FIRST READING: Isaiah 49:14-15. Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me." Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. EXPLANATION: This is part of the message of consolation that the prophet, second-Isaiah, brought to the Jewish exiles in Babylon when they were on the brink of despair. The exiles thought that God had abandoned them but the prophet tells them emphatically that this is no so. Zion said: Zion, another name for Jerusalem, is used figuratively here as a personification of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
my Lord . . . me: Yahweh has abandoned them to their fate; he has lost interest in them.
Can. . . child: The, prophet asks them, in God's name, is there a mother so unnatural and so bereft of feeling that she could neglect and abandon her sucking infant, whose very existence depends on her caring for it?
Even . . . forget: It is within the bounds of possibility that there could be mothers who could do this but:
yet . . . you: Yahweh himself declares that even if some unnatural mothers could forget their infants and let them die he will not be so unnatural with his Chosen People, because they are his children, however unworthy of his love and care they have proved themselves to be in the past. APPLICATION: In human relationships there is no greater love than that of a mother for her baby. It has been proved beyond doubt down through the history of the human race. It is an unselfish love, a love, a dedication that demands and expects nothing in return. The love between husband and wife has of its nature a tinge of selfishness in it---it is at its best a mutual love, which expects and demands an equal response. The love of a child for its parents, when it comes to the use of reason, is inspired by gratitude for past favors and by a self-interested hope for more favors to come. But the love of a mother for her helpless baby is absolutely free of all self-interest, it looks for no return either in the present or in the future. This is the image that God employs to describe his love for his Chosen People : the love of a mother for the baby at her breast, a love free from all self-interest and prepared to go to any lengths in order to bring his children to the maturity and perfection planned for them. The exiles, let us hope, believed his word and put their trust in him, but they could not and did not realize or foresee the real lengths to which that unselfish love of God for them would go. The most they hoped for and desired was a return to their native land where peace and plenty would be given them by their kind God. But this was only a tiny part of God's plan for them; we know the full truth now. God's plan was to bring them back to Jerusalem and Judah so that he would fulfill his promise given to Abraham and their ancestors. In Judah would be born the descendant of Abraham, Judah and David---the Messiah who would bring them, and all who would accept him, to their real homeland, heaven. As we know, God carried out his plan in spite of the stubbornness and disloyalty of those Chosen People to whom he had been not only a kind father but a loving mother all through their history. If some, or many of them, failed to reach their true homeland---the real promised land of eternal peace and plenty---the fault was theirs not God's. With our greater knowledge today of God's love for us, and of his interest in our true welfare, which the Incarnation has proved, we are much more guilty than the Jews of the Old Testament if we prove disloyal to God and ungrateful for all he has done for us. If we allow the things of this world, its pleasures, its wealth, its positions of power (all of which will end for us in a few years), to make us forget God and our own eternal welfare, then we are far worse than the disloyal Jews who know little about the future life, and who had not before their eyes the example of the Son of God crucified for their sakes. Yet the sad fact is that there are millions of Christians today, who live un-christian lives; men and women who act and behave as if the world was the beginning and end of everything for them. They forget, or rather do all they can to forget, that there is a future life towards which they are steadily and quickly moving. However, there is one ray of hope for even the worst of us, and that ray of hope is God's declaration that his love for us is stronger and greater than even that of a mother for the baby at her breast. If we turn to him with true repentance---no matter how numerous or how heinous our past faults were---he will take us back once more to his bosom. He will forgive and forget our past if we will put that past behind us, and from now on serve him as loyal and grateful children. Great sinners in the past have become saints; great sinners in the future will become eternal citizens of heaven. You too, be you a great or a lesser sinner, can end like them, if like them you return truly repentant to the God of love.
SECOND READING: 1 Cor. 4: 1-5. This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. EXPLANATION: In this letter Paul has already referred to "factions" or divisions which had arisen among his converts. It was nothing very serious---it was rather that some groups boasted of having Paul as their teacher. Others boasted of Apollos, a great orator who came there after Paul had left. Others claimed Cephas, Peter, as their model, while others again claimed Christ as their teacher---as they all could. But a small beginning like this could lead to serious conflict later perhaps. Paul, therefore, condemned them and told them it was the message not the messenger that counted (see Chapters 1-3). In the verses read today Paul stresses this last point and tells them the preachers of the gospel are Christ's servants and no one but Christ and God had a right to pass judgment on them.
servants . . . stewards: The Corinthians must see in their teachers: the true servants of Christ---it is he who appointed and sent them, it is for him, for his gospel that they are primarily working. They are also stewards in that they have charge of God's household. It is their duty to dispense the faith and the sacraments---"the mysteries of God."
found trustworthy: A steward is not free to do his own will, he must manage his master's household and property honestly and according to the orders of his master.
with me . . . you: The Corinthians, therefore, have no right to pass judgment on Paul's actions. Only his master, God, who made him a steward has a right to do this.
not . . . myself: This does not mean that he does not examine his conscience; but he knows that he is incapable of passing a truly objective judgment on his actions, for even though he is not conscious of any wrong-doing or carelessness in his task:
It is the Lord who judges: The Lord is his judge---he will judge objectively without fear or favor.
Therefore . . . time: Do not take the Lord's prerogative, wait until he judges. This applies not only to their judging of Paul but of one another.
things now hidden: God sees all things and will therefore judge with full knowledge of the facts.
purposes . . . heart: The intentions (purpose of the heart) may change the moral value of any act. A good act done with an evil intention becomes evil. An evil act done in ignorance of its evil, can be a good act if the doer intends to do good. An act, indifferent morally in itself, can be a good or an evil act according to the doer's intention.
his . . . God: God will judge justly and each will receive reward or punishment according to his actions. APPLICATION: The lesson we all must learn from St. Paul today is that we must avoid judging our neighbor---the right to judge belongs to God, who alone is aware of all the facts and circumstances. The strange fact is that there is a deep-rooted inclination in most of us to pass a moral judgment, almost always a condemnatory judgment, on our neighbor's actions. But this is an inclination we must resist, however strong the temptation. What we hear the neighbor say, or what we see him do, may appear evil to us, but even granted that it is evil, ours is not the right to condemn. That remains God's prerogative. As St. Paul tells us, we cannot see the "purpose of the heart." The neighbor's intention, which alone gives moral value to his sayings or doings, is unknown to us, and so our judgment is passed without full knowledge of the facts. It is, therefore, rash. This prohibition of judging and condemning our neighbor holds for all our neighbors, whether they be above us, below us, or our equals. With our equals, and those below us, we are inclined to be a little more lenient, perhaps because we understand their circumstances better. But as a rule, our severest condemnations are reserved for our superiors. Is it perhaps because we are jealous that they, and not we, hold the higher position, or is it less blameworthy in that we do not understand all the difficulties that they have to contend with? In either case our judgment of them is sinful for we are usurping a right which is not ours. This does not mean that we must take no interest in our neighbors spiritual welfare. Though we are not our brothers judges, we are our brothers' keepers. In all charity, and with true Christian humility and kindness, we must, wherever possible, help our neighbor to avoid offending God. Passing judgment on him and spreading defamatory tales about him is not the Christian approach to charitable help. Instead we must, as far as possible, cover up his failings and try to understand his weaknesses. In this frame of mind we can approach him discreetly, and if he sees our motives are really charitable we may, with God's grace, bring him to realize his mistakes. Many a broken home, many a lapsed Christian, many an impenitent death could and would have been prevented if neighbors were active in true love of their fellowman. And if some neighbor or neighbors are condemned when they come to the judgment seat, because we did not do our Christian duty, how can we expect a favorable judgment? We shall be judged not only on what we did but on what we left undone. Resolve today, never again to pass private judgment on your neighbor and his actions. Instead, always resolve to be ready with a word of advice, and of encouragement. Have a fervent prayer for a neighbor who seems in need of spiritual help. One charitable word of encouragement and counsel given to an apparently erring neighbor will be more likely to help him than pages of condemnation and abuse. We shall be rewarded by God in the first case, whether we succeed or not. We shall be condemned for our judgment in the latter case whether our judgment was true or not, because we usurped God's right.
GOSPEL :Matthew 6:24-34. Jesus said to his disciples, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." EXPLANATION: This is part of the "Sermon on the Mount:' a collection of the sayings of Jesus, given in different places and at different times but collected here by St. Matthew in chapters 5-7. They concern the kingdom of God and how it may be attained. The section we read today deals with the things of this world and how we should be detached from them if we wish to be members of God's kingdom on earth and in heaven.
no . . . masters: A slave could be owned by two masters but the situation would be impossible as each would demand his fulltime service.
God and mammon: The two masters that Christ refers to are God and worldly wealth. Each demands fulltime service. If a man loves God, he has no time for mammon. If his heart is set on getting worldly wealth (mammon) he has no time for God.
do . . . on: He tells his disciples and his hearers not to be over-solicitous about their food or their clothing. This does not mean they must not earn their livelihood and wear some clothes, but they must not make themselves slaves to this world's goods.
Look . . . air: The example he gives proves the above point. God feeds the birds because the birds search and search hard for their food. Man must do likewise.
lilies of the field: Their beautiful colors would not keep them warm if they had sensitive bodies to warm. Man needs clothing in most climates and must provide that clothing.
do not be anxious: This is the point Christ is driving home. While we must do our daily chores and do our best to provide for our needs, we must always remember to give God first place in our hearts. If we do this the very daily chores become a prayer and an act of reverence and trust in God who has a divine interest in us.
sufficient . . .day: This was probably a popular proverb and a wise one it is. The parable of the man whose barns were too small to hold all he possessed, and who was on the point of building larger ones, when he was called to the judgment seat, brings this truth out. Yet, we must plan ahead in many ways but we must not be so occupied planning for a wealthy, worldly future that we forget the real future. APPLICATION: The lesson is evident : God must have first place in our lives, if we really believe in a future, eternal life, as all Christians, and most other sane men do. But we still must earn our living and work our passage through life. What Christ is warning us against is that we must not get so attached to, and so enslaved by, the things of this world, that we neglect God and our own eternal happiness. Most of us will say: "there is little danger that we shall get enslaved by the wealth of this world---we have so little of it." But a man can get so attached to the little he has and so anxious to increase it, that he can cut God out of his life and forget the one thing necessary. Remember that a man can be drowned as easily in a tub of water as he could be in the deepest point in the Atlantic ocean. It is not the possession of the things of this world that Christ forbids, but letting the things of this world possess us. While we make the wealth and the goods of this earth serve our eternal purpose we can be true followers of Christ, but if we let them enslave us to the exclusion of that purpose then we are indeed on the wrong road. In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, it was not the possession of much wealth that brought Dives to hell. but the wrong use of it. He lacked charity. He ignored his needy neighbors. He selfishly tried to spend all his wealth on himself. Neither was it the poverty of Lazarus that brought him to Abraham's bosom, but the willing acceptance of his lot. He was unable, through illness, to earn his bread. He got little charity from those who could and should have helped him. Yet he bore with his misfortune patiently and so earned heaven. The fact is, of course, that not all rich men will go to hell. Neither will all beggars go to heaven. While we work honestly for our living, we have every right to our just wage and have every freedom to spend what we earn on the necessities of life for ourselves and our families. We can also make the normal provisions for the years that may lie ahead. What our Lord is condemning is the inordinate love of riches and the things of this world---a love so inordinate that it leaves us no time, and no desire, to look for, and provide for, our real future---the life that begins when we leave this earth and all that it has.-a228
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