Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 (Optional Memorial for Saint Elizabeth of Portugal) 
– in the United States perpetually transferred from July 4
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal
 
Biographical information about St. Elizabeth of Portugal
 
Or
 
(Optional Memorial for Saint Anthony Zaccaria, Priest)
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria
 
Biographical information about St. Anthony Zaccaria

“Le Christ Guerissant un Malade”
[Christ Healing the Sick]
by Mathieu Ignace van Bree (1773-1839)

 
Readings for Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
 
Thus says the Lord:
They made kings in Israel, but not by my authority;
they established princes, but without my approval
. With their silver and gold they made
idols for themselves, to their own destruction.
Cast away your calf, O Samaria!
my wrath is kindled against them;
How long will they be unable to attain
innocence in Israel?
The work of an artisan,
no god at all,
Destined for the flames—
such is the calf of Samaria!
 
When they sow the wind,
they shall reap the whirlwind;
The stalk of grain that forms no ear
can yield no flour;
Even if it could,
strangers would swallow it.
 
When Ephraim made many altars to expiate sin,
his altars became occasions of sin.
Though I write for him my many ordinances,
they are considered as a stranger’s.
Though they offer sacrifice,
immolate flesh and eat it,
the Lord is not pleased with them.
He shall still remember their guilt
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
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Commentary on Hos 8:4-7, 11-13
 
The Prophet Hosea, speaking with the voice of God, condemns the people of Israel, Samaria, and Ephraim for falling away from the Law of Moses, and taking up the worship of Baal and other false practices (probably those of the local majority population). The prophet is eloquent in describing how these practices not only displease God, but will not bring the result hoped for. (“When they sow the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind.”) He beckons them back to “innocence” in the precepts of the Lord.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 115:3-4, 5-6, 7ab-8, 9-10
 
R. (9a) The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
They have mouths but speak not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell not.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
They have hands but feel not;
they have feet but walk not.
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone that trusts in them.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 115:3-4, 5-6, 7ab-8, 9-10
 
Psalm 115 is a hymn of praise to our God who is above all things and creator of all. While he is not seen, all creation is evidence of his power and salvation. The singer attacks those who worship false gods and idols, promoting the first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them." (Exodus 20:4-5)
 
CCC: Ps 115:3 268, 303; Ps 115:4-5 2112; Ps 115:8 2112
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Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38
 
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,
and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said,
“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
 
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”
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Commentary on Mt 9:32-38
 
In this selection Jesus continues his healing practice as he travels from town to town. We see growing opposition from the Pharisees as he does so. Almost ironically, Jesus looks with compassion upon the people ("his heart was moved with pity for them") as he sees that the religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, have not led them to God but abandoned them, seeking instead their own selfish ends.  The Lord recalls the prophecy of Ezekiel, predicting someone from the line of David as a new shepherd. This prophetic statement was fulfilled in himself (Ezekiel 34:23). And, using the same language we heard in Luke 10:1-9, Jesus prepares to send out the disciples to proclaim the Good News, the disciples are to become laborers.
 
CCC: Mt 9:38 2611
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Reflection:
 
Do you recall having your parents tell you that, before you could go out and play, you had to clean your room (or some other equally difficult chore)?  If it was something that you should have been doing right along, and now it had become a huge task, you might get an idea of what Jesus must have been feeling as he went from town to town trying to get people to understand what he meant by “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
 
Just as when we were children, and wanted to do something important, like go and play with our friends, and Saturday had only so many hours, Jesus was anxious to get his task accomplished, but there was so much to do.  He says (and we can almost hear the exasperation in him) “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”  In other words, there is much good to be gained in announcing the Kingdom of God, but too few will take up the call, and too many are resisting.
 
While the call has been taken up by others over the two thousand years since Christ walked among us, there is still much to be done and too few to do it.  Each of us is enlisted in the battle, and it is a battle.  In Jesus’ day, the Gospel tells us that there were many who resisted his message, and many denied his identity.  Today the resistance is, if anything, stronger, and the message of the enemy more seductive.
 
Everyone is called, baptized into this mighty work.  So how do we serve?  God has given each of us gifts.  Those gifts vary from person to person, and each is valuable.  Some have the gift of persuasion, others the gift of a pious spirit.  St. Augustine put it well when he said at his consecration as Bishop:
 
“The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved.
“The Gospel terrifies me.” – St. Augustine
 
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”  Today we are called again to pick up the standard of Christ and carry it into the world.  Today we pray for the strength of character to labor in God’s harvest.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture used today is “Le Christ Guerissant un Malade” [Christ Healing the Sick] by Mathieu Ignace van Bree (1773-1839).
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[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.