Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious

Alternate for the Proper of St. Jane Frances de Chantal

Readings for Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,
the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho,
and the LORD showed him all the land—
Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali,
the land of Ephraim and Manasseh,
all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan
with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms,
and as far as Zoar.
The LORD then said to him,
“This is the land
which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
that I would give to their descendants.
I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.”
So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD,
died as the LORD had said; and he was buried in the ravine
opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab,
but to this day no one knows the place of his burial.
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died,
yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated.
For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses
in the plains of Moab, till they had completed
the period of grief and mourning for Moses.

Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom,
since Moses had laid his hands upon him;
and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience,
thus carrying out the LORD’s command to Moses.

Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses,
whom the LORD knew face to face.
He had no equal in all the signs and wonders
the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt
against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land,
and for the might and the terrifying power
that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.
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Commentary on Dt 34:1-12

This passage from Deuteronomy describes the death of Moses and the conclusion to the entire Pentateuch (Torah). All that the Lord had said to him had come to pass. Reference is made to God’s promise of the land. This statement supports other references about the land to be given (see Deuteronomy 1:37, 3:25-27, 4:21-22, 32:48-52).

After the set period of mourning, Joshua assumes leadership of the people for the completion of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Joshua’s installation as Moses successor was described earlier in Deuteronomy 31:1-8.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17

R. (see 20a and 10b) Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God: “How tremendous are your deeds!”
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!

Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
Bless our God, you peoples;
loudly sound his praise.
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!

Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!
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Commentary on Ps 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17

Psalm 66 is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. In the first part presented here, the psalmist praises God for His salvation, recalling the exodus from Egypt and the great signs he gave the people.

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Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.
If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”
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Commentary on Mt 18:15-20

“Passing from the duty of Christian disciples toward those who have strayed from their number, the discourse now turns to how they are to deal with one who sins and yet remains within the community. First there is to be private correction; if this is unsuccessful, further correction before two or three witnesses; if this fails, the matter is to be brought before the assembled community (the church), and if the sinner refuses to attend to the correction of the church, he is to be expelled. The church's judgment will be ratified in heaven, i.e., by God. The section ends with a saying about the favorable response of God to prayer, even to that of a very small number, for Jesus is in the midst of any gathering of his disciples, however small.”[4]

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Reflection:

Scripture speaks of transitions today. First we encounter the story of Moses’ passing and Joshua taking up the mantel of leader of the people of Israel. The Gospel from St. Matthew describes the transition of magisterial authority.

The Gospel is important. For us as Catholics, who trace our papacy back to the Apostles, this is Jesus giving authority to his successors to provide guidance as to what is right and wrong. It is the foundation of the Magisterium of the Church. Without giving this authority and charge we would have no evidence that the will of God was entrusted to those first disciples who in turn, through Apostolic Succession, hand on that authority to our Pope Benedict XVI.

Jesus also gives some very practical advice echoed in Paul’s letters about how to settle disputes among members of the community of faith. It is advice that unfortunately has gotten lost in our litigious society. It presupposes a unified Church since its authority assumes that excommunication would be a deterrent and the law of the Church would be “The” standard of conduct. (“If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”)

The lesson should ring loudly for us. How often in our dealings with others, even with people whom we know as members of our faith community, do we take offense and sulk or devolve into petty squabbles? Should we not rather do as the Lord proscribes? Should we not take our problem directly to the person we perceived has done us an injustice and make that argument directly with them? (Haven’t we all heard that advice in the Confessional?)

If we examine the fundamental underpinnings of the rule the Lord gives the disciples we can see it is based on mutual respect and love of one another. Ultimately that is where he always pushes us. How can we say we love someone if we harbor a perceived hurt or injustice? It is like getting a sliver of wood in our finger. If we leave it in there, it is going to fester and become even more painful than the initial removal process. If we don’t take action to remove it even after it becomes painful, it can become infected. If we don’t take drastic action once it is infected, it can cause serious and permanent damage and in extreme cases, even death.

No, it is better to take that perceived injury to the person who caused it. Even if they don’t accept responsibility, then you have at least unburdened yourself of any resentment that might have festered. You have acted in accordance with your faith and you are given the opportunity to forgive the unrepentant which is something very Christ-like. We get great things and tough lessons from the Lord today.

Pax

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Moses's Testament and Death” (detail) by Luca Signorelli, 1481-82
[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] See NAB footnote on Matthew 18:15ff