(Optional Memorial for Saint John XXIII, Pope)
Readings many be taken from the Common of Pastors (for a Pope)
 |
| “Ask, And It Shall Be Given” by Alexandre Bida, c. 1858 |
Reading 1:
Galatians 3:1-5
O stupid Galatians!
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified?
I want to learn only this from you:
did you receive the Spirit from works of the law,
or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now ending with the flesh?
Did you experience so many things in vain?–
if indeed it was in vain.
Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you
and works mighty deeds among you
do so from works of the law
or from faith in what you heard?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Gal 3:1-5
St. Paul lashes out at the
Galatians (stupid - other translations use the word “foolish,” or ask “are you
mad”) for succumbing to the exhortations of the Judaizers. They have apparently
become focused on “works of the Law,” the legalistic practices thought to earn
them salvation, or to gain favor in the eyes of God. In either case, St. Paul
asks rhetorically if these hollow practices caused the Spirit to manifest
itself in them. Was it not, he asks, the Gospel of Christ, and him crucified,
proclaimed by the apostle that had brought about the works of the Spirit?
CCC: Gal 3:2 476
----------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:
Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
R. (68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
These strophes are the opening
lines of the great Canticle of Zachariah sung to the newborn St. John the
Baptist by his father at the occasion of his naming. He reminds the infant St.
John that God is faithful to his promises and proclaims the Savior’s mission of
salvation, a promise to Abraham, as a fulfillment of that promise. These
introductory verses serve as a profession of faith in God and the Messiah of
whom St. John will be the forerunner. Zachariah sings of the salvation first
promised to Abraham, now to be fulfilled in Jesus.
CCC: Lk 1:73 706
----------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel:
Luke 11:5-13
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight
and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”
----------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 11:5-13
In this passage from St. Luke’s
Gospel, the Lord continues his response to the disciples' request to “teach
us how to pray.” The Lord uses the story of the one friend asking another
for bread (a strong Eucharistic reference) in the middle of the night as an
instrument to tell them that God will always answer prayers, but in his own
time. (“I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of
their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his
persistence.”) He makes his message clear in the verses that follow: “ask
and you will receive.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The
passage from Galatians, in other translations, uses the words foolish and senseless
in the place of “stupid.” The apostle moves from the theme of justifying his
own position in the hierarchy of apostles back to an emotional attack on those
who would have the people believe they can somehow earn salvation through
religious practices. Paul continues to
fight the Judaizers, who came to the Galatian community, and who are continuing
to hold up the Law of Moses as supreme over the new covenant the Lord has
brought, taught by St. Paul.
In
a very real sense, things have not changed much to this day where faith is
concerned. Look at the reaction of many members of our faith community when
even minor changes are introduced to our worship. Now imagine a people who now
must face a radical change. Even though these early converts were given the
gift of the Holy Spirit, they were trying to adopt the legalistic ways of
thought exhorted by those who believe one must first convert to Judaism in
order to be Christian. Is it any wonder Paul goes on a bit of a tear? Sometimes
it’s even hard for us, all these years later, to remember that Jesus changed
everything.
We
come now to St. Luke’s Gospel. We actually are given the Gospel twice today.
The first time it is in the form of the Responsorial Psalm, where we hear the beginning
of the Canticle of Zachariah as he prophesies about the coming of Jesus, and
the great gift that is for all of us.
In
the Gospel’s continuing story of Jesus’ return to Jerusalem, we hear the
familiar phrase: “ask and you
will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.”
The Lord frames that offer and assures us with a brief analogy, asking, if a
child asked for fish, would his loving father give him a snake? Or, if he asked
for an egg, would he give him a scorpion?
On
the surface it sounds like if we ask God for anything, he will just give it to
us. And, if we quit reading the scripture right there, we could set ourselves
up for a real disappointment later. God does not just swoop down and grant
wishes like some genie in a bottle. Just because we want something, even
something good, does not mean that we automatically get it. God has his own
purpose and time.
If
we look at the very end of the scripture passage we see: “how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” Even in the parallel
passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew (Matthew7:11) he qualifies the answers to
prayers with: “give good
things to those who ask him.”
God
did not give us life to live it for us. He did not create us as slaves, he gave
us free will. He did not create the earth and all that is in it to constantly
reshape it for our safety. However, we are given the Holy Spirit, free for the
asking. That Spirit supports us in times of difficulty, and gives us strength
in the face of adversity. All we need to do is ask from our hearts and it is
ours. Come Holy Spirit. It is a reality
St. Paul recognized, and the reason for his zeal (and language) as he saw the
understanding being diluted by his detractors.
Pax
Pax
[1]
The Picture used today is “Ask, And It Shall Be Given” by Alexandre Bida, c.
1858.
[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 republication is not authorized
by USCCB and is for private use only.
No comments:
Post a Comment