 |
“The Triumph of David” by Nicolas Poussin, 1627-30
|
Commentary:
Reading 1: 2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19
Commentary on 2 Sm 6:12b-15, 17-19
From a historical perspective, King David has now defeated all his rivals and enemies. The civil war between his forces and those of Saul is over and the Philistines are finally defeated. Now he assembles the people of Israel and brings the Ark of the Covenant to celebrate with the people the unity and peace to which God has led them.
"The [Church] Fathers have seen the ark as a figure of the Blessed Virgin; so the transfer of the ark is a symbol of Mary’s journey to visit her relative Elizabeth (cf. Luke 1:39-45), and David’s dance is a figure of the Baptist, who leaps with joy in the womb of his mother when Mary arrives with Jesus in her womb."[4]
--------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10
R. (8) Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!
Commentary on Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10
In Psalm 24 we hear a longing for the coming of the Lord to his people. The psalmist gives us the image of the inanimate gates of the New Jerusalem, God’s Heavenly Kingdom, welcoming the Lord of Hosts. For Christians, we have God in the person of Jesus coming into the Temple. This second section of the song praises God as the true King of the people who leads them to victory over their foes. The song was sung as part of a liturgical procession recalling the transfer of the ark of the Covenant to the temple in Jerusalem. Again, for Christians the ark is analogous to the Blessed Virgin, the new ark who carries the savior of the world.
--------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 3:31-35
Commentary on Mk 3:31-35
This passage, while affirming our own adoption as brothers and sisters in Christ, does cause some confusion among those who take scripture at face value without understanding the culture of the time. The first part of this reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is somewhat controversial in that many of the Protestant and Evangelical apologists take the term “and his brothers” to mean his familial or biological brothers. The Church teaches that Mary bore only one child – Jesus. Responding to this scripture, Catholic scripture scholars teach that “…in Semitic usage, the terms 'brother,' 'sister' are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters; cf. Genesis 14:16; Genesis 29:15; Leviticus 10:4.” [5]
Another possible explanation, although it comes from an apocryphal source from the 2nd or 3rd centuries A.D., is that the Lord’s foster father, St. Joseph, had been previously married (and widowed). According to “The History of Joseph the Carpenter” from this first marriage, “[2.]… he begot for himself sons and daughters, four sons, namely, and two daughters. Now these are their names— Judas, Justus, James, and Simon. The names of the two daughters were Assia and Lydia.” These would have been the half-brothers and sisters of the Lord.
Because of this, when Mary comes looking for Jesus in this selection, she is, as would be expected, joined by members of the extended family. Jesus extends the family even further though his adoption of those “seated in the circle” who listen to his word and believe, telling those gathered that “…whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
CCC: Mk 3:31-35 500
--------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
“…whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
With these words the Lord, who has called us to follow him, pronounces our adoption as long as we follow the will of God. But that is the hard part isn’t it! Just exactly what is the will of God for us and how do we know if we are doing it?
Having given this some thought, we find that the question posed is one of the most difficult ones we will ever be forced to answer for ourselves. In another part of Holy Scripture Jesus is quoted as saying “No one can know the Father except the Son and to whomever the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27) So ultimately the only real way we can hope to understand if we are doing God’s will is if Jesus himself leads us. OK, so how do we know if we are truly following Jesus? There is a test for that as well. His greatest commandment provides the key.
Christ told the Scribes, when asked which of God’s Commandments is the greatest, that the first was “'Hear O Israel
This is our litmus test. When we want to make sure that we are doing “God’s will” and not our own (even unconsciously or rationalized), we need to ask ourselves just two short questions. First, am I following the course of action that expresses God’s love for those involved? This is not an easy question in some cases because God does have rules and even though those rules were meant to be applied with mercy, they are none the less, straightforward. God’s Law, like any good parent’s rules, are meant to keep His children safe from harm. That means the basic law, the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments, are applied without any varnish. Those laws have been interpreted and applied by the Teaching Magisterium of the Church, so once we’re pretty sure God’s Law is satisfied with our actions, we make sure that we are also doing as Church Law requires. (Oh, and make sure that it is Church Law not a local tradition that is being applied.)
Having done this diligent reflection on our purpose and intent, insuring it is for God’s benefit that we do what we do, we must ask ourselves the second question, again with no rationalization or spin, as they call it these days. Am I doing this out of love for those involved? Just so we are all on the same page, love does not always mean making the other person happy. Sometimes loving someone can be the most difficult thing for one person to do for another. Look at Christ’s example: he loved us to his death. His example is our benchmark. The old adage “WWJD” or “What would Jesus do?” is not enough. Better is, how would Jesus love?
If we prayerfully take the time to ask these two questions will we always be doing God’s will? Probably not – our human nature can trick us into believing that what we do is in accordance with God’s will, but in the darkest recesses of our minds there is still selfishness, greed, envy, and all of the ignoble impulses that make up a human being. But, we will be doing better than those who do not ask those questions at all but instead give full reign to those human feelings.
Our prayer today is an obvious one. Today we pray that God gives us the strength and understanding to do his will. Our desire is to become what Jesus has offered when he said; “…whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” We depend on the Holy Spirit to guide as we attempt to do so.
Pax
[1] The picture used s “The Triumph of David” by Nicolas Poussin, 1627-30
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible: “Joshua-Kings”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp. 333
[5] From the reference note on Mark 6; 3 in the NAB
No comments:
Post a Comment