 |
“Your images shall be broken: and I will cast down
your slain men before your idols”
by Gustave Doré, 1850’s |
Readings
for Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings
from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Romans 1:16-25
Brothers
and sisters:
I
am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
for
Jew first, and then Greek.
For
in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;
as
it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”
The
wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
against
every impiety and wickedness
of
those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
For
what can be known about God is evident to them,
because
God made it evident to them.
Ever
since the creation of the world,
his
invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
have
been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As
a result, they have no excuse;
for
although they knew God
they
did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
Instead,
they became vain in their reasoning,
and
their senseless minds were darkened.
While
claiming to be wise, they became fools
and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for
the likeness of an image of mortal man
or
of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore,
God handed them over to impurity
through
the lusts of their hearts
for
the mutual degradation of their bodies.
They
exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and
revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who
is blessed forever. Amen.
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Commentary on
Rom
1:16-25
St. Paul, after his opening introduction and prayer, takes up the
major theme of his letter to the Romans, salvation through faith. The critical
and unbelieving reception he received is acknowledged in the opening lines: “I
am not ashamed of the gospel.”
This passage goes on to point out the purposely disrespectful
attitude of “those who suppress the truth,” since God’s presence is made
clear in his creation. In spite of this evidence, they have made graven images
of people (and animals) to worship. These amoral people have degraded
themselves with their excesses. And God, whom they have abandoned for
creatures, has handed them over to this degradation of body and mind.
CCC: Rom 1:17 1814; Rom 1:18-32 401,
2087; Rom 1:18-25 57; Rom 1:18 2125; Rom 1:19-20 32,
287, 1147; Rom 1:24-27 2357
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The
heavens declare the glory of God,
and
the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day
pours out the word to day,
and
night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
Not
a word nor a discourse
whose
voice is not heard;
Through
all the earth their voice resounds,
and
to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Ps
19:2-3, 4-5
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In these opening strophes, the
psalmist rejoices in God’s visible hand, revealed in all creation. It is the
first of two themes expressed in the psalm (the other is in praise of the law).
While no word of God announces his presence, his glory is revealed in the
creation of all things.
CCC: Ps 19:2-5 299; Ps 19:2 326
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 11:37-41
After Jesus had spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk
11:37-41
St. Luke regularly associates Jesus with the
Pharisees. In this case, Jesus is again dining with a member of that group. The
Lord is challenged for his failure to observe the strict ritual cleansing
required by pharisaic law. In response, he chastises the Pharisees for
mistaking external hygiene for purity of spirit, saying that it is more
important to demonstrate spiritual purity, especially through giving alms for
the poor, than acts of religiosity for the sake of appearance (see also Matthew
23 and Mark
12:38).
As in Matthew
23:26ff, the final part of this section is concerned
with “a metaphor illustrating a concern for appearances while inner purity is
ignored (see also Mark 7:4).” [4] There is a strong reference here to the lack of self-control
shown by these leaders.
CCC: Lk 11:37 588; Lk 11:39-54 579; Lk 11:41 2447
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We are taken today by St. Paul’s criticism of the Romans who
remain pagan. His arguments are appropriate for our own apologies to the
world in which we live. Day by day we go into a world that is strikingly
parallel to the hedonistic and pagan society of ancient Rome. Of
course, we don’t see temples dedicated to pagan gods in which formal worship
takes place (although we could draw some analogies), but the values against
which St. Paul fought are all there.
What is idol worship? It is placing at the center of one’s
existence a material or physical object, taking an anthropomorphic attitude
toward it (that is giving an object an animated character). For example,
the person who prizes a car, a boat, or other object will often refer to that
object with a pronoun implying humanity. Of a car, a person might say
“She’s a beauty.” Or of a boat; “She’s happy in the water today.” The
mere reference could not be called idolatry but an attitude that places that
“thing” above all else transforms the object into an idol.
Essentially, what a person values most, whether that is an object,
a state of being (e.g., inebriation, or another form of hedonistic pleasure –
like pornography), or a material goal being pursued, takes on the
characteristics of idol worship. When we look at what secular society
values and encourages, we can see the images described by St. Paul as
people have “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an
image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.”
The Gospel of St. Luke points out that there is a more
subtle kind of danger hidden for us even as we turn away from the pagan
world. We must also be on guard against focusing so much on our ritual
celebrations that we forget the need to first become spiritually clean.
Our attitudes must be completely reflected in our worship of the One True
God. Our focus must be to join spirit and action in an act of pure love
of God.
Today we are cautioned against falling into the trap of idol
worship. We are also told that our salvation depends not just on
following the precepts of the faith but having a spiritual life that is
reflected by the discipline of worship. Our prayer today is that we place
Jesus first in our lives and worship him in all sincerity.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain
men before your idols” by Gustave Doré, 1850’s.
[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]
NAB footnote on Matthew 23:26.
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