Readings for Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis 9:1-13
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them:
"Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.
Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth
and all the birds of the air,
upon all the creatures that move about on the ground
and all the fishes of the sea;
into your power they are delivered.
Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat;
I give them all to you as I did the green plants.
Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.
For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting:
from every animal I will demand it,
and from one man in regard to his fellow man
I will demand an accounting for human life.
If anyone sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
For in the image of God
has man been made.
Be fertile, then, and multiply;
abound on earth and subdue it."
God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
God added:
"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Gn 9:1-13
The first section of this reading provides God’s blessing and instructions to Noah and his sons who are to no repopulate the earth. They receive first dominion over all life as did man at the creation and no dietary restrictions save one, don’t eat raw meat or living flesh. “Because a living being dies when it loses most of its blood, the ancients regarded blood as the seat of life, and therefore as sacred. Although in itself the prohibition against eating meat with blood in it is comparable to the ritual laws of the Mosaic code, the Jews considered it binding on all men, because it was given by God to Noah, the new ancestor of all mankind; therefore the early Christian Church retained it for a time (Acts 15:20, 29)”[4]
There follows a short statement that prefigures the Ten Commandments – thou shall not kill.
The Lord then goes on to establish and seal his covenant with the earth in the person of Noah, using as an eternal symbol, the rainbow. In this covenant, God promises not to destroy the earth using a great flood.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[5] Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together,
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
Psalm 102 gives us a prayer of thanksgiving for the restoration of the people to Israel after the Diaspora. God brought them back from their captivity and reestablished them in Zion. The prayer prefigures God’s salvation offered in the New Jerusalem – God’s heavenly kingdom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 8:27-33
Now Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply,
"John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 8:27-33
At this point in Mark, Jesus first asks the disciples what the popular belief is about his identity. He then asks them the same question and Peter, apparently spokesperson for the twelve, answers, “You are Christ.” Because the popular expectations about the Messiah differed greatly from the image and demeanor of Jesus, the Lord instructs them not to broadcast his true identity.
He goes on to explain that “the son of man” (see note on Mark 8:31), using his true humanity as a title, must go through suffering and humiliation before his final victory. Peter, again exerting his leadership, takes the Lord aside to convince him to follow the expected path of the Messiah and Christ, seeing this as temptation lashes out; “Get behind me Satan.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
"But who do you say that I am?"
One might think that the answer St. Peter used when asked by Christ – "You are the Christ" or the more complete answer provided in St. Matthew’s Gospel "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) would be the one with which most American Christians would reply. If that is your thought, you may be surprised.
Try asking a friend or family member to answer that question candidly, in a non-threatening way. The answers will no doubt vary. Based upon recent research, many main-stream Christians doubt the divinity of Christ. They make statements like “The best Christian that has lived in the past century was Gandhi (knowing that he was Hindu but thinking his moral, non-violent attitudes automatically made him Christian).
The deeper question we ask ourselves today as; if we meet a person we did not know, how long would it take that person to guess we were deeply religious Christians? We are faced with daily challenges. When we leave the church building we go into a secular society that supposedly values diversity. Yet that philosophy does not extend to blatant religious expression. In most schools and work places if we engaged in a discussion and used as supports to our position a faith based value and identified it as such we would be considered to be either a fanatic/zealot or worse. Depending upon the forum, we could even be disciplined.
Back to the question, how long would it take for a person who did not know you to guess that you were a deeply committed Christian? Certainly our actions would tell a tail, but then so did Gandhi’s. If we also wore some outward sign of our faith like a cross or crucifix, that would definitely be a hint. But in the final analysis the only real way for a stranger to tell would be to hear us actually self identify ourselves a Christian.
In the final analysis, having the people we encounter know we are Christian is not as critical as answering the question Christ poses to us as he addresses his disciples. Through our hearing the Lord asks us to answer from our hearts "But who do you say that I am?"
In our hearts the answer must come – “You are the Christ.” It must come sincerely, unreservedly, completely. Our answer will indeed guide our actions. His love will become our love, his sacrifice will become our sacrifice.
Today we pray that our heartfelt answer to his question will guide us always and bring us at last to his heavenly court.
Pax
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis 9:1-13
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them:
"Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.
Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth
and all the birds of the air,
upon all the creatures that move about on the ground
and all the fishes of the sea;
into your power they are delivered.
Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat;
I give them all to you as I did the green plants.
Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.
For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting:
from every animal I will demand it,
and from one man in regard to his fellow man
I will demand an accounting for human life.
If anyone sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
For in the image of God
has man been made.
Be fertile, then, and multiply;
abound on earth and subdue it."
God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
God added:
"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Gn 9:1-13
The first section of this reading provides God’s blessing and instructions to Noah and his sons who are to no repopulate the earth. They receive first dominion over all life as did man at the creation and no dietary restrictions save one, don’t eat raw meat or living flesh. “Because a living being dies when it loses most of its blood, the ancients regarded blood as the seat of life, and therefore as sacred. Although in itself the prohibition against eating meat with blood in it is comparable to the ritual laws of the Mosaic code, the Jews considered it binding on all men, because it was given by God to Noah, the new ancestor of all mankind; therefore the early Christian Church retained it for a time (Acts 15:20, 29)”[4]
There follows a short statement that prefigures the Ten Commandments – thou shall not kill.
The Lord then goes on to establish and seal his covenant with the earth in the person of Noah, using as an eternal symbol, the rainbow. In this covenant, God promises not to destroy the earth using a great flood.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[5] Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together,
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
Psalm 102 gives us a prayer of thanksgiving for the restoration of the people to Israel after the Diaspora. God brought them back from their captivity and reestablished them in Zion. The prayer prefigures God’s salvation offered in the New Jerusalem – God’s heavenly kingdom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 8:27-33
Now Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply,
"John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 8:27-33
At this point in Mark, Jesus first asks the disciples what the popular belief is about his identity. He then asks them the same question and Peter, apparently spokesperson for the twelve, answers, “You are Christ.” Because the popular expectations about the Messiah differed greatly from the image and demeanor of Jesus, the Lord instructs them not to broadcast his true identity.
He goes on to explain that “the son of man” (see note on Mark 8:31), using his true humanity as a title, must go through suffering and humiliation before his final victory. Peter, again exerting his leadership, takes the Lord aside to convince him to follow the expected path of the Messiah and Christ, seeing this as temptation lashes out; “Get behind me Satan.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
"But who do you say that I am?"
One might think that the answer St. Peter used when asked by Christ – "You are the Christ" or the more complete answer provided in St. Matthew’s Gospel "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) would be the one with which most American Christians would reply. If that is your thought, you may be surprised.
Try asking a friend or family member to answer that question candidly, in a non-threatening way. The answers will no doubt vary. Based upon recent research, many main-stream Christians doubt the divinity of Christ. They make statements like “The best Christian that has lived in the past century was Gandhi (knowing that he was Hindu but thinking his moral, non-violent attitudes automatically made him Christian).
The deeper question we ask ourselves today as; if we meet a person we did not know, how long would it take that person to guess we were deeply religious Christians? We are faced with daily challenges. When we leave the church building we go into a secular society that supposedly values diversity. Yet that philosophy does not extend to blatant religious expression. In most schools and work places if we engaged in a discussion and used as supports to our position a faith based value and identified it as such we would be considered to be either a fanatic/zealot or worse. Depending upon the forum, we could even be disciplined.
Back to the question, how long would it take for a person who did not know you to guess that you were a deeply committed Christian? Certainly our actions would tell a tail, but then so did Gandhi’s. If we also wore some outward sign of our faith like a cross or crucifix, that would definitely be a hint. But in the final analysis the only real way for a stranger to tell would be to hear us actually self identify ourselves a Christian.
In the final analysis, having the people we encounter know we are Christian is not as critical as answering the question Christ poses to us as he addresses his disciples. Through our hearing the Lord asks us to answer from our hearts "But who do you say that I am?"
In our hearts the answer must come – “You are the Christ.” It must come sincerely, unreservedly, completely. Our answer will indeed guide our actions. His love will become our love, his sacrifice will become our sacrifice.
Today we pray that our heartfelt answer to his question will guide us always and bring us at last to his heavenly court.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Christ with His Disciples” by Jorgan Roed c. 1880
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] See NAB footnote on Genesis 9:4
[5] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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