READING and REFLECTIONS For Tuesday, January 20 2015 2nd week in Ordinary Time - Psalter Week 2 (Green/Red) Memorials of Sts. Fabian, Pope and Martyr and Sebastian, Martyr Readings: Heb 6:10-20; Ps 111:1-10; Mk 2:23-28 Rosary: Sorrowful Mystery Verse: So the Son of man is master even of the Sabbath. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Fabian Eusebius, born just a few years after Fabians death, tells us how Fabian came to Rome after Pope Anteros died in 236. A layperson, and not a very important one, he may have come for the same reason many still come to Rome today during a papal election: concern for the future of the faith, curiosity about the new pope, a desire to grieve for the pope who had passed. Seeing all the important people gathered to make this momentous decision must have been overwhelming. Which one would be the new pope? Someone known for power? Someone known for eloquence? Someone known for courage? Suddenly during the discussion, a dove descended from the ceiling. But it didnt settle on someone known for anything at all. The dove, according to Eusebius, settled on [Fabians] head as clear imitation of the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove upon the Savior. There must have been something of the Holy Spirit working because everyone suddenly proclaimed Fabian as worthy to be pope and this stranger was elected. To us the dove signifies peace, and this dove was prophetic. Starting close to Fabians election, the suffering and persecuted Church began a time of peace. The emperor, Philip, was friendly to Christians and not only was the persecution stopped but Christians experienced acceptance. In this era of peace, Fabian was able to build up the structure of the Church of Rome, appointing seven deacons and helping to collect the acts of the martyrs. But, in a timeless story, the people who had always been in power were not happy to see the newcomers growing and thriving. There were many incidents of pagans attacking Christians and when Philip died so died the time of peace. The new emperor, Decius, ordered all Christians to deny Christ by offering incense to idols or through some other pagan ritual. In the few years of peace, the Church had grown soft. Many didnt have the courage to stand up to martyrdom. But Fabian, singled out by symbol of peace, stood as a courageous example for everyone in his flock. He died a martyr in 250 and is buried in the Cemetery of Calixtus that he helped rebuild and beautify. A stone slab with his name can still be found there. READINGS FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1, Hebrews 6:10-20 10 God would not be so unjust as to forget all you have done, the love that you have for his name or the services you have done, and are still doing, for the holy people of God. 11 Our desire is that every one of you should go on showing the same enthusiasm till the ultimate fulfilment of your hope, 12 never growing careless, but taking as your model those who by their faith and perseverance are heirs of the promises. 13 When God made the promise to Abraham, he swore by his own self, since there was no one greater he could swear by: 14 I will shower blessings on you and give you many descendants. 15 Because of that, Abraham persevered and received fulfilment of the promise. 16 Human beings, of course, swear an oath by something greater than themselves, and between them, confirmation by an oath puts an end to all dispute. 17 In the same way, when God wanted to show the heirs of the promise even more clearly how unalterable his plan was, he conveyed it by an oath 18 so that through two unalterable factors in which God could not be lying, we who have fled to him might have a vigorous encouragement to grasp the hope held out to us. 19 This is the anchor our souls have, reaching right through inside the curtain 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever, of the order of Melchizedek. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 111:1-2, 4-5, 9-10 1 Alleluia! I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart, in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly. 2 Great are the deeds of Yahweh, to be pondered by all who delight in them. 4 He gives us a memorial of his great deeds; Yahweh is mercy and tenderness. 5 He gives food to those who fear him, he keeps his covenant ever in mind. 9 Deliverance he sends to his people, his covenant he imposes for ever; holy and awesome his name. 10 The root of wisdom is fear of Yahweh; those who attain it are wise. His praise will continue for ever. GOSPEL, Mark 2:23-28 23 It happened that one Sabbath day he was taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to make a path by plucking ears of corn. 24 And the Pharisees said to him, Look, why are they doing something on the Sabbath day that is forbidden? 25 And he replied, Have you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry- 26 how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of the offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him? 27 And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; 28 so the Son of man is master even of the Sabbath. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: Father of heaven and earth, hear our prayers, and show us the way to your peace in the world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ON READING 1: Hebrews 6:10-20 (The Danger of Apostasy and the Need for Perseverance, The Promises Made to Abraham, Confirmed by Oath, Cannot Be Broken) Hebrews 6, 9-12. The letter now changes to a tone of encouragement. After speaking harshly about the position of the faithful, to prevent their falling into despair he now reveals why he has written what he has: he wants to lead them well away from danger. And so, in the first place, he tells them what confidence he has in them, and then gives the reason why they should feel confident themselves--because God is not unjust (St Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Heb., 4,3). The readers are called beloved; this was how St Paul normally addressed those who embraced the faith through his preaching (cf. 1 Thess 2:8; 1 Cor 10:14; 15:58 ; 2 Cor 7:1; 12:19; Rom 1:7; Phil 2:12; 4:1; etc.). The writer wants to see the situation improve, perhaps to see the trials pass or become easier; certainly he wants his readers to use their tribulation to help them to achieve salvation. He is moved when he recalls the charity they have shown one another: theirs has been an active fraternity, shown in deeds of service to the saints, which was the way St. Paul often referred to the brethren (cf. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2; etc.); their charity is practised for his sake, for God. In their present circumstances, in the persecution they are experiencing, God will not abandon them (cf. Heb 10:33-34), for they have been generous in the almsgiving and hospitality that is so proper to Christians (cf. Rom 15:25, 31; 1 Cor 16:15; Eph 1:15; 2 Cor 8 :4; 9:1, 12). Now that we hear this--I beg you--let us serve the saints!, for every member of the faithful is a saint by the mere fact of belonging to the faithful. Let us not be charitable only towards monks who live in the mountains. It is true that their faith and their lives make them saints, but many of those who live here are also saints: all are saints by virtue of their faith, and many are saints by virtue of their lives too. So, if you see someone suffering, do not doubt it for one moment: his very suffering gives him the right to be helped (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. on Heb., 10). It is not enough, however, to have a history of doing good: it is necessary to persevere in doing good, as if to say: By seeing through to the end what you have started you shall obtain everything you hope for. They must do good right to the end, for he who endures to the end will be saved (cf. Mt 10:22; 24:13; Commentary on Heb., 4, 3). Eternal life should be set before those who persevere in good works to the end (cf. Mt 10:22) and who hope in God; it should be set before them as being the grace that God, through Jesus Christ, has mercifully promised his sons and as the reward which, according to Gods personal undertaking, most assuredly will be given them for their good works and merits (cf. St Augustine, De Natura Et Gratia, VIII, 20) (Council of Trent, De Iustificatione, Chap. 16). However, there is always the danger of slowing down: lazy people often excuse their inaction by pointing to the suffering and difficulties that doing good involves. The strength of ones resolutions is shown by the way one copes with difficulties: You will convince me that you sincerely want to achieve your goals when I see you go forward unwaveringly. Do good; practice the virtue of justice, right where you are, in your normal surroundings, even if you end up exhausted. Foster happiness among those around you by cheerfully serving the people you work with and by striving to carry out your job as perfectly as you can, showing understanding, smiling, having a Christian approach to life. And do everything for God, thinking of his glory, with your sights set high and longing for the definitive home land, because there is no other goal worthwhile (St. J. Escriva, Friends of God, 211). Hebrews 6, 13-15. Abraham is an example, for every generation, of faith that is full of hope and patience; he is a man with great strength of character (cf. Rom 5:3-5). Already in the Epistle to the Romans Abraham is cited as an example of faith and hope (cf. Rom 4:18-22). There St. Paul highlights Abrahams faith in the Lords promise that he would have innumerable descendants in spite of the fact that he was already an old man and unlikely to father children (cf. Gen 15:5; 17:1, 17). The Apostle may also have been alluding to the episode (cf. Gen 22), when God asked the patriarch to sacrifice Isaac, the son he had so yearned for: at that point Abraham did indeed believe against hope (cf. Rom 4:18; Gen 22:15-17). Here, on the other hand, of all the various promises made to Abraham of blessings and numerous offspring (cf. Gen 12:2-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:5-7; 13:16; 17:4-8, 19), what is explicitly mentioned is the promise made after God prevented him from sacrificing his son. That was the first occasion the Lord swore by himself to a man. This divine promise, supported by an oath and seen as the most solemn word of Yahweh, was the foundation of Israels hope for thousands of years. Abraham himself recalled it when he was dying (cf. Gen 24:7); it was the support of Moses in all his great endeavors (cf. Ex 13:5,11; 32:13); David, too, gave thanks to God for it(1 Chron 16:16; Ps 105:9); and at the dawn of the Redemption Zechariah rejoiced over it (Lk 1:73): it was the oath which God swore to our Father Abraham and it was fulfilled in Christ and in the Church (cf. Gal 4:21-31). Abraham obtained the promise in the sense that he was enabled to see with his own eyes his promised son, Isaac, who was born to Sarah despite her old age. Not alone that: the New Testament tells us (cf. Jn 8:56; Gal 3:8) that he was given some sort of prophetic vision which allowed him to see the day of Christ and rejoice at it. Hebrews 6, 16. Secular writers of antiquity used to define an oath as something attached to a statement which cannot be proved, to provide a divine guarantee (cf. Pseudo- Aristotle, Speech to Alexander). This meant that they regarded an oath as a proof at law, to be put alongside the text of the law, the evidence of witnesses, agreement between the parties, and a confession of guilt. The Jews regarded an oath as something so awesome, so solemn, that they never dared swear an oath by God directly; instead they would swear by angels or by the life of men, such as the Messiah, Moses, Solomon, or by the gates of the temple, etc. (cf. Mt 5:34-36; 23:16-22). Philo of Alexandria, an heir to Jewish tradition and Greco Roman thought, says that by means of oaths, matters subject to doubt before the courts are resolved; what was not clear is made clear; and what was regarded as unreliable is rendered reliable (De Sacrificio Abel, 91). St. Thomas Aquinas developed and combined these ideas by saying that an oath is an act of the virtue of religion which gives reliability to something previously in doubt. For in the sphere of knowledge nothing becomes certain unless it be demonstrated from something which is more certainly known. When oaths are taken, this certainty is obtained because the oath is sworn on God, who is the greatest and surest there is, since for men nothing is truer than God (Commentary on Heb, ad loc.). The Thomist definition has become widely accepted because it also fits in with the commonly held view that swearing an oath is a way of honoring the sacred name of God. When an oath is properly made -- meeting the necessary traditional requirements of truth justice and judgment -- that is, when it is made sincerely, for good reasons and not lightly, it is a morally good and meritorious act because it does honor to Gods infinite truthfulness. Hebrews 6, 17-18. Through two unchangeable things: in promises made by God his vera- city is doubly committed--as the taker of the oath and as its guarantor. Gods covenant with Abraham and his oath to give him descendants took place at separate times (cf. Gen 15:7-18; 22:16-18). However, both episodes stem from a single act of Gods will, in that he wanted to reward Abrahams obedience and at the same time commit himself by the use of external formalities proper to Hebrew legal practice. Among the Hebrews, when people made a pact, they sacrificed animals; the victims were then quartered and the contracting parties walked between the carcasses to symbolize that they would die the same death if they failed to keep the pact. God passed between the pieces of the animals Abraham sacrificed, in the form of a flaming torch, thereby giving him to understand that he (God) was under a most solemn obligation to do what he promised. In the second episode this rite was not repeated, but he interposed with an oath, renewing as it were the passing between rite that accompanied the covenant. God chose to express his promise by following this human form of contract in order to make his words more intelligible and to give us greater confidence. Hebrews 6, 19-20. Gods promise and oath are the gateway to our salvation, an anchor which makes us feel safe no matter what hazards threaten us. The Christian, who is, through faith, the true descendant of Abraham (cf. Rom 4:12) and the heir of the promise (cf. Gal 3:14, 16, 29), is therefore certain that God will keep his word. That is why the text says that we should have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us (v. 18 ). Hope is a kind of hold on what is promised, a kind of anchor that is sure and steadfast. For just as the anchor thrown overboard prevents the ship from moving, even if it is being battered by countless winds, but instead keeps it in one place, hope has the same effect (Chrysostom, Hom. on Heb., 11). Greek and Roman authors often used the simile of an anchor in connection with being steadfast in virtue and hopeful of happier times. The anchor has always been a motif in Christian art expressive of much more than a human sense of safety: it symbolizes the Christians faith, his certainty in the resurrection of the Lord and in his own resurrection; it is a symbol of a confidence which stems from his intimate union with Christ. The sacred text brings together all those ideas: in a certain sense the anchor is Christ himself who through his redemptive sacrifice gives us the conviction that we can with him enter into the inner shrine, that is, the heavenly sanctuary. I have asked you to keep on lifting your eyes up to heaven as you go about your work, because hope encourages us to grasp the strong hand which God never ceases to reach out to us, to keep us from losing our supernatural point of view. Let us persevere even when our passions rear up and attack us, attempting to imprison us within the narrow confines of our selfishness; or when puerile vanity makes us think we are the center of the universe. I am convinced that unless I look upward, unless I have Jesus, I will never accomplish anything. And I know that the strength to conquer myself and to win comes from repeating that cry, I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Phil 4:13), words which reflect Gods firm promise not to abandon his children if they do not abandon him (St. J. Escriva, Friends of God, 213). A man should be tied to hope in the same way as the anchor is tied to the ship. But there is a difference between the anchor and hope: the anchor reaches down to get its hold, whereas hope reaches upwards, laying hold of God (Commentary on Heb., ad loc.). Hebrews 6, 20. The sacrifice, resurrection and glorification of Christ are the grounds of our hope. In the Old Testament, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement; this he did after offering one sacrifice in expiation of his own sins and another for the sins of the entire people. By his sacrifice on the cross, Christ entered into the true sanctuary of heaven and gave all men access to it. The reason for our firm hope is the fact that Christ has entered heaven. It was not into the Holy of Holies (where Moses entered) but behind the curtain, into heaven, that he, Christ Jesus, went as our forerunner and was made a priest forever. He went not like Aaron, to offer the sacrificial victims, but to offer prayer for all the nations, like Melchizedek (St Ephraem, Com. in Epist. ad Haebreos, 6). The description here of Christ as a forerunner has great depth and beauty. This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament, although Christian tradition soon came to use it, on the basis of the prophecy of Malachi (Mal 3:1), to describe St. John the Baptist, the envoy sent in advance of Jesus to prepare his way (cf. Mk 1:2; Lk 1:76). Here the perspective is slightly different: it has to do not with preparing for the proclamation of the Gospel but with attaining final beatitude. Christ has gone before us into heaven to prepare a place for us (cf. Jn 14:2): he is our hope (cf. Col 1:27; 1 Tim 1:1), our life (cf. Col 3:4), our way (cf. Jn 14:6), whereby we have access to the Father (cf. Eph 2:18-2:7). Christ is a forerunner in the literal sense of the word--one who runs ahead, who went on ahead of the party to announce its arrival; or it can be understood in the sense of the first one to reach the finish, the first to finish the race. For our Lord is the first-born among the dead, the first in everything (cf. Col 1:18) the first fruits of those who will arise (cf. 1 Cor 15:20). By his merits he has already obtained the prize that we hope to win. Christian hope cannot falter, for it is based on the perennial value of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ. Thus, the last words of this chapter remind us of the main theme of the epistle. ON THE GOSPEL: Mark 2:23-28 (The Law of the Sabbath) The Law exists for the good of persons. One day on the Sabbath, the disciples passed by a cornfield and they opened a path by plucking ears of corn. In Matthew 12, 1 it is said that they were hungry. Quoting the Bible, the Pharisees criticized the attitude of the disciples. It would be a transgression of the law of the Sabbath (cf. Ex 20, 8-11). Jesus responded quoting the Bible also to indicate that the arguments of the others have no meaning, no reason for being. He recalls that David himself did something which was prohibited, because he took the sacred bread of the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat because they were hungry (I Sam 21, 2-7). And Jesus ends with two important phrases (a) the Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath, (b)) The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath! The Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. For more than five-hundred years, since the time of the Babylonian captivity to the time of Jesus, the Jews had observed the law of the Sabbath. This secular observance became for them a strong sign of identity. The Sabbath was rigorously observed. At the time of the Maccabees, toward the end of the second century before Christ, this observance had reached a critical point. Attacked by the Greeks one Sabbath, the rebellious Maccabees preferred to allow themselves to be killed rather than to transgress the law of the Sabbath using arms to defend their own life. For this, one thousand persons died (I Mac 2, 32-38). Reflecting on the massacre the Maccabee leaders concluded that they should resist and defend their own life, even on the Sabbath (I Mac 2, 39-41) Jesus used the same attitude: to consider the law of the Sabbath in a relative way in favour of the human life, because the law exists for the good of human life, and not vice-versa! The Son of Man is also the Lord of the Sabbath! The new experience of God as Father/Mother makes Jesus, the Son of Man, to have the key to discover the intention of God who is at the origin of the Law of the Old Testament. For this reason, the Son of Man is also the Lord of the Sabbath. Living with the people of Galilee during thirty years and feeling in his own person the oppression and the exclusion to which so many brothers and sisters were condemned in the name of the Law of God, Jesus perceives that this could not be the significance of that law. If God is Father, then he accepts all as sons and daughters. If God is Father, then we should be brothers and sisters to others. And this is what Jesus lived and preached, from the beginning to the end. The Law of the Sabbath must be at the service of life and of fraternity. If was precisely because of his fidelity to this message that Jesus was condemned to death. He disturbed the system, he was uncomfortable for them, and the system defended itself, using force against Jesus, because he wanted the Law itself to be at the service of life and not vice-versa. Jesus and the Bible. The Pharisees criticized Jesus in the name of the Bible. Jesus responds and criticizes the Pharisees using the Bible. He knew the Bible by heart. At that time, there were no printed Bibles as we have today! In every community there was only one Bible, hand written which remained in the Synagogue. If Jesus knew the Bible so well, it means that during 30 years of his life in Nazareth, he participated intensely in the life of the community, where the Scripture was read every Saturday. We still lack very much in order to have the same familiarity with the Bible and the same participation in the community! The Sabbath: this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this Divine precept: by Jesus time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work. The Pharisees accuse Jesus disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harvesting, and crushing them was the same as milling--types of agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath.] Mark 2, 26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests. Abiathars action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones. This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded on truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love (Gaudium Et Spes, 26). Finally in this passage Christ teaches Gods purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for mans good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced. By proclaiming Himself Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord He has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament. Mark 2, 28. The Sabbath had been established not only for mans rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the expression the Sabbath was made for man. Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lords Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Son of Man: the origin of the messianic meaning of this expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates one like the Son of Man coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to Gods throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah -- such as Son of David, Messiah, et cetera -- thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Mark, p. 62 above). FINAL PRAYERS: I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart, in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly. Great are the deeds of Yahweh, to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2) Lord, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve: to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward, but that of knowing that I do your will. -- St. Ignatius Loyola 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: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 22:32:21 +0000
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