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| “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1633 |
Reading I: 1 John 4:11-18
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
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Commentary on 1 Jn 4:11-18
St. John’s first letter is continued following the profession of God’s love. “The testimony of the Spirit and that of faith join the testimony of love to confirm our knowledge of God. Our love is grounded in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God and the example of God's love for us. Christian life is founded on the knowledge of God as love and on his continuing presence that relieves us from fear of judgment.”[4]
“The Apostle underlines here the theological basis of brotherly love: the love which God has shown us by the incarnation and redemptive death of his Son, places us in his debt: we have to respond in kind; so we 'ought' to love our neighbor with the kind of gratitude and disinterest that God showed by taking the initiative in loving us.” [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
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Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 10, 12-13
Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, to be sung for the king. While the song recounts the tribute brought by adjoining kingdoms (as tribute to his just rule), we see this as a reminder of the gifts brought by the Magi to the young Savior. This is reinforced in the final strophe as the song stresses care for the poor and afflicted.
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Gospel: Mark 6:45-52
After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.
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Commentary on Mk 6:45-52
The Gospel of St. Mark provides us with a second proof of the identity of Jesus. Following the feeding of the five thousand, he goes off to pray in solitude. Mark’s Gospel tells us he did this three times, each time at a defining point in his ministry. (Mark 1:35; Mark 14:32-42)
Jesus next calms the sea and walks upon the waters as a demonstration of the authority of the Messiah. “This action can be fully understood only in light of the Old Testament, where God’s power to tread the waves is a sign of his sovereignty over all creation: ‘I the Lord, your Holy One…who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters’ (Isaiah 43:15-16; see Job 38:16; Psalm 77:20).” [6] As it is used in this passage, it is a formulaic utterance attributed to God: “It is I, do not be afraid!” Translated literally the identity is “I am.” The disciples are not ready to accept the meaning of these signs. “Their hearts were hardened.” They resisted the leap of faith in spite of what their eyes had seen.
CCC: Mk 6:46 2602
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Reflection:
The Church continues its celebration of the Nativity of the Lord as St. John, in the first reading, once more reflects upon the Great Commandment. We hear the truth of the Gospel, telling us to love God and love one another – the great mantra of our faith. As we overlay the story from St. Mark’s Gospel, we hear how the disciples, in spite of the evidence of their senses, pulled back from the truth. The words used to describe their state of belief have been used many times before in scripture, “their hearts were hardened.” They reflect the stubbornness of humankind, when the rational mind pushes faith out of the way.
In some cases the hearts of God’s adversaries were hardened so God’s might and authority could be demonstrated, as he did with pharaoh in Exodus as Moses tried to show him the Lord’s greatness time and again. King Zedekiah’s heart was hardened against all who tried to bring God to him (2 Chronicles 36:11-13), and King Belshazzar also rejected the call issued through Daniel (Daniel 5:20ff). Indeed, Isaiah predicted the people of Israel would reject the savior through a hardening of their hearts, quoted by the Lord as he lamented the fact (John 12:37-41).
This hardening of the heart is something we must all deal with in an ongoing way. It is not something that happens once and passes. No, it is in many ways like heartburn, if you will forgive the poor analogy. When you eat too much of the wrong things it will jump up and grab you. Hardening of the heart in some people is actually like acid reflux, something of a chronic condition. The worst part of hardening of the heart is that its symptoms are not easily detected. There is no sudden burning. One day you may just feel less zeal for God, less of an emotional affinity to him. Situations in life can create another symptom – cynicism.
The good news is this hardening of the heart is treatable. A good dose of prayer, regularly administered, will keep it at bay. And the Eucharist, taken internally on a frequent basis, does wonders. Oh, and reading the instructions for the treatment of “hardening of the heart” is also advised. These instructions can be found in the pages of the Bible. Once it is recognized we can open our hearts back up to Christ and let him come in and soften those sharp edges that prevent us from doing as St. John says: loving one another and loving God.
Today as we consider the Lord’s closest friends and how they were affected by hardening of the heart, we pray for ourselves, that our hearts may be open and full of the love of God in His Son whose nativity we continue to celebrate with joy.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1633.
[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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] see NAB footnote on 1 John 4:11ff.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 411.
[6] The Gospel of Mark, Mary Healy © 2008, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids MI, p.131.
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