Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Moses spoke to the people and said:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 4:1, 5-9
This passage from Deuteronomy marks the end of the historical part of the book and the beginning of Moses’ presentation of the law and statutes. He addresses the whole people telling them that unless they follow the statutes which he is about to present, they do not receive what God promises the faithful, in this case the land of milk and honey. While the promise of Moses was the inheritance of the literal (the land), God’s later promise was of a kingdom not of this earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. In this section, the psalmist praises God’s rule over nature and the seasons (winter; “…He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes.”) It concludes with another aspect of the "word" of Yahweh: His "ordinances" are for Israel alone
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:17-19
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small” based upon their seriousness when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments.
The passage is concluded in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction from those who would break the law being least in heaven in the previous sentence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We continue to reflect through scripture upon what makes us Christian vs. what defines a person simply as moral. Today we hear, in the first reading, the prologue to the presentation of the Law of Moses. Moses tell the Hebrews that following the Law of Moses defines them as a people set apart for God. He explains that in following the law and statutes that God will give them, they have access to God wherever they are and their wisdom and justice will be seen by others who will know them for what they are – children of God.
It is here that many who claim to be Christian begin to blur the truth about what a it means to be Christian. It is because the Law that Moses gave is summarized by many who do not take the time to truly understand in the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue. When we focus only on that part of the law it is easy to become confused about the meaning of being a people set apart. Indeed, people like Gandhi meet the definition if we ignore the fact that the first three commandments are not met (those being - 1.) God is God alone and there shall be no other God’s before Him; 2.) You shall not make idols and worship them; and 3.) You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain). When many people think of how a Christian is defined in terms of actions or intent, they think of generosity of spirit, behavior in terms of the “Thou shall not…” laws (e.g. steal, kill, covet) and perhaps even passive non-violence.
The Gospel given today does not do a lot to change that view unless we look at what Jesus said in addition to “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets”. He assured his Hebrew disciples and followers that what they had practiced and believed was not a lie; was not wrong. Rather he tells them “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” In making this statement he defined the Christian people – people who believe in this fulfillment are different. In accepting this new genesis of belief, the Christian is set apart from our Hebrew forerunners in faith. The promise is fulfilled; the Messiah promised by the prophets has come.
Outwardly the simply moral person can be difficult to distinguish from the Christian, principally because our civil laws are based upon the Decalogue with the first three commandments being suppressed to allow freedom of religion. It is the inward faith that defines the Christian. It is the knowledge that Christ came to fulfill the promise made in God’s covenant and sealed with the Sacrifice of Jesus. With that interior faith firmly established in our hearts, the outward signs of love and forgiveness should be apparent to all who meet us.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture of Jesus and Moses is by and UNKOWN artist, not cited at its web source.
[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.
Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Moses spoke to the people and said:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 4:1, 5-9
This passage from Deuteronomy marks the end of the historical part of the book and the beginning of Moses’ presentation of the law and statutes. He addresses the whole people telling them that unless they follow the statutes which he is about to present, they do not receive what God promises the faithful, in this case the land of milk and honey. While the promise of Moses was the inheritance of the literal (the land), God’s later promise was of a kingdom not of this earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. In this section, the psalmist praises God’s rule over nature and the seasons (winter; “…He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes.”) It concludes with another aspect of the "word" of Yahweh: His "ordinances" are for Israel alone
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:17-19
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small” based upon their seriousness when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments.
The passage is concluded in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction from those who would break the law being least in heaven in the previous sentence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We continue to reflect through scripture upon what makes us Christian vs. what defines a person simply as moral. Today we hear, in the first reading, the prologue to the presentation of the Law of Moses. Moses tell the Hebrews that following the Law of Moses defines them as a people set apart for God. He explains that in following the law and statutes that God will give them, they have access to God wherever they are and their wisdom and justice will be seen by others who will know them for what they are – children of God.
It is here that many who claim to be Christian begin to blur the truth about what a it means to be Christian. It is because the Law that Moses gave is summarized by many who do not take the time to truly understand in the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue. When we focus only on that part of the law it is easy to become confused about the meaning of being a people set apart. Indeed, people like Gandhi meet the definition if we ignore the fact that the first three commandments are not met (those being - 1.) God is God alone and there shall be no other God’s before Him; 2.) You shall not make idols and worship them; and 3.) You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain). When many people think of how a Christian is defined in terms of actions or intent, they think of generosity of spirit, behavior in terms of the “Thou shall not…” laws (e.g. steal, kill, covet) and perhaps even passive non-violence.
The Gospel given today does not do a lot to change that view unless we look at what Jesus said in addition to “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets”. He assured his Hebrew disciples and followers that what they had practiced and believed was not a lie; was not wrong. Rather he tells them “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” In making this statement he defined the Christian people – people who believe in this fulfillment are different. In accepting this new genesis of belief, the Christian is set apart from our Hebrew forerunners in faith. The promise is fulfilled; the Messiah promised by the prophets has come.
Outwardly the simply moral person can be difficult to distinguish from the Christian, principally because our civil laws are based upon the Decalogue with the first three commandments being suppressed to allow freedom of religion. It is the inward faith that defines the Christian. It is the knowledge that Christ came to fulfill the promise made in God’s covenant and sealed with the Sacrifice of Jesus. With that interior faith firmly established in our hearts, the outward signs of love and forgiveness should be apparent to all who meet us.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture of Jesus and Moses is by and UNKOWN artist, not cited at its web source.
[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.
2 comments:
Dear Dean,
I have noticed the the calender has been fixed today.
J
J,
Sorry to disappoint but the reason is I had a meeting Tuesday night and ended up posting Wednesday's entry on Wednesday. You will notice that Thursday's post was done on the same day.
Pax,
Dcn. Jim
Post a Comment