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| “Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Reading 1: Romans 1:16-25
Brothers
and sisters:
I
am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
for
Jew first, and then Greek.
For
in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;
as
it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”
The
wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
against
every impiety and wickedness
of
those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
For
what can be known about God is evident to them,
because
God made it evident to them.
Ever
since the creation of the world,
his
invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
have
been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As
a result, they have no excuse;
for
although they knew God
they
did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
Instead,
they became vain in their reasoning,
and
their senseless minds were darkened.
While
claiming to be wise, they became fools
and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for
the likeness of an image of mortal man
or
of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore,
God handed them over to impurity
through
the lusts of their hearts
for
the mutual degradation of their bodies.
They
exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and
revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who
is blessed forever. Amen.
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Commentary on
Rom
1:16-25
St. Paul, after his opening
introduction and prayer, takes up the major theme of his letter to the Romans,
salvation through faith. The critical and unbelieving reception he received is
acknowledged in the opening lines: “I am not ashamed of the gospel.”
This passage goes on to point out
the purposely disrespectful attitude of “those who suppress the truth,”
since God’s presence is made clear in his creation. In spite of this evidence,
they have made graven images of people (and animals) to worship. These amoral
people have degraded themselves with their excesses. And God, whom they have
abandoned for creatures, has handed them over to this degradation of body and
mind.
CCC: Rom 1:17 1814; Rom
1:18-32 401,
2087; Rom 1:18-25 57; Rom
1:18 2125; Rom
1:19-20 32,
287, 1147; Rom 1:24-27 2357
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The
heavens declare the glory of God,
and
the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day
pours out the word to day,
and
night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
Not
a word nor a discourse
whose
voice is not heard;
Through
all the earth their voice resounds,
and
to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
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Commentary on
Ps
19:2-3, 4-5
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In
these opening strophes, the psalmist rejoices in God’s visible hand, revealed
in all creation. It is the first of two themes expressed in the psalm (the
other is in praise of the Law). While no word of God announces his presence,
his glory is revealed in the creation of all things.
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Gospel: Luke 11:37-41
After Jesus had spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at
his home.
He entered and reclined at table to
eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the
prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you
Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of
the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder
and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside
also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give
alms,
and behold, everything will be
clean for you.”
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Commentary on Lk
11:37-41
St. Luke regularly associates Jesus
with the Pharisees. In this case, Jesus is again dining with a member of that
group. The Lord is challenged for his failure to observe the strict ritual
cleansing required by pharisaic law. In response, he chastises the Pharisee for
mistaking external hygiene for purity of spirit, saying that it is more
important to demonstrate spiritual purity, especially through giving alms for
the poor, than acts of religiosity for the sake of appearance (see also Matthew 23 and Mark 12:38).
As in Matthew 23:26ff, the final
part of this section is concerned with “....a metaphor illustrating a concern
for appearances while inner purity is ignored (see also Mark 7:4).” [4]
There is a strong reference here to the lack of self-control shown by these
leaders.
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Reflection:
We are taken today by St.
Paul’s criticism of the Romans who remain pagan. His arguments are
appropriate for our own apologies to the world in which we live. Day by
day we go into a world that is strikingly parallel to the hedonistic and pagan
society of ancient Rome. Of course, we don’t see temples dedicated
to pagan gods in which formal worship takes place (although we could draw some
analogies), but the values against which St. Paul fought are all
there.
What is idol worship? It is
placing at the center of one’s existence a material or physical object, taking
an anthropomorphic attitude toward it (that is giving an object an animated
character). For example, the person who prizes a car, a boat, or other
object will often refer to that object with a pronoun implying humanity.
Of a car, a person might say “She’s a beauty.” Or of a boat; “She’s happy in
the water today.” The mere reference could not be called idolatry but an
attitude that places that “thing” above all else transforms the object into an
idol.
Essentially, what a person values
most, whether that is an object, a state of being (e.g. inebriation, or another
form of hedonistic pleasure – like pornography), or a material goal being
pursued, takes on the characteristics of idol worship. When we look at
what secular society values and encourages we can see the images described
by St. Paul as people have “exchanged the glory of the immortal
God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged
animals or of snakes.”
The Gospel of St. Luke
points out that there is a more subtle kind of danger hidden for us even as we
turn away from the pagan world. We must also be on guard against focusing
so much on our ritual celebrations that we forget the need to first become
spiritually clean. Our attitudes must be completely reflected in our
worship of the One True God. Our focus must be to join spirit and action
in an act of pure love of God.
Today we are cautioned against
falling into the trap of idol worship. We are also told that our
salvation depends not just on following the precepts of the faith but having a
spiritual life that is reflected by the discipline of worship. Our prayer
today is that we place Jesus first in our lives and worship him in all
sincerity.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch” 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.
[4]
See NAB footnote on Matthew 23:26
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