(Optional Memorial for Saint Hedwig,
Religious)
(Optional Memorial for Saint Margaret
Mary Alacoque, Virgin)
 |
| “The Preaching of St Paul at Ephesus” by Eustache Le Sueur,1649 |
Reading 1: Ephesians 1:1-10
Paul,
an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
to
the holy ones who are in Ephesus
and
faithful in Christ Jesus:
grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who
has blessed us in Christ
with
every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as
he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to
be holy and without blemish before him.
In
love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in
accord with the favor of his will,
for
the praise of the glory of his grace
that
he granted us in the beloved.
In
Christ we have redemption by his Blood,
the
forgiveness of transgressions,
in
accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In
all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the
mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that
he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to
sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Eph 1:1-10
The
beginning of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (although in some early
manuscripts the specific faith community name is omitted, leading some to
believe it was written as a “circular” letter – to be passed around) begins
with the standard introduction of the apostle.
This is followed with a blessing, in thanksgiving for the salvation
brought to the faithful through Christ’s forgiveness and redemptive
actions. The passage concludes with St. Paul
The blessing in
v.3ff provides –“A panoramic view of salvation that stretches from the past
(election, 1:4) to the present (adoption, 1:5) to the future (recapitulation,
1:10). Like an orchestral overture, it introduces many themes to be developed
in subsequent chapters. Structurally, Paul has organized this benediction
around the work of the Trinity (CCC 257-58). The
Father chooses us (Ephesians 1:4), the Son redeems us (1:7) and the Holy Spirit
seas us (1:13). Notice, too, that Paul celebrates blessings traditionally
linked with Baptism, such as sonship (1:5), grace (1:6), forgiveness (1:7), and
sealing (1:13). These 12 verses comprise only one sentence in the original
Greek. Paul’s benediction follows the format of the Hebrew berakah, i.e., a
prayer of blessing and praise to God in elevated language (1 Chronicles
29:10-13; Tobit 13:1-18; Daniel 3:3-68)(CCC 1078, 2627)”[4]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
R. (2a) The Lord has made
known his salvation.
Sing
a new song to the LORD,
who
has done marvelous deeds,
Whose
right hand and holy arm
have
won the victory.
R. The Lord has made known
his salvation.
The
LORD has made his victory known;
has
revealed his triumph for the nations to see,
Has
remembered faithful love
toward
the house of Israel
R. The Lord has made known
his salvation.
All
the ends of the earth
have
seen the victory of our God.
Shout
with joy to the LORD, all the earth;
break
into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known
his salvation.
Sing
praise to the LORD with the harp,
with
the harp and melodious song.
With
trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing
joyfully to the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has made known
his salvation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Psalm
98 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. We see in this selection how God is
praised for the strength he lends his people and the salvation he brings to
those who are faithful. From our perspective, knowing that he sent us His Son
for our salvation, we see clearly the reference to Jesus as God’s saving hand
is extended.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 11:47-54
The
Lord said:
“Woe
to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom
your fathers killed.
Consequently,
you bear witness and give consent
to
the deeds of your ancestors,
for
they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore,
the wisdom of God said,
‘I
will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some
of them they will kill and persecute’
in
order that this generation might be charged
with
the blood of all the prophets
shed
since the foundation of the world,
from
the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who
died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes,
I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe
to you, scholars of the law!
You
have taken away the key of knowledge.
You
yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When
Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began
to act with hostility toward him
and
to interrogate him about many things,
for
they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 11:47-54
Jesus continues
his attack on the Pharisees. In this passage he begins by criticizing them for
giving Prophets respect (“…build the memorials”) only after they have been killed. Recounted explicitly are
the death of Abel (see Genesis 4:8) and
Zachariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-22).
This emphasis provides a rationale for the Lord’s own later persecution.
The final “Woe” – “You have taken away the key of knowledge.” is a reference to the Pharisees rejection of Christ
(who is the key of divine revelation).
In rejecting Jesus they exhort the people who look up to them as
teachers to also reject Christ (“…stopped those trying to enter.”).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
Today we should start with Jesus in the Gospel and go backward
with scripture but forward in time. We
begin with Jesus really laying into the Scribes and Pharisees because they
refuse to see the spirit of God and cling only to their traditions and the
trappings of the Law. It would be as if
one who professed Christianity were to drive past a person injured or
persecuted at the side of the road because they were late for Mass.
We follow the Lord’s attempt to move these misguided temple
leaders with Paul’s opening profession to the Ephesians. This wonderful prayer is one of Paul’s gems.
Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has
blessed us in Christ
with every
spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose
us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy
and without blemish before him.
In love he
destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord
with the favor of his will,
for the
praise of the glory of his grace
that he
granted us in the beloved.
Here
is the message that Jesus was trying to get the Scribes and Pharisees to listen
to. Here the love God has for us is
realized and the groundwork for our salvation is laid bare. The gifts the Lord brings us are enumerated –
the spiritual blessings, our adoption by Christ, the grace and peace he offers
us.
Of
course the difficult part is that we too are expected to take that message and
do our best to put it into practice so those who follow us will see our example
and follow. Indeed our prayer today
should be the one Paul wrote to the Ephesians and in our hearts let us feel the
hope and peace that prayer brings.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “The Preaching of St Paul at Ephesus ” by Eustache Le Sueur,1649
[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]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco , CA. pp. 345
No comments:
Post a Comment