Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church)
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi
 
Biographical information for St. Lawrence of Brindisi

“Jews in the Desert”
by Tintoretto, 1592-94

 
Readings for Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13
 
This word of the Lord came to me:
Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!
 
I remember the devotion of your youth,
how you loved me as a bride,
Following me in the desert,
in a land unsown.
Sacred to the Lord was Israel,
the first fruits of his harvest;
Should any presume to partake of them,
evil would befall them, says the Lord.
 
When I brought you into the garden land
to eat its goodly fruits,
You entered and defiled my land,
you made my heritage loathsome.
The priests asked not,
“Where is the Lord?”
Those who dealt with the law knew me not:
the shepherds rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after useless idols.
 
Be amazed at this, O heavens,
and shudder with sheer horror, says the Lord.
Two evils have my people done:
they have forsaken me, the source of living waters;
They have dug themselves cisterns,
broken cisterns, that hold no water.
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Commentary on Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13
 
The oracle of Jeremiah recalls the how the chosen people were saved. “Following me in the desert” is a reference to the exodus and subsequent sojourn by the Hebrews in the desert as they fled Egypt. But once they arrived in the land promised by God through Moses, they turned away from God, even adopting the pagan practices of the indigenous peoples (“The prophets prophesied by Baal”).
 
This part of the oracle concludes by saying the people have rejected the living water that is God’s favor (“they have forsaken me, the source of living waters”), and they have turned to false gods (“They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water”).
 
CCC: Jer 2-3 1611; Jer 2 762; Jer 2:13 2561
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 36:6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11
 
R. (10a) With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
 
O Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your faithfulness, to the clouds.
Your justice is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
 
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them to drink.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
 
For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
Keep up your mercy toward your friends,
your just defense of the upright of heart.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 36:6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11
 
Psalm 36 is of mixed genre, having elements of wisdom and lament. In these strophes we hear the psalmist thanking God for his infinite mercy. The metaphor of God as the source of living water is captured in the second and third strophes supporting Jeremiah’s oracle in Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 13:10-17
 
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?"
He said to them in reply,
"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
 
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
 
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
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Commentary on Mt 13:10-17
 
Following the “Parable of the Sower,” the disciples approach Jesus to ask him why he does not speak more clearly to the people instead of using the parables that some find confusing. His response, recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, is much softer than the same story related in Mark 4:11ff.
 
“Since a parable is figurative speech that demands reflection for understanding, only those who are prepared to explore its meaning can come to know it. To understand is a gift of God, granted to the disciples but not to the crowds. In Semitic fashion, both the disciples' understanding and the crowd's obtuseness are attributed to God.” [4]
 
Concluding, Jesus reflects upon Isaiah 6:9-10 in a lament that the people will not understand what he reveals because their hearts are hardened.
 
CCC: Mt 13:3-23 1724; Mt 13:10-17 787; Mt 13:10-15 546; Mt 13:11 546
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Reflection:
 
Today the oracle of Jeremiah coupled with St. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us of our own fallibility as we once more grapple with our attempt to follow Jesus, and the realization of how often we simply forget that mission and only later realize our failure.
 
Jeremiah, speaking with God’s voice, laments about how his precious possession, the people of Israel who faithfully followed him in their desert wanderings, turned away from him once they reached the Promised Land. It is like children who were promised a reward if they would only behave during a family gathering. When the parents gave them their reward early because they were doing such a great job, the children immediately forgot about their promise and misbehaved.
 
God laments, through Jeremiah, because the people he loves, in turning to false gods, have reached out for an empty cup, a broken cistern that holds no water. They have turned from life to death, and God, the loving parent, weeps for their choice.
 
In the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples how blessed they are because God has made the offer of life to them, and they perceive it properly. It is because of his love for all God’s children that Christ asks us to reach out with the same message to others.
 
Think again of the parent who sees their children going in directions that will harm them. With older children (those who have learned everything there is to know) many times all we can do is tell them, plead with them to take another path. When they do not listen, all we can do is pray for God’s mercy, and that, when they find the cistern empty, they will return to the living water.
 
We pray for ourselves as well. How often do we turn away from the life-giving fountain that is God’s love to follow that which seems fairer but is not wholesome? Blessed indeed are we who see and hear God’s voice and follow. His loving mercy has saved us once more.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Jews in the Desert” by Tintoretto, 1592-94.
[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 on Matthew 13: 10-17.