Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

“St Michael and the Devil”
by Raffaello Sanzio, 1518

Readings for Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Titus 1:1-9
 
Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
 
For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you,
on condition that a man be blameless,
married only once, with believing children
who are not accused of licentiousness or rebellious.
For a bishop as God’s steward must be blameless, not arrogant,
not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive,
not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness,
temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled,
holding fast to the true message as taught
so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine
and to refute opponents.
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Commentary on Ti 1:1-9
 
This selection is the introduction to St. Paul’s letter to Titus. At the beginning of the second paragraph he lets us know what Titus’ mission is – to form the Church on Crete (which according to the best scholarship, Paul himself never visited). He continues to remind Titus of the character attributes of presbyters (elders) and bishops in parallel with 1 Timothy 3: 1-7. The list of these attributes falls into four basic areas and is not intended to be a complete list, but rather foundational guidelines. These include: irreproachable conduct; his family should be Christian (in newly converted Crete this would have been a special emphasis); an upright and welcoming person; and a good grasp of Christian doctrine.
 
CCC: Ti 1:5-9 1577; Ti 1:5 1590
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
 
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
 
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
 
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
 
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
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Commentary on Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
 
Psalm 24 is a processional song. It recalls that God is the great creator, and he calls his people to be faithful. It is part of a hymn of entrance, sung as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the temple, followed by the faithful. The song asks the question: who can come into his presence, and answers: only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God). Those who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life from the savior.
 
The hymn focuses on the character of the one who worthily seeks God, and the one who is worthy to come into God’s kingdom and stand before him. This same concept is borrowed in a passage from John’s Revelation (Revelation 14:4ff): who are the ones allowed full access to God? They are those: “whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” In other words they are clean in heart, body, and spirit.
 
CCC: Ps 24:6 2582
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Gospel: Luke 17:1-6
 
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”
 
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
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Commentary on Lk 17:1-6
 
Jesus begins teaching his disciples about forgiveness in the selection from St. Luke’s Gospel. He tells his friends to hold each other accountable and to forgive them if they ask for forgiveness. Even if it is a great sin (“seven times in one day” using Hebrew numerology, this would be absolute sin followed by absolute apology and forgiveness) forgiveness should be given.
 
St. Luke’s Gospel gives us three sayings of Jesus to consider. The first is an exhortation not to lead others to sin (even though “sin will inevitably occur”). Jesus anticipates a situation that will later plague St. Paul – one of “false teachers.” Jesus’ view for these people is that it would be better for them if they had never been born. (Note: while in St. Luke’s Gospel he refers to “little ones” meaning poor or helpless, in St. Matthew this saying references adults: “those who believe in me.”)
 
The second saying involves forgiveness, both of self (“Be on your guard!”) and of others. The use of the number “seven” relates to Hebrew numerology and demonstrates the depth of forgiveness required of the Christian (cf. Genesis 4:24). The implication is perfect or complete forgiveness as referenced in 1 Corinthians 13:4f, 7.
 
The disciples' request for increased faith is answered in a way that implies that faith is evidenced first by results and understood later. “It is the quality rather than the quantity of faith that must be revitalized. The nuance of the Greek verbs indicates that if you ‘would say…it would already have obeyed you’ almost as though fulfillment anticipates faith.” [4]
 
CCC: Lk 17:1 2287; Lk 17:3-4 2845; Lk 17:4 2227; Lk 17:5 162
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Reflection:
 
While the three sayings of Jesus in St. Luke’s Gospel certainly merit deep reflection, we cannot help but be drawn to St. Paul’s instructions to Titus about the character of Christian pastors and ministers in the Church.  St. Luke’s Gospel passage actually gives us hope as we reflect upon the qualities of the Christian leader.
 
If we evaluate our own character against St. Paul’s model, most of us who have sought to lead others to Christ would feel completely inadequate.  Who among us has felt that we were of “irreproachable character”?  We have fallen so often into sin.  The very act of living in a human community exposes our weaknesses.  We lose our tempers (if not outwardly, certainly inwardly), we lust after people or things (again if not outwardly – inwardly), and we can never seem to reach the perfect forgiveness of others that one of “irreproachable character” would achieve.
 
Those of us with children are tested even further.  We certainly have our hands full in trying to insure they have strength of character to retain their faith in face of a secular society that not only dissuades them from Christian moral principles, but actively punishes them for acting upon them.
 
Our great hope and solace is that first line in St. Luke’s Gospel today: “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur.” Jesus recognized that “sin happens” (a better bumper sticker).   We are called to recognize that we will fall into sin, but we are challenged to identify it immediately and correct it.  God help us if we let ourselves fall into complacency where sin is concerned.  We are called to be examples of God’s commandments, of which the first and greatest of these is: “Love God, and love one another.”
 
As leaders of others (yes, we all have that job to a greater or lesser extent, which is why the letter to Titus is so scary) we are called to be examples of lived faith, and to express the love that must flow from the Son through us to all we meet.  We are called to spend time in introspection, making sure that what we do is appropriate for one of God’s adopted children.
 
Today we have a lot to think and pray about: our call to be examples to others, our challenge to forgive perfectly, and our call to be a people of faith.  Today we pray only to be the best Christians we can be.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “St Michael and the Devil” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1518.
[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.
[4] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 44:123, p. 150.