Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

“Sacrifice of Gideon”
by François Boucher, 1750s

Readings for Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Judges 6:11-24a
 
The angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah
that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite.
While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press
to save it from the Midianites,
the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said,
“The LORD is with you, O champion!”
Gideon said to him, “My Lord, if the LORD is with us,
why has all this happened to us?
Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fathers
told us when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’
For now the LORD has abandoned us
and has delivered us into the power of Midian.”
The LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have
and save Israel from the power of Midian.
It is I who send you.”
But Gideon answered him, “Please, my lord, how can I save Israel?
My family is the lowliest in Manasseh,
and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.”
“I shall be with you,” the LORD said to him,
“and you will cut down Midian to the last man.”
Gideon answered him, “If I find favor with you,
give me a sign that you are speaking with me.
Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you
and bring out my offering and set it before you.”
He answered, “I will await your return.”
 
So Gideon went off and prepared a kid and a measure of flour
in the form of unleavened cakes.
Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot,
he brought them out to him under the terebinth
and presented them.
The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unleavened cakes
and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth.”
When he had done so,
the angel of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he held,
and touched the meat and unleavened cakes.
Thereupon a fire came up from the rock
that consumed the meat and unleavened cakes,
and the angel of the LORD disappeared from sight.
Gideon, now aware that it had been the angel of the LORD,
said, “Alas, Lord GOD,
that I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
The LORD answered him,
“Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die.”
So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD
and called it Yahweh-shalom.
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Commentary on Jgs 6:11-24a
 
This passage introduces Gideon, judge and military leader from the tribe of Manasseh from Ephra. [4] This selection recounts the story of Gideon’s encounter with the angel of God. As in many of the stories from this period, the hero, Gideon, does not know that it is Yahweh who commands him and calls him to be a champion of his people. His disbelief stems in part from his humble station in life (“My family is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house”). He needs proof.
 
Gideon sees the sign that is given. The sacrifice he offers is made into a holocaust, meaning it is consumed completely in the fire (by Yahweh). Gideon realizes it is God, and he accepts and believes. His immediate fear is that he will die, since seeing God face to face is considered to happen only in death. As with Moses, the Lord reassures Gideon and as is customary, he marks that place where he encountered God by building an altar of sacrifice.
 
CCC: Jgs 6:11-24 332
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
 
R. (see 9b) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
 
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace
To his people, and to his faithful ones,
and to those who put in him their hope.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
 
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
 
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
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Commentary on Ps 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
 
This selection is part of a hymn of thanksgiving. It relates nicely to the Judges reading as it refers to receiving what God has spoken. Note also the reference to “peace” relates to the name Gideon gave to the altar he built, Yahweh Shalom (“God’s Peace").
 
CCC: Ps 85:11 214; Ps 85:12 2795
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Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30
 
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
 
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
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Commentary on Mt 19:23-30
 
St. Matthew’s Gospel continues the focus on valuing the spiritual life above the material pursuits of earthly existence. The disciples were dismayed at the asceticism required for discipleship. They ask the Lord who could be saved, since all people have fallen prey to the desire for comfort for themselves and material wealth, and even the poorest of people desire material possessions.
 
The Lord then provides the answer that, for God, all things are possible, and that through their faith in him they will find their reward. Jesus continues his discourse with an eschatological description of who shall receive the gift of eternal life. All who come to the Lord, regardless of when they come to faith, may find the reward (“the last shall be first”).
 
CCC: Mt 19:23-29 2053; Mt 19:23-24 226; Mt 19:26 276, 308, 1058; Mt 19:28 765
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Reflection:
 
As we strive to hear the voice of God in Sacred Scripture, one of the principal difficulties we face is the fact that we cannot “earn” salvation.  That gift is freely given to those who ask for God’s forgiveness and mercy.  Yet, we feel in our souls the need to somehow atone for what we have done.  There must be a component of effort on our part so God will accept our request.
 
Jesus tells us that this is just not so.  “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” This statement, of course, refers to our human inability to come to the state of spiritual perfection found in Christ himself.  The exception to this statement is, of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary, crowned Queen of Heaven for her spiritual perfection. As hard as we try, we cannot achieve the perfect love expressed by Christ for all, love he has for even those who killed him.  As hard as we try, we cannot avoid the temptations of this life and even (or perhaps especially) the most pious cloistered religious fall prey to unwholesome desires or evil thoughts.
 
The “especially” is stated because the more we seek spiritual perfection, the more we strive to be “Christ-like” in all we do, the more flaws we find in ourselves and the further it seems we have to go.  There is nothing more humbling than attempting spiritual perfection made incarnate in Christ.  If it is done with diligence, it can be likened to the great Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea who proposed “The Paradox of the Motionless Runner.”  He proposed that in order for a runner to run a certain distance they would need to first run half that distance, then half of the remaining distance and so on.  His logical proof was that since any distance could be halved, the runner, needing to cross half the remaining distance, could never finish the race since he would always need to cross half the remaining distance first.  For those of us who seek diligently to be Christ-like, half the distance always remains.
 
No matter how hard we work or how much we pray, it is God alone who can set things right.  It is only through Christ that our atonement was made. Our own efforts, while necessary for our peace, are not counted as “service points” – so many needed to get into heaven.
 
Once again today we pledge to seek the Lord with all our strength.  We do so knowing that what we do does not “earn” the reward he promises, but is simply an expression of love for him that we try to be more like him.  Our constant prayer today is the opening to the Liturgy of the Hours: “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.” (an earlier translation of Psalm 70:2)
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Sacrifice of Gideon” by François Boucher, 1750s.
[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] Catholic Bible Dictionary, © by Scott Hann, 2009, p.312.