Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

“Mary Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross”
by Giovanni Battista Langetti, c. 1670

 
Readings for Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
 
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, of the grace of God
that has been given to the churches of Macedonia,
for in a severe test of affliction,
the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For according to their means, I can testify,
and beyond their means, spontaneously,
they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part
in the service to the holy ones,
and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord
and to us through the will of God,
so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun,
he should also complete for you this gracious act also.
Now as you excel in every respect,
in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.
 
I say this not by way of command,
but to test the genuineness of your love
by your concern for others.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
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Commentary on 2 Cor 8:1-9
 
St. Paul writes to the Corinthians about the generosity of the churches of Macedonia.  He has started a collection to relieve the mother church in Jerusalem that was in the middle of a famine (Acts 11:27-30). He clearly felt this act of charity strengthened the unity of the whole Church and was encouraging the community in Corinth to follow that example.  He sends Titus to them with two companions to begin the charitable act there.
 

CCC: 2 Cor 8:1-15 2833; 2 Cor 8:9 517, 1351, 2407, 2546

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:2, 5-6ab, 6c- 7, 8-9a
 
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 146:2, 5-6ab, 6c- 7, 8-9a
 
Psalm 146 is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving.  Beyond the actions of man, God saves those who are faithful to him. All is vanity when a person’s trust is in human action.  The people who have faith in God will find salvation, as sung in the litany of acts of God’s mercy presented in the final two strophes.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
 
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
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Commentary on Mt 5:43-48
 
This passage is the second of six examples in St. Matthew’s Gospel of conduct demanded of the Christian disciple. The Lord extends the understanding of Mosaic Law. He first quotes Leviticus 19:18. Jesus tells the disciples once more that their behavior must be reflected in how they treat others, and must go beyond what was customarily understood. He tells his friends directly to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (not curse them as was customary, also echoed in Romans 12:17-21). This exhortation differentiates Christians, who love even their enemies based upon requirements of their faith.
 
Jesus continues to reinterpret Mosaic Law.  Here, he goes after the closed community.  He tells the disciples, consistent with the instruction to “turn the other cheek,” to love not just those who love us but those who are our enemies as well.
 
He goes on to contrast the response expected from his disciples to the response customarily given (e.g. loving those who love you, greeting only one’s friends), asking: “Do not the pagans do the same?” The passage concludes with “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He points out that to do less than that is human nature, but the Christian calling is to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. Only in St. Matthew’s Gospel is the word “perfect” used. In St. Luke’s Gospel the word is “merciful.”
 
CCC: Mt 5:43-44 1933, 2844; Mt 5:44-45 2303, 2608; Mt 5:44 1825, 1968, 2262; Mt 5:45 2828; Mt 5:46-47 2054; Mt 5:47 1693; Mt 5:48 443, 1693, 1968, 2013, 2842
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Reflection:
 
The Gospel of Christ behaves like a very good mirror today.  Jesus is continuing to instruct his disciples regarding the spirit of the law.  He takes a precept: “You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”  And then he redefines that precept, giving God’s intended meaning: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  As God’s adopted children, we are not allowed the animal instinct to fear and hate our enemies.
 
Seen with the eyes of Christ, those who persecute us, those who would take advantage of us, and those who seek to stop us from doing what is right are our brothers and sisters.  They are not to be hated or feared, but to be viewed as fallen and in need of help.  On the surface that may seem to be condescending. and that attitude among us is also wrong.  Ours is to be the attitude of the parent of an adult child who is seen making a wrong decision.  Does that parent hate the child they have loved and nurtured throughout their early life because they have, out of ignorance or weakness, made decisions or acted on impulses that lead them down dark paths?
 
A loving parent would certainly not condemn their child for that kind of action, even if the action were damaging or dangerous to the parent.  In secular society, we can see what happens when the Christian ethic is withheld for a generation or two.  When this concept of loving one’s enemies is not passed on to children, those children grown to adulthood cannot find it in their hearts to forgive, even their own children, and we see the destruction of the extended family.
 
Ironically it is most difficult to forgive one’s enemies when the enemy to be forgiven was once a close friend or family member.  Those who have the deepest access to our feelings can cause the most pain, and consequently require the most forgiveness.  It is for this reason that the lesson Christ teaches today is one that is most difficult to accept and requires the most spiritual effort on our part.
 
Today we look at ourselves in the light of this teaching. We see in the mirror that is the Gospel the light reflected that shows us how far we must go to become like Christ who, without condescension, loved those who hated him and forgave those who persecuted him.  We pledge ourselves to forgiveness today, remembering that the person we may have to forgive first is ourselves.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Mary Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross” by Giovanni Battista Langetti, c. 1670.
[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.