CCC Cross Reference:
Rom 8:26-39 2739; Rom 8:31 2852; Rom 8:32 603, 706, 2572; Rom 8:34 1373, 2634
Lk 13:31 575; Lk 13:33 557; Lk 13:35 585
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Reading 1:
Rom 8:31b-39
Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:
For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31
R. (26b) Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Gospel:
Lk 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Romans 8:31-39
With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.
Nothing therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. As scripture promised: For your sake we are being massacred daily, and reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.
For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 108:21-22,26-27,30-31
Save me, O Lord, because of your love.
For your name’s sake act in my defense;
in the goodness of your love be my rescuer.
For I am poor and needy
and my heart is pierced within me.
Save me, O Lord, because of your love.
Help me, Lord my God;
save me because of your love.
Let them know that is your work,
That this is your doing, O Lord.
Save me, O Lord, because of your love.
Loud thanks to the Lord are on my lips.
I will praise him in the midst of the throng,
for he stands at the poor man’s side
to save him from those who condemn him.
Save me, O Lord, because of your love.
Gospel Luke 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came up. ‘Go away’ they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’ He replied, ‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.
‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say:
‘Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Thursday of the 30th Week In Ordinary Time
From: Romans 8:31b-39
Trust in God
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[31b] If God is for us, who is against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; [34] who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written, "For they sake we are being killed all day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
[37] No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Commentary:
31-39. The elect will emerge unscathed and victorious from all attacks, dangers and sufferings and will do so not through their own efforts but by virtue of the all-powerful aid of him who has loved them from all eternity and who did not hesitate to have his own Son die for their salvation. It is true that as long as we are on this earth we cannot attain salvation, but we are assured that we will attain it precisely because God will not withhold all the graces we need to obtain this happy outcome: all that is needed is that we desire to receive this divine help. Nothing that happens to us can separate us from the Lord -- not fear of death or love of life, not the bad angels or devils, not the princes or the powers of this world, nor the sufferings we undergo or which threaten us nor the worst that might befall us. "Paul himself", St John Chrysostom reminds us, "had to contend with numerous enemies. The barbarians attacked him; his custodians laid traps for him; even the faithful, sometimes in great numbers, rose against him; yet Paul always came out victorious. We should not forget that the Christian who is faithful to the laws of his God will defeat both men and Satan himself" ("Hom. on Rom.", 15).
This is the attitude which enables us to live as children of God, who fear neither life nor death: "Our Lord wants us to be in the world and to love the world but without being worldly. Our Lord wants us to remain in this world--which is now so mixed up and where the clamor of lust and disobedience and purposeless rebellion can be heard--to teach people to live with joy [...]. Don't be afraid of the paganized world: our Lord has in fact chosen us to be leaven, salt and light in this world. Don't be worried. The world won't harm you unless you want it to. No enemy of our soul can do anything if we don't consent. And we won't consent, with the grace of God and the protection of our Mother in heaven" (S. Bernal, "Monsignor Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer", p. 213).
31. This exclamation of the Apostle vividly reveals the full extent of the love of God the Father, who not only listens to our prayers but anticipates our needs. God is with us, he is always by our side. This is a cry expressing confidence and optimism, despite our personal wretchedness; it is firmly based on our sense of divine sonship. "Clothed in grace, we can cross mountains (cf. Ps 103: 10), and climb the hill of our Christian duty, without halting on the way. If we use these resources with a firm purpose and beg our Lord to grant us an ever increasing hope, we shall possess the infectious joy of those who know they are children of God: 'If God is for us, who is against us?' (Rom 8:31) Let us be optimists. Moved by the power of hope, we shall fight to wipe away the trail of filth and slime left by the sowers of hatred. We shall find a new joyful perspective to the world, seeing that it has sprung forth beautiful and fair from the hands of God. We shall give it back to him with that same beauty" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 219).
38-39. "Angels", "principalities": names of different angelic hierarchies (cf. Eph 1:21; 3:10); also a possible reference to fallen angels, demons (cf. 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 6:12). "Powers" can mean the same as "angels" and "principalities".
"Height" and "depth" may refer to cosmic forces which, in the culture of that time, were thought to have some influence over the lives of men.
By listing these powerful superior forces (real or imaginary) St Paul is making the point that nothing and nobody, no created thing, is stronger than God's love for us.
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From: Luke 13:31-35
Jesus' Reply to Herod
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[31] At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him (Jesus), "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." [32] And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. [33] Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.'
Jerusalem Admonished
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[34] "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brook under her wings, and you would not! [35] Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
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Commentary:
31-33. This episode apparently took place in the Perea region which, like Galilee, was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (cf. Lk 3:1), a son of Herod the Great (cf. note on Mt 2:1). On other occasions St. Luke mentions that Herod was keen to meet Jesus and see him perform a miracle (cf. Lk 9:9; 23:8). These Pharisees may be giving Jesus the warning just to get him to go away. Jesus calls Herod--and indirectly his accomplices--a "fox", once again showing his rejection of duplicity and hypocrisy.
Jesus' answer shows them he is completely in command of his life and death: he is the Son of God and his Father's will is his only governor (cf. Jn 10:18).
34. Jesus here shows the infinite extent of his love. St Augustine explores the meaning of this touching simile: "You see, brethren, how a hen becomes weak with her chickens. No other bird, when it is a mother, shows its maternity so
clearly. We see all kinds of sparrows building their nests before our eyes; we see swallows, storks, doves, every day building their nests; but we do not know them to be parents, except when we see them on their nests. But the hen is so enfeebled over her brood that even if the chickens are not following her, even if you do not see the young ones, you still know her at once to be a mother. With her wings drooping, her feathers ruffled, her note hoarse, in all her limbs she becomes so sunken and abject, that, as I have said, even though you cannot see her young, you can see she is a mother. That is the way Jesus feels" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 15, 7).
35. Jesus shows the deep sorrow he feels over Jerusalem's resistance to the love God had so often shown it. Later St Luke will record Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem (cf. Lk 19:41). See also the note on Mt 23:37-39.
[The note on Mt 23:37-39 states:
Jesus' moving remarks seem almost to sum up the entire history of salvation and are a testimony to his divinity. Who if not God was the source of all these acts of mercy which marks the stages of the history of Israel? The image of being protected by wings, which occurs often in the Old Testament, refers to God's love and protection of his people. It is to be found in the prophets, in the canticles of Moses (cf. Deut 32:11), and in many psalms (cf. 17:8; 36:8; 57:2; 61:5; 63:8). "And you would not": the Kingdom of God has been preached to them unremittingly for centuries by the prophets; in these last few years by Jesus himself, the Word of God made man. But the "Holy City" has resisted all the unique graces offered it. Jerusalem should serve as a warning to every Christian: the freedom God has given us by creating us in his image and likeness means that we have this terrible capacity to reject him. A Christian's life is a continuous series of conversions--repeated instances of repentance, of turning to God, who, loving Father that he is, is every ready to forgive.]
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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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