CCC Cross Reference:
1 Tm 3:15 171, 756, 2032; 1 Tm 3:16 385, 463, 2641
Back to Deacon’s Bench '07
Back to Servant of the Word '09
Back to SOW II '13
Back to SOW II '15
Back to SOW II '17
Back to SOW II '19
Back to SOW II '21
Reading 1
1 Tm 3:14-16
Beloved:
I am writing you,
although I hope to visit you soon.
But if I should be delayed,
you should know how to behave in the household of God,
which is the Church of the living God,
the pillar and foundation of truth.
Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion,
Who was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed to the Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (2) How great are the works of the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the Lord,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the Lord.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
Gospel
Lk 7:31-35
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 1 Timothy 3:14 – 16
At the moment of writing to you, I am hoping that I may be with you soon; but in case I should be delayed, I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God’s family – that is, in the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe. Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed:
He was made visible in the flesh,
attested by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed to the pagans,
believed in by the world,
taken up in glory.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 110(111):1-6
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be pondered by all who love them.
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Majestic and glorious his work,
his justice stands firm for ever.
He makes us remember his wonders.
The Lord is compassion and love.
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He gives food to those who fear him;
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
He has shown his might to his people
by giving them the lands of the nations.
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 7:31 – 35
Jesus said:
‘What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t cry”.
‘For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, “He is possessed”. The Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. Yet Wisdom has been proved right by all her children.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Wednesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
From: 1 Timothy 3:14-16
The Church is God's Household
---------------------------------------------
[14] I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, [15] if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.
The Mystery of our Religion
---------------------------------------
[16] Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
15. This verse contains three very evocative expressions which sum up the letter's ecclesiology or theology of the Church.
"The Church of the living God": St Paul usually uses "church of God" and (once) "church of Christ" (Rom 16:16), thereby implying continuity with the "assemblies of Yahweh" in the Old Testament. The Church, in other words, is the true people of God, founded on the New Covenant, heir to the ancient promises and trustee of the means of salvation (cf. "Lumen Gentium", 9). It is "the church of the living God", that is, it receives from him supernatural life (grace) and distributes it to all. "It pleased God to call men to share in his life and not merely singly, without any bond between them, but he formed them into a people, in which his children who had been scattered were gathered together" Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 2).
"The household of God": in the original Greek the definite article does not appear, thereby emphasizing the family character of the Church. St Paul frequently described the Church as God's family: "you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19). The expression "household of God" conveys the idea of family and also the idea of the cohesion of Christians as parts of a holy building: the children of God, convoked by the will of God, form the Church, a home and a temple, where God dwells in a fuller way than he did in the ancient temple of Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 8:12-64).
This house or household of God is made up of all the believers; they are living stones, as it were (1 Pet 2:5); its foundations are the Apostles (1 Cor 3:11), and Christ himself is its cornerstone (Mt 21:42); those who hold office in it are not domineering overlords but conscientious stewards, who should rule with the same dedication as a father does in his own household (1 Tim 3:4-5, 12).
"Pillar and bulwark of the truth": those aspects of the building would have been very meaningful to Christians familiar with the great pillars of the temple of Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 7:15-52) or the columns of the huge temple at Ephesus dedicated to the goddess Artemis. They very graphically convey the idea of the Church's solidity and permanence in the role of safeguarding and transmitting the truth, for "the deposit of revelation [...] must be religiously guarded and courageously expounded" ("Lumen Gentium", 25).
"The truth" which the Apostle mentions here is the Revelation God has communicated to men. It is interesting to note that there are three closely connected expressions in this chapter: deacons are exhorted to hold "the mystery of faith" (v. 9); the Church is "the pillar and bulwark of the truth" (v. 15); and then "the mystery of our religion" is extolled (v. 16). These are three ways of looking at the Church's reason-of-being--Jesus Christ. For our Lord, who is the fullness of Revelation (cf. Heb 1:2), is the center of our faith: he alone is the supreme Truth (cf. In 14:6); and because he is the fullest expression of God's love for men (making them children of God), he is "the mystery of our religion" (cf. "Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 19).
16. The "pietatis mysterium", the mystery of (our) religion, as opposed to the "mystery of lawlessness" (2:Thess 2:7) which includes the devil and his activity, refers first and foremost to Christ and his work of redemption and reconciliation. By describing it as the mystery of "piety", the virtue which characterizes parent/ children relations, it includes the idea of God's paternal love for men, for it is through Christ that men become children of God. "It is profoundly significant", John Paul II comments, "that when Paul presents this "mysterium pietatis" he simply transcribes, without making a grammatical link with what he has just written, three lines of a Christological hymn which--in the opinion of authoritative scholars--was used in the Greek-speaking Christian communities" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 20). The introduction itself ("we confess": by the confession of all), the rhythmic style, the fact that no articles are used in the original Greek, and even the vocabulary -- all point to these verses having been taken from an early liturgical hymn (cf. 1 Cor 14:26; Eph 5: 19). It may even have been a kind of counter to the idolatrous chants of pagan Ephesians: they used to shout "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19: 34); St Paul exclaims, "Great is the mystery of our religion."
The order of ideas in this confession of faith is typical of the christological hymns in the New Testament (cf. Phil 2:6-11; Col 1:15-20; Heb 1:3), and probably re- flects the oral preaching of the Apostles which took in the existence of the Word from all eternity, his incarnation and life on earth; his message of salvation for the whole world; his passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. Each of the three parts of this short creed stresses the paradox of the mystery by using phrases involving contrasts (Semiteswere very fond of this device). The first sentence, professing belief in the Incarnation, uses a very early form of words--"manifested in the flesh" (cf. 1 Jn 4:2; 2 In 7). Pope John Paul II comments as follows: "he was made manifest in the reality of human flesh and was constituted by the Holy Spirit as the Just One who offers himself for the unjust" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 20).
The second phrase describes how Christ is manifested: the angels have direct sight of him, men came to know him through preaching. Christ is manifested to all, for just as he is seen by the angels (that part of creation nearest to God), so is he revealed to the Gentiles (whom the Jews regarded as most distanced from God): "he appeared to the angels, having been made greater than them, and he was preached to the nations, as the bearer of salvation" ("ibid.").
The last words profess faith in the glorification of Christ at the extremes of creation--earth and heaven. On earth he is glorified because faith in him implies recognizing him as God; and he is glorified in heaven because the Ascension (which in Pauline teaching marks the definitive victory of Christ--cf. Phil 2:19-2 and note) is the definitive glorious revelation of his Person: "he was believed in, in the world, as the one sent by the Father, and by the same Father he was assumed into heaven as Lord" ("ibid.").
And so the "mysterium pietatis" involves the reconciliation--union of man with God in Christ: he takes our flesh without ceasing to be God; the nations of the earth will recognize him, as will the angels in heaven, he dwells in the hearts of men through faith, but his mansion is in heaven at the Father's side.
*********************************************************************************************
From: Luke 7:31-35
Jesus Reproaches His Contemporaries
--------------------------------------------------------
(Jesus spoke to the crowds), [33] For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, 'He has a demon.' [34] The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' [35] Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
31-34. See the note on Matthew 11:16-19.
[The note on Matthew 11:16-19 states:
16-19. Making reference to a popular song or a child's game of His time, Jesus reproaches those who offer groundless excuses for not recognizing Him. From the beginning of human history the Lord has striven to attract all men to Himself: "What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it?" (Isaiah 5:4), and often He has been rejected: "When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4).
Our Lord also condemns calumny: some people do try to justify their own behavior by seeing sin where there is only virtue. "When they find something which is quite obviously good," St. Gregory the Great says, "they pry into it to see if there is not also some badness hidden in it" ("Moralia", 6, 22). The Baptist's fasting they interpret as the work of the devil; whereas they accuse Jesus of being a glutton. The evangelist has to report these calumnies and accusations spoken against our Lord; otherwise, we would have no notion of the extent of the malice of those who show such furious opposition to Him who went about doing good (Acts 10:38). On other occasions Jesus warned His disciples that they would be treated the same as He was (cf. John 15:20).
The works of Jesus and John the Baptist, each in their own way, lead to the accomplishment of God's plan for man's salvation: the fact that some people do not recognize Him does not prevent God's plan being carried into effect.]
35. The wisdom referred to here is divine Wisdom, especially Christ Himself (cf. Wisdom 7:26; Proverbs 8:22). "Children of Wisdom" is a Hebrew way of saying "wise men"; he is truly wise who comes to know God and love Him and be saved by Him--in other words, a saint.
Divine wisdom is revealed in the creation and government of the universe, and, particularly, in the salvation of mankind. Wise men "justifying" wisdom seems to mean the wise, the saints, bear witness to Christ by living holy lives: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 5:16).
*********************************************************************************************
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment