Readings for Thursday following Epiphany[1][2]
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 1 John 4:19–5:4
We love (God) because
he first loved us.
If anyone says, “I love God,”
but hates his brother, he is a liar;
for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen
cannot love God whom he has not seen.
This is the commandment we have from him:
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves (also) the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 4:19–5:4
This passage from St. John’s first letter drives to heart of the original purpose for the Letter. “The fullness of Christian life as fellowship with the Father must be based on true belief and result in charitable living; knowledge of God and love for one another are inseparable, and error in one area inevitably affects the other.” [4]
The link forged by the Great Commandment of loving God and loving neighbor is strengthened by St. John who places Christ as an integral part. If a person loves God then perforce they must also love one another. If they do not love one another they do not love God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[5] Psalm 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
From fraud and violence he shall redeem them,
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
May they be prayed for continually;
day by day shall they bless him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
The royal psalm, Psalm 72, is continued for a third day with the same first verses and the same antiphon being used. The song of adoration continues as the promise of justice is extended from just the poor and marginalized to the promise to deal with those who prey upon the upright. The passage concludes with a blessing of God’s kindness and mercy proclaiming the universal peace that will flow to all mankind. Once again, while the originally this psalm was song by the king, we see in it God’s promise and the eternal rule of peace and justice brought by the Messiah.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 4:14-22
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Luke 4:14-22
This selection from St. Luke’s Gospel takes place immediately following the Lord’s Baptism by St. John and trial in the desert. His return to Galilee is also documented in St. Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 4:12-17). Here the Lord begins his public ministry with a straightforward statement of his identity and mission; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free”. This announcement of Isaiah’s prophecy being fulfilled tells the audience he is the Messiah who came bringing them salvation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
In this week sandwiched between the Feast of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord we hear two layers of teaching from the Holy Scriptures. From the First Letter of John, there continues this incredible synthesis of understanding. He builds our understanding of what it means to encounter Christ and live as he wanted us to live. While the letter we have been hearing all week was intended to battle false teachers, the antichrist as he called them, he also reinforces the Great Commandment.
Today as we listen, he links all of the pieces together. If we are Christians, that is if we believe in the Only Son of God who came into the world so that we might be freed from sin to live as adopted children of God, then we must love God. That is because if we love the Son, we also love the Father because they are one. At the same time, if we love the Father and the Son we must love our brothers and sisters since God is also in them. If we do not love one another then we are false and cannot love the Father and Son because we have denied them in our Brothers and sisters.
While this sounds completely circular and a bit confusing at first blush, the message is quite simple. If we love God, as we all profess, then since Christ is God, we love him. And further, since Christ is in all of us, if we love God we must love one another. The difficult part is not understanding the concept, it is implementing it.
While we are in one place, worshiping God together, it is easy to look at the person next to us and in our common belief, see Christ in that person. When we go out into the streets; to our homes, our school, or place of business - that is when it gets difficult. No longer infused with the reverence but focused on familiar secular tasks we frequently forget God’s presence. It is lost as we focus our minds at the tasks at hand.
Let our challenge for today be to keep God always close to us. Let our love for him color everything we do and be present in our encounters all day long.
Pax
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 1 John 4:19–5:4
We love (God) because
he first loved us.
If anyone says, “I love God,”
but hates his brother, he is a liar;
for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen
cannot love God whom he has not seen.
This is the commandment we have from him:
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves (also) the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 4:19–5:4
This passage from St. John’s first letter drives to heart of the original purpose for the Letter. “The fullness of Christian life as fellowship with the Father must be based on true belief and result in charitable living; knowledge of God and love for one another are inseparable, and error in one area inevitably affects the other.” [4]
The link forged by the Great Commandment of loving God and loving neighbor is strengthened by St. John who places Christ as an integral part. If a person loves God then perforce they must also love one another. If they do not love one another they do not love God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[5] Psalm 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
From fraud and violence he shall redeem them,
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
May they be prayed for continually;
day by day shall they bless him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
The royal psalm, Psalm 72, is continued for a third day with the same first verses and the same antiphon being used. The song of adoration continues as the promise of justice is extended from just the poor and marginalized to the promise to deal with those who prey upon the upright. The passage concludes with a blessing of God’s kindness and mercy proclaiming the universal peace that will flow to all mankind. Once again, while the originally this psalm was song by the king, we see in it God’s promise and the eternal rule of peace and justice brought by the Messiah.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 4:14-22
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Luke 4:14-22
This selection from St. Luke’s Gospel takes place immediately following the Lord’s Baptism by St. John and trial in the desert. His return to Galilee is also documented in St. Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 4:12-17). Here the Lord begins his public ministry with a straightforward statement of his identity and mission; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free”. This announcement of Isaiah’s prophecy being fulfilled tells the audience he is the Messiah who came bringing them salvation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
In this week sandwiched between the Feast of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord we hear two layers of teaching from the Holy Scriptures. From the First Letter of John, there continues this incredible synthesis of understanding. He builds our understanding of what it means to encounter Christ and live as he wanted us to live. While the letter we have been hearing all week was intended to battle false teachers, the antichrist as he called them, he also reinforces the Great Commandment.
Today as we listen, he links all of the pieces together. If we are Christians, that is if we believe in the Only Son of God who came into the world so that we might be freed from sin to live as adopted children of God, then we must love God. That is because if we love the Son, we also love the Father because they are one. At the same time, if we love the Father and the Son we must love our brothers and sisters since God is also in them. If we do not love one another then we are false and cannot love the Father and Son because we have denied them in our Brothers and sisters.
While this sounds completely circular and a bit confusing at first blush, the message is quite simple. If we love God, as we all profess, then since Christ is God, we love him. And further, since Christ is in all of us, if we love God we must love one another. The difficult part is not understanding the concept, it is implementing it.
While we are in one place, worshiping God together, it is easy to look at the person next to us and in our common belief, see Christ in that person. When we go out into the streets; to our homes, our school, or place of business - that is when it gets difficult. No longer infused with the reverence but focused on familiar secular tasks we frequently forget God’s presence. It is lost as we focus our minds at the tasks at hand.
Let our challenge for today be to keep God always close to us. Let our love for him color everything we do and be present in our encounters all day long.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is “Christ Preaching” by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1652
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] From “Introduction to the Epistles of John” New American Bible (NAB)
[5] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment