CCC Cross Reference:
Mk 9:2 552; Mk 9:7 151, 459; Mk 9:9-31 649
Back to Deacon’s Bench '08
Back to SOW II '12
Back to SOW II '22
Reading 1
Jas 3:1-10
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters,
for you realize that we will be judged more strictly,
for we all fall short in many respects.
If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man,
able to bridle the whole body also.
If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,
we also guide their whole bodies.
It is the same with ships:
even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds,
they are steered by a very small rudder
wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes.
In the same way the tongue is a small member
and yet has great pretensions.
Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze.
The tongue is also a fire.
It exists among our members as a world of malice,
defiling the whole body
and setting the entire course of our lives on fire,
itself set on fire by Gehenna.
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature,
can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,
but no man can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless the Lord and Father,
and with it we curse men
who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
My brothers and sisters, this need not be so.
Responsorial Psalm
12:2-3, 4-5, 7-8
R. (8a) You will protect us, Lord.
Help, O Lord! for no one now is dutiful;
faithfulness has vanished from among the children of men.
Everyone speaks falsehood to his neighbor;
with smooth lips they speak, and double heart.
R. You will protect us, Lord.
May the Lord destroy all smooth lips,
every boastful tongue,
Those who say, “We are heroes with our tongues;
our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
R. You will protect us, Lord.
The promises of the Lord are sure,
like tried silver, freed from dross, sevenfold refined.
You, O Lord, will keep us
and preserve us always from this generation.
R. You will protect us, Lord.
Gospel
Mk 9:2-13
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
then from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Then they asked him,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things,
yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man
that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah has come
and they did to him whatever they pleased,
as it is written of him.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading James 3:1 – 10
Only a few of you, my brothers, should be teachers, bearing in mind that those of us who teach can expect a stricter judgment.
After all, every one of us does something wrong, over and over again; the only man who could reach perfection would be someone who never said anything wrong – he would be able to control every part of himself. Once we put a bit into the horse’s mouth, to make it do what we want, we have the whole animal under our control. Or think of ships: no matter how big they are, even if a gale is driving them, the man at the helm can steer them anywhere he likes by controlling a tiny rudder. So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it does great things. Think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a whole wicked world in itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation. Wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish can all be tamed by man, and often are; but nobody can tame the tongue – it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison. We use it to bless the Lord and Father, but we also use it to curse men who are made in God’s image: the blessing and the curse come out of the same mouth. My brothers, this must be wrong.
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 11:2-5,7-8
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care.
Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished;
truth has gone from the sons of men.
Falsehood they speak one to another,
with lying lips, with a false heart.
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care.
May the Lord destroy all lying lips,
the tongue that speaks high-sounding words,
those who say: ‘Our tongue is our strength;
our lips are our own, who is our master?’
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care.
The words of the Lord are words without alloy,
silver from the furnace, seven times refined.
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care
and protect us for ever from this generation.
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care.
Gospel Mark 9:2 – 13
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
As they came down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean. And they put this question to him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?’ ‘True,’ he said ‘Elijah is to come first and to see that everything is as it should be; yet how is it that the scriptures say about the Son of Man that he is to suffer grievously and be treated with contempt? However, I tell you that Elijah has come and they have treated him as they pleased, just as the scriptures say about him.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Saturday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
From: James 3:1-10
Controlling One's Tongue
------------------------------------
[1] Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness. [2] For we all make many mistakes, and if any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. [3] If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies. [4] Look at the ships also; though they are so very great and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. [5] So the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!
[6] And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by Hell. [7] For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, [8] but no human being can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. [9] With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. [10] From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-18. There is now an apparently sudden change of subject; but in fact the themes dealt with in the letter from this point onwards are practical applications of the principle outlined in the second section (consistently between faith and works). Firstly, it deals with control of the tongue, prudent speech; after warning of occupational hazards of teachers (verses 1-2), it denounces the sins the tongue can cause (verses 2-12), and goes on to describe the characteristics of true and false wisdom.
1-2. St. James draws attention to the responsibility that goes with holding a position of authority: all those who are teachers, in addition to answering to God for their own actions, are responsible to some degree for the actions of their disciples. That is why the Church has always encouraged prayer for those whose job it is to guide their brethren: "Nor should (lay people) fail to commend to God in prayers those who have been placed over them, who indeed keep watch as having to render an account for our souls, that they may do this with joy and not with grief (cf. Hebrews 13:17)") (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 37).
"We all make many mistakes": Sacred Scripture repeatedly draws attention to the sinful condition of man and the frequency with which he offends God (cf., e.g., Psalm 19:13; 51:3ff; Proverbs 20:9; 1 John 1:8). The Council of Trent recalls these words of St. James when it teaches that no one can go through life without committing some venial sin, "except by a special privilege granted by God, as the Church teaches happened in the case of the Blessed Virgin" ("De Iustificatione", Canon 23; Chapter 16).
The great Saints, from whom we can learn much, have attained holiness because they recognized that they were sinners. "I shall love you, Lord, and shall give thanks to You and confess Your name," St. Augustine exclaims, because "You have forgiven me such great sins and evil deeds [...]: for what might I have not done, seeing that I loved evil solely because it was evil? I confess that You have forgiven all alike--the sins I committed on my own motion, the sins I would have committed but for Your grace [...]. If any man has heard Your voice and followed it and done none of the things he finds me here recording and confessing, still he must not scorn me: for I am healed by the same Doctor who preserved him from falling into sickness, or at least into such grievous sickness. But let him love You even more -- seeing me rescued out of such sickness of sin, and himself saved from falling into such sickness of sin, by the one same Savior" ("Confessions", 2, 7).
2-12. The sacred writer focuses on sins of the tongue, possibly because of their frequency. In the Wisdom books of the Old Testament these sins are referred to particularly often (cf., e.g., Proverbs 10:11-21; Sirach 5:9-15; 28:13-26).
He basically makes three points--first, a positive point, by way of summing up what follows: "If any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man" (verse 2). Then with three graphic comparisons (typical of this Letter) he shows how difficult it is to control the tongue (verses 3-6), but controlled it must be, otherwise great harm will be done (verses 7-12).
"A perfect man" (verse 2): this does not mean that he cannot commit other sins; it implies that if one succeeds in restraining one's tongue one has self-control, which means that one is putting up good resistance to temptation.
3-6. Three simple, easy-to-understand examples (used also by other ancient writers in Greco-Latin and Jewish literature) show how something small -- a horse's bit, a boat's rudder, a small fire--can have very big effects; the tongue has a similar influence in social life.
The "St. Pius V Catechism", recalling this teaching, says: "From these words we learn two truths. The fact is that sins of the tongue are very prevalent [...]. The other truth is that the tongue is a source of innumerable evils. Through the fault of the evil-speaker are often lost the property, the reputation, the life, and salvation of the injured person, or of him who inflicts the injury. The injured person, unable to bear patiently the contumely, avenges it without restraint. The offender, on the other hand, deterred by a perverse shame and a false idea of what is called honor, cannot be induced to make reparation to him whom he has offended" (III, 9, 1). It should be remembered that if one unfairly damages another's reputation one has an obligation to make reparation by doing what one can to restore his or her good name.
"Do you know what damage you may cause by throwing stones with your eyes blindfolded? Neither do you know the harm you cause -- and at times it is very great -- by letting drop uncharitable remarks that to you seem trifling, because your eyes are blinded by thoughtlessness or passion" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 455).
6. St. James uses this graphic language to emphasize that if one does not control one's tongue it can cause much evil, affecting one's entire life. In itself very useful, the tongue can wreak havoc, so it is not surprising that the enemies of our sanctification seek to get control of it: "though their voices sound like cracked bells, that have not been cast from good metal and have a very different tone from the shepherd's whistle call, they so distort speech, which is one of the most precious talents ever bestowed on men by God, a most beautiful gift for the expression of deep thoughts of love and friendship towards the Lord and His creatures, that one comes to understand why St. James says that the tongue is `an unrighteous world' (James 3:6). So great is the harm it can do--lies, slander, dishonor, trickery, insults, tortuous insinuations" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 298).
9-12. The sacred writer uses further examples, equally simple and familiar to his readers, to stress the need for control of the tongue. Experience shows that it is as easy to put it to a good purpose as to an evil one. Besides, misuse of the tongue is a sign that one's heart is not in the right place: as our Lord already warned us, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
*********************************************************************************************
From: Mark 9:2-13
The Transfiguration
----------------------------
[2] And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them, [3] and His garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth bleach them. [4] And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. [5] And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah." [6] For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. [7] And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son; listen to Him." [8] And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.
[9] And as they were coming down the mountain, He charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man should have risen from the dead. [10] So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. [11] And they asked Him, "Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" [12] And He said to them, "Elijah does come first to restore all things; and how is it written of the Son of Man, that He should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? [13] But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
2-10. We contemplate in awe this manifestation of the glory of the Son of God to three of His disciples. Ever since the Incarnation, the divinity of our Lord has usually been hidden behind His humanity. But Christ wishes to show, to these favorite disciples, who will later be pillars of the Church, the splendor of His divine glory, in order to encourage them to follow the difficult way that lies ahead, fixing their gaze on the happy goal which is awaiting them at the end. This is why, as St. Thomas comments (cf. "Summa Theologia", III, q. 45, a. 1), it was appropriate for Him to give them an insight into His glory. The fact that the Transfiguration comes immediately after the first announcement of His passion, and His prophetic words about how His followers would also have to carry His cross, shows us that "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
What happened at the Transfiguration? To understand this miraculous event in Christ's life, we must remember that in order to redeem us by His passion and death our Lord freely renounced divine glory and became man, assuming flesh which was capable of suffering and which was not glorious, becoming like us in every way except sin (cf. Hebrew 4:15). In the Transfiguration, Jesus Christ willed that the glory which was His as God and which His soul had from the moment of the Incarnation, should miraculously become present in His body. "We should learn from Jesus' attitude in these trials. During His life on earth He did not even want the glory that belong to Him. Though He had the right to be treated as God, He took the form of a servant, a slave (cf. Philippians 2:6)" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 62). Bearing in mind who became man (the divinity of the person and the glory of His soul), it was appropriate for His body to be glorious; given the purpose of His Incarnation, it was not appropriate, usually, for His glory to be evident. Christ shows His glory in the Transfiguration in order to move us to desire the divine glory which will be given us so that, having this hope, we too can understand "that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).
2. According to Deuteronomy (19:15), to bear witness to anything the evidence of two or three much concur. Perhaps this is why Jesus wanted three Apostles to be present. It should be pointed out that these three Apostles were specially loved by Him; they were with Him also at the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37) and will also be closest to Him during His agony at Gethsemane (Mark 14:33). Cf. note on Matthew 17:1-13.
7. This is how St. Thomas Aquinas explains the meaning of the Transfiguration: "Just as in Baptism, where the mystery of the first regeneration was proclaimed, the operation of the whole Trinity was made manifest, because the Son Incarnate was there, the Holy Spirit appeared under the form of a dove, and the Father made Himself known in the voice; so also in the Transfiguration, which is the sign of the second regeneration [the Resurrection], the whole Trinity appears -- the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Spirit in the bright cloud; for just as in Baptism He confers innocence, as signified by the simplicity of the dove, so in the Resurrection will He give His elect the clarity of glory and the refreshment from every form of evil, as signified by the bright cloud" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 45, 1.4 ad 2). For, really, the Transfiguration was in some way an anticipation not only of Christ's glorification but also of ours. As St. Paul says, "it is the same Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:16-17).
10. That the dead would rise was already revealed in the Old Testament (cf. Daniel 12:2-3; 2 Maccabees 7:9; 12:43) and was believed by pious Jews (cf. John 11:23-25). However, they were unable to understand the profound truth of the death and Resurrection of the Lord: they expected a glorious and triumphant Messiah, despite the prophecy that He would suffer and die (cf. Isaiah 53). Hence the Apostles' oblique approach; they too do not dare to directly question our Lord about His Resurrection.
11-13. The scribes and Pharisees interpret the messianic prophecy in Malachi (3:1-2) as meaning that Elijah will appear in person, dramatically, to be followed by the all-triumphant Messiah, with no shadow of pain or humiliation. Jesus tells them that Elijah has indeed come, in the person of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:13) and has prepared the way of the Messiah, a way of pain and suffering.
Verse 12 is a question which Jesus puts to His disciples, but they should really have asked it themselves, had they realized that Christ's Resurrection presupposed the Messiah's suffering and death. Since they fail to ask it, Jesus does, to teach them that He like Elijah (that is, John the Baptist) must experience suffering before entering His glory.
*********************************************************************************************
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