SCRAPS FROM THE CHILDREN’S TABLE - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 15:21-28 (Gospel), Is 56:1, 6-7 (First Reading) and Rm11:13-15, 29-32 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

SCRAPS FROM THE CHILDREN’S TABLE

“The housedogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps’’ (Mk 7:28)

The Gospel for this   20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 15:21-28 under the title “Daughter of the Canaanite woman healed.” Parallel text is Mk 7:24-30 that says:  He left that place and set out for the territory of Tyre.^g There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognized (v. 24). A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet (v. 25). Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter (v. 26). And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the housedogs’ (v. 27). But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir’ she replied ‘but the housedogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps’ (v. 28). And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy; the devil has gone out of your daughter’ (v. 29). So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone (v. 30). Footnote ^g  says “Add. ‘and Sidon’, cf. Mt15:21.”

Verses 21 and 22 say: Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district^g and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My  daughter is tormented by the devil.’ Footnote  ^g says “Since the woman has left pagan territory it is in Israel that Jesus grants his favor.”

Parallel texts of verse 22 are:

1.       Mt 9:27 - As Jesus went on his way two blind men followed him shouting, ‘Take pity on us, Son of David’.^m Footnote ^m says  “Messianic title, 2 S. 7:1+; cf. Lk. 1:32; Ac 2:30; Rm. 1:3. It was familiar as such to the Jews, Mk. 12:35; Jn. 7:42, and Matthew in particular emphasizes its application to Jesus (1:1; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30p; 29:9, 15) who was slow to welcome the title because it involved a purely human notion of the Messiah, Mt. 22:41-46; cf. Mk. 1:34+. He preferred the more obscure title ‘Son of Man’, 8:20.”

2.       Mt 8:28 - When he reached the country of the Gadarenesⁱ on the other side, two demoniacs came towards him out of the tombs-creatures so fierce that no one…Footnote ⁱ says “The district got its name from the town of Gadara to the SE of the Lake. The Var. ‘Gerasenes’ (Mk, Lk and Vulg. Mt) derives from the name of another town (Gerasa or possibly Chorsia); the variant ‘Gergasenes’ is the result of a conjecture of Origen.”

Verse 23 says: But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, “Give her what she wants”^h, they said, “because she is shouting after us. Footnote  ^h says “Not ‘send her away’ simply: the Greek verb here means ‘let her go with her request granted’ as in 18:27; 27:15.”

Parallel text of verse 23 is Lk 11:8 that says: I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it to him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.

Verse 24 to 27 say: He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel’. But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs’.ⁱ  She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even housedogs can eat the scarps that fall from their master’s table’. Footnote  ⁱ says  “Christ must first devote himself to the salvation of the Jews (‘children’ of God and of the promises) before turning to the pagans who, to the Jewish mind, were ‘dogs’. Much of the sting is taken out of the epithet here by the fact that Jesus is using a term blunted by repeated use; moreover he adopts its diminutive form (little or pet dogs).”

Parallel texts of verse 24 are:

1.       Mt 10:6 - Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.^d  Footnote ^d says “Hebraism common in the Bible: the people of Israel. As heirs to the Choice and Promise, the Jews are to be the first to receive the offer of the Messiah’s saving work; but cf. Ac 8:5; 13:5+.”

2.       Rm 15:8 - The reason Christ became the servant of circumcised Jews was not only so that God could faithfully carry out the promises made to the patriarchs…

Verse 28 says: Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith, Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.

Parallel text of verse 28 is Mt 8:10 that says: When Jesus heard this, he was astonished  and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith^b like this. Footnote   ^b  says “The faith that Jesus asks for from the outset of public life (Mk. 1:15) and throughout his subsequent career, is that act of trust and self-abandonment by which people no longer rely on their own strength and policies but commit themselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom they believe (Lk. 1:20,45; Mt. 21:25p,32). Christ asks for this faith especially when he works his miracles(8:13; 9:2p; 22p, 28-29; 15:28; Mk 5:36p;10:52p; Lk 17:19) which are not so much acts of mercy as signs attesting his mission and witnessing to the kingdom (8:3+; cf. Jn 2:11+), hence he cannot work miracles unless he finds the faith without which the miracle lose their true significance (13:58p; 12;38-39; 16:1-4). Since the faith demands the sacrifice of the whole man, mind and heart, it is not an easy act of humility to perform; many decline it, particularly in Israel (8:10p; 15:28; 27:42p; Lk 18;8), or are half-hearted (Mk 9;24; Lk 8;13). Even the disciples are slow to believe (8:26p; 14;31; 18;8; 17:20p) and are still reluctant after the resurrection (28;17; Mk 16:11-14; Lk 24;11,25,41). The most generous faith of all, of the ‘Rock’ (16:16-18), the disciples leader, was destined to the shaken by the outrage of the Passion (26:69-75p) though it was to triumph in the end (Lk 22:32). When faith is strong it works wonders (17:20p; 21:21p; Mk 16:17) and its appeal is never refused (21:22p; Mk 9:23) especially when it asks for forgiveness of sin (9:2p; Lk 7:50) and for that salvation of which it is the necessary condition (Lk 8;12; Mk 16:16, cf. Ac 3:16+).”

The First Reading is taken from Is 56:1, 6-7 under the title: “Yahweh welcomes converts from paganism”.^b Footnote ^b says  “The oracle probably dates from the period following the return from exile. The author’s perspective is not narrow: he proclaims that foreign proselytes ought to be admitted into the community, on condition that they submit to the ritual requirements of Yahwism.”

Verses 1 and 6 say: Thus says Yahweh: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest. Foreigners who have attached themselves to Yahweh to serve him and to love his name and be his servants-all who observe the Sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant -

Parallel text of Chapter 56, verse 1 are:

1.       Is 45:6…that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing.

2.       Is 46:13 - I bring my victory near, already it is close, my salvation will not be late. I will give salvation to Zion, my glory shall be for Israel.

3.       Is 51:6-8 - Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look down at the earth. The heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants die like vermin, but my salvation shall last forever and my justice have no end.^d Listen to me, you know what integrity means, people who take my laws to heart: do not fear the taints of men, nor be dismayed by their insults (v. 7). For the moth shall eat them like garment, the grub devour them like wool; but my integrity will remain forever, and my salvation for all generations (v. 8). Footnote ^d says “‘have no end’ corr. following Greek and Lat.”

4.       Ps 106:3 - Happy are we if we exercise justice and constantly practice justice!

Verse 7 says: These I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocaust and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 57:13 - When you cry, let your hateful idols^l save you! The wind will carry them all away, a breath will take them off. But whoever trusts in me shall inherit the land and own my holy mountain. Footnote ^l says “‘hateful idols’ following Targ.; ‘assembled (idols)’ Hebr.”

2.       1 K 8:41-43 - And the foreigner too, not belonging to your people Israel, if he comes from a distant country for the sake of your name (v. 41)- for men will hear your name, of your mighty hand and outstretched arm-if he comes and prays in this Temple (v. 42), hear from heaven where your home is, and grant all the foreigner asks, so that all the peoples of the  earth may come to know every heart,-you alone know the hearts of all mankind-and so they may come to revere you as long as they live in the land you gave to our fathers (v. 40).

3.       Ps 15:1- Yahweh, who has the right to enter your tent, or to live on your holy mountain?

4.       Mt 21:13p  - ‘According to scripture’ he said ‘my house will be called a house of prayer; but you are turning it into a robbers’ den.’

5.       Mk 11:17 - And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples?^a But you have turning it into a robbers’ den.’ Footnote ^a says “Of the Synoptics, only Mk. quotes, no doubt deliberately, these last four words of Isaiah’s text: they foretell the worldwide worship of the  messianic age.”

6.       Lk 19:46  - ‘According to scripture’ he said ‘my house will be called a house of prayer. But you are turning it into a robbers’ den.’

The Second Reading is taken from Rm11:13-15, 29-32.

Verses 13, 14, 15 and 29 say: Let me tell you pagans^e this: Is have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, But the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead!^f God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice. Footnote  ^e says  “I.e. converts to Christianity from paganism. Thus even as apostle of the gentiles Paul is working for the salvation of his own people (lit. his ‘flesh’).”; and Footnote ^f  says  “This sentence has been variously interpreted. The meaning seems to be that id a comparison may be drawn between the conversion of the pagans and ‘the reconciliation of the world’ (the first stage in the redemption plan), the conversion of Israel will be such a favor from God that it could be compared only with the final resurrection (the second stage). I this is true, Paul is thinking of the general resurrection at the end of time; but he does not say that this is to take place immediately after Israel’s conversion. On the other hand some translate ‘life from those who were dead’.”

Parallel text of verse 29 are:

1.       Nb 23:19 - God is no man that he should lie, no son of Adam to draw back., who feels regret. Is it his to say and not do, to speak and not fulfill?

2.       1 S 15:29  - (And yet the glory of Israel will not lie or go back on his word, for he is not a man t go back on his word.)

3.       Is 54:10…for the mountains may depart, the hills may be shaken, but my love for you will never leave you and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken, says Yahweh who takes pity on you.

Verses 30 and 31 say: Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because  of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now-and only because of the mercy shown to you-all also enjoy mercy eventually.

Parallel text of verse 31 is Rm 11:11 that says: Let me put another question then: have the Jews for ever, or have they just stumbled?^c Obviously they have not fallen forever: their fall, though, has saved the pagans^d in a way the Jews may now well emulate. Footnote   ^c says “Lit ‘have they stumbled so as to fall (without hope of rising)?’”; and Footnote ^d says “The present unbelief of the Jews is only a false step which God has permitted with a view to the conversion of the pagans, 9:22; 11:12,19,25,30, and ultimately the Jews themselves; for their own good God will make them ‘jealous’, 10:19, of the pagans.”

Verse 32 says: God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ezk 18:23 - What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man—it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks - not prefer to see to see him renounce his wickedness and live?

2.       Ga 3:22…but it is not: scripture makes no exceptions when it says that sin is master everywhere. In this way the promise can only be given through faith in Jesus Christ and can only be given to those who have this faith.^m   Footnote ^m says “Justification is a free gift: to receive this gift a person must first recognize that it is not the payment of a debt.”

3.       Rm 3:9 - Well: are we any better off?^e Not at all: as we said before Jews and Greeks are all under sin’s dominion. Footnote ^e says “Disputed translation: some prefer ‘what excuse than can we offer?’ or ‘Are we worse off, then?’”

4.       Rm 5:20 - When lawⁿ came, it was to multiply the opportunities of falling, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater…Footnote ⁿ says “‘law’ without the definite article, i.e. a state of things in which law is the governing factor.”

WALKS ON THE WATER - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 14:22-33 (Gospel), 1 K 19:9, 11-13 (First Reading) and Rm 9:1-5 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

 WALKS ON THE WATER

“He went towards them, walking on the lake” (Mt 14:25).

The Gospel for this  19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time  (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 14:22-33. The title is “Jesus walks on water.” Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 6:45-52 - Directly after this he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida,^e while he himself sent the crowd away (v. 45). After saying good-bye to them he went off into the hills to pray (v. 46). When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake, and he was alone on the land (v. 47). He could see they were worn out with rowing, for the wind was against them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by (v. 48), but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought it was a ghost and cried out (v. 49); for they had all seen him and were terrified. But he at once spoke to them, and said, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid (v. 50)’ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded (v. 51), because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed (v. 52). Footnote ^e says “Add. ‘on the other side of the boat’, cf. Mt 14:22.”

2.       Jn 6:16-21 - That evening the disciples went down to the shore of the lake and (v. 16) got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the lake. It was getting dark by now and Jesus had still not rejoined them (v. 17). The wind was strong, and the sea was getting rough (v. 18). They had rowed three of four miles when they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming towards the boat. This frightened them (v. 19), but he said, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’^c (v. 20) They were for taking him into the boat, but in no time it reached the shore at the place they were making for (v. 21). Footnote ^c  says “Or ‘Do not be afraid’.

Verse 22 and 23 say: Directly after this, he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…

Parallel texts of verse 23 are:

1.       Mk 1:35 - In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to  lonely place and prayed there.

2.       Jn 6:15 - Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king,  escaped^b back to the hills by himself.  Footnote   ^b says  “Var. ‘withdrew’.”

Verses 24 to 30 say: while the boat, by now far out on the lake,^e was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night^f he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I!’ It was Peter^g who answered, ‘Lord’ he said ‘if it is you tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord, save me!’ he cried. Footnote  ^e  says “Cf. Mk. 6:47; var. ‘some furlongs from land’, cf. Jn. 6:19.”; Footnote ^f  says “3 to 6 a.m.”; and Footnote ^g says “Matthew deliberately punctuates the narrative section of his ‘eschatological book’ with three episodes featuring Peter: this passage, 16:16-20 and 17:24-27.”

Parallel text of verse 24 is Jn 7:21 that says: Jesus answered, ‘One work I did, and you are all surprised by it.

Verses 31 and 32 say: Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ As soon as they got into the boat the wind dropped.

Parallel texts of verse 31 are:

1.       Mt 8:25-26 - So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord, we are going down!’ (v. 25). And he said to them, ‘Why are you s frightened, you men of little faith?’ And with that he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and all was calm again (v. 26).

2.       Mt 8:10 - When Jesus heard this, he was astonished  and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith^b like this. Footnote   ^b says “The faith that Jesus asks for from the outset of public life (Mk. 1:15) and throughout his subsequent career, is that act of trust and self-abandonment by which people no longer rely on their own strength and policies but commit themselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom they believe (Lk. 1:20,45; Mt. 21:25p,32). Christ asks for this faith especially when he works his miracles(8:13; 9:2p; 22p, 28-29; 15:28; Mk 5:36p;10:52p; Lk 17:19) which are not so much acts of mercy as signs attesting his mission and witnessing to the kingdom (8:3+; cf. Jn 2:11+), hence he cannot work miracles unless he finds the faith without which the miracle lose their true significance (13:58p; 12;38-39; 16:1-4). Since the faith demands the sacrifice of the whole man, mind and heart, it is not an easy act of humility to perform; many decline it, particularly in Israel (8:10p; 15:28; 27:42p; Lk 18;8), or are half-hearted (Mk 9;24; Lk 8;13). Even the disciples are slow to believe (8:26p; 14;31; 18;8; 17:20p) and are still reluctant after the resurrection (28;17; Mk 16:11-14; Lk 24;11,25,41). The most generous faith of all, of the ‘Rock’ (16:16-18), the disciples leader, was destined to the shaken by the outrage of the Passion (26:69-75p) though it was to triumph in the end (Lk 22:32). When faith is strong it works wonders (17:20p; 21:21p; Mk 16:17) and its appeal is never refused (21:22p; Mk 9:23) especially when it asks for forgiveness of sin (9:2p; Lk 7:50) and for that salvation of which it is the necessary condition (Lk 8;12; Mk 16:16, cf. Ac 3:16+).”

Verse 33 says: The men on the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God’.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 4:3… and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,^c tell these stones to turn into loaves’. Footnote ^c  says “The biblical title ‘Son of God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22, Ws. 18:13), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho. 2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk. 3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk. 23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration (17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant, and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his ‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17 and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21, etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27). These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank (22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of  man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm. 9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

2.       Mt 16:16 - Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ’ he said ‘the Son of the living God’^d Footnote    ^d says “In Mt Peter acknowledges not only that Jesus is the Messiah but also that he is the Son of God: this second title is not found in Mk and Lk. Cf. also 14:33 with Mk 6:51f. Cf Mt 4:3+.”

The First Reading is taken from  1 K 19:9, 11-13.

Verse 9 says: There he went into a cave^c and spent the night in it. Then the word of Yahweh came to him saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ Footnote  ^c says “The ‘crevice of the rock’ where Moses crouched when God appeared, Ex 33:22.”

Parallel text of verse 9 is Si 48:7 that says: …hearing reproof on Sinai, and decrees of punishment on Horeb…

Verses 11 and 12 say: Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh’. Then Yahweh himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound a gentle breeze.^e Footnote  ^e says “The storm, earthquake, and lightning, which in Ex 19 manifested God’s presence, are here only the heralds of his coming. The whisper of a light breeze signifies that God is a spirit and that he converses intimately with his prophets; it does not mean that God’s dealings are gentle and unperceived-this common interpretation is refuted by the terrible commission of vv.16-17.

Parallel texts of verse 11 are:

1.       Ex 13:22 - The pillar of cloud never  failed to go before the people during the day, nor the pillar of fire during the night.^f Footnote^f  says “In the Pentateuch we find the divine presence manifested in various ways: the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire (‘Yahwistic’ tradition); the ‘dark mist’ and the cloud (‘Elohistic’ tradition); finally coupled wioth the cloud, the ‘glory’ of Yahweh’, 24:16+, a consuming fire which moves as God moves (‘Priestly’ tradition), cf. 19:16+. Mystical theology makes much of these ideas or images.”

2.       Ex 19:16 - Now as daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the people trembled.

Verse 13 says: And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Gn 3:8 - The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in eth garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

2.       Jb 4:16 - Someone stood there-I could not see his face, but the form remained before me. Silence-and then I heard a Voice…

3.       Ex 3:6 - I am the God of your father,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God.^e Footnote ^e says “God’s majesty is such that no man can gaze on it and live.”

4.       Ex 33:20  - ‘You cannot see my face’ he said ‘for man cannot see me and live.’^I Footnote ⁱ  says “God’s sanctity is so removed from man’s unworthiness, see Lv 17:1+, that man must perish if he looks on God, cf. Ex 19:21; Lv 16:2; Nb 4:20, or even hears his voice, Ex. 20:19; Dt. 5:24-26 and 18:16. For this reason Moses, Ex. 3:6, Elijah, 1 K 19:13, and even the seraphim, Is 6:2, cover their faces in his presence. The man who remain alive after seeing God is overwhelmed with astonishment and gratitude, Gn 32:31; Dt 5:24, and with awe, Jg 6:22-23; 13:22, Is. 6:5. It is a favor God rarely concedes, Ex 24:11; he grants ‘it to Moses his ‘friend’, Ex 33:11; Nb 12:7-8; Dt 34:10, and to Elijah, 1 K 19:11f, the two who looked on the New Testament theophany, the transfiguration of Christ, Mt. 17:3p. Hence, in Christian tradition Moses and Elijah (together with Apostle Paul, 2 Co 12:1f) are the three pre-eminent mystics. In the New Testament the ‘glory’ of God, cf. 33:18 and 24:16+, is manifested in Jesus, Jn 1:14+; 11:40, who alone has gazed on the Father, Jn 1:18, 6:46; 1 Jn 4:12. Man cannot look on God’s face except in heaven, Mt 5:8; 1 Jn 3:2, 1 Co 13:12.”

The Second Reading is taken from Rm 9:1-5.

Verse1 says: What I want to say now is no pretense; I say it in union with Christ-it is the truth-my conscience in union with the Holy Spirit assures me of it too.

Parallel text is 2 Co 11:29 that says: When any man has had scruples, I have had scruples with him; when any man is made to fall, I am tortured.

Verse 2 says: What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless,

Parallel text is 2 Co 12:7 that says: In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting  too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh,^d an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! ^e Footnote  ^d  says “Perhaps a disease with severe and unforeseeable attacks; perhaps the resistance of Israel, Paul’s brothers according to the flesh’, to the Christian faith.”; and Footnote ^e says “O. ‘or I might get too proud’. Possibly also the beginning of v. 7 ‘and for fear…make me too proud’ should be read as the conclusion of v. 6. The clause is awkwardly phrased and the text critically uncertain.”

Verse 3 says: I would willingly be condemned b and be cut off from Christ if it could help me brothers of Israel, ^c my own flesh and blood.

Footnote  ^c says “Lit. anathema, a thing accursed, under a ban, cf. Jos 6:17+ and Lv 27:28+.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ex 32:32 - And yet, if it pleased you to forgive this sin of theirs…! But if not, then blot me out from the book that you have written.

2.       Ga 1:9 - I am only repeating what we told you before: if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one you have already heard, he is to be continued. 

Verse 4 says: They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ep 2:12…do not forget, I say, that you had no Christ^g and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise,^h you were immersed in the world, without hopeⁱ and without God.^j Footnote ^g  says “I.e. ‘you had no Messiah.’”; Footnote ^h says “The successive covenants made by God with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David etc.; cf. Ex 19:1+; Lv 26:42,45; Si 44-45; Ws 18:22; 2 M 8:15; Rm 9:4.”; Footnote ⁱ  says “The pagans had many gods but not the one true God, 1 Co 8:5f.”; and Footnote ^j says “The wall separating the court of the Jews from the court of the pagans in the Temple, cf. Ac 21:28f.”

2.       1 Th 2:8 - We  felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but whole lives well.

3.       Rm 3:1-2 - Well then, is a Jew any better off?^a Is there any advantage in being circumcised? A great advantage in every way. First, the Jews are the people to whom God’s message was entrusted. What if some of them were unfaithful? Will their lack of fidelity cancel God’s fidelity? Footnote ^a says “There is one further argument in favour of the Jews: if Israel if the people chosen by God to receive the promise, then how can there be any other way to salvation? Later, ch. 9-11, Paul develops at great length the brief answer he gives here: however much humans are unfaithful to the pact, this cannot abrogate God’s promises; indeed the way humans behave only makes the promises more remarkable, a fact however which does not stop God being angry with the sinner (v. 6), or absolve his sin (v.8). The dialogue used here seems it may echo some of Paul’s debates in the synagogues.” 

Verse 5 says: They descended from the patriarchs, and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God forever blessed.^d Amen. Footnote  ^d says “Both the context and the internal development of the sentence imply that this doxology is addressed to Christ, Paul rarely gives Jesus the title ‘God’ though, cf Tt 2:13, or addresses a doxology to him, cf. Heb 13:21, but this is because he usually keeps this title to the Father, cf Rm 15:6, etc., and considers the divine persons not so much with an abstract appreciation of their nature as with a concrete appreciation of their functions in the process of salvation. Moreover, he has always in mind the  historical Christ in his concrete reality as God mad man, cf Ph 2:5+; Col 1:15+. For this reason he presents Christ as subordinated to the Father, 1 Co 3:23; 11:3, not only in the work of creation, 1 Co 8:6, but also in that of eschatological renewal, 1 Co 15:27f; cf Rm 16:27, etc. Nevertheless, the title “lord’, Kyrios, received by Christ at his resurrection, Ph 2:9-11; cf Ep 1:20-22; Heb 1:3f, is the title given by the LXX to Yahweh in the OT., Rm 10:9,13; 1 Co 2:16. For Paul, Jesus is essentially the ‘Son of God’, Rm 1:3-4,9; 5:10; 8:29; 1 Co 1:9; 15:28; 2 Co 1:19; Ga 1:16; 2:20; 4:4,6; Ep 4:13; 1 Th 1:10; cf Heb 4:14, etc., his ‘own Son’, Rm 8:3,32, ‘the Son of his love’, Col 1:13, who belongs to the sphere of the divine  by right, the sphere from which he came, 1 Co 15:47, being sent by God, Rm 8:3; Ga 4:4. The title ‘Son of God’ became his in a new way with the resurrection, Rm 1:4+; cf. Heb 1:5; 5:5, but it was not then that he received it since he pre-existed not   only as prefigured in the OT., 1 Co 10:4, but ontologically, Ph 2:6; cf. 2 Co 8:9. He is the Wisdom, 1 Co 1:24,30, and the Image, 2 Co 4:4, by which and in which all things were created, Col 1:15-17; cf Heb 1:3; 1 Co 8:6, and have been re-created, Rm 8:29; cf. Col 3:10; 1:18-20, because into his own person is gathered the fullness of the godhead and of the universe, Col 2:9+. In him God has devised the whole plan of salvation, Ep 1:3f, and he, no less than the Father, is its accomplishment (cf. Rm 11:36; 1 Co 8:6 and Col 1:16,20). The Father raises to life and judges, so does the Son raise to life (cf. Rm 1:4; 8:11+ and Ph 3:21) and judge (cf. Rm 2:16 and 1 Co 4:5; Rm 14:10 and 2 Co 5:10). In short, he is one of the three persons enumerated in the Trinitarian formulae, 2 Co 13:13+.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Rm 1:3- This news is about the Son of God who according to the human nature he took, was a descended from David.

2.       1 Co 15:28 - And when everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected in his turn to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all

3.       2 Co 5:16 -From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh.

Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh,^e that is not how we know him now.

4.       1 P 4:11 -  If you are a speaker, speak in words which seem to come from God;^c if you are a helper,^d help as though every action was done at God’s orders; so that in everything God may receive the glory, though Jesus Christ since to him alone belong all glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Footnote  ^c says “As in impromptu spiritual prophecies and in glossolalia, cf. 1 Co. 14:2-19; Ac. 11:27 with Ac. 2:4+.”; and  Footnote ^d says “This could possibly refer to liturgical service.”

FOOD OF THE POOR - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 14:13-21 (Gospel), Is 55:1-3 (First Reading) and (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

FOOD OF THE POOR

“Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing.” (Mt 14:19)

The Gospel narrative for this  18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 14:13-21. Title for this gospel is “First miracle of the loaves.” Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 15:32-38 - Second Miracle of the loaves. But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way (v. 32).’ The disciples aid to him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a crowd? (v. 33)’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you? ‘seven’ they said ‘and a few small fish (v. 34)’. The he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground (v. 35), and he took the seven loaves and two fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and handed them to the disciples who gave them to the crowds (v. 36). They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven basket full (v. 37). Now four thousand men had eaten, to sy nothing of women and children (v. 38).

2.       Mk 6:31-44 - Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time to eat (v. 31). So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves (v. 32). But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them (v. 33). So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length (v. 34). By now it was getting very late, and his disciples came up to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place and it is getting very late (v. 35), so send them away, and they can go to the farms and villages round about, to but themselves something to eat’ (v. 36). He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves’. They answered, ‘Are we to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat? (v. 37)’ How many loaves have you? He asked ‘Go and see’. And when they had found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish’ (v. 38). Then he ordered them to get all the people together in groups on the green grass (v. 39),and they sat down on the ground in squares of hundred and fifties (v. 40). Then he took the five loaves and two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the people. He also shared out the two fish among them all (v. 41). They all ate as much as they wanted (v. 42). They collected twelve basketfuls of scraps of bread and pieces of fish (v. 43). Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men (v. 44).

3.       Lk 9:10-17- On their return the apostles gave him an account of all they had done. Then he took them with him and withdrew to a town call Bethsaida where they could be by themselves (v. 10). But the crowds got to know and they went after him. He made them welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing (v. 11). It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here’ (v. 12).He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves’. But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go out ourselves and buy food for all these people’ (v. 13). For there were about five thousand men, But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty’ (v. 14). They did so and made them all sit down (v. 15). Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd (v. 16). They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets (v. 17).

4.       Jn 6:1-13- Sometime after this, Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – (v. 1) and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick (v. 2). Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples(v. 3). It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover^a (v. 4) Looking up, Jesus saw the crowd approaching and said to Philip, “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat? (v. 5)”  He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do (v. 6). Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each’. (v. 7). One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said (v. 8),‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ (v. 9).Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down’. There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down (v. 10).Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted (v. 11).When they had eaten enough he said to his disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted’ (v. 12).So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of barley loaves (v. 13). Footnote ^a says “ The bread Jesus gives is to be the new Passover.”

Verse 13 says: When Jesus received this news he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot^c. Footnote  ^c says “On shore the crowd hurried to the place the boat was making for.”; and Footnote ^d - says “This miraculous bread, though not the Holy Eucharist, clearly prefigures and leads up to it. This is the view of the Fathers and indeed of the evangelists before them; cf. v. 19 with 26:26, and cf. Jn 6:1-15, 51-58.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 9:36 - And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.^o Footnote ^o says “Familiar biblical metaphor: Nb 27:17; 1 K 22:17; Jdt 11:19; Ezk 34:5.”

2.       Mt 15:32 - But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.

Verses 14, 15 and 16 say: So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and he healed their sick. When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so end the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves’.

Parallel text of verse 14 is  Mt 8:3 that says: Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’  And his leprosy was cured at once.^a Footnote ^a says “By his miracle Jesus his power over nature (8:23-27; 14:22-33p),  especially over sickness (8:1-4,5-13, 14-15; 9:1-8, 20-22, 27-31; 14:14,36; 15:30; 20:29-34 and p; Mk. 7:32-37; 8:22-26; Lk. 14:1-6; 17:11-19; Jn. 5:1-16; 9:1-41), over death ( Mt 9:23-26p ;Lk 7:11:19; Jn 11: 1-44), over devils (Mt 8:29+). Christ miracles are not elaborate: in this they differ from the fantastic prodigies reported of the Hellenistic world of from those attributed to the Jewish rabbis, but they are most notably different by reason of the spiritual and symbolic significance that Jesus attaches to them. They declare the judgments of the messianic age (21:18-22p) as also privileges  it brings (11:5+;14:13-21;15:32 -39p; Lk 5:4-11; Jn 2:1-11 ; 21:4-14); they are the first signs of the triumph of the spirits over Satan’s empire (8:29+) and over all the powers  of evil whether  sin passion (20:34; Mk 1:41; Lk 7:13) butt  they are directed principally to the Strengthening of faith (8:10+; Jn 2;11+). This it is only with great deliberation that Jesus works any miracles at all, demanding secrecy for any he does agree to work (Mk 1:34+), and leaving it for force decision (12:39-40). When he sent his apostles to preach the kingdom he gave his own healing power (10:1,8p) and for this reason Matthew recounts before the missionary Discourse (ch. 10) a series of ten miracles (ch. 8-9 as sign accrediting the missionary (Mk 16:17f; Ac 2:22;cf. 1-8+).“

Verses 17 and 18 say: But they answered, ‘All we have with us is five loaves and the two fish’. ‘Bring them here to me’ he said…

 Parallel text of verse  17 is 1 K 19:21that says: Elisha turned away, took the pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He used the plough for cooking the oxen, then gave it to his men, who ate. He then rose  and followed Elijah and became his servant.

Verse 19 says: He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds.^d

Footnote  ^d  says  “This miraculous bread, though not the Holy Eucharist, clearly prefigures and leads up to it. This is the view of the Fathers and indeed of the evangelists before them; cf. v. 19 with 26:26, and cf. Jn 6:1-15, 51-58.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Jn 11:41 - So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes^j and said: ‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I knew indeed that you always hear me, but  I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me.’ Footnote ^j says “Add. ‘upwards’, ‘to heaven’, ‘upwards to heaven’.”

2.       Jn 17:1 - After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you..^b Footnote ^b  says  “When Jesus asked to be ‘glorified’, it is not in his own interests, cf. 7:18; 8:50, but the glory of Son and father are not one, cf. 12:28; 13:31.”

Verses 20 and 21 say: They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children.

Parallel text of verse 20 is Mt 16:9 that says: Do you not yet understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and the number of basket you collected?

The First Reading is taken from  Is 55:1-3, under the topic: “Food of the Poor.”

Verse 1 says: Oh, come to the water all who are thirsty; though you have not money, come! Buy corn without money, and eat,^a and, at no cost, wine and milk (v. 1). (v. 2). Footnote  ^a says “Hebr. adds ‘come and buy’ absent from Greek and DSIa.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Is 12:3 And you will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

2.       Ps 36:9- Yes, with you is the fountain of  life,^f  by your light we see the light.^g Footnote ^f  says “‘life’ means prosperity, peace, happiness, cf. 133:3. The ‘fountain of life’ in Pr is wisdom, Pr 13:14; 16:22; 18:4, and the fear of God, 14:27. This passage is applied to Christ, the life and light of men, cf. Jn passim.”; and Footnote  ^g  says “The ‘light of the face’ of God, 27:1; 89:15; Jb29:3, is his benevolence, cf. 4:6+; in it man finds the ‘light’ of happiness.”

3.       Sg 5:1 - I come into my garden, my sister, my promised bride, I gather my myrrh and balsam, I eat my honey and my honeycomb, I drink my wine and my milk. Eat, friends, and drink, drink deep, my dearest friends.^a Footnote ^a says “The Israelites, invited to enjoy the happiness of the new era.”

4.       Si 51:25  - I opened my mouth and spoken: ‘Buy her without money…

5.       Mt 10:8- Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.

6.       Jn 4:1 - When Jesus^b heard that the Pharisees had found out that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John…Footnote ^b  says “Var. ‘the Lord’.”

7.       Ac 8:20 - Peter answered, ‘May your silver be lost forever, and you with it, for thinking that money could buy what God has given for nothing!^g Footnote ^g says “The Holy Spirit is supremely the gift of God, cf. 2:38; 10:45; 11:17; Lk 11:9,13; the idea recurs in the Veni Creator.”

8.       Rv 3:18 - I warn you buy from me the gold that had been tested in the fire^k to make you really rich, and white robes to cloth you and cover your shameful nakedness, and eye ointment to put on your eyes so that you are able to see^l Footnote ^k says “The true riches that are of the spirit.”; and Footnote ^l says “The clothing and the eye ointment are, of course, needed to repair the ‘blindness and nakedness’ of v. 17; but there may be a special point in this as an allusion to the local products for which Laodicea was known.

9.       Rv 21:6 - And he said, ‘It is already done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty…^f Footnote ^f says “In the OT fresh, drinking water is a symbol of life, and as such is to be a feature of the messianic age. in the NT, it is a symbol of the Spirit, cf. Jn 4:1+.”

10.   Rv  22:17 - The Spirit and the Bride^f say, ‘Come’. Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come’.^g Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free. Footnote ^f says “The Church, the wife of the Messiah, cf. 21:10.”; and Footnote ^g says “The appeal is addressed to the Messiah: it is the Marana tha refrain of the liturgical assemblies, 1 Co 16:22, expressive of the Christians’ longing for the parousia, see 1 Th 5:1+.”

Verse 2 says: Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ps 81:8 - Listen, you are my people, let me warn you. Israel, if you would only listen to me!

2.       Pr 9:3-6 - She has dispatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the city’s heights (v. 3): ‘Who is ignorant? Let him step this way.’ To the fool she says (v. 4), ‘Come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared! (v. 5). Leave your folly and you will live, walk in the ways of perception’ (v. 6).

3.       Si 24:19-22 - Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits (v. 19), for memories of me are sweeter than honey, inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb (v. 20). They who eat me will hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more (v. 21). Whoever listens to me will never have to blush, whoever acts as I dictate will never sin (v. 22).

4.       Jn 6:35 - Jesus answered: ‘I amⁱ the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.^j  Footnote   ⁱ says “The Greek phrase ego eimi recalls the name that God revealed to Moses, Ex 3:14+, cf. Jn 8:24+, but here (and frequently elsewhere) it also forms the prelude to the explanation of a parable. In this case the parable is not in words but in action: the gift of the manna and the multiplication of the loaves are explained as parables of Christ’s gift of himself, the true bread.”; and Footnote ^j says “As Wisdom invites man to her table, Pr. 9:1f, so does Jesus. Jn sees him as the Wisdom of God which, in the OT revelation, was already moving towards personification, cf. 1:1+. This perception springs from Christ’s own teaching already recorded in the Synoptics, Mt 11:19; Lk 11:31p, but given here much more clearly by Jn. Tus, Christ’s origin is mysterious, Jn 7:27-29; 8:14,19; cf. Jb 28:20-28; he alone knows the secrets of God and reveals them to man, 3:11-12,31-32; cf. Mt 11:25-27p; Ws 9:13-18; Ba 3:29-38; he is the living bread that supremely satisfies, 6:35; cf. Pr 9:1-6; Si 24:19-22, if men will only come to him, 3:20,21; 5:40; 6:35,37,44,65; 7:37; cf. Pr 9:4-5; Si 24:19; Mt 11:28; but they must seek him before it is too late, 7:34; 8:21; cf. Pr 1:28. Cf. also Is. 55:1-3. For Paul’s teaching, cf. 1 Co 1:24+.

Verse 3 says: Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live. With you I will make an everlasting covenant^b out of the favors promised to David. Footnote  ^b says “On this everlasting covenant, 59:21; 61:8, which is also the new covenant, see Jr 31:31+.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Jn 7:37 - On the last day and greatest day of the festival,^o Jesus stood there and cried out: ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to me!^p Let the man come and drink. Footnote ^o says “The day, the 7^th or perhaps the 8^th, celebrating the end of the festival.”; and Footnote ^p says “Om ‘to me’. Christ’s invitation resembles that of Divine Wisdom, cf. 6:35+.”

2.       Ps 119:175 - Long may my soul live to praise you, long be your rulings my help!

3.       2 S 23:5 - Yes, my house stands firm with God: he has made an everlasting covenant with me, all in order, well assured; does he not bring to flower all that saves me, all I desire?

4.       Ps 89:28  - ‘I will keep my love for him always, my covenant with him shall stand…

5.       2 S 7:1 - Once David had settled into his house and Yahweh had given him rest from all the enemies surrounding him…

6.       Ac 13:34 - The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to return to corruption, is no more that what he had declared: To you I shall give the sure and holy things promised to David^x Footnote ^x says “The quotation from Is introduces the reference to Ps 16 (the ‘holy things promised to –lit. ‘of’-David’ are explained as the assurance to David in Ps 16 that ‘the holy one of God’ would not experience corruption).”

7.       Rv 1:5 - and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth.ⁱ He loves us and washed away^j our sins with his blood…Footnote ^I says “The Messiah is the ‘witness’ to the promise that was made to David, 2 S 7:1+; Ps 89, Is 55:3-4; Zc 12:8, both in his person and in his work; as he fulfills this promise he is the efficacious word, God’s yes, Rv 3:14; 19:11,13; 2 Co 1:20. Not only is he heir to David, Rb 5:5, 22:16, but his resurrection he is the ‘First -born’, Col 1:18, who will reign over the universe when his enemies have been destroyed, Dn 7:14; Rv 19:16.”; and Footnote ^j says “Var. ‘released us from’. “

The Second Reading is taken from Rm 8:35, 37-39.

Verses 35, 37, 38 and 39 say: Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled, or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food and clothes, or being threatened, or even attacked. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us. For I am certain of these: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth,^s nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. Footnote ^s says “The ‘powers’, ‘heights’ or ‘depths’ are probably the mysterious cosmic forces which to the mind of antiquity were in general hostile to mankind. Cf.Ep 1:21; 3:18.”

Parallel text of verse 37 is Jn 16:33 that says: “‘I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.’”

THINGS BOTH OLD AND NEW - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 13:44-52(Gospel),1 K 3:5, 7-12 (First Reading) and Rm 8:28-30(Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

THINGS BOTH OLD AND NEW

“Every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old” (Mt 13:52)

The Gospel for this  17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 13:44-52.

First title is “Parable of the treasure and the pearl^k.”Footnote ^k  says “If a man discovers the kingdom of heaven he cannot enter unless he leaves all behind, cf. 19:21.”

Verses 44, 45, and 46 say: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.

Parallel texts of verse 44 are:

1.       Pr 2:4…if you look for it as if it were silver, and search for it as for buried treasure…

2.       Si 51:28 - Buy instruction with a large sum of silver,ⁿ thanks to her you will gain much gold. Footnote ⁿ says “Text probably corrupt”.

3.       Mt 19:21 - Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure I heaven; then come, and follow me.’

4.       Pr 4:7 - The beginning of wisdom? The acquisition of wisdom;^a at the cost of all you have, acquire perception. Footnote ^a  says “i.e. to win wisdom one must first realize that is is essential to have it and that it demands self-sacrifice.”

Second title is “Parable of the dragnet”.

Verses 47, 48 and 49 say: ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones into the basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just…

Parallel text of verse 47 is Mt 22:10that says: So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Verse 50 says: to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

Parallel text of verse 50 is Mt 8:12that says: but the subjects of the kingdom^d will be turned out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.’^e Footnote  ^c says “Basing their idea on Is 25:6, the Jews often described the joyous messianic era as a banquet (cf. 22:2-14; 26:19p; Lk 14:15; Rev 3:20; 19:9).”; Footnote^d says “Lit ‘the sons of the kingdom’, that is to say the Jews, natural heirs of the promises. Their place will be taken by the pagans, who prove more worthy.”; and Footnote ^e says “Scriptural image for the dismay and frustration of the wicked as seeing the virtuous rewarded, cf. Ps 35:16; 37:12; 112:10; Jb 16:9. In Mt it is used as a description of damnation.”

Fourth title is: “Conclusion.”

Verses 51 and 52 are: Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes’. And he said to them, ‘Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old’.^l Footnote  ^lsays “The Jewish teacher who becomes a disciple of Christ has at his disposal all the wealth of the Old as well as the perfection of the New, v. 12. This picture of a ‘scribe who becomes a disciple’ sums up the whole ideal of Matthew the evangelist and may well be a self-portrait.”

Parallel text of verse 51 is Mk 4:13 that says: Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?^c Footnote ^csays “The apostles’ incomprehension of Christ’s works and words is a favorite theme of Mk. 6:52; 7:18; 8:17-18,21,33; 9:10,32; 10:38. With the exception of certain parallel places (Mt. 15;16; 16:9,23; 20:22; Lk 9:45) and of Lk 18:34; 24:25,45. Mt and Lk often pass such remarks over in silence, or even emend them; compare Mt 14:33 with Mk 6:51-52, and see Mt 13:51, Cf. Jn 14:26+.”

The First Reading is taken from  1 K 3:5, 7-12.

Verses 5 and 7 say: At Gibeon Yahweh appeared in a dream^b to Solomon during the night. Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership. Footnote  ^bsays “Before the prophetic period, dreams were one of God’s main channels of communication with man, cf. Gn 20:3;28; 31:11,24; Nb 12:6.

Parallel text of verse 5 are:

1.       1 K 9:2 - Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

2.       Ws 7:7 - So I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

3.       Ws 9:12…and in your wisdom have fitted man to rule the creatures that have come from you…

Verse 8 says: Your servant finds himself in the midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many its number cannot be counted or reckoned.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ws 8:10 - Through her, I thought, I shall be acclaimed where people gather and honored, while still a youth, among the elders.

2.       Jm 1:5 - If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely^d and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. Footnote^d says “Lit. ‘uncompoundedly’ i.e. simply, or unreservedly.”

3.       1 K 4:20 - Judah and Israel were like the sand by the sea for number; they ate and drank and lived happily.

Verses 9 and 10 say: Give your servant a heart to understand^c how to discern between good and evil for who could govern this people of yours that is so great? It pleased Yahweh that Solomon should have asked for this. Footnote ^c says “The text adds ‘to govern your people’. Solomon prays for wisdom in practical affairs, not in his own interest but in those of the nation. Cf 5:13+ and Ex 31:3+.”

Parallel texts of verse 9 are:

1.       Pr 2:6-9 - For Yahweh himself is giver of wisdom, from his mouth issue knowledge and discernment (v. 6). He keeps his help for honest men, he is the shield of those whose ways re honorable (v.7); he stand guard over the paths of justice, he keeps watch on the way of his devoted ones(v. 8). Then you will understand what virtue is, justice, and fair dealing, all paths that lead to happiness (v. 9).

2.       Nb 11:14…in the vanguard was the standard of the camp of Judah, in battle array. In command of Judah’s force was Nahshon son of Aminadab…

3.       Is 7:16 - For before this child knows how to refuse evil and choose good, in the land whose two kings terrify you will be deserted.

Verse 11 says: ‘Since you have asked for this’ Yahweh said ‘and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives or your enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgment for yourself,

Parallel text of verse 11 are:

1.       1 K 5:9 – Yahweh^g gave Solomon immense wisdom and understanding, and a heart as vast as the sand on the seashore. Footnote ^g says “‘Yahweh’ following versions.”

2.       Ws 7:7 - So I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

 Verse 12 says: here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before had  and none  will have after you.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Qo 1:16 - I thought to myself, ‘I have acquired a greater stock of wisdom than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. I have great experience of wisdom and learning’.

2.       Si 47:14 - How wise you were in your youth, brimming over with understanding like a river!

The Second Reading is taken from Rm 8:28-30.

Verse 28 says: We know that by turning everything to their good God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose.^p Footnote  ^p says “Var (Vulg.) We know that for those who love God everything conspires for good, for all those that he has called…’”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Gn 50:20 - The evil you planned to do me has by God’s design been turned to good, that he might bring about, as indeed he has, the deliverance of a numerous people.

2.       Jm 1:12 - Happy the man who stand firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord^g has promised to those who love him. Footnote^g says “Om. ‘the Lord’. Vulg. reads ‘God’.”

3.       Ac 13:48 - It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thank the Lord for his message; ^gg all who were destined for eternal life became believers…^hh Footnote  ^gg says “Var. ‘ the word of God’.”; and Footnote ^hh says “‘eternal life’, cf. v. 46, i.e. the life of the world to come, cf. 3:15+; only those achieve it whose names are ‘written in heaven’, Lk 10:20, in ‘the book of life’, Ph 4:3 ; Rv 20:12+. ‘Destined for the life of the world to come’ was a common rabbinic expression. In Christian teaching the first prerequisite of this predestination to glory is faith in Christ. See Jn 10:26+; Rm 8:28-30, and earlier in Ac 2:39.”

Verses 29 and 30 say: They are the ones he chose especially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son,^q so that the Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.^r Footnote ^q says “Christ, the image of God in the primordial creation, Col 1:15+; cf. Heb. 1:3, has now come, by a new creation, 2 Co 5:17+, to restore to fallen man  the splendor of that image which has been darkened by sin, Gn 1:26+, 3:22-24+; Rm 5:12+. He does this by forming man in a still more splendid image of a son of God (Rm 8:29); thus, sound moral judgment is restored to the ‘new man’, Col 3:10+, and also his claim to glory which he had sacrificed by sin, Rm 3:23+. This glory which Christ as the image of God possesses by right, 2 Co 4:4, is progressively communicated to the Christian, 2 Co 3:18, until his body is itself clothed in the image of the ‘heavenly man, 1 Co 15:49.”; and Footnote  ^r says “Everything has been directed by God to the glory of his elect: it was for this they were called to the faith and justified by baptism; with this, it can be said by anticipation, they are already clothed.”

Parallel texts for verse 29 are:

1.       Jr 1:5 - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;^e before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations. Footnote ^e says “To ‘know’ means for God, to choose and predestine, cf. Am 3:2; Rm 8:29. On man’s ‘knowledge’ of God, cf. Ho 2:22.”

2.       1 Co 15:49 - And we, who have been modeled on the earthly man, will be modeled on the heavenly man.

3.       Ph 3:21- and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.

4.       Col 1:18 - Now the church is his body, he is the head, ^fAs he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way. Footnote ^f  says  “On the church a Christ’s body, cf. 1 Co. 12:12f, he is called the ‘head’ of his own body both in a temporal sense (v. 18, i.e., he was the first to rise from the dead) and in a spiritual sense (v. 20, i.e. he is the leader of all the saved).”

Homily:

The gospel, all related to each other, talks about three things:

1.       Discovery of something precious, a teaching perhaps or an enlightenment about one’s true spiritual nature,  which, when he finds it, one is ready to give up everything in order to possess it – the message of the first Parable of the treasure and the pearl;

2.       At first, he is like the person referred to in Parable of the dragnet, who cast out his net to catch all sorts of haul but sits down to sort it and keeps the good ones after throwing away all things that are useless;

3.       The topic selected for this discussion, keeping in his storehouse things both old and new.

A student of the word who is a candidate should keep all three messages of this gospel.

In the sense of the pastoral (= a system of caring for the flock of animals) of evangelization, ‘to take out from the storehouse things both old and new” is explained very well by the footnote for the theme we have chosen for this piece of homily, which says: “Every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old” (Mt 13:52). The footnote ^l  says “The Jewish teacher who becomes a disciple of Christ has at his disposal all the wealth of the Old as well as the perfection of the New, v. 12. This picture of a ‘scribe who becomes a disciple’ sums up the whole ideal of Matthew the evangelist and may well be a self-portrait.”

Likewise for a wise Christian, this gospel theme means that he cannot throw away the Old Testament in preference for the New Testament; and vice versa, i.e. to throw away the new for the old. A wise person knows how to combine the old wisdom with the new learnings and discoveries in search for the truth. He must take into consideration and weigh everything, and be circumspect and not be selective or get stuck with one, or two, opinion or idea only.