(Optional Memorial for Camillus De Lellis, Priest) In the United States, transferred from July 14.
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| ” Finding of Moses” by Orazio Gentileschi, 1630-33 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Exodus 2:1-15a
Commentary on Ex 2:1-15a
In response Pharaoh’s order to have all Hebrew new-born male babies killed, Moses' mother places him in a basket and hides him in the river. There discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh, he is ultimately adopted by her. The passage compresses the timeline of his story moving from infancy to saying simply: “On one occasion, after Moses had grown up…” It is clear that the adult Moses knows of his birthright as he sides with the Hebrews against the Egyptians. The passage concludes with Moses hiding from Pharaoh in Midian.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34
R. (see 33) Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
Commentary on Ps 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34
Psalm 69 is an individual lament. The psalmist sings of great trials and perils, describing the singer’s dire situation. Faith and hope in the Lord, says the song, sustains those in need.
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Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24
Commentary on Mt 11:20-24
This passage follows the parable of the “Children in the Marketplace,” in which Jesus addresses those who have heard the words of both John the Baptist and himself. He accuses them of not being willing to hear that they must turn away from sin and repent.
In this passage he goes further, chastising the towns in which he has performed great signs. As in the parable that preceded it, this selection speaks of the punishment reserved for those who refuse to hear the word he has spoken. In addition to ignoring the Lord’s revelation, they also continue to ignore the law and prophets. Their fate, he tells them, will be worse than that of Sodom.
CCC: Mt 11:20-24 678
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Reflection:
Scripture accelerates the development of faith and understanding of those who have sought to do God’s will over the millennia. In the first reading from Exodus we see God’s plan for Moses unfold. We hear of his birth and, with no mention of his upbringing by Pharaoh’s daughter, we find him outraged at the treatment of his kinsmen (he knew his heritage and birthright). In response to the treatment of this member of his extended family he kills the Egyptian.
Granted, this is a historical account of God’s revelation stated in human terms. Still, are we surprised that there is no moral outrage expressed at one person killing another? Recall that the Law of Moses (see the irony) has not yet been handed on to Israel. Killing had not yet been defined as sin (although the implication is present in the account of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:8-13)). As St. Paul points out, through the Law of Moses sin enters the world (Romans 5:13ff). Not because the Law was sinful but because sin was defined by the Law.
We jump ahead now, two thousand years, to the time of Jesus. With the Law now firmly in place and sins against God clearly defined, Jesus himself has made it clear that, in God’s eyes (His eyes), the very thought of violence against one’s brother or sister is sinful.
This compression in understanding God who was revealed, first through the Law and the Prophets, and then completed in Christ Jesus who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, gives us the foundation for our own moral center. Our actions are not judged just upon the heart of the Law that Moses brought, the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. Our justification comes from following the law fulfilled in Christ. The Lord’s commandment is this measure by which we will be judged and this measure to which we must apply all our actions. And the Gospel lets us know that failure to learn this lesson will have consequences.
Today we rededicate ourselves to truly internalizing God’s Law fulfilled in Jesus. We pray that God will give us the strength and discipline to follow that law and bring him Glory.
Pax
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