(Optional Memorial for
Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious)
 |
| “Mount Sinai” (Detail) by El Greco, 1588 |
Reading 1: Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b
In the third month after
their departure from the land
of Egypt
on its first day, the
children of Israel came to
the desert of Sinai
After the journey from
Rephidim to the desert
of Sinai
they pitched camp.
While Israel
the LORD told Moses,
"I am coming to you in a
dense cloud,
so that when the people hear
me speaking with you,
they may always have faith in
you also."
When Moses, then, had
reported to the LORD the response of the people,
the LORD added, "Go to
the people
and have them sanctify
themselves today and tomorrow.
Make them wash their garments
and be ready for the third day;
for on the third day the LORD
will come down on Mount Sinai
before the eyes of all the
people."
On the morning of the third
day
there were peals of thunder
and lightning,
and a heavy cloud over the
mountain,
and a very loud trumpet
blast,
so that all the people in the
camp trembled.
But Moses led the people out
of the camp to meet God,
and they stationed themselves
at the foot of the mountain.
for the LORD came down upon
it in fire.
The smoke rose from it as
though from a furnace,
and the whole mountain
trembled violently.
The trumpet blast grew louder
and louder, while Moses was speaking
and God answering him with
thunder.
When the LORD came down to
the top of Mount Sinai ,
he summoned Moses to the top
of the mountain.
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Commentary on Ex
19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b
The story of
Moses leading the people out of bondage in Egypt
The passage also
describes a time of waiting for the Lord to come. “…be ready for the third
day” the same waiting period is used
later as the Savior spends three days in the tomb before coming, as true God,
to the people. Again the image of
heavenly power is expressed in lightning and thunder, fire and smoke and Moses
is summoned the “high place” of Mount Sinai, a clear sign to the people that he
goes to be in the presence of God. This
episode establishes Moses as God’s emissary.
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Responsorial Psalm: Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O
Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted
above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and
glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted
above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for
ever!
"Blessed are you in the
temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious
above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for
ever!
"Blessed are you on the
throne of your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted
above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for
ever!
"Blessed are you who
look into the depths
from your throne upon the
cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted
above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for
ever!
"Blessed are you in the
firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious
forever."
R. Glory and praise for
ever!
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Commentary on Daniel
3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
The Responsorial Psalm is a song
of praise to God taken also from the Book of Daniel. This selection is
the hymn chanted by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as they stood in the white
hot furnace. This section is part of one of the litanies contained in the hymn
– this one is a doxology (“In general this word means a short verse praising
God and beginning, as a rule, with the Greek word Doxa.”) They were being
punished by King Nebuchadnezzar for not worshiping a golden idol he had set up.
An angel of God came to them in their plight and kept them from harm even
though the furnace was so hot it burned those who tended it. (This is where we
miss the verse (7) left out of our first reading where Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah were given the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.)
CCC: Dn 3:57-58 2416
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Gospel: Matthew 13:10-17
The disciples approached
Jesus and said,
"Why do you speak to the
crowd in parables?"
He said to them in reply,
"Because knowledge of
the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but
to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will
be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even
what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them
in parables, because
they look but do not see and
hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is
fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not
understand,
you shall indeed look but
never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with
their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their
hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
"But blessed are your
eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they
hear.
Amen, I say to you, many
prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but
did not hear it."
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Commentary on Mt
13:10-17
Following the “Parable of the Sower” the
disciples approach Jesus to ask him why he does not speak more clearly to the
people instead of using the parables that some find confusing. His response
recorded in the Gospel of Matthew is much softer that the same story related in Mark 4:11ff “Since a parable is figurative speech
that demands reflection for understanding, only those who are prepared to
explore its meaning can come to know it. To understand is a gift of God,
granted to the disciples but not to the crowds. In Semitic fashion, both the
disciples' understanding and the crowd's obtuseness are attributed to God.”[4]
Concluding, Jesus reflects upon Isaiah 6:9-10 in a lament that the people will not
understand what he reveals because their hearts are hardened.
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Homily:
The question posed by the
disciples in the Gospel comes right after he has explained the Parable of the
Sower. They ask him why he uses parables
to teach instead of telling them in a straight-forward way what he wants them
to understand.
We hear in his response what
must be a sense of frustration (Jesus being true man would feel that sense as
keenly as you and I). He sees in their
hearts the barriers to understanding placed by their traditions and
interpretation of God’s revelation to that point. They were, after all, still operating out of
the Hebrew mind-set, shaped by their ancestral view of God’s revealed
presence. Jesus did not come to them as
a cloud, accompanied by peels of thunder and earthquakes as the God of their
ancestors had come to Moses.
Jesus comes not as expected,
in power and majesty, but as a humble teacher, the son of a carpenter, robed
not in fine robes but appearing quite ordinary.
Because of his “unexpected” means of arrival among them, he needs to
explain his mission through stories and analogy. Those who are open to God’s presence, those
who seek him in truth, will see and understand.
The lord laments that there are so few who fall into this category.
We shake our heads and say to
ourselves “Oh, those poor, deluded people, how could they not see God, who
walked among them?” That of course is
when we bring ourselves up sort. We too
frequently forget that Christ comes to us “unexpectedly”. He comes in the form of the person begging on
the street or languishing in a hospital bed or nursing home. He teaches us lessons we do not hear and
speaks words we do not understand because we seek him in “expected places”
only.
The lesson we take away from
scripture today is that we must be constantly vigilant, seeking the Lord in
unexpected places; listening for his message in places which might have been
overlooked. With fresh ears and eyes,
strengthened by sacramental grace let us seek him most vigorously.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “Mount Sinai” (Detail) by El Greco, 1588
[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 Matthew 13: 10-17
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