(Optional Memorial for Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious)
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| “Christ Suffering” by Pedro Fernández, 1510s. |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8
Commentary on Mi 6:1-4, 6-8
We hear in these verses, from the Prophet Micah, a lament by God against the impious people of Israel. His complaint (often read as part of the Stations of the Cross) reminds the listener of the great love God has shown in delivering the people from cruel bondage in Egypt. The prophet then switches to the voice of the people who ask what it is that will please the Lord. He lists greater and greater sacrifices, culminating in the sacrifice asked of Abraham, the sacrifice of the supplicant’s first born. The passage ends with God’s response, for the listener to repent from evil and love what is good. He closes with the phrase made popular in song: “and to walk humbly with your God.” This is one of the best expressions of the prophetic teaching on religion, the preparation for such New Testament passages as James 1:27.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Commentary on Ps 50:5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
Psalm 50 is a “covenant lawsuit.” It is a lament against those who have violated God’s law, and the covenant made with him upon which the law was based. Echoing the charges leveled against Israel by the prophets, the psalmist condemns empty rituals and sacrifices that are not reflected in external actions and internal faith.
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Gospel: Matthew 12:38-42
Commentary on Mt 12:38-42
In this passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel, the scribes and Pharisees demand a sign, even though the Lord has been performing cures and exorcisms in front of them. Jesus replies, and tells them in no uncertain terms that no sign will be given to them.
Calling them unfaithful (literally adulterous) in their failure to understand that he is sent by God and his mission, and using a reference first to Jonah, he tells them that just as Jonah “was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights” (Jonah 2:1ff), the Messiah will also be in the tomb of the earth for the same period. In this way, Jonah prefigured Jesus' death on the cross. He tells the Pharisees that, on the last day (the Day of Judgment), the people Jonah was sent to call to repentance would be raised because they had repented (Jonah 3:5ff). The Pharisees, who believed in the resurrection, believed that the “justified” or “just” would be raised on the last day, see Acts 23:6ff). The Lord concludes his comparison saying, in reference to his identity as the Son of God, “there is something greater than Jonah here.”
Jesus uses a second example, comparing the Pharisees' lack of understanding to the faith of the Queen of Sheba in the wisdom of Solomon. She (“the queen of the south“) was queen in Ethiopia (or western Arabia). She traveled a great distance to hear God’s wisdom from Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-10), who himself followed King David, the line that ultimately produced the Savior. Jesus calls them unfaithful in their failure to understand that he is sent by God, again concluding that: “.there is something greater than Solomon here.”
CCC: Mt 12:39 994; Mt 12:40 627, 635, 994; Mt 12:41-42 590, 678
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Reflection:
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Jesus challenges the Pharisees whose lack of faith demands a sign, something they can see in order for them to believe his identity. So many times we see this happening in scripture. Even St. Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples who was present with him when this confrontation took place, would later fall into the same trap as he demanded proof of the Lord’s resurrection (John 20:24-25).
And what of us? What do we believe, and what signs do we demand so that we may accept the Lord? We may say: “I firmly believe and demand no sign from Jesus.” But in our prayers, do we not, in the back of our minds, hope the Lord will answer us miraculously so that our faith may be increased? It is part of our training that we should doubt what we cannot see, touch, or hear. We are conditioned to demand proof, lest we be dubbed as gullible and taken for being foolish.
It is good that we are constantly reminded in scripture that we are not alone in our doubts and secret desires for signs and wonders. It gives us hope that, even with our failings, the mercy of God will ultimately prevail, and we will be rescued from our human frailty. We take today’s reminder as a challenge, a challenge that we will not be like these doubt-ridden Pharisees, who saw Jesus’ acts of healing and could not come to believe. We look to the altar and see there the wonder the Lord left us, and renew our faith in the Only Begotten Son of God.
Today, even as we hear the words, “this is my body,” and “this is my blood,” we reaffirm our love and faith in him who is not seen, but whose hope is realized as he feeds us.
Pax
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