(Optional Memorial for Saint Juan
Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Hermit)
(United States)
Alternate readings may be taken
from the Common of Holy Men
and Women
 |
| “Christ the Redeemer” by Tiziano Vecellio, 1533-34 |
Reading 1: Isaiah
48:17-19
Thus says the LORD, your
redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your
good,
and lead you on the way you
should go.
If you would hearken to my
commandments,
your prosperity would be like
a river,
and your vindication like the
waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be
like the sand,
and those born of your stock
like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my
presence.
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Commentary on Is 48:17-19
This reading from the Book of
Isaiah (in Deutero-Isaiah) is part of what is known as the Recapitulation of
the Hymns to the Lord Redeemer (Isaiah 40:12 – 48:22). In these verses we see the oracle
predict God’s leadership of the faithful into salvation (salvation that flows
from and becomes an actual part of God’s act of creation). Hearkening back to
Abraham, whose descendants he promised would “be like sand,” God
promises to be the salvation of the faithful.
Isaiah proposes the words of a
holy covenant: If you follow the commandments of God, he will give you
prosperity, justification or forgiveness, and your line of descendants will be
many and always have God’s help.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will
have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows
not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of
sinners,
nor sits in the company of
the insolent,
But delights in the law of
the LORD
and meditates on his law day
and night.
R. Those who follow you,
Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due
season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you,
Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the
wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the
way of the just,
but the way of the wicked
vanishes.
R. Those who follow you,
Lord, will have the light of life.
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Commentary on Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Psalm 1 serves as a preface to
the whole book of the psalms. The psalmist here exalts those who follow the
Lord’s commands and reflects upon the blessings they will receive. As in Romans 6:19ff, this
selection emphasizes the contrast between the salvation of the just and the
punishment of the wicked.
This wisdom psalm begins by
extolling the virtue of those who follow the law. The focus is to look to God
for guidance and not to trust only in the counsel of men. Those who reject the
law will be blown away like “chaff,” an image used in the Gospel as well (Matthew 3:12).
This portion of the psalm is
later echoed in Isaiah 48:17-19 like an overlapped formula of covenant.
Blessed is the man who “delights in the Law day and night,” but “the way
of the wicked vanishes.” It also takes up the theme of following right paths
and staying true to the teachings of God: “Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the
company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on
his law day and night.”
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Gospel: Matthew
11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this
generation?
It is like children who sit
in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you,
but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did
not mourn.’
For John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating
and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a
drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors
and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by
her works.”
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Commentary on Mt 11:16-19
St. Matthew recalls the Lord’s
lament that many of the people he has come to save have behaved like children.
Jesus compares those he has encountered with the wicked in the psalms because
they do not follow the prophet, John the Baptist: “…John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.'” Nor do they
hear the words of the Messiah: “The Son of Man came eating and drinking and
they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors
and sinners.’" Then he implies the truth will become known, based upon
the impact of John the Baptist and Jesus on the world: “But wisdom is
vindicated by her works.”
The people of that time expected
teachers to play the roles they were assigned in their religious roles
according to what was generally accepted. St. John the Baptist and Jesus did
not do that. As a prophet, St. John was not respected but called “possessed.”
And Jesus himself, though he came as the salvation of the poor, is called
“glutton and a drunkard” for having reached out to “tax collectors and
sinners."
While this passage is perhaps
more accurately translated in Luke 7:35 as “. . . wisdom is vindicated by all her
children,” it is clear, in either case, that the Lord expects future
generations to see the salvific role of the Messiah and his forerunner, St.
John the Baptist.
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Reflection:
We can sense the Lord’s
frustration with the crowds that had been following him. It is made clear that they have their own
ideas about how the Messiah will return.
They know from prophecy that Elijah must come, announcing the arrival of
the Messiah, but, in spite of the facts that point to St. John the Baptist
meeting all the criteria, the people see him instead as eccentric at best and
at the worst, crazy.
Likewise, they expect the
Messiah to come like King David of a previous age, summoning the military might
of the region, charismatically galvanizing the Jews into a military force that
will throw off the Roman yoke. Instead
they see this carpenter’s son who became a Rabbi and now sits down with the
worst sort of people. He even ignores the rich and powerful who could play a
role in a Davidic uprising.
Ah, we feel for the Lord who
in his frustration with their lack of understanding says, “But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” In other words, he invites them to see what events
will flow from his actions, works of mercy and words of hope. Many of those present will not understand
what he is saying in Jesus’ life time.
In fact, we know that a fair number will probably be standing outside
the Praetorium crying, “Crucify him!”
We shake our heads and feel
sorry for our Hebrew forebears. They
could not see the signs, and trusted instead to their own wisdom. But we must pause and ask ourselves, do we
not fall into the same trap? Are we not,
in our prayers, asking God to do what we want in the way we want it? The Jews of Jesus’ time were not necessarily
evil but rather they were not open to seeing God outside of the box they put
him in.
This, indeed, is the real
lesson we take from the Gospel today. We
must be open to God’s will and not be demanding that God operate according to
ours. We must, in our prayer, ask that
God open our eyes so that we can see how he comes to us, loving us as only he
can. Our prayer today is that God might
open our minds and hearts to see more clearly his fingerprints in our lives and
in doing so, understand how we can build his kingdom on earth.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Christ the Redeemer” by Tiziano Vecellio, 1533-34
[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.
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