Monday, October 13, 2008

Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time


Readings for Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary
[3]:

Reading 1:
Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1

It is written that Abraham had two sons,
one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.
The son of the slave woman was born naturally,
the son of the freeborn through a promise.
Now this is an allegory.
These women represent two covenants.
One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;
this is Hagar.
But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.
For it is written:
Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.
Therefore, brothers and sisters,
we are children not of the slave woman
but of the freeborn woman.

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
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Commentary on
Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1

St. Paul uses the analogy of the two sons of Abraham to describe the difference between two covenants; the covenant of Sini, represented by the birth of Ishmael to Hagar (see
Genesis 16; 3ff)., where the Torah (the Book of the Law) was given to Jewish people; and the New Covenant represented by the birth of Isaac to Sara, a miraculous intervention of the spirit, representing the New Jerusalem, God’s Kingdom revealed in Christ. The clear reference here is; those born under the Law of Moses are slaves to the Law. While those born under the faith in Christ are set free (“For freedom Christ set us free”).

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Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7

R. (see 2) Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia
.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
let the name of the LORD be praised.
our God enthroned on high,
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Who is like the LORD,
looking down on heaven and earth?
The LORD raises the needy from the dust,
lifts the poor from the ash heap,
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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Commentary on
Psalm 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7

Psalm 113 is a song of praise. In these strophes we rejoice in all of God’s creation and his loving mercy for the poor.

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Gospel:
Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, he (Jesus) said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
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Commentary on
Luke 11:29-32

Jesus’ message, in this reading, echoes Jonah’s call to repentance but this time is it is directed to the Jewish people. Instead of a prophet he uses himself; “Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.” The reference to the “queen of the south” is a reference to the Queen of Sheba who in the first book of Kings (
1 King; 10, 1ff) came and saw God’s wisdom in Solomon. Using this imagery, the Lord refers to himself as Wisdom incarnate “…something greater than Jonah here.”

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Reflection:

Scripture today calls us to reconcile the two messages delivered; the first by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians and the second from St. Luke’s Gospel. There seems to be a contradiction once more.

In Galatians, St. Paul uses an elegant analogy to describe those bound under the Law of Moses as being slaves while those bound by faith to Christ are set free. His message is consistent with his exhortations against the “Judazisers” who have been telling the people he evangelized that they must adopt the trappings of Judaism in order to be Christian. In this context we see that he is not telling the people that they are free to do “anything” as long as they have faith in Christ, rather they are free explicitly from the requirements of Mosaic Law (dietary laws and most especially circumcision). Later Protestant interpreters (specifically from the Lutheran tradition) use this argument out of context to support the idea that the Christian is justified (brought to salvation) by faith alone. This “justification by faith alone” interpretation leads other denominations to the concept of the “Once saved always saved” idea which also flies in the face of other scripture. Neither of these arguments are consistent with St. Paul’s message when placed in historical perspective of what he was trying to say.

We next come to the Gospel of St. Luke where Jesus is continuing his exhortation to the unbelieving Jewish community (how about that juxtaposition for irony). He is also using an Old Testament images. First he uses the Queen of Sheba (the queen from the south) coming to see with her own eyes the reports she had heard about the great wisdom of Solomon, King of Israel. He first tells them that “…there is something greater than Solomon here.” Transliterating – within himself there is something greater than the Wisdom of Solomon. He also uses the story of Jonah (see
Jonah 3:1ff) focusing on the need for repentance (here is where the possibility of contradiction may creep in – as the repentance might be understood as a need to return to the tenants of Mosaic Law). But recall, Jesus is calling the people to a New Covenant and the tenants of that covenant subjugate the tenants of Mosaic Law to Christ’s great commandment – love God above all things and love one another.

In the face of Christ’s revelation, all are called to repentance for all fall short of the measure of love Jesus set for us in his acceptance of a human mantle, dying for us on the cross. In the end, this understanding resolves what might have appeared as a contradiction. We hear the two fold message that drives our actions – St. Paul’s message that we are set free from sin in Christ Jesus, and the Lord’s own reminder that there is something that a call to repentance in him, there is love and forgiveness that follows a conversion of heart.

Pax

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” by Pietro Dandini, c. 1695
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Psalm Response is from Printed source United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000
November 11, 2002 Copyright (c) by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

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