CCC Cross Reference:
Eph 1:13-14 706, 1274; Eph 1:13 693, 698, 1296; Eph 1:14 1107
Lk 12:1-3 678; Lk 12:6-7 342
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Reading 1
Eph 1:11-14
Brothers and sisters:
In Christ we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 12-13
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten‑stringed lyre chant his praises.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Gospel
Lk 12:1-7
At that time:
So many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot.
Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples,
“Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.
“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness
will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?
Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Ephesians 1:11 – 14
It is in Christ that we were claimed as God’s own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory,
the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in him,
have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,
and have believed it;
and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,
the pledge of our inheritance
which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,12-13
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
From the heavens the Lord looks forth,
he sees all the children of men.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Gospel Luke 12:1 – 7
The people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And he began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on the housetops.
‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no mere. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’
Readings and Commentary from NavarreFriday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Ephesians 1:11-14
Hymn of Praise
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[11] In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, [12] we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, whohave heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Commentary:
3-14. Verses 3-14 are a hymn of praise to God for the plan of salvation he has devised and brought to fulfillment in benefit of men and all creation. It is written in a liturgical style of rhythmic prose, similar to that in Colossians 1:15-20. In the Greek it is one long complex sentence full of relative pronouns and clauses which give it a designed unity; we can, however, distinguish two main sections.
The first (v. 3-10), divided into four stanzas, describes the blessings contained in God's salvific plan; St Paul terms this plan the "mystery" of God's will. The section begins by praising God for his eternal design, a plan, pre-dating creation, to call us to the Church, to form a community of saints (first stanza: vv. 3f) and receive the grace of being children of God through Jesus Christ (second stanza: vv. 5f). It then reflects on Christ's work of redemption which brings this eternal plan of God to fulfillment (third stanza: vv. 7f). This section reaches its climax in the fourth stanza (vv. 9f) which proclaims Christ as Lord of all creation, thereby revealing the full development of God's salvific plan.
The second section, which divides into two stanzas, deals with the application of this plan -- first to the Jews (fifth stanza: vv. 11f) and then to the Gentiles, who are also called to share what God has promised: Jews and Gentiles join to form a single people, the Church (sixth stanza: vv. 13f).
Hymns in praise of God, or "eulogies", occur in many parts of Sacred Scripture (cf. Ps 8; Ps 19; Dan 2:20-23; Lk 1:46-54, 68-78; etc.); they praise the Lord for the wonders of creation or for spectacular interventions on behalf of his people. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St Paul here praises God the Father for all Christ's saving work, which extends from God's original plan which he made before he created the world, right up to the very end of time and the recapitulation of all things in Christ.
We too should always have this same attitude of praise of the Lord. "Our entire life on earth should take the form of praise of God, for the never-ending joy of our future life consists in praising God, and no one can become fit for that future life unless he train himself to render that praise now" (St Augustine, "Enarrationes in Psalmos", 148).
Praise is in fact the most appropriate attitude for man to have towards God: "How can you dare use that spark of divine intelligence -- your mind -- in anything but in giving glory to your Lord?" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 782).
11-14. The Apostle now contemplates a further divine blessing -- the implementation of the "mystery" through the Redemption wrought by Christ: God calls the Jews (vv. 11f) and the Gentiles (v. 13) together, to form a single people (v. 14). Paul first refers to the Jewish people, of which he himself is a member, which is why he uses the term "we" (v. 12). He then speaks of the Gentile Christians and refers to them as "you" (v. 13).
11-12. The Jewish people's expectations have been fulfilled in Christ: he has brought the Kingdom of God and the messianic gifts, designed in the first instance for Israel as its inheritance (cf. Mt 4:17; 12:28; Lk 4:16-22). God's intention in selecting Israel was to form a people of his own (cf. Ex 19:5) that would glorify him and proclaim to the nations its hope in a coming Messiah. "God, with loving concern contemplating, and making preparation for, the salvation of the whole human race, in a singular undertaking chose for himself a people to whom he would entrust his promises. By his covenant with Abraham (cf. Gen 15:18) and, through Moses, with the race of Israel (cf. Ex 24:8), he did acquire a people for himself, and to them he revealed himself in words and deeds as the one, true, living God, so that Israel might experience the ways of God with men. Moreover, by listening to the voice of God speaking to them through the prophets, they had steadily to understand his ways more fully and more clearly, and make them more widely known among the nations (cf. Ps 21:28-9; 95:1-3; Is 2:1-4; Jer 3:17)" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 14).
St Paul emphasizes that even before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the just of the Old Testament acted in line with their belief in the promised Messiah (cf. Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17); not only did they look forward to his coming but their hope was nourished by faith in Christ as a result of their acceptance of God's promise. As later examples of this same faith we might mention Zechariah and Elizabeth; Simeon and Anna; and, above all, St Joseph. St Joseph's faith was "full, confident, complete", St. Escriva comments. "It expressed itself in an effective dedication to the will of God and an intelligent obedience. With faith went love. His faith nurtured his love of God, who was fulfilling the promises made to Abraham, Jacob and Moses, and his affection for Mary his wife and his father- ly affection for Jesus. This faith, hope and love would further the great mission which God was beginning in the world through, among others, a carpenter in Galilee -- the redemption of mankind" ("Christ Is Passing By", 42).
13-14. If St Paul recognizes the magnificence of God's saving plan in the fulfillment, through Jesus, of the ancient promises to the Jews, he is even more awed by the fact that the Gentiles are being called to share in God's largesse. This call of the Gentiles is, as it were, a further blessing from God.
It is through the preaching of the Gospel that the Gentiles come to form part of the Church: faith coming initially through hearing the word of God (cf. Rom 10:17). Once a person has accepted that word, God seals the believer with the promised Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 3:14); this seal is the pledge or guarantee of divine inheritance and proves that we have been accepted by God, incorporated into his Church, and given access to that salvation which had previously been reserved to Israel. Here we can see a parallelism between the "seal" of circumcision which made the Old Covenant believer a member of the people of Israel, and the "seal" of the Holy Spirit in Baptism which, in the New Testament, makes people members of the Church (Rom 4:22; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 4:30). The "efficient cause" of our justification is "the merciful God, who freely washes and sanctifies (cf. 1 Cor 6:11), sealing and anointing with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance" (Council of Trent, "De Justificatione", chap. 7).
A seal or pledge was the mark used in business to betoken or guarantee future payment of the agreed price in full. In this case it represents a firm commitment on God's part, to grant the believer full and permanent possession of eternal blessedness, an anticipation of which is given at Baptism and thereafter (cf. 2 Cor 1: 22; 5:5). Through Christ, St Basil comments, "Paradise is restored to us; we are enabled to ascend to the kingdom of heaven; we are given back our adoption as sons, our confidence to call God himself our Father; we become partakers of Christ's grace, and are called children of light; we are enabled to share in the glory of heaven, to be enveloped in a plenitude of blessings both in this world and in the world to come [...]. If this be the promise, what will the final outcome not be? If this, the beginning, is so wonderful, what will the final consummation not be?" ("De Spiritu Sancto", 15, 36).
The gift of the Holy Spirit, who, through faith, dwells in the soul of the Christian in grace, represents, in this last stanza of the hymn, the high point in the implementation of God's salvific plan. The Holy Spirit, who gathered together the Church at Pentecost (cf. Acts 2: 14), continues to guide and inspire the apostolate of the members of the new people of God down through the centuries. The Magisterium of the Church reminds us that "throughout the ages the Holy Spirit makes the entire Church 'one in communion and ministry; and provides her with different hierarchical and charismatic gifts' ("Lumen Gentium", 4), giving life to ecclesiastical structures, being as it were their soul, and inspiring in the hearts of the faithful that same spirit of mission which impelled Christ himself. He even at times visibly anticipates apostolic action, just as in various ways he unceasingly accompanies and directs it" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 4).
God has acquired his new people at the cost of his Son's blood. This people made up of believers in Christ has replaced the people of the Old Testament, regardless of background. As the Second Vatican Council puts it, "As Israel according to the flesh which wandered in the desert was already called the Church of God (cf. 2 Ezra 13:1; Num 20:4; Deut23:1ff), so too, the new Israel, which advances in this present era in search of a future and permanent city (cf. Heb 13:14), is called also the Church of Christ (cf. Mt 16:18). It is Christ indeed who has purchased it with his own blood (cf. Acts 20:28); he has filled it with his spirit; he has provided means adapted to its visible and social union. All those who in faith look towards Jesus, the author of salvation and the principle of unity and peace, God has gathered together and established as the Church, that it may be for each and every one the visible sacrament of this saving unity" ("Lumen Gentium", 9).
From: Luke 12:1-7
Various Teachings of Jesus
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[1] In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, He (Jesus) began to say to His disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [2] Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [3] Whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."
[4] "I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. [5] But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into Hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! [6] Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. [7] Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."
Commentary:
3. Most Palestinian houses had a roof in the form of a terrace. There people would meet to chat and while away the time in the hottest part of the day. Jesus points out to His disciples that just as in these get-togethers things said in private became matters of discussion, so too, despite the Pharisees' and scribes' efforts to hide their vices and defects under the veil of hypocrisy, they would become a matter of common knowledge.
6-7. Nothing -- not even the most insignificant thing -- escapes God, His Providence and the judgment He will mete out. For this same reason no one should fear that any suffering or persecution he experiences in following Christ will remain unrewarded in eternity.
The teaching about fear, contained in verse 5, is filled out in verses 6 and 7, where Jesus tells us that God is a good Father who watches over every one of us -- much more than He does over these little ones (whom He also remembers). Therefore, our fear of God should not be servile (based on fear of punishment); it should be a filial fear (the fear of someone who does not want to displease his father), a fear nourished by trust in Divine Providence.
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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