Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot

Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Anthony

 
Biographical information about St. Anthony

“The Temptation of St Anthony Abbot”
by Annibale Carracci, 1597-98

Readings for Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading I: 1 Samuel 15:16-23
 
Samuel said to Saul:
“Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
Saul replied, “Speak!”
Samuel then said: “Though little in your own esteem,
are you not leader of the tribes of Israel?
The LORD anointed you king of Israel and sent you on a mission, saying,
‘Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction.
Fight against them until you have exterminated them.’
Why then have you disobeyed the LORD?
You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD.”
Saul answered Samuel:  “I did indeed obey the LORD
and fulfill the mission on which the LORD sent me.
I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban.
But from the spoil the men took sheep and oxen,
the best of what had been banned,
to sacrifice to the LORD their God in Gilgal.”
But Samuel said:
“Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as in obedience to the command of the LORD?
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission than the fat of rams.
For a sin like divination is rebellion,
and presumption is the crime of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the command of the LORD,
he, too, has rejected you as ruler.”
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Commentary on 1 Sm 15:16-23
 
Saul had been sent by God through Samuel to destroy utterly the Amalekites. However, Saul did not do so; rather his forces did not wish to destroy the wealth and slaves they might take and so they despoiled the Amalekites and spared the life of King Agag. In doing this, Saul committed the sin of “divination” (predicting the will of God without authority).
 
An important distinction is made in this discourse regarding what God desires from his children. God desires an attitude of love and obedience rather than simply rituals of sacrifice. (See also Psalm 51:19-21.)
 
As a consequence of this disobedience (and in spite of Saul’s apparent repentance), God decrees that he is to be rejected as ruler and king of Israel. This opens the way for the appointment of King David and the messianic dynasty
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
 
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
 
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
 
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
 
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
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Commentary on Ps 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
 
Psalm 50 has what is known as a “prophetic liturgy” structure. It was probably used as part of one of the Hebrew feasts (most likely dealing with the renewal of the covenant, possibly the Feast of Tabernacles). It is also considered a “covenant lawsuit,” that is a lament against those who have violated God’s law and the covenant made with the Lord upon which the law was based. Echoing the charges leveled against Israel by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 1:10-17), the psalmist condemns empty ritual and sacrifice not reflective of external actions and internal faith.
 
The psalm is didactic. Although sacrifice is mentioned, it is more the sincerity of those offerings in homage to God that is in question: “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” The psalmist calls the people to authentic action that will merit God’s salvation. God wants genuine obedience and sincere praise. He rebukes the hypocritical worshiper. Used in conjunction with 1 Samuel 15:16-23, we can see this as a pronouncement against Saul’s rationalization about the will of God.
 
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Gospel: Mark 2:18-22
 
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
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Commentary on Mk 2:18-22
 
Jesus is confronted by “some of the people” about why his disciples do not fast as the disciples of St. John and the Pharisees do.  Ritual fasting is done as a sign of mourning or repentance, which is why Jesus makes the remarks he does; the time for mourning had not yet come.
 
In response to the question by the Pharisees, Jesus uses an Old Testament metaphor in which God’s relation to his covenant people is a marriage (see Hosea 2:16-20, Isaiah 54:5-6, Jeremiah 2:2, Ezekiel 16:32 ff) “Can the wedding guests fast? The bridal metaphor expresses a new relationship of love between God and his people in the person and mission of Jesus to his disciples. It is the inauguration of the new and joyful messianic time of fulfillment and the passing of the old. Any attempt at assimilating the Pharisaic practice of fasting, or of extending the preparatory discipline of John's disciples beyond the arrival of the bridegroom, would be as futile as sewing a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak or pouring new wine into old wineskins with the resulting destruction of both cloth and wine (Mark 2:21-22). Fasting is rendered superfluous during the earthly ministry of Jesus; cf. Mark 2:20.” [4]
 
CCC: Mk 2:19 796
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Reflection:
 
As we listen to St. Mark’s Gospel we find Jesus doing his best to use human language to explain the new revelation he brings.  Before Jesus came there was always difficulty in understanding what God wanted from his people.  Even those early servants of Israel, as we see in the reading from the First Book of Samuel, had difficulty in understanding what God wanted from them
 
In the story of Saul and Samuel, Saul was clearly instructed by Samuel, who carried prophet-like status, to destroy the enemy of the people, the Amalekites.  This was to be done because of the sinful nature of that nation.  But Saul interpreted Samuel’s instructions differently and greed caused him to rationalize that God didn’t really want all that the Amalekites owned destroyed.  He would want the soldiers to reap the benefit of their effort (not to mention Saul’s personal fortune).  So when he was confronted, he first said that the spoils were taken to be ritually sacrificed to God, thinking that would deflect the Lord’s anger.  For his duplicity and disobedience to God, Saul loses God’s favor.
 
In the Gospel, the Jews, using rituals and fasting, have also failed to understand what God wants from his people.  Something new has been added and the Jews have failed to grasp it.  Jesus, who is God, is among them and they expect his disciples who recognize this fact to fast as Moses taught because they needed to sacrifice to God, in atonement for their sins.  Jesus tries to explain in parables that the old sacrifices are counterproductive.  That kind of sacrifice is not needed while God walks in their midst.  Further, using the analogy of the wineskins, he points out that, once they understand what God reveals to them in Christ, they will no longer need the sacrifices they now perform.  Jesus becomes the sacrifice, made once for the whole human race, for all time.
 
In our own day, we also fall into the trap of greed that destroyed the favored status of Saul.  We rationalize that God would want us to be happy so we should do what makes us feel good, even if it goes against what we know he has commanded. 
 
It is a difficult thing to do, understanding what God truly wants from us.  But this we know, the test for figuring it out is straightforward.  If what we do is for God’s greater glory, not our own, we are headed in the right direction.  If what we choose demonstrates a love of God and our neighbor (and self), we have obeyed Christ’s great commandment.  On the other hand, if what we do (or consciously fail to do) places us above God or is injurious to our neighbor (or our self), we join Saul in the Lord’s disfavor and need to seek reconciliation and forgiveness.
 
Our prayer today is that we may be graced to see clearly the path God has placed before us and given the strength to do what we know is pleasing in his sight.
 
Pax

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[1] The icon is “The Temptation of St Anthony Abbot” by Annibale Carracci, 1597-98.
[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 for Mark 2:18-22.