(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
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| “Mourning the Dead Christ” by Ortolano, c. 1522 |
Thus says the Lord:
On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the Lord, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the Lord,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the Lord, your God.
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Commentary on Am 9:11-15
The prophet speaks of God’s purpose in causing the fall of the Kingdom of Israel (in actuality all kingdoms of that region in his day). The people were sinful, and those that did not follow God’s Law were either killed or carried off into bondage. But the faithful remnant would be saved and rebuilt (“On that day I will raise up the fallen hut of David”); saying that the House of Israel would be restored. The oracle predicts that it will be greater than before. All this is accomplished only through the will and might of God.
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Responsorial Psalm:
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (see 9b) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the Lord –for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The Lord himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
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Commentary on Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
Psalm 85 is a communal lament that focuses on the woes of the nation. These strophes reflect the joy of salvation at the restoration of the land following the destruction of the temple, and the Diaspora. Those faithful to God see the reward: a land restored, justice returned, and the salvation of God.
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Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
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Commentary on Mt 9:14-17
Jesus is approached by St. John the Baptist’s disciples about the Pharisaic practices of ritual fasting. In Old Testament usage this action was a token of repentance or of mourning. No fast is actually prescribed in the Law of Moses, except the fast on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:7). Given this understanding of the Law of Moses, what was being practiced by the Pharisees (and St. John’s disciples) was tradition. Jesus' response, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them,” speaks to the fact that his disciples do not have anything to repent from or mourn for, as long as they are following him.
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Reflection:
In the Gospel today, the Lord is challenged by some of the disciples of St. John the Baptist (of which at least one of his own disciples, Andrew, was formerly a member). They ask why Jesus and his disciples do not practice the Pharisaic traditions of ritual fasting. Jesus, also of the Pharisaic tradition (based upon his knowledge of the resurrection), was not following their scrupulous rules and neither were his disciples. It was important that Jesus strike just the right tone in his reply. Recognizing that the Pharisees were following a tradition developed out of their understanding of the Law (not prescriptions of the Law), he explains that his disciples do not need to mourn or repent while he is with them (coming as he does to fulfill the Law and the Prophets).
Now, using metaphor, Jesus explains that his coming changes the understanding of God’s intent and character. Where the Hebrews’ understanding of God, based upon the Law and the Prophets, had been as a God of justice, humanized and given the emotions and motives of man, Christ changed all of that, as the incarnated Son shows the world God’s infinite love and compassion. His metaphors tell us that there can be no human motives assigned to God: that is old cloth, old wineskins.
To quote my favorite author: “If Christ and the mind of Christ are the new garment the disciple must henceforth wear more tightly and intimately than his own skin, then we can see how what the proverb calls a “patch” in the sense of a “complement” or “piece added to complete and perfect” does indeed deserve the name of Pleroma, which the Vulgate retains as plenitudo. The old garment of the Law, in its interim fragility, simply cannot bear, without tearing, the energy of the Fullness manifested in Christ, in whom, “by God’s own choice, came to dwell the plenitude (plêrôma) of God” (Col 1:19).” [6]
We rejoice today as we see Christ once more reveal to us the love and promise of the Father, and the salvation he offers to those who believe in him. We pray, today, that we can be an example of that love to those we meet, and thereby bring the message of the Kingdom of God to the world. And, especially in this time of unrest, uncertainty, and fear, we pray that that message of love might heal the wounds of division that are fracturing this great country of ours.
Pax
[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5.
[2] The picture is “Mourning the Dead Christ” by Ortolano, c. 1522.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] 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.
[5] NAB footnote on Amos 9:11-12.
[6] Lei Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 446.
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