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“St. Dominic”
by Claudio Coello, 1685 |
Readings for Friday of the
Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary:
[3]
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Moses said to the people:
“Ask now of the days of old,
before your time,
ever since God created man
upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky
to the other:
Did anything so great ever
happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the
voice of God
speaking from the midst of
fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go
and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another
nation,
by testings, by signs and
wonders, by war,
with his strong hand and
outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your
God,
did for you in Egypt before
your very eyes?
All this you were allowed to
see
that you might know the LORD
is God and there is no other.
Out of the heavens he let you
hear his voice to discipline you;
on earth he let you see his
great fire,
and you heard him speaking
out of the fire.
For love of your fathers he
chose their descendants
and personally led you out of
Egypt
by his great power,
driving out of your way
nations greater and mightier than you,
so as to bring you in
and to make their land your
heritage, as it is today.
This is why you must now
know, and fix in your heart,
that the LORD is God in the
heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes
and commandments which I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children
after you may prosper,
and that you may have long
life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is
giving you forever.”
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Commentary on Dt 4:32-40
In this selection from Deuteronomy, Moses begins to describe the
unique participation of the Hebrew people, the Chosen People, in God’s
covenant. Moses actually presents a homily on the election of Israel, how God
has shown his omnipotence through the salvific acts and signs (e.g. plagues in
Egypt, saving miracles that facilitated the exodus).
These proofs, Moses explains, are the reason they must be faithful
to God, and instruct their children to do the same. In doing so they receive
the reward for their fidelity: “that you and your children after you may
prosper." This section acts as a prologue to the introduction to Mosaic
Law.
CCC: Dt 4:37 218
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 77:12-13, 14-15, 16 and 21
R. (12a) I remember the deeds of the Lord.
I remember the deeds of the
LORD;
yes, I remember your wonders
of old.
And I meditate on your works;
your exploits I ponder.
R. I remember the deeds of
the Lord.
O God, your way is holy;
what great god is there like
our God?
You are the God who works
wonders;
among the peoples you have
made known your power.
R. I remember the deeds of
the Lord.
With your strong arm you
redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You led your people like a
flock
under the care of Moses and
Aaron.
R. I remember the deeds of
the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 77:12-13, 14-15, 16 and 21
Psalm 77 is a
communal lament. The first section of the psalm pleads for God not to abandon
the people as they are in dire straits. The strophes used here reflect the psalmist's
promise that the people will remember the great saving works of the Lord (as
required by Moses’ instruction in Deuteronomy).
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 16:24-28
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after
me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow
me.
For whoever wishes to save
his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be
for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in
exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come
with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each
according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are
some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man
coming in his Kingdom.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 16:24-28
This is the second time, within the Gospel of St. Matthew, the
Lord instructs the disciples that if they wish to follow him, they must take up
the cross (the first time is in Matthew 10:38). This
passage focuses the followers of Christ on the idea that serving the Lord must
come before any other purposes in life, since it is through following Jesus
that eternal life is gained. It is also explicit that bringing the Word of God,
the message of the kingdom of God, to the world will lead to persecution, and
even the possibility of death.
CCC: Mt 16:24-26 736; Mt 16:24 226, 618, 2029; Mt
16:25-26 363; Mt 16:25 2232; Mt 16:26 1021
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Ben Stein, the comedian (also
a graduate of Columbia and valedictorian of his class at Yale Law School – not
bad for the “clear eyes” guy) produced a movie called “eXpelled”
in 2008 which was an absolute gem and therefore a box office flop. It challenged the academic community and its
“atheistic agenda” using the conflict between “creationists,” “intelligent design,”
and academia to demonstrate its point.
If you want to understand this issue (and you should, since the constituents
continue to attack religious and academic freedom), it is a “must see.”
As a side note, one of the
effects of adopting the attitude of “controlled evolution” pointed out in the
film was a program called “eugenics” in the United States and later adopted by
Nazi Germany. South Carolina recently
agreed to pay reparations to the victims of that program in their state who
were sterilized to prevent them from reproducing “sub-optimal offspring.”
Without spoiling it for you,
there is one segment in which Ben (who by the way is brilliant) is interviewing
Richard Dawkins, the highly publicized atheist from the UK. In a series of questions, Ben finally gets to
the point of challenging Dawkins on the origin of life, first having allowed
him to deny any possibility of God’s existence throughout their discussion of
evolutionary history. To our amazement,
obviously finding no other logical or scientific explanation, the atheist
suggests that it was likely that it was space aliens who brought life to earth.
This film represents an
exclamation point to Moses' instruction to the Hebrews in the reading from
Deuteronomy. The history of God’s
creation stands around us every day. The
gifts God has given us are obvious in every breath we take. Moses asks the question of that ancient
audience that we should remember today: “Did
anything so great ever happen before?”
Jesus revealed a gift when he
pointed to his cross and told his disciples: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me.” Before one takes up
the Cross of Christ, that person needs to have the underlying gift of faith: faith that the omnipotent Father, who created
all that exists, will provide for them spiritually in the face of any
difficulty or crisis. Before we accept
the Son, we must accept the Father who is one in him.
With the question still
ringing in our ears: “Did anything so
great ever happen before?” We pause to look around us. We give thanks for all the marvels God has
provided, proving beyond any question that he not only exists, but is active
still in our world through the Divine Advocate he left us. We give thanks and then take up the cross to
bring God’s Heavenly kingdom to earth.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “St. Dominic” by Claudio Coello, 1685.
[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.
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