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| “The Martyrdom of St Agatha” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1756 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13
The
elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,
the
princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel,
came
to King Solomon in Jerusalem,
to
bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant
from
the City of David, which is Zion.
All
the people of Israel assembled before King Solomon
during
the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).
When
all the elders of Israel had arrived,
the
priests took up the ark;
they
carried the ark of the LORD
and
the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels
that
were in the tent.
(The
priests and Levites carried them.)
King
Solomon and the entire community of Israel
present
for the occasion
sacrificed
before the ark sheep and oxen
too
many to number or count.
The
priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD
to
its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary,
the
holy of holies of the temple.
The
cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark,
sheltering
the ark and its poles from above.
There
was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets
which
Moses had put there at Horeb,
when
the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel
at
their departure from the land of Egypt.
When
the priests left the holy place,
the
cloud filled the temple of the LORD
so
that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,
since
the LORD’s glory had filled the temple of the LORD.
Then
Solomon said, “The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud;
I
have truly built you a princely house,
a
dwelling where you may abide forever.”
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Commentary on
1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13
In the previous two chapters of the First Book of Kings (6 &
7) Solomon constructs his great temple to the Lord. “The transfer of the ark of
the covenant into the newly constructed temple building, and the oracle of
God's acceptance, and his act of possession, constituted the temple's solemn
dedication, and made of it the abiding dwelling of God among his people for
which David had hoped (2 Samuel 6:12-15; 2 Samuel 7:1-3). The
concurrence of the feast of Booths marks an appropriate transition of God's
dwelling among nomadic tribes to his permanent abode among a settled people.”[4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 132:6-7, 8-10
R. (8a) Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Behold,
we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we
found it in the fields of Jaar.
Let
us enter into his dwelling,
let
us worship at his footstool.
R. Lord, go up to the place
of your rest!
Advance,
O LORD, to your resting place,
you
and the ark of your majesty.
May
your priests be clothed with justice;
let
your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
For
the sake of David your servant,
reject
not the plea of your anointed.
R. Lord, go up to the place
of your rest!
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Commentary on
Ps 132:6-7, 8-10
Psalm 132 is a song of thanksgiving sung by the
community as they remember the establishment of God’s salvation expressed in
the Davidic dynasty. The second strophe envisions the great temple built by
Solomon and the installation of the Ark of the Covenant in its permanent home.
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Gospel: Mark 6:53-56
After
making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus
and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and
tied up there.
As
they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They
scurried about the surrounding country
and
began to bring in the sick on mats
to
wherever they heard he was.
Whatever
villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they
laid the sick in the marketplaces
and
begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and
as many as touched it were healed.
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Commentary on
Mk
6:53-56
This selection takes up the account
of Jesus' healing ministry immediately following the account of the feeding of
the multitudes (Mark 6:35-44), and his encounter with
the disciples as he walked upon the waters (Mark 6:45-52). Jesus
continues his journey, and cures many people who come to him. This is the same
location in which Peter, Andrew, James, and John had lived and was, in fact,
the location where Jesus had called them. It is for this reason he was so
quickly recognized.
CCC: Mk 6:56 1504
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Reflection
Today
we once again marvel at the great plan for our salvation the Father was pleased
to decree, culminating in the sacrifice of His Son. Consider the beginnings of this plan. God selected Abraham to father a nation of
nomadic peoples that roamed the deserts between modern Egypt and Lebanon. They hired themselves out to the Egyptians
and became enslaved by them. With his
mighty hand, God sent Moses, who only survived infanticide through the Lord’s
mercy, to bring the Hebrew people out of bondage and deliver them into the land
he promised.
For
long years they fought the pagan inhabitants of the land, seeking always the
home promised by God. Finally, after
subduing the last of their foes, the heir of King David, his son Solomon,
builds a temple. To this temple he brings the ark bearing the stone tablets of
the covenant made between Moses and God on Mount Sinai. The first reading paints a picture of, not
just the joy of the grand temple’s dedication, but also the expectation that
God chose this place as his abode on earth.
It was a place where the people could come to worship him, and offer
their sacrifices, assured that he heard their prayers for forgiveness and
intercession.
The
nomads were nomads no more. They had
established themselves, and invited their Most High God to have a place among
them, and Solomon’s temple was to be his footstool. But the temple would not be permanent. Four hundred years later, in 586 BC, the Babylonians
would destroy this temple and enslave the people. It would be rebuilt fifty years later, but as
Jesus predicts, it would be destroyed again in 70 AD by the Romans.
The
chosen people, as the Hebrews identified themselves, rejected the Messiah, that
same wandering teacher who lands for a second time in Gennesaret (the first
time he was there, he recruited Peter, Andrew, James and John to be his
disciples). He comes now fulfilling the
Law and the Prophets, taking the Good News of God’s Kingdom, not just to the
Jews, but to all peoples of all nations.
It is a great work that he has passed on through his disciples, later to
be called Apostles, and through them to us.
We
recall this great plan today, and hope with all our hearts that we will be true
to the part we are called upon to play in it.
We also hope for the reward promised to all God’s faithful; eternal life
in that heavenly kingdom.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “The Martyrdom of St
Agatha” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1756
[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 1 Kings 8:6-9
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