CCC Cross Reference:
Jas 1:25 1972; Jas 1:27 2208
Mk 8:22-25 1151, 1504; Mk 8:23 699
Back to SOW II ‘12
Back to SOW II '14
Back to SOW II '20
Back to SOW II '22
Reading 1: James 1:19-27
Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:
everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
for anger does not accomplish
the righteousness of God.
Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess
and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue
but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5
R. (1b) Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Gospel Mk 8:22-26
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
"Do you see anything?"
Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
Then he laid hands on the man's eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the village."
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First Reading: James 1:19-27
Remember this, my dear brothers: be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to rouse your temper; God’s righteousness is never served by man’s anger; so do away with all the impurities and bad habits that are still left in you – accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. To listen to the word and not obey is like looking at your own features in a mirror and then, after a quick look, going off and immediately forgetting what you looked like. But the man who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and makes that his habit – not listening and then forgetting, but actively putting it into practice – will be happy in all that he does.
Nobody must imagine that he is religious while he still goes on deceiving himself and not keeping control over his tongue; anyone who does this has the wrong idea of religion. Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 14(15):2-5
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbor,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honors those who fear the Lord.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
Gospel: Mark 8:22-26
Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man whom they begged him to touch. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, ‘Can you see anything?’ The man, who was beginning to see, replied, ‘I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.’ Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly. And Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Wednesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
From: James 1:19-27
Doers of the Word, Not Hearers Only
------------------------------------------------------
[19] Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, [20] for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. [21] Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
[22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23] For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; [24] for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. [25] But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.
[26] If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain. [27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
19-27. In the previous verse the sacred writer referred to the effectiveness of "the word of truth". Now he makes the point that although the Gospel has this effectiveness, it is not enough just to hear it: we need to listen to it with docility (verses 19-21) and put it into practice (verses 22-27). Further on he will emphasize this connection between faith and works (cf. 2:14-26).
19-20. These counsels occur frequently in the wisdom books of the Old Testament (cf., e.g., Proverbs 1:5; 10:19; Sirach 5:12-13; 20:5-8). To put doctrine into practice one needs to listen to it with a good disposition (verse 21). The letter will have more to say about prudence in speech (cf. 1:26; and especially 3:1ff).
"The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God": a Hebrew expression meaning that someone who gives way to anger is not acting justly in God's eyes.
Anger is one of the "capital" sins (one of the "seven deadly sins"), capital because they lead to many other sins; anger leads particularly to the evil desire for vengeance. Speaking of the effects of anger St. Gregory the Great explains that it clouds one's judgment when making decisions, makes it difficult to get on with others, causes discord and makes it difficult to see where the truth lies. Moreover, "it deprives one of righteousness, as it is written, 'The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God' (James 1:20) because when one's mind is not at peace, one's critical faculty is impaired and one judges to be right whatever one's anger suggests" ("Moralia", 5, 45). This sin is avoided by the practice of the virtue of patience, of which St. James spoke a few verses earlier (cf. 1:2-4; also 5:7-11).
21. "First he calls", St. Bede comments, "for the cleansing of mind and body from vice, so that those who receive the word of salvation can live in a worthy manner. A person who does not first turn his back on evil cannot do good" ("Super Iac. Expositio, ad loc".).
To listen docilely to the word of God one needs to try to keep evil inclinations at bay. Otherwise, pride--deceiving itself with all sorts of false reasons -- rebels against the word of God (which it sees as a continuous reproach for a habit of sin it is unwilling to give up).
22-25. Sacred Scripture frequently exhorts us to put the word of God into practice: "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a man who built his house upon the sand" (Matthew 7:26; cf., e.g., Ezekiel 33: 10-11; Matthew 12:50; Romans 2:13; James 2:14-26).
The comparison of the man looking into the mirror is a very good one: the word of God is frustrated unless it leads to examination of conscience and a firm resolution to mend one's ways. Those who are doers of the word will be "blessed"; our Lord says the same thing when He describes as blessed those who "hear the word of God and keep it" (Luke 11:28).
St. James' counsels in this passage are a clear call for the consistency a Christian must seek at all times. Bl. John Paul II comments: "These are very serious, very severe statements; a Christian should always be genuine, should never be content with words alone. The mission he has received is a delicate one: he should be leaven in society, light of the world, salt of the earth. As time goes by, the Christian becomes more and more aware of his commitment, and the difficulties it entails: he discovers he has to swim against the tide, he has to bear witness to truths which are absolute, yet invisible; he has to lose his earthly life in order to gain eternity; he needs to feel responsible not just for himself but also for his neighbor -- for whom he should light the way, and edify and save. However, he realizes that he is not alone in all this [...]. The Christian knows that not only did Jesus Christ, the Word of God, become man to reveal saving truth and redeem mankind; He has also chosen to stay with us on earth, mysteriously renewing the sacrifice of the Cross by means of the Eucharist and becoming spiritual food for the soul and accompanying it on its journey through life" ("Homily", 1 September 1979).
25. "The perfect law, the law of freedom": that is, the good news brought by Christ, who has made us children of God (cf. John 1:12; 1 John 3:1ff) and set us free from every kind of servitude, both that of the Old Law (cf., e.g., Galatians 2:4 and 4:21ff...) and subjection to the devil, to sin and to death.
It can also be regarded as a law of freedom because when man obeys it he is expressing his freedom to the fullest degree (cf. John 8:31ff), and he is happy in this life and will be blessed in the next (cf., e.g., Psalm 1:1ff; 119:1ff). Thus, when a person sins and turns his back on this law, he becomes not a free man but a slave: "Such a person may show that he has acted according to his preferences," St. Escriva explains, "but he does not speak with the voice of true freedom, because he has become a slave of his decision and he has decided for the worst, for the absence of God, where there is no freedom to be found.
"I tell you once again: I accept no slavery other than that of God's love. This is because, as I have told you on other occasions, religion is the greatest rebellion of men, who refuse to live like animals, who are dissatisfied and restless until they know their Creator and are on intimate terms with Him. I want you to be rebels, free and unfettered, because I want you--it is Christ who wants us!--to be children of God. Slavery or divine sonship, this is the dilemma we face. Children of God or slaves to pride, to sensuality, to the fretful selfishness which seems to afflict so many souls" ("Friends of God", 37-38).
26-27. St. James now gives some examples of what doing "the word of truth" (verse 18), that is, the Gospel, means--controlling one's tongue, being charitable and not letting oneself be stained by the world.
The Old Testament often refers to widows and orphans as deserving of special attention (cf. Psalm 68:5; 146:9; Deuteronomy 27:19), and the first Christians made arrangements for the care of widows in the early communities (cf. Acts 6:1ff; 9:39; 1 Timothy 5:3ff). Concern for widows and orphans is included in the works of mercy ("by which the temporal or spiritual wants of our neighbor are relieved" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 943), which our Lord will take into account at the Last Judgment (cf. Matthew 25:31-46).
"World" here has the pejorative meaning of "enemy of God and of Christians" (cf. also 4:4; and other passages of Scripture, e.g., John 1:10; 7:7; 16:8-11; Ephesians 2:2; 2 Peter 2:20); one needs to be constantly on the alert to avoid contamination...
"God and the Father": this is the literal meaning of the Greek. In New Testament Greek the term "God" when preceded by the definite article normally means not the divine nature but the person of the Father. In this case by adding the words "and the Father" St. James does not mean another, distinct Divine Person: he is simply making explicit the meaning of the term "the God". It could also be translated by the paraphrase "before Him who is God and Father".
*********************************************************************************************
From: Mark 8:22-26
The Curing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida
---------------------------------------------------------
[22] And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to Him (Jesus) a blind man, and begged Him to touch him. [23] And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the village. And when He had spit on his eyes and laid His hands upon him, He asked, "Do you see anything?" [24] And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." [25] Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes; and He looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly. [26] And He sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
22-25. Normally the cures which Jesus worked were instantaneous; not so in this case. Why? Because the blind man's faith was very weak, it would seem, to begin with. Before curing the eyes of his body, Jesus wanted the man's faith to grow; the more it grew and the more trusting the man became, the more sight Jesus gave him. In this way Jesus acted in keeping with His usual pattern: not working miracles unless there was a right predisposition, yet encouraging a good disposition in the person and giving more grace as he responds to the grace already given.
God's grace is essential even for desiring holy things: "Give us light, Lord. Behold, we need it more than the man who was blind from his birth, for he wished to see the light and could not, whereas nowadays, Lord, no one wishes to see it. Oh, what a hopeless ill is this! Here, my God, must be manifested by Thy power and Thy mercy" (St. Teresa, "Exclamations of the Soul to God", 8).
*********************************************************************************************
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.
