Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: February 13, 2011

[Fidelis]

To help us prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings, studies and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. **This Sunday is the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A. **This Sundays Gospel Reading continues a series of Sundays in which we will hear from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study can be found here under “Current Study.”

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

Here is a Catholic Bible study podcast on the Gospel Reading, about an hour long, from the Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother
*
The Navarre Bible Commentary* for each reading can be viewed here.

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Just a reminder: Lent begins this year on March 9. if you are thinking about a home or parish-based Lenten Scripture study, you can plan ahead by going to our new page on the main web site that contains studies for all the Sunday’s of Lent, including Palm Sunday. You can find that here.

Please consider supporting those who provide these free resources. Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

http://www.kennethdowdy.com/img/sermon_sm.jpg

 

[Huiou_Theou]

Hello, Fidelis!

The words of the first reading jumped right out at me:

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.

Fire, the spark of life – and water, that which drowns and covers.

That first line: “If you choose, you can keep the commandments” – even to the Hebrews before Jesus’ time, it was possible to keep the commandments of God. Thus, Joseph is called a “righteous” man, and there are those who can say “I have kept the commandments since my youth.”

We think of original sin, and even though baptised we often carry the idea of Guilt as a personal issue when it isn’t. Sometimes I feel odd after having just completed Confession and Absolution, to be saying the penitential right “I have sinned through my own fault” when such sin has just been washed away; destroyed by the water of baptism in the laboured form (confession).

But, this old testament promise : “You can keep the commandments” is followed immediately by how it can be done – not by myself alone, but by trusting in God.
His Grace is what fills the emptiness of original sin and doubt. It is by his friendship that one can keep the commandments, by asking him what to do and when in prudence.

God’s grace has always abounded where ignorance and sin need his remedy.

Peace to you.

 

[Fidelis]

Good insights into this first Reading. We can see that God expected even the people of the Old Testament to do their utmost to keep the moral law. As I ask in this week’s Scripture study, along with a higher standard, what does Jesus also give us to enable us obey his commandments?

9 For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.
13 Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
(Romans 6:9-14)

More on the 1st Reading (and the other Readings) to follow.

 

[Fidelis]

1st Reading - Sirach 15:15-20

The author of Sirach was Jesus, the son of Eleazar, of the family of Sirach. He was by profession a teacher of Wisdom in Jerusalem. Sirach wrote during the early decades of the 2nd century before Christ, just prior to the Maccabean wars. During this critical period of Jewish history, when the Chosen People were in danger of becoming Hellenized (the adopting of Greek culture) and paganized, he stoutly champions the old religion and its sacred books, and shows how its lessons are applicable to every circumstance in life. In order to make his readers proud of being Jews, he eulogizes the heroes of Israel from Noah to Simon (the Greek spelling, Simeon the Hebrew spelling) the High Priest.

The wealth of practical wisdom contained in the book of Sirach won for it the honorable title of Ecclesiasticus, as it is called in the Douay-Reims translation, which means “Ecclesiastical Book” or “Church Book” and for its author, the surname of “The Pedagogue” (The Schoolteacher). It appears to have been much used in the early Church as a textbook for the instruction of catechumens (candidates for baptism).

Sirach was originally written in Hebrew. A grandson of the author translated it into Greek about the year 130 B.C. It is the only book in the Bible which contains a prologue, written by the grandson who translated the book, which is not considered inspired.
Today’s reading comes from the section of Sirach’s writing on man’s free will and responsibility.

Here is the 1st Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power, and all-seeing.
The eyes of God are on those who fear him;
he understands man’s every deed.
No one does he command to act unjustly,
to none does he give license to sin.

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible commentary on the 1st Reading (with RSV-CE text):

Free Will
-------------
[15] If you will, you can keep the commandments,
and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.
[16] He has placed before you fire and water:
stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.
[17] Before a man are life and death,
and whichever he chooses will be given to him.
[18] For great is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power and sees everything;
[19] his eyes are on those who fear him,
and he knows every deed of man.
[20] He has not commanded any one to be ungodly,
and he has not given any one permission to sin.

**15:11-20. **The teacher of Israel stops to provide a few maxims about human freedom and responsibility. Verse 14 sums them up when it makes free will part of man’s make-up, a gift God bestowed on him when he created him: “God willed that man should ‘be left in the hand of his own counsel’ (Sir 15:14) so that he might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him” (Vatican II, “Gaudium et spes”, 17); or, in the words of a Father of the Church: “The soul shows its majesty and excellence …] by its self-control and freedom, when it is governed by its own will.

This action resembles nothing so much as the activity of a king …]. Human nature was created to rule over all other creatures through its likeness to the king of the universe, and was made as a living image, which partakes of the dignity and name of the Archetype” (St Gregory of Nyssa, “De hominis opificio”, 4).

But, along with free will, the Lord also gave man the commandments (v. 15). The Law of God does not coerce human freedom, because it does not restrain man’s ability to choose, but it does shown him how to make best use of his free will. The commandments of the Lord protect true freedom. John Paul II spells this out “Man’s ‘genuine moral autonomy’ in no way means the rejection but rather the acceptance of the moral law, of God’s command: ‘The Lord God gave this command to the man … ‘ (Gen 2:16). ‘Human freedom and God’s law meet and are called to intersect’, in the sense of man’s free obedience to God and of God’s completely gratuitous benevolence towards man” (“Veritatis splendor”, 41).

Although on occasions temptation can make it difficult to make decisions, man is always in a position to opt for good or evil: “Temptations can be overcome, sins can be avoided, because together with the commandments the Lord gives us the possibility of keeping them: ‘His eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed of man. He has not commanded any one to be ungodly, and he has not given any one permission to sin’ (Sir 15:19-20). Keeping God’s law in particular situations can be difficult, extremely difficult, but it is never impossible. This is the constant teaching of the Church’s tradition, and was expressed by the Council of Trent: ‘But no one, however much justified, ought to consider himself exempt from the observance of the commandments, nor should he employ that rash statement, forbidden by the Fathers under anathema, that the commandments of God are impossible of observance by one who is justified. For God does not command the impossible, but in commanding he admonishes you to do what you can and to pray for what you cannot, and he gives his aid to enable you. His commandments are not burdensome (cf. 1 Jn 5:3); his yoke is easy and his burden light (cf. Mt 11:30)’” ( “Veritatis splendor”, 102).

 

[Fidelis]

From the 1859 Haydock commentary with Douay-Reims text. The verse numbering is slightly different:

*16 *If thou wilt keep the commandments, and perform acceptable fidelity for ever, they shall preserve thee.

17 He hath set water and fire before thee: stretch forth thy hand to which thou wilt.*

Ver. 17. And fire. Or, good and evil, as the Vulgate explains it, (ver. 18.) though the Greek be silent. (Haydock) — The law written on the heart, as well as on the tables of stone, shews man his duty;; and he has free-will to comply with it, Deuteronomy xxx. 15., and Jeremias xxi. 8. (Calmet) — He may enjoy every advantage of life, denoted by these two elements. (Lyr.[Lyranus?])

*18 *Before man is life and death, good and evil; that which he shall choose shall be given him:

19 For the wisdom of God is great, and he is strong in power, seeing all men without ceasing.

20 *The eyes of the Lord are towards them that fear him, and he knoweth all the work of man.

21 He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, and he hath given no man license to sin.*

Ver. 21. *Commanded. *He only permitted the wickedness of Semei, (2 Kings xvi. 10.) and the persecutors of his people, whose hearts are already bent on evil. (St. Augustine, Grat. & lib. xx.)

 

[Fidelis]

Other thoughts and comments on the 1st Reading:

15 If you choose you can keep the commandments: Sirach has no doubts whatsoever that man has a free will. He is responsible for his deliberate actions. God gave the ten commandments through Moses. They are obligatory on those who know them, and no man can say that he was forced by any circumstances to disobey them.

it is loyalty to do his will: or, “act faithfully”. A parallelism, a Hebrew method of emphasis. You act faithfully, you keep God’s law, when you choose to do so and the choice is yours to make. You are a free agent.

16 There are set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand: God wants a free, willing service. Fire and water represent what is destructive: sin; and what is good and useful: virtue. God gives each man the freedom to choose.
**
17 Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him: **Another parallelism. Life and death are like water and fire: the latter destroys, the former vivifies. It is not, probably, that the author was here referring to eternal life and eternal death, but rather to true life on earth, that is, the willing service of God as opposed to disloyalty to God which was a form of death—a useless life.

18 Immense is the wisdom of the LORD; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing: He now extols the mighty wisdom of the Lord; through it he can do all things and knows all things.
**
19 The eyes of God see all he has made:** He takes account of those who reverence him and keep his law. “Fear of the Lord,” in the Old Testament, means reverence and respect for his infinite wisdom and majesty.

he understands man’s every deed: Nothing is hidden from him, and the actions of men are especially noted (unlike the actions of the lower creatures) for reward or punishment.

20 No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies: Nobody can claim that his ungodly acts are done because God wanted it so. No one has permission from God to sin. The sinner has only himself to blame, and he must realize that God too will blame him, for he was free to avoid sin.

The heart of the argument presented here is that each individual has the radical freedom to choose “life” by obeying the Law or “death” by refusing to obey (see Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

 

[Fidelis]

There are no Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing Sirach 15:15-20.

Here is a meditation on the 1st Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **Any Christian parent or teacher could give us these words of truth and wisdom, and they would be of great value if we heeded them. But this same advice comes to us today not from any human authority but from God himself, who inspired and moved the man called Sirach to write these words of wisdom, which were to last and have value, for all ages and generations of men. We might question a parent’s or a teacher’s wisdom, or their right, to tell us of our personal responsibility for our actions, but who can question or challenge God’s wisdom, or God’s right, to teach us the truth concerning ourselves?

We have received the gift of free-will from God. We know that we can serve God by keeping his commandments, or that we can disrespect his authority and refuse to keep his law. Having given us free-will, he cannot force us to be loyal or grateful to him. But if we had not free-will, we should be like the beast of the field who can neither honor nor dishonor God. From the dumb beast God does not expect, nor much less demand, obedience. But from us men, to whom he gave the gifts which put us above all earthly creatures, intelligence and free-will, he does expect and demand obedience and loyal service.

Let us listen to this man Sirach today who speaks to us in God’s name. We can keep God’s commandments, and we know we can. We can choose to do good or to do evil, but if we choose evil we cannot say we could not help doing so. We might fool a fellowman by this false line of defense, but the all-wise God who “sees everything” and “knows every deed of man” cannot be deceived. But what decent man and especially what decent Christian, who knows the lengths the good God has gone to in order to give us eternal life, would want to deceive him or be disloyal to him?

Ours is a religion of love, we do not and ought not, avoid sin because we should thereby bring sufferings, and perhaps eternal death, upon ourselves. We avoid sin because it is an insult to our loving Father in heaven, who sent his divine Son on earth to live, suffer and die for us, in order to give us eternal life with the Blessed Trinity in heaven. It should be hard for any true Christian deliberately to offend such a kind, loving Father.

For those among us, who may have forgotten God’s love for them, and may have broken his commandments, let them thank God that their hour of reckoning is not already upon them. They may have written many shameful pages in their life’s story, but they have not yet finished writing it. There is still time to tear out, or erase from their biography, those pages they should not have written. The loving Father is also the all-merciful, all-forgiving Father. No sinner, no matter how sordid and shameful his actions and his disrespect for God may have been, will turn to him asking for pardon and find his request was in vain. But the sinner who keeps on postponing this return to God and continues to offend him, may find himself in the presence of the just judge when he least expects it.

God’s mercy is infinite, but he cannot pardon the free agent who does not want pardon. Notwithstanding his infinite love for all men, he cannot welcome home the prodigals who will not return home.

 

[Fidelis]

2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Today’s reading is a continuation of last Sunday’s, in which St. Paul impressed on his converts of Corinth that the Christian faith they had received was a gift from God. They were converted from Judaism and (for the most part) from paganism, not by any oratorical gifts of Paul, nor by any earthly wisdom or philosophy, but by the grace and power of God. In today’s reading he says he has true wisdom to give to those capable of receiving it, but it is a very different wisdom: the true wisdom of God, now being revealed to those who are willing to learn it.

Here is the 2nd Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Brothers and sisters:
We speak a wisdom to those who are mature,
not a wisdom of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.
Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden,
which God predetermined before the ages for our glory,
and which none of the rulers of this age knew;
for, if they had known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written:
What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible commentary with RSV-CE text:

Divine wisdom
---------------------
*[6] Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. [7] But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. [8] None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. *

**6-8. ** After showing that the wisdom of the world serves no purpose and that people need to submit to the cross of Christ, the Apostle teaches that the Gospel is not contrary to reason; only, the wisdom it holds is much more profound, it is divine wisdom. This is the wisdom he spreads “among the mature”, the “perfect”, that is, those Christians who are well established in the faith, as distinct from the “babes” referred to in 3:1, who still have need of brilliant arguments. These mature Christians St Paul is referring to are not an inner core of privileged people, for all the baptized are called to attain full knowledge of the Son of God (cf. Eph 4:11-16).

This wisdom is completely foreign to this world, this age, and its rulers, that is, those who are responsible for the evil in the world: there is a reference here both to those who directly caused our Lord’s death (the Sanhedrin, Herod, Pilate: cf. v. 8), and to the devil and the fallen angels, as can be seen from similar New Testament references (cf. Lk 4:6; Jn 12:31; Eph 2:2).

“Secret and hidden”: a reference to the content of divine wisdom and to its revelation. It means the same as God’s plan of salvation, which extends to all men --including the Gentiles (cf. Eph 3:6-8) and, in some way, to all creation (Eph 1:10); man can never completely grasp its meaning, just as he can never totally understand God; however, this secret and hidden wisdom can be known by means of Revelation (cf. Lk 8:10; Col 1:26), which we are given in Christ (cf. Rom 16:25-26; Eph 1:8-10; 3:3-7; Col 1:26-27), even though we can only fully grasp it in heaven. There are, therefore, three ways of looking at this wisdom-mystery-salvation: it is part of God’s plans from all eternity; it is manifested in Revelation and especially in Jesus Christ, who died and is risen; we attain it partially in this life and fully in heaven.

“Lord of glory”: here St Paul attributes to Christ on the cross a title which the Old Testament reserved for God alone (cf. Ex 24:15; 40:34; Is 42:8), thereby making it clear that Jesus Christ is God, equal to the Father.

[9] But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

9. These words of Isaiah 64:2-3 sum up the content of God’s plan – all those gifts which man’s mind cannot grasp (cf. Eph 3:19) and which God has had ready from all eternity for those who love him. These gifts are nothing less than God’s love for men.

Because these gifts are only fully attained in the next life, Christian tradition sees in these words a description of heaven: “How blessed, how marvellous, are the gifts of God. Some of them, indeed, already lie within our comprehension – the life that knows no death, the shining splendour of righteousness, truth in freedom, trusting faith, the holiness of chastity. But what of the things that God has prepared for those who hope in him? Only the Creator and Father of eternity knows them. Let us strive earnestly to be counted among those who wait patiently in order to earn a share in his promised gifts” (St Clement of Rome, “First Letter to the Corinthians”, 35).

And the “Pius V Catechism”, for its part, teaches that “With this truth, the minds of the faithful should be deeply impressed – that the happiness of the saints is full to overflowing of all those pleasures which can be enjoyed or even desired in this life, whether they have to do with the powers of the mind or of the perfection of the body; although this must be in a manner more exalted than, to use the Apostle’s words, eye has seen, ear heard, or the heart of man conceived” (I, 13, 12).

[10] God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

10-12. “God has revealed to us through the Spirit”: meaning the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, “which is from God” (v. 12) and knows the very depths of God (vv. 10-11). These words reveal to us the divinity of the Holy Spirit; knowing a person implies having intimacy with him; the Holy Spirit knows the depths of God because by nature he is God, equal to the Father and the Son (cf. Mt 11:25). “The Holy Spirit is equally God with the Father and the Son, equally omnipotent and eternal, infinitely perfect, the supreme good, infinitely wise, and of the same nature as the Father and the Son . . .]. Scripture also attributes to him the power to sanctify, to vivify, to search the depths of God, to speak through the Prophets, and to be present in all places – all of which can be attributed to God alone” (“St Pius V Catechism”, I, 9, 4).

Jesus had told his Apostles that “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (Jn 16:13); and on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit did open their minds to understand the truth revealed by Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also acted in St Paul, so that he had the same knowledge of Revelation as the other Apostles (cf. Gal 2:1-10). The same Spirit continues to act in the Church: “The Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of truth, because he proceeds from the Father, eternal Truth, and the Son, substantial truth, receives from each of them, along with his essence, all truth, which he then communicates to the Church, helping never to err” (Leo XIII, “Divinum illud munus”, 7).

 

[NoelFitz]

Fidelis

it is a brilliant idea to study the Sunday readings in advance.

However most of the contributions here are by you and long.

We are lucky in Ireland to have several books available on Sunday readings. The one I like is “The Year of God’s Justice, Getting more out of Sunday Mass in the Year of Matthew” by Fr Brendan McConvery.

 

[NoelFitz]

Is Christianity an easy-going religion?

The Jews were faithful to the Law/Pentateuch/Torah and the Prophets.

But were Jesus and Paul not more relaxed about religion?

Yes. Christianity is a joyful religion, based on the fact that we are loved by God, given grace by the Father, saved by Jesus and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

So in Sunday’s gospel one side of the story is stressed. Both Good Friday and Easter Sunday exist. There is darkness and light, but essentially our religion is not about sin, but about love, joy, happiness.

 

[Fidelis]

Fidelis

it is a brilliant idea to study the Sunday readings in advance.

However most of the contributions here are by you and long.

We are lucky in Ireland to have several books available on Sunday readings. The one I like is “The Year of God’s Justice, Getting more out of Sunday Mass in the Year of Matthew” by Fr Brendan McConvery.

Excellent! I’m all in favor of any and all efforts to get Catholics to know and love the Scriptures with the mind of the Church, particularly as we encounter them in the liturgy!

 

[Fidelis]

Is Christianity an easy-going religion?

The Jews were faithful to the Law/Pentateuch/Torah and the Prophets.

But were Jesus and Paul not more relaxed about religion?

I don’t know if relaxed is quite the right word. Jesus (and thus Paul) certainly stressed that man did not have to “work his way into heaven” by a rigid and frantic adherence to a system of religious codes or practices. Grace was to be the both the motive and the power.

Yes. Christianity is a joyful religion, based on the fact that we are loved by God, given grace by the Father, saved by Jesus and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

I wholeheartedly agree.

So in Sunday’s gospel one side of the story is stressed. Both Good Friday and Easter Sunday exist. There is darkness and light, but essentially our religion is not about sin, but about love, joy, happiness.

This Sunday’s gospel is, I think, a good teacher’s necessary balance to the teaching of grace. Though Christianity is a religion of love, we still need enough direction to show us those things that will make even our best efforts ineffective–and even destructive. Thus, Jesus has an obligation, as a good teacher, to show us what bad religious practice looks like so we can be on our guard against it.

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[Fidelis]

From the 1859 Haydock commentary with DRV text:

6 Howbeit, we speak wisdom among the perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, neither of the princes of this world, who are destroyed:

Ver. 6. &c. *Wisdom among the perfect. *That is, when we first came amongst you, you were incapable of understanding the great mysteries of our religion: we therefore preached to you Christ crucified; (Calmet) but to the true perfect disciples of Christ we reveal the most sacred mysteries. (St. Chrysostom) — By wisdom, here seems to be understood a more sublime doctrine concerning the most abstruse mysteries of faith, which the ignorant could not understand. To the same purpose he tells them in the next chapter and in the 5th chapter to the Hebrews, that milk is the proper food of little children, not solid meat, which is proper for those that are perfect. — Yet we speak not the wisdom of this world, nor of the great men, and *princes *of this world, because the doctrine of the Christian faith, which we preached, is not esteemed wisdom, but folly by them, who pretend to worldly wisdom. — We speak then in a mystery, or after a mysterious manner, according to the capacity of those that hear us, the great wisdom of God, which hidden, and not understood by the wise men of this world, God hath manifested by the incarnation of his Son, and by our redemption; which mystery, and which wisdom, none of the princes of this world knew, that is, the devils, according to the common interpretation; or Pilate, Herod, Caiphas, &c. according to St. Chrysostom, or they would never have crucified, nor have permitted others to crucify, the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ, who by his divine person is truly the Lord of glory. See St. Augustine, lib. i. de Trin. chap. 12. &c. He may also be called the Lord of glory, because of that glory, which from eternity he predestinated, and decreed to give his elect; and of which it is written, that the eye hath not seen, &c. (Witham)

*7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which is hidden, which God predestinated before the world, unto our glory,

8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.*

**Ver. 8. **It appears from the gospel, that they suspected Jesus might be the Son of God; but the major part of interpreters judge from this text, that they had not a certain knowledge. (Bible de Vence)

*9 But as it is written: *That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him:

10 But to us God hath revealed by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, even the profound things of God.*

**Ver. 10. But to us God hath revealed them by his Spirit; these mysteries, and secrets of the divine wisdom. — For the Spirit searcheth all things: the divine Spirit, the Holy Ghost, searcheth all things, and none but this Spirit of God, that is, this Spirit, which is God, knoweth the things that are of God, as none but the spirit that is in man, knoweth the things of man, knoweth his thoughts and interior affections. But by the Spirit of God, we may understand the spirit of grace, of knowledge, of prophecy, which God hath given to his faithful, and particularly to his apostles, to raise them to a higher knowledge of the divine mysteries. (Witham)

 

[Fidelis]

Other thoughts and comments on the 2nd Reading:

6 Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature: Mature, not only in age but in progress and practice of the Christian faith-spiritual men as opposed to the materially-minded (see 3:1).

**but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age: ** He is referring to the pagan (Roman) and Jewish authorities of that time. Their wisdom is of this world. It prevented the pagan Romans from recognizing God in his works as Creator (Rom. 1: 19-20), and it blinded the Jewish leaders so that they could not recognize the Messiah in Christ Jesus, notwithstanding all the proofs he gave them.

who are passing away: Their power will come to an end. That of the Jews ended some fourteen years later in 70 A.D. The Roman empire ended some centuries afterwards.

The world has not yet been transformed by the redemptive power of Christ. It lies subject to Satan and the wicked spirits until the final act of the drama of redemption, the parousia of the Lord. Contemporary Jewish theology contrasted “this age” with “the age to come.” Christ’s giving of Himself has brought about the meeting of the two ages and freed man from the influence of “this age” as He ushered all mankind into “the age to come”. The “rulers of this age” are the wicked spirits who, since Adam’s sin, have held this world in slavery but with the advent of the Messianic age, they are headed for destruction. The pagans who, blinded by sin, failed to recognize and worship God the Creator, and Jewish interpretations of Scripture, which failed to see in Jesus the promised Messiah. Both Jew and Gentile are enslaved by the elements of the world, the wicked spirits who rule the age.

“The mature are those who preach the cross as wisdom because of the witness of Christ’s power at work. They know that actions speak louder than words. Their wisdom is not of this age but of the age to come, when the truth of God will be manifested to those who now deny it.” [The Ambrosiaster (A.D. 366-384), *Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles 1 Corinthians 2,6

]

**7 Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden: **God’s eternal plan for man’s glorification and elevation to sonship, to be brought about by the Incarnation of his divine Son, Christ (see Eph. 3: 10; Col. 1: 15). This divine eternal plan is now being revealed fully in the Christian religion, which St. Paul and his fellow-apostles are preaching. The Jews had an inkling of this plan of God in their messianic prophecies, but the vast majority of them refused to believe it possible.

Since Christ, the Wisdom of God, is a mystery, men can know Him only by revelation. The divine wisdom lies hidden in the folly and scandal of the cross. The end of this divine economy of salvation is our glory, our participation in the glorious resurrection of Christ.

Concluded on the next post…

 

[Fidelis]

which God predetermined before the ages for our glory: It was not Pilate, the Roman authority whose hand was forced by the Jewish leaders, but these very leaders who crucified Christ, because they looked on him as a blasphemer who claimed to be God.

Through the fall, humanity lost the ability to glorify God. Christ had this capacity, and those who belong to Him grow into it gradually (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is in this sense that glory is the goal of the plan of salvation.

“Paul is keen to point out that God always loved us, even from the very beginning, when we did not yet exist. For if he had not loved us, he would not have foreordained our riches. Look beyond the broken relationship which has come in between, and you will see that God’s love for us is more ancient still.” [Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392), *Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians

7,5]

8 and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: Had the arrogant authorities and wicked spirits known the mystery of Christ and that salvation would have been achieved through the humiliating death of Jesus, they would have tried to frustrate it by letting Him live. “Lord of glory” is a divine title in 1 Enoch 63:2 and Psalm 44:8. Here it implies Christ’s messiahship and divinity.

*“But if Christ had not been put to death, death would not have died. The devil was overcome by his own trophy, for the devil rejoiced when, by seducing the first man, he cast him into death. By seducing the first man, he killed him (Genesis 3:1-19). By killing the last man, he lost the first from his snare.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (ca. A.D. 417), The Ascension 263]

9 But as it is written: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,”: The formula would indicate that a biblical text is being quoted, but the source of the citation is doubtful. There are a few resemblances to Isaiah 64:3 and 65:16 but the actual citation is not contained in the Old Testament. Origin, The Ambrosiaster and Jerome thought that Saint Paul was quoting from the Apocalypse of Elijah, an apocryphal writing of which only fragments exist today. What he says is also reminiscent of Is. 64:3 and 65:16.

What God has prepared for those who love him surpasses all human comprehension. Our finite, limited minds, and powers in this life are incapable of forming any concept of what the bounty of the infinite God is like, and what the nature of the eternal happiness he has prepared for us is.

**10 this God has revealed to us through the Spirit: **Christians, says St. Paul, have been fortunate in that God’s eternal plan for man’s elevation and final glorification has been revealed to them, partially by Christ himself, but especially by the Holy Spirit whom he sent, as he had promised, on Pentecost day. On that day the spreading of the Good News of God’s infinite love for men began with Peter’s first sermon to the multitude of Jews, who had gathered outside the Upper Room (see Acts 2:14-40).

For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God: “Us” may refer either to Paul and his fellow preachers, or all the baptized. The former is probably the case from the context, as Paul proceeds to give a discourse on wisdom.

 

[Fidelis]

Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing 1 Corinthians 2:6-10:

To believe in the Holy Spirit

152 One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without sharing in his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is. For “no one can say “Jesus is Lord”, except by the Holy Spirit”,22 who "searches everything, even the depths of God. . No one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God."23 Only God knows God completely: we believe in the Holy Spirit because he is God.

The Church never ceases to proclaim her faith in one only God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

1. 1 Cor 12:3.

1. 1 Cor 2:10-11.

**LORD

446** In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses,59 is rendered as Kyrios, “Lord”. From then on, “Lord” becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel’s God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title “Lord” both for the Father and - what is new - for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.60

1. Cf. Ex 3:14.

1. Cf. 1 Cor 2:8.

**1027 **This mystery of blessed communion with God and all who are in Christ is beyond all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it in images: life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father’s house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise: "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."603

1. 1 Cor 2:9.

**
1998 **This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give himself. It surpasses the power of human intellect and will, as that of every other creature.47

1. Cf. 1 Cor 2:7-9.

 

[Fidelis]

Some questions on the 2nd Reading for personal study and reflection:

1. In the 2nd Reading, in verse 9, St. Paul pulls verses from Isaiah 64:4 and Sirach 1:10 to express his wonderment at the mystery of God’s plan for the world. What is this plan? (see Ephesians 2)

1. In verse 10, who are we told is uniquely qualified to probe the mind of God? How and about what does this same agent enlighten us?

A meditation on the 2nd Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

APPLICATION: The mental outlook of the world of today is little changed from that of St. Paul’s day. The philosophy and the wisdom of the rulers of this age, and unfortunately not only of those rulers, is still earth-bound and worldly. The things of God are openly denied in a large section of our world, while he is shamefully ignored and neglected in the remaining sections which nominally believe in him. Nations, and most of their citizens, are bending all their energies to obtain more and more of the passing, perishable wealth and power of this miserable planet. We are living in a welter of international, limited wars, while all the time the threat of global war, and universal destruction, is hanging like a dark thunder cloud on our horizon.

We have advanced technically beyond the wildest dreams of our forebears, but every technical advance which could and should be a boon for humanity, is turned instead into a possible instrument of human extermination. The brotherhood of man is no longer accepted as a basic human tenet, and it is little wonder, since the fatherhood of God is denied in practice as well as in theory. And it is not only in apartheid and color-prejudiced countries that segregation and suppression of the weaker brethren is practiced, but also, and maybe more so, in the so-called free democracies.

The big business tycoons of today are the counterparts of the Roman slave-drivers. Their shares and their bank accounts are their household gods. Their workers and their poorer neighbors are far less concern to them than their Cadillac’s, their yachts and their racehorses. They hold solemn funeral rites for their pet dogs, and erect tombstones over their graves, but their charwomen, living in squalor, are not given a spare thought nor a spare dime. But what is worse, this pagan and inhuman worldly philosophy spreads down like a poison gas through the ranks of the less successful middle and lower-middle classes.

This is the direct result of our forgetfulness of, or rather our ignoring, the only true wisdom of life. The eternal happiness of man, planned by God’s wisdom and love from all eternity, and effected and revealed in the Incarnation, has been forgotten. Modem man, like the pagans of old, thinks his home and his true happiness are on this earth, hence he rides roughshod over his weaker neighbor, to get all he can out of the few years he realizes he has to enjoy himself.

A return to sanity in our world can be brought about only by a return to a recognition of God’s plan for us. Our time on earth is a journey to heaven. The less we load ourselves with this world’s goods or interests, the easier our journey will be. The more we help out fellow-travelers on this journey (and this includes all men), the safer and the smoother will be our own travel. Our true happiness, our everlasting happiness, will begin only when we arrive at our earthly journey’s end. If we keep on the path marked out for us by our loving heavenly Father, and if we practice true brotherly love on the way, we can rest assured that our journey will not have been in vain.

 

[Fidelis]

Gospel - Matthew 5:17-37

* Continuing on with the Sermon on the Mount we have been hearing from the last two weeks, Jesus now briefly touches on a series of teachings on Christian living and his perfection of Old Covenant moral laws. These include (in this weeks Gospel) teachings on the Law and the Prophets (verses 17-20), dealing with anger (21-26), adultery (27-30), divorce (31-32), and the making of oaths (33-37).

* In a section sometimes called “the Six Antitheses” (verses 21-28), Jesus acts with authority in perfecting and deepening the Mosaic Law. Each antithesis follows a similar format: Jesus cites the Old Law, saying “you have heard it was said…”, and responds with the refrain “…But I say to you”. Jesus is thus established as the new Moses and the lawgiver of the New Covenant.

* The kingdom of heaven (Mt 4:17) established by Jesus extends the boundaries of old Covenant Israel in two ways: (1) Outwardly, it extends the boundaries of physical, Old Testament Israel to an international kingdom in the Church, and (2) Inwardly, the kingdom now goes beyond just right conduct, but penetrates to the heart and creates saints.

This Sunday’s Gospel has either a short form or a long form. Here is the long form of the Gospel Reading as we will hear it this Sunday.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’
will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

“You have heard that it was said,
You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful - causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”