Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“The Scourging of Christ”
by Tiziano Vecellio, c. 1560

 
Readings for Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Hosea 14:2-10
 
Thus says the Lord:
Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the Lord;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
I will heal their defection, says the Lord,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
 
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”—
because of me you bear fruit!
 
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the Lord,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
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Commentary on Hos 14:2-10
 
This prophetic work has an emotional motive on the part of the author. An ongoing analogy is playing out, using the backdrop of the author’s unfortunate marriage. Hosea’s prophecy paints Israel as an unfaithful wife (seduced away by idolatry and hardened by ignoring the poor), and God as the jealous husband who wants her back in spite of her faults. The language used in this selection, which is from the very end of the book, has that flavor to it. The passage can be summed up with: in spite of your sins, come back to God.
 
The prophet continues to call Israel back to faithfulness through repentance (“Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good”). God is their only salvation and their strength. The message to the people is one of complete forgiveness, if they but turn back to the Law of Moses. The conclusion of the passage is a possible inspiration for John the Baptist, for whom the message of forgiveness and repentance was central, and whose role as precursor to Messiah is echoed in the message: “Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them."
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 and 17
 
R. (17b) My mouth will declare your praise.
 
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
 
Behold, you are pleased with sincerity of heart,
and in my inmost being you teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
 
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
 
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
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Commentary on Ps 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 and 17
 
Psalm 51 (one of the great penitential psalms) is an individual lament imploring God for mercy and forgiveness. We note the request is coupled with an explicit understanding that the singer has sinned in the eyes of God, and complete dependence on his mercy for the expiation of those offenses.
 
CCC: Ps 51:12 298, 431
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Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23
 
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
 
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.”
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Commentary on Mt 10:16-23
 
Jesus concludes his instruction to the Apostles in this selection from Matthew’s Gospel. We begin to hear about the persecutions that attend the spreading of the Gospel. Those who spread that Good News are encouraged not to worry about an apologia (defense), but rather to trust in the Holy Spirit, the Father “speaking through you.”
 
Matthew’s final statement, referring to the coming of the Son of Man, has a couple of possible explanations. First it could be referring to the return of Christ after his crucifixion. It could also mean the punishment of the unbelieving Jewish people by the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD.
 
CCC: Mt 10:16 764; Mt 10:19-20 728; Mt 10:22 161, 1821
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Reflection:
 
Jesus warns his disciples that they will face extreme opposition, persecution and imprisonment.  It seems ironic that the Gospel of peace and love should be met this way.  It is, in a sense, counterintuitive.  Yet his message was not only borne out in his followers (all but one of whom were martyred), but the prediction has been true to varying degrees ever since.
 
Today we hear stories from around the world about Christians being persecuted, imprisoned, and even killed.  It is happening on the African continent as open conflict takes place between Muslims and Christians in a number of countries there.  It is happening in China where the state has dictated that individuals, not selected by Rome, be Catholic bishops.  It is taking place in virtually every country in the Middle East.  In Iraq and Syria, where ISIS is waging war, the word genocide has been used to describe this wholesale persecution. Even in Egypt, Christian groups are being systematically eliminated either by persecution or forceful conversion to Islam.  And in Israel, Catholic priests are routinely spit upon by members of the Hasidic Jewish sects.  The Christians of Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Savior, are persecuted by Arab and Jew alike.
 
In the United States the late Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, referring to the direction our country is going, said prior to his passing: “I believe I will die in bed; my successor will die in prison; and his successor will be martyred.”
 
No, things have not changed.  If we think that we are not affected because we live in a more enlightened and cosmopolitan society, we are mistaken. Our challenges are perhaps even more insidious.  At every turn supposedly tolerant people seek to destroy the values long established by our Christian heritage.  Living as Christians and spreading the word of the Lord in this day and age can be every bit as dangerous as it was in the day of our Lord.
 
We are, however, called as his disciples were called, to go into the world with his message of peace.  We are told that we must be “shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”  That means that, while we are called to spread the word in a sometimes hostile environment, we cannot throw ourselves away.  The Lord calls us to use our God-given gifts in dealing with those who revile us.  We should use the systems shrewdly, making them work for us, but not forgetting that the Lord gave us an example of humility and gentleness.
 
It is a difficult thing we are called to be – Christians in a hostile world.  But we must be fearless in our proclamation of the Gospel and steadfast in our love of the Lord.  In this way we bring the Kingdom of God promised by our Savior, Jesus Christ.
 
Pax

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[1] The pictured used is “The Scourging of Christ” by Tiziano Vecellio, c. 1560.
[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.