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“Our Lady of the Rosary”
Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Readings for Tuesday of the
Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Jonah 3:1-10
The word of the LORD came to
Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city
of Nineveh,
and announce to it the
message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went
to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s
bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously
large city;
it took three days to go
through it.
Jonah began his journey
through the city,
and had gone but a single
day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh
shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh
believed God;
they proclaimed a fast and
all of them, great and small,
put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the
king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid
aside his robe,
covered himself with
sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed
throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his
nobles:
“Neither man nor beast,
neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall
they drink water.
Man and beast shall be
covered with sackcloth
and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his
evil way
and from the violence he has
in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and
forgive,
and withhold his blazing
wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions
how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that
he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
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Commentary on Jon 3:1-10
Jonah
had tried to run from God after the first time the word of God came to him. He
was swallowed by a giant fish and spewed out on dry land. Following his
miraculous rescue from the belly of the great fish, the prophet Jonah is sent
to Nineveh, a traditional enemy of the Jews. He is sent to spread the
news that, unless they repented their ways, the city would be destroyed. It is
not explicit in this reading, but Jonah was sure he would fail, and the city
would be destroyed. This selection, then, describes his unexpected success and
God’s subsequent redemption.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8
R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can
stand?
Out of the depths I cry to
you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark
iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous
redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
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Commentary on Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8
Psalm 130 is an
individual lament. It is implicit that
all people sin and require God’s mercy as the singer pleads for
forgiveness. The psalmist exhorts the
faithful to wait for the Lord’s redemption, assuring them it will come.
CCC: Ps 130:3 370
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Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was
Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at
his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much
serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by
myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in
reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are
anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one
thing.
Mary has chosen the better
part
and it will not be taken from
her.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 10:38-42
In
this encounter with Martha and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel, we see two distinct
messages. First, we see the importance of the role of women and Jesus’ attitude
toward them. Second, we see the importance of listening to the word of God:
"Mary has chosen the better part."
The
selection emphasizes the importance of listening to the teachings of the Lord.
While in some early texts the Lord tells Martha there is “need for only a few
things,” or of one, the message is clear: Mary, in assuming the role of
disciple (listening at the master’s feet) has chosen the correct or better
role. Martha, concerning herself with the requirements of hospitality (old law)
has chosen the lesser.
“Mystically
(St. Gregory the Great, Moralia 2, 6): the two women signify two dimensions of
the spiritual life. Martha signifies the active life as she busily labors to
honor Christ through her work. Mary exemplifies the contemplative life as she
sits attentively to listen and learn from Christ. While both activities are
essential to Christian living, the latter is greater than the former. For in
heaven the active life terminates, while the contemplative life reaches its
perfection.” [4]
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Jonah must have been shocked
(he will later be angry) that the people of Nineveh have listened to him, and
more importantly, believed the word of God he spoke to them. We are told that only one day into his three-day
trip across the city, the people reacted to his call to repentance and
proclaimed a fast. In accordance with
God’s requirement, the entire city participated, putting on sackcloth and
ashes, the traditional sign of repentance.
The key, for the purpose of the message we receive today, is that the
people of Nineveh listened to God’s word and took it to heart.
In St. Luke’s Gospel, Jesus
visits the house of Martha and Mary.
Jewish law demands that guests be shown hospitality, an obligation
Martha takes seriously as she is portrayed “burdened
with much serving.” Her sister,
however, is not helping. Mary sits at
Jesus’ feet, listening to his word.
There are a few remarkable
things about the scene St. Luke describes.
First, is that Mary assumes the place “beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak,” a place that
would normally be reserved for his disciples.
As a woman, her acceptance at this rabbinical teaching environment is
remarkable in ancient Palestine. The
fact that the other men present allowed her to stay shows the role women play
in St. Luke’s Gospel. This is capped
when Martha approaches Jesus and asks him to have Mary help her (anyone with
siblings could immediately identify with Martha in this situation). Instead of doing this the Lord tells Martha
that her sister has chosen the better part.
The message delivered by the
example of the Ninevites in the story of Jonah is reiterated at an individual
level. Listen to God’s Word; it is more
important than anything else we do. It
is the whole point of this faith journey we share. The Word of God comes to us each day,
instructing and guiding us. It is
important that we listen and try to understand what the Lord is telling us. It
is for us “the better part and it will
not be taken from” us.
Pax
[1]
The picture is
“Our Lady of the Rosary” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN.[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]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, New Testament (Ignatius Press, San Francisco,
CA. © 2010), 129.
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