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| ”St. Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order” by Francisco de Herrera, the Elder, 1628 |
Reading 1: Exodus 1:8-14, 22
A new king, who knew nothing
of Joseph, came to power in Egypt
He said to his subjects,
"Look how numerous and powerful
the people of the children of
Israel
Come, let us deal shrewdly
with them to stop their increase;
otherwise, in time of war
they too may join our enemies
to fight against us, and so
leave our country."
Accordingly, taskmasters were
set over the children of Israel
to oppress them with forced
labor.
Thus they had to build for
Pharaoh
the supply cities of Pithom
and Raamses.
Yet the more they were
oppressed,
the more they multiplied and
spread.
The Egyptians, then, dreaded
the children of Israel
and reduced them to cruel
slavery,
making life bitter for them
with hard work in mortar and brick
and all kinds of field
work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.
Pharaoh then commanded all
his subjects,
"Throw into the river every
boy that is born to the Hebrews,
but you may let all the girls
live."
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Commentary on Ex 1:8-14, 22
The Book of
Exodus takes up the story of Joseph and his descendants in Egypt continued from
the Genesis account. In this passage, we hear how the “children of Israel”
fell into slavery though concerns over their numbers and foreign residence
status. This account also describes Pharaoh’s attempt to cull their numbers
through infanticide, setting the stage for the rise of Moses.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8
R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with
us–
let Israel
When men rose up against us,
then would they have
swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed
against us.
R. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
Then
would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept
over us;
over us then would have swept
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did
not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
R. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of
the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8
Psalm 124 is a song of
thanksgiving. In these verses God is praised for rescuing his chosen from their
enemies and natural disasters so they could live in the freedom he had promised
in his covenant.
CCC: Ps 124:8 287
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Gospel: Matthew 10:34—11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I
have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not
peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her
mother,
and a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be
those of his household.
"Whoever loves father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up
his cross
and follow after me is not
worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will
lose it,
and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you
receives me,
and whoever receives me
receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet
because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's
reward,
and whoever receives a
righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous
man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup
of cold water
to one of these little ones
to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will
surely not lose his reward."
When Jesus finished giving
these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place
to teach and to preach in their towns.
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Commentary on Mt 10:34—11:1
The final remarks of Jesus to the
Apostles, as they go out to preach and heal, are given in this passage from St.
Matthew’s Gospel. He reminds them that, even though the word they spread
reflects God’s love, they will be badly received by many, dividing households
and families.
The Lord goes on to tell them that
those who will fully accept him and his word will undergo persecution because
of him. And, even if they lose their lives on his account, they will be saved.
The reward given to those who accept the Word and follow in his way will be
great in heaven.
This discourse, recalled many years
after Christ’s death and resurrection, has the advantage of seeing the
persecution of those who spread the word. It demonstrates a fuller understanding
of the meaning of Christ’s teaching.
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Reflection:
For the past several days
(including this past Sunday’s Gospel) we have been reflecting upon the sending
of the disciples into the world. We were
told that they were sent “as sheep among
wolves,” without any physical means of support or protection. To punctuate that idea, St. Matthew’s Gospel
explains that the Gospel we bring to the world will not be accepted by
many. In fact, rather than instantly
bringing peace and the Kingdom of God to those who hear it, the message will
cause division between peoples and even within families. This fact is more true
today in the United States, than any time since its founding.
It is said that “forewarned
is forearmed.” The Gospel serves as a
warning that as we put on Christ and go into the world we face each day, be
that the world of business, governance, school, or nurturing a family, we
should expect the message we bring to cause discomfort to some.
“Why must that be?” We
rhetorically ask that question to point out that if we do this correctly, if we
truly put on Christ, the message we bring and the values the Gospel message
requires, along with the virtue we must hold as sacred, we will meet resistance
from the fallen nature of mankind. In
short, those who would rather follow another set of values, values focused on
their own pleasure, on concern for their own comfort, or aimed at dominating
and demeaning others will feel threatened by our purity of intent.
The Gospel we bring to the
world is not “Good News” to those who love themselves and embrace materialism
and hedonism. The simple act of helping
one less fortunate can earn the disdain of one inclined toward those
self-centered values. They feel guilt or
even less noble attitudes using the rationale that the unfortunate person is in
his or her situation because they were either not diligent enough or not “good”
enough to take advantage of their situation.
They employ the Darwinian mentality of “survival of the fittest,” not
realizing that by doing so they reduce themselves to the mentality of an
animal.
Today we faithfully put on
Christ and go into the world. We do so
with a prayer that the face others see on us is the face of Christ, and the
good we do in his name will be for the greater Glory of his Father and ours.
Pax
[1]
The picture is ”St. Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order” by Francisco de
Herrera, the Elder, 1628.
[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.
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