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| “Saint John Mary Vianney” artist and date are unknown |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Note: Because Matthew 14:22-36 was proclaimed on Monday, today’s Gospel is Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14.
Reading 1: Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:
Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.
For thus says the Lord:
Incurable is your wound,
grievous your bruise;
There is none to plead your cause,
no remedy for your running sore,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you,
they do not seek you.
I struck you as an enemy would strike,
punished you cruelly;
Why cry out over your wound?
your pain is without relief.
Because of your great guilt,
your numerous sins,
I have done this to you.
Thus says the Lord:
See! I will restore the tents of Jacob,
his dwellings I will pity;
City shall be rebuilt upon hill,
and palace restored as it was.
From them will resound songs of praise,
the laughter of happy men.
I will make them not few, but many;
they will not be tiny, for I will glorify them.
His sons shall be as of old,
his assembly before me shall stand firm;
I will punish all his oppressors.
His leader shall be one of his own,
and his rulers shall come from his kin.
When I summon him, he shall approach me;
how else should one take the deadly risk
of approaching me? says the Lord.
You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
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Commentary on Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
In the concluding verses the oracle predicts the restoration of the land, a return to favored status in the eyes of God (scholars seem to agree that this does not refer to the reestablishment of the temple but of an earlier reversal of fortunes, probably after the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC). The references to leaders being chosen from their own people was probably not a reference to the Messiah in this context, but rather a return to Hebrew rulers. The conclusion (the deadly risk of approaching me”) is a reference to the earlier tradition, that seeing God in person would cause death (see Leviticus 16:1-2). This chapter from Jeremiah and the next (Jeremiah 31) are considered to be the climax of the prophet's oracle, dealing as they do with salvation through God’s mercy and forgiveness.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The nations shall revere your name, O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the Lord:
“The Lord looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the Lord may be declared on Zion;
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together
and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
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Commentary on Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
Psalm 102 is an individual lament. In these strophes, we find the cry of the people in the desert once more being directed to the Lord. The psalmist, expressing trust in the mercy of God, asks for a release from suffering and bondage for the people (“The Lord looked down from his holy height, from heaven he beheld the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die”). The singer gives us a prayer of thanksgiving for the restoration of the people to Israel after the Diaspora. God brought them back from their captivity and reestablished them in Zion. The prayer prefigures God’s salvation offered in the New Jerusalem – God’s heavenly kingdom.
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Gospel: Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14
Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?
They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”
He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand.
It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;
but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”
Then his disciples approached and said to him,
“Do you know that the Pharisees took offense
when they heard what you said?”
He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted
will be uprooted.
Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.
If a blind man leads a blind man,
both will fall into a pit.”
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Commentary on Mt 15:1-2, 10-14
This dispute begins with the question of the Pharisees and scribes why Jesus' disciples are breaking the tradition of the elders about washing one's hands before eating. In front of the larger crowd of followers the Lord refutes them with a parable that is an attack on Mosaic law concerning clean and unclean foods (see also Matthew 5:31-32, 33-34, 38-39).[4] The concluding remarks concerning the blind leading the blind indicate to the disciples that the Pharisees and scribes do not understand God’s law but lead those who refuse to accept Jesus as the Messiah.
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Reflection:
Heavenly Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
In the Gospel selection (from Matthew 15), Jesus is in a dispute with the Pharisees and scribes because they accuse his disciples of not following the strict laws of ritual purification (hand washing). They point to this rubric as indicating that they (Jesus and the 12) are violating Mosaic Law, and are therefore unworthy of leadership.
Jesus' response to the larger group is that violating the ritual practice is not what they should worry about but their attitudes and relationships: “what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” (Note: in the omitted verses Jesus privately lets the Pharisees and scribes know what he really thinks about their focus on ritual: “Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew 15:7-8))
This entire encounter is the lesson we need to take away with us. Jesus and his disciples do not have the luxury of a home to live in, and the ability to live the scrupulous and rigid laws the Pharisees have devised. Some of these, as Jesus also points out in the omitted verses, actually flagrantly violate Mosaic Law. What is more important is the spirit of God’s love.
Let’s look at some possible contemporary examples. In the spirit of Christ’s Law, is it better to buy an expensive luxury car and then to praise God that you were given the gifts to achieve success, or would it be better to buy a less expensive car and give the money saved to the Church earmarked for the poor (even better anonymously)? Would it be better to ignore a neighbor who desperately needed help on a Sunday morning because you could not miss Mass? (That one is a bit tougher.) Finally, if on the way to Mass we endanger someone by driving recklessly in order to get there in time, should we take communion?
The point the Savior makes is one we all need to hear: how we apply our faith in relation to our lived response to situations needs to echo our pious response to the demands of traditions. Let it be our prayer today that we can behave toward others as if they were sitting next to us in the pew at church. That should be a pretty solid challenge.
In this strange year where many of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Saint John Mary Vianney” artist and date are unknown.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB footnote on Matthew 15:1.
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