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“The Baptism”
by Pietro Longhi, 1755 |
Readings for Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Ezekiel 36:23-28
Thus says the Lord:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
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Commentary on Ez 36:23-28
The prophet envisions the blessings of God being poured out upon the faithful, transforming them with an interior conversion of heart, such that they become a sign of God’s great power to all the lands. (“Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.”) This conversion is initiated by cleansing (“I will sprinkle clean water upon you”) and only God may do this; forgiveness is his alone. The process is continued with an indelible change of heart, accomplished this time through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (“I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you”). This process, once completed, brings forth a new creation and heavenly adoption (“you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”). Theologically, this passage embodies the modern understanding of the gifts given in the sacrament of baptism.
CCC: Ez 36 64, 2811; Ez 36:25-28 715; Ez 36:25-27 1287; Ez 36:26-27 1432; Ez 36:26 368
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Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
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Commentary on Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
Psalm 51 is the fourth and most famous of the penitential psalms. The psalmist sings, in these verses, that only God can reverse the awful effects of sin. Through this action, taken by the Holy Spirit, God’s salvation is made manifest in the repentant and contrite heart. We are also reminded of baptism, and the purifying effect of that bath.
CCC: Ps 51:12 298, 431; Ps 51:19 1428, 2100
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Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying,
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
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Commentary on Mt 22:1-14
St. Matthew’s Gospel presents us with the parable of the King's Wedding Feast. The first servants sent to invite the guests were the prophets, rejected or misunderstood by the Jewish leadership. The second servants sent represent Christ himself, who here predicts his own death at the hands of the people he was sent to invite.
In the second section, we see that the feast that was prepared for God’s chosen people, the Hebrew nation who were first invited, is left unattended. Therefore, God’s mercy is extended to all people of all nations. There is a warning at the end. Those not clothed in Christ who attempt to enter by deception will be punished severely. This caution can be seen in two connotations. First, those not properly disposed to participate in the wedding feast, recreated in the eucharistic sacrifice, commit a serious sin. It also can be seen as the rationale for purgatory, since the process of purification dresses the faithful for the eternal banquet in heaven.
CCC: Mt 22:1-14 546, 796
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Reflection:
In August each year in the Detroit area, an event called the “Woodward Dream Cruise” takes place. If you had the chance to go down to Woodward Avenue in past years you would have seen all sorts of vintage cars and custom vehicles driving up and down the street. The people who bring them there have spent hours preparing them, and in many cases thousands of dollars to restore them. The reasons they do this are as varied as the number of cars on the street. Some just love to work with their hands and love cars. Others feel nostalgic; they remembered a car or truck from their youth and want to relive the experience.
When these cars first rolled off the assembly line fifty or even a hundred years ago, they sparkled. Their paint was new, the upholstery fresh from the mills. They had that new car smell. We all know that smell if we have been fortunate enough to own or test drive a new car. Later, most vehicles of their age were worn out. They fell into such disrepair that the owners “junked” them. The few that were saved from the junk heap are the ones we see on Woodward Avenue.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks of people being made new. He describes the process by which God, in his infinite mercy, offers us a share in his heavenly banquet. In baptism he sprinkles clean water upon us, cleansing us. He changes our fallen nature; contaminated when Adam and Eve, our ancestral parents, fell from grace. He makes us a new creation and anoints us with sanctifying oil. We may not remember it, but when we came out of that bath, and were so anointed, we had that “new car smell.” We had clothed ourselves in Christ. Dressed like that we were ready for God’s heavenly banquet to which all are invited.
Now some of us, through prayer and sacrament, have kept that suit of Christ in pretty good shape. Regular trips to the confessional have kept us pretty well maintained. Others have not been so fortunate. They have not maintained the armor of Christ, the suit of holiness. Some have even thrown themselves on the junk heap of life. For these, the process of restoration in purgatory will be long and painful, if they are to come at last to the king’s table. For most of us we hope our maintenance has been sufficient, so that a quick coat of paint and a few dings being banged out will be enough.
Today especially we thank God for his mercy in providing that first bath of baptism. We pray that through his love and mercy we may come before him clothed in Christ and be welcomed on the last day.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Baptism” by Pietro Longhi, 1755.
[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.
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