Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

353 Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
There are no direct references to these readings.

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Reading 1
Tb 1:3; 2:1a-8

I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life
on the paths of truth and righteousness.
I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people
who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria.

On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks,
a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat.
The table was set for me,
and when many different dishes were placed before me,
I said to my son Tobiah: “My son,
go out and try to find a poor man
from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh.
If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you,
so that he can share this meal with me.
Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back.”

Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours.
When he returned he exclaimed, “Father!”
I said to him, “What is it, son?”
He answered, “Father, one of our people has been murdered!
His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!”
I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;
and I carried the dead man from the street
and put him in one of the rooms,
so that I might bury him after sunset.
Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself
and ate my food in sorrow.
I was reminded of the oracle
pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel:

“All your festivals shall be turned into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation.”

And I wept.
Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him.

The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another:
“He is still not afraid!
Once before he was hunted down for execution
because of this very thing;
yet now that he has scarcely escaped,
here he is again burying the dead!”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6

R. (1b) Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Mk 12:1-12

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes,
and the elders in parables.
“A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.
At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants

to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him,
and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent them another servant.
And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.
He sent yet another whom they killed.
So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.
He had one other to send, a beloved son.
He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
So they seized him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do?
He will come, put the tenants to death,
and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not read this Scripture passage:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?”

They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd,
for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them.
So they left him and went away.

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Tobias 1:3 - 2:8

I, Tobit, have walked in paths of truth and in good works all the days of my life. I have given much in alms to my brothers and fellow countrymen, exiled like me to Nineveh in the country of Assyria.

In the reign of Esarhaddon I returned home, and my wife Anna was restored to me with my son Tobias. At our feast of Pentecost (the feast of Weeks) there was a good dinner. I took my place for the meal; the table was brought to me and various dishes were brought. Then I said to my son Tobias, ‘Go, my child, and seek out some poor, loyal-hearted man among our brothers exiled in Nineveh, and bring him to share my meal. I will wait until you come back, my child.’ So Tobias went out to look for some poor man among our brothers, but he came back again and said, ‘Father!’ I answered, ‘What is it, my child?’ He went on, ‘Father, one of our nation has just been murdered; he has been strangled and then thrown down in the market place; he is there still’. I sprang up at once, left my meal untouched, took the man from the market place and laid him in one of my rooms, waiting until sunset to bury him. I came in again and washed myself and ate my bread in sorrow, remembering the words of the prophet Amos concerning Bethel:

Your feasts will be turned to mourning,
and all your songs to lamentation.

And I wept. When the sun was down, I went and dug a grave and buried him. My neighbors laughed and said, ‘See! He is not afraid any more.’ (You must remember that a price had been set on my head earlier for this very thing.) ‘The time before this he had to flee, yet here he is, beginning to bury the dead again.’

Psalm: Psalm 111(112):1-2,3-6

Happy the man who fears the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

Happy the man who fears the Lord,
  who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
  the children of the upright are blessed.

Happy the man who fears the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

  his justice stands firm for ever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
  he is generous, merciful and just.

Happy the man who fears the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

The good man takes pity and lends,
  he conducts his affairs with honour.
The just man will never waver:
  he will be remembered for ever.

Happy the man who fears the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

Gospel Mark 12:1 – 12

Jesus went on to speak to them in parables, ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?

And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible

9th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Tobit 1:1ad, 2a, 3, 17, 2:1-8

Tobit the son of Tobiel
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[1] The book of the acts of Tobit the son of Tobiel, son of Ananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael, of the descendants of Asiel and the tribe of Naphtali, [2] who in the days of Shalmaneser [3] walked in the ways of truth and righteousness all the days of my life, and I performed many acts of charity to my brethren and countrymen who went with me into the land of the Assyrians, to Nineveh.

[17] I would give my bread to the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw any one of my people dead and thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, I could bury him.

Tobit's misfortune
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2 [1] When I arrived home and my wife Anna and my son Tobias were restored to me, at the feast of Pentecost, which is the sacred festival of the seven weeks, a good dinner was prepared for me and I sat down to eat. [2] Upon seeing the abundance of food I said to my son, "Go and bring whatever poor man of our brethren you may find who is mindful of the Lord, and I will wait for you." [3] But he came back and said, "Father, one of our people has been strangled and thrown into the market place." [4] So before I tasted anything I sprang up and removed the body to a place of shelter until sunset. [5] And when I returned I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. [6] Then I remembered the prophecy of Amos, how he said,
"Your feasts shall be turned into mourning,
and all your festivities into lamentation."
And I wept.

[7] When the sun had set I went and dug a grave and buried the body. [8] And my neighbors laughed at me and said, "He is no longer afraid that he will be put to death for doing this; he once ran away, and here he is burying the dead again!"

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Commentary:

1:1-3:17. The first part of the book of Tobit introduces the main characters in the story -- Tobit, his wife, his son Tobias, Sarah, her parents, and the angel Raphael -- and describes the dire situation of Tobit in Nineveh (Assyria) and Sarah in Ecbatana (Media). Although they are living about a thousand kilometers (625 mi.) apart, and their circumstances are different, they have a lot in common: they are both members of the Jewish people in the diaspora, and members of the same tribe; both are righteous and pure in the eyes of God -- Tobit because he keeps to the letter of the Law, and Sarah because she faithfully obeys her parents; both of them seem to be in a hopeless position; and at the very same moment they have recourse to God in prayer, placing themselves in his hands; and both of them are going to be rescued from their plight through the help of God's messenger, the angel Raphael. The plot of the story is well organized, even though the outcome is known from the start. Already, the central message of the book is easy to see: God helps those who trust in him and try to do what is good for the right reasons.

1:1-2 The main character begins by introducing himself -- Tobit, the father of Tobias. He tells us the tribe he comes from, his place of origin, and the time in which he lives (the last years of the eighth century BC). The name Tobias (cf. 1:9) means "my God is the Lord", and that is what the story bears out: God and the observance of his Law are what matters to Tobit, when things go well and also when misfortune strikes; that is why God's goodness and mercy will come to his aid to rescue him when all seems lost.

1:3-22 At the point Tobit himself begins to recount his life, emphasizing that he has always dutifully kept the law of God, despite the fact that his compatriots, the Israelites of the Northern kingdom, kept it neither at home nor in exile. Prior to the exile, Tobit had continued to go up to Jerusalem to worship God, as the Law commanded (cf. Deut 12:1-18), and he never offered sacrifice to the golden calves et up by Jeroboam (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-32); he was also meticulous about the three tithes (cf. Num 18:12ff; Deut 14:22-23, 28-29); and, in keeping with the Law, he married a wife of his own nation (cf. Deut 7:3). Later, exiled far from his country, he never ate the unclean food of the Gentiles (cf. Lev 11:1-49; Deut 14: 3-21); and now that he cannot bring tithes to the temple, he gives alms to the poor and heroically performs the works of mercy, especially as regards burying the dead. The type of piety described here is not in fact in keeping with the pe- riod in which the writer implies Tobit to have lived; the rules referred to stem from the reform instituted by Josiah in 622 BC and from the time of the return from the Babylonian exile. But the sacred writer uses them to depict Tobit as an example of a pious Jew, be he in the land of Israel or in the diaspora. In this respect, the teaching in the book of Tobit contrasts with that of the Gospel, which extends the concept of neighbour to include anyone, of whatever nation, race or religion (cf. Lk 10:29-37).

2:1-14 The festival of the Seven Weeks or Pentecost, so-called because it was held fifty days after Passover (cf. Deut 16:9-12; Lev 23:16), was one of the festivals involving pilgrimage to Jerusalem: during the exile it seems to have been commemorated by a special meal held as a remembrance rite for the feast. By looking after the needy, Tobit is fulfilling what the Law laid down should be done during this festival -- taking an interest in strangers, orphans and widows (cf. Deut 16:14), although he is applying it to "brethren . . . mindful of the Lord" (v. 2). Despite his devoutness and ritual purity (v. 5; cf. Neh 19:11-12), Tobit has to share in the suffering inflicted on the people on account of their sins (v. 6; cf. Amos 8:10). But it gets worse than that: his works of mercy bring him misfortune (first blindness and then penury), to the point that his wife has to take paid work to make ends meet. Later, she queries whether he deserves to be suffering in the way that he is. He can put up with physical blindness because his family comes to his aid; but his wife's criticism casts a shadow on his soul.

Tobit's situation parallels that of everyone who strives to be faithful. As St Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." The Vulgate version of the Bible includes after v. 10 some reflections on why Tobit should have had to suffer in this way: see the RSVCE note on p. 615.

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From: Mark 12:1-12

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
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[1] And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. [2] When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. [3] And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. [4] Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. [5]And he sent another, and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed. [6] He had still one other, a beloved son; finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' [7] But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' [8] And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. [9] What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others. [10] Have you not read the scripture: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; [11] this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" [12] And they tried to arrest him but feared the multitude, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them; so they left him and went away.

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Commentary:

1-12. This parable is a masterly summary of history of salvation. To explain the mystery of his redemptive death, Jesus makes use of one of the most beautiful allegories of the Old Testament the so-called "song of the vineyard," in which Isaiah (5:1-7) prophesied Israel's ingratitude for God's favors. On the basis of this Isaiah text, Jesus reveals the patience of God, who sends one messenger after another--the prophets of the Old Testament--until at last, as the text says, he sends "his beloved son", Jesus, whom the tenants will kill. This expression, as also that which God himself uses to describe Christ at Baptism (1:11) and the Transfiguration (9:7), points to the divinity of Jesus, who is the cornerstone of salvation, rejected by the builders in their selfishness and pride. To the Jews listening to Jesus telling this parable, his meaning must have been crystal clear. The rulers "perceived that he had told the parable against them" (v. 12) and that it was about the fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy (cf. note on Mt 21:33-46).

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

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