Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Ephesians 4:7-16
But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore, it says:
He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.
What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended
into the lower regions of the earth?
The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things.
And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood
to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
so that we may no longer be infants,
tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching
arising from human trickery,
from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
Rather, living the truth in love,
we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
from whom the whole Body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
with the proper functioning of each part,
brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Eph 4:7-16
St. Paul continues his plea for unity in this passage. He defines unity, through his analogy and example as more than just sharing a belief in Christ. Unity is exemplified by the gifts (and grace) given by Christ. The apostle uses a quote from an older form of Psalm 68:18-19 (the psalm itself depicts Yahweh leading Israel to salvation, St. Paul sees in this image Jesus entry to the New Jerusalem) to describe how Jesus (metaphorically capturing the spirits of the faithful) brought gifts to each person. The reference “…he also descended” likely refers to Christ’s incarnation rather than to his decent following his crucifixion.
St. Paul continues his discourse enumerating the leadership gifts given to “building up the Body of Christ”, bringing the fledgling Church to maturity. In maturity, the apostle tells the Ephesians, they will resist those who teach falsely and become more unified in the love they share.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
walled round about.
Here the tribes have come,
the tribes of the LORD,
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
As it was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
Here are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
Psalm 122 is a processional psalm sung by pilgrims making the required three annual trips to Jerusalem. In these strophes the image of “going up to Jerusalem” echoes the Lord’s return in St. Paul’s quote of Psalm 68.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
At that time some people who were present there
told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them–
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 13:1-9
The incident recorded at the beginning of this reading (likely the accidental death of those on whom the tower fell) is found only in St. Luke’s Gospel. Based upon historical works of the time, the actions of Pilate were in keeping with his character. Jesus uses the event to call his audience to repentance.
“Following on the call to repentance, the parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Luke 3:8). The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of the age because the delay will not be permanent”[iv]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The challenge of Christian unity is much greater than most of us understand. At the level of denominational integration (or reunification) there are major challenges of dogmatic differences. These may be eventually overcome as truth is debated in open dialogue. The greater challenge may be at the individual level; the level at which most of us will engage in our evangelical process of witnessing the faith in the world.
When we begin discussing things of God, we quickly discover what a slippery slope secular values and understanding creates for those whose faith foundation is either inadequate or ineffective. In a recent discussion with a person I assumed to be a member of a Protestant denomination, I discovered to my amazement (because the person was a sibling) that when push came to shove, they did not believe in the divinity of Christ. A notable quote from that conversation was “The best Christian I have ever met was a Hindu.”
We wonder how a person, brought up in a Christian home could fall so far from the core beliefs of the Christian faith. We went further speaking about what Sacred Scripture meant and found that there too, my sibling believed it to be nothing more than a moral code, arbitrarily assembled from ancient documents. How do we bring such a one to understand the fundamental lack of understanding?
We are called to be one body, believing in one Lord Jesus Christ. We should feel compelled to share that gift and promise with others. But how do we tell them that they need to make that change – especially if they have rejected that call and turned away? All we can do is continue to witness our faith and pray for those who have not come to faith or who have fallen away, that they might be brought through the death of faith back to the light. In the mean time, we thank God for the fig tree. God is patient.
Pax
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture used today is “The Redeemer” by Master of the Osservanza, c. 1450
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Psalm Response is from Printed source United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194
November 11, 2002 Copyright (c) by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[iv] See NAB footnote on Luke 13:6-9
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Ephesians 4:7-16
But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore, it says:
He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.
What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended
into the lower regions of the earth?
The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things.
And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood
to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
so that we may no longer be infants,
tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching
arising from human trickery,
from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
Rather, living the truth in love,
we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
from whom the whole Body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
with the proper functioning of each part,
brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Eph 4:7-16
St. Paul continues his plea for unity in this passage. He defines unity, through his analogy and example as more than just sharing a belief in Christ. Unity is exemplified by the gifts (and grace) given by Christ. The apostle uses a quote from an older form of Psalm 68:18-19 (the psalm itself depicts Yahweh leading Israel to salvation, St. Paul sees in this image Jesus entry to the New Jerusalem) to describe how Jesus (metaphorically capturing the spirits of the faithful) brought gifts to each person. The reference “…he also descended” likely refers to Christ’s incarnation rather than to his decent following his crucifixion.
St. Paul continues his discourse enumerating the leadership gifts given to “building up the Body of Christ”, bringing the fledgling Church to maturity. In maturity, the apostle tells the Ephesians, they will resist those who teach falsely and become more unified in the love they share.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
walled round about.
Here the tribes have come,
the tribes of the LORD,
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
As it was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
Here are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
Psalm 122 is a processional psalm sung by pilgrims making the required three annual trips to Jerusalem. In these strophes the image of “going up to Jerusalem” echoes the Lord’s return in St. Paul’s quote of Psalm 68.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
At that time some people who were present there
told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them–
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 13:1-9
The incident recorded at the beginning of this reading (likely the accidental death of those on whom the tower fell) is found only in St. Luke’s Gospel. Based upon historical works of the time, the actions of Pilate were in keeping with his character. Jesus uses the event to call his audience to repentance.
“Following on the call to repentance, the parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Luke 3:8). The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of the age because the delay will not be permanent”[iv]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The challenge of Christian unity is much greater than most of us understand. At the level of denominational integration (or reunification) there are major challenges of dogmatic differences. These may be eventually overcome as truth is debated in open dialogue. The greater challenge may be at the individual level; the level at which most of us will engage in our evangelical process of witnessing the faith in the world.
When we begin discussing things of God, we quickly discover what a slippery slope secular values and understanding creates for those whose faith foundation is either inadequate or ineffective. In a recent discussion with a person I assumed to be a member of a Protestant denomination, I discovered to my amazement (because the person was a sibling) that when push came to shove, they did not believe in the divinity of Christ. A notable quote from that conversation was “The best Christian I have ever met was a Hindu.”
We wonder how a person, brought up in a Christian home could fall so far from the core beliefs of the Christian faith. We went further speaking about what Sacred Scripture meant and found that there too, my sibling believed it to be nothing more than a moral code, arbitrarily assembled from ancient documents. How do we bring such a one to understand the fundamental lack of understanding?
We are called to be one body, believing in one Lord Jesus Christ. We should feel compelled to share that gift and promise with others. But how do we tell them that they need to make that change – especially if they have rejected that call and turned away? All we can do is continue to witness our faith and pray for those who have not come to faith or who have fallen away, that they might be brought through the death of faith back to the light. In the mean time, we thank God for the fig tree. God is patient.
Pax
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture used today is “The Redeemer” by Master of the Osservanza, c. 1450
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Psalm Response is from Printed source United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194
November 11, 2002 Copyright (c) by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[iv] See NAB footnote on Luke 13:6-9
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