Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Saint Toribio De Mogrovejo, Bishop
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Toribio De Mogrovejo
Readings for Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Numbers 21:4-9
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!”
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
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Commentary on Nm 21:4-9
The people were growing tired of the food, probably manna, and complained bitterly. They believed that in failing to love God they sinned against him and in punishment serpents were sent to afflict them.
There is great symbolism in the final paragraph as Moses makes the bronze serpent.: “If anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover: "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:14-15).”[4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
Psalm 102 is an individual lament. In this selection we find the cry of the people in the desert once more being directed to the Lord. The song proposes a covenant – If you hear our plea, we will revere your name.
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Gospel: John 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 8:21-30
Jesus continues his discourse with the Pharisees, trying to lead them to understanding. He tells them that he is going away, clearly implying his own death, and tells them they may not follow him. Their unbelief is sin and hence they will die in the sin. They do not understand the manner of his death (that he will lay his life down) but rather see a partial truth in thinking he will kill himself.
Even though he uses language filled with specific clues (the use of the phrase “I Am”, God’s own designation for himself) they still do not understand. Toward the end he alludes to the Saraph image from Numbers; “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I Am” and at the same time makes it clear whose Son he is.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
In many self motivational books and training programs the instructors will tell you to select a goal (this is generally a financial or material goal) and then get a picture of whatever it is you want and put it in a place where you will see it every day. That way you will constantly be reminded of what you want and work harder for it. I have also heard that in some diet books it is recommended that the dieter put a picture on the door of the refrigerator that will remind them that they should not be eating.
Even if these trainers have a skewed view of what is or should be important, they do understand something about human behavior. There is even a very old adage that supports the concept; “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Today we are reminded that we need a constant reminder of who it is we follow. In the reading from Numbers, Moses made an image of the Saraph Serpent at the Lord’s command and raised it up and all those people who were dying from the bite of those serpents were saved.
This illustration of raising up God’s image and bringing salvation was repeated in the Gospel from John as Jesus told the unbelieving Pharisees; “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM”. We need that image always before our eyes.
Saint Toribio De Mogrovejo, Bishop
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Toribio De Mogrovejo
Readings for Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Numbers 21:4-9
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!”
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Nm 21:4-9
The people were growing tired of the food, probably manna, and complained bitterly. They believed that in failing to love God they sinned against him and in punishment serpents were sent to afflict them.
There is great symbolism in the final paragraph as Moses makes the bronze serpent.: “If anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover: "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:14-15).”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
Psalm 102 is an individual lament. In this selection we find the cry of the people in the desert once more being directed to the Lord. The song proposes a covenant – If you hear our plea, we will revere your name.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 8:21-30
Jesus continues his discourse with the Pharisees, trying to lead them to understanding. He tells them that he is going away, clearly implying his own death, and tells them they may not follow him. Their unbelief is sin and hence they will die in the sin. They do not understand the manner of his death (that he will lay his life down) but rather see a partial truth in thinking he will kill himself.
Even though he uses language filled with specific clues (the use of the phrase “I Am”, God’s own designation for himself) they still do not understand. Toward the end he alludes to the Saraph image from Numbers; “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I Am” and at the same time makes it clear whose Son he is.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
In many self motivational books and training programs the instructors will tell you to select a goal (this is generally a financial or material goal) and then get a picture of whatever it is you want and put it in a place where you will see it every day. That way you will constantly be reminded of what you want and work harder for it. I have also heard that in some diet books it is recommended that the dieter put a picture on the door of the refrigerator that will remind them that they should not be eating.
Even if these trainers have a skewed view of what is or should be important, they do understand something about human behavior. There is even a very old adage that supports the concept; “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Today we are reminded that we need a constant reminder of who it is we follow. In the reading from Numbers, Moses made an image of the Saraph Serpent at the Lord’s command and raised it up and all those people who were dying from the bite of those serpents were saved.
This illustration of raising up God’s image and bringing salvation was repeated in the Gospel from John as Jesus told the unbelieving Pharisees; “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM”. We need that image always before our eyes.
It may be unrealistic to carry a picture of the crucified Lord with us so that we always see it, or is it? We have a distinct advantage over many of our protestant brethren. We have a world of religious art to inspire us. We can keep discrete reminders of our Savior at home, in our cars, even in our pockets or purses. When we see them, let those symbols remind us who we follow. When we look at the Lord, let us remember it is his example we strive to emulate.
The challenge for us is not to become complacent with that image. So often we get a rosary and stick it in a pocket or purse and it’s just there. It ceases to be meaningful, it becomes part of the decorations, too familiar to inspire. That is also a challenge of our faith – our practice too becomes something we do, no longer inspiring us to act in the name of that Lord we so revere.
Our prayer and promise today is that we find those symbols that should always be in front of our eyes and renew them in their ability to inspire us. Perhaps change them out for others on a regular basis so they are always new and fresh. The same too with our worship, it must never become stale and old – we must always be pressing ahead – striving for that next level of faith and understanding. In this way the Lord, raised up on the Cross, will always be our beacon and our hope.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Christ Disputing with the Pharisees” by Jacob Jordaens, 1651-52
[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 Numbers 21: 4ff
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