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| “The Fall of Man” by Cornelis Van Haarlem, 1592 |
Readings for Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Genesis 3:1-8
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
"Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?"
The woman answered the serpent:
"We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"
But the serpent said to the woman:
"You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil."
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
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Commentary on Gn 3:1-8
Genesis provides the account of “The Fall.” We hear how mankind fell from grace through original sin. The account of temptation by the serpent is given. The serpent (personification of evil) first distorts the truth to tempt the woman, telling her that there would be no punishment. It then tells her that she would become like God. The use of the serpent to represent fallen human nature is probably a reference to the serpent used in pagan fertility rituals at the time. The serpent is one of the “beasts of the field” named by man and is not intrinsically evil.
CCC: Gn 3 390, 2795; Gn 3:1-5 391; Gn 3:1-11 397; Gn 3:3 1008; Gn 3:5 392, 398, 399, 1850; Gn 3:6 2541, 2847; Gn 3:7 400; Gn 3:8-10 29
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R. (1a) Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
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Commentary on Ps 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
Psalm 32 is an individual hymn of thanksgiving. The psalmist (presumably King David) sings a song of gratitude that the Almighty Father has pardoned his sins (which were freely confessed). In spite of these blemishes, salvation is heaped upon the repentant person.
Providing hope for mankind following the story of the Fall, the psalmist is rejoicing for the one whose sins are forgiven. Then he gives thanks for God’s saving work, emphasizing that only the Lord can deliver us from sin.
CCC: Ps 32 304; Ps 32:5 1502
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Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
" Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
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Commentary on Mk 7:31-37
Returning from his encounter with the Syrophoenician woman, the Lord now heals the deaf mute. This action, especially the wording of the final quote: “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak,” which is a paraphrase from Isaiah 35:5-6, demonstrates the fulfillment of prophecy.
The Lord’s actions are sacramental in nature, that is, they accomplish what they signify. As the Lord takes the man aside, he puts his fingers into the man’s mouth and ears. He then sighs or groans ("he sighed: A sign either of his deep emotion over the man's pitiful condition, or, as Lohmeyer believes, of Jesus' transcendence, which is contained by human limits foreign to it." [4]) looking heavenward, demonstrating his intimate relationship to the father, and says, “ephphatha!,” or “be opened."
This passage has two unusual characteristics. First, the Lord takes the man aside, in private, implying something private was offered by the Messiah. Next, after his cure was effected, he tells the man not to tell anyone. However, not only does the man continue to do so, but proclaims it. We are given the sense that the event taking place is significant in that it is pointedly revelatory, citing a new creation (cf. Genesis 1:31).
CCC: Mk 7:32-36 1504; Mk 7:33-35 1151
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Reflection:
The scripture readings we are given today are all tied together in an event we share, our baptism in the Lord. In the first reading from Genesis we hear the story of “The Fall.” Mankind falls from grace by violating God’s expectation of obedience. The original sin is thrust upon mankind. (See also “Reflections on the Fall”.)
Following the story of the fall from grace, Psalm 32 rejoices because God can and does wash the stain of sin away. Happy are those for whom this has been done, cries King David.
Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus cures the deaf mute. He opens the man’s ears and lips, pronouncing the word “Ephphetha.” In doing so he reveals his saving power.
Original sin is the driving reason for our tradition of baptizing infants. The absence of original sin was the gift given to Mary, the Mother of God, whose womb was free from all sin. Baptism restores us to grace by wiping away that fallen nature initiated in the Genesis story. In it we are adopted through Christ and made children of God. Echoing the words of the psalmist, we rejoice because “Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.”
If it has been a while since you have attended a baptism, let me refresh your memory a bit. Following the sacramental bath, that also does what it symbolizes, and following the anointing with chrism and the vesting with the white garment, the celebrant goes to the child. He says:
“The Lord Jesus made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your lips to proclaim his faith, to the glory of God the Father. Amen”
The prayer is called the Ephphetha and we remember this very special event with that prayer each time a child is baptized in the Church. It recalls to us our adoption, not only as children of God, but disciples of Jesus Christ with all the responsibilities that go with it.
Today we thank God for our gift of baptism and pray that the strength given in that sacrament will help us face the challenges of discipleship.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “The Fall of Man” by Cornelis Van Haarlem, 1592.
[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, 42:45, p. 38.
