Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Biographical Information about St. John Chrysostom[1]
Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
St. Paul ties together his theme on the unity of the Church with an eloquent description of the Eucharistic meal and how that involvement for the Christian is a participation in Christ’s sacrifice and mission. He contrasts this holy meal with the Jewish and pagan practice of eating foods sacrificed to idols. Drawing upon the concept that the power behind pagan idols is demonic put forward in Deuteronomy: 32:7, the Apostle calls the community to stand faithfully with Christ – no compromise is possible.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13, 17-18
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
This selection from Psalm 116 recalls the Passover ritual referring to the “cup of salvation”. The psalm rejoices in God’s saving works in releasing the people from their bondage. This psalm of thanksgiving gives us the image of the “Cup of Blessing”. It is this cup that the Lord first blessed and used as our communion cup.
Gospel: Luke 6:43-49
St. Luke’s Gospel brings us the conclusion of Jesus’ discourse on judgment of others using the analogy of the fruits born by a tree – good and bad. The intent of this allegory was to expose false prophets – hypocrites who say one thing but do another.
The second section of this reading is the conclusion of Jesus’ long discourse. He uses the analogy of the house built upon sand and the house built upon rock to indicate that those how have a deep faith and act out of that faith have a strong foundation and can stand against adversity; while those who give the faith lip service and for others to see but do not have that deep faith will fall.
Reflection:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
This powerful statement is actually pointed at idolatry, comparing the Eucharistic celebration with pagan sacrifices. As we have noted earlier Corinth was not a nice place and as we have also commented (see Deacon's Bench - 9-12-06) and the Christian Community was under a lot of pressure to “fit in” (sound familiar) with the large Greek population sacrificing and worshiping multiple gods and idols. Paul calls to them to be faithful to the Gospel and understand that anything that leads them away from Christ is from the evil one.
Turning from Paul’s practical instruction to the One Body of Christ that is the Church to the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus focuses us on what we as individual members of the Body of Christ must be. He calls us to be the fruit of the vine that is Jesus Himself. He tells us that if we hear his word but do not act on his commandments, we are weak and will be destroyed like the house built upon sand that is washed away by the sea.
It is likely that this scripture has been used to blame parents for the actions of their children, giving birth to such clichés as “The acorn does not fall far from the tree.” and other axioms. But, if we look at the context in which the Lord is speaking we see that it is not offspring that he refers to when he says; “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit”; he is referring to a person’s actions, the fruits of the person’s labors.
He tells us that if we truly believe in him and hear his word, our actions will become “good fruit” and the implication is that we have become, in him, a good creation in God’s garden.
Today we are given two linked messages. First Paul reminds us that we are one in Christ and that our treasure is there, not with those who prize idols (material things) above the spiritual gifts given by the Lord. This unifying theme is brought home to us as Jesus reminds us that for us to bear good fruit we must follow his commandments and we know what he is talking about.
Pax
[1] Portrait of Saint John Chrysostom of Antioch (Hagios Ioannis Chrysostomos). An early Byzantine mosaic from the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). The mosaic is approximately 1,000 years old.
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
Biographical Information about St. John Chrysostom[1]
Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
St. Paul ties together his theme on the unity of the Church with an eloquent description of the Eucharistic meal and how that involvement for the Christian is a participation in Christ’s sacrifice and mission. He contrasts this holy meal with the Jewish and pagan practice of eating foods sacrificed to idols. Drawing upon the concept that the power behind pagan idols is demonic put forward in Deuteronomy: 32:7, the Apostle calls the community to stand faithfully with Christ – no compromise is possible.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13, 17-18
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
This selection from Psalm 116 recalls the Passover ritual referring to the “cup of salvation”. The psalm rejoices in God’s saving works in releasing the people from their bondage. This psalm of thanksgiving gives us the image of the “Cup of Blessing”. It is this cup that the Lord first blessed and used as our communion cup.
Gospel: Luke 6:43-49
St. Luke’s Gospel brings us the conclusion of Jesus’ discourse on judgment of others using the analogy of the fruits born by a tree – good and bad. The intent of this allegory was to expose false prophets – hypocrites who say one thing but do another.
The second section of this reading is the conclusion of Jesus’ long discourse. He uses the analogy of the house built upon sand and the house built upon rock to indicate that those how have a deep faith and act out of that faith have a strong foundation and can stand against adversity; while those who give the faith lip service and for others to see but do not have that deep faith will fall.
Reflection:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
This powerful statement is actually pointed at idolatry, comparing the Eucharistic celebration with pagan sacrifices. As we have noted earlier Corinth was not a nice place and as we have also commented (see Deacon's Bench - 9-12-06) and the Christian Community was under a lot of pressure to “fit in” (sound familiar) with the large Greek population sacrificing and worshiping multiple gods and idols. Paul calls to them to be faithful to the Gospel and understand that anything that leads them away from Christ is from the evil one.
Turning from Paul’s practical instruction to the One Body of Christ that is the Church to the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus focuses us on what we as individual members of the Body of Christ must be. He calls us to be the fruit of the vine that is Jesus Himself. He tells us that if we hear his word but do not act on his commandments, we are weak and will be destroyed like the house built upon sand that is washed away by the sea.
It is likely that this scripture has been used to blame parents for the actions of their children, giving birth to such clichés as “The acorn does not fall far from the tree.” and other axioms. But, if we look at the context in which the Lord is speaking we see that it is not offspring that he refers to when he says; “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit”; he is referring to a person’s actions, the fruits of the person’s labors.
He tells us that if we truly believe in him and hear his word, our actions will become “good fruit” and the implication is that we have become, in him, a good creation in God’s garden.
Today we are given two linked messages. First Paul reminds us that we are one in Christ and that our treasure is there, not with those who prize idols (material things) above the spiritual gifts given by the Lord. This unifying theme is brought home to us as Jesus reminds us that for us to bear good fruit we must follow his commandments and we know what he is talking about.
Pax
[1] Portrait of Saint John Chrysostom of Antioch (Hagios Ioannis Chrysostomos). An early Byzantine mosaic from the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). The mosaic is approximately 1,000 years old.
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
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