Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor
Biographical Information about St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I (Moses) am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 4:1, 5-9
This passage from Deuteronomy marks the end of the historical part of the book and the beginning of Moses’ presentation of the law and statutes. He addresses the whole people telling them that unless they follow the statutes which he is about to present, they do not receive what God promises the faithful, in this case the land of milk and honey. While the promise of Moses was the inheritance of the literal (the land), God’s later promise was of a kingdom not of this earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. In this section, the psalmist praises God’s rule over nature and the seasons (winter; “…He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes.”) It concludes with another aspect of the "word" of Yahweh: His "ordinances" are for Israel alone
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel:
Matthew 5:17-19
"Do not think that I (Jesus) have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:17-19
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small” based upon their seriousness when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments.
The passage is concluded in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction from those who would break the law being least in heaven in the previous sentence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
There are places in the world that exist in states of what can only be described as anarchy. We think, for example of Somalia and Sudan (especially Darfur). In these regions of the world there is no order or rule of law. There is no justice as we think of it. The strong in force of arms dominate; the weak either capitulate or are killed. Personal dignity is not even a dream for many unfortunate enough to live in these countries. Basic survival at the most primitive level is all that can be hoped for. (We offer a special prayer to the people of these regions and for those who accept personal risk attempting to bring them aid.)
There is another type of anarchy, more individually focused. It is even used as an example of usage in the dictionary definition; “confusion; chaos; disorder: Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.”[5] It is this lack submission to God’s law that we work tirelessly to overcome as we try to grow in faith.
There are two distinct views of the law presented in sacred scripture today. In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses, the great giver of the Law, explains why God presents laws at all. He tells the people that it is so “…that you may live”. Just as the rule of civil law protects those under its jurisdiction, the laws handed down by God are intended to keep us spiritually safe.
In the second instance, Jesus explains that his ministry was not to abolish the law “…but to fulfill.” Fulfilling the law, in this instance, means for us he came as an example of how God means for us to live and have life in him. The promise of the law is to give life – Jesus exemplifies that lived promise. As long as his example is followed and his “fulfilled” law is lived – the peace of Christ is ours, the discipline of our faith facilitates that peace and we avoid anarchy of the soul which leads to spiritual death.
That is, of course, our challenge. Just as there is a social ideal that proposes formal law and governance should not be necessary; it suggests “…the cooperative and voluntary association of individuals and groups as the principal mode of organized society.”[4] Our human nature calls us to relax our strict observance of the discipline our faith calls us to. Our tendency is to take a more comfortable approach where our natural desires are allowed free reign. It is at these times we must see the ignoble head of spiritual anarchy and turn more passionately to the Lord.
Today we pray for the strength to grasp life. It is offered through God’s law, fulfilled in Christ, and is ours for the taking.
Pax
Biographical Information about St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I (Moses) am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 4:1, 5-9
This passage from Deuteronomy marks the end of the historical part of the book and the beginning of Moses’ presentation of the law and statutes. He addresses the whole people telling them that unless they follow the statutes which he is about to present, they do not receive what God promises the faithful, in this case the land of milk and honey. While the promise of Moses was the inheritance of the literal (the land), God’s later promise was of a kingdom not of this earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. In this section, the psalmist praises God’s rule over nature and the seasons (winter; “…He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes.”) It concludes with another aspect of the "word" of Yahweh: His "ordinances" are for Israel alone
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel:
Matthew 5:17-19
"Do not think that I (Jesus) have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:17-19
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small” based upon their seriousness when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments.
The passage is concluded in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction from those who would break the law being least in heaven in the previous sentence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
There are places in the world that exist in states of what can only be described as anarchy. We think, for example of Somalia and Sudan (especially Darfur). In these regions of the world there is no order or rule of law. There is no justice as we think of it. The strong in force of arms dominate; the weak either capitulate or are killed. Personal dignity is not even a dream for many unfortunate enough to live in these countries. Basic survival at the most primitive level is all that can be hoped for. (We offer a special prayer to the people of these regions and for those who accept personal risk attempting to bring them aid.)
There is another type of anarchy, more individually focused. It is even used as an example of usage in the dictionary definition; “confusion; chaos; disorder: Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.”[5] It is this lack submission to God’s law that we work tirelessly to overcome as we try to grow in faith.
There are two distinct views of the law presented in sacred scripture today. In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses, the great giver of the Law, explains why God presents laws at all. He tells the people that it is so “…that you may live”. Just as the rule of civil law protects those under its jurisdiction, the laws handed down by God are intended to keep us spiritually safe.
In the second instance, Jesus explains that his ministry was not to abolish the law “…but to fulfill.” Fulfilling the law, in this instance, means for us he came as an example of how God means for us to live and have life in him. The promise of the law is to give life – Jesus exemplifies that lived promise. As long as his example is followed and his “fulfilled” law is lived – the peace of Christ is ours, the discipline of our faith facilitates that peace and we avoid anarchy of the soul which leads to spiritual death.
That is, of course, our challenge. Just as there is a social ideal that proposes formal law and governance should not be necessary; it suggests “…the cooperative and voluntary association of individuals and groups as the principal mode of organized society.”[4] Our human nature calls us to relax our strict observance of the discipline our faith calls us to. Our tendency is to take a more comfortable approach where our natural desires are allowed free reign. It is at these times we must see the ignoble head of spiritual anarchy and turn more passionately to the Lord.
Today we pray for the strength to grasp life. It is offered through God’s law, fulfilled in Christ, and is ours for the taking.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “The Giving of the Law” by William Blake, 1805
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[5] anarchy. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved March 18, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anarchy
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