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Mt 23:16-22 2111; Mt 23:21 586
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Reading 1
1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.
For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
In every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the Lord a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia!
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 23:13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”
Readings from Jerusalem Bible
First reading 1 Thessalonians 1:1 – 10
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace.
We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 149:1-6.9
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Matthew 23:13 – 22
Jesus said, ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.
‘Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound”. Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound”. You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
From: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10
Greetings
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[1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Fidelity
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[2] We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, [3] remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. [4] For we know brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you; [5] for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
[8b] but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
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Commentary:
1. The heading is in keeping with the style of the period: it identifies the writer and the addressees and contains a greeting. The names of Silvanus and Timothy, co-workers of St Paul, appears alongside his own. The heading is affectionate in tone but it is not the kind of opening typical of a simple family letter. This is an official letter, which is why two witnesses vouch for its content (in line with legal requirements: cf. Deut 17:6).
As in certain other letters (cf. 2 Thess, Phil, Philem), St Paul does not describe himself as an Apostle; the mention of his name is enough to convey his authority. Silvanus is the same person as Silas whom Acts describes as "prophet" and one of the "leading men among the brethren" in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15 :22, 32); here the Latin transcription of his name is used. He had worked alongside St Paul in the evangelization of Thessalonica, so he would have been well known to the believers in that city (cf. Acts 17:4). Timothy was son of Gentile father and a Jewish mother (his mother was a Christian convert); Paul gave him instruction in the faith when he passed through Lystra during his second missionary journey, and ever since then he had always been a faithful helper of the Apostle. When St Paul was writing this letter, Timothy had just arrived in Corinth from Thessalonica with good reports of the spiritual health of that church (cf. 1 Thess 3:6).
The letter is addressed to "the church of the Thessalonians". The Greek word "ekklesia", meaning "assembly, gathering of the people", was used from the apostolic age onwards to describe the Church, the new people of God. St Thomas Aquinas used this verse for his definition of the Church as "the assembly of the faithful brought together in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith in the Trinity and in the divinity and humanity of Christ" ("Commentary on 1 Thess, ad loc."). "All those, who in faith look toward Jesus, the author of salvation and the principle of unity and peace, God had gathered together and established as the Church, that it may be for each and everyone the visible sacrament of this saving unity" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 9).
"Grace to you and peace": a favorite greeting of St Paul's, expressing the wish that they will attain the fullness of heavenly good things. See the note on Rom 1:7).
3. The spiritual life of the Christian is based on the practice of the theological virtues, for "faith encourages men to do good, charity to bear pain and effort, and hope to resist patiently" (Severian of Gabala, "Commentary on 1 Thess, ad loc.").
Faith needs to be reflected in one's conduct, for "faith apart from works is dead" (Jas 2:26). As St John Chrysostom teaches, "belief and faith are proved by works -not by simply saying that one believes, but by real actions, which are kept up, and by a heart burning with love" ("Hom. on I Thess, ad loc.").
The service of others for God's sake is a proof of charity. A person who practices this virtue always rises to the occasion and does not try to dodge sacrifice or effort.
Hope is a virtue which "enables one to endure adversity" (St Thomas, "Commentary on 1 Thess, ad loc."). St Paul encourages us to rejoice in hope and be patient in tribulation (cf. Rom 12:12), for hope fills the soul with joy and gives it the strength to bear every difficulty for love of God.
4. All men are "beloved by God" and, as St Thomas points out, this is the case "not just in the ordinary sense of having received natural existence from him, but particularly because he has called them to eternal good things" ("Commentary on I Thess, ad loc."). Man's last end is happiness, and happiness cannot be found (other than in a relative sense) in wealth, honors, health or sensual satisfaction; it can only be found in knowing and loving God. By raising man to the supernatural order, God gave him a supernatural goal or end, which consists in "seeing God himself, triune and one, as he is, clearly" (Council of Florence, "Laetentur Coeli").
Deprived as he was of sanctifying grace on account of original sin and his personal sins, man was unable to attain any end exceeding his natural powers. But God loved us so much that he deigned to enable us "to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Col 1:12-13). Therefore, those who have been given the preaching of the Gospel and the fruits of Redemption through Baptism and the other sacraments are the object of a special divine "choice". This "choice" or election is not the same as "salvation"; it is an initiative on God's part prior to the attainment of salvation. To be saved one must second this action of God by responding freely to grace.
5. St Paul reminds them that what he preached was the "gospel" foretold by the prophets (cf. Is 40:9; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1) and fulfilled by the Incarnation of the Word and by his work of salvation. The Apostle was pressed into service by the Holy Spirit to forward his work of sanctification. The Thessalonians were not won over by mere human words but by the "power" of God, who made those words effective. The term "power" refers not only to miraculous actions but also to the Holy Spirit moving the souls of those who heard Paul's preaching.
It is true that this activity, like all actions of God outside himself, is something done by all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; but in the language of Scripture and of the Church it is customary "to attribute to the Father those works of the Divinity in which power excels; to attribute to the Son, those in which wisdom excels; and to the Holy Spirit, those in which love excels" (Leo XIII, "Divinum Illud Munus", 5).
In the early years of the Church the proclamation of the Gospel was often marked by special graces of the Holy Spirit, such as prophecy, miracles, or the gift of tongues (cf. Acts 2:8). This profusion of gifts made it clear that the messianic era had begun (cf. Acts 2:16), for it meant the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies: "I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit" (Joel 3:1-3).
"In power and in the Holy Spirit": in line with the divine plan of salvation, the time of the Old Testament, which prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah, has reached its end, and a new era has begun, the Christian era, the key feature of which is the activity of the Spirit of God: "It must be said that the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization: it is he who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is he who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 75).
6. St Paul rejoices at the effect God has had on the Thessalonians. It is true that Christ is "the" model to be imitated, but the Apostle's own example played its part in leading them to Christ (cf. 1 Cor 11:1). "To follow Christ: that is the secret. We must accompany him so closely that we come to live with him, as the first Twelve did; so closely, that we become identified with him. Soon we will be able to say, provided we have not put obstacles in the way of grace, that we have put on, have clothed ourselves with, our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 13:14). Our Lord is then reflected in our behavior, as in a mirror. If the mirror is as it ought to be, it will capture our Savior's most lovable face without distorting it or making a caricature of it; and then other people will have an opportunity of admiring him and following him" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 299).
"Joy", which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22-23), is linked to unconditional acceptance of the word of God, and helps a person to overcome any obstacle he or she may meet on his way (cf. Acts 5:41). "One can be joyful despite lashes and blows, when these are accepted in the cause of Christ", St John Chrysostom comments. "A feature of the joy of the Holy Spirit is that it causes an uncontainable happiness to grow even out of affliction and sorrow [...]. In the natural course of events afflictions do not produce joy: joy is the privilege of those who accept sufferings for Jesus Christ's sake; it is one of the good things bestowed by the Holy Spirit" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").
7-8. Thessalonica was an important center of trade and a hub of communications for all Greece. The Christians in the city included a number of important people and even some women of the aristocracy (cf. Acts 17:4). The social standing of the converts and the prestige of the city partly explain the rapid spread of Christian teaching throughout the region.
What the Apostle says here only goes to show that when the Christian life is given full rein it spreads far and wide. This should give us every encouragement "always to act in public in accordance with our holy faith" (St. J. Escriva, "Furrow", 46).
9. We can see how happy the Apostle is to learn that the work of evangelization has borne fruit of conversion to God--which is the whole purpose of Gospel preaching. "For the Church, evangelization means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 18).
It is moving to see the way good news spread among the early Christian communities. Obviously anecdotes about the apostolate would go from church to church; this gave them an occasion to praise God while at the same time providing encouragement to stay true to Christ and to spread the Gospel.
10. The Christian message has this feature which differentiates it from Judaism--hope in Christ and expectation of Christ. Two central points of Christian teaching emerge from this verse: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who rose from the dead, and he will come again to judge all. St John Chrysostom observes that "in a single text St Paul brings together a number of different mysteries concerning Jesus Christ--his glorious resurrection, his victorious ascension, his future coming, the judgment, the reward promised to the righteous, and the punishment reserved for evildoers" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").
This verse probably contains a form of words used in oral preaching, and perhaps a profession of faith belonging to early Christian liturgy.
"To wait for his son (to come) from heaven": that Jesus Christ will come again is a truth of faith professed in the Creed: "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead." Christ will be the Judge of all mankind. Everyone will be personally judged by God twice: "The first judgment takes place when each one of us departs this life; for then he is instantly placed before the judgment-seat of God, where all that he has ever done or spoken or thought during life shall be subjected to the most rigid scrutiny. This is called the particular judgment. The second occurs when on the same day and in the same place all men shall stand together before the tribunal of their Judge, that in the presence and hearing of all human beings of all time each may know his final doom and sentence [...]. This is called the general judgment" ("St Pius V Catechism", I, 8, 3).
The "wrath to come" is a metaphor referring to the just punishment of sinners. Our Lord Jesus Christ will exempt from it those who have consistently tried to live in the state of grace and fellowship with God. St Teresa of Avila warns that "it will be a great thing at the hour of death to know that we are going to be judged by him whom we have loved above all things. We can approach this trial with confidence. It will not be like going into a strange land but into our own land, for it is the land that belongs to him whom we love so much and who loves us" ("Way of Perfection", 70, 3).
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From: Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus Indicts the Scribes and Pharisees
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(Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees,) [13] "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in. [15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of Hell as yourselves.
[16] "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' [17] You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? [18] And you say, 'If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' [19] You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [20] So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and everything on it; [21] and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it; [22] and he who swears by Heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it."
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Commentary:
13. Here comes our Lord's invective against the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees: His "woes" condemn their past conduct and threaten them with punishment if they do not repent and mend their ways.
14. As RSV points out, "other authorities add here (or after verse 12) verse 14, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation." Our Lord is not reproaching them for praying long prayers but for their hypocrisy and cupidity. By going in for a lot of external religious practices, the Pharisees wanted to be recognized as devout men and then trade on that reputation particularly with vulnerable people. Widows, for example, would ask them to say prayers; the Pharisees in turn would ask for alms. What Jesus means here is that prayer should always come from an upright heart and a generous spirit.
15. "Proselyte": a pagan convert to Judaism. The root of the word means "he who comes", he who--coming from idolatry--joins the chosen people in response to a calling from God. The Pharisees spared no effort to gain converts. Our Lord reproaches them not for this, but because they were concerned only about human success, their motivation being vainglory.
The sad thing about these proselytes was that, after receiving the light of Old Testament revelation, they remained under the influence of scribes and Pharisees, who passed on to them their own narrow outlook.
22. Our Lord's teaching about taking oaths is given in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37). Jesus does away with the nitpicking casuistry of the Pharisees by focusing directly on the uprightness of the intention of the oath-taker and by stressing the respect due to God's majesty and dignity. What Jesus wants is a pure heart, with no element of deceit.
Our Lord particularly reproves any tendency to undermine the content of an oath, as the Doctors of the Law tended to do, thereby failing to respect holy things and especially the holy name of God. He therefore draws attention to the commandment of the Law which says, 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Deuteronomy 5:11).
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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.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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