 |
| “Saint Ambrose” by Matthias Stom, c. 1630s |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26
Thus says the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell
in Jerusalem,
no more will you weep;
He will be gracious to you
when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will
answer you.
The Lord will give you the
bread you need
and the water for which you
thirst.
No longer will your Teacher
hide himself,
but with your own eyes you
shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice
shall sound in your ears:
“This is the way; walk in
it,”
when you would turn to the
right or to the left.
He will give rain for the
seed
that you sow in the ground,
And the wheat that the soil
produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your flock will
be given pasture
and the lamb will graze in
spacious meadows;
The oxen and the asses that
till the ground
will eat silage tossed to
them
with shovel and pitchfork.
Upon every high mountain and
lofty hill
there will be streams of
running water.
On the day of the great
slaughter,
when the towers fall,
The light of the moon will be
like that of the sun
and the light of the sun will
be seven times greater
like the light of seven days.
On the day the LORD binds up
the wounds of his people,
he will heal the bruises left
by his blows.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 30:19-21, 23-26
This reading from Isaiah gives hope to those who are without hope, as the prophet speaks of the patience and mercy of the Father. God, says the prophet, hears the cry of his faithful and provides for them. The tone here, using the word "teacher," links this passage to the Gospels, where sixty-five (65) times Jesus assumes that title and admits to that role (John 13:13). The prophet foresees a time of great prosperity when the faithful hear the Lord and obey.
This reading from Isaiah gives hope to those who are without hope, as the prophet speaks of the patience and mercy of the Father. God, says the prophet, hears the cry of his faithful and provides for them. The tone here, using the word "teacher," links this passage to the Gospels, where sixty-five (65) times Jesus assumes that title and admits to that role (John 13:13). The prophet foresees a time of great prosperity when the faithful hear the Lord and obey.
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (see Isaiah 30:18d) Blessed are all who wait for
the Lord.
Praise the LORD, for he is
good;
sing praise to our God, for
he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he
gathers.
R. Blessed are all who
wait for the Lord.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the
stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Blessed are all who
wait for the Lord.
Great is our LORD and mighty
in power:
to his wisdom there is no
limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the
ground.
R. Blessed are all who
wait for the Lord.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
This hymn of
praise anticipates the coming of the messiah who restores what is lost and
gives hope to the poor. It is the poor upon whom he lavishes special
blessings: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
Jesus went around to all the
towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the
Kingdom,
and curing every disease and
illness.
At the sight of the crowds,
his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled
and abandoned,
like sheep without a
shepherd.
Then he said to his
disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but
the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the
harvest
to send out laborers for his
harvest.”
Then he summoned his Twelve
disciples
and gave them authority over
unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and
every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve
after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.
As you go, make this
proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the
dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out
demons.
Without cost you have
received; without cost you are to give.”
------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
"Seeing the crowds, Jesus experiences an inward tremor, and that movement of compassion activates his poetic imagination as a pious and learned Jew. He recalls the passage in the book of Numbers (27:15-17) where Moses asks God to appoint a man to lead Israel, lest it be like sheep without a shepherd and the passage in Ezekiel (34:5) where the prophet says of the Jews: 'They are scattered, they have no shepherd, they have become the prey of wild beasts.'" [4]
This selection emphasizes Jesus'
early struggle to accomplish what he came to do by himself. We sense his
humanness as he says, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few."
Christ has the sense that the disciples are ready to take a more active role in
proclaiming the Kingdom of God. He asks them to pray for God’s spirit and
strength (“so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his
harvest").
At the beginning of chapter 10, St.
Matthew names the twelve and calls his special friends Apostles, which means
“one who is sent” (the only time in St. Matthew’s Gospel this term is used).
They are then sent, but only to the “chosen people.” It is not until
after Christ’s death and resurrection that the Gospel is brought to the
Gentiles.
CCC: Mt 9:38 2611; Mt
10:5-7 543; Mt
10:8 1509,
2121, 2443
------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Scripture presents an
interesting paradox today. The reading
from the prophet Isaiah describes God’s infinite patience and mercy. He calls the faithful and offers them the
fruits of his creation to give them ease.
Isaiah depicts a time of idyllic peace.
The image of the New Jerusalem is seen as a place where all of God’s
blessings come together.
Contemplating those verses
one might almost think of the final scene from the movie Forrest Gump where the main character, the mentally challenged
Forrest, sees his young son off to school telling him he will be waiting for his
return. He then sits down patiently to
do just that. The implication is that he
will sit in that spot until his son returns at the end of the day.
Psalm 147 does nothing to
dispel the notion of patient waiting, basking in God’s mercy. Rather it supports Isaiah’s understanding
that our Heavenly Father has intense love for those who suffer. It is they who most urgently hope for the
coming of the Kingdom of God.
Next we are given St.
Matthew’s Gospel in which the Lord charges his disciples to go out into the
world to proclaim that “the Kingdom of
God is at hand.” There is no sense
of patient waiting, but rather a feeling of the need for intense preparation.
The answer to the paradox is
explained, of course, by looking at the genre of the scripture. Isaiah, the great prophet, is seeing the
Kingdom of God that is to come. He
envisions the great and merciful God who loves his people, providing all good
things for them. Jesus, although having
all the gifts of prophecy, is an active force, preparing the people for the
Kingdom of God, which is at hand.
Using the analogy of the
farmer, Jesus sees that the seeds sown by the prophets and fed by the Law of
Moses are ready for harvest. The flock they represent is ready to be shown
their final destination. So he sends his friends out into that field to collect
the harvest, something he would need much more time to accomplish alone.
Now we step back and look
around. We are preparing for his return
as well as the celebration of the Lord’s Nativity. Are we to withdraw from the world and sit
patiently waiting for the Kingdom of God that will come, like Forrest Gump? Or,
are we to go into the world to assist with the harvest? The Lord’s will seems clear in this instance. He calls us, like his disciples, to be active
in the world and to assist with his harvest, proclaiming the coming Kingdom by
word and example. The great feast will
come later.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Saint Ambrose” by Matthias Stom, c.
1630s.
[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.
[4]
Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 516.
No comments:
Post a Comment