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| “St Thomas Aquinas” by Fra Angelico,1340-45 |
Reading 1: Hebrews 9:15, 24-28
Commentary on Heb 9:15, 24-28
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of Christ as the mediator of the new covenant. The language used in v.15 ("since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance") can be interpreted in two ways. It can be looked at theologically or it can be interpreted from the standpoint of Hebrew legal terminology. The author blends the two, using the word “diethēkē,” which can be translated “covenant” (and usually is), but it may also be used as “will” or “testament.” [4] The point made, however, is that Jesus’ blood must be shed as sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice that seals the covenant for all time, and secures, in a legal way, the inheritance of eternal life promised by the Father.
This idea of the perfect sacrifice is taken up further in v.24-28, contrasting Christ’s heavenly sacrifice (Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands). Rather his singular act of self-sacrifice replaced and refuted the untold number of sacrifices offered by the Jewish priests which must have caused rivers of blood to flow from the altars in the temple.
CCC: Heb 9:15 522, 579, 580, 592; Heb 9:24 519, 662, 2741; Heb 9:25 662; Heb 9:26 571; Heb 9:27 1013, 1021
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
R. (1a) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.
Commentary on Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Psalm 98 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. We see in this selection how God is praised for the strength he lends his people and the salvation he brings to those who are faithful. From our perspective, knowing that he sent us his Son for our salvation, we see clearly the reference to Jesus as God’s saving hand is extended.
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Gospel: Mark 3:22-30
Commentary on Mk 3:22-30
This passage takes up the story from Mark 3:20-21 when Jesus had taken his disciples to Matthew’s house for a meal but could not eat because of the crowd. The Lord’s mother and family came to get him, and the word passed on was that they thought he had lost his mind.
The conflict between Jesus and the scribes reveals itself completely. They are now openly calling him “prince of the demons.” The Lord summons them and demonstrates with parables the foolishness of their claim. He first asks the ironic question that could be paraphrased: “If I, who destroy unclean spirits, am from the originator of those spirits; and if I were in league with him, he has destroyed himself.” He continues an analogy about the strong man protecting his house. In this case he, Jesus, would represent the defender of the house (of Israel), and those attacking him, robbers attempting to tie him up.
The story concludes with an important theological understanding. The Son of God came into the world so that sins might be forgiven (“all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them”). Jesus then defines the Holy Spirit and himself as of the same essence by saying that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit (as the scribes had just done in calling Jesus an emissary of Satan) would be guilty of an everlasting sin (their sin would never be forgiven).
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Reflection:
If we are to live the life of Christ, then compassion must be our motto. Can you see the Lord in the story above from Mark’s Gospel? As he is attacked and condemned by the scribes, he knows the doom they have sealed for themselves.
It would be as if naturalists, while exploring in Africa, were suddenly attacked by a rare and endangered species of animal, and the only way to survive was to kill it. They would feel something like the anguish the Lord must have suffered as the scribes blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, and in doing so, condemned themselves to spend eternity with Satan, with whom they accused the Lord of being in league.
If we are truly compassionate when we face opposition of any kind, the gate to love that person is open to us. Compassion flows from the Lord in his gift to us, the Holy Spirit. It was given to us at our Baptism, an indelible gift that marks us as God’s adopted children. All we need to do is reach for that gift when people persecute us or attack us, and the compassion of the Lord will well up in us. It will banish the feelings of hatred and revenge. Those emotions come from the evil one.
Compassion allows us to try, with humility, to show our errant brothers and sisters where they have gone wrong. The Lord tries to do this with the scribes in the Gospel today. We know that if our brothers and sisters attack us they are committing a sin. Is it not always sinful to hurt another person? In doing so they are placing themselves at risk. It is our duty to at least warn them of the consequences.
It is difficult, what the Lord shows us. We have our whole lives to get it right, but we don’t know how long that might be so we had better get started.
Today, especially, we pray that those who do not value human life will have a change of heart: those who believe they help women by destroying life which is growing within them. We pray that they might understand that destroying life is destroying God’s gift, and rejecting that gift has eternal consequences.
Pax
[1] The picture is “St Thomas Aquinas” by Fra Angelico,1340-45.
[4] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.429.
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