DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Monday, October 13, 2014 28th Week in Ordinary Time - Psalter 4 (Green4) Readings: Gal 4:22-27, 5:1; Ps 113:1-7; Lk 11:29-32 Response: Blessed be the name of the Lord forever. Rosary: Joyful Mysteries Verse Highlight: There is something greater than....... SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor was the son of King Ethelred III and his Norman wife, Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy. He was born at Islip, England, and sent to Normandy with his mother in the year 1013 when the Danes under Sweyn and his son Canute invaded England. Canute remained in England and the year after Ethelreds death in 1016, married Emma, who had returned to England, and became King of England. Edward remained in Normandy, was brought up a Norman, and in 1042, on the death of his half-brother, Hardicanute, son of Canute and Emma, and largely through the support of the powerful Earl Godwin, he was acclaimed king of England. In 1044, he married Godwins daughter Edith. His reign was a peaceful one characterized by his good rule and remission of odious taxes, but also by the struggle, partly caused by his natural inclination to favor the Normans, between Godwin and his Saxon supporters and the Norman barons, including Robert of Jumieges, whom Edward had brought with him when he returned to England and whom he named Archbishop of Canterbury in 1051. In the same year, Edward banished Godwin, who took refuge in Flanders but returned the following year with a fleet ready to lead a rebellion. Armed revolt was avoided when the two men met and settled their differences; among them was the Archbishop of Canterbury, which was resolved when Edward replaced Robert with Stigand, and Robert returned to Normandy. Edwards difficulties continued after Godwins death in 1053 with Godwins two sons: Harold who had his eye on the throne since Edward was childless, and Tostig, Earl of Northumbria. Tostig was driven from Northumbria by a revolt in 1065 and banished to Europe by Edward, who named Harold his successor. After this Edward became more interested in religious affairs and built St. Peters Abbey at Westminster, the site of the present Abbey, where he is buried. His piety gained him the surname the Confessor. He died in London on January 5, and he was canonized in 1161 by Pope Alexander III. READINGS FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1, Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31--5:1 22 Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave girl and one by the freewoman. 23 The son of the slave girl came to be born in the way of human nature; but the son of the freewoman came to be born through a promise. 24 There is an allegory here: these women stand for the two covenants. The one given on Mount Sinai -- that is Hagar, whose children are born into slavery; 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and that is the one that is our mother; 27 as scripture says: Shout for joy, you barren woman who has borne no children! Break into shouts of joy, you who were never in labour. For the sons of the forsaken one are more in number than the sons of the wedded wife. 31 So, brothers, we are the children not of the slave girl but of the freewoman. 1 Christ set us free, so that we should remain free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be fastened again to the yoke of slavery. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 113:1-2, 3-4, 5, 6-7 1 Alleluia! Praise, servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh. 2 Blessed be the name of Yahweh, henceforth and for ever. 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, praised be the name of Yahweh! 4 Supreme over all nations is Yahweh, supreme over the heavens his glory. 5 Who is like Yahweh our God? His throne is set on high, 6 but he stoops to look down on heaven and earth. 7 He raises the poor from the dust, he lifts the needy from the dunghill, GOSPEL, Luke 11:29-32 29 The crowds got even bigger and he addressed them, This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation. 31 On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here. 32 On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: Lord, our help and guide, make your love the foundation of our lives. May our love for you express itself in our eagerness to do good for others. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ON READING 1: Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1 (The Two Covenants: Hagar and Sarah, Christian Liberty) The entire Old Testament narrative contains lessons for Christians. The Apostle says as much when he declares that these things have a symbolic meaning and were written down for your instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor 10:11). However, certain episodes and people have particular significance, and this passage cites one (cf. Gen chaps. 16, 17 and 21). Abraham had been given a promise by God that he would have a son (Gen 15:4) by his wife Sarah (cf. Gen 17:19). However, both of them were quite old, and Sarah, besides, was barren; so, in keeping with the ancestral customs of the tribe, Sarah made Abraham take Hagar, her slave-girl, and Hagar had a son, Ishmael. However, God told Abraham that this son was not the son of the promise (cf. Gen 17:19). The promise was fulfilled sometime later when, through a miracle of God, Sarah gave birth to a son. St Paul speaks to us about the allegorical meaning of this episode: two women -- Sarah, Abrahams wife and the mother of Isaac, and Hagar, her slave and the mother of Ishmael -- stand for two stages in Salvation History. Hagar symbolizes the stage of the Old Covenant made on Mount Sinai, while Sarah represents the New Covenant sealed forever by the blood of Christ, the covenant which frees us from the yoke of the Law and from sin. Pauls conclusion from this is that Christians are brothers of Isaac, born of the free woman, and therefore they are heirs of the promise made to Abraham and his descendants. The sacred writer wants to stress that if one continues to be subject to the Mosaic Law it is equivalent to remaining a slave, to being a son of Hagar. People in that position constitute the present Jerusalem who is in slavery with her children. Against this there is the heavenly Jerusalem, a metaphor also used in the Apocalypse to describe the Church triumphant in glory (cf. Rev 21:2, 10). This metaphor also conveys the idea of the transcendent, supernatural character of the Church. Undoubtedly St Pauls Jewish contemporaries would have regarded this comparison of Jerusalem with Hagar as virtually blasphemous. However, we do know that the rabbis of his time did make a distinction between the earthly Jerusalem and the heavenly Jerusalem, the former being only a pale shadow of the latter. The Apostle uses these teachings, which can be deduced from Sacred Scripture, to explain that those who believe in Christ are the true descendants -- spiritual descendants -- of the lawful wife, Sarah, who prefigures the heavenly Jerusalem; whereas those who do not believe in Christ, although they belong racially to the people of Israel, are no longer true descendants of the lawful wife, but rather are children of Hagar. St. Paul then makes a play on words, in typical rabbinical style: since Hagar is one of the names of the mountainous region of Sinai, to which, according to the geographical notions of the time, Mount Sion also belongs (Sion being the hill on which Jerusalem is built), this earthly Jerusalem is connected with Hagar, the slave, to whom the divine promise was not made. This whole passage, while we may find it very odd, does reveal St Pauls earlier training as a rabbi, a training which divine Providence uses to show us the inner meaning of one of the most important episodes in Old Testament history. The Law of Moses, which was divinely revealed, was something good; it suited the circumstances of the time. Christ came to bring this Law to perfection (cf. notes on Mt 5:17-19 and Gal 5:14-15). All the elaborate legal and ritual prescriptions in the Mosaic Law were laid down by God for a specific stage in Salvation History, that is, the stage which ended with the coming of Christ. Christians are under no obligation to follow the letter of that Law (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 108, a.3 ad 3). Although in this letter to the Galatians the Apostle is emphasizing, as we have seen, freedom from the Law of Moses, obviously this liberation cannot be entirely disconnected from freedom in general. If someone submits to circumcision after being baptized, it amounts to subjecting oneself to a series of practices which have now no value and to depriving oneself of the fruits of Christs Redemption. In other words, subjection to the Law brings with it a loss of freedom in general. Paul is using the full might of his apostolic authority when he says, If you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. Christs Redemption alone is effective; it has no need of the rites of the Old Testament. ON THE GOSPEL: Luke 11:29-32 (The Sign of Jonah) The Gospel today presents a very hard accusation of Jesus against the Pharisees and the Scribes. They wanted Jesus to give them a sign, because they did not believe in the signs and in the miracles which he was working. This accusation of Jesus continues in the Gospels of the following days. In meditating on these Gospels we have to be very attentive not to generalize the accusation of Jesus as if it were addressed to the Hebrew people. In the past, the lack of this attention, unfortunately contributed to increase anti- Semitism in us Christians, which has caused so much harm to humanity throughout the centuries. Instead of pointing out the finger against the Pharisees of the time of Jesus, it is better to look at ourselves in the mirror of the texts to discover in them the Pharisee which lives hidden in our Church and in each one of us, and who merits this criticism from Jesus. Nineveh was a city in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) to which the prophet Jonah was sent. The Ninevites did penance (John 3:6-9) because they recognized the prophet and accepted his message; whereas Jerusalem does not wish to recognize Jesus, of whom Jonah was merely a figure. The queen of the South was the queen of Sheba in southwestern Arabia, who visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-10) and was in awe of the wisdom with which God had endowed the King of Israel. Jesus is also prefigured in Solomon, whom Jewish tradition saw as the epitome of the wise man. Jesus reproach is accentuated by the example of pagan converts, and gives us a glimpse of the universal scope of Christianity, which will take root among the Gentiles. Luke 11, 29-30: The sign of Jonah. “At that time, the people crowed and Jesus began to say: This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah”. The Gospel of Matthew says that it was the Scribes and the Pharisees who were asking for a sign (Mt 12, 38). They wanted Jesus to work a sign for them, a miracle, in such a way that they could become aware if he was the one sent by God, as they imagined. They wanted Jesus to submit himself to their criteria. They wanted to fit him in to the framework of their own idea of the Messiah. In them there was no openness for a possible conversion. But Jesus did not submit himself to their request. The Gospel of Mark says that Jesus, before the request of the Pharisees, Jesus sighed profoundly (Mk 8, 12), probably because he was upset and sad in the face of such blindness; because it serves nothing to try to show a beautiful picture to a person who does not want to open the eyes. The only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah. “For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation “. How will this sign of the Son of man be? The Gospel of Matthew responds: “For as Jonah remained in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Mt 12, 40). The only sign will be the resurrection of Jesus. This is the sign which will be given in the future to the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus, who was condemned to death by them and to death on the cross, will rise from the dead by God and will continue to resurrect in many ways in those who believe in him. The sign which converts is not the miracles but the witness of life! Luke 11, 31: Salomon and the Queen of the South. The reference to the conversion of the people of Nineveh associates and recalls the conversion of the Queen of the South: “The Queen of the South will stand up against this generation and be their condemnation; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look, there is something greater than Solomon here”. This reminder almost occasional of the episode of the Queen of the South who recognizes the wisdom of Solomon, shows how the Bible was used at that time. It was by association. The principal rule for the interpretation was this one: “The Bible is explained by the Bible”. Up until now, this is one of the more important norms for the interpretation of the Bible, especially for the Reading of the Word of God, in a climate of prayer. Luke 11, 32: And Look there is something greater than Solomon here. After the digression on Solomon and on the Queen of the South, Jesus returns to speak about the sign of Jonah: “The men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented”. The people of Nineveh were converted because of the witness of the preaching of Jonah and he denounces the unbelief of the Scribes and of the Pharisees. Because “something greater than Jonah is here”. Jesus is greater than Jonah, greater than Solomon. For us Christians, he is the principal key for Scripture (2Co 3, 14-18). Jonah was the prophet who led the Ninevites to do penance: his actions and preaching they saw as signifying that God had sent him (cf. note on Mat- thew 12:41-42). There is a certain irony in what Jesus says about something greater than Jonah or Solomon having come: really, He is infinitely greater, but Jesus prefers to tone down the difference between Himself and any figure, no matter how important, in the Old Testament. FINAL PRAYERS: Praise, servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh. Blessed be the name of Yahweh, henceforth and for ever. (Ps 113,1-2) Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendor of true love, to you we turn with trust. Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic Churches. Holy Family of Nazareth, may families never again experience violence, rejection and division: may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing. Holy Family of Nazareth, may this worldwide Synod on the Family make us more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer. Amen. -- Pope Francis Prayer It is by God’s mercy that we are saved. May we never tire of spreading this joyful message to the world. -- Pope Francis Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. -- St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 23:33:27 +0000
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