Saint Vincent, Deacon, Martyr
Additional information about St. Vincent of Saragossa[1]
Readings for Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 1 Samuel 16:1-13
As the story of Samuel the Seer continues (we are still not calling him a prophet), we find him deeply troubled over God’s decision to remove Saul as King of Israel. God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint the next king whom God has now found.
After going through all of Jesse’s sons the Lord finally instructs Samuel to anoint the youngest, David, who is not present but tending the sheep. This anointing is the first of three David will receive. The other two will come after the death of Saul.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. I have found David, my servant.
Psalm 89 is a hymn of praise celebrating the identification of King David as king of Israel. The song alludes to his future role as a champion in battle.
Gospel Mark 2:23-28
In this passage from St. Mark’s Gospel the Lord has another conflict with the Pharisees over laws they have implemented. In this case the laws are about doing no work on the Sabbath. The disciples of Jesus were hungry and as a result gathered and ate grain on the Sabbath. Strictly speaking this was labor and that is what the Pharisees were objecting to.
Jesus responded by reminding them (the Pharisees) about a story form the first book of Samuel (1 Sam 21:2-7) in which restrictions not included in Mosaic Law but established by men were relaxed at need. The example can be seen as a link between Jesus’ own genealogy (coming from the line of David) and the mission as Savior, the Anointed One, the Messiah. It also teaches a more pragmatic lesson about the Sabbath being created for man and not as the rules of Pharisaic law had restricted it.
Reflection:
The Gospel draws a line for us today. It is one of those lines that is frequently being challenged from one side or the other. Jesus is once more confronted by the Pharisees over something that he allows his disciples to do that conflict with their rules. We must understand that Pharisaic Law had literally thousands of rules. There was great pride among them with regard to how closely they could follow all of them. It was a contest of sorts, to see how strictly they could be observed. The winner was the one who could still function as a person while following all of them.
There is an attraction to this kind of discipline. Some groups have always found the ability to truly express their love of God through this type of asceticism. A great example of this is some of the “Rules” for religious orders. The difference is that in religious orders, people voluntarily submit themselves to the rules as an expression of their devotion to God as opposed to what is happening in the Gospel. In the Gospel the Pharisees who have their set of rules governing what constitutes “labor” on the Sabbath have decided that picking grain, as Jesus’ disciples did, was a clear violation of those rules. Since Jesus was a Rabbi, a teacher, the Pharisees took him to task for his laxity.
The Lord’s response draws the line. He does not tell the Pharisees their rules are foolish; that they should not have such rules. Rather he tells them that they do not apply universally. He uses the example of the companions of David (the use of David’s companions is loaded with symbolic meaning as well but we will just look at the surface story). David’s companions had been consecrated to a task and because of that temple rules were suspended for them. Those familiar with the details of the story, as St. Mark’s original audience would have been, would have seen the Lord’s statement as a huge statement about who he was and what his mission was.
The message we take from this selection of scripture is that there is a need for discipline in our worship. God has seen fit to provide us with commandments which direct us and the Church, through her Magesterium has provided a framework in which those commandments are reinforced and followed. There is a point, however, when we must examine what we do and make sure that it is for God’s greater glory and not just out of habit or tradition. Our intention must be pure and not rationalized and we certainly should not judge others as the Pharisees did. The Lord teaches us love and compassion and this is the standard to which we are all called.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “St. Vincent” by Gherardo di Jacopo Starnina, 1410
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
Additional information about St. Vincent of Saragossa[1]
Readings for Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 1 Samuel 16:1-13
As the story of Samuel the Seer continues (we are still not calling him a prophet), we find him deeply troubled over God’s decision to remove Saul as King of Israel. God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint the next king whom God has now found.
After going through all of Jesse’s sons the Lord finally instructs Samuel to anoint the youngest, David, who is not present but tending the sheep. This anointing is the first of three David will receive. The other two will come after the death of Saul.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. I have found David, my servant.
Psalm 89 is a hymn of praise celebrating the identification of King David as king of Israel. The song alludes to his future role as a champion in battle.
Gospel Mark 2:23-28
In this passage from St. Mark’s Gospel the Lord has another conflict with the Pharisees over laws they have implemented. In this case the laws are about doing no work on the Sabbath. The disciples of Jesus were hungry and as a result gathered and ate grain on the Sabbath. Strictly speaking this was labor and that is what the Pharisees were objecting to.
Jesus responded by reminding them (the Pharisees) about a story form the first book of Samuel (1 Sam 21:2-7) in which restrictions not included in Mosaic Law but established by men were relaxed at need. The example can be seen as a link between Jesus’ own genealogy (coming from the line of David) and the mission as Savior, the Anointed One, the Messiah. It also teaches a more pragmatic lesson about the Sabbath being created for man and not as the rules of Pharisaic law had restricted it.
Reflection:
The Gospel draws a line for us today. It is one of those lines that is frequently being challenged from one side or the other. Jesus is once more confronted by the Pharisees over something that he allows his disciples to do that conflict with their rules. We must understand that Pharisaic Law had literally thousands of rules. There was great pride among them with regard to how closely they could follow all of them. It was a contest of sorts, to see how strictly they could be observed. The winner was the one who could still function as a person while following all of them.
There is an attraction to this kind of discipline. Some groups have always found the ability to truly express their love of God through this type of asceticism. A great example of this is some of the “Rules” for religious orders. The difference is that in religious orders, people voluntarily submit themselves to the rules as an expression of their devotion to God as opposed to what is happening in the Gospel. In the Gospel the Pharisees who have their set of rules governing what constitutes “labor” on the Sabbath have decided that picking grain, as Jesus’ disciples did, was a clear violation of those rules. Since Jesus was a Rabbi, a teacher, the Pharisees took him to task for his laxity.
The Lord’s response draws the line. He does not tell the Pharisees their rules are foolish; that they should not have such rules. Rather he tells them that they do not apply universally. He uses the example of the companions of David (the use of David’s companions is loaded with symbolic meaning as well but we will just look at the surface story). David’s companions had been consecrated to a task and because of that temple rules were suspended for them. Those familiar with the details of the story, as St. Mark’s original audience would have been, would have seen the Lord’s statement as a huge statement about who he was and what his mission was.
The message we take from this selection of scripture is that there is a need for discipline in our worship. God has seen fit to provide us with commandments which direct us and the Church, through her Magesterium has provided a framework in which those commandments are reinforced and followed. There is a point, however, when we must examine what we do and make sure that it is for God’s greater glory and not just out of habit or tradition. Our intention must be pure and not rationalized and we certainly should not judge others as the Pharisees did. The Lord teaches us love and compassion and this is the standard to which we are all called.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “St. Vincent” by Gherardo di Jacopo Starnina, 1410
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
No comments:
Post a Comment