Monday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Jeremiah 28:1-17

We read today of the dispute with the false prophet, Hananiah. It is nice, of course, to hear encouraging words, but not if they are false and misleading—that is what we see in today’s reading.

Internal evidence seems to indicate that chapters 27-28 were a distinct unit from the rest of the text. They may have formed a special collection for those in exile. The setting is the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah over Judah, and the year is 593 BC. Zedekiah had been installed by the Babylonians as a puppet king; he would not last long.

The prophet Hananiah addresses Jeremiah, also a prophet, in the Temple. The name ‘Hananiah’ means ‘The Lord is gracious’. It was a fitting name for a prophet who brought soothing, but misleading, promises of the return of the exiles and the temple vessels.

Speaking with the same words of authority that Jeremiah uses (“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel…”), Hananiah predicts that in two years’ time, the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon over Judah will be broken. Everything that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away, especially the vessels from the Temple, will be brought back. Jeconiah, the exiled son of King Jehoiakim, and all the exiles will also return. Jehoiakim had been taken to Babylon in 597 BC. Saying that all this would take place within two years directly contradicted what Jeremiah had predicted earlier, namely, that the Babylonian occupation would last 70 years (Jer 25:11-12).

Jeremiah then makes a response to Hananiah’s prophecy. In a strongly sarcastic tone he says it would be wonderful if the words of Hananiah were indeed true and that the exiles and the temple vessels could return. Then he gives a warning. In the past (“from ancient times”), prophets normally would forecast war, famine and plague. Very often their prophecies came true because these things were likely to happen anyway. They were the results of the people’s sinfulness and idolatry.

But Jeremiah says:

…the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.

In other words, Hananiah’s genuineness as a prophet will only be proved if his prophecy about Nebuchadnezzar is fully realised and peace returns to Judah and Jerusalem. Which, of course, did not happen.

As if to prove his point by a symbolical gesture, Hananiah then removes a wooden yoke from the shoulder of Jeremiah and smashes it. This, he predicts, is how the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar will be broken within two years. By so acting, Hananiah was perhaps symbolically trying to break the power of Jeremiah’s earlier prophecies, which contradicted his own.

At that point, Jeremiah went off, but Yahweh soon had a message for him. Hananiah is to be told:

You have broken wooden bars only to forge iron bars in place of them!

Now, an iron yoke will be placed on the shoulders of all the peoples Nebuchadnezzar has conquered and they will be reduced to servitude, along with their animals. The yoke of the King of Babylon will not be broken until the Lord sees fit to do so. It will, of course, eventually be broken, but the pie-in-the-sky promises of Hananiah will be proved illusory.

Jeremiah then confronts Hananiah. He is no true prophet; he has not been sent by God. Thanks to him the people have been given a false sense of security. Hananiah will be removed and he will be sent to his death within the year. And this indeed happened. Making false predictions was tantamount to rebellion and was punishable by death. He who had predicted restoration within two years himself died within two months.

The fulfilment of this short-term prophecy by Jeremiah gives credibility to his other more important prophecies. It was, in a way, an indication of who was the true and who was the false prophet, and which of their predictions about the future should be believed.

Perhaps Hananiah meant well and he may even have believed what he told the people. On the other hand, he may have been simply seeking popularity and his own advantage. His words were in fact little more than propaganda with little basis in reality.

Jeremiah had earned a great deal of unpopularity in predicting suffering and defeat for his people and in telling them in the plainest words that their difficulties were entirely due to their own failure to follow God’s way. Very often the truth hurts, but we need to hear it. There are times and places for encouragement (the apocalyptic literature is full of it), but there are also times when people need to be brought face to face with reality.

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Monday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 14:13-21

The announcement of John the Baptist’s death is followed immediately in Matthew by the feeding of the 5,000 in the desert. Matthew says that Jesus, on hearing of his cousin’s tragic death, withdrew by boat to a desert place by himself. He clearly wanted time to reflect. He knew that, if things continued as they were, he too would be facing trouble.

However, the crowds knew where he had gone and followed along the shore on foot and:

When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

His own troubles were set aside as he saw the greater need of the people. We have here, of course, an image of our God, filled with compassion for all of us and anxious to bring us healing and wholeness.

As evening comes down, the disciples suggest that the people be sent to neighbouring villages for food. It is the first mention of the disciples’ presence. In Mark’s version of this story, the disciples had accompanied Jesus in the boat at his invitation, so that they could all have a period of quiet away from the crowds. Jesus’ response is simple and to the point:

They need not go away; you give them something to eat.

They reply:

We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.

This, of course, is a sign of the future. It will be the responsibility of Jesus’ followers to give the people the nourishment they need for their lives. At times, their resources will seem very inadequate, but time will show that wonders can be done with very little. Just look at what St (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta achieved with nothing of her own.

The people are then ordered to sit down on the grass. Jesus takes the loaves and fish, looks up to heaven in the direction of his Father, blesses the food, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, who in turn distribute it among the people. The whole action clearly prefigures the Eucharist and leads up to it.

It is not explained how it all happened, but “five thousand men”, not counting the women and children also present, had their fill. Matthew alone notes the presence of women and children. As Jews did not permit women and children to eat together with men in public, they would have been in a separate place by themselves. And what was left over filled 12 baskets—a perfect number symbolising both abundance, and also the number of the Apostles.

There are two clear lessons. The first is that God takes care of his people. We can read the feeding in two ways. On the one hand, we can simply take it as a miraculous event, pointing to the divine origins of Jesus. On the other hand, there is another possibility with its own meaning. Once the disciples began to share the little food they had with those around, it triggered a similar movement among the crowd, many of whom had actually brought some food with them. When everyone shared, everyone had enough—a picture of the kind of society the Church should stand for. Some might say that this is explaining away the miracle, but it also makes an important point for us to consider in our own lives.

The second lesson is that it was the disciples and not Jesus who distributed the bread and fish. And so it must be in our own time. If the followers of Jesus do not share with others what they have received from him, the work of Jesus and the spreading of the Gospel will not happen.

Lastly, and as already mentioned, there are clear Eucharistic elements in the story—especially the ritualistic way in which Jesus prayed, blessed, broke and distributed the bread. The breaking of the bread (a name for the Mass) is very important because it indicates sharing and not just eating. The Eucharist is the celebration of a sharing community. If sharing of what we have in real life is not taking place, then the Eucharist becomes a ritualistic sham, like:

…whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside are full of the bones of the dead… (Matt 23:27)

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Tuesday of week 18 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Jeremiah 30:1-2,12-15,18-22

The reading is in three parts:

1. a brief introduction (vv 1-2);
2. the sufferings of Judah are deserved (12-15);
3. better times are on the way (18-22).

After so many dire predictions of terrible things going to happen, a note of hope creeps into Jeremiah’s words with the promise of recovery (albeit not too soon) of the kingdoms.

Today’s reading comes from the beginning of what is often known as Jeremiah’s ‘Book of Consolation’. It speaks of the ultimate restoration of both Israel (the Northern Kingdom, centred on Samaria) and Judah (the Southern Kingdom, centred on Jerusalem). The passage seems to date from the year 587 BC, just one year before Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and its people carried off into exile to Babylon.

The Jerusalem Bible says the greater part of the Book (30:1—31:22) was written between the reform of 622 BC and the death of King Josiah in 609 BC. It is written almost entirely in poetry. The decline of Assyria had allowed King Josiah to undertake the re-conquest of Samaria and Galilee. This gave rise to the hope that the exiles of 721 BC might return to a restored kingdom of David. The section is the longest sustained passage in Jeremiah concerned with the future hope of the people of God.

Yahweh still loves the Israel of the Northern Kingdom. He will bring the exiles back to their homes, and religious unity will be restored with Zion as its centre. Later this promise of return was extended to Judah, the Southern Kingdom, conquered and exiled in its turn. Subsequent oracles associate Judah with Israel, thus giving the ‘Book of Consolation’ its final, messianic scope: Israel and Judah will unite to serve Yahweh their God, and David their king. This gathering of scattered Israel becomes a major theme of the exilic and post-exilic prophets. It is a dream which inspires Jews to this day.

Upcoming readings, all taken from chapters 30 and 31, express this hope for a better future. Today’s passage begins with the prophet’s being told by God to write down the message so that future generations may know the predictions of better times to come.

However, the opening words of the Lord to Jeremiah begin on a negative note. Jeremiah once again reminds the people of Judah that their many sufferings were the consequences of their own actions:

Your hurt is incurable;
your wound is grievous.
There is no one to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you…

This refers to those nations, especially Egypt, on which Judah depended for support against the Babylonians.

However, the people must realise that all of this suffering was deserved:

Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.

Assyria and Babylon were merely instruments to teach Judah better ways:

Because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous,
I have done these things to you.

But new times are coming. The tents and dwellings of Jacob, referring to Judah’s cities and palaces, will be restored. The city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins. The Hebrew word for ‘ruins’, tel(l) refers to a mound of ruins resulting from the accumulation of debris of years or centuries on which successive towns were built. (Archaeologists in this part of the world often find a town built on several layers of previous structures.)

Instead of the cries of suffering now heard:

Out of them shall come thanksgiving
and the sound of merrymakers.

The population will increase and things will be as they were in the good days of the past.

They will be ruled by one of their own and not by a governor appointed by the conquering power—Assyria or Babylon. And this ruler, chosen from among God’s own people, will have free access to the Lord’s presence. The Pentateuch tells us that unauthorised approaches into God’s presence were punishable by death. This ruler will be one fully acknowledged by Yahweh. While not immediately intended here, Jesus Christ will be the one who will ultimately fulfil this promise in a very special way.

And the passage ends with the great covenant statement:

And you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.

That was always true, but both the people of Israel and of Judah had violated their side of the pact by their immorality and idolatry.

The days of restoration will not only mean a putting back of the old structures, but a renewing of the close bond between God and his people.

The passage is full of hope, hope that knows that no matter how bad things get, truth, goodness and justice will prevail in the long run. Our own lives must always be based on such a hope.

But of course, as Jeremiah implies, the realisation of our hopes also depends on our active cooperation with doing what God wants. Many of our problems are the results of our failure to live in harmony with the gospel vision of life.

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Tuesday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 14:22-36

As soon as the people had been filled with the food that Jesus gave them, Jesus packs his disciples off in the boat to the other side of the lake. He sends the crowds away and then retreats to the mountain to pray all by himself.

We know from John’s account that the people wanted to make him a king. If Jesus wanted to take control of the crowd, this was the moment; they were ready to follow enthusiastically. Jesus was indeed their King, but not the kind they were expecting. He would draw the crowds to him in a very different way, hanging in shame on a cross.

It looks too as if he did not want his disciples to get any wrong ideas either. They must have been elated at their role in the extraordinary event of feeding more than 5,000 people. So, perhaps with a lot of grumbling, they are sent off even before the excited crowds have dispersed.

As they make their way across the lake in this dark mood, things get even worse. They run into a big storm and their boat is being tossed about like a cork. Then out of the darkness, between 3 and 6 in the morning hours, they see Jesus approaching them across the water. Far from being delighted, they are terrified out of their wits. Superstitious men that they are, they think it is a ghost. Ghosts were very much a part of their world.

Words of encouragement come across the water:

Take heart, it is I [Greek, ego eimi = I AM]; do not be afraid.

Jesus gives himself the very name of Yahweh; this is all the reassurance they need. Their God is with them.

Only in Matthew’s account of this story do we have Peter’s reaction:

Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.

To which, Jesus replies:

Come.

Peter gets out of the boat and goes towards Jesus. It is an act of love, faith and trust. But not quite enough. The power of the wind and waves gets stronger than his desire to be with Jesus. He begins to sink.

Lord, save me!

Jesus lifts him up and says:

You of little faith, why did you doubt?

As soon as Jesus and Peter get into the boat, there is a complete calm.

The rest of the disciples are overwhelmed and bow down before him saying:

Truly you are the Son of God.

We have here behind this story an image of the early Church, of which the boat and the disciples are a symbol. The surrounding water is the world, and the wind and waves are the forces which threaten the tiny community. Jesus seems to be far away, but he is not, and he appears in the midst of the storm. Once he steps inside the boat, there is calm, not only because the surrounding storm has stopped, but also because of the peace which the awareness of Jesus’ presence gives.

There is an added element in this story in that Peter, the leader of the community, comes hand in hand into the boat with Jesus. In time, the authority of Jesus will be passed over to him.

There is also, of course, in the calming of the storm an indication of Jesus’ real identity, expressed in the awe-filled words of the disciples, “Truly you are the Son of God”, echoing Jesus’ own statement of “I AM”.

There is a brief epilogue at the end of our passage. The boat reaches the area of Gennesaret. The name refers either to the narrow plain, about four miles long and less than two miles wide on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Magdala, or a town in the plain. Significantly for the work that Jesus was about to do, the plain was considered a garden land, fertile and well-watered.

As soon as Jesus reaches the shore the crowds again gather in huge numbers especially to have their sick cured. So great was their faith that they asked only to touch the fringe of his garment. All those who did so (in faith) were healed.

Jesus had sent away the crowds earlier probably because of the late hour, but also perhaps because of the mood of the crowd which was taking on political overtones not wanted by Jesus. But now they are back to seek from him what he came to give them—healing and wholeness.

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Wednesday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Jeremiah 31:1-7

Today we have another upbeat reading from the prophet with a (not really deserved) reputation for doom and gloom. Jeremiah today continues his message of hope for the restoration of the two kingdoms, north and south, once again to be formed as one nation under God.

We are now at the beginning of chapter 31. Continuing the theme of restoration begun in the previous chapter, Jeremiah records the words of the Lord to:

1. all the people of God, v 1 (prose);
2. the restored northern kingdom of Israel, vv 2-22 (poetry);
3. the restored southern kingdom of Judah, vv 23-26 (prose);
4. Israel and Judah together, vv 27-40 (prose prologue, vv 27-34; poetic body, vv 35-37; prose epilogue, vv 38-40. Each section begins with the words, “The days are surely coming…”).

Today’s reading contains just the first seven verses of the chapter, which speaks of the good news of the return from exile of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. It begins with the repetition of the covenant promise:

…I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

God had never been unfaithful to this covenant, but the people had, again and again.

There is now pardon in the desert for those “people who survived the sword”. They are the just remnant which will return home from years of captivity and exile in the alien land of Babylon.

The desert or wilderness is sometimes seen by the prophets (e.g. Hosea) as a place of conversion. Israel’s original journey through the desert was seen as a time of childlike fidelity to God. Here, there is now seen a second Exodus, this time from the Arabian Desert, which will bring Israel back once again from exile and slavery into its own land.

The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest…

Israel originally was Jacob’s other name, but here it refers to the Northern Kingdom. It is also called by Jeremiah: Samaria, Ephraim, Jacob and Rachel.

The Lord now expresses his affection for his people:

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

This gentle and tender language is in strong contrast to some of the severe chastisements we have seen in previous readings from the prophets, including Jeremiah himself. But this love was there even in their times of suffering when they felt they were abandoned. Later, we read in the Book of Revelation:

I reprove and discipline those whom I love. (Rev 3:19)

Now God promises to restore Israel, the Northern Kingdom, as it was. There will be music with festive tambourines and dancing, signs of religious joy. Tambourines were played especially after military victories, and this contrasts strongly with their sad plight in Babylon:

By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down, and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our harps…
How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land? (Ps 137:1-2,4)

They will plant vineyards once more in Samaria. It had been conquered in 722-721 BC, but one day would be resettled by God’s people and:

…the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit…

Since the law laid down that the fruit of a tree could not be eaten until the fifth year after planting it, a return to long-term peaceful residence is envisioned, a situation of political and social stability.

For there shall be a day when sentinels will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.”

Go up, that is, to the Temple in Jerusalem. It was the role of sentinels (or watchmen) to be stationed on high points to observe the phases of the moon which would decide the celebration of the big festivals. (Today, Muslims also have watchmen to observe the rising of the new moon indicating the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.)

In the days of King Jeroboam I, the people of Ephraim, that is, the northern kingdom, were required to worship at shrines within the kingdom. But now the prophet sees them going, as they used to do, to the Temple in Jerusalem (Zion) which was in the southern kingdom—one sanctuary for a united people.

“Go up” was a technical phrase to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The city was built on a hill. We see the phrase used in the New Testament also.

The reading ends with a series of acclamations of joy and triumph. Israel is the greatest of the nations, not because of its size or power, but because of its special relationship with God. The people will cry:

Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.

The Hebrew word ‘save’ (hosanna) is what the people of Jerusalem cried out to welcome Jesus on Palm Sunday (see Matt 21:9).

Once again we hear the same words of hope by a people who had every reason not to hope. But their hope was justified, as ours will be too. Let us pray for the restoration of modern Israel in a way that guarantees justice and peace for its people and all their neighbours.

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Wednesday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus is seen on one of his few visits outside Jewish territory. The cities of Tyre and Sidon are on the Mediterranean coast in what is today Lebanon. While he is there he is approached by a Canaanite (i.e. a non-Jewish) woman whose child is “tormented by a demon”. Whether it was an actual possession or some natural physical or mental ailment does not really matter.  Already the woman’s faith and trust in Jesus is indicated by the way she addresses him, “Lord, Son of David!” coupled with her plea for his compassion.

At first, Jesus ignores her completely. The disciples intervene and ask Jesus to give her what she wants because she is making such a nuisance of herself. Jesus replies that his mission is only to the “house of Israel”, to which this woman clearly does not belong.

In the meantime the woman continues her pleading, “Lord, help me.” She is following, in fact, advice that the Gospel gives—keep on asking. Jesus replies in words that sound very harsh, if not racist:

It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.

‘Dogs’, together with ‘swine’, was a common colloquial expression among Jews for Gentiles. We see this also earlier in Matthew’s Gospel:

Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. (Matt 7:6)

The dog was regarded as an unclean and promiscuous animal. Because it was such a common expression, it is probably not as harsh as it sounds to us and, if spoken with a measure of humour (implied by Jesus’ use of the diminutive word, ‘doggies’), would not have given offence at all. As they say, everything is in the tone of voice. Jesus was not a racist—that is clear from other situations where he dealt with non-Jews and with other commonly despised groups.

For her part, the woman certainly is not in the least fazed. She comes right back, saying:

Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.

That was enough for Jesus. She had proved her genuineness:

Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.

Her daughter was cured on the spot. It is a hint of what is to come. Membership as one of God’s people will be measured, not by birth or circumcision, but by a living faith in Jesus as Lord.

A story like this is an occasion for us to look at our own attitudes to people of other races, ethnic groups and nationalities, not to mention the socially disadvantaged or physically or mentally disabled—in other words, any people who are ‘different’. How inclusive are we in word and action? And does our parish community go out of its way to provide a welcome for the ‘outsider’? These are very real questions in societies which are becoming more and more multicultural.

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Thursday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Jeremiah 31:31-34

Today we have our final reading from Jeremiah, although there are still more than 20 chapters of the book left. This passage is regarded as the high point of the prophet’s words with its promise of a new covenant. And we need to remember that this was written 600 years before the coming of Christ and the New Testament or Covenant he brought.

The Jerusalem Bible describes the significance of the passage:

“In verses 31-34 Jeremiah reaches its highest peak of spirituality. The old covenant has been violated, and the attempted reform under Josiah has been short-lived: it is evident now that God has other plans. A disaster will ensue, leaving only a ‘remnant’ of the nation, and then an everlasting covenant will be made, a covenant as in the days of Noah. The former perspectives remain: man’s obedience to the Law, and the divine presence bestowing peace and material prosperity, this ideal being summed up in the formula: ‘I will be your God and you shall be my people’. But the covenant is ‘new’ in three respects:

1. God’s spontaneous forgiveness of sin;
2. individual responsibility and retribution;
3. interiorisation of religion.”

The Law is no longer to be a code regulating external activity, but an inspiration working on the heart of man. Now, under the influence of the spirit of God, the Law gives man a new heart capable of ‘knowing’ God. This new and eternal covenant, proclaimed again both by Ezekiel and by the closing chapters of Isaiah, is also operative in Psalm 51, and will be inaugurated by the sacrifice of Christ. Subsequently, the apostles will proclaim its fulfilment.

This passage is the longest sequence of Old Testament verses to be quoted in its entirety in the New Testament. It is found in the Letter to the Hebrews (8:8-12) and quoted again in part in Hebrews 10:16-17. This is the only passage (in v 31) in the whole of the Old Testament where the term “new covenant” (or “testament”) appears.  That ‘new covenant’ we now recognise in the new relationship with God established by Jesus Christ through his Paschal Mystery.

Jeremiah begins by proclaiming that “the days are surely coming”, a phrase that often refers to the Messianic era and, for us, there is a strong Messianic tone to the passage.

In those “days” God:

…will make a new covenant with the house of Israel [in the north] and the house of Judah [in the south]…

These will once again be united as one kingdom. “New covenant” is a term which is picked up in the New Testament more than once by Paul in his letters and in the Letter to the Hebrews. We know now that, while the old covenant was made solemn by the pouring of the blood of sacrificial animals, the new covenant will be made solemn by the blood of Christ poured out on the cross. The new covenant will differ in many significant ways from what will henceforth be called the ‘old’ or ‘first’ covenant made at Sinai.

In those days Jeremiah says, in a lovely phrase, God “took them by the hand”, echoing the beautiful words of Hosea:

…I took them up in my arms…
led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks. (Hos 11:3-4)

Yahweh took his people to liberate them from the slavery of Egypt, but as we have seen many times in these readings, it was they, not God, who broke that covenant and, as a result, they experienced many hardships. They would have to learn by painful experience that the Lord and only the Lord was their true ‘master’ (the word ‘master’ here may also be translated ‘husband’).

Then comes a description of this ‘new’ covenant to be made with the house of Israel, now seeing both kingdoms as one. It will not be simply a legal code, like that of Moses, to be observed by external acts:

I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts…

It was to effectively govern their lives, in contrast to the ineffectiveness of merely presenting it in writing, though inscribed on durable stone.

I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The terms of the old covenant remain, but it is superseded by the new which will fulfil and go far beyond what was understood by the old. It will be a law totally assimilated into their very being so that its observance will flow naturally in all their words and actions. The old covenant is not abrogated; rather it becomes fully internalised.

Jesus will spell this out, especially in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, when he says that he comes not to abolish, but to fulfil the Law. And only then will God’s covenant statement be really fulfilled.

Then:

No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other…

In other words, there will no longer be those who are ignorant of God and his will for their lives. True knowledge of the Lord will be shared by all – young and old, the peasant and the powerful.

Because:

…they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest…

Using the word ‘know’ in its fullest sense, it indicates a deep, intimate and direct knowing and not simply an intellectual ‘knowing about’.

The consequence of this deep interpersonal relationship is that:

I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

The very mutuality of the relationship will result in perfect reconciliation and forgiveness and the covenant promise will be fully realised:

I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

There will ensue that unity between God and his people of which Jesus will speak at the Last Supper:

I in them and you in me… (John 17:23)

It is for us to live the terms of this new covenant to the full. It is easy for Christians to fall back on an external living of their faith, seeing its observance in the keeping of external rules and regulations. We need to learn how to ‘know’ God in the deepest recesses of our hearts, to find him in every experience, to be aware of his unconditional love and to communicate that love to all those around us.

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Thursday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 16:13-23

We now reach a high point in Matthew’s narrative. More than any of the other Gospels, his is a Gospel of the Church. (Mark, in comparison, emphasises discipleship; Luke, the communication of God’s love and compassion; and John, unity with God through Jesus.)

We find Jesus and his disciples in the district of Caesarea Philippi. This is not the fine city of Caesarea built by Herod the Great on the shore of the Mediterranean. It was a town, rebuilt by Herod’s son Philip, who named it after the emperor Tiberius Caesar and himself. It lay just to the north of the Sea of Galilee and near the slopes of Mount Hermon. It had originally been called Paneas, after the Greek god Pan and is known today as Banias.

The area was predominantly pagan, dominated by Rome. In a sense, therefore, it was both an unexpected yet fitting place for Jesus’ identity to be proclaimed. He was, after all, not just for his own people, but for the whole world.

Jesus begins by asking his disciples who people think he really is. They respond with some of the speculations that were going round: he was John the Baptist resurrected from the dead (Herod’s view, for instance), or Elijah (whose return was expected to herald the imminent coming of the Messiah), or Jeremiah or some other of the great prophets.

The Jews at this time expected a revival of the prophetic spirit which had been extinct since Malachi. John was regarded by many of the people as a prophet, although he denied that he was the expected prophet, often thought to be Elijah returned. The early Christians saw Jesus as a prophet, but with the appearance of prophecy as a charism in their communities, the term was dropped in his case.

Interestingly, the people did not seem to think that Jesus himself was on a par with these ‘greats’ of their history. We do tend to undervalue the leaders of our own time when compared with those of the past.

Jesus goes on to ask:

But who do you say that I am?

It was a moment of truth, a very special moment in his disciples’ relationship with their Master. Simon speaks up:

You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

It is a huge step forward for Simon and his companions. As we shall see, it is not yet a total recognition of his identity or mission. But Jesus is no mere rabbi, no mere prophet, but rather the long-awaited Messiah and Saviour King who would deliver Israel. It is an exciting moment in their relationship with him. And it is only in Matthew that Simon Peter calls him “Son of God”.

The focus now shifts immediately to Simon. He is praised for his insight but Jesus makes clear that it comes from divine inspiration and is not a mere deduction. A ‘mystery’, in the Scripture sense, is being uncovered.

And now comes the great promise. Simon from now on is to be called “Peter”, a play on the word for ‘rock’ (kepha in Aramaic, petra/petros in Greek), for he will become the rock on which the “church” will be built—a rock which will stand firm against all attacks on it. This promise must have sounded very daring at the time it was written, but throughout more than 2,000 years it has again and again been vindicated. ‘Peter’, in either its Aramaic or Hebrew form, was not a previously known personal name.

The term ‘church’ only appears twice in Matthew and not at all in the other three Gospels. The Hebrew word qahal, which in Greek is rendered as ekklesia, means ‘an assembly called together’. It was used often in the Old Testament to indicate the community of the Chosen People.

According to the Jerusalem Bible:

“By using this term ekklesia side by side with ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, Jesus shows that this eschatological community (community of the ‘end-times’) is to have its beginnings here on earth in the form of an organised society whose leader he now appoints.”

And Peter is given power and authority, the “keys of the kingdom of heaven”, all that he will need to make the Kingdom a reality. His authority and that of the ‘church’ is the authority of Jesus himself. Whatever Peter and the church formally decide is immediately ratified by God; they are his appointed agents.

Lastly, they are strictly ordered not to tell anyone else that Jesus is the Messiah. The people are not ready to hear it. The people have their own expectations, which are very different from the Messiah that Jesus is going to be. The disciples themselves have a totally wrong idea, as becomes immediately clear in what follows.

From the moment that they recognise Jesus as Messiah, he begins to prepare them for what is going to happen:

[The Son of Man] must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.

This is the first of three ominous predictions.

After the euphoria of knowing their Master was the Messiah, all their dreams and hopes are shattered by these terrible revelations. It is hard for us to imagine the impact these words must have had.

Peter, who had just covered himself in glory and been appointed leader, almost patronisingly takes Jesus aside, saying:

God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.

For him and the others this was an unthinkable scenario for the Messiah for whom they were all waiting. How much more shocked Peter must have been at Jesus’ reaction:

Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.

The man who was just now called the Rock is accused of being Satan’s advocate! Instead of being a rock of stability, he is seen as a stumbling block in the way of Jesus.

Peter is seen as doing the very work of the devil in trying to divert Jesus from the way he was called to go, the way in which God’s love would be revealed to us, the way in which we would be liberated for the life of the Kingdom.

It will take time before Peter and the others both understand and accept the idea of a suffering and dying Messiah. It will not happen until after the Resurrection. Before that the “Rock” will be guilty of a shameful betrayal of the Man who put such trust in him.

We too should ask ourselves to what extent we accept Jesus the rejected, suffering, dying and rising Messiah.

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Friday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Nahum 2:1,3; 3:1-3,6-7

Today we have a single reading from the very short Book of Nahum (just three chapters). Nahum is one of the so-called ‘minor’ prophets, as opposed to ‘major’ prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

Nahum made his prophecy just before the fall of the Assyrian capital of Niniveh in 612 BC. His joy over the city’s and the empire’s downfall is understandable when one considers the savage cruelty for which it was notorious over nearly three centuries. Rightly he calls it a “city of bloodshed”.

Today’s reading speaks of the imminent collapse of Niniveh, overthrown by the new juggernaut—Babylon. It is a triumphant song of joy over the fall of a great city (remember how the Book of Jonah said it took three days to cross—mostly likely somewhat of an exaggeration).

The passage opens with the messenger coming across the mountains of Judah with a wonderful message of peace. Such good announcements of deliverance are common in Scripture—here it is deliverance from the threat of Assyria. Later there will be the deliverance from exile in Babylon, and even later Paul in the Letter to the Romans will speak of our deliverance from sin through the “good news” of Jesus Christ when he quotes from this passage:

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! (Rom 10:15)

The people are now urged to “fulfil your vows”, that is, the promises made to God during the times of distress:

for never again shall the wicked invade you;
they are utterly cut off. (Nah 1:15 in NRSVue)

This statement was fulfilled when Niniveh fell to the Babylonians in 612 BC. The Assyrian invasion in the days of King Manasseh was to be the last—but there were, unfortunately, other invasions to come.

The Lord was now restoring the vineyard, that is, uniting the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which had been ravaged and ruined by the enemy.

Niniveh, on the other hand, is a “city of bloodshed”. It is a city:

…utterly deceitful, full of plunder—
no end to the prey!

There is a graphic description of the Assyrian war machine which resulted in:

…piles of dead,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end…

The wholesale killings of its conquered victims was well known. The Assyrians were notorious for their ruthlessness, brutality and terrible atrocities. Many of their victims were beheaded, impaled or burned.

There is a graphic run of short phrases giving a vivid picture of a mighty army at war, over-running its weaker enemies—the crack of the whip, rumbling wheels, galloping horses, racing chariots, charging cavalry, flaming swords, flashing spears bringing death and destruction—heaped corpses and endless bodies to fall over.

We are told that the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III boasted of erecting a pyramid of chopped-off heads in front of an enemy’s city. Other Assyrian kings stacked corpses like cord wood by the gates of defeated cities. The prophet’s descriptions are no exaggeration.

In verses which are omitted from our reading, Nahum describes Assyria as a doomed harlot:

Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute,
gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery,
who enslaves nations through her debaucheries
and peoples through her sorcery,
I am against you,
says the Lord of hosts,
and will lift up your skirts over your face,
and I will let nations look on your nakedness
and kingdoms on your shame.

So now Niniveh, the proud and arrogant city, is to be humiliated, pelted with “filth”. Like a disgraced harlot, she will be shamed and made a show of. She will be punished like a prostitute receiving punishment for her adulteries. She is being punished less for her idolatry or her practice of ritual prostitution—for she was a pagan city anyway—but for the terrible cruelties to her victims. Now she is utterly destroyed and there is not a shred of pity for her fate. She has received her just deserts.

There must have been times during the Assyrian conquests that God’s people wondered if their domination by foreigners would ever come to an end. But it did. The joy of that discovery pervades the reading. Evil can never last indefinitely. It has always within it the seeds of its own destruction.

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Friday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 16:24-28

Jesus has already shocked his disciples by telling them in advance what is going to happen to him as Messiah. Now he goes further and tells them that they too will have to have a part in his experience.

They are to follow in his footsteps. Like him, they are to be ready to take up their cross—whatever it may be—and carry it behind him. For some, it will mean dying for Christ and the Kingdom. For others, it will mean living totally for Christ and the Kingdom. Notice, Jesus tells them to take up their own cross, not his. That cross will be different for each person; it takes the form of some difficult thing which it is clear we must accept and not run away from. It is not to be sought for—that would not be a healthy thing to do. It will come, unmarked and unchosen, but clear.

The other way, to avoid all pain and seek only what brings pleasure and enjoyment, is to go down a cul-de-sac, a blind alley that leads nowhere. That is what we mean by trying ‘to save our life’. It is a sure way to lose it.

What is the use of gaining “the whole world”, becoming a multi-billionaire and being profoundly unhappy? Living for oneself only is to end up finding one’s self dying. Letting go of one’s life to live for others, to live for truth, love and justice is to live a full life, even if shortened by physical death.

Many of the saints died long before their time, but achieved in a few years what most of us cannot do in a long life. There is a scriptural phrase applied to some of the saints who died relatively young:

Consummatus in breve, explevit tempora multa.

It means that, although their life came to an early end, they had filled it with many good things.

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