Servant of the Word: Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

“Noah's Ark Cycle: 1. Building of the Ark”
by Kaspar Memberger the Elder, 1588

Readings for Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time [1]

Commentary:

This selection is the condensed version of God’s commands to Noah in preparation for the great flood. The coming catastrophe is God’s punishment for the sins of mankind. The passage is full of numerological symbolism: seven is the number of completeness, forty the period of a generation. The story itself almost certainly relates a real event. There are numerous mentions of a great flood in other ancient near-eastern texts, although no specific archaeological proofs have been found.

CCC: Gen 6:5 401

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10

R. (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Commentary on Ps 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10

Psalm 29 is a hymn extolling the power of God. In these strophes the immense power of God in nature is described. His majesty encompasses the earth (“enthroned above the flood”) and his kingship is established over all the earth, forever. This psalm selection focuses our attention on the baptismal font as it addresses water, the symbol and source of life, in two of the three strophes.

CCC: Ps 29:2 2143

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Gospel:

Mark 8:14-21

Commentary on Mk 8:14-21

Following his departure from Dalmanutha (which he left because the Pharisees were demanding signs like those he performed by feeding the multitudes), while still in the boat in which they had left, the disciples begin to worry about not having brought provisions. Jesus uses this time to warn them about being affected by the rebellious attitude of the Pharisees and Herod toward him. The leaven of the Pharisees and Herod probably refers to their inability to accept Jesus as who he is, the Messiah. The Pharisees and Herodians take the message of hatred and spread it though all the people like yeast in bread dough.

As is expected of the disciples in St. Mark’s Gospel, they do not understand, and the Lord must go further. His explanation makes subtle use of Hebrew numerology, with 12 being symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel, and 7 being the perfect number or symbolic of completeness. These numbers become the representation of the Lord’s mission to fulfill the Law and Prophets, the complete revelation of God and His Kingdom.

CCC: Mk 8:19 1329

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Reflection:

St. Mark’s Gospel paints a picture of the disciples to which many of us can relate. They are not instantly aware of Christ’s identity and purpose. In the passage on the boat given today, they are described as not understanding the mission of Jesus. The Lord is very introspective, having just left behind Pharisees who had demanded a sign as if he were some magician and this right after he had fed the multitudes.

We can envision him gazing out over the waters, not really paying attention to the practical concerns of the disciples who had set sail with almost no provisions. They only had only one loaf of bread between them not enough for thirteen men for more than one meal. Jesus, now stirred out of his reverie by their discussion, and hearing only something about bread, responds still thinking about the faithless religious leaders they have just left.

"Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." His response probably surprised them as he had not been participating in the discussion about the lack of provisions. It’s no wonder that they did not understand his reference immediately. He was, of course, speaking about the understanding of God proclaimed by these groups. They only could see the God who destroyed the earth with a flood because the people were evil. They could not understand the Messiah, coming to reveal a different understanding of the Creator. And what they spread, the form of worship they required that focused on ritual not on the spirit, was like a poison to the people – bad leaven!

Their confusion over his statement stimulates him to explain further using the symbolism of Hebrew numerology to explain his mission to them. He concludes with a question that would have been a teaching moment wherever St. Mark’s Gospel was read: “Do you still not understand?”

For those of us who have the advantage of having been taught the message and meaning of Christ, this episode seems to be simplistic. We are to avoid practicing our faith for others to observe as the Pharisees did. We are to invite others to experience God in Christ and to become a leaven for the communities in which we find ourselves, spreading the Gospel through our actions and words. This was the message received from St. Mark today and while it is easy enough to understand, it is difficult to live. Today we pray once again for the strength to be that example to others and live the faith of a loving Jesus who feeds us with his body.

Pax

[1] The picture is “Noah's Ark Cycle: 1. Building of the Ark” by Kaspar Memberger the Elder, 1588.

[2] S.S. Commemoratio