 |
| “Mary Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross“ by Giovanni Battista Langetti, c. 1670 |
Reading 1: 2
Corinthians 8:1-9
We want you to know, brothers
and sisters, of the grace of God
that has been given to the
churches of Macedonia
for in a severe test of
affliction,
the abundance of their joy
and their profound poverty
overflowed in a wealth of
generosity on their part.
For according to their means,
I can testify,
and beyond their means,
spontaneously,
they begged us insistently
for the favor of taking part
in the service to the holy
ones,
and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves
first to the Lord
and to us through the will of
God,
so that we urged Titus that,
as he had already begun,
he should also complete for
you this gracious act also.
Now as you excel in every
respect,
in faith, discourse,
knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for
you,
may you excel in this
gracious act also.
I say this not by way of
command,
but to test the genuineness
of your love
by your concern for others.
For you know the gracious act
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became
poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you
might become rich.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor 8:1-9
CCC: 2 Cor 8:1-15 2833;
2 Cor 8:9 517,
1351, 2407, 2546
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
146:2, 5-6ab, 6c- 7, 8-9a
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD all my
life;
I will sing praise to my God
while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my
soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the
God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD,
his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in
them.
R. Praise the Lord, my
soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the
oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my
soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the
blind.
The LORD raises up those who
were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my
soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 146:2, 5-6ab, 6c- 7, 8-9a
Psalm 146 is a
hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Beyond
the actions of man, God saves those who are faithful to him. All is vanity when
trust is in human action. The people who
have faith in God will find salvation as sung in the litany of acts of God’s mercy
in the final two strophes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew
5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it
was said,
You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your
enemies
and pray for those who
persecute you,
that you may be children of
your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on
the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on
the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who
love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do
the same?
And if you greet your
brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the
same?
So be perfect, just as your
heavenly Father is perfect."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:43-48
This passage is the second of six
examples in St. Matthew’s Gospel of conduct demanded of the Christian disciple.
The Lord extends the understanding of Mosaic Law. He first quotes Leviticus 19:18. Jesus
tells the disciples once more that their behavior must be reflected in how they
treat others and must go beyond what was customarily understood. He tells his
friends directly to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them
(not curse them as was customary, also echoed in Romans 12:17-21). This
exhortation differentiates the Christian who loves even their enemies from mere
ethical morality.
He goes on to contrast the
response expected from is disciples to the response customarily given (e.g.
loving those who love you, greeting only one’s friends), asking “Do not the
pagans do the same?” The passage concludes with “So be perfect, just as
your heavenly Father is perfect.” He points out that to do less than that
is human nature but our calling is to be perfect as the heavenly Father is
perfect. Only in St. Matthew’s Gospel is the word “perfect” used. In St. Luke’s
Gospel the word is “merciful”.
CCC: Mt 5:43-44 1933,
2844; Mt 5:44-45 2303,
2608; Mt 5:44 1825,
1968, 2262; Mt 5:45 2828;
Mt 5:46-47 2054;
Mt 5:47 1693;
Mt 5:48 443,
1693, 1968, 2013, 2842
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The Gospel of Christ behaves
like a very good mirror today. Jesus is
continuing to instruct his disciples regarding the spirit of the Law. He takes a precept “You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.” And then he redefines that precept, giving
God’s intended meaning “But I say to you, love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. As God’s
adopted children, we are not allowed the animal instinct to fear and hate out
enemies.
Seen with the eyes of Christ,
those who persecute us, those who would take advantage of us, and those who
seek to stop us from doing what is right are our brothers and sisters. They are not to be hated or feared but to be
seen as fallen and in need of help. On
the surface that may seem to be condescending and that attitude among us is
also wrong. Ours is to be the attitude
of the parent of an adult child who is seen making a wrong decision. Does that parent hate the child they have
loved and nurtured throughout their early life because they have, out of
ignorance or weakness, made decisions or acted on impulses that lead them down
dark paths?
A loving parent would
certainly not condemn their child for that kind of action, even if the action
were damaging of dangerous to the parent.
In secular society we can see what happens when the Christian ethic is
withheld for a generation or two. When
this concept of loving ones enemies is not passed on to children, those
children grown to adulthood cannot find it in their hearts to forgive even
their own children and we see the destruction of the extended family.
Ironically it is most
difficult to forgive one’s enemies when the enemy to be forgiven was once a
close friend or family member. Those who
have the deepest access to our feelings can cause the most pain and
consequently require the most forgiveness.
It is for this reason that the lesson Christ teaches today is one that
is most difficult to accept and requires the most spiritual effort on our parts.
Today we look at ourselves in
the light of this teaching and see in the mirror that is the Gospel the light
reflected that shows us how far we most go to become like Christ who, without
condescension, love those who hated him and forgave those who persecuted
him. We pledge ourselves to forgiveness
today, remembering that the person we may have to forgive first is ourselves.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “Mary Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross“ by Giovanni Battista
Langetti, c. 1670
[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