CCC Cross Reference:
Gn 17:1-2 2571
Mt 8:2 448; Mt 8:4 586
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Reading 1
Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him
and said: "I am God the Almighty.
Walk in my presence and be blameless."
God also said to Abraham:
"On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you
that you must keep:
every male among you shall be circumcised."
God further said to Abraham:
"As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai;
her name shall be Sarah.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him."
Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself,
"Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?"
Then Abraham said to God,
"Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!"
God replied: "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son,
and you shall call him Isaac.
I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact,
to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.
As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him.
I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly.
He shall become the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.
But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year."
When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (4) See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Gospel
Mt 8:1-4
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
"Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
"I will do it. Be made clean."
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Genesis 17:1,9-10,15-22
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El Shaddai. Bear yourself blameless in my presence, and I will make a Covenant between myself and you. You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Now this is my Covenant which you are to maintain between myself and you, and your descendants after you: all your males must be circumcised.’
God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her and moreover give you a son by her. I will bless her and nations shall come out of her; kings of peoples shall descend from her.’ Abraham bowed to the ground, and he laughed, thinking to himself, ‘Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?’ Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, let Ishmael live in your presence!’ But God replied, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son whom you are to name Isaac. With him I will establish my Covenant, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. For Ishmael too I grant you your request: I bless him and I will make him fruitful and greatly increased in numbers. He shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But my Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear you at this time next year.’ When he had finished speaking to Abraham God went up from him.
Psalm: Psalm 127(128):1-5
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
Your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
Gospel Matthew 8:1-4
After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22
The renewal of the Covenant: Abram's name is changed
----------------------------------------------------
[1] When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
The commandment of circumcision
-------------------------------
[9]And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. [10] This is my covenant, which you shall keep. between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Sarai's name is changed and Abraham is promised a son
-----------------------------------------------------
[15] And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. [16] I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." [17] Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Shall a child be bom to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" [18] And Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!" [19] God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. [20] As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [21] But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." [22] When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
17:1-27. If previously, in chapter 15, the text stressed the way the promise was linked to God's covenant with Abraham, it now shows the duties it placed on the patriarchs and their descendants@to be holy, to acknowledge the one true God and to practise the rite of circumcision. The covenant, as we have seen, had its origin in an initiative on God's part. but it also commits man. In Abraham's case this commitment involves in accepting circumcision as a commandment from God to himself and his descendants.
17:1. "El-Shaddai" is the name the patriarchs often gave to God (cf. 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25), because the name "Yahweh" had not yet been revealed (cf. Ex 3:13-14). Following the earliest Greek version (the Septuagint) it is usually translated as "God Almighty" (which is the RSV practice), although it could also mean "God of the mountains" or "God of abundance". By recording the names the patriarchs used when referring to God or invoking him, the Bible is, on the one hand, identifying the God the patriarchs worshipped with Yahweh, the God of the Sinai Covenant; and on the other hand, it is showing the way God reveals himself gradually over the course of time.
God asks Abraham to live in his pres- ence and to be perfect. The two things are closely connected: "This is the only way to avoid falling," Clement of Alexandria points out; "being conscious that God is always at our side" (Paedagogus, 3, 33, 3). This is the first time in the Bible that God tells a human being to be perfect, "blameless". This call, here addressed to Abraham, will be extended by Jesus to all mankind (cf. Mt 5:48).
17:10-14. Circumcision, which consists in a circular cutting of part of the fore- skin, may originally have been a sexual and marriage initiation rite of a type widespread in the ancient Near East. Reasons of hygiene may have played a part in its use. The people of Israel regarded it as a divine commandment involved in the Covenant, and as a distin- guishing mark to show membership of ttie people of God. It is easy to see why Christian tradition regards circumcision as prefiguring Baptism. "Jesus' circumcision. on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21), is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law (cf. Gal 4:4) and his deputation to Israel's worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that 'circumcision of Christ' which is Baptism (Col 2:11-13)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 527). In the new economy of salvation that sign would no longer serve any purpose: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Gal 5:6).
17:15-22. The carrying into effect of dod's plan (cf. the promise in chap. 15) is going to exceed Abraham's expectations. True, he already does have a son, Ishmael, by the slave-girl Hagar according to the customs of the time, that is, in accord with human laws and recourses. But it is not through this son that God is going to keep his promise, but through a son to be born of Sarah, and whose birth will clearly reveal the power of God. Sarah, Abraham's wife, is also going to have a direct involvement in the way the promise is fulfilled. And so she too is going to be given a new name. to show the new personality she acquires by sharing directly in God's designs through her motherhood. This is what Abraham is now told.
Abraham's laugh (as also Sarah's in the next chapter: cf. 18:12-14) conveys the astonishment the announcement causes (it seems unbelievable); it is also connected with the name of the child who will be born-Isaac (cf. the note on 21:1-7). However, Abraham keeps on thinking in terms of the son he already has, Ishmael. He too will be the recipient of divine blessings; he will become the father of a great nation, the Ishmaelites, or Arabs. But the patriarch is now asked for a new act of faith in God-despite the fact that they are both old, to expect Sarah to give birth to a son, who will be (he protagonist in the Covenant, just like his father. God's actions, in effect, surpass man's expectations.
*********************************************************************************************
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.
Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him
and said: "I am God the Almighty.
Walk in my presence and be blameless."
God also said to Abraham:
"On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you
that you must keep:
every male among you shall be circumcised."
God further said to Abraham:
"As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai;
her name shall be Sarah.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him."
Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself,
"Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?"
Then Abraham said to God,
"Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!"
God replied: "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son,
and you shall call him Isaac.
I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact,
to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.
As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him.
I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly.
He shall become the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.
But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year."
When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (4) See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Gospel
Mt 8:1-4
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
"Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
"I will do it. Be made clean."
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Genesis 17:1,9-10,15-22
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El Shaddai. Bear yourself blameless in my presence, and I will make a Covenant between myself and you. You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Now this is my Covenant which you are to maintain between myself and you, and your descendants after you: all your males must be circumcised.’
God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her and moreover give you a son by her. I will bless her and nations shall come out of her; kings of peoples shall descend from her.’ Abraham bowed to the ground, and he laughed, thinking to himself, ‘Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?’ Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, let Ishmael live in your presence!’ But God replied, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son whom you are to name Isaac. With him I will establish my Covenant, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. For Ishmael too I grant you your request: I bless him and I will make him fruitful and greatly increased in numbers. He shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But my Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear you at this time next year.’ When he had finished speaking to Abraham God went up from him.
Psalm: Psalm 127(128):1-5
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
Your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.
Gospel Matthew 8:1-4
After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22
The renewal of the Covenant: Abram's name is changed
----------------------------------------------------
[1] When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.
The commandment of circumcision
-------------------------------
[9]And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. [10] This is my covenant, which you shall keep. between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Sarai's name is changed and Abraham is promised a son
-----------------------------------------------------
[15] And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. [16] I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." [17] Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Shall a child be bom to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" [18] And Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!" [19] God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. [20] As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [21] But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year." [22] When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
17:1-27. If previously, in chapter 15, the text stressed the way the promise was linked to God's covenant with Abraham, it now shows the duties it placed on the patriarchs and their descendants@to be holy, to acknowledge the one true God and to practise the rite of circumcision. The covenant, as we have seen, had its origin in an initiative on God's part. but it also commits man. In Abraham's case this commitment involves in accepting circumcision as a commandment from God to himself and his descendants.
17:1. "El-Shaddai" is the name the patriarchs often gave to God (cf. 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25), because the name "Yahweh" had not yet been revealed (cf. Ex 3:13-14). Following the earliest Greek version (the Septuagint) it is usually translated as "God Almighty" (which is the RSV practice), although it could also mean "God of the mountains" or "God of abundance". By recording the names the patriarchs used when referring to God or invoking him, the Bible is, on the one hand, identifying the God the patriarchs worshipped with Yahweh, the God of the Sinai Covenant; and on the other hand, it is showing the way God reveals himself gradually over the course of time.
God asks Abraham to live in his pres- ence and to be perfect. The two things are closely connected: "This is the only way to avoid falling," Clement of Alexandria points out; "being conscious that God is always at our side" (Paedagogus, 3, 33, 3). This is the first time in the Bible that God tells a human being to be perfect, "blameless". This call, here addressed to Abraham, will be extended by Jesus to all mankind (cf. Mt 5:48).
17:10-14. Circumcision, which consists in a circular cutting of part of the fore- skin, may originally have been a sexual and marriage initiation rite of a type widespread in the ancient Near East. Reasons of hygiene may have played a part in its use. The people of Israel regarded it as a divine commandment involved in the Covenant, and as a distin- guishing mark to show membership of ttie people of God. It is easy to see why Christian tradition regards circumcision as prefiguring Baptism. "Jesus' circumcision. on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21), is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law (cf. Gal 4:4) and his deputation to Israel's worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that 'circumcision of Christ' which is Baptism (Col 2:11-13)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 527). In the new economy of salvation that sign would no longer serve any purpose: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Gal 5:6).
17:15-22. The carrying into effect of dod's plan (cf. the promise in chap. 15) is going to exceed Abraham's expectations. True, he already does have a son, Ishmael, by the slave-girl Hagar according to the customs of the time, that is, in accord with human laws and recourses. But it is not through this son that God is going to keep his promise, but through a son to be born of Sarah, and whose birth will clearly reveal the power of God. Sarah, Abraham's wife, is also going to have a direct involvement in the way the promise is fulfilled. And so she too is going to be given a new name. to show the new personality she acquires by sharing directly in God's designs through her motherhood. This is what Abraham is now told.
Abraham's laugh (as also Sarah's in the next chapter: cf. 18:12-14) conveys the astonishment the announcement causes (it seems unbelievable); it is also connected with the name of the child who will be born-Isaac (cf. the note on 21:1-7). However, Abraham keeps on thinking in terms of the son he already has, Ishmael. He too will be the recipient of divine blessings; he will become the father of a great nation, the Ishmaelites, or Arabs. But the patriarch is now asked for a new act of faith in God-despite the fact that they are both old, to expect Sarah to give birth to a son, who will be (he protagonist in the Covenant, just like his father. God's actions, in effect, surpass man's expectations.
*********************************************************************************************
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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