Saturday of Week 24 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on 1 Timothy 6:13-16

Today we have our last reading from this letter. It is an appeal for Timothy to consecrate his life totally to God and Jesus Christ, in the way that Jesus proclaimed his messianic mission before Pilate—truly a model for us to follow. The reading is actually an immediate continuation from yesterday’s reading.

As the Letter comes to an end, Timothy is once more reminded by Paul:

…to keep the commandment without spot or blame…

Paul makes his statement solemnly:

In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession…

It was in the presence of Pilate that Jesus declared his royal messiahship-kingship and his office as revealer of Truth. He said to Pilate:

My kingdom does not belong to this world…Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. (John 18:36-37)

The mention of Pontius Pilate, as a public official, lends strength to the official tone of the witness. This is an example for Christians to follow, whether making a profession of faith at our Baptism or when faced with persecution. It is easy to make professions of faith in private.

In the last part of the reading, Paul’s charge to Timothy is presented as a doxology in praise of Christ, the Christ of the Second Coming. It may be inspired by a liturgical hymn and consists of scriptural phrases transposed into Hellenic language, the themes being that God is the only object of worship and no one may claim to fully understand the mystery that is God. Timothy is to:

…keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which he will bring about at the right time—
he who is the blessed and only Sovereign,
the King of kings and Lord of lords.
It is he alone who has immortality
and dwells in unapproachable light,
whom no one has ever seen or can see;
to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

“…at the right time…”—just as Jesus’ first coming occurred at the precise time God wanted (see Gal 4:4), so also his Second Coming will be at God’s appointed time.

Those who know their Handel will remember the Hallelujah chorus which sings majestically of the “King of kings and Lord of lords”. This phrase also appears in Revelation 19:16.

The phrase “…no one has ever seen or can see…” echos the statement in John’s Gospel:

No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:18)

Let us today also renew our total commitment to the King of kings and Lord of lords and work for the day when we will be invited to live with him in that now unapproachable light. We could do worse than follow some of the advice that Paul gives to Timothy in this Letter, especially if we have any pastoral responsibilities in our community.

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Saturday of Week 24 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Luke 8:4-15

In yesterday’s reading, we saw that Jesus was going around preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, accompanied by his twelve chosen disciples and a number of women who supported the work. Jesus, we are told, is surrounded by people who have come from every nearby city. There is an intimation of universality, ‘catholicism’, about the message he is going to give.

We are given an example of some of the teaching that he was giving them. It takes the form of a parable, the well-known parable of the sower. As in Matthew’s version, the parable is told in two stages. The first is the parable itself. The emphasis is on the sower sowing. He scatters the seed all over—as Jesus is now doing with the people. Some of it falls on the path, some on rocks, some among brambles and some on good soil.

It describes a typical situation in Palestine at the time. The field was largely a public place, at least while it was fallow. So there were paths meandering across it where people took short cuts. The land was not very fertile so there were pieces of rock jutting out of the soil. In the fallow season, it was not looked after and wild plants like brambles grew up. Also, unlike other farming cultures, the sowing took place before the ploughing.

The central message is that, even though some of the seed that the sower plants will wither and die, there is some which will find fertile soil and flourish. So it is with the Word of God and the Word of Jesus. It is a message of confidence and hope for the future of the Kingdom. In the Gospel, it is Jesus’ disciples who are the fertile soil.

As he finished the parable Jesus called out to all, inviting them to hear. He did not mean that they just physically hear. They are meant to listen carefully, to assimilate fully and to implement effectively all that he says. He is the Sower, the seed is the Word, those spoken to are the soil.

Clear as it is, the disciples ask for an explanation of the parable. Jesus tells them that the inner secrets of the Kingdom are for them. Why this privilege? Because they are disciples, because they are followers and because they are ready to listen. The rest hear in parables and only in parables: seeing, they do not see; hearing, they do not understand. They do not really want to see or hear because, as the Gospel says elsewhere:

…they may indeed look but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven. (Mark 4:12)

In other words, if they were to see and understand, they would have to turn their lives around and they are not ready for that. The disciples are those who have done just that; they have left their boats, their nets and their families, their security and gone with Jesus. That is what seeing and hearing means.

Then follows the explanation which really carries the original parable further than its simple message. In fact, it becomes more like an allegory where each part has a meaning of its own rather than the one point that a parable normally makes. And, whereas in the parable the emphasis was on the sower, here the emphasis is very much on the soil which receives the seed. Each example is made to represent a particular way in which the message is received or not.

The seed that falls on the path is like those who hear the word, but it is snatched away from them before they have even a chance to respond. The overwhelming pagan world around them was just too strong an attraction.

The seed that falls on the rock where there may be some moisture in the crevices is like those who hear the word with great enthusiasm and “joy” (a favourite Lucan term). But they are not able to put down any long-lasting roots and, at the first hint of opposition or temptation, they fall away. They represent the many early Christians who must have given up under the pressures of persecution.

The seed that falls among the brambles represents those who do hear and accept the word. But gradually the pressure of the secular world and its values is too much. They try to live in both worlds at once, but are gradually choked up with concerns about money and material and social wants and the pursuit of pleasure. Eventually, the word dies in them. Many Christians today could identify with this group.

The seed that falls on good soil represents those who hear the word in all openness and accept it fully. The word takes root deep within them and overflows in all kinds of good works.

It is quite clear to which group we are called to belong. To which one, however, should I honestly identify with myself?

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