Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs
Additional Information about St. Marcellinus and St. Peter[1]
Readings for Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 2 Peter 1:2-7
This is the first of a series of readings from the Second Letter of Peter. This letter was admitted to the canon late because it is thought to have been written by someone other than the Apostle Peter writing under a pseudonym. This first section set the stage for the principle thrust of the letter which is against false teachers, specifically those who doubted that there would be a “second coming” of Christ.
The author points out that knowledge is the key to understanding and realizing the gift of divine promises of Christ. He then goes on to present a graduation of qualities beginning with faith that leads at last to Christian love – the ultimate expression of Christ’s gift in the world.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 91:1-2, 14-15b, 15c-16
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
The hymn of thanksgiving that is Psalm 91 gives praise to God for the salvation of his people. He saves those who believe in Him from the distress and fear.
Gospel Mark 12:1-12
The setting for the Parable of the Vineyard is Jesus speaking to the crowds in the Temple precincts in Jerusalem. He has been challenged by the Pharisees and this parable is addressed to them in response. The vineyard represents Israel, the tenant farmers the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. The messengers represent the prophets and the “Beloved Son” Jesus. The story indicates that the current leaders will be removed and a “new Israel” will rise. Jesus concludes using one of the favorite Old Testament proof-texts, Psalm 118:22-23.
Reflection:
There is an on-going struggle, even within our Christian ranks, to discover how best to follow Jesus’ teachings. Some argue that “I don’t need a church. I am a spiritual person and I read the Bible. I am a good person.” We would not argue with the last statement. There are many people who are good – look at Gandhi – he was a very good person. An individual, doing their best to follow their impulses to do “good”, is not what Christianity is about. It is the sum of its members responding together to challenge the status quo and transform the world.
Christ’s mission was not to introduce an individual form of self improvement. He came so that salvation might be given to those who could find the strength to follow him. An individual doing “good” things, reading the bible, praying to God, has found a selfish expression of faith that will make them feel good and not require any effort to change either what they do (they have excluded from their circle anyone who would challenge them) or how they interpret “good” from what they read. That individual might rationalize excellent reasons for rejecting “organized religion.” Most commonly heard are things like; “I don’t need them to know what’s right or how to pray” or “They are all a bunch of hypocrites.” It is like a soldier saying “I know that our side is right in going to war but I’ll fight when the enemies are at my front door” or “Soldiers are supposed to be brave, the ones I met were all scared.”
The expression of faith, lived in the world is something that Christ calls us to. It is difficult to do what he asks and if we find our selves comfortable in the pew, content with the faith, we probably need to fire ourselves up. The Second Letter of Peter pushes us hard in that direction and the Gospel reminds us that when we push as he wants us to, others will almost certainly push back (“So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.”).
Our prayer today is that we will not be complacent in the faith we share; that we will take that faith boldly into the world and demonstrate the love Christ calls us to share as our badge of Christianity.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Sts Mark and Marcellinus Being Led to Martyrdom” by Paolo Veronese, c. 1585
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
Additional Information about St. Marcellinus and St. Peter[1]
Readings for Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 2 Peter 1:2-7
This is the first of a series of readings from the Second Letter of Peter. This letter was admitted to the canon late because it is thought to have been written by someone other than the Apostle Peter writing under a pseudonym. This first section set the stage for the principle thrust of the letter which is against false teachers, specifically those who doubted that there would be a “second coming” of Christ.
The author points out that knowledge is the key to understanding and realizing the gift of divine promises of Christ. He then goes on to present a graduation of qualities beginning with faith that leads at last to Christian love – the ultimate expression of Christ’s gift in the world.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 91:1-2, 14-15b, 15c-16
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
The hymn of thanksgiving that is Psalm 91 gives praise to God for the salvation of his people. He saves those who believe in Him from the distress and fear.
Gospel Mark 12:1-12
The setting for the Parable of the Vineyard is Jesus speaking to the crowds in the Temple precincts in Jerusalem. He has been challenged by the Pharisees and this parable is addressed to them in response. The vineyard represents Israel, the tenant farmers the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. The messengers represent the prophets and the “Beloved Son” Jesus. The story indicates that the current leaders will be removed and a “new Israel” will rise. Jesus concludes using one of the favorite Old Testament proof-texts, Psalm 118:22-23.
Reflection:
There is an on-going struggle, even within our Christian ranks, to discover how best to follow Jesus’ teachings. Some argue that “I don’t need a church. I am a spiritual person and I read the Bible. I am a good person.” We would not argue with the last statement. There are many people who are good – look at Gandhi – he was a very good person. An individual, doing their best to follow their impulses to do “good”, is not what Christianity is about. It is the sum of its members responding together to challenge the status quo and transform the world.
Christ’s mission was not to introduce an individual form of self improvement. He came so that salvation might be given to those who could find the strength to follow him. An individual doing “good” things, reading the bible, praying to God, has found a selfish expression of faith that will make them feel good and not require any effort to change either what they do (they have excluded from their circle anyone who would challenge them) or how they interpret “good” from what they read. That individual might rationalize excellent reasons for rejecting “organized religion.” Most commonly heard are things like; “I don’t need them to know what’s right or how to pray” or “They are all a bunch of hypocrites.” It is like a soldier saying “I know that our side is right in going to war but I’ll fight when the enemies are at my front door” or “Soldiers are supposed to be brave, the ones I met were all scared.”
The expression of faith, lived in the world is something that Christ calls us to. It is difficult to do what he asks and if we find our selves comfortable in the pew, content with the faith, we probably need to fire ourselves up. The Second Letter of Peter pushes us hard in that direction and the Gospel reminds us that when we push as he wants us to, others will almost certainly push back (“So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.”).
Our prayer today is that we will not be complacent in the faith we share; that we will take that faith boldly into the world and demonstrate the love Christ calls us to share as our badge of Christianity.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Sts Mark and Marcellinus Being Led to Martyrdom” by Paolo Veronese, c. 1585
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
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