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| “Pilgrimage at Sunset ( |
Reading 1: Ephesians 4:32–5:8
Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another,
compassionate,
forgiving one another as God
has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as
beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed
himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to
God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or
greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy
ones,
no obscenity or silly or
suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no
immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ
Let no one deceive you with
empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming
upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with
them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the
Lord.
Live as children of light.
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Commentary on Eph 4:32–5:8
St. Paul continues to exhort the
church at Ephesus to live as imitators of God in Christ. He lists the virtues
of Christ’s love and excludes a litany of behaviors inappropriate for those who
wish to be part of the community, insisting that such people have no share in
the inheritance of the Kingdom of God (of Christ).
He concludes this section with a
strong statement warning that those who turn away from God, and embrace the
darkness, will receive God’s wrath. He then calls them to “Live as children
of the light.” (This passage is quoted during the Sacrament of Baptism as
the newly baptized are presented with a candle lighted from the Easter Candle,
the light of Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit).
CCC: Eph 4:32 2842; Eph 5:1 1694; Eph 5:2 616; Eph 5:3-5 1852; Eph 5:4 2204; Eph 5:5 2113; Eph 5:8 1216, 1695
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R. (see Eph. 5:1) Behave like God as his very dear
children.
Happy those who do not follow
the counsel of the wicked,
Nor go the way of sinners,
nor sit in company with
scoffers.
Rather, the law of the LORD
is their joy;
God's law they study day and
night.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
They are like a tree
planted near streams of
water,
that yields its fruit in
season;
Its leaves never wither;
whatever they do prospers.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
But not the wicked!
They are like chaff driven by
the wind.
Therefore the wicked will not
survive judgment,
nor will sinners in the
assembly of the just.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
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Commentary on Ps
1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Psalm 1 serves as a preface to the
whole book of the psalms. The psalmist here exalts those who follow the Lord’s
commands, and reflects upon the blessings they will receive. As in Romans 6:19ff, this
selection emphasizes the contrast between the salvation of the just and the
punishment of the wicked.
This wisdom psalm begins by
extolling the virtue of those who follow the law. The focus is to look to God
for guidance, and not to trust only in the counsel of men. Those who reject the
law will be blown away like “chaff,” an image used in the Gospel as well (Matthew 3:12).
This portion of the psalm is later
echoed in Isaiah 48:17-19, like an
overlapped formula of covenant. Blessed is the man who “delights in the
law day and night,” but “the way of the wicked vanishes.” It also takes up the
theme of following right paths and staying true to the teachings of God: “Blessed
the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of
sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of
the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.”
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Gospel: Luke 13:10-17
Jesus was teaching in a
synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for
eighteen years
had been crippled by a
spirit;
she was bent over, completely
incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called
to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of
your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up
straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the
synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had
cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work
should be done.
Come on those days to be
cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in
reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on
the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from
the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for
eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been
set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his
adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced
at all the splendid deeds done by him.
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Commentary on Lk 13:10-17
The story of the cure of the
crippled woman is parallel to the story of Jesus curing the man with dropsy on
the Sabbath (see Luke 14:1-6). He is
challenged by the local Jewish leadership for doing “work” on God’s holy day
(cf. Exodus 20:8; 31:14 Leviticus
19:3-30). As before, he uses the need to tend to the necessities of life
on the Sabbath as parallel to his need to cure the woman. He reinterprets the
Law establishing the need to please God through acts of mercy and kindness
(cf. Hosea 6:6; James 2:13).
CCC: Lk 13:15-16 582
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Reflection:
“Live as children of the light.”
We are all called to that reality, and images of light and darkness fill
our culture and myth. So ingrained has
this analogy of good and evil become that we use it without thinking. Many see those who embrace the “Goth” look
(dressing in black, striving for a dark appearance) as seeking a persona that
is intimidating because of its embrace of darkness. When we think of a “dark” place, we automatically
associate it with fear (afraid of the dark), and evil deeds (most crime is
conducted at night- in the darkness).
On the other side we are
called as “children of the light,”
the antithesis of darkness. Our actions
are to represent the goodness of one to another. St. Paul defines this understanding of “children of the light” with his
exhortation to the church at Ephesus. He
tells them to love one another, as Christ loved us. He calls them to be compassionate: there is
no place among them for greed, malice, or even suggestive behavior, which leads
to dehumanizing attitudes and detracts from the dignity which all deserve as
children of the same God.
This last example is
subtle. We might think that, even in
polite company, friendly or suggestive banter is acceptable. What harm does it do? It generally injects humor into a
conversation and that is a happy thing.
We take St. Paul’s warning to heart, though. Too often the butt of this humor is hurtful
(even innocently so), and while the person who is the target of this wit may
even laugh with us, the intent can lead down a path that is destructive or may
encourage inappropriate, even licentious behavior.
In essence, St. Paul
Being “children of the light” is a call we dare not refuse; but it is
difficult. We pray today for the
strength and wisdom to find the lighted path and to always choose that
way. And when we fail, we ask God and
His Son to forgive us and show us the light once more.
Pax
[1]
The picture used today is “Pilgrimage at Sunset (Sunrise
[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.
