Readings for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Exodus 32:7-14
The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
The LORD said to Moses,
"I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth'?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 32:7-14
“Yahweh informs Moses of the people's sin; these verses must originate from a source other than that of v.18, where Moses appears ignorant of what is happening in the camp. Yahweh has divorced himself from this sinful people, for he refers to them as "your people." He intends to destroy the wicked and form a new nation. Moses now assumes the role of mediator and appeals to God's honor for his own name before the pagan nations as a motive to prevent the destruction of his people. As a second motive, Moses recalls the promises accorded to Abraham. We note, however, the subsequent conflicting elements of the punishments invoked by Moses (Exodus 32:20, 25-29) and the testimony of Yahweh (Exodus 32:34).”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
Psalm 106 is a national lament remembering the events from Exodus in the first reading. It reminds the people that Moses interceded and turned away God’s wrath.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
"I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 5:31-47
Jesus continues his discourse as his revelation continues. He now focuses on testimony other than his own to demonstrate that he is the Son of God. He starts with John the Baptist and then moves to the works he has performed in the Father’s name indicating that those actions give testimony that he is from God. Jesus finally points to Holy Scripture and tells the Jews that even scripture testifies to his identity.
In the final section of this passage, Jesus chastises the Jews for their lack of belief in him. He points out that he did not come seeking praise or glory for his own sake (“I do not accept human praise”). He goes on to tell them they do not see the truth but will believe a lie if it conforms to what they believe the truth should be. (“…you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him”)
The logic of the Lord’s words in the final verses crashes down on them. If they reject Jesus in favor of the glory that comes from false prophets then he does not need to condemn them, they are self condemned. He tells them that if they believed Moses (the author of revelation in the Old Testament) they would believe in him (Jesus) and are now condemned by Moses as well because by rejecting Jesus, they have disbelieved in the word of Moses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
There is a debate among Permanent Deacons that surfaces from time to time about whether we should wear the Roman Collar as the Priest does, to visibly set ourselves apart as clergy. If you are wondering why we do not, it is because the Bishops have wisely dispensed us from that requirement.
The next obvious question one might ask is “Well how would someone know you have the authority to do the things your faculties grant you? How would the passerby know you were clergy?” The Bishops argument (supported I might add by a majority of my brother deacons) is based in part upon the scripture passage from the Gospel today:
“The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”
I grant you that these words of Jesus, speaking of himself, are not completely fulfilled in us deacons, only Christ himself could make that statement and fulfill it completely. It does, however, demonstrate the point. The deacon should be recognized immediately, as should all who believe in Christ, because of the way we behave, our attitudes, everything that comes from us should shout that we belong to Christ.
The deacon is intended to live the Christian paradox. Like all Christians we are called to live in the world but not be of the world. That means that while we live and participate in secular society we do not adopt the values of human world. Our values come for God through Moses and Jesus.
If the deacon needs clerical garb to tell others who he is, he has failed to live up to the pledge he accepted at ordination to “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you now are. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
Since all of us share this call as a consequence of our baptism, this statement of Christ challenges us all. Do we act in such a way that there is no doubt about to whom we belong? Do our actions proclaim our passion for Jesus? This is the very heart of the Gospel and our ongoing call to conversion.
Pax
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Exodus 32:7-14
The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
The LORD said to Moses,
"I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth'?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 32:7-14
“Yahweh informs Moses of the people's sin; these verses must originate from a source other than that of v.18, where Moses appears ignorant of what is happening in the camp. Yahweh has divorced himself from this sinful people, for he refers to them as "your people." He intends to destroy the wicked and form a new nation. Moses now assumes the role of mediator and appeals to God's honor for his own name before the pagan nations as a motive to prevent the destruction of his people. As a second motive, Moses recalls the promises accorded to Abraham. We note, however, the subsequent conflicting elements of the punishments invoked by Moses (Exodus 32:20, 25-29) and the testimony of Yahweh (Exodus 32:34).”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
Psalm 106 is a national lament remembering the events from Exodus in the first reading. It reminds the people that Moses interceded and turned away God’s wrath.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
"I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 5:31-47
Jesus continues his discourse as his revelation continues. He now focuses on testimony other than his own to demonstrate that he is the Son of God. He starts with John the Baptist and then moves to the works he has performed in the Father’s name indicating that those actions give testimony that he is from God. Jesus finally points to Holy Scripture and tells the Jews that even scripture testifies to his identity.
In the final section of this passage, Jesus chastises the Jews for their lack of belief in him. He points out that he did not come seeking praise or glory for his own sake (“I do not accept human praise”). He goes on to tell them they do not see the truth but will believe a lie if it conforms to what they believe the truth should be. (“…you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him”)
The logic of the Lord’s words in the final verses crashes down on them. If they reject Jesus in favor of the glory that comes from false prophets then he does not need to condemn them, they are self condemned. He tells them that if they believed Moses (the author of revelation in the Old Testament) they would believe in him (Jesus) and are now condemned by Moses as well because by rejecting Jesus, they have disbelieved in the word of Moses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
There is a debate among Permanent Deacons that surfaces from time to time about whether we should wear the Roman Collar as the Priest does, to visibly set ourselves apart as clergy. If you are wondering why we do not, it is because the Bishops have wisely dispensed us from that requirement.
The next obvious question one might ask is “Well how would someone know you have the authority to do the things your faculties grant you? How would the passerby know you were clergy?” The Bishops argument (supported I might add by a majority of my brother deacons) is based in part upon the scripture passage from the Gospel today:
“The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”
I grant you that these words of Jesus, speaking of himself, are not completely fulfilled in us deacons, only Christ himself could make that statement and fulfill it completely. It does, however, demonstrate the point. The deacon should be recognized immediately, as should all who believe in Christ, because of the way we behave, our attitudes, everything that comes from us should shout that we belong to Christ.
The deacon is intended to live the Christian paradox. Like all Christians we are called to live in the world but not be of the world. That means that while we live and participate in secular society we do not adopt the values of human world. Our values come for God through Moses and Jesus.
If the deacon needs clerical garb to tell others who he is, he has failed to live up to the pledge he accepted at ordination to “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you now are. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
Since all of us share this call as a consequence of our baptism, this statement of Christ challenges us all. Do we act in such a way that there is no doubt about to whom we belong? Do our actions proclaim our passion for Jesus? This is the very heart of the Gospel and our ongoing call to conversion.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture today is “Moses and the Golden Calf” by Domenico Beccafumi, 1536-37
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968
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