Monday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
Commentary on Luke 9:46-50
Following on Jesus once again telling his disciples that he was going to be “handed over” to suffering and death, we were told in our previous reading that they did not understand what he meant. It did not make sense to them.
Now, almost as an indication of how far they were from Jesus’ thinking, they began arguing among themselves which one among them should be seen as the greatest. Why should they be arguing about this? Was it because, whatever difficulties they had in accepting what Jesus had said about his future, they were wondering what was going to happen after Jesus had been taken away from them? If they were to remain together as a group, which of them would be in charge?
Perhaps Peter was already beginning to think that he should be the one. Perhaps some of the others felt it should be one of them. But Jesus, who, of course, was not present during these sensitive discussions, was well aware of what was going on. He took a child and put it in their midst, saying:
Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the least among all of you is the greatest.
It is interesting that the greatness is to be seen in the child rather than in the one who ‘welcomes’ the child. The child represents all who are vulnerable and weak and powerless. To ‘welcome’ such persons is to treat them with the utmost dignity and respect and to accept them and lift them up.
In Jesus’ eyes, such little people are truly great because, to those who have eyes to see, they are the ones in whom we can especially meet Jesus and love and serve him. St Francis of Assisi, who kissed the leper (a particularly daring thing to do in his time), or St Teresa of Calcutta, tenderly picking up a decaying, barely living body off the street, knew this well. To find Jesus in such a person is to make direct contact with God himself.
Jesus himself will reach the peak of his own greatness when he hangs dying and helpless on the cross. This is the lesson the disciples will learn to see and accept in time. We have to keep working on it too, because it does not come easily to any of us.
The second part of today’s Gospel points to another area where the disciples have to change their outlook. John, the brother of James, who both come across in the Synoptics as somewhat hotheaded (they had the nickname “sons of thunder”), tells Jesus they saw someone driving out devils in Jesus’ name. They had told the man to stop because he “does not follow with us”. Perhaps there was also an element of jealousy, because in Mark’s Gospel (9:14-29) we are told that the disciples were unable to drive out an evil spirit from a boy.
Here we have something of the arrogance of the insider, of the elitist. John and his companions felt that the exorcism of evil spirits in the name of Jesus was something only they were allowed to do. Jesus did not agree. Jesus tells them:
Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.
In doing so, he enunciated this principle for them to follow.
It is a constant temptation among more devout religious people to set themselves apart from ‘others’. It can happen to bishops or priests or religious. It can happen in a parish to members of the parish council or some parish group—a prayer group, charismatics, the liturgy committee or whatever.
We can find ourselves developing a two-tier community of ‘us’ and ‘them’. We can find ourselves looking down on those who come in late for Mass and hang around the back door, or who only come occasionally, or maybe even only turn up at Christmas.
Even more, we can be tempted to set ourselves apart from non-Catholic and non-Christian groups. We can fail to see God working in all kinds of people, religious and non-religious, atheists, agnostics and people who apparently do not believe in anything.
Of course, as Christians, we do have a distinctive understanding of life and its meaning coming from the teaching and life of Jesus and it should not be compromised. But at the same time, we do not have a monopoly on the truth—no one has. The full Truth is beyond all of us. We are all searching.
Still less do we have a monopoly on good works. God can and does use any person to build the Kingdom. And it is our responsibility to work hand in hand with such people. Ultimately, our aim is not to promote our Church, but God’s work and God’s plan for the whole world.
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Friday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – First Reading
Commentary on Baruch 1:15-22
The Book of Baruch is one of the deutero-canonical (or ‘apochryphal’) books not found in the Hebrew or Protestant Bible. The Greek Bible puts it between Jeremiah and Lamentations, but the Vulgate has it immediately after Lamentations, where it is also found in our Catholic Bibles.
According to its introduction (see Bar 1:1-14), it was written in Babylon by Baruch after the deportation and sent to Jerusalem to be read at liturgical gatherings. The opening verses of this book ascribe it, or at least its first part, to Baruch, well-known as the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah. It contains five very different compositions, the first and the last in prose, the others in poetic form. The prose sections were certainly composed in Hebrew, though the earliest known form of the book is in Greek.
Today we have the first of two readings from the book. It is the beginning of what is called The Prayer of the Exiles, the exiles being those Jews who were deported to Babylon from Judah and Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th century BC. As the passage seems to belong to a much later date, it may rather reflect the feelings of a later community who saw in their own situation a similarity with those exiles.
The author had begun his book by saying:
These are the words of the book that Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah son of Zedekiah son of Hasadiah son of Hilkiah wrote in Babylon, in the fifth year, on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans [Babylonians] took Jerusalem and burned it with fire.
(Bar 1:1-2)
The details he gives indicate the year 582 BC, probably in the fifth month—the anniversary of the fall of Jerusalem—which was doubtless commemorated among the exiles as it was in Palestine. Today’s passage is a general lament for the situation of the Israelites now living in exile, far from their homeland and from Jerusalem and its Temple, the home of Yahweh.
But there is no complaint against Yahweh for their condition. Their sufferings are due to one reason and one reason only—the people’s long history of not obeying the Lord and going their own way. This began from the days the Lord brought them out of Egypt right up to the present time:
We have disobeyed him and have not heeded the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the statutes of the Lord that he set before us. From the time when the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until today, we have been disobedient to the Lord our God, and we have been negligent in not listening to his voice.
The writer compares the goodness and the integrity of God with that of his people. If they have suffered by being sent into exile, it is the result of their own sins and not the doing of the good God.
In our response to this reading we might reflect on how much of our own pain and misfortunes can be traced to our own behaviour, individually or corporately. It is so easy to blame God for our ills and use him as a scapegoat who will not strike back. But the first step in expressing our love of God must begin with a total acknowledgment of our own sinfulness.
Paradoxically, it is those who are most aware of their sinfulness who are closest to God—because an acknowledgment of sin is an awareness of a gap that needs to be closed. Those who deny their sin are the least likely to change and convert. But when we do suffer, the question to ask our God is not “Why me?”, but “What now?” How are we to turn this experience to a greater love of God and neighbour?
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Thursday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
Commentary on Luke 10:1-12
Two days ago we saw Jesus firmly setting out for Jerusalem and the accomplishment of his mission. Yesterday we saw how he responded to people who wanted to or were being invited to join his mission. During the coming days we will see Jesus preparing his actual disciples for their work.
In addition to the inner circle of the Twelve, we are told today that he appointed another 72 (12×6) and sent them two by two to the places he himself would be visiting (note that only Luke mentions this group). That is a good description of our Christian role. We are supposed to go first to prepare the ground, but then it is Jesus himself who comes to plant the seed of faith.
Jesus then goes on to give an instruction to his disciples. We, too, should be listening to his words. First, he points out that the harvest is great and there are very few labourers—few who are willing to do the harvesting work with Jesus.
This is a text which is often thrown at us during ‘vocation’ campaigns. We tend to hear it as a call for more priests, brothers and nuns. It is that, of course, but when Jesus spoke there were no priests, brothers or nuns. The challenge was being thrown out to all his followers to find more people to join in the harvesting work.
We have to be careful as we listen to these words not to exclude ourselves because we are middle-aged, or married, or already have a career. The words are addressed to all of us and call for some kind of response from every one of us. It is never too late to respond to the call.
Second, Jesus warns his followers that it may not be easy.
I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
In spite of the message of truth, love, compassion and justice that we bring, it does not mean that we will be received with open arms. On the contrary, we may meet with strong opposition and even persecution. Our message will be seen as threatening. It will be distorted and misunderstood.
Third, the disciples are called on to travel light. Jesus himself “had nowhere to lay his head” and he only had the clothes he wore.
So many of us are weighed down by the things we own. Some of us have to protect our property with the latest in security devices. In our search for prosperity and material security we have lost the more precious gift of freedom. The disciples are not to stop to greet people in the sense of carrying on lengthy conversations. Their mission was urgent—there are few labourers for a potentially huge harvest.
Fourth, they are to be bearers of peace. Peace, shalom, is much more than an absence of violence. It is a deep inner harmony with oneself, with others, with one’s environment, with God:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9)
We could hardly bring a more precious gift to others than this inner peace. It is, in fact, the heart of our Christian message. Faith, hope and love are the keys to peace.
Fifth, the evangeliser is to stay in the first house that accepts him. He should not be going around looking for better accommodation. At the same time, he is to be provided with shelter and hospitality:
…for the laborer deserves to be paid.
This, it seems, was the way Jesus himself lived. And this was the overall ideal of the Christian community: a network of mutually supporting people sharing their resources with each other and with those in greater need than themselves.
Sixth, their work is primarily to heal the sick in the places they go to. ‘Healing’ should be taken in a wider sense of including body, feelings, mind and spirit. And ‘healing’ should also be seen not just as getting rid of a sickness, but of making a person whole again. Bringing healing and wholeness into the lives of individuals and communities is of the essence of the Kingdom and at the heart of Jesus’ work and that of his followers. The sign of that wholeness is inner peace. Today it is no different.
And they are to say:
…the kingdom of God has come near.
This is not just a statement they are to throw out. It is the core of Jesus’ message and an explanation of why people are experiencing healing and wholeness coming into their lives. This is the effect of the coming of the Kingdom; this is what the coming of the Kingdom means. God’s power is penetrating their lives, transforming them and making them whole again.
Luke mentions the Kingdom of God more than 30 times; Matthew more than 50 times. Matthew’s is truly a Gospel of the Kingdom.
The term can have a number of meanings:
- the eternal Kingship (basileia) of God;
- the presence of the Kingdom in the person of Jesus; he is the embodiment, the incarnation of the rule of God in himself, an incarnation he wishes to be found in his disciples and the communities they establish;
- the future Kingdom in the life that is to come.
In short, the Kingdom—the rule of God—is intended to be both a present reality as well as a future hope.
And finally, seventh, if there is any place where they are not received, the disciples are to leave it to its own fate. Even then those people are to know that the Kingdom of God is near to them also. There is always the hope that the results of their very rejection of the Kingdom will lead to a deeper awareness later on. By rejecting the messengers of God, they have opened themselves to a fate worse than that of Sodom, a city utterly destroyed because of its shameful lack of hospitality to divine visitors. But those hearing the message of Jesus are even more accountable for hearing the message of the Kingdom proclaimed to them and turning their back on it.
Clearly, we cannot literally apply all of these points to our own work on behalf of the gospel, but we need to make the underlying principles and values ours too. It will require some reflection on our part, both as individuals and as communities, on how we should effectively share the gospel with those around us and be the harvesters that are so badly needed. Indeed, let us pray for vocations, but let us remember that every single one of us is being called to work in the harvest field and not just some chosen souls who are totally unknown to us.
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Saturday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
Commentary on Luke 10:17-24
We saw at the beginning of chapter 10 how Jesus had sent his 72 disciples out to all the places where he himself would visit. Today we see them returning full of joy and satisfaction:
Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!
They discovered that, in his name, they were able to do the same things that Jesus did.
In reply, Jesus said to them:
I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.
The power of evil is being reversed and this was partly the doing of his disciples working in his name. And he further reassures them:
I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.
‘Snakes and scorpions’ more likely represent evil powers and so the statement is not to be taken literally and still less to be tested (as some obscure sects have tried to do with predictably tragic consequences!). It is true that for the committed disciple nothing can really hurt them. Physically, maybe, but not their real selves. Nothing, as Paul says, can separate us from the love of God, that is, the love that God extends to us at every moment of every day.
Then Jesus tells his disciples the real reason why they should be happy. It is not because they have special powers over evil spirits, but rather:
…rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
In other words, their blessedness comes not from what they are able to do, but because they have been chosen as the instruments for God to do his work, to make the Kingdom a reality. That is the origin of our blessedness too.
Then follows a beautiful prayer of Jesus to the Father. He thanks the Father because all that is coming into the world through Jesus is being made known, not to the wise and great ones of this world, but to “the little ones”, the people who, in the eyes of the majority, are of no account:
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
And, since that day on the lake shore when Jesus called four fishermen to be his followers, he has been calling very ordinary people to know his identity, to hear his message and share his vision.
And so he can say truly to them:
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
All of this applies to so many of us too. We, for reasons only known to God himself, have been given knowledge of the Son. We too, by means of the Church, have been given a vision denied to so many—we have heard the Word which is the Way to truth and life.
Whatever problems we may be facing right now, let us on this day count our blessings and express our gratitude for them. And the only way to do that is to say ‘Yes’ to Jesus and his gospel. Let us start doing that right now.
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Tuesday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – First Reading
Commentary on Zechariah 8:20-23
This passage is the last of our three selected readings from Zechariah. It is also the final section of the first part of the book and is another look forward to a time of messianic salvation. There are more words of encouragement from Zechariah for the Jews who have returned from exile and who are still trying to re-establish their homes in Jerusalem. Things do not look too good right now, but Yahweh promises that the time is soon coming when people from even Gentile cities all over will come flocking to Jerusalem, drawn there as if by some magnetic power:
Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.
This prediction anticipates fulfilment of the promise of gentile blessing in Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham:
…all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Gen 12:3)
Isaiah also has Yahweh say:
…my house [the Temple in Jerusalem] shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Is 56:7)
This is a saying quoted in Mark’s Gospel when Jesus drove the money-changers from the Temple:
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations…But you have made it a den of robbers.
(Mark 11:17)
Zechariah continues:
Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’
True godliness in a person will attract others to the Lord. ‘Ten’ indicates a large or complete number in Hebrew. Incidentally, the word ‘Jew’, for the people of the kingdom of Judah after the exile, first appears in Jeremiah. Most of the Old Testament speaks of ‘Hebrews’ and ‘Israelites’.
We, as Christians, belong now to what we call the “New Jerusalem”, the People of God. Are people flocking to be part of our ‘city’? Are they saying, “We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you”? Is that what they see in us—people truly infused with the spirit of God and Jesus Christ? Are we the salt of the earth, leading people to praise God because of what they see in us?
Certainly, there are people every year who are applying to join our communities, people who are received through Baptism every Easter. There are also, alas, those who are leaving our ‘city’ and not coming back. Is it that they no longer can see that God is with us? If that is the case, what changes are needed in our way of living the gospel?
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Wednesday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – First Reading
Commentary on Nehemiah 2:1-8
Today we begin some readings from the Book of Nehemiah. This is a historical book, not a prophetic book like Haggai and Zechariah. Nehemiah is paired with Ezra and all these books come from the same period.
The Remnant of God’s People has returned from exile in Babylon and is trying to re-establish Jerusalem spiritually, socially and materially. Speaking specifically of Nehemiah, the Jerusalem Bible in its introduction says:
“Nehemiah, though inspired by the same ideals [as Ezra], acts in a different sphere, restoring and repopulating Jerusalem, and making it possible and attractive for its citizens to lead a national life. The record he has left us, more intimate than that of Ezra, reveals a vivid and human personality, ungrudging of effort yet prudent and deliberate, trusting in God, whose help he seeks in frequent prayer. Behind him he left a noble memory, and Ben Sirach sings the praises of him who ‘rebuilt our walls which lay in ruins’ (Sir 49:13). Nehemiah, as he tells us, was a Jew and a cup bearer for the king of Persia.”
The passage also reveals a man of great gentleness and courtesy and a deeply spiritual person. No wonder the king appreciated his services.
It might help to understand today’s reading to give a brief summary of what leads up to it. While Nehemiah was in the Persian city of Susa, a fellow-Jew came to him and described the plight of the Jews who had managed to return to Jerusalem. He was told they were in a very bad and demoralised condition. The walls of the city were in ruins and the gates had been burned down.
On hearing this, Nehemiah broke down and wept. He mourned, fasted and prayed to his God on behalf of his people. He admits to God that they have behaved very badly and have failed miserably in observing the Law they had received through Moses. He then reminds God of his promise: if the people misbehave, they will be scattered everywhere, but if they return to God and keep his commandments, he will bring them back from even the remotest parts.
The reading opens in the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, that is, March-April 445 BC. The time is a little later (though belonging to the same historical period) than that of Ezra, Haggai and Zechariah, whose books we have just been reading.
As the king’s cup bearer, Nehemiah has the right to bring wine to the king. It is four months since he was first told of the plight of his people. The delay in approaching the king has been variously explained: the king may have been in his winter palace in Babylon; he may not have been in the right mood; even though Nehemiah was clearly a court favourite, diplomacy made him bide his time in making his approach.
As he brought the wine to the king, the king commented that he had never seen Nehemiah so depressed before. No matter what one’s personal problems were, the king’s servants would be expected to keep their feelings to themselves and to display a cheerful disposition in the royal presence.
The king shrewdly guesses the source of the problem. As Nehemiah is clearly in good health, his sadness must come from the heart. Nehemiah is alarmed that his inner feelings are so obvious, but then boldly tells the king the reason for his depression:
May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors’ graves, lies waste and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
Nehemiah does not mention Jerusalem by name. He may have wished to arouse the king’s sympathy by stressing first the desecration of ancestral tombs, something the king, from his own culture, could sympathise with. When the king asks him what Nehemiah wants him to do, Nehemiah first makes a short, spontaneous prayer to his God. One of Nehemiah’s striking characteristics in this book is his frequent recourse to prayer. He then makes his bold request:
If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.
Again he does not mention Jerusalem by name, but emphasises that the city is where his ancestors are buried. The king—with the queen sitting beside him—asks:
How long will you be gone, and when will you return?
The mention of the queen here is probably significant. The king is clearly fond of Nehemiah; perhaps the queen even more so. And Nehemiah may have timed his approach when he knew the queen would also be present. Ctesias, a Greek who lived at the Persian court, informs us that the name of Artaxerxes’ queen was Damaspia and that the king had at least three concubines. Like Esther, Damaspia may have used her influence with the king (see Esther 5). The Persian court was notorious for the great influence exercised by the royal women. Especially domineering was Amestris, the cruel wife of Xerxes and mother of Artarxerxes I.
As soon as Nehemiah has indicated how long his mission would take, the king gives his immediate approval. Nehemiah probably asked for a brief leave of absence, which he then had extended.
We can infer from Nehemiah 5:14 that he spent 12 years on his first term as governor of Judah. In the 32nd year of Artaxerxes, Nehemiah returned to report to the king and then came back to Judah for a second term (Neh 13:6-7). Next, Nehemiah asks for guarantees of protection from various officials with whom he will have to deal on the way to his mission:
If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah…
A contemporary document from Arsames, the satrap of Egypt who was at the Persian court, to one of his officers who was returning to Egypt, orders Persian officials to provide him with food and drink on the stages of his journey.
‘Transeuphrates’ literally means ‘on the other [i.e. western side] of the River Euphrates’. From the Palestinian point of view the land “Beyond the River” was Mesopotamia. From the Mesopotamian point of view the land “Beyond the River” included the areas of Aram, Phoenicia and Palestine. The Persians also called this area Athura.
Nehemiah also requests that an order be given to the keeper of the king’s forest to supply him with timber for the beams of the gates of the citadel, the city walls, and for the house which Nehemiah will need for his residence. The Hebrew for ‘king’s forest’ is pardes, a loanword from Old Persian meaning ‘enclosure’, a pleasant retreat or park. The word occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament only in Ecclesiastes 2:5 (“parks”) and the Song of Songs 4:13 (“orchard”).
In the Septuagint, the Greek transliteration paradeisos is used here. In the period between the Old and New Testaments, the word acquired the sense of the abode of the blessed dead, i.e. “paradise”. It appears three times in the New Testament (see Luke 23:43; 2 Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7).
As to the location of the “king’s forest”, some believe that it was in Lebanon, which was famed for its forests of cedars and other coniferous trees. But a more plausible suggestion is that it should be identified with Solomon’s gardens at Etham, about 10 km south of Jerusalem (see Josephus, Antiquities, 8.7.3). For the city gates, costly imported cedars from Lebanon would not be used, but rather indigenous oak, poplar or terebinth.
The “citadel” probably refers to the fortress north of the Temple, the forerunner of the Antonia fortress built by Herod the Great (Josephus, Antiquities). This is probably where Jesus was arraigned before Pontius Pilate (John 18:28) and later where Paul would be held (Acts 22:24). All these requests were granted and Nehemiah attributed this to the kindly hand of God watching over him.
The reading again indicates the benevolent attitude of the ‘pagan’ kings of Persia towards God’s people. As Christians, we know that many of the works we are involved in could not continue without the help of many non-Christian people who share generously of themselves and their goods. Let us today thank God for these people and ask him to bless them.
It will also help us to understand that God’s truth and goodness can be found anywhere. It is important for us to be able to recognise it wherever we see it. Jesus’ words that “the Kingdom of God is near” has many meanings. For those with eyes to see, God’s Kingdom can be discerned everywhere.We might also imitate Nehemiah in his seeing the hand of God in everything he experiences and, before all our decisions, lay them before God first in prayer.
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Tuesday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
Commentary on Luke 9:51-56
We come today to a distinct turning point in Luke’s Gospel. It is marked by the opening words of today’s passage:
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
The ‘taking up’ or the ‘assumption’ of Jesus refers to his passion and death leading to resurrection and ascension. It corresponds to the ‘glory’ that John speaks of and for whom the crucifixion is a ‘lifting up’ into ‘glory’.
At this point we have now come to the end of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and we move on to a new section—the journey to Jerusalem, which ends at chapter 19:27 where we find Jesus in Jerusalem. The opening corresponds to Mark 10:1 where Jesus is seen entering Judea to preach there and which John more specifically describes as a journey to Jerusalem during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10).
But Luke diverges from Mark’s story with very different material. He now follows Matthew’s source as well as using material of his own. The section consists almost entirely of teachings of Jesus to his disciples. It is all loosely organised within the framework of Jesus’ making his way to Jerusalem. The section we are entering is a time of preparation for the disciples for their future role as Messengers of the Kingdom.
Jerusalem is the place where it is all going to happen—the ‘exodus’ of Jesus, including his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension—leading to the passing on of his mission to his disciples with the coming down of the Spirit of the Father and Jesus on the disciples. And it will be from Jerusalem that the new Church will be established and from Jerusalem it will spread gradually throughout the whole Mediterranean area until it reaches the empire’s capital in Rome, and from there to the ends of the earth.
As he set out, Jesus sent some messengers ahead to announce his coming. In order to go directly from Galilee to Judea, where the city of Jerusalem was situated, they would have had to pass through Samaria. Samaritans were particularly hostile to Jews, especially when they were on their way to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem (as Jesus and his disciples seem to be doing). It would take at least three days to cross Samaria and the Samaritans were refusing the disciples overnight shelter. Because of this situation, Jewish pilgrims and travellers often avoided confrontation by going down the east bank of the Jordan River. There is an irony here that, when the first Christians were persecuted in Jerusalem, they took refuge in Samaria, which became one of the first places to accept the Gospel. It is very likely that the evangelist is aware of the irony when telling this story.
Faced with this hostility, the brothers James and John, whom we described yesterday as hotheads (Sons of Thunder), suggested that fire from heaven be called down to burn them up. Their threat is reminiscent of the fire that Elijah brought down on the emissaries of an idolatrous king (1 Kings 18:38). They were indignant that their Master, the Messiah, should be treated in this way. There is a parallel here between Jesus’ negative reception in his home town of Galilee and his rejection by the people of Samaria.
But Jesus distances himself from those disciples and gives them a scolding. This was not Jesus’ way. Instead, they went off to another village where they hoped to find a better welcome. As we see in other parts of the Gospel, Jesus does not normally go out of his way to court trouble. On the other hand, he will not hesitate to speak his mind or do what he believes is right, even if certain kinds of people take offence at it.
It is never Jesus’ way to destroy his enemies. We will see that clearly after he reaches Jerusalem where far worse things are done to him. Jesus’ purpose always is to change people who are against him, to defuse their hostility and help them to see things in a better way. It is something we could try to do more often. It is not at all the “softy’s” approach. On the contrary, it requires great inner strength and security.
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Friday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
Commentary on Luke 10:13-16
In today’s Gospel, we hear strong words from Jesus against towns where he had preached extensively—Chorazin, Bethsaida and especially Capernaum.
Chorazin is only mentioned twice in the Bible, here and in the parallel passage of Matthew (11:21). It was near the Sea of Galilee and probably between 3 and 4 km north of Capernaum. Bethsaida, the home of some of Jesus’ disciples, was on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had been built by Philip the Tetrarch, who called it ‘Julias’ after Julia, a daughter of the emperor Caesar Augustus. Capernaum, situated on the north shore of the lake, appears frequently in the Gospel narratives and was the centre from which Jesus did much of his missionary work. His work and preaching would have been most familiar to the people there.
Jesus says that if the gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon had witnessed all that Jesus had said and done in those towns of Palestine, they would have repented long ago—just as the pagan people of Niniveh had repented at the preaching of Jonah.
Tyre and Sidon were towns on the Phoenician coast, north of Palestine (Lebanon today). Jesus was said to have visited the area just once and only very briefly, so the people there did not have an opportunity to witness Jesus’ miracles or hear his preaching, unlike the people in the towns mentioned above.
And Jesus goes further. Addressing his disciples he says:
Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.
In other words, to listen to the messengers of Jesus is equivalent to listening to him personally—to reject those messengers is to reject Jesus and to reject God.
And in our own times, perhaps we should emphasise that those ‘messengers’ are not just bishops, priests and religious. They include all those who sincerely proclaim the gospel by their words and their lives.
It might be no harm then for each of us today to hear those warnings of Jesus addressed to ourselves. How well have we really responded to the call of Jesus in the Gospel? How open are we to hear that message coming to us from different kinds of people in our community? How committed are we to accepting, living and sharing that Gospel with others?
Might it be true to say that there are people in other parts of our world, our country, our society who, if they were given what we have been given, who heard what we hear, would respond much more generously than we have done?
There is never any room for complacency in our Christian life. Because we have been given so much, so much more is expected of us. As Jesus says elsewhere, we may be very surprised to see others, who never had an opportunity directly to hear the gospel, go before us into God’s Kingdom.
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Thursday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – First Reading
Commentary on Nehemiah 8:1-12
Today’s First Reading presents a dramatic scene where Ezra, the priest-scribe, gathers the returned exiles in Jerusalem. It is also a highly meaningful passage for Christians.
Scholars say that the chapter from which today’s reading comes should be inserted in the Book of Ezra 8:36. The mention of Nehemiah in the passage was inserted later after the displacement of passages in Ezra-Nehemiah. There is no clear evidence that Nehemiah and Ezra were ever in Jerusalem at the same time. Although we are in the Book of Nehemiah, the passage is about Ezra (see the readings from the Book of Ezra from Week 25).
We are told that it is in the 7th month, the beginning of the civil year, and the returned Israelites are now settled in their towns. But now “all the people” gather together in the square in front of the Water Gate. They ask Ezra, a scribe, to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which had been prescribed for them.
The Water Gate was southeast of the Temple and not on sacred ground. Squares were normally situated near a city gate. Scribes, as their name indicates, originally served kings as secretaries, such as Shaphan under Josiah, where the Hebrew word for ‘scribe’ is translated ‘secretary’. Other scribes took dictation—such as Baruch, who wrote down what Jeremiah spoke.
We need to remember that most people, probably including even kings and highly placed administrators, could not read or write. However, from the exilic period on, the ‘scribes’ were scholars who studied and taught the Scriptures. In the Gospel they are often referred to as “teachers of the Law” and paired with the Pharisees. Some Pharisees would certainly have also been scribes. In the New Testament period they were addressed as ‘Rabbi’—a title often accorded to Jesus himself.
The “book of the law” that the people are asking for would be the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) as it existed at that time. Four views have been proposed concerning the extent of this Book: (1) a collection of legal materials, (2) the priestly laws of Exodus and Leviticus, (3) the laws of Deuteronomy, (4) the Pentateuch. Surely Ezra could have brought back with him the Torah, i.e. the entire Pentateuch.
So, on the first day of the 7th month, the priest Ezra brought the Law before the assembly, consisting of men, women and children “old enough to understand”. The first day of the 7th month makes it October 8 in the year 445 BC.
In pre-exilic times, the feast of the seventh month (Sept-Oct) began the new year. It was celebrated as the Feast of Trumpets, with no work being done on that day and the holding of a sacred assembly. Normally, women did not usually take part in assemblies, but were brought, together with children, on such solemn occasions.
Then, Ezra:
…read from it [the Book of the Law] facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
The scene is reminiscent of Moses reading the Law to the people at Mount Sinai. Apparently, the people stood for five or six hours—from dawn until noon, listening with great attention to the reading and explanation of the Scriptures.
So that he could be better seen and heard, Ezra stood on a wooden dais erected for the purpose. Around him stood a number of prominent citizens. As he opened the book to read, all the people rose to their feet (it would, of course, have been a scroll and not a ‘book’ as we understand the word). The rabbis deduced from this verse that a congregation should stand for the reading of the Torah. It is customary in Eastern Orthodox churches for the congregation to stand throughout the service and the Vatican II liturgy also recommends standing for most of the liturgy, except when listening to the Word of God (and even then one stands for the reading of the Gospel).
At the end of the reading:
Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
The repetition of “Amen” conveys the intensity of feeling behind the affirmation. In our Catholic liturgy we have a ‘Great Amen’ at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer. In practice, it very often is hardly more than a pathetic murmur.
Private acts of worship often involved prostration “to the ground”, as in the case of Abraham’s servant Moses before the Lord at Sinai (Exod 34:8), Joshua before an angel of the Lord (Jos 5:14) and Job at the news that his whole family and herds have been wiped out (Job 1:20). As well, Jehoshaphat:
…bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. (2 Chron 20:18)
With the reading and exposition of the Law complete, a number of Levites:
…helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They [the Levites] gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
Rabbinic tradition understands the Hebrew for this expression (‘giving the sense’) as referring to translation from Hebrew into an Aramaic Targum (a translation of Old Testament books or passages). But there is no evidence of Targums at this early date. The earliest extensive Targum is one on Job from Qumran, dated circa 150-100 BC. Targums exist for every book of the Old Testament except for Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah.
The effect of this reading on the people was great:
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
As mentioned already, Nehemiah’s name seems to be an addition which does not belong to the original text. The people are then told to go and celebrate with a banquet, while not forgetting those who do not have access to food:
Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared…
It is not a time to be sad and mournful:
…for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
They are to enjoy delicious festive food, prepared with much fat. Normally, the fat of sacrificial animals was offered to God as the tastiest element of various sacrifices such as burnt offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. On such occasions, the fat of the animal was not to be eaten.
It was also customary for God’s people to remember the less fortunate on joyous occasions. Paul has strong words for Christians who celebrate without remembering the more needy:
When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you proceeds to eat your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. (1 Cor 11:20-21)
What kind of a Eucharist would that be?
The Levites also consoled the people, urging them to calm down, to remember it was a sacred day and not a time to be sad. Then the people did as they were advised:
And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
In a way, with the presentation of the Law, their return was complete.
What happens in this account has many similarities with our celebration of the Eucharist:
- We listen to the Word of God read to us and have it interpreted so as to understand it better and see how it applies to our present life situation.
- Like the people in the story, we, too, stand in reverence for the Word of the Gospel.
- We remember with shame and sadness the suffering and death that our Saviour endured to liberate us from our many sins and from never-ending death.
- But we also celebrate with joy and thanksgiving his resurrection and share together the bread and wine which are his Body and Blood.
- Like them, too, we shout a Great Amen! of thanksgiving and welcome and acceptance.
- And, afterwards, we live out what we celebrate by sharing what we have with those in greater need than ourselves.
Wednesday of Week 26 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
Commentary on Luke 9:57-62
Today’s passage has to be seen in the light of yesterday’s Ordinary Time Gospel (Luke 9:51-56). Jesus has reached an important stage in his public life and mission. He is now irrevocably on his way to Jerusalem and all that that means for him—and us.
But he does not want to go alone. His whole purpose is to have people go with him. Already there are his disciples, but there will be more. Today we see three ‘candidates’ coming forward with a lot of good will, but Jesus makes them aware of what following him really means. Their responses to Jesus’ remarks are not given so we do not know whether they became followers or not. The point Luke is making is to show what following Jesus entails.
The first says very generously that he will go wherever Jesus is going. Jesus answers:
Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
These words of Jesus indicate not poverty or indigence, but freedom. To follow Jesus fully one needs to be free, not to be tied down by anything and not to be anxious about having or not having things.
There is no evidence that Jesus was poor in the sense of being deprived of the necessities of life. He did not own a house, but it is never even hinted that, by necessity, he had to sleep out in the open air. He belonged to a group of people who more than willingly shared what they had with him.
The second man from today’s Gospel was actually invited by Jesus to be a follower. But he asked first to be allowed to go and bury his father. This does not mean that his father had just died and he wanted to attend the funeral. It is more likely that he wanted, as a dutiful son, to wait for his father’s death before going off with Jesus.
But that is not good enough. The call of Jesus transcends needs of family, tradition and culture. The needs of the living outweigh those of the dead. His father might not die for years; what was the man supposed to do in the meantime?
Once we are aware of Jesus’ call the only time to answer is now. In spite of that, we should not read these lines too rigidly. Clearly, for example, there would be times when one would want to be present at the death of a parent, especially to provide support for the grieving spouse. That would be in total harmony with respect for parents and love for the neighbour. But the man in the example is in a totally different situation. He is talking about an event in the future whose time and place are not known.
Finally, another would-be follower asked first for permission to go home and say goodbye to his family. It was similar to a request made by Elisha when he was called to succeed Elijah as prophet (1 Kings 19:19-21). Elijah’s answer was, “Go ahead.” So what we have here seems a very reasonable request, but it is rejected by Jesus who says:
No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Like Jesus himself turning his face towards Jerusalem and all that it means for him, once the decision has been made to serve God and his people, there can be no turning back.
Again, the words of Jesus should not be taken literally. Read in that way, they would be totally at variance with the loving and compassionate quality of Jesus’ character. The point that is being made in all three examples is the absoluteness, the unconditionality that is required in the following of Jesus. It is a theme which is emphasised more than once in Luke’s Gospel. We cannot be fence-sitters, to have our cake and eat it too. Being a follower of Jesus can never be a part-time affair. It is all or nothing. At the same time, the demands of agape-love are always there. It is a matter each time of discerning where the truly loving act lies.
If we are honest, a lot of us are like these men in our following of Christ and in the living out of our faith. We do have our material wants (distinct from needs); we feel we cannot live without ‘our little comforts in life’. Today, let us pray today for a high degree of freedom in being able to accept unconditionally God’s will for us. To have that freedom is one of the greatest blessings and graces of our life.
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