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| “The Orphanage” by Jan de Bray, 1663 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Romans 8:12-17
Commentary on Rom 8:12-17
St. Paul continues his discourse about the importance of making life in the spirit a priority as opposed to the life of the “un-spiritual.” He reminds his Christian audience that, when they became Christians they were not made slaves, but adopted as children of God. They are able, he tells them, to call God the Heavenly Father, “Abba,” the familial term used by Jesus, emphasizing that they are co-heirs with Christ whose sufferings and glory they share.
CCC: Rom 8:9 693; Rom 8:11 632, 658, 693, 695, 989, 990; Rom 8:14-17 1996; Rom 8:14 259, 693, 1831, 2543; Rom 8:15 257, 693, 1303, 1972, 2777; Rom 8:16 2639; Rom 8:17 1265, 1460, 1831
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 68:2 and 4, 6-7ab, 20-21
R. (21a) Our God is the God of salvation.
Commentary on Ps 68:2 and 4, 6-7ab, 20-21
This song of thanksgiving praises the Lord for his salvation of his children with the theme of adoption. It is an idea that would later be personified in Christ (Romans 8:12-17). It specifically references God assuming the fatherly role with widows and orphans (the father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling). His faithful followers, the singer calls, enjoy his strength, even his power over death.
CCC: Ps 68:6 238
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Gospel: Luke 13:10-17
Commentary on Lk 13:10-17
The story of the cure of the crippled woman is parallel to the story of Jesus curing the man with dropsy on the Sabbath (see Luke 14:1-6). He is challenged by the local Jewish leadership for doing “work” on God’s holy day (cf. Exodus 20:8; 31:14 Leviticus 19:3-30). As before, he uses the need to tend to the necessities of life on the Sabbath as parallel to his need to cure the woman. He reinterprets the Law establishing the need to please God through acts of mercy and kindness (cf. Hosea 6:6; James 2:13).
CCC: Lk 13:15-16 582
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Reflection:
We are forced to look at what it means to be “adopted” by God. St. Paul makes it clear that those who are baptized into Jesus are adopted as sons and daughters of God. In an earlier era, that adoption was extended only to the Hebrews as is made clear in both the Psalm and the Gospel, as Jesus refers to the woman he cures specifically as “This daughter of Abraham.”
Abstractly, before our adoption as natural beings, we were slaves of the flesh, thinking only in terms of what gratified the flesh. When one takes that view, the stark reality of death becomes a finite ending. The body, the flesh, will die, and all the effort that went into making the flesh happy or strong will have ended with it. Yet, we have chosen to accept adoption by Jesus, and in doing so our main concern must now be with our soul or spirit. It is the spirit that animates the flesh and to a great degree controls its appetites.
Becoming adopted children of God carries with it both wealth and obligation. An orphan adopted by a titled family inherits the title of that family. They also inherit the responsibility that goes along with the title. It is the same for those who are adopted by God. We inherit the responsibility that goes along with the title “Christian.” If the adopted child of a titled family does not live up to their obligations, the family may “disown” that child, making them ineligible to inherit the wealth of the adopting family. Here is where the analogy breaks down a bit since our adoptive Father will never disown us. His hand is always outstretched. It is we who disown him through sin. We separate ourselves from his love by our own choice. We forfeit our inheritance, squander it like the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32) in favor of death in the flesh.
Today we pray that we may always be aware of our adoption as children of God and co-heirs to his Kingdom. May we conduct ourselves as is befitting one called a child of God and bring honor to his name in so doing.
Pax
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