CCC Cross Reference:
Mt 11:20-24 678
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Reading 1
Is 7:1-9
In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah,
Rezin, king of Aram,
and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah,
went up to attack Jerusalem,
but they were not able to conquer it.
When word came to the house of David that Aram
was encamped in Ephraim,
the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled,
as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz,
you and your son Shear-jashub,
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,
on the highway of the fuller’s field, and say to him:
Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear;
let not your courage fail
before these two stumps of smoldering brands
the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans,
and of the son Remaliah,
because of the mischief that
Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah,
plots against you, saying,
“Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force,
and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.”
Thus says the Lord:
This shall not stand, it shall not be!
Damascus is the capital of Aram,
and Rezin is the head of Damascus;
Samaria is the capital of Ephraim,
and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria.
But within sixty years and five,
Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.
Unless your faith is firm
you shall not be firm!
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (see 9d) God upholds his city for ever.
Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”
is the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
For lo! the kings assemble,
they come on together;
They also see, and at once are stunned,
terrified, routed.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Quaking seizes them there;
anguish, like a woman’s in labor,
As though a wind from the east
were shattering ships of Tarshish.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Gospel
Mt 11:20-24
Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:
Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Isaiah 7:1 – 9
In the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Razon the king of Aram went up against Jerusalem with Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, to lay siege to it; but he was unable to capture it.
The news was brought to the House of David. ‘Aram’ they said ‘has reached Ephraim.’ Then the heart of the king and the hearts of the people shuddered as the trees of the forest shudder in front of the wind. The Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go with your son Shear-jashub, and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the Fuller’s Field road, and say to him:
“Pay attention, keep calm, have no fear,
do not let your heart sink
because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands,
or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah
have plotted to ruin you, and have said:
Let us invade Judah and terrorize it
and seize it for ourselves,
and set up a king there,
the son of Tabeel.
The Lord says this:
It shall not come true; it shall not be.
The capital of Aram is Damascus,
the head of Damascus, Razon;
the capital of Ephraim, Samaria,
the head of Samaria, the son of Remaliah.
Six or five years more
and a shattered Ephraim shall no longer be a people.
But if you do not stand by me,
you will not stand at all.”’
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 47(48):2-8
God upholds his city for ever.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.
God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.
God upholds his city for ever.
For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.
God upholds his city for ever.
A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.
God upholds his city for ever.
Gospel Matthew 11:20 – 24
Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent.
‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgment day with Tyre and Sidon as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom on Judgment day as with you.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Tuesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Isaiah 7:1-9
The sign of Immanu-el
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[1] In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it. [2] When the house of David was told, "Syria is in league with Ephraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
[3] And the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go forth to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field, [4] and say to him, 'Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. [5] Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, [6] Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabe-el as king in the midst of it," [7] thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
[8] For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces so that it will
no longer be a people.)
[9] And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you will not believe,
surely you shall not be established.”
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Commentary:
7:1-12:6. This series of oracles and narratives is usually known as the "Book of Immanuel", because its climax is taken to be the mysterious announcement of a Messiah-Saviour, called "Immanu-el", which means "God-with-us" (7:14). This "book" is one of the most interesting parts of First Isaiah. Some scholars include in the "book", as its introduction, the prophet's vision of God in majesty, and the account of Isaiah's calling (6:1-13).
The Immanuel prophecy begins with the announcement of a God-given "sign" of salvation -- the "virgin" who will conceive and bear a "son" (7:1-8:22). The "son" is described in such a way that he seems to be no ordinary human child (8:23-9:6). Paradoxically, the joy of salvation that has just been proclaimed is then immediately clouded by announcements about the wrath of God, the collapse of Samaria and the Assyrian threat to Jerusalem (9:7-10:19). But, as often happens in Isaiah, we are told that a "remnant" will he saved, a "shoot from the stump of Jesse" (11:1), that is, a descendant of David on whom "the Spirit of the Lord will rest" (11:2), and that a kingdom of righteousness and peace will emerge and the exiles will return home (10:20-11:16). This leads the prophet to intone a short psalm of thanksgiving (12: I-6).
7:1-9. After the account of Isaiah's vocation, where we heard that a hardened heart is unable to hear the word of the Lord (cf. 6:9-10), we are now given evidence to that effect. Isaiah has a meeting with King Ahaz, in which the king is in two minds as to what to do in the face of pressure to join the coalition against the Assyrians made up of Israel (here also called Ephraim), whose capital was Samaria, and Syria (Aram), the capital of which was Damascus. Verse 6 mentions Tabeel, about whom nothing more is known; he may have been a senior official in the Southern kingdom who was in favour of joining the coalition. The prophet's message warns Judah that it should put its trust in God, believing in his word, and not try to take refuge in any political alliance, be it with the Syrians and Ephraimites, or with Assyria. It ends abruptly with the threat that if Ahaz and his supporters fail to listen, their downfall will soon follow (vv. 7-9). The narrative says that a son of Isaiah is present at his exchange with Ahaz --Shear-jashub (v. 3), a name full of symbolism, for it means "a remnant shall return". The presence of this son implies, in some way, that God will ensure the permanent survival of the people: there will always be some, a remnant, who will come back to the Lord and recover what has been lost (cf. 10:20-22).
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From: Matthew 11:20-24
Jesus Reproaches People for Their Unbelief
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[20] Then He (Jesus) began to upbraid the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. [21] "Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. [23] And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to Heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. [24] But I tell that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you."
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Commentary:
21-24. Chorazin and Bethsaida were thriving cities on the northern shore of the lake of Gennesaret, not very far from Capernaum. During His public ministry Jesus often preached in these cities and worked any miracles there; in Capernaum He revealed His teaching about the Blessed Eucharist (cf. John 6:51ff). Tyre, Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah, the main cities of Phoenicia -- all notorious for loose living -- were classical examples of divine punishment (cf. Ezekiel 26-28; Isaiah 23).
Here Jesus is pointing out the ingratitude of people who could know Him but who refuse to change: on the day of Judgment (verses 22 and 24) they have more explaining to do: "Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required" (Luke 12:48).
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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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