FIRST READING: Nehemiah 8: 2-4; 5-6; 8-10. Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seven month. And he read from it 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. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God; and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. And the Levites read from the book, from the law of God, clearly; and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 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. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." EXPLANATION: When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile two of their number played a major part in the reconstruction and restoration of affairs. Ezra (a priest descendant of Aaron) was the man chiefly responsible for restoring the religious life of the people in Jerusalem and Judah. One of Ezra's first acts was to get the people to renew the Covenant (that is, the pact made between God and the Chosen People on Mount Sinai seven centuries previously) with God, and thus dedicate themselves to his service. This the people gladly did realizing that all their future, hopes depended on God alone.Ezra . . . brought the Law: This was the Law of Moses or the Pentateuch as it is now generally called. It is contained in the first five books of the Jewish Bible. It was most probably a "version" of our present Pentateuch, though there were later additions. It is called the Law of Moses, not because Moses wrote the book, but because much of the legislation in it was handed down orally from his day.
men, women . . . understand: All the citizens of Jerusalem gathered in the Temple square, including all children old enough to understand what was being read.
ears . . . book of the law: The return from Babylon was like a second exodus. The people knew they owed their deliverance to God and were ready to learn about his laws and to renew the Covenant or pact made after the first Exodus.
Amen, Amen: Before reading from the book of the Law, Ezra (blessed) thanked the great God (Yahweh) for what he had done for them and the people showed that they agreed by raising their hands and saying "Amen," a Hebrew word which means "surely" or "so it is." The repetition was to show how sincerely they agreed.
worshipped . . . ground: The common mode of showing great respect for a distinguished personage.
read . . . clearly: The text was in Hebrew but the language spoken then by the returned exiles was Aramaic, so Ezra had to translate for them.
Do not mourn: The people wept when they heard of God's great goodness to their ancestors, and of the laws he had asked them to keep. But they knew how these laws had been so seriously violated by their people in the past and by themselves also. A cause certainly for repentance and tears. Ezra tells them to dry their tears, and make this a feast-day sacred to the Lord. Notwithstanding the sins of the past and the present, the merciful God had brought them back to their homeland once more. Let them thank God and resolve to serve him henceforth. This promise they solemnly made some days later (see 10: 1ff). APPLICATION: The infinite goodness and the infinite mercy, which God has shown to mankind down through the ages, is the theme of the lessons read at today's Mass. These verses of Nehemiah describe the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile and their resettlement in Jerusalem and Judah. They owed this return to the gracious act of God and they had the good grace to acknowledge this in a public religious ceremony. This recalling of the Jews from Babylon was part of God's remote preparation for the coming of his Son, our divine Lord, on earth. Before creation began he had the Incarnation in mind. And the purpose of the Incarnation was to raise man, the highest being in his created universe, to a capacity to share in the infinite happiness of the Blessed Trinity. Man was thus raised to the adopted sonship of God through the descent of God's Son to take our humanity. This is expressed in the mixing of the water and wine at the offertory of the Mass when the celebrant says: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." So the story of the return of the Jewish exiles is not just some faded page of past history. It is for us a very important incident in God's plan for our elevation and glorification. All through pre-history his plan was being slowly but surely shaped. From Abraham, the pagan called from Ur of the Chaldees, to become the Father of his Chosen People, down to Mary the humble unknown young Jewess of Nazareth, who was chosen to be the Mother of Christ, God was drawing the lines of his great design on every page of the Old Testament. Notwithstanding the open opposition of men, of pagan nations who tried to crush and annihilate his Chosen People, and of the many rebellious sons within his fold who refused to have Him rule over them, he brought his plan to completion. He raised humanity to the status of sonship that be had intend for it from all eternity. This return from exile then has deep meaning for us Christians today, twenty-five centuries after it happened. It was a very important step in God's plan to return us from perpetual exile, a merely earthly life, to a spiritual life, and to the home that in his mercy and goodness he had planned for us. Through God's infinite generosity we are destined for an eternal homeland. We must thank God for that but, let us not forget, we have not yet arrived there. We are on the way, and we must work our passage. When the work seems dreary and hard, we must remember that we are not left alone. We have such abundant helps from God as will enable even the weakest to reach home if they avail of them.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30. Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body---Jews or Greeks, slaves or free---and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many, if the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part to the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? EXPLANATION: On Corinth and this letter see 2nd Sunday in ordinary time.
The body is one: In the previous verses, read last Sunday, St. Paul was speaking of the wonderful gifts given to the first converts for the good of the Church. Now he goes on to stress how each one must cooperate with all the others, for each one of us is a necessary member of the unit which we compose. He uses the metaphor of the human body and says the Church of Christ (and each individual local church in it) is a body, and the individual Christians are its component parts.
to drink of one Spirit: Baptism incorporates the Christian into the risen and glorious body of Christ. He accepts Jew and Gentile. There is no distinction of race or nationality or earthly status. When they are baptized, all receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit---they drink at the fountain of Grace.
If the foot should say: He goes on then to show from the analogy of the human body how absurd and how fatal it would be for all if the members refused to cooperate.
are indispensable . . . less honorable: For instance the human brain seems, and is, a more delicate member than the arm or the leg, yet it is much more necessary. There are other organs of the body which are looked on as less honorable but for that very reason they are hidden and protected and so get greater honor.
You . . . are the body of Christ: He applies the simile now. The Corinthian local church is made up of many members---but they have not all the same honor or essential utility.
Individually members of it: Each Christian is in the Church to help and do his part, whether honorable or lowly, for the good of the whole body.
Apostles, prophets, teachers: Paul refers again to the wonderful gifts God gave to various members of the Corinthian Church. Evidently there was some jealousy or rivalry as regards their gifts. Paul, through his simile of the body, has made it clear that these various gifts are not for the receiver but for the good of the whole body, the whole community. APPLICATION: St. Paul is urging his Corinthian converts to appreciate and be grateful to God for the wonderful gifts he has given them. Not only have they received the gift of the true faith, but God is proving the truth of that faith in their very midst by the miraculous powers he is giving to individuals amongst them. But they must never forget that these gifts are not for their own benefit or glory. They are given to help build up the whole new Christian community. To drive this lesson home, he compares the new Christian community---the Church---to a human body. Man's body has many and various members, but each member is there for the good of the whole body. No one member can survive on its own, the brain needs the stomach, as the stomach needs the brain, the eye needs the foot as the foot needs the eye and so on. All the members must work for the good of the whole body, using the capabilities given it, and it is only thus that the body will survive and thrive. Now for St. Paul this comparison of the Christian community to the members of a human body, is not merely a metaphor, it is a reality. "You are the body of Christ," he says, "member for member." This consoling doctrine that the Church is the mystical body of Christ was not invented by St. Paul---he invented the name only---it follows of necessity from the doctrine of the Incarnation. When the Son of God took on human nature, he made us one with him. As Christ himself said: "I am the vine, you are the branches" (Jn. 15: 5). i.e. we form one tree with him. This is the same idea as the body and its members. We Christians then (and all men of good-will who are not actually in the Church through no fault of their own) are intimately united with the risen and glorious body of Christ in heaven. He is the Head, the director, of his new Chosen People. We are the other members of his body, whom he uses to spread the life-stream of grace and growth to the whole body until it reaches its full stature in the future life. What a glorious position is ours. What an exalted status the Incarnation has given us mere mortals! Do we think often enough of our privileged status? Do we especially realize our obligations as members of that body? Do we always do all that Christ expects of us to promote the welfare of the whole body? If I think that I am doing enough by providing for my own spiritual well-being, and take no interest in the needs of the other members, I can be sure I am not in fact providing for my spiritual well-being. If the foot says: "I am tired of walking and looking for food for that stomach," and rests in comfort, it won't be long until the foot feels the bad effects of a starving stomach and will not be able to walk. Each one of us must ever keep before his mind this inspiring thought that we are individual members of Christ's body and that it is only by the full cooperation of all members that that body, which means all of us, will reach its full maturity. Today especially, in a world which is growing daily more materialistic, more individualistic, more selfish, the Church must set a shining, noticeable, example of unselfish dedication to the material and spiritual welfare of all mankind. And the Church can do this only if each one of its members, that is you and I, will begin today to use the gifts, material and spiritual that God gave us, for the benefit of the community in which we live.
GOSPEL: Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21. Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogue, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." EXPLANATION: Luke begins his Gospel in the style of classical Greek authors of the time. His introductory sentence (now divided into four verses) followed the norms of the classical writers. This implies that he is about to write a work of literary importance, and he does indeed succeed in doing so.
things . . . accomplished among us: He is referring to the coming of Christ, his life, death, resurrection, ascension and the consequences of these---the setting-up of his Church. These things happened amongst us, he says. Luke was a Greek and so these things had not happened for the Jews only but for the Gentiles too, for all men.
Many have undertaken: Others (many) had undertaken to put in writing the facts concerning Christ. As far as is known, only Mark and the Aramaic basis of Matthew were in any sense successful attempts at this.
delivered to us: The eye-witnesses, the Apostles, and other Jewish converts who had joined them in the early days (Paul for example), had preached these facts. The facts were so astounding and far-reaching in their effects that they were easily remembered by the hearers. Thus the full story had reached Luke thirty or more years after the Ascension, but, as a true historian must, he
having followed all things closely: He has done his own research. He was not content to write down what others had written or what he had heard secondhand. Since he joined Paul (about 50 A.D.), who himself had met some of the Apostles, he had opportunities of contacting "eye-witnesses." He possibly met some of the Apostles in Palestine. He very probably met Peter in Rome (while Paul was in prison there---61-63). And he must have met the Blessed Mother while he was in Palestine from 59 to 61, during Paul's imprisonment in Caesarea.
Theophilus: Luke's second book, the Acts of the Apostles, is dedicated to the same Theophilus. It is not certain who this Theophilus was but the Gospel was certainly intended for all Christians especially those of Gentile origin, who were the vast majority at that time.
may know the truth: The purpose of Luke's book is to confirm, and assure the reader of, the truth of the Christian faith.
Jesus returned . . . into Galilee: After the baptism in the Jordan and the temptations in the desert, Christ went to Galilee where, according to the Synoptic Gospels, most of his public life was spent.
in the power of the Spirit: The power and Spirit of God had descended on him in the Jordan. He was the Messiah. He had received the power and spirit of the prophets of old. His divine sonship was yet hidden, all that the crowds who gathered to hear him saw was that he was a man of God, whose words and work proved he was sent by God. He was listened to and honored by all.
came to Nazareth: The village of his birth as Luke has already told us.
And he stood up to read: It was the custom of the Rabbi of the Synagogue to ask a visitor to read the lesson of the day. Christ began his preaching in the synagogues of Galilee, and at first was well received by the Jews.
spirit of the Lord is upon me: Most likely the reading for that Sabbath happened to be this messianic prophecy of second-Isaiah, or perhaps Christ chose this very prophecy. The words of Isaiah refer to the Messiah and the messianic liberation of all the people. The Messiah would be moved and enlightened by God. He would work miracles of healing and preach deliverance for all. He would bring the great Jubilee, when all God's people would rejoice and receive God's favors.
Today this Scripture: Christ now tells his neighbors of Nazareth that he is the Messiah of whom the prophet spoke. The prophecy is fulfilled---he, the promised Messiah, has come. APPLICATION: In the first four verses of St. Luke's Gospel which have been read to you today, you will find reason to be grateful to him. He went to a lot of trouble in order to put in a permanent form, in a written record, the essential facts concerning Christ, his words and his works, so that we "would understand (like Theophilus) the certainty of the faith in which we have been instructed."But while we must be grateful to St. Luke, we owe a bigger debt of gratitude still to the all-good, all-wise God who moved Luke and the other Evangelists to preserve for us in writing the essential truths of the Christian faith that has been handed down to us. The Apostles were companions of Christ. They witnessed his works and his words; they remembered most of his doings and his sayings, and what they might have forgotten the Holy Spirit recalled to their memory on that first Pentecost day in Jerusalem. The first two generations of Christians received the facts of the faith from these eye-witnesses and the miracles so frequent in the infant Church were confirmation of the truth of their teaching. But God in his wisdom provided for the many generations to come who would not have this evident confirmation of their faith. He established a teaching body in his Church which would safeguard the purity of the Christian truths, for "he himself would be with it all days " and he gave us a written record of the facts of the faith in the Gospels and the other writings of the New Testament. How can we ever thank God sufficiently for his thoughtfulness in our regard? We Christians of today can be as certain, as assured, of the truth of the faith that we are trying to practise as was St. Luke who was converted by St. Paul. We have a living, teaching magisterium in the Church, which authentically preserves and interprets for us the true facts of Christ's teaching and works as written down for us by a first-generation Christian under the impulse and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. If we needed further proof of the priceless value of our New Testament Books, the virulent attacks on their authenticity, on their objectivity, and on their veracity, by enemies of the faith down to and including our own day, should be sufficient. But they have stood the test of time and the onslaughts of biassed, prejudiced criticism, for they are the word of truth, which is eternal, and comes from God. We have a priceless gift of God in the inspired Books of the Bible. Let us show true appreciation for that gift by using it to build up a better knowledge of the Christian faith which it teaches us. There should be a Bible, or at least the New Testament, in every Christian home. It should not be an ornament on a shelf, but a fountain and source from which we can draw strength and refreshment in the daily practise of our Christian faith. Almost two thousand years ago, God's infinite goodness provided this source of strength, the "fountain of living water," for us Christians of this century. Are we grateful for his thoughtfulness? Are we nourishing our faith at this blessed fountain of his infinite wisdom and love?-c077 Click to return to our Home page
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please enter comments in a calm, clear, cogent manner