Monday of the Second Week in Lent
Readings for Monday of the Second Week in Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Daniel 9:4b-10
“Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you
and observe your commandments!
We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;
we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.
We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
our fathers, and all the people of the land.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side;
we are shamefaced even to this day:
we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,
and all Israel, near and far,
in all the countries to which you have scattered them
because of their treachery toward you.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Yet we rebelled against you
and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,
to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dn 9:4b-10
We find in this reading from Daniel a prayer of repentance. This is not an individual prayer, but a prayer of the whole people. In addition to enumerating the failings of the people it also asks for compassion and forgiveness. We note that, following this request, the commandments of the Lord are summed up with; “…to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets." The Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
R. (see 103:10a) Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
Psalm 79 is a lament over the destruction of the Temple. This passage is a plea for compassion and help while repenting from their sins (“Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake.”).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 6:36-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 6:36-38
Jesus takes a quote from the Old Testament and twists it just slightly (In the OT the phrase frequently used is “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (e.g. Leviticus 19:2) He goes further to tell the people that they need to stop judging or condemning but to forgive. He concludes by saying that: “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” In other words, the standard against which they judge others is the standard by which the disciples will be judged by the Heavenly Father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Today we are awed by how much we learned about God and his desire for us through the revelation brought by his Son – Jesus. Let us look at the reading from Daniel and see his prayer for forgiveness. We feel the absolute contrition for not just the author’s own sins but the sins of all the people. The pleading sense that comes through in that prayer lacks any sense of confidence in God’s mercy.
It is clear that the people in the time of Daniel knew the Law and the Prophets. They knew the kinds of behaviors that God expected from them as a consequence of his covenant with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. They knew from the Prophets that God watched them, interacted with them through a spirit of holiness (although the Holy Spirit was not explicitly left with us until Pentecost). The fact that they recognized their sin is clear. What is also clear is that they did not understand the infinite love and compassion God had for them. This huge lack of understanding was at least part of what Jesus brought when he came.
See now the Gospel of St. Luke. In the passage given the Lord specifically tells the disciples “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” There is no ambiguity; no need for pleading, all that is needed is faith that the Son of God came as the sacrifice that washes away our sins.
In the same breath that the Messiah (the promise fulfilled) assures us of God’s mercy, he also provides insight into how we are to see God’s law. We are not to be the judges of whether our brothers and sisters will or will not suffer punishment. We are not to usurp God’s role as judge. We are to have the attitude of Christ “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (I could not help quoting the Kenotic Hymn for Philippians 2, my favorite scripture).
How fortunate we are to have Christ as our example! He is the great revelatory event telling us once and for all that God loves us and wants us to likewise love all his creation. During this our Lenten Journey we pray that we will be able to faithfully follow that example in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Daniel’s Prayer” by Sir Edward Poynter, 1865
[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.
Readings for Monday of the Second Week in Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Daniel 9:4b-10
“Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you
and observe your commandments!
We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;
we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.
We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
our fathers, and all the people of the land.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side;
we are shamefaced even to this day:
we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,
and all Israel, near and far,
in all the countries to which you have scattered them
because of their treachery toward you.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Yet we rebelled against you
and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,
to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dn 9:4b-10
We find in this reading from Daniel a prayer of repentance. This is not an individual prayer, but a prayer of the whole people. In addition to enumerating the failings of the people it also asks for compassion and forgiveness. We note that, following this request, the commandments of the Lord are summed up with; “…to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets." The Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
R. (see 103:10a) Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
Psalm 79 is a lament over the destruction of the Temple. This passage is a plea for compassion and help while repenting from their sins (“Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake.”).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 6:36-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 6:36-38
Jesus takes a quote from the Old Testament and twists it just slightly (In the OT the phrase frequently used is “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (e.g. Leviticus 19:2) He goes further to tell the people that they need to stop judging or condemning but to forgive. He concludes by saying that: “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” In other words, the standard against which they judge others is the standard by which the disciples will be judged by the Heavenly Father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Today we are awed by how much we learned about God and his desire for us through the revelation brought by his Son – Jesus. Let us look at the reading from Daniel and see his prayer for forgiveness. We feel the absolute contrition for not just the author’s own sins but the sins of all the people. The pleading sense that comes through in that prayer lacks any sense of confidence in God’s mercy.
It is clear that the people in the time of Daniel knew the Law and the Prophets. They knew the kinds of behaviors that God expected from them as a consequence of his covenant with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. They knew from the Prophets that God watched them, interacted with them through a spirit of holiness (although the Holy Spirit was not explicitly left with us until Pentecost). The fact that they recognized their sin is clear. What is also clear is that they did not understand the infinite love and compassion God had for them. This huge lack of understanding was at least part of what Jesus brought when he came.
See now the Gospel of St. Luke. In the passage given the Lord specifically tells the disciples “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” There is no ambiguity; no need for pleading, all that is needed is faith that the Son of God came as the sacrifice that washes away our sins.
In the same breath that the Messiah (the promise fulfilled) assures us of God’s mercy, he also provides insight into how we are to see God’s law. We are not to be the judges of whether our brothers and sisters will or will not suffer punishment. We are not to usurp God’s role as judge. We are to have the attitude of Christ “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (I could not help quoting the Kenotic Hymn for Philippians 2, my favorite scripture).
How fortunate we are to have Christ as our example! He is the great revelatory event telling us once and for all that God loves us and wants us to likewise love all his creation. During this our Lenten Journey we pray that we will be able to faithfully follow that example in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Daniel’s Prayer” by Sir Edward Poynter, 1865
[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.
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