RE: 09.16.12~Catholic Matters

SUNDAY READINGS - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time FIRST READING: Isaiah 50 - 5-9. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? EXPLANATION: In second-Isaiah we have a series of prophetic poems which describe the future Messiah (Is. 40-55). He is depicted as the faithful Servant of God (Ebed Yahweh). He is chosen by God before his birth; he has the "spirit" of God; he will instruct the nations in God's "justice"; he will do more than merely restore Israel---he will be a light for all nations so that God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Because he is God's faithful, obedient Servant he will suffer death in the execution of his duty, but God will reward him. God will bring him back to life and bestow on him numerous spiritual offspring (53:10-12). Part of the sufferings which the Servant endured are mentioned in today's reading: but for the incredible tortures the Servant voluntarily endured "for us" see 52:13-53: 12. Lord...ear: The Servant is speaking; he says that the Lord has made him his disciple---he has opened his ear to learn the words of instruction. I was not rebellious: The Servant was obedient in all things to God: "Thy will not mine be done." I...backward: He did not run away in the face of difficulty or danger. my back...smiters: He allows his enemies to maltreat him; he submits to their scourges. pulled...beard: This was one of the greatest insults offered a man, humiliating as well as painful. shame and spitting: He does not try to avoid these humiliations, for: the Lord...me: He knows he is working for God and God is giving him aid to undergo them. therefore...flint: He will courageously face his sufferings and will not flinch from them. not...shame: All the enemies' calumnies will be in vain, his justice will shine forth. God his vindicator is with him. contend...adversary: He is so certain of final success that he challenges his opponents to do their utmost. who will... guilty: Knowing that he is God's faithful servant and carrying out God's will, who can convict him of any evil? His case is safe in God's hands. APPLICATION: Five hundred and fifty years before Christ came on earth, a prophet whom we call the second-Isaiah encouraged the Jewish exiles in Babylon with his descriptions of the great blessings which the Messiah would bring them (see chapters 43:44; 47; 51; 52). These blessings would be bought at a great price, bought for us by the shame, humiliations and death of the future Messiah. The prophet calls the Messiah the Servant of God----a servant faithful and obedient unto death, and because of his perfect obedience and fidelity he would be raised from the grave in glory and be given numerous off spring. This suffering and obedient Servant was Christ. Christ himself applied these prophecies to himself (see today's Gospel: also Lk. 24: 26 etc.). He fulfilled these prophecies to the letter, and he did so for us and for our salvation. Our Creed says: "Who (the Son of God) came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation . . . suffered under Pontius Pilate, was put to death and was buried. The third day he arose from the dead, ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father." This reading has been chosen for us to recall to our minds all that Christ has done for us in carrying out the Father's plan for our eternal welfare. God does not need us, he has infinite perfection and happiness in the community of the Blessed Trinity, but because his nature is goodness itself, he wants to share his perfection and his happiness with us his creatures. For that reason he decreed the incarnation of his divine Son from all eternity. Because sin had entered the world and man had rebelled against God, Christ when he came met with opposition, disbelief and hatred from the leaders of those who had been prepared for centuries to receive him---the Chosen People. Thus his life among us was a life of humiliations, persecutions and opposition which culminated in the death on the cross. But faithful and obedient Servant of the Father that he was, he bore it all in patience and in submission even unto death; but death could not hold him. He was raised in glory and returned triumphant to heaven to reassume the glory of his divinity of which he had "emptied himself" while on earth, as St. Paul tells us. With his glorified human nature he now occupies the chief place in heaven after that of God the Father. We all know what meaning for us the incarnation has and the humiliations and sufferings it implied for Christ. The crucifix over the altar, the stations of the cross, the sacrifice of the Mass recall to our minds what Christ has done for us; but do we always react as we should to this sacred remembrance? Our first reaction should be sincere acts of gratitude to our Father in heaven and to his divine Son, for going to such lengths to give us eternal life. Christ died so that we should live eternally; he stretched out his arms on the cross in order to gather all men to his Father in heaven. We can do something in return. It should be our second reaction to remembrance of what the incarnation means: we can bear our own daily crosses patiently and gladly, for compared to the cross of Christ they are light indeed. A third way of showing our appreciation of Christ's suffering for us is to help our neighbor to carry his cross. We can all, and we all should, if we appreciate what the incarnation means, help to spread its fruits as widely as possible. As true apostles of Christ's faith we need never fear of becoming apostates. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECOND READING: James 2:14-18. What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. EXPLANATION: Today's reading from St. James' letter is a continuation of the practical guidance we heard two Sundays ago. Christians must "be doers of the word not hearers only." The Christian faith is not a series of theoretical truths, but a practical way of living based on Christ's revelation to us. faith...works: Faith alone, that is, a mental acceptance of all revealed truths, is of no avail toward eternal life unless a man follows Christ in his daily living. This will demand the carrying out of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. St. James stresses the corporal works today. ill-clad...food: He mentions two of the corporal works of mercy: to clothe the naked and feed the hungry. These two necessities cannot be supplied by a theoretical command: "go in peace, be warmed and filled"---that is all a Christian who has faith without good works does for his needy neighbor. What does this profit the unfortunate needy brother or sister? Nothing. faith...dead: That kind of faith, therefore, is as good as dead, it produces no good effect. It does not carry out the Christian law of charity and so does not help the neighbor. Nor does it help the so-called Christian whose faith begins and ends in his own intellect. some...say: The RSV reading here is obscure. The J.B. reads: "This is the way to talk to people of that kind: 'you say you have faith and I have good deeds. I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds---now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.'" The Christian who puts his faith into practice especially by works of charity toward a needy neighbor, proves that he is a true Christian. The man who claims to have the Christian faith but does not practice a most essential part of it---good deeds---is not really a Christian. APPLICATION: A pagan can recite the Creed from beginning to end from: "I believe in God the Father almighty" down to: "life everlasting, Amen," but he cannot recite it sincerely and with conviction and remain a pagan. To say: "I believe in God" and do nothing whatsoever about it means that I am not stating the truth; I am lying, when I say: "I believe in God." The "Apostles' Creed" is a brief synopsis of the Christian religion. When a true Christian recites this Creed he is affirming the central truths of his religion, and at the same time accepting the consequences which flow from these truths. This is what St. James means when he says that Christians must be "doers of the word and not hearers only." They must, he says, put their Christian faith into practice. A Christian must live his faith as well as believe it. There is no need to labor this point; all who are sincere Christians know this; but most, if not all, of us can profit from a look at our daily actions in the light of St. James' words today. Is our faith really alive? Does it produce "good works," works of charity toward our needy neighbors? If it does not it is "dead," it produces nothing in this life and it will produce nothing, no reward for us in the next. There are Christians whose Christian faith is completely self-centered, it begins and ends with themselves. They say their prayers; they attend their Sunday Mass; they avoid grave sins or think they do; but they exclude all other men from their thoughts; they are blind and deaf to any appeals for spiritual or material help from any neighbor or charitable cause. They will try to justify their behavior by saying that they have enough to do to look after their own bodily and spiritual needs. They act as if they never heard that the spiritual and corporal works of mercy were an essential part of the Christian code. Such Christians are rare among us, thank God, but they are not "doers of the word," and will meet some questions on their judgement day to which they will have no answers. However, before we clap ourselves on the back and say: "thank God, we are not like the other Christians," we would all do well to look again at our own fulfillment of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Are we really doing all that our Christian faith expects of us to help our needy neighbors? To keep to the two corporal works of mercy mentioned by St. James, let each one of us ask himself or herself: "What have I done to clothe the naked and feed the hungry during the past month?" There are ill-clad and hungry people in the ghettoes and slums of every city in our land. There are millions of such unfortunate people in Asia, Africa and South America. These are calling on us, and beseeching us to come to their aid. Associations to help them have been set up by charitable Christians and charitable non-Christians in all the Western nations. These good men and women moved by the spirit of Christ and the brotherhood of men, depend on you and me to continue their good work. How much have we given to suffering neighbors or to these associations? There may be some among us today who are struggling hard to keep off the bread-line themselves---God will excuse them from giving a helping hand, when their two hands are tied by their own poverty. But there may be others who should and could help, but do not. To these I would say: Limit severely your luxuries in food, drink and clothing while there are millions of hungry and half-naked brothers of yours---adopted sons of God. God is appealing to your Christian heart and conscience today, through these words of St. James. To refuse to listen to his plea will be to risk your eternal salvation. Remember Christ's own description of the judgement scene: "He will say to those on his left hand, I was hungry and you gave me no food . . . I was naked and you did not clothe me . . . depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt. 24: 42-45). "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOSPEL: Mark 8: 27-35. Jesus went with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel's will save it." EXPLANATION: In today's Gospel, St. Mark gives us two incidents in our Lord's public mission--both are intimately connected. Jesus had gone to the north-eastern corner of Palestine and on questioning his disciples as to whom the people thought him to be, received the various conjectures of the people. He then asked the disciples what they themselves thought, and Peter, acting as spokesman for all of them, declared that Christ was the Messiah. Jesus admitted the truth of Peter's declaration, but said he did not yet want this knowledge to be spread abroad among the people. Then to dampen any wrong political messianic enthusiasm, which this knowledge might arouse among the disciples, he went on to give the first prophecy of the passion and death which awaited him at the hands of his enemies. Later he told the multitude, and the disciples, that anyone who would truly be his follower must be prepared to suffer and even lose his earthly life if necessary, in order to gain eternal life. Caesarea Philippi: This was a town just on the border of the extreme north-eastern corner of Palestine. The Tetrarch Philip had rebuilt the town (already called after Caesar) and added his own name to distinguish it from another Caesarea on the west coast of Palestine. who...I am: After a year or more of preaching and miracles, he knew they were forming some idea as to who he was. They had various ideas. John the Baptist: Some of the people who evidently had not seen John, thought Jesus was the Baptist risen from the dead. Herod, whose conscience bore the guilt of John's murder---in fear and trembling one would expect---agreed with this opinion (Mk. 6: 14-16). Elijah: This man was the great prophet of Israel (c 900-850 B.C.), who had been taken up to heaven according to legend, and who would return again to prepare the way for the Messiah (see Mal. 3: 1-21; Jn. 1: 21-25). one...prophets: Others thought that he was one of the prophets who had preached God's law to their ancestors. But...you say?: Up to now only the demons had recognized him as the Messiah. Now the Apostles, through their leader Peter, proclaim their belief in him as the promised Messiah. to tell no one: Even though the disciples declared that he was the Messiah, they had no clear idea yet as to what it meant---the title had political undertones for them also. Therefore, Christ ordered them to remain silent about who he was until the crucifixion and resurrection would make everything clear to them. Then they could and would preach the full truth to others. Son of man...suffer: Christ's first prediction of his passion was made in this context in order to correct any wrong ideas of the Messiah that the disciples were forming in their minds. He was not to reign on earth as a glorious, triumphant king. Rather, he was to suffer many things and finally be put to death. He was the Suffering Servant of God, foretold by Isaiah. after...again: Eventually he would triumph. His enemies would have a momentary victory, they would torture him and condemn him to death, but death would not hold him; he would rise again after three days. said this plainly: Although this announcement of his sufferings, death and resurrection was crystal clear, it did not really register with the disciples. How could he who bad such power from God be put to death and how could a dead man rise? Peter...him: Peter, as always the leader, would not hear of anyone putting his Master to death. Later, in the garden of Gethsemani, he drew a sword to prevent Jesus' arrest. He "rebuked" him, that is: he told Jesus he could not admit the prediction he bad made. Get...Satan: The original meaning of Satan was an adversary or opponent. Later, it became the name of the chief opponent of men's salvation. not...God: Peter, by wishing to prevent Christ's suffering and death, was opposing God's plan as laid down in the prophets, especially in the prophecies of the second-Isaiah (40-55; see today's first reading). Peter and his companions had as yet only a very human outlook on God's purpose in sending the Messiah. called...multitude: Mark now adds some of the dispositions his true followers must have. deny himself: The true Christian life demands that one is ever ready to sacrifice one's own convenience and pleasure if the gospel law so demands. take up his cross: This can be taken metaphorically as: following Jesus on the road of suffering. From the very beginning, the Christian Church saw the cross as the symbol of Christ's redemptive action---something every Christian should be ready to imitate. save...lose it: The contradistinction here is between temporal, earthly life and eternal life hereafter. He who will give his life, if called on, for Jesus and his gospel will receive eternal life; while the man who gains a few extra years of life here on earth by denying Jesus and his gospel, will lose eternal life. APPLICATION: We need not be surprised at the slowness of the Apostles in grasping the messiahship of Jesus. He did not want the crowds who flocked to him to know this until later---after his resurrection---because they had the idea that the Messiah would be a political leader who would set them free from their subjection to pagan Rome. It was not until this occasion, near Caesarea Philippi, somewhat over a year after he had called them, that he admitted to his Apostles that he was the Messiah. He charged them not to make this fact known outside of their own limited circle. To forestall and erase any wrong ideas of a political leader which some of the Apostles might have, he immediately foretold the sufferings and death he would have to endure at the hands of the leaders of the Jews. He would be conquered and humiliated by his enemies but their victory would be short-lived---death would not hold him---he would rise triumphant on the third day. To the Apostles this seemed incredible and Peter, their spokesman, told him so. This outlook of the Apostles is also very understandable. They had seen him work many miracles, God was evidently very near to him: how could God let his enemies humiliate and kill him? They did not know God's plan, they were fishermen and knew little if anything of the Old Testament messianic prophecies. Had they read of the Suffering Servant in second-Isaiah they would not have disbelieved the prophecy of his forth-coming sufferings, death and resurrection. And his mention of his resurrection after three days, which would prove that it was he and not his enemies who conquered, fell on deaf cars, because the idea of a resurrection of that kind was incomprehensible to them. We know how slow they were to accept his resurrection even after it had happened. Although the message was only vaguely and dubiously grasped, Christ had forewarned his Apostles (he repeated this twice later: Mk. 9: 9-10; 31-32 and 10: 32-34), so as to prepare them for the scandal of the cross. While it did not really prepare them because they were still too worldly-minded, it did help to strengthen their faith once the facts convinced them of the resurrection. They then realized that their beloved Master was more than Messiah, that he was in fact the Son of God, who with knowledge aforethought freely accepted his humiliations and shameful death for their sakes and ours. They gladly gave their lives to bringing this news of God's great love for men to all nations. From being a scandal the cross became the emblem and the proud standard of God's love for mankind. We are in the happy position of the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus. We know how much God loves us; we appreciate the humiliation that the incarnation brought on his beloved Son and the sufferings and cruel death which the sins of the world, ours included, brought on the Son of God. All of this took place because God wished to make us his adopted sons and worthy of the inheritance he had planned for us. For a faithful and grateful Christian, however, theoretical appreciation is not enough. Atonement has been made for our sins, but we have still a very important part to play. Our sins can be forgiven but we must truly repent of them before God will forgive them. St. Mark adds some words of Christ which illustrate what practical form our appreciation and gratitude for Christ's sufferings should take. We must be ready to follow him on the road to Calvary. We must deny ourselves---deprive ourselves not only of sinful pleasure or gain, but even of lawful things at times, in order to be Christ-like. We must take up our cross and follow him. This does not mean that we must search for crosses---there are plenty of them in any good Christian's life---but we must gladly accept the crosses life brings us and see in them God's means of keeping us close to him. Life on earth is very short, eternal life is endless. No thinking man, and certainly no true Christian, would risk losing the eternal life for the sake of a few paltry gains or a few extra years here below.-b379 Click to return to our Home page