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"St. Ambrose Polyptych" (detail)
by Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1477 |
Readings for Saturday of the First Week of Advent [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26
Thus says the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,
no more will you weep;
He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or to the left.
He will give rain for the seed
that you sow in the ground,
And the wheat that the soil produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your flock will be given pasture
and the lamb will graze in spacious meadows;
The oxen and the asses that till the ground
will eat silage tossed to them
with shovel and pitchfork.
Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
when the towers fall,
The light of the moon will be like that of the sun
and the light of the sun will be seven times greater
like the light of seven days.
On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people,
he will heal the bruises left by his blows.
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Commentary on Is 30:19-21, 23-26
This reading from Isaiah gives hope to those who are without hope, as the prophet speaks of the patience and mercy of the Father. God, says the prophet, hears the cry of his faithful and provides for them. The tone here, using the word "teacher," links this passage to the Gospels, where sixty-five (65) times Jesus assumes that title and admits to that role (John 13:13). The prophet foresees a time of great prosperity when the faithful hear the Lord and obey.
“Isaiah’s impassioned appeal to Jerusalem. He is adamant that God wants nothing more than to answer the prayers of his people in Zion (30:19) to send blessings upon them (30:23) and to heal their wounds (30:26). They have only to put their trust in him (30:18) and to discard their worthless idols (30:22) to receive these mercies.” [4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (see Isaiah 30:18d) Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power:
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
This hymn of praise anticipates the coming of the Messiah who restores what is lost and gives hope to the poor. It is the poor upon whom he lavishes special blessings: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
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Gospel: Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
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.”
Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
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Commentary on Mt 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
"Seeing the crowds, Jesus experiences an inward tremor, and that movement of compassion activates his poetic imagination as a pious and learned Jew. He recalls the passage in the book of Numbers (27:15-17) where Moses asks God to appoint a man to lead Israel, lest it be like sheep without a shepherd and the passage in Ezekiel (34:5) where the prophet says of the Jews: 'They are scattered, they have no shepherd, they have become the prey of wild beasts.'" [5]
This selection emphasizes Jesus' early struggle to accomplish what he came to do by himself. We sense his humanness as he says, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few." Christ has the sense that the disciples are ready to take a more active role in proclaiming the kingdom of God. He asks them to pray for God’s spirit and strength (“so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest").
At the beginning of chapter 10, St. Matthew names the Twelve and calls his special friends apostles, which means “one who is sent” (the only time in St. Matthew’s Gospel this term is used). They are then sent, but only to the “chosen people.” It is not until after Christ’s death and resurrection that the Gospel is brought to the Gentiles.
CCC: Mt 9:38 2611; Mt 10:5-7 543; Mt 10:8 1509, 2121, 2443
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Reflection:
Scripture presents an interesting paradox today. The reading from the prophet Isaiah describes God’s infinite patience and mercy. He calls the faithful and offers them the fruits of his creation to give them ease. Isaiah depicts a time of idyllic peace. The image of the New Jerusalem is seen as a place where all of God’s blessings come together.
Contemplating those verses one might almost think of the final scene from the movie Forrest Gump where the main character, the mentally challenged Forrest, sees his young son off to school telling him he will be waiting for his return. He then sits down patiently to do just that. The implication is that he will sit in that spot until his son returns at the end of the day.
Psalm 147 does nothing to dispel the notion of patient waiting, basking in God’s mercy. Rather it supports Isaiah’s understanding that our Heavenly Father has intense love for those who suffer. It is they who most urgently hope for the coming of the kingdom of God.
Next, we are given St. Matthew’s Gospel in which the Lord charges his disciples to go out into the world to proclaim that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” There is no sense of patient waiting, but rather a feeling of the need for intense preparation.
The answer to the paradox is explained, of course, by looking at the genre of the Scripture. Isaiah, the great prophet, is seeing the kingdom of God that is to come. He envisions the great and merciful God who loves his people, providing all good things for them. Jesus, although having all the gifts of prophecy, is an active force, preparing the people for the kingdom of God, which is at hand.
Using the analogy of the farmer, Jesus sees that the seeds sown by the prophets and fed by the Law of Moses are ready for harvest. The flock they represent is ready to be shown its final destination. So, he sends his friends out into that field to collect the harvest, something he would need much more time to accomplish alone.
Now we step back and look around. We are preparing for his return as well as the celebration of the Lord’s Nativity. Are we to withdraw from the world and sit patiently waiting for the kingdom of God that will come, like Forrest Gump? Or are we to go into the world to assist with the harvest? The Lord’s will seems clear in this instance. He calls us, like his disciples, to be active in the world and to assist with his harvest, proclaiming the coming kingdom by word and example. The great feast will come later.
Pax
[1] The picture is "St. Ambrose Polyptych" (detail) by Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1477.[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] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Isaiah, © 2019, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.60.
[5] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 516.
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