Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

“Battle between Carnival and Lent”
by Jan Miense Molenaer 1633-34

Readings for Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Ephesians 6:10-20
 
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
 
With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.
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Commentary on Eph 6:10-20
 
This passage, continuing St. Paul’s exhortation on building up faith, is “a general exhortation to courage and prayer. Drawing upon the imagery and ideas of Isaiah 11:5; 59:16-17; and Wisdom 5:17-23, Paul describes the Christian in terms of the dress (armor) and equipment of Roman soldiers. He observes, however, that the Christian's readiness for combat is not directed against human beings but against the spiritual powers of evil (see also Ephesians 1:21; 2:2; 3:10). Unique importance is placed upon prayer.”[4]
 
In the final verses, the apostle says “perseverance” in prayer by the Christian must match that of the devil. There will be no truce until the final victory.
 
CCC: Eph 6:18-20 2636; Eph 6:18 1073, 1174, 2742
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 144:1b, 2, 9-10
 
R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
 
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
 
My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
 
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten‑stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
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Commentary on Ps 144:1b, 2, 9-10
 
Psalm 144, taken in its entirety, is difficult to classify as it opens with a lament. However, seen in the strophes given in this passage, it concludes in thanksgiving (v. 9-10).  In these strophes, we find that David’s faith provides the courage needed to be victorious in battle. The Lord’s support is celebrated with song, as God provides the victory over his foes. It also carries with it the martial theme of heavenly conflict, seen in St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 6:10ff, and in Jesus' vision of the impending passion in Jerusalem from St. Luke’s Gospel (Luke 13:31ff).
 
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Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
 
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
 
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
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Commentary on Lk 13:31-35
 
In this passage from St. Luke’s Gospel, we hear Jesus responding to Pharisees, who are warning of a plot by Herod. Their motives are not made clear, but we see Jesus using the opportunity to reinforce his role as fulfilling the law and the prophets. He declares, in essence, that he is the Messiah. There is a subtle message carried in St. Luke’s use of the number three and one half as well. This number (half of the perfect number “7”) symbolizes a time of dark persecution that will end with God’s glorification (see Daniel 7:25, 8:14, 12:12, and Luke 4:25).
 
The poem at the end, ending in a quote from Psalm 118:26, is found in St. Matthew’s Gospel linked with the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 23: 37-39). Placed here (and actually paraphrased again after Palm Sunday), it takes on a prophetic tone, an image of the passion to come.
 
CCC: Lk 13:31 575; Lk 13:33 557; Lk 13:35 585
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Reflection:
 
We are at war!  This is not a reference to the worldly strife of which there is much in this day and age, but rather we are at war with the legions of the evil one who sound fair but fell foul.  St. Paul uses the image of war and the ancient armor of war to describe how we must prepare ourselves to meet this daily challenge.  Even the opening verse of our psalm today echoes that theme: “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.”
 
While the psalm, sung in its day, referred to physical battle, it fits in today between St. Paul’s great analogy of Christian preparation for battle against the evil one and Jesus on preparations, as he first acknowledges a trap planned by Herod and embraces his own battle in the passion to come in Jerusalem.
 
Sacred Scripture, placed before us by Mother Church, is a call to arms.  There are no exemptions.  In our baptism we registered for this draft.
 
Now there are those who may feel that this attitude of battling evil is too drastic – overly melodramatic.  Yet if we do not prepare to combat the evil of the world, if we try to placate it thinking that there can be peaceful co-existence, we are as mistaken as Neville Chamberlain [5] who nobly tried to negotiate a peace with Adolph Hitler.  Thinking this is not really a battle allows us to walk into the cunning traps laid by the enemy.
 
The traps are enumerated by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians heard earlier this season: “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies” (see Galatians 5:20-21).  These things are held up by societal values and the media as perfectly fine.  They are exalted as marks of success in many cases.  They cannot coexist with Christian virtues.
 
So, today we leave our place of prayer and meditation fully aware of the tumult we face.  We wrap ourselves in the armor of faith, and go out to challenge the status quo and strike a blow to change the world for Christ’s sake.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture used today is “Battle between Carnival and Lent” by Jan Miense Molenaer 1633-34.
[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 Eph 6:10-20.
[5] Wikipedia article