Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

312 Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

CCC Cross Reference:
Heb 6:13 2810; Heb 6:19-20 1820; Heb 6:20 1544
Ps 111:9 2807
Mk 2:23-27 581; Mk 2:23-26 544; Mk 2:25-27 582; Mk 2:27-28 2167; Mk 2:27 2173; Mk 2:28 2173

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Reading 1
Heb 6:10-20

Brothers and sisters:
God is not unjust so as to overlook your work
and the love you have demonstrated for his name
by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.
We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness
for the fulfillment of hope until the end,
so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who,
through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

When God made the promise to Abraham,
since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you.
And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.
Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves;
for them an oath serves as a guarantee
and puts an end to all argument.
So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise
an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose,
he intervened with an oath,
so that by two immutable things,
in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged
to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.
This we have as an anchor of the soul,
sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,
where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner,
becoming high priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 111:1-2, 4-5, 9 and 10c

R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

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. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.


Gospel
Mk 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Hebrews 6:10-20

God would not be so unjust as to forget all you have done, the love that you have for his name or the services you have done, and are still doing, for the saints. Our one desire is that every one of you should go on showing the same earnestness to the end, to the perfect fulfillment of our hopes, never growing careless, but imitating those who have the faith and the perseverance to inherit the promises.

When God made the promise to Abraham, he swore by his own self, since it was impossible for him to swear by anyone greater: I will shower blessings on you and give you many descendants. Because of that, Abraham persevered and saw the promise fulfilled. Men, of course, swear an oath by something greater than themselves, and between men, confirmation by an oath puts an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God wanted to make the heirs to the promise thoroughly realize that his purpose was unalterable, he conveyed this by an oath; so that there would be two unalterable things in which it was impossible for God to be lying, and so that we, now we have found safety, should have a strong encouragement to take a firm grip on the hope that is held out to us. Here we have an anchor for our soul, as sure as it is firm, and reaching right through beyond the veil where Jesus has entered before us and on our behalf, to become a high priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.

Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 110(111):1-2,4-5,9,10

The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.

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.

The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.

He makes us remember his wonders.
  The Lord is compassion and love.
He gives food to those who fear him;
  keeps his covenant ever in mind.

The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.

He has sent deliverance to his people
  and established his covenant for ever.
Holy his name, to be feared.
  His praise shall last for ever!

The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.


Gospel Mark 2:23-28

One sabbath day Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to pick ears of corn as they went along. And the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing something on the sabbath day that is forbidden?’ And he replied, ‘Did you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?’
And he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; the Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.’

Readings and Commetary from the Navarre Bible

Tuesday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time

From: Hebrews 6:10-20

The Danger of Apostasy and the Need for Perseverance (Continuation)
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[10] For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. [11] And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, [12] so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Promises Made to Abraham, Confirmed by Oath, Cannot Be Broken
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[13] For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, [14] saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." [15] And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. [16] Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. [17] So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, [18] so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. [19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, [20] where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

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Commentary:

9-12. The letter now changes to a tone of encouragement. "After speaking harshly about the position of the faithful, to prevent their falling into despair he now reveals why he has written what he has: he wants to lead them well away from danger. And so, in the first place, he tells them what confidence he has in them, and then gives the reason why they should feel confident themselves--because God is not unjust" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Heb.", 4,3).

The readers are called "beloved"; this was how St Paul normally addressed those who embraced the faith through his preaching (cf. 1 Thess 2:8; 1 Cor 10:14; 15: 58; 2 Cor 7:1; 12:19; Rom 1:7; Phil 2:12; 4:1; etc.). The writer wants to see the situation improve, perhaps to see the trials pass or become easier; certainly he wants his readers to use their tribulation to help them to achieve salvation. He is moved when he recalls the charity they have shown one another: theirs has been an active fraternity, shown in deeds of service to the "saints", which was the way St Paul often referred to the brethren (cf. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2; etc.); their charity is practised "for his sake", for God. In their present circumstances, in the persecution they are experiencing, God will not abandon them (cf. Heb 10:33-34), for they have been generous in the almsgiving and hospitality that is so proper to Christians (cf. Rom 15:25, 31; 1 Cor 16:15; Eph 1:15; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:1, 12). "Now that we hear this--I beg you--let us serve the saints!, for every member of the faithful is a saint by the mere fact of belonging to the faithful [...]. Let us not be charitable only towards monks who live in the mountains. It is true that their faith and their lives make them saints, but many of those who live here are also saints: all are saints by virtue of their faith, and many are saints by virtue of their lives too. So, if you see someone suffering, do not doubt it for one moment: his very suffering gives him the right to be helped" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Heb.", 10). It is not enough, however, to have a history of doing good: it is necessary to persevere in doing good, as if to say: By seeing through to the end what you have started you shall obtain everything you hope for. They must do good right "to the end", for he who endures to the end will be saved (cf. Mt 10:22; 24:13; "Commentary on Heb.", 4, 3). "Eternal life should be set before those who persevere in good works 'to the end' (cf. Mt 10: 22) and who hope in God; it should be set before them as being the grace that God, through Jesus Christ, has mercifully promised his sons and 'as the reward which, according to God's personal undertaking, most assuredly will be given them for their good works and merits (cf. St Augustine, "De Natura Et Gratia", VIII, 20)" (Council of Trent, "De Iustificatione", Chap. 16).

However, there is always the danger of slowing down: lazy people often excuse their inaction by pointing to the suffering and difficulties that doing good involves. The strength of one's resolutions is shown by the way one copes with difficulties: "You will convince me that you sincerely want to achieve your goals when I see you go forward unwaveringly. Do good [...]; practise the virtue of justice, right where you are, in your normal surroundings, even if you end up exhausted. Foster happiness among those around you by cheerfully serving the people you work with and by striving to carry out your job as perfectly as you can, showing understanding, smiling, having a Christian approach to life. And do everything for God, thinking of his glory, with your sights set high and longing for the definitive homeland, because there is no other goal worthwhile" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God",
211).

13-15. Abraham is an example, for every generation, of faith that is full of hope and patience; he is a man with great strength of character (cf. Rom 5:3-5). Already in the Epistle to the Romans Abraham is cited as an example of faith and hope (cf. Rom 4:18-22). There St Paul highlights Abraham's faith in the Lord's promise that he would have innumerable descendants in spite of the fact that he was already an old man and unlikely to father children (cf. Gen 15:5; 17:1, 17). The Apostle may also have been alluding to the episode (cf. Gen 22), when God asked the patriarch to sacrifice Isaac, the son he had so yearned for: at that point Abraham did indeed "believe against hope" (cf. Rom 4:18; Gen 22:15-17). Here, on the other hand, of all the various promises made to Abraham of blessings and numerous offspring (cf. Gen 12:2-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:5-7; 13:16; 17:4-8, 19), what is explicitly mentioned is the promise made after God prevented him from sacrificing his son. That was the first occasion the Lord "swore by himself" to a man. This divine promise, supported by an oath and seen as the most solemn "word of Yahweh", was the foundation of Israel's hope for thousands of years. Abraham himself recalled it when he was dying (cf. Gen 24:7); it was the support of Moses in all his great endeavors (cf. Ex 13:5,11; 32:13); David, too, gave thanks to God for it(1 Chron 16:16; Ps 105:9); and at the dawn of the Redemption Zechariah rejoiced over it (Lk 1:73): it was "the oath which God swore to our Father Abraham" and it was fulfilled in Christ and in the Church (cf. Gal 4:21-31).

Abraham "obtained the promise" in the sense that he was enabled to see with his own eyes his promised son, Isaac, who was born to Sarah despite her old age. Not alone that: the New Testament tells us (cf. Jn 8:56; Gal 3:8) that he was given some sort of prophetic vision which allowed him to see the day of Christ and rejoice at it.

16. Secular writers of antiquity used to define an oath as something attached to a statement which cannot be proved, to provide a divine guarantee (cf. Pseudo-Aristotle, "Speech to Alexander"). This meant that they regarded an oath as a proof at law, to be put alongside the text of the law, the evidence of witnesses, agreement between the parties, and a confession of guilt. The Jews regarded an oath as something so awesome, so solemn, that they never dared swear an oath by God directly; instead they would swear by angels or by the life of men, such as the Messiah, Moses, Solomon, or by the gates of the temple, etc. (cf. Mt 5:34-36; 23:16-22). Philo of Alexandria, an heir to Jewish tradition and Greco-Roman thought, says that"by means of oaths, matters subject to doubt before the courts are resolved; what was not clear is made clear; and what was regarded as unreliable is rendered reliable" ("De Sacrificio Abel", 91).

St Thomas Aquinas developed and combined these ideas by saying that "an oath is an act of the virtue of religion which gives reliability to something previously in doubt. For in the sphere of knowledge nothing becomes certain unless it be demonstrated from something which is more certainly known. When oaths are taken, this certainty is obtained because the oath is sworn on God, who is the greatest and surest there is, since for men nothing is truer than God" ("Commentary on Heb, ad loc."). The Thomist definition has become widely accepted because it also fits in with the commonly held view that swearing an oath is a way of honoring the sacred name of God. When an oath is properly made --meeting the necessary traditional requirements of truth justice and judgment --that is, when it is made sincerely, for good reasons and not lightly, it is a morally good and meritorious act because it does honor to God's infinite truthfulness.

On Christ's teachings concerning oath-taking see the notes on Mt 5:33-37 and 23:16-22.

17-18. "Through two unchangeable things": in promises made by God his veracity is doubly committed--as the taker of the oath and as its guarantor.

God's covenant with Abraham and his oath to give him descendants took place at separate times (cf. Gen 15:7-18; 22:16-18). However, both episodes stem from a single act of God's will, in that he wanted to reward Abraham's obedience and at the same time commit himself by the use of external formalities proper to Hebrew legal practice. Among the Hebrews, when people made a pact, they sacrificed animals; the victims were then quartered and the contracting parties walked between the carcasses to symbolize that they would die the same death if they failed to keep the pact. God passed between the pieces of the animals Abraham sacrificed, in the form of a flaming torch, thereby giving him to understand that he (God) was under a most solemn obligation to do what he promised. In the second episode this rite was not repeated, but he "interposed with an oath", renewing as it were the "passing between" rite that accompanied the covenant.

God chose to express his promise by following this human form of contract in order to make his words more intelligible and to give us greater confidence.

19-20. God's promise and oath are the gateway to our salvation, an anchor which makes us feel safe no matter what hazards threaten us. The Christian, who is, through faith, the true descendant of Abraham (cf. Rom 4:12) and the heir of the promise (cf. Gal 3:14, 16, 29), is therefore certain that God will keep his word. That is why the text says that we should "have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us" (v. 18). Hope is a kind of hold on what is promised, a kind of anchor that is "sure and steadfast". "For just as the anchor thrown overboard prevents the ship from moving, even if it is being battered by countless winds, but instead keeps it in one place, hope has the same effect" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Heb.", 11). Greek and Roman authors often used the simile of an anchor in connection with being steadfast in virtue and hopeful of happier times. The anchor has always been a motif in Christian art expressive of much more than a human sense of safety: it symbolizes the Christian's faith, his certainty in the resurrection of the Lord and in his own resurrection; it is a symbol of a confidence which stems from his intimate union with Christ. The sacred text brings together all those ideas: in a certain sense the anchor is Christ himself who through his redemptive sacrifice gives us the conviction that we can with him enter "into the inner shrine", that is, the heavenly sanctuary. "I have asked you to keep on lifting your eyes up to heaven as you go about your work, because hope encourages us to grasp the strong hand which God never ceases to reach out to us, to keep us from losing our supernatural point of view. Let us persevere even when our passions rear up and attack us, attempting to imprison us within the narrow confines of our selfishness; or when puerile vanity makes us think we are the center of the universe. I am convinced that unless I look upward, unless I have Jesus, I will never accomplish anything. And I know that the strength to conquer myself and to win comes from repeating that cry, 'I can do all things in him who strengthens me' (Phil 4:13), words which reflect God's firm promise not to abandon his children if they do not abandon him" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 213). "A man should be tied to hope in the same way as the anchor is tied to the ship. But there is a difference between the anchor and hope: the anchor reaches down to get its hold, whereas hope reaches upwards, laying hold of God" ("Commentary on Heb., ad loc.").

20. The sacrifice, resurrection and glorification of Christ are the grounds of our hope. In the Old Testament, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement; this he did after offering one sacrifice in expiation of his own sins and another for the sins of the entire people. By his sacrifice on the cross, Christ entered into the true sanctuary of heaven and gave all men access to it. The reason for our firm hope is the fact that Christ has entered heaven. "It was not into the Holy of Holies (where Moses entered) but behind the curtain, into heaven, that he, Christ Jesus, went as our forerunner and was made a priest forever. He went not like Aaron, to offer the sacrificial victims, but to offer prayer for all the nations, like Melchizedek" (St Ephraem, "Com. in Epist. ad Haebreos", 6).

The description here of Christ as a "forerunner" has great depth and beauty. This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament, although Christian tradition soon came to use it, on the basis of the prophecy of Malachi (Mal 3:1), to describe St John the Baptist, the envoy sent in advance of Jesus to prepare his way (cf. Mk 1:2; Lk 1:76). Here the perspective is slightly different: it has to do not with preparing for the proclamation of the Gospel but with attaining final beatitude. Christ has gone before us into heaven to prepare a place for us (cf. Jn 14:2): he is our hope (cf. Col 1:27; 1 Tim 1:1), our life (cf. Col 3:4), our way (cf. Jn 14:6), whereby we have access to the Father (cf. Eph 2:18-2:7). Christ is a "forerunner"

in the literal sense of the word--one who "runs ahead", who went on ahead of the party to announce its arrival; or it can be understood in the sense of the first one to reach the finish, the first to finish the race. For our Lord is the first-born among the dead, the first in everything (cf. Col 1:18) the first fruits of those who will arise (cf. 1 Cor 15:20). By his merits he has already obtained the prize that we hope to win. Christian hope cannot falter, for it is based on the perennial value of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ. Thus, the last words of this chapter remind us of the main theme of the epistle.

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From: Mark 2:23-28

The Law of the Sabbath
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[23] One Sabbath He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way His disciples began to pluck ears of grain. [24] And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" [25] And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and hungry, he and those who were with him: [26] how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" [27] And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; [28] so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

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Commentary:

24. Cf. note on Matthew 12:2. [Note on Matthew 12:2 states: "The Sabbath": this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this Divine precept: by Jesus' time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harvesting, and crushing them was the same as milling--types of agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath.]

26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests.

Abiathar's action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.

This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing) should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human person over and above economic and social development: "The social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it must be founded on truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 26).

Finally in this passage Christ teaches God's purpose in instituting the Sabbath: God established it for man's good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law, had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.

By proclaiming Himself 'Lord of the Sabbath', Jesus affirms His divinity and His universal authority. Because He is Lord He has the power to establish other laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.

28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man's rest but also to give glory to God: that is the correct meaning of the expression "the Sabbath was made for man." Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of rendering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday--the Lord's Day--in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

"Son of Man": the origin of the messianic meaning of this expression is to be found particularly in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vision, contemplates 'one like the Son of Man' coming down on the clouds of Heaven, who even goes right up to God's throne and is given dominion and glory and royal power over all peoples and nations. This expression appears 69 times in the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah--such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.--thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. "Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Mark", p. 62 above).

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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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