Bible Study for Next Sunday's Mass Readings

[Fidelis]

October 17, 2004
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

**Reading I
Ex 17:8-13 **
8 At Rephidim, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
9 Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, “Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
11 As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight.
12 Moses’ hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
13 And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this down in a document as something to be remembered, and recite it in the ears of Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”
15 Moses also built an altar there, which he called Yahweh-nissi;
16 for he said, “The LORD takes in hand his banner; the LORD will war against Amalek through the centuries.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.

Reading II
2 Tm 3:14–4:2
14 But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it,
15 and that from infancy you have known (the) sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who willjudge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power:
2 proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

Lk 18:1-8
1 Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said,
2 “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
3 And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
4 For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
5 because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’”
6 The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
7 Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?
8 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

More to follow…

 

[Fidelis]

LITURGICAL BIBLE STUDY
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C

Opening prayer

Exodus 17:8-13 (Ps 121:1-8) 2 Timothy 3:14—4:2 Luke 18:1-8

Overview of the Gospel:
· In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we hear the first of two parables on prayer (we will hear the second next week).
· This week’s parable features a widow who is seeking a judgment before a corrupt judge against her adversary. Widows in patriarchal societies were often defenseless in legal and other matters. The New Testament has much to say to the Church about caring for widows and others that had no rights and were at the mercy of society (Luke 4:25-26; 7:12; 20:47; 21:3; Acts 6:1; James 1:26-27).
· This woman has faith that justice will be done and is therefore persistent. Faith and resolve in prayer go hand in hand (Sir 35:12-17; Rom 12:12; 1 Thess 5:17).
· Jesus also makes a veiled reference to his Second Coming (v. 8) following up on the previous passage (see Luke 17). Will Jesus’ disciples remain faithful to him during this long wait? (This is a theme which we will soon look at in depth during the upcoming liturgical season of Advent)

Questions:
· What method did this woman use as she approached the judge?
· How is God like and unlike the judge?
· What in the passage suggests that the woman was sure of the justice of her case?
· For who’s sake do you think Jesus spoke this passage? How does Jesus apply the moral of the story to his audience (vv. 6-8)?
· What prayer of yours never seems to get answered?
· How does the widow’s perseverance in pressing her case compare with your own perseverance in prayer? When it comes to prayer, are you more likely to give up or to hang tough? Why?
· When we grow weary in persevering in prayer, what are some things we can do to gain strength to carry on (Hint: see Reading 1, Exodus 17:8-13).

Catechism of the Catholic Church: § 2613, 2098, 675

Closing prayer

Remember to read and meditate on the daily Mass readings

*In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened. * St. Augustine

2004 Vince Contreras

 

[Fidelis]

October 17, 2004 - Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

Hope From on High

Readings:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8

The Lord is our guardian, beside us at our right hand, interceding for us in all our spiritual battles.

In today’s Psalm we’re told to lift our eyes to the mountains, that our help will come from Mount Zion and the Temple - the dwelling of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Joshua and the Israelites, in today’s First Reading, are also told to look to the hilltops. They are to find their help there - through the intercession of Moses - as they defend themselves against their mortal foes, the Amalekites.

Notice the image: Aaron and Hur standing on each side of Moses, holding his weary arms so that he can raise the staff of God above his head. Moses is being shown here as a figure of Jesus, who also climbed a hilltop, and on Mount Calvary stretched out His hands between heaven and earth to intercede for us against the final enemy - sin and death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26).

By the staff of God, Moses bested Israel’s enemies (see Exodus 7:8-12;8:1-2), parted the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:16) and brought water from the Rock (see Exodus 17:6).

The Cross of Jesus is the new staff of God, bringing about a new liberation from sin, bringing forth living waters from the body of Christ, the new Temple of God (see John 2:19-21; 7:37-39; 19:34; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Like the Israelites and the widow in today’s Gospel, we face opposition and injustice - at times from godless and pitiless adversaries.

We, too, must lift our eyes to the mountains - to Calvary and the God who will guard us from all evil.

We must pray always and not be wearied by our trials, Jesus tells us today. As Paul exhorts in today’s Epistle, we need to remain faithful, to turn to the inspired Scriptures - given by God to train us in righteousness.

We must persist, so that when the Son of Man comes again in kingly power, He will indeed find faith on earth.

© 2003 The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology
salvationhistory.com

 

[rwoehmke]

Thankyou Fedelis. I am responsible for the Scripture Study part of our RCIA this Sunday and have been casting about for some backup.

 

[Fidelis]

**First Reading
Exodus 17:8-13 **

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Commentary:

17:8-16. In addition to shortages of food and water the Israelites also had to cope with attacks from other groups in the desert over rights to wells and pastures. Their confrontation with the Amelikites shows that the same God as alleviated their more pressing needs (hunger and thirst) will protect them from enemy attack.

The Amelekites were an ancient people (cf. Num 24:20; Gen 14:7; 36:12, 16; Judg 1:16) who were spread all over the north of the Sinai peninsula, the Negeb, Seir and the south of Canaan; they controlled the caravan routes between Arabia and Egypt. In the Bible they appear as a perennial enemy of Israel (cf. Deut 25:17-18; 1 Sam 15:3; 27:8; 30) until the time of Hezekiah (1 Chron 4:41-43) the oracle about blotting out their memory finds fulfillment (v. 14). The mention of Joshua leading the battle and of Aaron and Hur helping Moses to pray point to the fact that after Moses political-military and religious authority will be split, with the priests taking over the latter. 

With the rod in his hand, Moses directs the battle from a distance, but his main involvement is by interceding for his people, asking God to give them victory/ the Fathers read this episode as a figure of the action of Christ who, on the cross (symbolized by the rod), won victory over the devil and death (cf. Tertullian, *Adversu Marcionem*, 3 18; St. Cyprian, *Testimonia*, 2, 21).

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From The Navarre Bible Commentary, The Pentateuch

 

[Toni]

Fidelis I am out here and have been trying to work on the gospel especially learning that it is ok to nag God until you get an answer. But I will answer more indepth as soon as I can stop to breath. Once again thank you. This is great that you are doing this and is appreciated.

In Christ,
Toni

 

[mkellogg]

Their confrontation with the Amelikites shows that the same God as alleviated their more pressing needs (hunger and thirst) will protect them from enemy attack.

The mention of Joshua leading the battle and of Aaron and Hur helping Moses to pray point to the fact that after Moses political-military and religious authority will be split, with the priests taking over the latter.

With the rod in his hand, Moses directs the battle from a distance, but his main involvement is by interceding for his people, asking God to give them victory/ the Fathers read this episode as a figure of the action of Christ who, on the cross (symbolized by the rod), won victory over the devil and death

I’m lectoring this passage Sunday. I’m conflicted. I want to proclaim this properly. Normally, my lector workbook gives good background and advice about how to proclaim a passage; this time around it is very negative on the piece, particularly the last line about mowing down all the enemies with the edge of the sword.

My reading in my workbook of this piece cautions against reading into it that God will destroy your enemies for you; rather, that the message is of the constancy of prayer. We should pray constantly for our needs. Can anyone add to this or clarify for me?

 

[Deacon_Tony560]

Thank you, again, for your work. I think this is a great ministry for you. This is my week to give the homily at all Masses, God willing. It is also Mission Sunday. The missionaries were very persistant in their work, prayer, and love for God. I am also going to mention how many of us persist in destructive behavior.

May God bless you,
Deacon Tony SFO

 

[Fidelis]

mkellogg:

I’m lectoring this passage Sunday. I’m conflicted. I want to proclaim this properly. Normally, my lector workbook gives good background and advice about how to proclaim a passage; this time around it is very negative on the piece, particularly the last line about mowing down all the enemies with the edge of the sword.

My reading in my workbook of this piece cautions against reading into it that God will destroy your enemies for you; rather, that the message is of the constancy of prayer. We should pray constantly for our needs. Can anyone add to this or clarify for me?

I think to spend too much time on this one aspect of the passage is to lose of the mesaage of what it means to us as modern American Christians. As St Paul pointed out, our enemies are not flesh and blood but are are the powers of spiritual darkness, especially Satan (Ephesians 6:12ff). I think the best thing to take from this verse is that God is in control and that, in Him, we are assured of victory over our enemy.

 

[Fidelis]

2 Timothy 3:14-4:2

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Commentary:

14-15. “Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed”: this is sound advice–that Timothy should not relinquish the truth which he learned from his mother and from the Apostle: “Religion, of its nature, must be passed on in its entirety to children with the same fidelity as it has been received by the parents themselves; we have no right to take religion and do with it what we will; rather, it is we who must follow religion wherever it leads us” (St Vincent of Lerins, “Commonitorium”, 5).

Assiduous meditation on the Word of God and reflection on our
experience in the light of faith make for deeper understanding of
revealed truth; but the essential meaning of the truths of faith does
not change, because God does not contradict himself. Progress in
theolog y consists in obtaining this deeper understanding of the content of Revelation and relating it to the needs and the insights of people in each culture and period of history. In this connection Paul VI wrote: “We also insisted on the grave responsibility incumbent upon us, but which we share with our Brothers in the Episcopate, of preserving unaltered the content of the Catholic faith which the Lord entrusted to the Apostles. While being translated into all expressions, this content must be neither impaired nor mutilated. While being clothed with the outward forms proper to each people, and made explicit by theological expression which takes account of different cultural, social and even racial milieu it must remain the content of the Catholic faith just exactly as the ecclesial Magisterium has received it and transmits it” (“Evangelii Nuntiandi”, 65).

Continued…

 

[Fidelis]

1. Due to the conciseness of the Greek language (which often omits the verb to b e), this verse can also be translated as “All scripture inspired by God is profitable”; cf. the RSV note. Paul is explicitly stating here that all the books of the Bible are inspired by God, and are therefore of great help to the Church in its mission.

The books of Sacred Scripture enjoy special authority because “the divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all
the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their powers and faculties so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more. Since, therefore, all that the inspired authors, or sacred writers, affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our
salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scripture” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 11).

Therefore, the Bible is very useful in preaching and teaching, in
theological research and for one’s own spiritual advancement and that of others. Referring to the training of future priests, the Second Vatican Council recommends that they “receive a most careful training in Holy Scripture, which should be the soul, as it were, of all theology” ("Optatam Totius, 16).

St Gregory the Great has this to say about Scripture’s usefulness “for teaching”: “Anyone preparing to preach in the right way needs to take his points from the Sacred Scriptures in order to ensure that everything he says is based on divine authority” (“Moralia”, 18, 26). And the same Father says elsewhere: “What is Sacred Scripture if not a kind of letter from almighty God to his creature? …] Therefore, please study and reflect on the words of your Creator every day. Learn what the will of God is by entering deep into the words of that God, so as to desire divine things more ardently and set your soul aflame with
great yearning for heavenly delights” (“Epistula ad Theodorum Medicum”, 5, 31).

Scripture is also profitable “for reproof”, St Jerome writes: “Read the divine Scriptures very often, or, to put it better, never let sacred
reading matter out of your hands. Learn what it has to teach, keep a firm hold on the word of faith which accords with doctrine, so as to be able to exhort othe rs with sound doctrine and win over your opponents” (“Ad Nepoitanum”, 7).

Continued…

 

[Fidelis]

1. “Man of God”: see the note on 1 Tim 6:11. This description shows the basis of a priest’s dignity. “The priestly vocation is invested with a dignity and greatness which has no equal on earth. St Catherine of Siena put these words on Jesus’ lips: 'I do not wish the respect which priests should be given to be in any way diminished; for the reverence and respect which is shown them is not referred to them but to Me, by virtue of the Blood which I have given to them to administer. Were it not for this, you should render them the same reverence as lay people, and no more…you must not offend them; by offending them you
   offend Me and not them. Therefore I forbid it and I have laid it down
   that you shall not touch my Christs” (J. Escriva, “In Love with the
   Church”, 38).
2. The last chapter of the letter, summing up its main themes, is in fact St Paul’s last wi ll and testament and has the features of that type of document: it begins in a formal manner (vv. 1-5), protests the sincerity of his dedicated life (vv. 6-8) and concludes with some very tender, personal messages (vv. 9-22).

The opening is couched in a solemn form (also found in 1 Tim 5:21) similar to a Greco-Roman will, laying on the heirs an obligation to carry out the testator’s wishes: “I charge you”; a series of imperatives follows. To underline the importance of what the testator is requesting, God the Father and Jesus Christ are invoked as witnesses, guarantors of the commitments which will devolve on the heirs. By swearing this document the testator is performing an act of the virtue of religion, because he is acknowledging God as Supreme Judge, to whom we must render an account of our actions.

“Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead”: a graphic,
catechetical expression (cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), confessing belief in the truth that all men without exception will undergo judgment by Jesus Christ, from whose decision there is no appeal. This has become part of the Creed; in a solemn profession of faith, the “Creed of the People of God”, Pope Paul VI elaborated on this article of faith as we have seen in the commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:5 above.

1. “Preach the word”: that is, the message of the Gospel, which
   includes all the truths to be believed, the commandments to be kept and the sacraments and other supernatural resources to be availed of. In the life of the Church the ministry of the word has special importance; it is the channel God has established whereby man can partake of the Gospel; priests have a special duty to preach the word: “The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God, which is quite rightly sought from the mouth of priests. For since nobody can be saved who has not first bel ieved, it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all
   men. In this way they carry out the Lord’s command, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15) and thus set up and increase the people of God” (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 4).

Continued…

 

[Fidelis]

“In season and out of season”, that is, even in adverse circumstances (cf. v. 3), or when hearers are disinclined to accept the Christian message. Timothy and, like him, all other sacred ministers, ought to behave towards the faithful in accordance with the demands of Christian life and doctrine. “What do men want, what do they expect of the priest, the minister of Christ, the living sign of the presence of the
Good Shepherd? We would venture to say that, although they may not explicitly say so, they need, want and hope for a priest-priest, a priest through and through, a man who gives his life for them, by opening to them the horizons of the soul; a man who unceasingly exercises his ministry whose heart is capable of understanding, and a man who gives simply and joyfully, in season and even out of season, what he alone can give–the richness of grace, of divine intimacy which, through him, God wishes to distribute among men” (A. del Portillo, “On Priesthood”, p. 66).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”.

 

[Fidelis]

Gospe; Reading
Luke 18:1-8

Commentary:

1-8. The parable of the unjust judge is a very eloquent lesson about the effectiveness of persevering, confident prayer. It also forms aconclusion to Jesus’ teaching about watchfulness, contained in the previous verses (17:23-26). Comparing God with a person like this makes the point even clearer: if even an unjust judge ends up giving justice to the man who keeps on pleading his case, how much more will God, who is infinitely just, and who is our Father, listen to the persevering prayer of His children. God, in other words, gives justice to His elect if they persist in seeking His help.

1. “They ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Why must we pray?

"1. WE MUST PRAY FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE WE ARE BELIEVERS.

"Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our
dependence: we come from God, we belong to God and we return to God! We cannot, therefore, but abandon ourselves to Him, our Creator and Lord, with full and complete confidence …].

"Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence, a
feeling of humility and gratitude, an attitude of trust and
abandonment to Him who gave us life out of love.

"Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God, a dialogue of
confidence and love.

"2. WE, HOWEVER, ARE CHRISTIANS, AND THEREFORE WE MUST PRAY AS CHRISTIANS.

"For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular
characteristic, which completely changes its innermost nature and innermost value. The Christian is a disciple of Jesus; he is one who really believes that Jesus is the Word Incarnate, the Son of God who came among us on this earth.

"As a man, the life of Jesus was a continual prayer, a continual
act of worship and love of the Father and since the maximum
expression of prayer is sacrifice, the summit of Jesus’ prayer is
the Sacrifice of the Cross, anticipated by the Eucharist at the
Last Supper and handed down by means of the Holy Mass throughout the centuries.

"Therefore, the Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus;
every prayer of his starts from Jesus; it is He who prays in us,
with us, for us. All those who believe in God, pray; but the
Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is our prayer!

"3. FINALLY, WE MUST ALSO PRAY BECAUSE WE ARE FRAIL AND GUILTY.

“It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor
creatures, confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak, in
continual need of inner strength and consolation. Prayer gives
the strength for great ideas, to maintain faith, charity, purity
and generosity. Prayer gives the courage to emerge from
indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has yielded to
temptation and weakness. Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one’s own life and of history in the salvific
perspective of God and eternity. Therefore, do not stop praying!
Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is
a duty, but it is also a great joy, because it is a dialogue with
God through Jesus Christ! Every Sunday, Holy Mass: if it is
possible for you, sometimes during the week. Every day, morning and evening prayers, and at the most suitable moments!” (John Paul II, “Audience with Young People”, 14 March 1979).

continued…

 

[Fidelis]

1. Jesus combines His teaching about perseverance in prayer with a serious warning about the need to remain firm in the faith: faith and prayer go hand in hand. St. Augustine comments, “In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened” (“Sermon”, 115).

Our Lord has promised His Church that it will remain true to its
mission until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28:20); the Church,
therefore, cannot go off the path of the true faith. But not everyone
will remain faithful: some will turn their backs on the faith of their
own accord. This is the mystery which St. Paul describes as “the
rebellion” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and which Jesus Christ announces on other occasions (cf. Matthew 24:12-13). In this way our Lord warns us, to help us stay watchful and persevere in the faith and in prayer even though people around us fall away.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”.

 

[Fidelis]

That’s it for this week. Thanks for the nice comments Toni, rwoehmke, and Deacon.

 

[Toni]

Thank you Fidelis for your hard work and helping me to understand the readings and the gospel. I did not have much time this week to reflect much on this. As my son is having a difficult time in the Army so I thank you for all your (name removed by moderator)ut on this and thoughts. It gave me quite a bit to meditate on throughout the day.

I appreciate your hard work and wish to say thank you once again!:tiphat: