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“The Infant Jesus Distributing Bread to Pilgrims”
by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1678 |
Readings for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading I: Exodus 32:7-14
The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
The LORD said to Moses,
“I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
‘With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth’?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’“
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
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Commentary on Ex 32:7-14
Setting the stage for the dialogue between God and Moses, the stiff-necked people God has brought out of Egypt and slavery have once more strayed from faith. Moses’ long absence from them has allowed them to turn to idolatry, and Aaron has set up a golden calf proclaiming: “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4b)
“Yahweh informs Moses of the people's sin; these verses must originate from a source other than that of v.18, where Moses appears ignorant of what is happening in the camp. Yahweh has divorced himself from this sinful people, for he refers to them as ‘your people.’ He intends to destroy the wicked and form a new nation. Moses now assumes the role of mediator and appeals to God's honor for his own name before the pagan nations as a motive to prevent the destruction of his people. As a second motive, Moses recalls the promises accorded to Abraham. We note, however, the subsequent conflicting elements of the punishments invoked by Moses (Exodus 32:20, 25-29) and the testimony of Yahweh (Exodus 32:34).” [4]
CCC: Ex 32 210; Ex 32:1-34:9 2577
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
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Commentary on Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
Psalm 106 is a national lament remembering the events from Exodus 32:7-14, where the Jews, brought out of Egypt by Moses, fell into idol worship, even as he received the law on Mt. Horeb. The psalmist reminds the people that Moses interceded and turned away God’s wrath.
CCC: Ps 106:23 2577
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Gospel: John 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
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Commentary on Jn 5:31-47
Jesus continues his discourse as his revelation continues. He now focuses on testimony other than his own to demonstrate that he is the Son of God. He starts with John the Baptist and then moves to the works he has performed in the Father’s name, indicating that those actions give testimony that he is from God. Jesus finally points to Holy Scripture and tells the Jews that even Scripture testifies to his identity.
In the final section of this passage, Jesus chastises the Jews for their lack of belief in him. He points out that he did not come seeking praise or glory for his own sake (“I do not accept human praise”). He goes on to tell them they do not see the truth but will believe a lie if it conforms to what they believe the truth should be (“you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him”).
The logic of the Lord’s words in the final verses crashes down on them. If they reject Jesus in favor of the glory that comes from false prophets, then he does not need to condemn them; they are self-condemned. He tells them that if they believed Moses (the author of revelation in the Old Testament) they would believe in him (Jesus) and are now condemned by Moses as well, because by rejecting Jesus, they have disbelieved the word of Moses.
CCC: Jn 5:33 719; Jn 5:36 548, 582; Jn 5:39 702; Jn 5:46 702
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Reflection:
Jesus, in throwing the words of Moses into the face of the Hebrews who would not accept him as the Messiah, also challenges each of us. While we profess our faith in him as avowed Christians, by his words and example he asks us if we truly believe he is our Savior. He says: “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” We must ask ourselves: do our works testify that we are sent by Christ?
Through our Lenten discipline of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving it should be clear to those we meet that we are practicing Christians. But we must ask ourselves: do we try to hide that fact? Are we a little embarrassed to show our faith to the neighbor across the street or the co-worker in the next cubicle? Do we clearly work as Christ would if he were employed in our jobs, or given the same tasks to fulfill?
Jesus had to work very hard to change the minds of the Jews. They thought of God the Father as the punisher who had killed off an entire generation wandering in the desert. They thought of him as a harsh judge, allowing innocent people to be deformed and humiliated because of the sins of their ancestors. Jesus works to change that image through his own sacrifice. He is the love of the Father personified.
If we accept this new image of God, given to us in Christ’s revelation, we must act in ways that demonstrate this belief. We cannot hide Christ’s love under a basket or shrink away from opportunities to show others whom we believe in. This is the great challenge the Lord throws down once more in Scripture. We are called to testify to the Father and Son through what we do, not just what we say in the darkness of our evening prayers.
Let that be our pledge. Let us testify to the world through our actions that we truly believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Pax
Stations of the Cross
[1] The picture is “The Infant Jesus Distributing Bread to Pilgrims” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1678.
[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] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968, 3:90, p. 65.
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