CCC Cross Reference:
2 Thes 1:11 2636
Ps 96:2 2143
Mt 23:16-22 2111; Mt 23:21 586
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Reading 1
2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters,
as is fitting, because your faith flourishes ever more,
and the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.
Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God
regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions
and the afflictions you endure.
This is evidence of the just judgment of God,
so that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God
for which you are suffering.
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
For great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the Lord made the heavens.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Gospel
Mt 23:13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 2 Thessalonians 1:1 – 12
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We feel we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers; quite rightly, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love that you have for one another never stops increasing; and among the churches of God we can take special pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions and troubles you have to bear. It all shows that God’s judgment is just, and the purpose of it is that you may be found worthy of the kingdom of God; it is for the sake of this that you are suffering now.
Knowing this, we pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by his power fulfill all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have been doing through faith; because in this way the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 95(96):1-5
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
The Lord is great and worthy of praise,
to be feared above all gods;
the gods of the heathens are naught.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Gospel Matthew 23:13 – 22
Jesus said, ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.
‘Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
From: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12
Greeting
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[1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: [2] Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
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[3] We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. [4] Therefore we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring.
[5] This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Prayer for Perseverance
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[11] To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power, [12] so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Commentary:
1-2. This heading is similar to that of the first letter. Two slight differences bear comment. The first is the adjective "our" applied to God the Father. This underlines the divine filiation of Christians. Only the second person, the Word, is the Son of God by nature; human beings are children of God by adoption, thanks to the Son's deigning to make us sharers in the divine filiation which is his in all its fullness; in theology this is expressed in the well-known proposition that we are "filii in Filio," sons in the Son. "The Son of God, his only son by nature," St Augustine says, "deigned to become Son of man, so that we who are sons of man by nature might become sons of God by grace" ("The City of God", 21,15). And St lrenaeus explains that "if the Word became flesh, and if the Son of God became Son of man, he did this so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and receiving the privilege of adoption, might become a son of God" ("Against Heresies", 2,19).
The Second Vatican Council gives the same teaching when it says that "the followers of Christ, called by God not in virtue of their works but by his design and grace, and justified in the Lord Jesus, have been made sons of God in the baptism of faith and partakers of the divine nature, and so are truly sanctified" ("Lumen Gentium", 40). The full import of what Christian life means becomes clear if one keeps in mind "this expressible and simple fact--that he is our Father and we are his children" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 144).
The second difference in the heading (as compared with the first letter) is that it specifically says that grace comes "from God the Father and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ". Peace is inseparable from grace, and has its source in God. That is why the Second Vatican Council emphasized that "peace on earth, which flows from love of one's neighbor, symbolizes and derives from the peace of Christ which proceeds from God the Father" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 78).
See the note on 1 Thess 1:1-2.
3-4. As in other letters, the Apostle expresses his deep gratitude to the Lord (cf. Phil 4:6; Col 3:15-17; 1 Tim 2:1; etc.). By doing so he is imitating Jesus himself who at the start of prayer used to praise the Father and give him thanks (cf. Mt 11:25; 15:36; 26:27 and par.; Jn 11:41; etc.). In its supreme act of worship, the Mass, the Church exclaims at the start of the Preface: "We do well always and everywhere to give you thanks." In addition to showing the nobility of our feelings, gratefulness also puts us in the way of further gifts, because the Lord is particularly well disposed to a humble and grateful heart. As St Bernard teaches, "someone who humbly recognizes himself as obliged for gifts and who is grateful for them, is bound to receive many more. For if he shows that he is faithful in little things, he has a right to be entrusted with many; whereas on the contrary, someone who does not appreciate the favors he has been given renders himself unworthy of being given additional favors" ("Sermons on Psalm 90", 4).
That is why the Christian feels the need to express his gratitude to God: "Thank you, my Jesus, for your choosing to become perfect Man, with a most loving and lovable heart; a heart which loves unto death; a heart which suffers; which is fitted with joy and sorrow; which delights in the things of men and shows us the way to heaven; which subjects itself heroically to duty and acts with mercy; which watches over the poor and the rich, which cares for sinners and the just.... Thank you, my Jesus. Give us hearts to measure up to Yours!" (St. J. Escriva, "Furrow", 813).
"Your faith is growing": faith needs to grow, it needs to be alive. It grows when it is joined to love. The Thessalonians were active in their practice of faith and love, and this meant that their morale was good despite persecution and affliction. "Observe how the love and mutual solidarity of the believers is a great help in resisting evils and bearing affliction," St John Chrysostom says. "That deep fraternity was a great source of consolation. It is only a weak faith and an imperfect charity that afflictions cause to waver; but a solid, robust faith is in fact strengthened by affliction. A weak, languid soul derives no benefit from suffering, whereas a generous soul finds in suffering a source of new energy" ("Hom. on 2 Thess, ad loc.").
5. Fidelity to God, even in a situation which is adverse and difficult; is a guarantee of future reward. Our Lord sometimes allows us to experience suffering for the sake of the Gospel; he thereby tests our love and makes us worthy of the enduring Kingdom which awaits us in the life to come. In a particularly authoritative way, Paul VI taught that "the Kingdom of God begun here below in the Church of Christ is not of this world whose form is passing, and [...] its proper growth cannot be confounded with the progress of civilization, of science or of human technology, but [...] consists in an ever more profound knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, an ever more ardent response to the Love of God, and an ever more generous bestowal of grace and holiness among men" ("Creed of the People of God", 27).
Suffering, like faith, should he accepted as a mark of God's special love: "it has been granted to you that...you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake" (Phil 1:29). Making the same point Bl. John Paul II reminds us that "in bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ" ("Salvifici Doloris", 19).
11. St. Paul takes up the thread of the prayer he began in v. 4, asking God to keep the believers true to their calling. He himself is very good example of how teachers of Christian doctrine should approach their work; he does not confine himself to expounding the truths of faith: the first step he takes is to pray for his work to be fruitful. St. Augustine observes that anyone who wants to teach the word of God "tries as far as possible to make his words understandable, pleasing and persuasive. But he should be convinced that if he is to obtain a good result it will be due more to the piety of his prayers than to his gifts of speech. And so, praying for those he is to address, he should be more a supplicant than a speaker. When the time comes for him to speak, before actually doing so he should raise his parched soul to God that he may utter only what he has himself eaten and drunk" ("Christian Instruction", 4, 15).
The Apostle asks God to make the Thessalonians "worthy of his call", that their efforts should have the support of divine grace, for no supernatural action can be planned, begun or brought to a conclusion without the grace of God (cf. Boniface II, "Per Filium Nostrum, Dz-Sch", 399). Hence the liturgical prayer: "Lord, be the beginning and end of all that we do and say. Prompt our actions with your grace, and complete them with your all-powerful help" ("Liturgy of the Hours", Morning Prayer, Monday Week 1).
12. The Greek formula here translated as "according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" could also be interpreted as "according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ"--in which case we would have here a confession of Christological faith which would be of enormous value on account of its antiquity. It would be an acknowledgment of Christ being both God ("Theos") and Lord ("Kyrios"), that is, "Iesus Christus, Dominus et Deus noster". However, the expression "our God" often appears in Pauline writings (cf., in this very chapter, vv. 2 and 11); he also frequently uses the formula "Lord Jesus Christ". This suggests that there is a distinction between "our God" and "the Lord Jesus Christ" (or even "our Lord Jesus Christ"); hence the preferred translation.
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From: Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus Indicts the Scribes and Pharisees
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(Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees,) [13] "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in. [15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of Hell as yourselves.
[16] "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' [17] You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? [18] And you say, 'If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' [19] You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [20] So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and everything on it; [21] and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it; [22] and he who swears by Heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it."
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Commentary:
13. Here comes our Lord's invective against the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees: His "woes" condemn their past conduct and threaten them with punishment if they do not repent and mend their ways.
14. As RSV points out, "other authorities add here (or after verse 12) verse 14, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation." Our Lord is not reproaching them for praying long prayers but for their hypocrisy and cupidity. By going in for a lot of external religious practices, the Pharisees wanted to be recognized as devout men and then trade on that reputation particularly with vulnerable people. Widows, for example, would ask them to say prayers; the Pharisees in turn would ask for alms. What Jesus means here is that prayer should always come from an upright heart and a generous spirit.
15. "Proselyte": a pagan convert to Judaism. The root of the word means "he who comes", he who--coming from idolatry--joins the chosen people in response to a calling from God. The Pharisees spared no effort to gain converts. Our Lord reproaches them not for this, but because they were concerned only about human success, their motivation being vainglory.
The sad thing about these proselytes was that, after receiving the light of Old Testament revelation, they remained under the influence of scribes and Pharisees, who passed on to them their own narrow outlook.
22. Our Lord's teaching about taking oaths is given in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37). Jesus does away with the nitpicking casuistry of the Pharisees by focusing directly on the uprightness of the intention of the oath-taker and by stressing the respect due to God's majesty and dignity. What Jesus wants is a pure heart, with no element of deceit.
Our Lord particularly reproves any tendency to undermine the content of an oath, as the Doctors of the Law tended to do, thereby failing to respect holy things and especially the holy name of God. He therefore draws attention to the commandment of the Law which says, 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Deuteronomy 5:11).
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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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