Readings for Saturday of the Second Week of Advent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 (Ecclesiasticus)
The final 9 chapters of Sirach are devoted to praise of the glory of God. The first of these chapters is devoted to God in nature, the final chapters to great prophets and leaders of Israel. In the reading today we hear of the Prophet Elijah who came with a fiery message. Reference is made to Elijah’s passing (2 Kings 2:1ff). The image of Elijah is the precursor to St. John the Baptist during Advent and echo’s his prophetic work.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16, 18-19
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
The call to the “Shepherd of Israel” is David’s plea for God to hear. This same “Good Shepherd” image is later applied to God’s Son. While this psalm is a lament or plea for God’s help in time of distress for King David’s armies, we see in the language an indication of the Messiah to come “May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.”
Gospel Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
The Gospel passage today is the epilogue to the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). The disciples ask Jesus “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" To which the Lord replies “…but I tell you Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.” Here the Lord is referring to St. John the Baptist who came, fulfilling the mission of Elijah. Jesus then, titling himself as “Son of Man” indicating his human nature, would also not be recognized as the Messiah and suffer at their hands as well.
Reflection
The message for us in scripture today carries the weight of ancient prophecy behind it. Jesus, son of Sirach recalls the prophetic mission of Elijah. It is a mission thought by the Sadducees of Jesus, the Son of God’s time to be competed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. When his disciples asked Christ if the Sadducees were correct, he told them, yes, Elijah must come again before the Messiah will complete his mission. But he has come, and they did not recognize him. Here he referred to John the Baptist, described in scripture as the very image of Elijah. Also like Elijah, the Baptist was vociferous in dealing with those who violated the tenets of the faith. They (the Sadducees) did not make the connection.
Now the disciples see. They also know the fate of John the Baptist, executed, beheaded, by King Herrod in a fit of drunken lust. There would be no chariot of fire for the herald of the Son of God, just as there would be no exalted end for Christ himself. The fireworks are reserved for his return in glory. The Lord alludes to this as well as he tells his friends; “So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
What message are we given beyond a powerful reminder of how God’s plan from before time was to send His Son so that we might have salvation through him? Clearly one message is expressed by the cliché “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But perhaps that is too passive. A better understanding would be that we, the modern day disciples of the Lord, need to be looking carefully for God’s presence in our lives. We cannot afford to miss the signs that God sends for us. The big message is this, that we must use a spiritual power of perception to view the world about us. We must see it with awe and wonder as God’s salvation is at once part of what he created for us.
As our Pontiff says in Spe Salvi, “Faith draws the future into the present, so that it is no longer simply a “not yet”. The fact that this future exists changes the present; the present is touched by the future reality, and thus the things of the future spill over into those of the present and those of the present into those of the future.”(7.)
Our faith, shaped by the past, sees the present, and its future hope redeems us now.
Pax
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 (Ecclesiasticus)
The final 9 chapters of Sirach are devoted to praise of the glory of God. The first of these chapters is devoted to God in nature, the final chapters to great prophets and leaders of Israel. In the reading today we hear of the Prophet Elijah who came with a fiery message. Reference is made to Elijah’s passing (2 Kings 2:1ff). The image of Elijah is the precursor to St. John the Baptist during Advent and echo’s his prophetic work.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16, 18-19
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
The call to the “Shepherd of Israel” is David’s plea for God to hear. This same “Good Shepherd” image is later applied to God’s Son. While this psalm is a lament or plea for God’s help in time of distress for King David’s armies, we see in the language an indication of the Messiah to come “May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.”
Gospel Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
The Gospel passage today is the epilogue to the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). The disciples ask Jesus “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" To which the Lord replies “…but I tell you Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.” Here the Lord is referring to St. John the Baptist who came, fulfilling the mission of Elijah. Jesus then, titling himself as “Son of Man” indicating his human nature, would also not be recognized as the Messiah and suffer at their hands as well.
Reflection
The message for us in scripture today carries the weight of ancient prophecy behind it. Jesus, son of Sirach recalls the prophetic mission of Elijah. It is a mission thought by the Sadducees of Jesus, the Son of God’s time to be competed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. When his disciples asked Christ if the Sadducees were correct, he told them, yes, Elijah must come again before the Messiah will complete his mission. But he has come, and they did not recognize him. Here he referred to John the Baptist, described in scripture as the very image of Elijah. Also like Elijah, the Baptist was vociferous in dealing with those who violated the tenets of the faith. They (the Sadducees) did not make the connection.
Now the disciples see. They also know the fate of John the Baptist, executed, beheaded, by King Herrod in a fit of drunken lust. There would be no chariot of fire for the herald of the Son of God, just as there would be no exalted end for Christ himself. The fireworks are reserved for his return in glory. The Lord alludes to this as well as he tells his friends; “So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
What message are we given beyond a powerful reminder of how God’s plan from before time was to send His Son so that we might have salvation through him? Clearly one message is expressed by the cliché “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But perhaps that is too passive. A better understanding would be that we, the modern day disciples of the Lord, need to be looking carefully for God’s presence in our lives. We cannot afford to miss the signs that God sends for us. The big message is this, that we must use a spiritual power of perception to view the world about us. We must see it with awe and wonder as God’s salvation is at once part of what he created for us.
As our Pontiff says in Spe Salvi, “Faith draws the future into the present, so that it is no longer simply a “not yet”. The fact that this future exists changes the present; the present is touched by the future reality, and thus the things of the future spill over into those of the present and those of the present into those of the future.”(7.)
Our faith, shaped by the past, sees the present, and its future hope redeems us now.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture today is “An Angel Awakens the Prophet Elijah” by Juan Antonio Frias y Escalante, 1667
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