(Optional
Memorial for Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop)
 |
| “The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind” by Pieter Bruegel (the Elder), 1568 |
Reading 1: Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:
Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.
For thus says the Lord:
Incurable is your wound,
grievous your bruise;
There is none to plead your cause,
no remedy for your running sore,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you,
they do not seek you.
I struck you as an enemy would strike,
punished you cruelly;
Why cry out over your wound?
your pain is without relief.
Because of your great guilt,
your numerous sins,
I have done this to you.
Thus says the Lord:
See! I will restore the tents of Jacob,
his dwellings I will pity;
City shall be rebuilt upon hill,
and palace restored as it was.
From them will resound songs of praise,
the laughter of happy men.
I will make them not few, but many;
they will not be tiny, for I will glorify them.
His sons shall be as of old,
his assembly before me shall stand firm;
I will punish all his oppressors.
His leader shall be one of his own,
and his rulers shall come from his kin.
When I summon him, he shall approach me;
how else should one take the deadly risk
of approaching me? says the Lord.
You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
This passage from the book of the
Prophet Jeremiah speaks of the restoration of Israel. The first verses,
following the introduction, describe the terrible hardship visited upon the
country using the metaphor of a person severely wounded. This was caused,
according to the oracle, because the people had turned away from God, following
practices that were anathema to the Lord (“Because of your great guilt, your
numerous sins, I have done this to you”).
In the concluding verses the
oracle predicts the restoration of the land, a return to favored status in the
eyes of God (scholars seem to agree that this does not refer to the
re-establishment of the temple but of an earlier reversal of fortunes, probably
after the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC). The references to leaders being chosen
from their own people was probably not a reference to the Messiah in this
context, but rather a return to Hebrew rulers. The conclusion (…the deadly
risk of approaching me”) is a reference to the earlier tradition, that
seeing God in person would cause death (see Leviticus 16:1-2). This
chapter from Jeremiah and the next (Jeremiah 31) are considered to be the
climax of the Prophet’s oracle, dealing as they do with salvation through God’s
mercy and forgiveness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29
and 22-23
R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion
The nations shall revere your name, O
Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your
glory,
When the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the
destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. The Lord will build up Zion
Let this be written for the generation
to come,
and let his future creatures praise the
Lord:
“The Lord looked down from his holy
height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. The Lord will build up Zion
The children of your servants shall
abide,
and their posterity shall continue in
your presence,
That the name of the Lord may be
declared on Zion
and his praise, in Jerusalem
When the peoples gather together
and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
R. The Lord will build up Zion
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and
22-23
Psalm 102 is an
individual lament. In these strophes, we find the cry of the people in the
desert once more being directed to the Lord. The psalmist, expressing trust in
the mercy of God asks for a release from suffering and bondage for the people
(“The Lord looked down from his holy
height, from heaven he beheld the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die”). The singer gives us a prayer of
thanksgiving for the restoration of the people to Israel after the Diaspora.
God brought them back from their captivity and reestablished them in Zion. The
prayer prefigures God’s salvation offered in the New Jerusalem – God’s heavenly
kingdom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be
afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward
Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 14:22-36
This passage from St. Matthew’s
Gospel follows the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples return to the
boat that brought them to this remote site, while Jesus stays alone to pray
(recall he had just gotten word of the murder of St. John the Baptist by Herod,
and had come to this place to mourn him).
The events that follow: Jesus’
approach to the boat and walking on the water, supports the Lord’s earlier
demonstration that he has power over the sea and elements (see Matthew 8:26). St.
Peter’s response to the Lord is to try to do as the Lord wishes, but his fear
prevents him from accomplishing what the Lord has called him to do. This entire
episode has one purpose, to allow the readers to share in the awe of the
disciples as they make their profession of faith: “Truly, you are the Son of
God." This is account stands in stark contrast to St. Mark’s account
of their response (see Mark 6:51).
CCC: Mt 14:30 448
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or
Second Option: Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14
Some
Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem
“Why
do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?
They
do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”
He
summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand.
It
is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;
but
what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”
Then
his disciples approached and said to him,
“Do
you know that the Pharisees took offense
when
they heard what you said?”
He
said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted
will
be uprooted.
Let
them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.
If
a blind man leads a blind man,
both
will fall into a pit.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 15:1-2, 10-14
This
dispute begins with the question of the Pharisees and scribes why Jesus'
disciples are breaking the tradition of the elders about washing one's hands
before eating. In front of the larger
crowd of followers the Lord refutes them with a parable that is an attack on
Mosaic law concerning clean and unclean foods (see also Matthew
5:31-32, 33-34, 38-39)[4]. The concluding remarks concerning the blind
leading the blind indicate to the disciples that the Pharisees and scribes do
not understand God’s law but lead those who refuse to accept Jesus as the
Messiah.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
In the Gospel selection (from
Matthew 15), Jesus is in a dispute with the Pharisees and scribes because they
accuse his disciples of not following the strict laws of ritual purification
(hand washing). They point to this rubric as indicating that they (Jesus and
the 12) are violating Mosaic Law, and are therefore unworthy of leadership.
Jesus’ response to the larger
group is that violating the ritual practice is not what they should worry about,
but their attitudes and relationships: “…what
comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” (Note: in the omitted verses
Jesus privately lets the Pharisees and scribes know what he really thinks about
their focus on ritual: “Hypocrites, well
did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: 'This people honors me with their
lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew
15:7-8))
This entire encounter is the
lesson we need to take away with us. Jesus and his disciples do not have the
luxury of a home to live in, and the ability to observe the scrupulous and
rigid laws the Pharisees have evolved. Some of these, as Jesus also points out
in the omitted verses, actually flagrantly violate Mosaic Law. What is more
important is the spirit of God’s love.
Let’s look at some possible
contemporary examples. In the spirit of Christ’s Law, is it better to buy an
expensive luxury car and then to praise God that you were given the gifts to
achieve success; or would it be better to have bought a less expensive car and
given the money saved to the Church earmarked for the poor (even better
anonymously)? Would it be better to ignore a neighbor who desperately needed
help on a Sunday morning because you could not miss Mass? (That one is a bit
tougher.) Finally, if on the way to Mass we endanger someone by driving
recklessly in order to get there in time, should we take communion?
The point the Savior makes is
one we all need to hear: how we apply our faith in relation to our lived
response to situations needs to echo our pious response to the demands of
traditions. Let that be our prayer today: that we can behave toward others as
if they were sitting next to us in the pew at Church. That should be a pretty
solid challenge.
Pax
[1]
The picture used today is “The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind” by
Pieter Bruegel (the Elder), 1568
[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 15:1
No comments:
Post a Comment