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“The Blind Leading the Blind”
by Pieter van der Heyden, 1561 |
Readings for Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters,
as is fitting, because your faith flourishes ever more,
and the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.
Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God
regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions
and the afflictions you endure.
This is evidence of the just judgment of God,
so that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God
for which you are suffering.
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
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Commentary on 2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12
This is the introduction to St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. It is also the first mention by St. Paul of the three theological virtues: faith, love, and hope. “Paul recalls the time he first spent with his readers. What stands out in his mind are the theological virtues that changed their lives: in faith they abandoned their idols and embraced the living God (1:9); in hope they endured suffering and expressed longing for the final salvation that Jesus will bring when he returns (1:10; 5:9); and in love they served one another in generous and sacrificial ways (4:9-10). These will protect them like armor in the challenging days ahead (5:8).” [4]
In this selection from St. Paul’s first letter to the Church he founded in Thessalonica, St. Paul also speaks in general terms of themes he will develop later, the Christian adoption by God and his own authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ.
CCC: 2 Thes 1:11 2636
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
For great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the Lord made the heavens.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
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Commentary on Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5
Psalm 96 is a hymn of praise to the one true God. The psalmist invites all people to come to faith and believe in God who created all things and is above all things.
CCC: Ps 96:2 2143
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Gospel: Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”
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Commentary on Mt 23:13-22
This selection from St. Matthew’s Gospel lays down the first three of the “seven woes” in which Jesus condemns Pharisaic practices. The first condemnation directly attacks their authority as shepherds tasked with leading the people to God. He accuses them of “locking the kingdom of heaven” (recall earlier, Jesus gave St. Peter the keys to that lock Matthew 16:19)). The inference is that they lack the authority, principally because their own actions do not merit entry into God’s kingdom.
The second “woe” is probably a reflection about the vehemence with which new converts to Judaism persecuted the early Christian church. The inference is that, in the conversion process, the Pharisees' teaching closed the minds of those converts to the truth, and thereby took them off the path to salvation. The Lord goes on to ridicule these “false guides” because what they do does not match what they teach.
The third “woe” attacks the whole concept of the language used in making a binding oath. The essence of the Lord’s attack is that, if one makes a promise, the underlying honesty of the person should be the bond, not some legal construct based upon the exact language used. If one swears an oath based upon an object that points to God, they have sworn on God himself. Though Jesus forbids his disciples from making oaths of any sort, he tells the Jewish leaders that, because they only value oaths associated with the value it brings to the temple, their reward will be in “Gehenna.”
CCC: Mt 23:16-22 2111; Mt 23:21 586
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Reflection:
St. Paul is generally known as the pragmatist when it comes to instructions on how to live one’s faith in God and Christ. Yet today, we see the Lord himself, in his criticism of the Pharisees, provide us with valuable images of what it means to follow him authentically.
In the first three of the “seven woes” found in St. Matthew’s Gospel, he speaks to conduct that makes us worthy of the name Christian. (Oh, if you read the biblical text and not just the readings from the lectionary you may have noticed that v. 14 is actually not there. It is missing because it was not in the very first manuscripts of Matthew; that verse was actually inserted later and was taken almost verbatim from St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 12:40). The syntax and content were clearly of a different style than the rest of St. Matthew’s work, so it has been left out of modern texts.). In the first of these, Jesus takes issue with the conduct of the Pharisees as they exercise the authority of their office. To paraphrase this “woe,” we might say: “Because you tell everyone who does not do exactly as you say that they are going to hell, you have closed the gates of heaven for yourselves.” In other words, if we assume we have somehow been given the authority to judge others in God’s name, we have judged ourselves, and woe to us.
In the second “woe,” we are warned, again through the Lord’s condemnation of the Pharisees, that to lead others into that elitist attitude, described in the first “woe,” leads the converted to condemnation. That seems convoluted, but let’s say it this way: if we bring a person to share our faith (this is especially important for parents to understand), and tell the converted person that anyone who disagrees with them (and us) about the faith is going to hell, we have placed them on a path that leads to the very place to which we have condemned those who may disagree with us. Logically, this means we must cling to truth, but we must not presume to condemn or judge. Judgment is reserved to Jesus alone.
The third “woe” is aimed at being honest with ourselves, and with God. When we make a promise, we should not behave like children who might quibble over the exact language used when assigning a task. A child might say, “You told me to pick up my room and I did. You didn’t say I had to clean under my bed.” I would hate to be a lawyer and have to live up to this “woe.” The point is, when we make a promise, most especially a sacred promise, we must mean what we say, and act on that promise in good faith. “Woe” to us if we do not.
Today we have been given three very practical instructions that will lead us closer to the peace of Christ. They may not always be appreciated by the world, but for us, the world is not where we place our hope – it is in Christ’s salvation we have hope.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Blind Leading the Blind” by Pieter van der Heyden, 1561.
[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] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.373.
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