(Optional Memorial of Saint Denis, Bishop and
Martyr, and his Companions, Martyrs)
(Optional Memorial of Saint John Leonardi,
Priest)
 |
| “Ask, And It Shall Be Given” by Alexandre Bida, date UNKNOWN |
Reading 1:
Galatians 3:1-5
O stupid Galatians!
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified?
I want to learn only this from you:
did you receive the Spirit from works of the law,
or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now ending with the flesh?
Did you experience so many things in vain?–
if indeed it was in vain.
Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you
and works mighty deeds among you
do so from works of the law
or from faith in what you heard?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Gal 3:1-5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:
Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
R. (68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
These
strophes are the opening lines of the great Canticle of Zachariah sung to the newborn
St. John the Baptist by his father at the occasion of his naming. These introductory verses serve as a
profession of faith in God and the Messiah of whom St. John
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel:
Luke 11:5-13
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight
and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 11:5-13
In
this passage from St. Luke’s Gospel the Lord continues his response to the
disciple’s request to “teach them how to pray.” The Lord uses the story of the
one friend asking another for bread (a strong Eucharistic reference) in the
middle of the night as an instrument to tell them that God will always answer
prayers, but in his own time (“I tell
you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.”)
He makes his message clear in the verses that follow “ask and you will receive.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The
passage from Galatians, in other translations uses the words foolish and
senseless in the place of “stupid”. The Apostle moves from the theme of
justifying his own position in the hierarchy of Apostles back to an emotional
attack on those who would have the people believe they can somehow earn
salvation through religious practices.
Paul continues to fight the Judaizers who came to the Galatian community
and who are continuing to hold up the Law of Moses as supreme; over the new
covenant the Lord has brought, taught by St. Paul.
In
a very real sense, things have not changed much to this day where faith is
concerned. Look at the reaction of many members of our faith community when
even minor changes are introduced to our worship. Now imagine a people who now
must face a radical change. Even though these early converts were given the
gift of the Holy Spirit, they were trying to adopt the legalistic ways of
thought exhorted by those who believe one must first convert to Judaism in
order to be Christian. Is it any wonder Paul goes on a bit of a tear? Sometimes
it’s even hard for us, all these years later, to remember that Jesus changed
everything.
We
come now to St. Luke’s Gospel. We actually are given the Gospel twice today.
The first time it is in the form of the Responsorial Psalm where we hear the
front part of the Canticle of Zachariah as he prophesies about the coming of
Jesus and the great gift that is for all of us.
In the Gospel’s continuing story of Jesus return to
Jerusalem
On the surface it sounds like if we ask God for
anything, he will just give it to us. And, if we quit reading the scripture
right there, we could set ourselves up for a real disappointment later. God
does not just swoop down and grant wishes like some gene in a bottle. Just
because we want something, even something good, does not mean that we
automatically get it. God has his own purpose and time.
If we look at the very end of the scripture passage
we see; “…how much more will
the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Even in the parallel passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew (Matthew 7:11) he qualifies the answers to
prayers with “…give good
things to those who ask him.”
God did not give us life to live it for us. He did
not create us as slaves, he gave us free will. He did not create the earth and
all that is in it to constantly reshape it for our safety. However, we are
given the Holy Spirit free for the asking. That spirit supports us in times of
difficulty and gives us strength in the face adversity. All we need to do is
ask from our hearts and it is ours. Come Holy Spirit. It is a reality St. Paul recognized and the
reason for his zeal (and language) as he saw the understanding being diluted by
his detractors.
Pax
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The Picture used today is “Ask, And It Shall Be Given” by Alexandre Bida, date
UNKNOWN
[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.
No comments:
Post a Comment