trap
as the young man who “went away sad, for he
had many possessions.” We must look to ourselves and see our own
temptations; our own failings. As always
we have faith that if we truly seek Christ, we will find him beaconing us to
him. His forgiveness and love are always
available to those who recognize their own sin and ask for his forgiveness.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “Demolition Of The Sacred Stone Of Baal” by Michelangelo
Buonarroti, 1511
[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 NAB note on Matthew 18-19
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