(Optional Memorial for Saint Toribio De Mogrovejo, Bishop)
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| “Get Behind Me, Satan” by Ilya Repin,1895 |
Commentary:
Reading I: Jeremiah 7:23-28
Commentary on Jer7:23-28
In this oracle, the Prophet Jeremiah, speaking with the voice of God, reminds the people that the Lord desires fidelity from them and they are not listening. The prophet’s plea echoes what Moses heard in Deuteronomy 4:1, asking the people to turn away from sin and be faithful. In this passage Jeremiah is referring to man’s fallen nature as he points to “the hardness of their evil hearts.”
In the final verse of this passage Jeremiah says: “Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.” The people rejecting the “word” predict rejection of the Messiah, the Word made flesh.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
This part of Psalm 95, commonly used as the invitatory psalm for the Liturgy of the Hours, is a song of thanksgiving. In these strophes the incident at Meribah is remembered (Exodus 17:3-7), and God’s undeserved mercy proclaimed. The community is rejoicing that the Lord is God and that he has brought us salvation in spite of our forebears' obstinacy. We are encouraged to listen to the Lord, even if what we are asked to do is difficult.
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Gospel: Luke 11:14-23
Commentary on Lk 11:14-23
In the Gospel from St. Luke we find Jesus, in spite of his miraculous cure of the mute, being rejected by the people. They accuse him of representing a false God – Baal (the Jewish people nicknamed Baal – Beelzebul, “Lord of Flies”).
In response to the crowd asking for a “sign,” Jesus (equating belief in the false god Baal with Satan) forcefully rejects that notion. He sees in their request for a sign the desire to see a different kind of sign, a sign that would validate their view of what the Messiah should be, kingly and powerful in secular rule.
Jesus attacks their logic by saying that no kingdom could stand if its servants attacked each other. He makes it clear that by attacking evil he demonstrates that he comes from God. He goes on using analogy to say that God will always conquer evil (God is stronger than the strongest evil), and further, rejecting God’s Son amounts to standing on the side of evil.
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Reflection:
Today we are given some of God's insight into the mind of mankind. In Jeremiah, we are reminded of how the Hebrews, God's chosen ones, had, time and time again, turned away from God and been seduced by a secular society that provided more hedonistic pleasures. We hear the Prophet, in what sounds like a forlorn entreaty, imploring them to turn once more to faithfulness.
The Prophet's call is followed by the Psalmist who remembers: "Meribah: literally, "contention," the place where the Israelites quarreled with God. It recalls Massah: "testing," the place where they put God to the trial," and as we know, there is within it a prayer for us, that we not grow stubborn like our fathers did.
Finally, in the Gospel from Luke, we see Jesus sparring with disbelievers of his own place and time. They wanted a Royal Messiah, one who would come in glory, openly challenging the Roman domination. When they asked him for a sign, that's what they wanted, a sign of power. Jesus must have been exasperated with them. But, if we had been there, could we have accepted this humble (but charismatic) carpenter from Galilee as the one predicted?
The theme that unifies our scripture today is a call, yet again, for repentance. On Ash Wednesday a little over three weeks ago we were told to "repent and believe in the Gospel." We hear that message again today. We cannot afford to be seduced by what secular society calls success and what Beelzebul calls good. We are called to a higher standard and offered a greater reward.
Pax
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