Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

“The Queen of Sheba Kneeling before King Solomon”
by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, c. 1790’s

Readings for Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading I: 1 Kings 10:1-10
 
The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame,
came to test him with subtle questions.
She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue,
and with camels bearing spices,
a large amount of gold, and precious stones.
She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject
in which she was interested.
King Solomon explained everything she asked about,
and there remained nothing hidden from him
that he could not explain to her.
 
When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom,
the palace he had built, the food at his table,
the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his waiters,
his banquet service,
and the burnt offerings he offered in the temple of the LORD,
she was breathless.
“The report I heard in my country
about your deeds and your wisdom is true,” she told the king.
“Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes,
I have discovered that they were not telling me the half.
Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.
Blessed are your men, blessed these servants of yours,
who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.
Blessed be the LORD, your God,
whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel.
In his enduring love for Israel,
the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”
Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents,
a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones.
Never again did anyone bring such an abundance of spices
as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
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Commentary on 1 Kgs 10:1-10
 
This selection documents the visit of the Queen of Sheba. (Queen of Sheba: women rulers among the Arabs are recorded in eighth century B.C. Assyrian inscriptions. Sheba was for centuries the leading principality in what is now the Yemen. [4])  What is important in this encounter is the queen’s profession that it is God, the Lord God served by Solomon, that has graced him with wisdom, wealth, and greatness.  The queen states clearly that God has favored Israel, thus reinforcing the notion of Israel’s chosen status.
 
"This visit stayed in Israel's memory as a symbol of what would happen some time in the future when the messianic king would appear (cf. Psalm 72:10, 15) and when Jerusalem, revived by God, would recover its place among the nations (cf. Isaiah 45:14; 60:6-7)." [5]
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40
 
R. (30a) The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
 
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
 
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom
and his tongue utters what is right.
The law of his God is in his heart,
and his steps do not falter.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
 
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
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Commentary on Ps 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40
 
The main thrust of this selection of Psalm 37 is evil will pass away but God and his Law are eternal. It exhorts the listener to trust in God, and the “light” of truth will show the way of righteousness. The psalm appropriately extols the true teaching of God.
 
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Gospel: Mark 7:14-23
 
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
 
When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
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Commentary on Mk 7:14-23
 
Jesus takes that first command of God to man in the Garden (Genesis 2:15-17) and interprets it. It was not the fruit of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," but the spirit of evil which caused them to disobey God's word.
 
The Lord also seems to refute Jewish dietary law that declares some foods to be unclean (see also Matthew 15:11 ff.). The importance of this statement to the Christian community would not be understood until the debate about the need for Gentiles to follow Jewish law was taken up (see Acts 10:14ff; 15:28-29; Galatians 2:11-17). The point he makes is that the food that enters the body cannot destroy it but actions and words that contravene God’s law will.
 
“7:19 Thus he declared all foods clean: This teaching of Christ was explicitly confirmed in a vision received by Peter in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 10:1-16). Sin and evil do not originate in created goods but from the human heart. Human passions must be governed by the use of reason inspired by the natural law. The removal of the dietary prohibitions is also a sign of the new People of God liberated from legalisms to be replaced by the new law of grace and charity. (CCC 582)” [6]
 
CCC:  Mk 7:14-23 574; Mk 7:18-21 582; Mk 7:21 1764
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Reflection
 
The Wisdom of Solomon pales in comparison to the insights of Jesus.  The Lord sees many of the Jewish dietary laws as being impediments to understanding the real purpose the Father intended.  While not contradicting the spirit of discipline relating to the laws, Jesus points out that true sin comes not from what goes into the body but from actions that violate God’s laws.
 
Jesus is making it clear in this passage that human behaviors governed by the love of God and neighbor are the important elements of life, as opposed to fearing for one’s salvation because a person unwittingly violated one of the dietary regulations.  His purpose in clarifying God’s will was to establish a hierarchy of virtue.
 
What we must take away from this Scripture is at the heart of our thoughts when reviewing our actions.  We must, as disciples of Christ, look to what comes out of us.  We are called to be beacons of light to the world.  How can we do that if what issues from us is clothed in the darkness of sin?  Our call is to be emissaries of Christ.  How can we do that if we do not live his message?
 
Today we are reminded that we must work diligently to conform ourselves to Christ; to avoid sin and the near occasion of sin; to become children of light so that all the world might see us and believe in the true Son of God. Above all we must embrace the Holy Spirit as guide while striving to follow the traditions of our faith being obedient to the Lord’s law of love.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “The Queen of Sheba Kneeling before King Solomon” by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, c. 1790’s.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[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] NAB footnote on 1 Kings 10:1.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Joshua-Kings,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 457.
[6] Didache Bible, First Edition, Ninth Printing. Copyright © 2014-2021, Rev. James Socias p.1327.