Readings for Thursday after Ash Wednesday[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses is presenting the Law of the Lord to the Hebrew people whom he has lead out of bondage in Egypt. He makes it clear that by following the Law, the Ten Commandments, they will find favor in God’s eyes and they will prosper. If they disregard the law, they will find disfavor with God and will die out.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 1 serves as a preface to the whole book of the psalms. The psalmist here exalts those who follow the Lord’s commands and reflects upon the blessings they will receive. As is usual, this selection emphasizes the contrast between the salvation of the just and the punishment of the wicked, an echo of Moses instruction to the people above.
Gospel Luke 9:22-25
The Gospel takes up the theme of life and death as Jesus first informs his disciples that he will undergo the “Passion” at the hands of the Jewish hierarchy and be raised. He then provides an invitation to life by contrasting, as Moses did in Deuteronomy 30:15-20, the (spiritual) salvation brought about through faith and the (eternal) death that awaits the faithless.
Reflection:
We pause to think about the Elect, those who are going through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, a process which will lead to full membership with us in Christ. They now enter into the home stretch of their training that probably began last fall. In the ancient Church, during the first several centuries, these final forty days before their Baptism, Confirmation, and first Holy Communion, the early Christians would have enjoyed special daily instruction from the Bishop. Some of these early teaching documents are preserved for us (if you are able, take a look at The Catechetical and Mystegogical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem).
Today, although they probably have a good idea by now, they hear explicitly that the path they have chosen is not going to be easy. Today in the Gospel they are told that to follow the Savior means to suffer the same kind of treatment he endured for our salvation. We can only pray that, in following in his footsteps, we will not be required to endure the same degree or vehemence of rejection that he endured.
Still he invites us; “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” And why would we wish this if we know that along that path lays an uncomfortable existence? That reason is made clear from the beginning. From the very beginning, when the Law was first brought down from Mount Horeb by Moses, we have been told that the way to life and true prosperity is through the Law that God has provided. We are also told that to ignore those laws and to reject God in favor of other gods (even the most ardent atheist worships something) leads to death. Christ clarifies this for us in St. Luke’s Gospel – he tells us that it is true life that flows from following the difficult path to the Kingdom of God. He goes on to contrast that with a path that may seem less difficult but will ultimately lead to the death of the soul even though it is easier in life.
There is a good analogy in natural law for these choices. Energy is required to move up hill. If one wishes to get to the top of a hill or mountain, effort is required on the part of the climber. The higher and more difficult the climb, the greater the reward is felt by the climber when the summit is reached. Has anyone ever celebrated a person who climbed down? The downward path is generally easier. One can actually get down from a very high height by simply jumping. Of course the sudden stop at the bottom is generally fatal. But the only energy required is the will to leap.
Today we choose to walk that difficult path along which the Lord invites us. We check to make sure that what we take along is only that which will nourish us on our journey. We start sorting through the baggage we carry to see what we need to leave in the Confessional. We pray today for strength and courage to follow where the Lord leads, especially over the next forty days.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is “Take Up Your Cross” by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses is presenting the Law of the Lord to the Hebrew people whom he has lead out of bondage in Egypt. He makes it clear that by following the Law, the Ten Commandments, they will find favor in God’s eyes and they will prosper. If they disregard the law, they will find disfavor with God and will die out.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 1 serves as a preface to the whole book of the psalms. The psalmist here exalts those who follow the Lord’s commands and reflects upon the blessings they will receive. As is usual, this selection emphasizes the contrast between the salvation of the just and the punishment of the wicked, an echo of Moses instruction to the people above.
Gospel Luke 9:22-25
The Gospel takes up the theme of life and death as Jesus first informs his disciples that he will undergo the “Passion” at the hands of the Jewish hierarchy and be raised. He then provides an invitation to life by contrasting, as Moses did in Deuteronomy 30:15-20, the (spiritual) salvation brought about through faith and the (eternal) death that awaits the faithless.
Reflection:
We pause to think about the Elect, those who are going through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, a process which will lead to full membership with us in Christ. They now enter into the home stretch of their training that probably began last fall. In the ancient Church, during the first several centuries, these final forty days before their Baptism, Confirmation, and first Holy Communion, the early Christians would have enjoyed special daily instruction from the Bishop. Some of these early teaching documents are preserved for us (if you are able, take a look at The Catechetical and Mystegogical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem).
Today, although they probably have a good idea by now, they hear explicitly that the path they have chosen is not going to be easy. Today in the Gospel they are told that to follow the Savior means to suffer the same kind of treatment he endured for our salvation. We can only pray that, in following in his footsteps, we will not be required to endure the same degree or vehemence of rejection that he endured.
Still he invites us; “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” And why would we wish this if we know that along that path lays an uncomfortable existence? That reason is made clear from the beginning. From the very beginning, when the Law was first brought down from Mount Horeb by Moses, we have been told that the way to life and true prosperity is through the Law that God has provided. We are also told that to ignore those laws and to reject God in favor of other gods (even the most ardent atheist worships something) leads to death. Christ clarifies this for us in St. Luke’s Gospel – he tells us that it is true life that flows from following the difficult path to the Kingdom of God. He goes on to contrast that with a path that may seem less difficult but will ultimately lead to the death of the soul even though it is easier in life.
There is a good analogy in natural law for these choices. Energy is required to move up hill. If one wishes to get to the top of a hill or mountain, effort is required on the part of the climber. The higher and more difficult the climb, the greater the reward is felt by the climber when the summit is reached. Has anyone ever celebrated a person who climbed down? The downward path is generally easier. One can actually get down from a very high height by simply jumping. Of course the sudden stop at the bottom is generally fatal. But the only energy required is the will to leap.
Today we choose to walk that difficult path along which the Lord invites us. We check to make sure that what we take along is only that which will nourish us on our journey. We start sorting through the baggage we carry to see what we need to leave in the Confessional. We pray today for strength and courage to follow where the Lord leads, especially over the next forty days.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is “Take Up Your Cross” by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695
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