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| “St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Reading
1: Leviticus 25:1, 8-17
The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai ,
“Seven weeks of years shall you
count–seven times seven years–
so that the seven cycles amount
to forty-nine years.
Then, on the tenth day of the
seventh month, let the trumpet resound;
on this, the Day of Atonement,
the trumpet blast shall re-echo
throughout your land.
This fiftieth year you shall make
sacred
by proclaiming liberty in the
land for all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee for you,
when every one of you shall
return to his own property,
every one to his own family
estate.
In this fiftieth year, your year
of jubilee,
you shall not sow, nor shall you
reap the aftergrowth
or pick the grapes from the
untrimmed vines.
Since this is the jubilee, which
shall be sacred for you,
you may not eat of its produce,
except as taken directly from the
field.
“In this year of jubilee, then,
every one of you shall return to
his own property.
Therefore, when you sell any land
to your neighbor
or buy any from him, do not deal
unfairly.
On the basis of the number of
years since the last jubilee
shall you purchase the land from
your neighbor;
and so also, on the basis of the
number of years for crops,
shall he sell it to you.
When the years are many, the
price shall be so much the more;
when the years are few, the price
shall be so much the less.
For it is really the number of
crops that he sells you.
Do not deal unfairly, then; but
stand in fear of your God.
I, the LORD, am your God.”
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Commentary
on Lv 25:1, 8-17
The
establishment of the Jubilee (taken from the Hebrew word yobel or “rams horn” blown
in response to the instruction) was important for preserving economic
equilibrium among the Israelites. The rule was that land had to be returned to
its original owner in the Jubilee year.
According to later prophets who denounced those who did not abide by
this law, the people did not follow this law very well. The whole concept was that the land was a
divine gift and those to whom it was given were to hold it in trust to the
Lord. Featured prominently is the use of
the “perfect number” in Hebrew numerology 7.
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Responsorial
Psalm:
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8
R.
(4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless
us;
may he let his face shine upon
us.
So may your way be known upon
earth;
among all nations, your
salvation.
R.
O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in
equity;
the nations on the earth you
guide.
R.
O God, let all the nations praise you!
The earth has yielded its fruits;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth
fear him!
R.
O God, let all the nations praise you!
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Commentary
on Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8
This
Psalm is a song of thanksgiving. These strophes request a blessing, which
through the Lord’s graciousness the nation might be an example of faith others
will follow. Psalm 67 recalls the gift of creation in its thankfulness for the
harvest, the fruits of God’s bounty. The land given to the people was a divine
gift that provided sustenance and home.
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Gospel: Matthew 14:1-12
and said to his servants, “This man is John the
Baptist.
He has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him
in prison
on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother
Philip,
for John had said to him,
“It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the
people,
for they regarded him as a prophet.
But at a birthday celebration for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before
the guests
and delighted Herod so much
that he swore to give her whatever she might ask
for.
Prompted by her mother, she said,
“Give me here on a platter the head of John the
Baptist.”
The king was distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests who were
present,
he ordered that it be given, and he had John
beheaded in the prison.
His head was brought in on a platter and given to
the girl,
who took it to her mother.
His disciples came and took away the corpse
and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
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Commentary
on Mt 14:1-12
In
this passage, recalling the manner of the death of John the Baptist, Herod
unwittingly predicts Jesus future glory as he assumes the Lord is John the
Baptist raised from the dead. His guilt over the murder of John wears heavily
on him.
In
St. Matthew’s account of the murder of John the Baptist we note, that there is
a much more detailed explanation than that found in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark 6:14ff). We also see that according to St. Matthew, the
murder of St. John was the intent of Herod from the beginning where St. Mark’s
Gospel infers it was Herodias.
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Reflection:
The
evil one does not need much of an opening to find ways to tilt those who are
ambivalent about the faith. Look at
today’s Gospel. King Herod was not
inclined to harm John the Baptist. He
was worried about him, yes. He thought
John might stir up the people in revolt against him because of his reputation
as Holy Man and Prophet. That is why
John was arrested.
Tradition
also holds that John was critical of Herod for entering into an adulterous
relationship with Herodias who had first married her uncle Herod II, had given
birth to Salome her daughter, then married another uncle Herod Antipas (the
Herod in our Gospel story). It was
Herodias that really wanted John killed.
She was shamed by his call to repentance and her sin was an open door
for the evil one who used the occasion of the birthday of Herod Antipas to have
Salome tempt Herod into offering her anything she wanted, publicly.
In
this way, John the Baptist, who had from the beginning pre-figured Christ,
first announcing his coming as the Messiah, then providing some of his first
disciples (remember, Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, was one of John’s
disciples first), now precedes him in death.
As we hear later in the Gospel story, this event greatly affected the
Lord. The evil one could not get
directly to Jesus, but he found a way to hurt him none the less.
Following
this story we see how “the worm turns” twisting the will of weak and sinful
people to do his will. It is a lesson for us.
It was not the evil intent of Herod to murder John; he was tricked into
the act. Was he culpable?
Absolutely. Was he the tool of the evil
one? Again, absolutely. It has been so
from the time when Eve was deceived in the Garden and brought Adam with her
into sin.
This
lesson reminds us that we must constantly be on our guard. It is easy for those whose guilt is allowed
to fester to be twisted and turned into tools to use against us. How simple it seems for that evil, which
inured even the Lord of life, to injure him again because of His love for us.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori” Artist and Date are 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.
