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| “St Paul at his Writing-Desk “ by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1629-30 |
Brothers and sisters:
I rejoice in my sufferings for your
sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of
Christ
on behalf of his Body, which is the
Church,
of which I am a minister
in accordance with God’s stewardship
given to me
to bring to completion for you the word
of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from
generations past.
But now it has been manifested to his
holy ones,
to whom God chose to make known the
riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles;
it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.
It is he whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching
everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone perfect in
Christ.
For this I labor and struggle,
in accord with the exercise of his power
working within me.
For I want you to know how great a
struggle I am having for you
and for those in Laodicea
and all who have not seen me face to
face,
that their hearts may be encouraged
as they are brought together in love,
to have all the richness of assured
understanding,
for the knowledge of the mystery of God,
Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge.
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Commentary on Col 1:24–2:3
This selection begins with St. Paul
telling the Colossians that the revelation of God’s plan is brought to
completion in Christ, and he (Paul), in his suffering for the sake of that
Gospel, is passing on that revelation to them. Going forward in his example, he
hopes to encourage those whom he has not met to continue to live in the love of
Christ and one another. There is a consistent understanding expressed by the
apostle that all Christians are called to faith, even in the face of suffering.
While through Christ’s suffering salvation was achieved, through the suffering
of the faithful, conformity with Christ is brought nearer.
CCC: Col 1:24 307,
618, 1508; Col 1:27 568,
772
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm
62:6-7, 9
R. (8) In God is my safety and my glory.
Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. In God is my
safety and my glory.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
R. In God is my
safety and my glory.
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Commentary on Ps 62:6-7, 9
This song is one of deep and abiding faith. The singer trusts only
in God (“He only is my rock”) and is at peace in God’s abiding love. The
psalmist calls to the people to come to the Lord in times of trouble. God's
refuge is large enough to shelter a whole nation.
Gospel: Luke 6:6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the
synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right
hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched
him closely
to see if he would cure on the sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to
accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered
hand,
“Come up and stand before us.”
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
“I ask you, is it lawful to do good on
the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
Looking around at them all, he then said
to him,
“Stretch out your hand.”
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might
do to Jesus.
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Commentary on Lk 6:6-11
In this passage from St. Luke’s
Gospel, Jesus is challenging the strict interpretation of Mosaic Law that says
the Sabbath must be a day of complete rest and no work may be done. In front of
the most scrupulous of these, the Pharisees, Jesus cures the man with a
withered hand, exactly what they were waiting for, but asks them before he does
so if they understand the difference between good and evil. The deeper question
probably made them more upset than the actual action of curing the man.
CCC: Lk 6:6-9 581
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Reflection:
We
hear a caution today that, while we are called to follow the laws set down by
our faith, we must also be careful that we do not miss the spirit of the law in
an attempt to be faithful to it. Of all
the denominations of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church and its various
subordinate rites have some of the most stringent rules governing the practice
of the faith. As a consequence we must
be doubly on guard against falling into that trap.
In
the Gospel today, the Lord saw into the hearts of the Scribes and
Pharisees. He saw that their love for
the rules overshadowed their love for God’s creatures, especially those less
fortunate than themselves. He saw that
they viewed the man with the withered hand as a sinner, as one punished by God
for offenses they did not care about.
The fact that the man had been so afflicted meant that God had seen fit
to punish him. He saw their secret pride
in viewing themselves as better than the afflicted man, and he saw their
sinister plan to trap him into a perceived violation of those laws they
embraced above God.
All
of this he took in at a glance, and we must understand that his heart was
saddened because of the twisted interpretation of the Law that set the stage
for what he was about to do. God did not
afflict this poor man unless it was to provide a means for Christ to be
revealed to this group as the Messiah, the Son of God. God did not say that keeping the sabbath holy
meant to ignore those who need our help.
The fact that the rules gave these scribes and Pharisees power over
others had corrupted them, obscured the spirit of God the Law had been created
to serve.
When
Jesus cured the man with the withered hand he held up this twisted logic to the
light of God’s love. In one flash of
compassion, he declared that the Son of God was here to re-interpret the Law
that had forgotten its purpose. Is it
any wonder this event frightened the leaders who thought to use the event as a
trap? His love had revealed their
indifference, and the trust placed in them by the people was diminished.
These
lessons are clear to us today, and we need to examine our own practices under
the same light the Lord focused on the Scribes and Pharisees. The Catholic Church is blessed with the
Magisterium that provides us with a consistent guide. It was developed by those
to whom safeguarding the deposit of faith was entrusted by Christ, through
apostolic succession. We, for our
part, must redouble our efforts to
implement the Church’s teaching regarding the practice of the faith within the
boundaries established by the Magisterium, but in such a way that all we do
brings glory, not to ourselves, but to God, and that our actions reflect the
love for one another that was the first and greatest commandment he left of us.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “St Paul at his Writing-Desk “ by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van
Rijn, 1629-30
[2]
S.S Commemoratio
[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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