Saint Pius V, Pope
Readings for Thursday of the Third Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
"Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route."
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.
Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
"I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?"
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?"
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 8:26-40
In this story of Philip’s conversion of the eunuch we are given a strong mystical nudge. First when Philip is instructed by an angle to leave on the trip and again with is disappearance after the baptism of the eunuch.
If we read this passage in context with verse numbers we find verse 37 is not present in either the NAB or the Jerusalem Bibles. That is because in the oldest and best manuscripts it was not present. But, for our benefit verse 37 said responding to the eunuch’s request for baptism; "And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he said in reply, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' "In modern texts it is omitted as probably a latter addition by some early Christian redactor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
Psalm 66 is a song of thanksgiving. As it continues today the selection starts with part of the community blessing of the Lord and follows with the second and third strophes being individual response to the communal prayer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:44-51
St. John’s “Bread of Life” discourse continues in response to the protest of the crowd. In the first part of the passage we hear Jesus telling the crowd that no one comes to God unless it is willed by the Father (who sent me). Then Jesus says the remarkable; “…and I will raise him on the last day.” This is a clear statement that the Lord has been given the authority to judge the living and the dead in the Eschaton (the last day).
The Lord makes reference to Isaiah 54:13 (“They shall all be taught by God.”), interpreting that passage as it relates to him as the “teacher” sent by God. He now launches into the answer to the earlier request "Sir, give us this bread always." (John 6:34) saying “I am the bread of life”. He follows this reiteration of his identity by recalling God’s salvation of the Hebrew people who were fleeing Egypt and starving in the desert but were rescued by God’s gift of manna (Exodus 16:1ff). Then going further, he tells the crowd that they must eat (John uses the graphic word gnaw) the bread of life to have eternal life and that the bread he gives them is his life for the salvation of all mankind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
This Gospel is the most straight forward statement of the promise and reality of the Lord’s gift of himself in the Eucharist to be found in Sacred Scripture. The heart of the Bread of Life discourse provides the reality of the glorified Body of Christ offered here in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The Lord offers his body and blood to all those drawn to Himself by the Father. Anyone who listens to their heart and “…believes has eternal life”. St. John provides unambiguous language.
The difficult of what is contained in this passage is not understanding what is being said as Jesus tells his audience that he is the Bread of Life. The words are clear. What is difficult for those listening is to understand that what he offers is the essence of God. It is not bread or manna as they see and taste it. It is the living presence of the One who lives and created all that is.
It is clear that this was too big a leap to take for many. Even some of Jesus’ followers could not understand that this was not a physical act of cannibalism but much more than mere symbolism. They could not understand that the Christ was offering the glorified real presence of his risen body. Something the human mind reaches for but cannot fully grasp. And following this speech, many fell away.
With our life-long experience, we accept what we cannot understand with faith that God will, as he said to St. Thomas our patron, in the locked room, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” The greatest gift ever given is received in faith and has effects beyond understanding. We give thanks for that gift and rejoice in what the Risen Lord has left for us. Today once more he feeds the multitudes.
Pax
Readings for Thursday of the Third Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
"Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route."
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.
Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
"I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?"
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?"
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 8:26-40
In this story of Philip’s conversion of the eunuch we are given a strong mystical nudge. First when Philip is instructed by an angle to leave on the trip and again with is disappearance after the baptism of the eunuch.
If we read this passage in context with verse numbers we find verse 37 is not present in either the NAB or the Jerusalem Bibles. That is because in the oldest and best manuscripts it was not present. But, for our benefit verse 37 said responding to the eunuch’s request for baptism; "And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he said in reply, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' "In modern texts it is omitted as probably a latter addition by some early Christian redactor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
Psalm 66 is a song of thanksgiving. As it continues today the selection starts with part of the community blessing of the Lord and follows with the second and third strophes being individual response to the communal prayer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:44-51
St. John’s “Bread of Life” discourse continues in response to the protest of the crowd. In the first part of the passage we hear Jesus telling the crowd that no one comes to God unless it is willed by the Father (who sent me). Then Jesus says the remarkable; “…and I will raise him on the last day.” This is a clear statement that the Lord has been given the authority to judge the living and the dead in the Eschaton (the last day).
The Lord makes reference to Isaiah 54:13 (“They shall all be taught by God.”), interpreting that passage as it relates to him as the “teacher” sent by God. He now launches into the answer to the earlier request "Sir, give us this bread always." (John 6:34) saying “I am the bread of life”. He follows this reiteration of his identity by recalling God’s salvation of the Hebrew people who were fleeing Egypt and starving in the desert but were rescued by God’s gift of manna (Exodus 16:1ff). Then going further, he tells the crowd that they must eat (John uses the graphic word gnaw) the bread of life to have eternal life and that the bread he gives them is his life for the salvation of all mankind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
This Gospel is the most straight forward statement of the promise and reality of the Lord’s gift of himself in the Eucharist to be found in Sacred Scripture. The heart of the Bread of Life discourse provides the reality of the glorified Body of Christ offered here in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The Lord offers his body and blood to all those drawn to Himself by the Father. Anyone who listens to their heart and “…believes has eternal life”. St. John provides unambiguous language.
The difficult of what is contained in this passage is not understanding what is being said as Jesus tells his audience that he is the Bread of Life. The words are clear. What is difficult for those listening is to understand that what he offers is the essence of God. It is not bread or manna as they see and taste it. It is the living presence of the One who lives and created all that is.
It is clear that this was too big a leap to take for many. Even some of Jesus’ followers could not understand that this was not a physical act of cannibalism but much more than mere symbolism. They could not understand that the Christ was offering the glorified real presence of his risen body. Something the human mind reaches for but cannot fully grasp. And following this speech, many fell away.
With our life-long experience, we accept what we cannot understand with faith that God will, as he said to St. Thomas our patron, in the locked room, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” The greatest gift ever given is received in faith and has effects beyond understanding. We give thanks for that gift and rejoice in what the Risen Lord has left for us. Today once more he feeds the multitudes.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Communion” by Giuseppe Maria, Crespi, 1712
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment