CCC Cross Reference:
Zec 2:14 722
Jer 31 1611
Lk 9:45 554
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Reading 1:
Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a
I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:
there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length.”
Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,
and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,
“Run, tell this to that young man:
People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,
because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.”
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.
Responsorial Psalm:
Jer 31:10, 11-12ab, 13
R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel:
Lk 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Zechariah 2:5-9,14-15
Raising my eyes, I saw a vision. It was this: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked him, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to find out her breadth and her length.’ And then, while the angel who was talking to me stood still, another angel came forward to meet him. He said to him, ‘Run, and tell that young man this, “Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle there will be in her. But I – it is the Lord who speaks – I will be a wall of fire for her all round her, and I will be her glory in the midst of her.”’
Sing, rejoice,
daughter of Zion;
for I am coming
to dwell in the middle of you
– it is the Lord who speaks.
Many nations will join the Lord,
on that day;
they will become his people.
Responsorial Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10-12,13
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,
they will throng stream to the blessings of the Lord.
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them, give them gladness for grief.
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel Luke 9:43-45
At a time when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.’ But they did not understand him when he said this; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had just said.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Zechariah 2:1-5, 10-11a (RSVCE; NAB = 2:5-9, 14-15a)
Third vision: the measurer
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[1] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! [2] Then I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length." [3] And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him, [4] and said to him, "Run, say to that young man, 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle in it. [5] For I will be to her a wall of fire round about, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within her.'"
[10] Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. [11a] And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you.
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Commentary:
2:1-13. What the prophet now sees and hears concerns the city of Jerusalem. It is going to be remodeled as an open city, without walls; its defense will be provided by God himself and therefore more people will be able to live there. The man with the measuring line is an angel, as are the other two figures mentioned. The idea of measuring the city in order to rebuild it is also found in Ezekiel 40-42 and Jeremiah 31:38-40 and, later, Revelation 11:1.
The vision is followed by an oracle (vv. 6-10) in which the Lord speaks through the angel. He invites the Jews to leave Babylon and return to the holy land. This is a call that is also found in Isaiah and Jeremiah (cf. Is 48:20; Jer 50:8; 51:6). It could be that some were reluctant to move. God promises that in Judah they will be safe from other nations because they are his beloved people, the “apple of his eye” (v. 8), and his angel will defend them. Moreover, he will settle there, and many nations will become his people (vv. 10-11).
Presence of the Lord, security against enemies and a way for the nations to become people of God -- these are the features that Judah and Jerusalem will have following the return from exile. In this sense, they prefigure the Church. Commenting on v. 4, St Jerome points out: “Reading in a spiritual sense, all of these things are to he found in the Church, which is "without walls", or, as the Septuagint puts it, "katakarpos"; that is, filled with an abundance of fruit and a great multitude of men and asses [...]. The men and the asses [cattle, animals] stand for the two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles; those who came to faith in Christ through the fulfillment of the Law are called men; we, however, who were idolatrous and lived as though in a wilderness, being far from the Law, and alone, because of our distance from the prophets who suffered, are the asses [...j. But these animals hear the voice of the good shepherd, and know him, and they follow him” ("Commentarii in Zachariam", 2, 4).
2:10. This call for rejoicing, similar to that made by the prophet Zephaniah (cf. Zeph 3:14) and one made later (9:9), is repeated in the angel Gabriel’s greeting to the Blessed Virgin when he tells her that she is to conceive the Messiah (cf. Lk 1:28). That event will truly bring about what is said here, for Mary is “the mother of him in whom ‘the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily’ (Col 2:9)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 722). Bl. John Paul II sees Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, prefigured in the title “daughter of Zion” found here: “Her presence in the midst of Israel -- a presence so discreet as to pass almost unnoticed by the eyes of her contemporaries -- shone very clearly before the Eternal One, who had associated this hidden ‘daughter of Sion’ (cf. Zeph 3:14: Zeph 2:10) with the plan of salvation embracing the whole history of humanity” ("Redemptoris Mater, 3).
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From: Luke 9:43b-45
Second Prophecy of the Passion
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[43b] But while they were all marvelling at everything He (Jesus) did, He said to His disciples, [44] "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men." [45] But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
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Commentary:
44. Christ predicts His passion and death a number of times. Initially He does so in veiled terms (John 2:19; Luke 5:35) to the crowd; and later, much more explicitly, to His disciples (Luke 9:22), though they fail to understand His words, not because what He says is not clear, but because they do not have the right dispositions. St. John Chrysostom comments: "Let no one be scandalized by this imperfection in the Apostles; for the Cross had not yet been reached nor the grace of the Spirit given" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 65).
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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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