Monday of Week 3 of Advent – First Reading

Commentary on Numbers 24:2-7,15-17

Today’s first reading is from the book of Numbers. It is from that part of the Bible (the five books of the Pentateuch) which deals with the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Law to Moses, the long trek through the desert for 40 years and the settling in to the Promised Land.

In today’s reading, the Israelites are close to reaching their destination, but understandably, their arrival is not welcomed by those already in possession of these lands. The reading features the strange character of Balaam. He was a prophet or diviner from Pethor, near the River Euphrates in Mesopotamia. He had been asked by Balak, king of the Moabites, to put a curse on the invading Israelites. Babylonia was renowned in those times for divination.

Although he was in Jewish terms a non-believer, not one of God’s people, Balaam does not seem to be able to carry out his mission, much to the surprise of Balak. Instead, he becomes an instrument of God’s plan. The author of Numbers puts four oracles in the mouth of Balaam and we have two of them, the third and fourth, in today’s reading. They are inserted rather artificially into the narrative with which they do not seem to have a direct connection.

Our reading opens by telling us that Balaam sees the Israelites, encamped according to their tribes. He then speaks, but the implication is that the words are not his own, and certainly not what he was expected to say. He describes himself as a “man whose eye is clear”, as “one who hears the word of God” and “who sees the vision of the Almighty” (from the Hebrew Shaddai), “with eyes uncovered”.

Earlier in the chapter (not in our reading), there had been the strange experience with his donkey. On his way to curse the Israelites, the donkey suddenly stopped and refused to go further because the way was blocked by an angel of the Lord. Even though he beat the animal severely, it refused to go forward. Eventually God spoke through the mouth of the donkey, and Balaam’s eyes were suddenly opened to the presence of God before him. The implication is that even Balaam’s donkey could see better than he could.

The words that flow from Balaam’s mouth speak in high praise of Israel and of its prosperous future:

How fair are your tents, O Jacob….
Like palm groves that stretch far away,
like gardens…like aloes…like
cedar trees beside the waters.

Here is an image of the “land flowing with milk and honey” which Yahweh had promised earlier. The lushness of their new home is reminiscent of the fertility and peace of Eden.

The oracle continues:

…his king shall be higher than Agag,
and his kingdom shall be exalted.

Agag, representing the Amalekite kings, will give way to a greater king from Israel, perhaps indicating Saul, Israel’s first king, whose victory over King Agag is described in the First Book of Samuel (chap 15). Or it may be a reference to Saul’s successor, David. In any case, it leads us on to the second part of today’s reading, which contains the fourth oracle of Balaam.

Much of this oracle is a repetition of the previous one. Balaam, being now able to see and now able to hear the word of God, is endowed with knowledge passed on to him by God. It is a statement which looks to the future, to a time when Israel will rule over the kingdoms on the east side of the Jordan—Moab and Edom—a prophecy realised under the reign of David. And what Balaam sees is leadership emanating from Israel. He says a “star shall come out of Jacob”, referring most directly to David.

But this oracle also points to the expected Messianic ruler who will bring the ultimate victory over the enemies of God’s people:

…a star shall come out of Jacob, and a
scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the foreheads of Moab
and the heads of all the Shethites

And in that star, we clearly recognise Jesus, the One truly chosen by God as leader not only of Israel, but of the whole world. This is the star that the Magi followed until they came across the Child in the arms of his Mother.

The oracle shows how God wants to proclaim a wonderful future for his people before the whole world, coming from the mouth of a man who had been specially chosen to bring the curse of the gods on Israel. It is something we too need to consider. In the Gospel, the chief priests and elders found it difficult to hear the voice of God in the words and actions of Jesus. In our lives, too, Jesus can speak to us through very unexpected channels. We need to be constantly ready and make no exceptions.

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Tuesday of Week 3 of Advent – First Reading

Commentary on Zephaniah 3:1-2,9-13

Zephaniah reflects a time early in the reign of King Josiah (640-609 BC), before his reforms were fully developed. Zephaniah is very aware of the corruption and injustice prevalent in the Judah of his day. There is a harsh message of judgement, but it is not without a promise and hope, which is reflected in today’s reading. This promise seems to have rested with a just remnant of Israel, who were among the humble, and not including the corrupt and disobedient leaders with whom Zephaniah must have been closely familiar, coming as he did from the ruling class.

The reading begins on an ominous note of warning to an unnamed city. It is generally agreed that it is Jerusalem, seen as representing the whole of Israel. Officials, judges, prophets and priests are all seen as corrupt and continuing to ignore the warnings they have received from God.

But change is on the way when the Lord:

…will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech…

They will begin to serve the Lord faithfully. The promise of “pure speech” is a symbol of forgiveness. It also points to a reversal of the curse of Babel, and anticipates Pentecost, when all will speak with the same voice and proclaim the same message (see Is 6:5-7; Gen 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-11). The nations will be converted and there will be a faithful remnant left in Israel. All will obey the same Lord and God.

On that day, the Lord:

…will leave in the midst of you
a people humble and lowly.

This image of a simple and modest people, devoid of all arrogance and pride, has been described as one of the most perfect descriptions of the ‘spirit of poverty’ in the Old Testament. Earlier, the prophet had said:

Seek the Lord, all you humble [Hebrew, anawim] of the land
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s wrath. (Zeph 2:3)

The anawim, the lowly in this world, play a significant role in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments (see Matt 18:1-7). The prophets are aware that it is the poor who are usually the oppressed. They continually call for justice for the weak and lowly and for those in need. In short, the anawim are those Israelites who submit, not passively, but actively, to the will of God. Later, the word anaw or ani will come to represent those who opt to lead lives of material simplicity for the sake of others. We see God himself doing this in the person of the baby Jesus, born in the midst of poverty and deprivation. It is the ideal (not always lived out!) of religious communities through their ‘vow of poverty’.

It is not mainly a question of being economically poor, because where poverty indicates being deprived of what is needed for a life of dignity, it is something to be removed. It is rather the attitude of those who voluntarily have little, and are open to receive everything from God. The word ‘poverty’ formerly implied failure. But now, it will be the condition needed to seek God. After that time, the “people humble and lowly” will mean all those in Israel who hope to find God. The Gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke, will proclaim the happiness (“blessedness”) of the poor (see Luke 6:20). With this ‘poverty’, there necessarily goes a high level of integrity:

…they shall do no wrong
and utter no lies,
nor shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.

The overall message of both readings today is that it is never too late to start listening to God, and to follow Jesus in his life of simplicity and dedication to the well-being of others.

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Monday of Week 3 of Advent – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 21:23-27

As with the First Reading, the Gospel also deals with the issue of authority. It is clear that the way Jesus used to teach was a source of disquiet among many of the Jewish religious leaders. They approach him one day in the Temple and ask him:

By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?

Jesus seldom directly answers provocative questions put to him, and in this case—as he does elsewhere—he answers with a question of his own. If they will answer his question, he will answer theirs.

His question is:

Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?

Immediately, his questioners are in a dilemma. If they answer “from heaven” (i.e. divine), they will be further asked why they did not receive John’s baptism. We know that when John was baptising, they came to observe, but they themselves clearly felt no need to be baptised themselves. To do so would have been to put themselves on the same level as the sinful and the unclean.

If they were to answer “human”, then they would run the risk of offending the people who had no doubts about the matter. They all held that “John was a prophet”. Lamely they answer, “We do not know.” So Jesus refuses to reply to their question.

Ultimately the leaders were being accused of a stubborn blindness, unable and unwilling to see the hand of God either in the mission of Jesus or of John. They could not see that the authority with which Jesus spoke clearly resided in himself. He was not just the bearer of a message—he was himself the source of the message.

Perhaps a word about “authority” may be relevant here. The word comes from the Latin auctoritas, which is itself an abstract noun from the verb augere. Augere means “to increase, make bigger”. We find the same verb in the word “author”.

A person with ‘authority’ is not just someone who wields coercive power over others. The exercise of genuine authority is not to control or keep in line. On the contrary, it is to be an agent in releasing the potential that is in people, to be an empowering agent. Jesus did not wield coercive authority. He invited people to follow him and he came to serve, not be served. He came to lead people into the full development of all they could be and were meant to be.

He did this dramatically when he got down on his knees and washed the feet of his disciples. This was an act of authority—the authority of outreaching love. It is up to each one to decide whether to follow the way of love or to go one’s own way.

Perhaps each one of us could examine how we exercise authority in our own lives—as parents, teachers, employers, or in any capacity where we have some responsibility with regard to others. Very few of us have no authority at all.

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Tuesday of Week 3 of Advent – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 21:28-32

It helps to be aware that today’s Gospel reading follows immediately on yesterday’s when the authority of Jesus was called into question. Today, Jesus offers the religious leaders a parable. It is about two sons who were asked by their father to go and work in his vineyard. One refused to go, but later repented and went. The other son said he would go, but did not. The question Jesus asked was:

Which of the two did the will of his father?

The parable can be read on two levels. On a more general level, it is the common theme of the Gospel that doing is more important than mere words. Earlier, Jesus said:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… (Matt 7:21)

The important thing is actually to carry out the will of God in our daily lives.

On a more particular level, the parable points to the situation which Jesus was facing. The religious leaders and many of the apparently religious people, who believed they were following God’s ways, refused to believe in John the Baptist and, after him, Jesus himself. On the other hand, people who were rated as deeply sinful and violators of the Law—tax collectors and prostitutes—responded to John’s call to repentance. They were deeply moved by John’s preaching, changed their ways, and were baptised by him in the Jordan. Even after that, the religious leaders still made no move. When Jesus came, again the religious leaders refused to see God’s hand in all he was doing, while huge crowds gathered round him.

The religious leaders are like the son who said ‘Yes’ to his father’s word, but did not follow it out in his life. They were experts in the wording and interpretation of the Law. The sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes, who had constantly violated the Law of God, repented and changed their ways. It is clear which group is finding its way into the Kingdom.

Of course, we are not reflecting on these readings just to know how proud and arrogant the chief priests and elders were. They are for us to reflect on our own lives. Do we think that because we are practising Christians, we are in a privileged and untouchable position? Do we spend a lot of time praying in church, but not doing much loving outside of it? Do we find ourselves speaking in a critical or condescending way of less devout Christians, or of people who do not seem to be very moral by our standards? We have said yes to God by our baptism and membership in the Church, but can we say that we always carry out what God is asking us to do?

Probably, after some honest reflection, we would have to admit that we are not really in a position to sit in judgment on others. Given the gifts and graces we have received as Christians, we may not be doing very well compared with those who have never enjoyed the support of a Christian faith and a Christian environment. As Christmas approaches, let us be followers of the Lord in deeds as well as words.

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