Friday, October 08, 2021

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saint Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs)


 or

(Optional Memorial for Saint John Leonardi, Priest) 

or

(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
“Nursing Madonna”
by Bernardino Luini, 1520s

Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary:[4]
 
Reading 1: Joel 4:12-21
 
Thus says the LORD:
Let the nations bestir themselves and come up
to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there will I sit in judgment
upon all the neighboring nations.
 
Apply the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe;
Come and tread,
for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow,
for great is their malice.
Crowd upon crowd
in the valley of decision;
For near is the day of the LORD
in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;
The heavens and the earth quake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.
 
Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God,
dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain;
Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall pass through her no more.
And then, on that day,
the mountains shall drip new wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk;
And the channels of Judah
shall flow with water:
A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD,
to water the Valley of Shittim.
Egypt shall be a waste,
and Edom a desert waste,
Because of violence done to the people of Judah,
because they shed innocent blood in their land.
But Judah shall abide forever,
and Jerusalem for all generations.
I will avenge their blood,
and not leave it unpunished.
The LORD dwells in Zion.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jl 4:12-21
 
The Prophet Joel concludes his oracle as he presents a view of the final judgment. All the people of all the nations of the earth are brought to the Valley of Jehoshaphat or the “valley of decision” (the word hārûs interpreted as “valley of thrashing” is another possibility [5]). The time of judgment is portrayed as a time of harvest, the iniquity of the world being ripe, ready to be crushed in the Lord’s grape press. God’s faithful, however, will be spared this fate: “Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem for all generations.”
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
 
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
 
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
 
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
 
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
 
This hymn rejoices in the supremacy of God the Father.  The apocalyptic imagery demonstrates God’s authority over all his creation.  Natural disasters of all sorts (earthquakes, storms, and even famines) were seen as punishments from God, as were misfortunes of all sorts both collective and individual.
 
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Gospel: Luke 11:27-28
 
While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 11:27-28
 
This short saying of Jesus is not a contradiction of the woman who blesses Mother Mary; rather it is an assertion by the Lord that the message is more important, in his eyes, than that biological relationship. Mary is more blessed because she heard “the word of God” (see also Luke 1:28-29 and Luke 1:42-45). This passage is consistent in meaning with Luke 8:19-21.
 
"In the course of her Son's preaching she [Mary] received the words whereby, in extolling a Kingdom beyond the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, he declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God (cf. Mark 3:35; Luke 11:27-28) as she was faithfully doing (cf. Luke 2:19, 51)" (Lumen gentium, 58)" [6]
 
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
 
The Scripture we are given today is like a sign seen in many industrial structures.  There is a large red or bright yellow placard with bold letters “Warning!  High Voltage!”  Then just below “To be opened by authorized [trained] persons only!”  The reading from Joel we see is the warning part.  He reminds the people of Israel that a day of reckoning will come and that those nations who oppose the will of God will be “harvested.”
 
This warning is followed by instructions given in the form of what can be seen as a fairly controversial saying of Jesus as he responds to a person who is clearly thankful to God for the Lord’s presence.  That person says, in language startlingly contemporary: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”  Our thoughts immediately spring to St. Gabriel’s greeting to the Blessed Mother, Mary Most Holy at the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-30 ff.), or perhaps St. Elizabeth’s greeting to her a short time later.
 
Instead of joining in the praise of his mother because of her status and relationship, Jesus points rather at her spiritual grace which allowed her to accept God’s gift/burden without hesitation.  It is this openness to the will of God that the Lord praises rather than status which may or may not be deserved.  We have clear examples in modern society.  The Lord would surely praise the political leader who acted with compassion and justice, having heard and heeded God’s call to love all peoples as neighbors.  That praise would be due to that person, not because of their status, but because they listened to God’s word and acted upon it.
 
Similarly, each of us is due the respect and compassion of others because of our status as fellow human persons.  However, praise would only be given when our actions reflected the fact that we have heard and listened to the word of God.
 
The obvious link between the Gospel and Joel is like the warning and instruction on the sign.  The person who is not authorized [trained] will get a dangerous shock.  Our prayer today is that we always heed God’s word and act upon it.
 
Pax
[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of Obligatory Memorial or higher, a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated. This is indicated in the calendar by “BVM.” The readings and prayers may be selected from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
[2] The picture is “Nursing Madonna” by Bernardino Luini, 1520s.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] 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.
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 25:19 p. 443.
[6] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 431.

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