Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial for Saint Lawrence Ruiz, Martyr, and his Companions, Martyrs
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Lawrence Ruiz and his Companions
 
Biographical Information about St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions
 
Or
 
Optional Memorial for Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Wenceslaus
 
Biographical Information about St. Wenceslaus

“The Feast of Herod” (detail)
by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1633

 
Readings for Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Haggai 1:1-8
 
On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius,
The word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai
to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak:
 
Thus says the LORD of hosts: 
This people says:
“The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”
(Then this word of the LORD came through Haggai, the prophet:)
Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses,
while this house lies in ruins?
 
Now thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages
earned them for a bag with holes in it.
 
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
Go up into the hill country;
bring timber, and build the house
That I may take pleasure in it
and receive my glory, says the LORD.
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Commentary on Hg 1:1-8
 
The prophet Haggai was the first (chronologically) of the Minor Prophets and a contemporary of Ezra.  It is suggested that he was either a priest or a cultic prophet, heavily involved in temple worship. [4] Here the prophet calls on the people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. This is his principal ministry and he sees that, while the foundation for the new temple has been laid (Ezra 3:7-13), nothing further has been done (Ezra 4). The excuse apparently presented by the people of being too poor is rejected by the prophet, and he accuses them of sloth in this effort. His strong message is: think of God before yourselves.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
 
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
 
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
 
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
 
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
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Commentary on Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
 
Psalm 149 is a communal song of praise, rejoicing in God’s kingship and inviting the faithful to celebrate his saving works. We rejoice because God brings victory to the lowly and hope to the oppressed. The psalmist calls to the faithful to give praise in the assembly of the people – to give witness to their faith publicly – communally, as God’s chosen ones.
 
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Gospel: Luke 9:7-9
 
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,
“John has been raised from the dead”;
others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;
still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
But Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
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Commentary on Lk 9:7-9
 
This passage from St. Luke’s Gospel begins a section that assembles incidents from the life of the Lord. In this introduction, King Herod asks the question, “Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” The proposed identities of Jesus coincide directly with the later report of the disciples to Jesus in Luke 9:18-19. Confusion about Jesus’ identity will be clarified in the subsequent passages as his divinity is revealed.
 
Luke’s Herod is rather less confident than Mark’s about the possibility of resurrections from the dead. He comments on the popular opinions only to the extent of implicating himself in the death of John. For him the question of the identity of Jesus remains unresolved. He wants to see for himself. [5]
 
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Reflection:
 
There are days at work, at school, or in the home when no matter how hard we work, we don’t feel like we’ve accomplished enough or perhaps done the “right things.”  There is an emptiness, a mild feeling of frustration that we can’t quite pull into focus.  It’s like the cherished recipe passed down from generation to generation but missing one ingredient.  It looks the same when finished but when eaten it’s not quite right – something is missing.
 
The prophet Haggai points this out to the people of Israel because they have been too focused on themselves.  They have been busy rebuilding their city after being returned to it after a long exile in Babylonia.  Haggai sees the temple foundation has been laid but no further work has been done and points out that no matter how hard the people work they will not feel prosperity, no matter how much they eat they will not be filled. There is a missing ingredient, and that ingredient is the worship and praise of God.
 
In a similar way, King Herod must feel that, with the loss of St. John the Baptist, something is not quite right.  He questions his advisors regarding the identity of Jesus about whom he has heard.  That queasy feeling that God’s justice is coming for him is growing again, and he needs to know why.  He has seen St. John’s head on a platter and knows Jesus is not the Baptist somehow returned from the dead, but who is he?  He is the missing ingredient.
 
Back to our own sense that something is missing.  When we have those feelings, even if we believe we have done all we should have done in a given situation, it is likely that we have relied too heavily on our own efforts and not allowed the Lord to be present in our actions.  When we listen to our internal voice of faith, one cultivated in prayer, echoed in Sacred Scripture, and strengthened in the sacraments, we will feel complete.
 
Our prayer today is that all the ingredients are present and applied in the right order.  We pray that the Lord, through the Holy Spirit will support the work of our hands this day and bring us peace.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “The Feast of Herod” (detail) by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1633.
[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] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, p.388, 6.
[5] John Nolland, Luke 1:1–9:20, vol. 35A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989), 433.