Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Sermon on the Mount”
by Cosimo Rosselli, 1481-1502

 
Readings for Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 7:25-31
 
Brothers and sisters:
In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord,
but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
So this is what I think best because of the present distress:
that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation.
Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife.
If you marry, however, you do not sin,
nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries;
but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life,
and I would like to spare you that.
 
I tell you, brothers, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 7:25-31
 
St. Paul gives his opinion (“Now in regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord”) as opposed to a definitive requirement. It is his feeling that the Christians are already living in the “end times,” and that the Parousia, Christ’s second coming, is imminent. The language he uses is quite similar to “the time of distress” mentioned in Zephaniah 1:15 and Luke 21:23.
 
CCC: 1 Cor 7:26 672; 1 Cor 7:31 1619
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
 
R. (11) Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
 
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, and you must worship him.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
 
All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters;
her raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In embroidered apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind her the virgins of her train are brought to you.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
 
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
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Commentary on Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17

Psalm 45 is a royal psalm originally sung in honor of the king’s marriage to a queen (of foreign extraction). It is likely that it influenced St. Paul’s instructions on virgins and marriage. It emphasizes the beauty of the sacramental relationship (see 1 Corinthians 7:25-35).
 
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Gospel: Luke 6:20-26
 
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
 
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
 
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.”
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Commentary on Lk 6:20-26
 
This passage is the introductory section of St. Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain.” Addressed primarily to a Gentile audience, this discourse differs from St. Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5:1-7:27) in that it addresses economic conditions of the day. It begins, as does St. Matthew’s sermon, with the Beatitudes but follows these with antithetical woes which contrast the blessed with those who ignore the poor and hungry. (See also commentary on Matthew 5:1-12.)
 
CCC: Lk 6:20-22 2444; Lk 6:20 2546; Lk 6:24 2547
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Reflection:
 
Jesus brings a message of hope to the world.  His promise to all who are in distress is that their hope is in God.  He tells us emphatically that anyone who suffers economic distress, hungers, is despondent, in mourning, or persecuted because of faith in Christ will find hope in him.  With the world in turmoil and economic conditions still in the process of recovery, this is as important a message today as it was at the time St. Luke first recorded it.
 
The poor, those who are destitute or without any financial support, need to hear this message, and in hearing it in the midst of a loving faith community, they will find that they are, indeed, blessed with riches.  Because that community will be generous, supporting their own, helping them.  The poor can also be those who have no hope, the poor in spirit.  They too can find riches in God’s earthly kingdom, which is composed of his faithful.  God’s mercy and consolation are expressed through modern disciples, who offer their presence and spirit to those who are lost and alone.
 
The hungry will be fed, again, by those who follow Christ faithfully.  The charity we offer has no strings or conditions.  We do not require a person to sing hymns of praise, or be otherwise beholden to the people of faith who offer to share their abundance.  We are fools for Christ as St. Paul is fond of saying.  And those who hunger for spiritual food will also find their fill in our midst, as the true bread from heaven is offered to those who can accept it in the Eucharist.
 
Those whose pain forces them to tears, will find with us Christ’s love embracing them, and in our midst we pray with them and for them, so that the darkness that envelops those who grieve may be lifted, and hope and happiness might come to wash away the tears.  Sharing the pain of those who grieve is our community’s gift.  Christ’s consolation dispels the anguish of the weeping heart.
 
Ah, and those of us who take Christ into an unwelcoming world will find joy in the persecution we face.  We simply remember that our Savior was also despised by those he loved and had come to save.  In that remembrance, we share his glory and exult in the knowledge that we join our Savior, who purchased life for us through his great passion.
 
Today our hearts are lifted as we recall Christ’s promise of love and peace for the world.  We pray for the strength to reflect the love he promised to those we meet today.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture used today is “Sermon on the Mount” by Cosimo Rosselli, 1481-1502.
[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.