Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Readings for Saturday of the First Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised.”
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Commentary on Dt 26:16-19
This reading from Deuteronomy is the final agreement in Moses’ Covenant. In it the Israelites are told by Moses that for their part they must always follow God’s commandments and statutes. For his part, the Lord has made them his special possession, favored above the other nations he has made.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
An acrostic poem; each of the eight verses of the first strophe (aleph) begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; each verse of the second strophe (beth) begins with the second letter; and so on for all 22 letters of the alphabet.
The entire work is in praise of the Law, and the joys to be found in keeping it. It is not "legalism" but a love and desire for the word of God in Israel's Law, which is the expression of the Lord's revelation of himself and his will for man.
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Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
Readings for Saturday of the First Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dt 26:16-19
This reading from Deuteronomy is the final agreement in Moses’ Covenant. In it the Israelites are told by Moses that for their part they must always follow God’s commandments and statutes. For his part, the Lord has made them his special possession, favored above the other nations he has made.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
An acrostic poem; each of the eight verses of the first strophe (aleph) begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; each verse of the second strophe (beth) begins with the second letter; and so on for all 22 letters of the alphabet.
The entire work is in praise of the Law, and the joys to be found in keeping it. It is not "legalism" but a love and desire for the word of God in Israel's Law, which is the expression of the Lord's revelation of himself and his will for man.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:43-48
This passage is the second of six examples in St. Matthew’s Gospel of conduct demanded of the Christian disciple. Jesus takes the commandment to “love thy neighbor" and gives it a deeper meaning. He goes further and strengthens this commandment including ones enemies in that list of those to be prayed for and loved (also echoed in Romans 12:17-21). This exhortation differentiates the Christian who loves even their enemies from mere ethical morality.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:43-48
This passage is the second of six examples in St. Matthew’s Gospel of conduct demanded of the Christian disciple. Jesus takes the commandment to “love thy neighbor" and gives it a deeper meaning. He goes further and strengthens this commandment including ones enemies in that list of those to be prayed for and loved (also echoed in Romans 12:17-21). This exhortation differentiates the Christian who loves even their enemies from mere ethical morality.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Sometimes when we are in discussions with friends or family who see the faith as “un-inclusive” we may hear retorts like “The best Christian that has ever been was Gandhi” or some other epithet intended to challenge the notion that belief in the supremacy of Christ is key to our salvation. Such people have missed something very important that St. Matthew’s Gospel makes clear in the passage we are given today.
There is a difference between being a good and moral person and being a good Christian. To use an analogy, it is like saying; “I have a row boat in a pond and am therefore a sailor, making me just like the maritime seamen who take huge ships on the seas of the world.” Some of the ingredients are the same; both have boats (although the scale is drastically different) and both are in a body of water; however the size and hazards are tremendously different.
The principle differences between the good and moral person and the good Christian are first what they believe about God; and second how they are motivated and what they expect from their lives. We draw the distinction here because many of or brothers and sisters who claim to be Christian are in fact good moral people who have not taken a leap of faith.
As the Gospel tells us, the Christian follows God in loving all his creation; that which is pleasing to eye, touch, smell and taste and that which is not – all is created by him and is therefore to be respected by us. That includes our fellow travelers; whether they love us or not. All were created by God, all are loved by God and as God’s only Son shows us time and again, all are loved equally.
The distinguishing element here is that the good and moral person may love and respect creation too, but does so only so far as it is seen in that person’s best interests or the best interests of their society in general. Here’s an example. There is an organization called PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). While it is certainly a Christian ideal to treat animals humanely, certain radical members of this group have gone so far as to kill people whom they thought were treating animals inhumanely. Their reverence for the life of animals actually exceeded their reverence for human life.
This is just one example of how morality may be misconstrued as Christianity. The Christian is driven by love and that is underlying difference. We are asked to love God first (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and then love others (all others, not just those who love us). To do less would be a betrayal of Christ who showed us what that kind of love means.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Moses with the Ten Commandments” by Philippe de Champaigne, 1648
[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.
Reflection:
Sometimes when we are in discussions with friends or family who see the faith as “un-inclusive” we may hear retorts like “The best Christian that has ever been was Gandhi” or some other epithet intended to challenge the notion that belief in the supremacy of Christ is key to our salvation. Such people have missed something very important that St. Matthew’s Gospel makes clear in the passage we are given today.
There is a difference between being a good and moral person and being a good Christian. To use an analogy, it is like saying; “I have a row boat in a pond and am therefore a sailor, making me just like the maritime seamen who take huge ships on the seas of the world.” Some of the ingredients are the same; both have boats (although the scale is drastically different) and both are in a body of water; however the size and hazards are tremendously different.
The principle differences between the good and moral person and the good Christian are first what they believe about God; and second how they are motivated and what they expect from their lives. We draw the distinction here because many of or brothers and sisters who claim to be Christian are in fact good moral people who have not taken a leap of faith.
As the Gospel tells us, the Christian follows God in loving all his creation; that which is pleasing to eye, touch, smell and taste and that which is not – all is created by him and is therefore to be respected by us. That includes our fellow travelers; whether they love us or not. All were created by God, all are loved by God and as God’s only Son shows us time and again, all are loved equally.
The distinguishing element here is that the good and moral person may love and respect creation too, but does so only so far as it is seen in that person’s best interests or the best interests of their society in general. Here’s an example. There is an organization called PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). While it is certainly a Christian ideal to treat animals humanely, certain radical members of this group have gone so far as to kill people whom they thought were treating animals inhumanely. Their reverence for the life of animals actually exceeded their reverence for human life.
This is just one example of how morality may be misconstrued as Christianity. The Christian is driven by love and that is underlying difference. We are asked to love God first (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and then love others (all others, not just those who love us). To do less would be a betrayal of Christ who showed us what that kind of love means.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Moses with the Ten Commandments” by Philippe de Champaigne, 1648
[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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