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“Somewhere in Time"
by Dcn. Robert Lackney |
Readings for Tuesday of the
Tenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
FIRST READING: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Brothers and sisters:
As God is faithful, our word to you
is not "yes" and "no."
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who
was proclaimed to you by us,
Silvanus and Timothy and me,
was not "yes" and
"no," but "yes" has been in him.
For however many are the promises of
God, their Yes is in him;
therefore, the Amen from us also goes
through him to God for glory.
But the one who gives us security
with you in Christ
and who anointed us is God;
he has also put his seal upon us
and given the Spirit in our hearts as
a first installment.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor
1:18-22
St. Paul has been criticized by the
people at Corinth. He is making it clear that there is no ambiguity in what
they have been told regarding the Lord and the Kingdom of God. There is only truth,
and it is not variable. His critics have accused him of failing to deliver on
promises he made. In this part of his response to that charge he recounts his
singleness of purpose in confessing the absolute truth in Christ Jesus. God,
says the apostle, is always faithful (“For however many are the promises of
God, their Yes is in him”). The point he intends is that as God is faithful
so is his servant who proclaims his fidelity to Christ Jesus who is God’s Amen
(using the Hebrew word for yes). This assent they give to Christ is an assent
to God since God and Christ are one.
The last reference to being sealed
with the Holy Spirit is a reference to the unity shared by the faithful in
baptism and confirmation.
CCC: 2 Cor 1:20 1065; 2 Cor
1:21-22 1274; 2 Cor
1:21 695, 735; 2 Cor
1:22 698, 1107, 1296
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:129, 130, 131,
132, 133, 135
R. (135a) Lord, let
your face shine on me.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds
light,
gives understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Turn to me in pity
as you turn to those who love your
name.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Steady my footsteps according to your
promise,
and let no iniquity rule over me.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Let your countenance shine upon your
servant,
and teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps
119:129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135
The reference to “light” in this
section of Psalm 119 is the light of revelation. It supports the Gospel
below. Those who travel in light find the right paths and rejoice in the
light.
-------------------------------------------
GOSPEL: Matthew 5:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You are the salt of the
earth.
But if salt loses its taste,
with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for
anything
but to be thrown out and
trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the
world.
A city set on a mountain
cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and
then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all
in the house.
Just so, your light must
shine before others,
that they may see your good
deeds
and glorify your heavenly
Father."
------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt
5:13-16
In
this selection from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses allegory to push the Word
of God into the world. He tells his disciples they are an integral part of the
faith of the people in God. As seasoning is to food, so the Word of God is to
faith. They must remain steadfast so they do not lose zeal for God, which is
the taste of that seasoning. It is that which sets it apart.
He
uses a second allegory, light, to provide still more direction. The light of
faith will be seen by all because it is reflected in the actions of those who
believe. That light serves to guide others to God, when they may otherwise
become lost in darkness, and wander into paths of desolation. That light that
pours from the disciples will be seen as a gift, not from them, but from the
Father, and the Father will be glorified because of the light.
“Salt
and light each impart their own virtue, provided they remain fully what they
are. Christians are the means whereby God wants to flavor life, to illuminate
life. Do we not too often want to be receivers rather than
the givers, and do we not in this way become insipid and dark? The
disciple himself is responsible if the world around him remains crouching in
lethargy, untransformed.” [4]
CCC:
Mt 5:13-16 782, 2821; Mt
5:14 1243; Mt
5:16 326
------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Those
who do not believe in God, atheists, must believe that the universe and all
creation is but some sort of cosmic chain of events with no purpose other than
to follow the next logical step, dictated by physics or chemistry. They believe that life is mere chance and
that, as preposterous as it seems, as improbable as has been statistically
demonstrated (it makes the lottery look like a sure win), mankind evolved from
this accidental chemical event that occurred in the earth’s primordial ooze.
Based
upon their understanding of science and their rejection of the possibility of
the existence of divinity, they see human life as meaningless, without purpose
other than to satisfy some primitive instincts, a hedonistic satisfaction. How hopeless is their outlook; how bleak is
their future; how futile their existence; how arrogant their mindset. We feel a profound sense of sorrow for their
sense of self-worth which lacks any spiritual value and supposes that, just as
the biological process that formed them started a chain of events that led to
new life, when that inevitable chain leads back to biological death, they come
to a complete and total end of their existence.
How
dismal their outlook must be. We who
believe have hope because we are convinced that there is a God, a Trinity of
Persons who created all that is and remains with us as we walk this earth. It is a hope born out of the certain
knowledge that this life, wrapped in flesh, is only a part of our journey. We believe that we have been restored to a
state of grace made possible by God’s only Son, and that through his will and
mercy, we will exist forever, out of time and space, in his heavenly kingdom.
Because
of this vibrant and lively faith, we see our lives as having purpose. A mission has been passed on to us. It is a mission of hope and love: love of
those who cannot understand God’s love; and with that love we give hope to the
hopeless. It is this mission the Lord
proposes in the Gospel of St. Matthew.
He invites us to be salt for a tasteless world, light in the darkness of
despair. Even if our invitations fall
upon deaf ears, the act of inviting allows us to be drawn more deeply into
God’s love. In being salt we taste his love more deeply, and in being light we
are ourselves illuminated.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Somewhere in Time" by Dcn. Robert Lackney
[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]
Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 207.
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