(Optional Memorial for Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)
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“Christ Preaching”
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1643-49 |
Readings for Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
The LORD said to Moses,
"These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate
at their proper time with a sacred assembly.
The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month,
at the evening twilight.
The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD's feast of Unleavened Bread.
For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work.
On each of the seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD.
Then on the seventh day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work."
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and tell them:
When you come into the land which I am giving you,
and reap your harvest,
you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest
to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD
that it may be acceptable for you.
On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this.
"Beginning with the day after the sabbath,
the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf,
you shall count seven full weeks,
and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day,
you shall present the new cereal offering to the LORD.
"The tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement,
when you shall hold a sacred assembly and mortify yourselves
and offer an oblation to the LORD.
"The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD's feast of Booths,
which shall continue for seven days.
On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly,
and you shall do no sort of work.
For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD,
and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and offer an oblation to the LORD.
On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work.
"These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD
on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly,
and offer as an oblation to the LORD burnt offerings and cereal offerings,
sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day."
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Commentary on Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
This reading from the Book of Leviticus comes from the section identified as “Code of Legal Holiness.” It is a calendar of celebrations paralleled by another calendar from the priestly tradition, in Numbers 28–29. Non-priestly resumes of festal and holy observances are found in Exodus 23:10–17; 34:18–24 and Deuteronomy 16:1–17. [4] The prescriptions of celebrations mentioned recall the various saving works of God either generally through his act of creation and the gift of life, or actively through intervention on behalf of the faithful.
"It deals first with the sabbath, which becomes the paradigm for all the other feasts, especially as far as rest is concerned. Such importance was given to what could or could not be done on the sabbath that all sorts of absurd and formalistic exaggerations developed. More than once Jesus criticized the severe interpretations devised by the scribes ̶ a complicated and intolerable casuistry (cf. Matthew 15:1-9; 23:41; Acts 15:10)." [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
R.(2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel,
the pleasant harp and the lyre.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
For it is a statute in Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob,
Who made it a decree for Joseph
when he came forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
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Commentary on Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab
Psalm 81 is a song of thanksgiving. These strophes celebrate the gift of the Law of Moses and its prescriptions, recalling also the salvation brought about by God.
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Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?"
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house."
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
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Commentary on Mt 13:54-58
This story from Matthew’s Gospel focuses on the people most familiar with Jesus, the boy growing up among them. They are seeking the “Royal Messiah,” one coming with great power and majesty, and are disappointed because of the Lord’s familiar and humble beginnings. Matthew’s story tells us that because of their lack of faith, the Lord did not perform any signs in their midst, ending the passage with the often quoted “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." (See also John 1:11; those who were overly familiar with Jesus could not place their faith in him.)
CCC: Mt 13:55 495, 500
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Reflection:
We have heard the lesson from today’s Gospel many times before in Scripture. Perhaps the time it was most clearly stated was when Elijah was told to look for God as he stood on the mountain (1 Kings 19: 9-12). God does not come in the way or form we expect.
One of the most surprising things we learn from not only this Gospel story ̶ the lesson behind it ̶ is that when we fully expect God to manifest his presence in a certain way we completely miss him as he presents himself genuinely. In this respect, the Gospel story is a perfect example. Jesus comes to his home town. He has just finished the Sermon on the Mount and has fed the multitudes. If ever there were fingerprints of God left stunningly on the face of the earth, what the Lord did in the multiplication of the loaves was clearly that evidence. Yet, the people of Nazareth don’t see the Messiah who has come to save the world. They were expecting a person of great power to raise an army, throw off the yoke of the Roman occupiers, and reestablish a Davidic Kingdom.
To us it seems amazing that they could not recognize Christ for who he was. But we do the same thing. We miss God’s involvement in our lives. We are so intent on him working some miracle, like helping win the lottery or transforming a bad situation into one we can easily deal with, that we miss his subtle hand gently pushing here and prodding there. It is not until much later, usually as we meditate upon our lives, that we can clearly see his purpose or involvement.
It is like the metal worker who, in order to make some useful tool, must first destroy the impurities by melting it, taking away its natural form in the smelting furnace, so that it can be molded into its final useful form. It’s like the potter who first must pound the clay to remove any air pockets that might later create unwanted flaws in the vase to be created. Taken apart from the final act of creation, such actions cannot be understood except as part of the creative process.
This is where our faith must carry us. Unlike the neighbors of Jesus, we must be faith-filled and patient so the Lord might work his signs through us.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Christ Preaching” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1643-49.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio[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 Leviticus 23:1ff.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 495.
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