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| “St. James the Great in the Battle at Clavijo” by Juan Carreño De Miranda, 1660 |
Reading 1: Ephesians
6:10-20
Finally, draw your strength
from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so
that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the devil.
For our struggle is not with
flesh and blood
but with the principalities,
with the powers,
with the world rulers of this
present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the
heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor
of God,
that you may be able to
resist on the evil day
and, having done everything,
to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins
girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as
a breastplate,
and your feet shod in
readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold
faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming
arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
With all prayer and
supplication,
pray at every opportunity in
the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with
all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and
also for me,
that speech may be given me
to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness
the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador
in chains,
so that I may have the
courage to speak as I must.
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Commentary on Eph 6:10-20
This passage, continuing St.
Paul’s exhortation on building up faith is: “a
general exhortation to courage and prayer. Drawing upon the imagery and ideas
of Isaiah 11:5; 59:16-17; and Wisdom 5:17-23, Paul describes the Christian in terms of the
dress (armor) and equipment of Roman soldiers. He observes, however, that the
Christian's readiness for combat is not directed against human beings but
against the spiritual powers of evil (see also Ephesians 1:21; 2:2; 3:10). Unique importance is placed upon prayer.”[4]
In the final verses the
Apostle says “perseverance” in prayer by the Christian must match that of the
devil. There will be no truce until the final victory.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
144:1b, 2, 9-10
R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for
battle,
my fingers for war;
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
My safe guard and my
fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues peoples under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
O God, a new song I will sing
to you;
on a ten-stringed lyre I will
play for you.
You give victory to kings;
you delivered David your
servant. From the menacing sword
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
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Commentary on Ps 144:1b, 2, 9-10
Psalm 144, taken in its
entirety, is difficult to classify as it opens with a lament, seen in the
strophes given today but concludes in thanksgiving (v. 9-10). In these strophes we find David’s faith
provides the courage needed to be victorious in battle. The Lord’s support is
celebrated with song as God provides the victory over his foes.
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Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
At that time some Pharisees
came to him (Jesus) and said,
“Go away, leave this area
because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that
fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons
and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I
accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way
today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a
prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem
“Jerusalem ,
Jerusalem
you who kill the prophets and
stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to
gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood
under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be
abandoned.
(But) I tell you, you will
not see me (until the time comes when) you say,
“Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord.”
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Commentary on Lk 13:31-35
In this passage from St. Luke’s
Gospel we hear Jesus responding to Pharisees who are warning of a plot by
Herod. Their motives are not made clear
but we see Jesus using the opportunity to reinforce his role as fulfilling the
Law and the Prophets. He
declares, in essence, that he is the Messiah. There is a subtle message carried
in St. Luke’s use of the number three and one half as well. This number (half
of the perfect number “7”) symbolizes a time of dark persecution that will end
with God’s glorification (see Daniel 7:25, 8:14, 12:12, and Luke 4:25).
The poem at the end, ending in a
quote from Psalm 118:26, is found in
St. Matthew’s Gospel linked with the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 23: 37-39). Placed
here (and actually paraphrased again after Palm Sunday) it takes on a prophetic
tone, an image of the passion to come.
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Reflection:
We are at war! This is not a reference to the worldly strife
of which there is much in this day and age; but rather we are at war with the
legions of the evil one who sound fair but fell foul. St.
Paul
While the psalm, sung in its
day, referred to physical battle, it fits in today between St. Paul’s great
analogy of Christian preparation for battle against the evil one and Jesus on
preparations as he first avoids a trap planed by Herod and embraces his own
battle in the passion to come in Jerusalem.
Sacred Scripture, placed
before us by Mother
Church
Now there are those who may
feel that this attitude of battling evil is too drastic – overly
melodramatic. Yet if we do not prepare
to combat the evil of the world, if we try to placate it thinking that there
can be peaceful co-existence; they are as mistaken as Neville Chamberlain[5]
who nobly tried to negotiate a peace with Adolph Hitler. Thinking this is not really a battle allows
those so persuaded to walk into the cunning traps laid by the enemy.
The traps are told off by St.
Paul in his letter to the Galatians heard earlier this season; “immorality,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of
envy, drinking bouts, orgies” (see Galatians
5:20-21). These things are held up
by societal values and the media as perfectly fine. They are exalted as marks of success in many
cases. They cannot coexist with Christian
virtues.
So, today we leave our place
of prayer and meditation, fully aware of the tumult we face. We wrap ourselves in the armor of faith and
go out to challenge the status quo and strike a blow to change the world for
Christ’s sake.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used is “St. James the Great in the Battle at Clavijo” by Juan Carreño De Miranda,
1660
[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 footnote on Eph 6:10-20
[5]
See Wikipedia
article
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