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| “Noah's Ark Cycle: 5. Noah's Sacrifice of Thanksgiving” by Kaspar Memberger the Elder, 1588 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22
Commentary on Gn 8:6-13, 20-22
This selection is the conclusion of the flood story. Hebrew numerology plays a big part in the symbolism of the story. Forty days represents the fullness of the Flood, and the seven day periods waiting for the dove, the perfect number.
This passage provides another important symbol, an efficacious sign in the form of a dove. The dove is sent out three times which would represent the completeness of its mission. It returns finally with an olive branch which has come to symbolize peace; in this case man’s peace with God. The return of the dove at last may represent to some the return of the Holy Spirit, coming back to mankind after our being lost to sin, which was washed away in the waters of the great flood, an image of baptism making an end to sin and a new beginning.
Noah completes the test by building an altar and offering a sacrifice to God that seems to appease his just anger at mankind. The “sweet odor” rising up to God from the sacrifice of Noah provides the Church with the image that later translated into the use of incense, the smoke rising to the Lord as sacrifice is offered at our earthly altar.
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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (17a) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
Psalm 116 is a song of thanksgiving. This selection is an individual prayer and promise to God. The singer understands that the Lord is his salvation. A little confusing is “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.” The meaning is that the death of God's faithful is grievous to God, not that God is pleased with the death.
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Gospel: Mark 8:22-26
Commentary on Mk 8:22-26
“Jesus' actions and the gradual cure of the blind man probably have the same purpose as in the case of the deaf man (Mark 7:31-37). Some commentators regard the cure as an intended symbol of the gradual enlightenment of the disciples concerning Jesus' messiahship.”[4]
"Allegorically (St. Bede, In Marcum): Jesus heals the blind man to announce the mystery of redemption. As God Incarnate, Jesus heals man through the sacrament of his human nature, here signified by his hands and spittle. This grace cures our spiritual blindness gradually, and, as with the blind man, progress is measured in proportion to our faith. Allegorically (St. Jerome, Homily 79), the restoration of the blind man signifies our gradual increase in wisdom, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of truth. Christ's spittle is the perfect doctrine that proceeds from his mouth; it enhances our vision and brings us progressively to the knowledge of God."[5]
CCC: Mk 8:22-25 1151, 1504; Mk 8:23 699
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Reflection:
The blind man who was cured by Jesus in the Gospel story is the only recorded instance in which Jesus’ touch is not described as fully curing the person whom he intended to cure all at once. In this instance, he imposes his hands twice.
After the first time the afflicted man is asked: “Do you see anything?” The man sees, but in a distorted way, not having received the full measure of the healing touch. A second time Jesus touches him and he “…could see everything distinctly.”
While we do not wish to read anything into the Gospel that is not there, St. Mark recounted this story where the blind man recovered his sight gradually for a reason. The fact that the blind man, after Christ’s first touch, did not see clearly could easily be an allusion to our own perception of the reality and person of Jesus. As children we are introduced to him. We develop an understanding of who he is and what Jesus wants of us. It is like those first pictures we draw in our early elementary years, they are stick figures, representations of what we perceive around us. Our understanding of the Lord and our relationship to him is at the same level of detail, very sketchy.
Like the person who drops out of school at a very young age, many of us never really grow beyond those early stick figures. If we do not really study the Lord and his Word, we may never grow beyond stick figures, “…like trees and walking." Our goal is to work constantly to understand the will of Christ, and in doing so, see everything distinctly, understanding what Christ wants of us. That process is almost always a gradual one. Even if today we think: “Ah, I understand what the Lord wants of me.” Tomorrow, that perception may change. Ours is an on- going conversion process, one that will take our entire lives.
Today we pray for sight. We ask God in Christ to give us the ability to see all things distinctly through the lens of faith, and so draw closer to him and his will for us.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “Noah's Ark Cycle: 5. Noah's Sacrifice of Thanksgiving” by Kaspar Memberger the Elder, 1588
[4] See NAB footnote on Mark 8:22-26
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. pp. 79-80
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