Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

“Creation of Adam”
by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1510

 
Readings for Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Genesis 1:20—2:4a
 
God said,
"Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky."
And so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
"Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth."
Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
 
Then God said,
"Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds."
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
 
God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.
 
God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth."
God also said:
"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food."
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.
 
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.
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Commentary on Gn 1:20—2:4a
 
This passage completes the Priestly creation account in Genesis. It describes the creation of all life on earth and concludes with the establishment of the Sabbath on the seventh day, establishing the sacredness of that day. God’s creation of mankind in v. 26 represents the climax of his creative effort in that God give us dominion over the rest of creation.
 
"The sacred text emphasizes the special significance of this moment: God seems to stop to reflect and plan every detail of his next creation--man. Ancient Jewish interpretation (followed also by some Christian writers) saw the use of the plural 'Let us make...' as meaning that God deliberated with his heavenly court, that is, with the angels (implying that God had created them at the very start, when he 'created the heavens and the earth'). But the use of the plural should rather be taken as reflecting the greatness and power of God. A considerable part of Christian tradition has seen the 'Let us make' as reflecting the Holy Trinity, for New Testament revelation has made the Christian reader more aware of the unfathomable greatness of the divine mystery." [4]
 
CCC: Gn 1:21 299; Gn 1:26-29 2402; Gn 1:26-28 307; Gn 1:26-27 1602; Gn 1:26 36, 225, 299, 343, 2501, 2809; Gn 1:27 355, 383, 1604, 2331; Gn 1:28-31 2415; Gn 1:28 372, 373, 1604, 1607, 1652, 2331, 2427; Gn 1:31 299, 1604; Gn 2:1-3 345; Gn 2:2 314, 2184
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
 
R. (2ab) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
 
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
 
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
 
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
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Commentary on Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
 
Psalm 8 is a song of thanksgiving for the creation event described in Genesis. The song marvels at God’s great work, his creation, and the life he gave us. The singer expresses the humility of a people who, through no merit of their own, God has made little less than angels and given a place of honor. Having done all this, mankind accepts great responsibility for stewardship.
 
CCC: Ps 8:6 2566, 2809
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Gospel: Mark 7:1-13
 
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
 
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things."
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Commentary on Mk 7:1-13
 
We begin the seventh chapter of Mark’s Gospel with an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus’ disciples are not following strict Pharisaic laws regarding ritual purification and the Lord, who is their teacher, is taken to task for it. Jesus responds indignantly, asserting that it is the Pharisees with their man-made laws who are sinning against God. He points out that not only have they placed pharisaic law above Mosaic law (see also Galatians 1:14), but they have violated the law of Moses by doing so. He gives one example about children who, under Mosaic law, are to honor and support their parents. Instead of supporting them directly, they satisfy their obligation by contributing it to the temple and count that as support, even though it gives the parents no comfort.
 
CCC: Mk 7:8-13 2196; Mk 7:8 581
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Reflection:
 
Today I plagiarize myself.  The following was written over ten years ago on Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time.  The person described deserves to be remembered.
 
“This week I was called to do a vigil service for Dorothy H. Szyniszewski who died at 86 of cancer. As usual, when I don’t know a person well, I first read the obituary notice and then asked to speak with one of Dorothy’s daughters before the service. The picture that was painted of this woman’s life was a textbook image of a lived faith. By all accounts, she led an exemplary life, full of service, first to her children and then to the community at large. She was known as a go-to person at the retirement home where she spent the last years of her life, and was always independent of her children.”
 
The reason I think of her now is that I did not know her. I have been at St. Thomas as parishioner and deacon for over forty years and I can’t recall having met her, even though her children and one of the priests of our diocese who were present vouched for her lively and lived faith.
 
Many people believe that in order to be a good church member one must be known to be pious by the clergy, and seen by other dedicated individuals as a person living a holy life by their observance of the traditions of the Church. Yet there was a person who, at 86, had a vigil on Super Bowl Sunday, during the game, and had over 30 people present. Here is a woman who had hundreds file through the funeral home during her visitation period. Here is a woman who did not want to be a burden to her children, so she took a part time job and worked until two weeks before she died, while suffering the ravages of her cancer, never complaining.
 
When we think about the Gospel today, and how Jesus challenged the Pharisees, he was not just talking about his disciples, but about the Dorothy H. Szyniszewski’s of the world, who live the spirit of God’s law in humility. She was truly “salt for the earth” and “light for the world.” Our prayer today is that we may do as well as Dorothy when our time comes.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1510.
[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] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 40.