Readings for Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
This reading from the Book of Leviticus comes from the section identified as “Code of Legal Holiness.” The prescriptions of celebrations mentioned recall the various saving works of God either generally through His act of creation and the gift of life or actively through intervention on behalf of the faithful.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
Psalm 81 is a song of thanksgiving. These strophes support the gift of the Law and its prescriptions, recalling also the salvation brought about by God.
Gospel Mt 13:54-58
This story from Matthew’s Gospel focuses on the people most familiar with Jesus the boy growing up among them. They are seeking the “Royal Messiah”, one coming with great power and majesty and are disappointed because of the Lord’s familiar and humble beginnings. Matthew’s story tells us that because of their lack of faith, the Lord did not perform any signs in their midst, ending the passage with the often quoted “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house."
Reflection:
We have heard the lesson from today’s Gospel many times before in scripture. Perhaps the time it was most clearly stated was when Elijah was told to look for God as he stood on the mountain (1 Kings 19: 9-12). God does not come in the way or form we expect.
One of the most surprising things we learn from, not only this Gospel story, but the lesson behind it, is that when we fully expect God to manifest his presence in a certain way we completely miss Him as he presents himself genuinely. In this respect, the Gospel story is a perfect example. Jesus comes to his home town. He has just finished the Sermon on the Mount and has fed the multitudes. If ever there were finger prints of God left stunningly on the face of the earth, what the Lord did in the multiplication of the loaves was clearly that evidence. Yet, the people of Nazareth don’t see the Messiah who has come to save the world. They are expecting a person of great power to raise an army and throw off the yoke of the Roman occupiers and re-establish a Davidic Kingdom.
To us it seems amazing that they could not recognize Christ for who he was. But we do the same thing. We miss God’s involvement in our lives. We are so intent on Him working some miracle and helping win the Lottery or transform a bad situation into one we can easily deal with, that we miss his subtle hand gently pushing here and prodding there. It is not until much later, usually as we meditate upon our lives that we can clearly see His purpose or involvement.
It is like the metal worker who, in order to make some useful tool, must first destroy the impurities by melting it, taking away its natural form in the smelting furnace, so that it can be molded into its final useful form. Its like the potter who first must pound the clay to remove any air pockets that might later create unwanted flaws in the vase to be created. Taken apart from the final act of creation, such actions cannot be understood as part of the creative process.
This is where our faith must carry us. Unlike the neighbors of Jesus, we must be faith filled and patient so the Lord might work his signs through us.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture is Christ Preaching by Rembrant Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1643-49
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
This reading from the Book of Leviticus comes from the section identified as “Code of Legal Holiness.” The prescriptions of celebrations mentioned recall the various saving works of God either generally through His act of creation and the gift of life or actively through intervention on behalf of the faithful.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
Psalm 81 is a song of thanksgiving. These strophes support the gift of the Law and its prescriptions, recalling also the salvation brought about by God.
Gospel Mt 13:54-58
This story from Matthew’s Gospel focuses on the people most familiar with Jesus the boy growing up among them. They are seeking the “Royal Messiah”, one coming with great power and majesty and are disappointed because of the Lord’s familiar and humble beginnings. Matthew’s story tells us that because of their lack of faith, the Lord did not perform any signs in their midst, ending the passage with the often quoted “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house."
Reflection:
We have heard the lesson from today’s Gospel many times before in scripture. Perhaps the time it was most clearly stated was when Elijah was told to look for God as he stood on the mountain (1 Kings 19: 9-12). God does not come in the way or form we expect.
One of the most surprising things we learn from, not only this Gospel story, but the lesson behind it, is that when we fully expect God to manifest his presence in a certain way we completely miss Him as he presents himself genuinely. In this respect, the Gospel story is a perfect example. Jesus comes to his home town. He has just finished the Sermon on the Mount and has fed the multitudes. If ever there were finger prints of God left stunningly on the face of the earth, what the Lord did in the multiplication of the loaves was clearly that evidence. Yet, the people of Nazareth don’t see the Messiah who has come to save the world. They are expecting a person of great power to raise an army and throw off the yoke of the Roman occupiers and re-establish a Davidic Kingdom.
To us it seems amazing that they could not recognize Christ for who he was. But we do the same thing. We miss God’s involvement in our lives. We are so intent on Him working some miracle and helping win the Lottery or transform a bad situation into one we can easily deal with, that we miss his subtle hand gently pushing here and prodding there. It is not until much later, usually as we meditate upon our lives that we can clearly see His purpose or involvement.
It is like the metal worker who, in order to make some useful tool, must first destroy the impurities by melting it, taking away its natural form in the smelting furnace, so that it can be molded into its final useful form. Its like the potter who first must pound the clay to remove any air pockets that might later create unwanted flaws in the vase to be created. Taken apart from the final act of creation, such actions cannot be understood as part of the creative process.
This is where our faith must carry us. Unlike the neighbors of Jesus, we must be faith filled and patient so the Lord might work his signs through us.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture is Christ Preaching by Rembrant Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1643-49
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