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“Saint Peter Claver"
Artist and Date are unknown.
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Readings for Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Colossians 3:12-17
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Commentary on Col 3:12-17
St. Paul exhorts the Colossians with a litany of positive attitudes that culminate in the cardinal axiom of the faith: “love one another.” He goes on to implore them to let the peace of Christ control their every action and to praise God constantly through Jesus, God’s only Son.
This is the introduction to the family hierarchy of the era described by St. Paul. This entire section of the letter is a discourse on harmony within the family of Christ. It is important to note the instruction given in the first part of this reading. Paul describes the Christian rules for relationships; “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.” The consistent focus of the passage brings home the Pauline ideals of harmony and unity within the Christian family.
CCC: Col 3:14 815, 1827, 1844; Col 3:16-17 1156, 2633; Col 3:16 2641
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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (6) Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
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Commentary on Ps 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6
Psalm 150 contains a litany of praise, first praising God for what he is. In the strophes that follow, it offers praise with various media, instruments, dance, and song. The refrain, “holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God,” has its roots in the ancient Hebrew, in that there was no word for “holier” or “holiest.” When that thought was to be expressed, the word was repeated the appropriate number of times. The psalm serves a doxology for the fifth book of Psalms. The sound of clashing cymbals in this case reminds us of the rumblings and peals of thunder in Revelation, God’s work and presence on earth.
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Gospel: Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
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Commentary on Lk 6:27-38
This passage from St. Luke’s Gospel continues the Sermon on the Plain. In this section, Jesus extends the commandment to love one’s neighbor to include one’s enemy, breaking new ground in the interpretation of Mosaic Law. Jesus turns from our relationship with God in prayer to our how we interact with our neighbor in the world. The “Golden Rule” is proclaimed and with it the two paths that are presented to the Christian believer; the path that leads to life, and the path that leads to death (Cf. Deuteronomy 30:15-20). [4] What follows is an extension of each of the laws governing hospitality and continues by extending even the judicial laws that govern dispute resolution. In the conclusion of this section, the Lord exhorts the disciples to embrace forgiveness, saying, “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
CCC: Lk 6:28 1669; Lk 6:31 1789, 1970; Lk 6:36 1458, 2842
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Reflection:
Have you ever wondered what you would say to someone about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? If you were placed in a situation where you didn’t have much time and the person you were talking to did not have even a clue about who Jesus was and is, what would you say? Say, for instance, you found yourself in a remote village where Jesus’ was a name not heard before, and one of the villagers approached you and asked, “Who is this ‘Jesus’ you pray to and why is he important to you?”
The answer to that question is given today. If we had to summarize what the Lord taught in just a few phrases we could say what Paul wrote to the Colossians in the first reading and punctuate it with that part of the sermon on the plain we were given from St. Luke’s Gospel.
Love God first and love one another second. If we had just one short sentence that communicated how we are commanded to live our faith, that would be it. Yes, there is a huge body of work that provides a framework for how that love should be expressed, but when it is all distilled, when all of the embellishments and flowery words are taken away, we are left with one clear and concise message: love God first and love one another.
St. Paul tells the Colossians that in love they can embrace the peace of Christ which will buoy them up and allow them to face the most difficult times. Jesus extends the idea of loving our neighbors, not just to the “nice” neighbors, but to those who consider themselves to be our enemies. Again, the message echoes: “Love God and love one another!”
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Saint Peter Claver" Artist and Date are unknown.[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] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 301-06.
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