Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

348 Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
1 Pt 1:10-12 719
Mk 10:28-31 1618

Back to Deacon’s Bench '08
Back to SOW II '10
Back to SOW II '12
Back to SOW II '14
Back to SOW II '16
Back to SOW II '18
Back to SOW II '22

Reading 1
1 Pt 1:10-16

Beloved:
Concerning the salvation of your souls
the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours
searched and investigated it
investigating the time and circumstances
that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated
when it testified in advance
to the sufferings destined for Christ
and the glories to follow them.
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you
with regard to the things that have now been announced to you
by those who preached the Good News to you
through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,
things into which angels longed to look.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly,
and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Like obedient children,
do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
but, as he who called you is holy,
be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.

Responsorial Psalm
98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

R. (2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The Lord has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

Gospel
Mk 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

First reading 1 Peter 1:10 – 16

It was this salvation that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were about the grace which was to come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to be expected. It was revealed to them that the news they brought of all the things which have now been announced to you, by those who preached to you the Good News through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.

Free your minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.

Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 97(98):1-4

The Lord has made known his salvation.

Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.

The Lord has made known his salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.

The Lord has made known his salvation.

Gospel Mark 10:28 – 31

‘What about us?’ Peter asked Jesus. ‘We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.

‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’

Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible

Tuesday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time

From: 1 Peter 1:10-16

Praise and Thanksgiving to God (Continuation)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[10] The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation; [11] they inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory. [12] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Christians Are Called To Be Saints
---------------------------------------------------
[13] Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. [14] As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, [15] but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; [16] since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

10-12. These verses of thanksgiving (vv. 3-12) end with a reference to the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation: he acted in the Old Testament through the prophets by announcing salvation, and now, through preachers of the Gospel, he reveals that it has come about.

The passage is a clear acknowledgment of the unity and continuity of the Old and New Testaments: in the Old the sufferings and subsequent glorification of Christ are proclaimed, in such a way that "what the prophets predicted as future events," says St Thomas, "the Apostles preached as something which had come true" ("Commentary on Eph" 2:4). "The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately orientated to prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, Redeemer of all men, and of the messianic Kingdom (cf. Lk 24:44; Jn 5:39; 1 Pet 1:10) [...]. God, the inspirer and author of the books of both Testaments, in his wisdom has so brought it about that the New should be hidden in the Old and that the Ol should be made manifest in the New. For although Christ founded the New Covenant in his blood (cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), still the books of the Old Testament, all of them caught up into the Gospel message, attain and show forth their full meaning in the New Testament (cf. Mt 5:17; Lk 24:27; Rom 16:25-26; 2 Cor 3:14-16) and in their turn, shed light on it and explain it" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 15-16).

These verses show the Holy Spirit's role as cause and guide of the evangelizing activity of the Church. In the early days of the spread of Christianity, as described in Acts, the action of the third Person of the Blessed Trinity was palpable.

12. The Greek word translated at the end of this verse as "look" contains the idea of bending over carefully in order to get a better look. This metaphor, then, depicts the angels in heaven contemplating with joy the mystery of salvation. St Francis de Sales, referring to this passage, exclaims: "Now in this complacency we satiate our soul with delights in such a manner that we do not yet cease to desire to be satiated [...]. The fruition of a thing which always contents never lessens, but is renewed and flourishes incessantly; it is ever agreeable, ever desirable. The perpetual contentment of heavenly lovers produces a desire perpetually content" ("Treatise on the Love of God", 5, 3).

1:13-2:10. Having focused their attention on the sublimity of the Christian calling, St Peter exhorts the faithful to a holiness in keeping with it. He provides some reasons why they should strive for holiness--the holiness of God (vv. 13-16) and the price paid for their salvation, the blood of Christ (w. 17-21). He then goes on directly to refer to the importance of love (vv. 22-25); and he encourages them to grow up in their new life (2:1-3) so that as "living stones" they can form part of the spiritual building of the Church, which has Christ as its cornerstone (vv. 4-10).

13-16. Israel was chosen by God from all the peoples of the earth to implement his plan of salvation: he set the people of Israel free from the slavery of Egypt, established a covenant with them and gave them commandments about how to live. These commandments in their highest form tell them to be holy as God is holy (cf. Lev 19:2). However, those events in the life of Israel were only an imperfect foreshadowing of what would happen when Jesus Christ came: Christians constitute the new chosen people; by Baptism they have been set free from sin and have been called to live in a fully holy way, with God himself as their model.

The Second Vatican Council solemnly declared that all are called to holiness (cf., e.g., "Lumen Gentium", 11, 40, 42). St. Escriva, who anticipated the Council's teaching on this and other points, had constantly preached about this universal call to holiness: "Christ bids all without exception to be perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect. For the vast majority of people, holiness means sanctifying their work, sanctifying themselves in it, and sanctifying others through it -- thereby finding God as they go about their daily lives [...]. Since the foundation of the Work in 1928, my teaching has been that sanctity is not the reserve of a privileged few; all the ways of the earth, every state in life, every job, every honest occupation, can be divine" (Bernal, "Monsignor Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer", III, 3).

13. "Gird up your minds": a metaphor based on the custom of the Jews, and Middle Easterners in general, of gathering up their rather full garments prior to setting out on a journey, to let them walk with greater ease. In the account of the Exodus we are told that God laid it down that when the Israelites celebrated the Passover they should do so with their loins girt, their sandals on and a staff in their hand (cf. Ex 12:11), because they were about to start on the journey to the promised land. St Peter evokes this image (which our Lord also used: cf. Lk 12:35ff), because Baptism, the new Exodus, marks the start of the Christian pilgrimage to heaven, our lasting home (cf. 1:17; 2:11); and he applies it to sobriety: we need to control our feelings and inclinations if we are to walk with joy along the route which will take us to the glorious coming of the Lord.

"The revelation of Jesus Christ": this is a reference, above all, to his eschatological coming at the end of time. The revelation of Jesus began with his incarnation and will reach its climax at the end of this world. Therefore, the "grace" mentioned should be understood not only as sanctifying grace but also the whole ensemble of benefits the Christian receives at Baptism, which will find their full expression in heaven.

14. "Your former ignorance": the sacred writer contrasts his hearers' present position with their former one. He does not mean that prior to Baptism they were perverse and ignorant, but that the Christian vocation brings such clear knowledge of God and so many aids to practise virtue that their previous position can be viewed as one of concupiscence and ignorance. "The followers of Christ, called by God, not in virtue of their works but by his design and grace, and justified in the Lord Jesus, have been made sons of God in the baptism of faith and partakers of the divine nature, and so are truly sanctified" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 40).

*********************************************************************************************
From: Mark 10:28-31

Poverty and Renunciation (Continuation)
----------------------------------------------------------
[28] Peter began to say to Him (Jesus), "Lo, we have left everything and followed You." [29] Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, [30] who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. [31] But many that are first will be last, and the last first."

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

28-30. Jesus Christ requires every Christian to practice the virtue of poverty: He also requires us to practise real and effective austerity in the possession and use of material things. But of those who have received a specific call to apostolate—as in the case, here, of the Twelve--He requires absolute detachment from property, time, family, etc. so that they can be fully available, imitating Jesus Himself who, despite being Lord of the universe, became so poor that He had nowhere to lay His head (cf. Mt 8:20). Giving up all these things for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven also relieves us of the burden they involve: like a soldier shedding some encumbrance before going into action, to be able to move with more agility. This gives one a certain lordship over all things: no longer the slave of things, one experiences that feeling St. Paul referred to: "As having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Cor 6:10). A Christian who sheds his selfishness in this way has acquired charity and, having charity, he has everything: "All are yours; you are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:22-23).

The reward for investing completely in Christ will be fully obtained in eternal life: but we will also get it in this life. Jesus says that anyone who generously leaves behind his possessions will be rewarded a hundred times over in this life.

He adds "with persecutions" (v. 30) because opposition is part of the reward for giving things up out of love for Jesus Christ: a Christian's glory lies in becoming like the Son of God, sharing in His cross so as later to share in His glory: "provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Rom 8: 17); "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2 Tim 3:12).

29. These words of our Lord particularly apply to those who by divine vocation embrace celibacy, giving up their right to form a family on earth. By saying "for My sake and for the Gospel" Jesus indicates that His example and the demands of His teaching give full meaning to this way of life: "This, then, is the mystery of the newness of Christ, of all that He is and stands for; it is the sum of the highest ideals of the Gospel and of the Kingdom; it is a particular manifestation of grace, which springs from the paschal mystery of the Savior and renders the choice of celibacy desirable and worthwhile on the part of those called by our Lord Jesus. Thus, they intend not only to participate in Christ's priestly office, but also to share with Him His very condition of living" (Paul VI, "Sacerdotalis Coelibatus", 23).

*********************************************************************************************
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: