Note: Alternate readings used for Year A Scrutinies are
found below in a second section.
(Year B Readings)
Catechism Links[1]
CCC 459,
577-582: Jesus and the Law
 |
| “Christ Driving the Money Changers Out of the Temple” by Calentin De Boulogne, 1618. |
Readings for the Third Sunday of Lent [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [3]
Readings
Reading 1: Exodus 20:1-17
Then God delivered all these
commandments:
"I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of theland of Egypt
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
"You shall not take the
name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.
"Remember to keep holy
the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
"Honor your father and
your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your
neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 20:1-17
In this reading we are given the Exodus version of the delivery of
the Ten Commandments by Moses. The fact that the Decalogue is repeated
here and in Deuteronomy indicates the importance of these statutes as a moral
code for the people of God. While the division into Ten Commandments is
somewhat uncertain, we believe that verses 1-6 constitute one commandment while
verse 7 describes two (see also Deuteronomy 5:6-21).
“The chief discrepancies between Exodus and Deuteronomy consist in
the humanitarian motivation added in the latter for the observance of the
Sabbath precept, and in the reversal of order in Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy
5:21. In Exodus, ‘house’ is named first and then ‘wife.’” [5]
CCC: Ex
20:1-17 2056; Ex 20:2-5 2083; Ex 20:2 2061; Ex 20:7 2141; Ex 20:8-10 2167; Ex 20:11 2169; Ex 20:12 2196, 2200, 2214; Ex 20:13 2257; Ex 20:14 2330; Ex 20:15 2400; Ex 20:16 2463, 2504; Ex 20:17 1456, 2513, 2533
-------------------------------------------
Or: Exodus 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
Then God delivered all these
commandments:
"I, the LORD am your God,
who brought you out of theland of Egypt
You shall not have other gods besides me.
"You shall not take the
name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.
"Remember to keep holy
the sabbath day.
Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the Lord, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
This shorter version of the Ten Commandments by Moses omits more
detailed explanations of the prohibition against idol worship and the intended
extent of sabbath rest.
CCC: Ex 20:1-17 2056; Ex
20:2-5 2083; Ex
20:2 2061; Ex
20:7 2141; Ex
20:8-10 2167; Ex
20:12 2196,
2200, 2214; Ex 20:13 2257; Ex
20:14 2330; Ex
20:15 2400; Ex
20:16 2463,
2504; Ex 20:17 1456,
2513, 2533
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of
everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is
perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are
right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than
gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise.
In this passage, we give praise for God’s gift of the Law which guides us in
our daily lives. The hymn extols the virtues of obedience and steadfastness to
the Law and its precepts. The passage also reflects the idea that following
God’s statutes leads to peace and prosperity.
-------------------------------------------
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
For Jews demand signs and
Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Cor 1:22-25
The Gospel St.
Paul preaches shocks both the Jews and the Greeks. “The Jews expected and
demanded signs, i.e., spectacular miracles that showed divine intervention.
They looked for a messiah who would inaugurate their nation's sovereignty over
the Gentiles by a display of miraculous power (Mathew 12:38; 16:4; John 4:48; 6:30-31). The Greeks searched for
"wisdom," i.e., philosophies that pretended to give a satisfactory
explanation of man and the cosmos. To the Jew, the Crucified Christ is a
scandal, i.e., a cause of offense and revulsion and an object of vigorous
opposition and anger.”[6]
CCC: 1 Cor 1:24-25 272
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 2:13-25
Since the Passover of the
Jews was near,
Jesus went up toJerusalem
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
While he was in Jerusalem
many began to believe in his name
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 2:13-25
Jesus' actions in this selection are acted-out prophecy and his
play on words constitutes prophetic foretelling. The temple transactions were
legitimate; they were conducted in the appropriate temple area, and they were
essential supports of the temple service. (If we look at the setting of this
event according to St. Mark's Gospel (Mark 11:11; 11:15-19) we see
that Jesus was in the temple on the previous day and so this was likely a
premeditated action, part of his revelation as Messiah.)
The explanation of Jesus’ behavior is found in an allusion
from Zechariah
14:21, who said that at the end-time there would be no need for
merchants in the house of the Lord. The psalm text says that zeal for the house
of God makes the psalmist vulnerable to the scorn and abuse of others
(cf. Psalm
69:9). By driving the merchants out of the temple precincts, Jesus
announces that the time of fulfillment has come. Identifying God as his Father
affirms his right to make such a claim and to act in accord with it.
In the final verses of this passage Jesus sees that many of those
who follow him do so only because of the miraculous signs he has performed (see
also John 6:2). He
recognizes that faith based upon superficial signs is unstable and confused.
CCC: Jn 2:13-14 583; Jn
2:16-17 584; Jn
2:18-22 586; Jn
2:18 575; Jn
2:19-22 994; Jn
2:21 586; Jn
2:25 473
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The third week of Lent begins
with the presentation of the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) from Exodus. The heart of the law is put before us,
supported by a psalm praising the law and interestingly coupled with the story
of Jesus and the money changers from John’s Gospel, and part of Paul’s first
letter to the Corinthians focused on differentiating Christians from Greek
philosophers and Jews thinking only of the law.
The threads, as usual are
numerous. The most common seems to be
the evolution of our understanding of God.
We start with Moses presenting the Ten Commandments to the Hebrew people
who, as the psalmist infers, took the whole of the law to heart. Many of them, especially the priestly class,
focused on the letter of the law and taught that this was truly God’s will and
that failure to follow the explicit precepts would result in punishment from
God. They built a whole cult around the
scrupulous observance of the law and, as we see in other places in scripture,
lorded it over those more “casual” worshipers.
The reason we want to
remember this evolution of legal observance is because it is directly
responsible for the situation Jesus discovered in the temple and the reason he
became distraught. Jesus found vendors
selling all manner of sacrificial animals and, because Roman money was not
accepted by the temple, money changers taking the coin of the realm and
changing it for the Tyrian half-shekel which was accepted.
Like everywhere else we can
be sure the vendors in the temple were not there because they were
altruistic. They were there to make a
profit and I am sure our Savior’s blood must have boiled when he saw those
pilgrims coming to the temple and being bilked by the temple vendors. You can also be sure that the temple
leadership itself was getting a cut of the proceeds. Remember now, this was his Father’s
house!
This is where we must
remember that we hate the sin and love the sinner. Jesus proceeded to seriously disrupt the
practice he abhorred. He turned over the
tables of the money changers and really made a stink. You can imagine what the temple leaders
thought of this. It would be like
someone standing in the vestibule of the church and telling everyone the church
itself was crooked. Is it any wonder
they wanted him dead?
From a historical
perspective, all of this is interesting and it tells us how our Lord came to
change things. It explains why there was
so much animosity toward him from the Sanhedrin. But what actions on our part do these events
drive? What lesson does it teach? This is where we have to pick just one for
today, for there are many we could choose.
One piece of all this
wonderful Scripture speaks to us and our Lenten journey; "Zeal for your house will consume me." In the
Gospel, the disciples quote Psalm 69 v.10 which, according to scholars is the
most quoted psalm in the New Testament.
We tend to get downcast if all we do during Lent is focus upon the bad
we have done. Even if we pledge to do
better in areas where we have failed, one can get pretty depressed. But if, like Christ, zeal for our Father’s
house consumes us – ah, that means we light up the world.
Zeal for our Father’s house
means we are excited about our faith and excited to pass it on to others. Have you ever seen a child with a prize –
they want to tell everyone about it.
That’s zeal for our Father’s house.
We can become like that. We can
develop that excitement if it is what is truly important to us. Let us all pledge, then, that from this point
forward zeal for our Father’s house will consume us and we will be a light to
those we meet.
Pax
Stations of the Cross
In other years on this date: Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs
-------------------------------------------
Third Sunday of Lent (For use with RCIA)
Catechism
Links [1]
CCC 1214-1216, 1226-1228: Baptism, rebirth of water and Spirit
CCC
CCC 727-729: Jesus reveals the Holy Spirit
CCC
CCC 694, 733-736, 1215, 1999, 2652: The Holy Spirit, the living water, a gift of God
CCC
CCC 604, 733, 1820, 1825, 1992, 2658: God takes the initiative; hope from the Spirit
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible
Readings and Commentary:3
Reading 1: Exodus 17:3-7
In those days, in their
thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, "Why did you ever make us leaveEgypt
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?"
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
"What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!"
The LORD answered Moses,
"Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders ofIsrael
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink."
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders ofIsrael
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
"Is the LORD in our midst or not?"
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 17:3-7
This passage continues the journey of the Hebrews in the desert
following their departure from Egypt. They have already been fed by manna in
the wilderness. Here they complain bitterly against Moses for having taken them
to a land with no water, and the hardship causes them to doubt that God is with
them. In response to this challenge, God provides yet another miracle as he
commands Moses to take his staff and strike the rock at Horeb, revealing a
spring of water. The place was later named Massah and Meribah: Hebrew words
meaning respectively: "the (place of the) test" and "the (place
of the) quarreling."
CCC: Ex 17:1-6 694; Ex
17:2-7 2119
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your
hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to
the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in
worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear
his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
This part of Psalm 95, commonly used as the invitatory psalm for
the Liturgy of the Hours, is a song of thanksgiving. In these strophes the
incident at Meribah is remembered (Exodus 17:3-7), and
God’s undeserved mercy proclaimed. The community is rejoicing that the Lord is
God and that he has brought us salvation in spite of our forebears' obstinacy.
We are encouraged to listen to the Lord, even if what we are asked to do is
difficult.
CCC: Ps 95:1-6 2628; Ps
95:7-8 2659; Ps
95:7 1165; Ps
95:9 2119
-------------------------------------------
Reading II: Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Since we have been justified
by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
And hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 5:1-2, 5-8
In the previous chapter, St. Paul has established that through
faith in Jesus Christ, the Christian is justified (recreated just as if they
had not sinned). The apostle now begins a discussion of how this
justification is experienced. The reconciled Christian will be saved, sharing
with hope in the risen Christ.
"The justified are endowed with theological virtues. By faith,
they live in peace with God and have access to his grace; in hope,
they long for the glory of God that awaits them; and in love, they
show that the charity of the Spirit dwells in their hearts (CCC 1813). Equipped
in this way, believers can become more like Christ through endurance and
suffering (CCC 618)."[8]
“Popular piety
frequently construed reverses and troubles as punishment for sin; cf John 9:2. Paul therefore assures believers that God's justifying action in
Jesus Christ is a declaration of peace. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ
displays God's initiative in certifying humanity for unimpeded access into the
divine presence. Reconciliation is God's gift of pardon to the entire human
race.”[9]
CCC: Rom
5:3-5 2734, 2847; Rom 5:5 368, 733, 1820, 1964, 2658; Rom 5:8 604
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 4:5-42
Jesus came to a town of Samaria
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,'
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water."
Jesus said to her,
"Go call your husband and come back."
The woman answered and said to him,
"I do not have a husband."
Jesus answered her,
"You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is inJerusalem
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor inJerusalem
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one speaking with you."
At that moment his disciples
returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, "What are you looking for?"
or "Why are you talking with her?"
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?"
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat."
But he said to them,
"I have food to eat of which you do not know."
So the disciples said to one another,
"Could someone have brought him something to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.'
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work."
Many of the Samaritans of
that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
"He told me everything I have done."
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with
them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 4:5-42
The story of the Samaritan Woman, told in its
entirety, provides several theological points. First, the fact that Jesus came
this way implies his broader mission, not just to the Jews but to the whole
world. The fact that upon meeting the Samaritan woman he asked for a drink is
significant, in that Jews would never have considered drinking from the same
vessel as a Samaritan woman who would have been considered ritually unclean.
"I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of the
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
that you may have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 20:1-17
-------------------------------------------
Or: Exodus 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
"I, the LORD am your God,
who brought you out of the
You shall not have other gods besides me.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.
Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the Lord, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Cor 1:22-25
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 2:13-25
Jesus went up to
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
many began to believe in his name
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 2:13-25
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
-------------------------------------------
Third Sunday of Lent (For use with RCIA)
CCC 1214-1216, 1226-1228: Baptism, rebirth of water and Spirit
CCC
CCC 727-729: Jesus reveals the Holy Spirit
CCC
CCC 694, 733-736, 1215, 1999, 2652: The Holy Spirit, the living water, a gift of God
CCC
CCC 604, 733, 1820, 1825, 1992, 2658: God takes the initiative; hope from the Spirit
 |
| “The Samaritan Woman at the Well” by Agostino Carracci, 1595 |
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, "Why did you ever make us leave
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?"
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
"What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!"
The LORD answered Moses,
"Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders of
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink."
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
"Is the LORD in our midst or not?"
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 17:3-7
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
-------------------------------------------
Reading II: Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 5:1-2, 5-8
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 4:5-42
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,'
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water."
"Go call your husband and come back."
The woman answered and said to him,
"I do not have a husband."
Jesus answered her,
"You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one speaking with you."
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, "What are you looking for?"
or "Why are you talking with her?"
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?"
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat."
But he said to them,
"I have food to eat of which you do not know."
So the disciples said to one another,
"Could someone have brought him something to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.'
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work."
because of the word of the woman who testified,
"He told me everything I have done."
When the Samaritans came to him,
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 4:5-42
Often what we hear in Sacred Scripture seems to have only one purpose when in fact there is more. We note that the location of this event is set at “Jacob’s Well”. It is a clear reference to Genesis 33:19-20, a place where Jacob “set up an altar there and invoked “El, the God of Israel.”
The discourse with the woman is instructive, providing rich imagery of water and spirit recalling the gifts given in baptism. At the same time we see the recognition that Jesus is the Messiah (although the Samaritans would have had a different expectation of the Messiah, thinking more in the lines of a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).
There is further symbolism, culturally focused, in Jesus' revelation to the woman. When he tells her she has been married five times it is a likely reference to the five images of Baal worshiped by the Samaritans. Women who practiced that religion were ritually married to the five idols.
The conclusion of the story demonstrates the clear perception by those who encounter Christ that he is the Messiah. This revelatory presence is noted in the concluding verses of the story as the Samarians exclaim “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."
-------------------------------------------
Or: John 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,'
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one who is speaking with you."
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42
Homily:
2. surveillance; close and continuous watching or guarding.
3. a close and searching look.
2. to free (a person, place, etc.) of evil spirits or malignant influences.
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2]
The picture used is “Christ Driving the Money Changers Out of the Temple” by
Calentin De Boulogne, 1618.
[4]
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.
[5]
Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968 on Exodus 20:1-17, §48.
[6]
Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968 on 1 Corinthians
1:22-25, §22.
[7]
The picture is “The Samaritan Woman at the Well” by Agostino Carracci,
1595.
[8]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 263.
[9]
NAB footnote on Romans 5:1-11.
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