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"Saint Boniface"
by Cornelis Bloemaert, c. 1630 |
Readings for Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1:2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the Gospel,
for which I was appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher.
On this account I am suffering these things;
but I am not ashamed,
for I know him in whom I have believed
and am confident that he is able to guard
what has been entrusted to me until that day.
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Commentary on 2 Tm 1:1-3, 6-12
This selection contains the formal beginning of the Second Letter of St. Paul to St. Timothy. Following the formula address, the apostle exhorts his former student and traveling companion to be forthright, even outspoken in proclaiming the faith (“For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control”).
There is a clear reference that St. Timothy was ordained for this task by St. Paul as is shown by his statement: “the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.” This passage is also foundational to the understanding that there is an indelible change imparted by the reception of Holy Orders. The apostle concludes his introduction, summarizing the call they have both received, and his faith in salvation through Christ, important here because he (St. Paul) is in prison and his physical well-being is in question.
CCC: 2 Tm 1:3 1794; 2 Tm 1:6 1577, 1590; 2 Tm 1:8 2471, 2506; 2 Tm 1:9-10 257, 1021; 2 Tm 1:12-14 84; 2 Tm 1:12 149
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 123:1b-2ab, 2cdef
R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven.
Behold, as the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the Lord, our God,
till he have pity on us.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
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Commentary on Ps 123:1b-2ab, 2cdef
Psalm 123 is an individual lament. In these strophes we hear the prayer of the psalmist who expresses faith in God’s love and compassion.
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Gospel: Mark 12:18-27
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”
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Commentary on Mk 12:18-27
The Sadducees are approaching Jesus, in this passage, with a twofold attack against his teaching on the resurrection (Sadducees, as a group, do not hold with the theology of resurrection of the dead). First they ask Jesus to solve the puzzle of to whom the widow of seven husbands would be married in heaven. (It is likely this example was taken from Tobit 3:8.) Jesus chides them for their lack of understanding, telling them that life in the kingdom of heaven transcends life in the body. He then goes further, attacking their disbelief in the resurrection by quoting Exodus 3; 6, telling them the Father is the God of the living not the dead.
CCC: Mk 12:24 993; Mk 12:25 1619; Mk 12:27 993
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Reflection:
How many times have we wilted in embarrassment when confronted with a situation where we should have boldly proclaimed our faith in Jesus Christ? Those of us called in a special way, through Holy Orders, are not exempt from this flaw. We want to fit in, be liked, be accepted as one of the guys or one of the girls. Most of us who have been active in the faith community for any periods of time actually feel uncomfortable in secular situations where we don’t know the people well.
Given the beginning of the Second Letter of St. Paul to St. Timothy, we see that this is nothing new. Apparently, St. Timothy, either because of social circumstances or because of natural humility, was not being as bold as St. Paul wanted him to be. The instruction points out another paradox of the Lord’s instructions to us.
What is the first and foremost teaching of Jesus about how he wants his disciples to lead? He told them just a few chapters earlier in St. Mark’s Gospel “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” (Mark 10: 43-44) One of the hallmarks of Christianity is the idea of servant leadership. Yet, there is a fine line that must be observed between being a humble servant and an outspoken “Prisoner of Christ.” While the servant leader must not autocratically order people about, even in Christ’s name (especially not in Christ’s name), they must not be wishy-washy when it comes to standing up for his principles in the secular world.
Today we examine our own faith example. We hope that others see us and know we are Christians because we love one another as he loved us. Our faith shows in how we treat others, with love and respect. We also hope that when we encounter injustice, behaviors that go against what the Lord stands for, we are not embarrassed to stand up and say, “This is not right.” Don’t we tell our children to do the same? We are reminded that we are to practice what we preach. We also know that being labeled as a Christian sometimes also labels us as uncomfortable people to be around or fanatics. If the party is going in a very wrong direction, it’s better to be the death of the party than its life.
Pax
[1] The picture is "Saint Boniface" by Cornelis Bloemaert, c. 1630.
[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 re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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