Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: February 20, 2011

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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 7th 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!

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1st Reading - Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18

The Leviticus account begins with the second year of the Exodus, when the Hebrews are already in the middle of the wilderness. As you will recall, the Levitical priesthood came about as a result of the sin if the golden calf (Exodus 32). After Moses had come down the mountain and smashed the tablets, burned the calf and made the Israelites drink water containing the ashes, he stood at the entrance to the camp and said “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me”, and all the Levites rallied to him. They then went through the camp and slew about 3,000 people. Then Moses declared “You have been set apart to the Lord today (the Revised Standard Version says “Today you have ordained yourselves . . .”), for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” Thus the Levitical priesthood was born. The tabernacle is made, with its altars and regulations about the worship to be given to Yahweh. Now, Moses develops these forms of worship in much more detail: Leviticus is really a manual for that liturgy.

To understand the book properly one must bear in mind two basic reference points: First, Yahweh, the God of Israel, is infinitely holy, inaccessible to man (Exodus 19:21), and therefore totally transcendent (unknowable); Second, despite this He dwells in the midst of His people (Leviticus 23:32; 26:12). Therefore He asks of them not only reverence, love and adoration, but a holiness of life which enables them to live as His true children forever in His presence (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2). Worship and holiness of life are the two main concerns of Leviticus.

Today, we hear one of the rules of conduct which are set out in chapter 19; that of love of neighbor. Other rules included reverence for parents, observance of the Sabbath, avoidance of idolatry, upon harvesting leaving some of the grain in the fields for the poor, and the practice of justice and charity in social dealings.

Here is the1st Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

The LORD said to Moses,
“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

“You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD.”

 

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From the *Navarre Bible *commentary (with RSV-CE text):

**19:1-37. **The holiness asked of the Israelites is much more than merely ritual holiness. As in 20:26, the exhortation, made to them is based on the highest possible reason–the fact that the Lord is holy. The injunction to honor parents, as also the obligation to keep the sabbath and the prohibition on idolatry, are commandments of the Decalogue already spelled out in Exodus 20:3-4, 12; 21:15, 17. The rules about peace offerings were covered in Leviticus 7:11-15, and the rules to protect the weaker members of society are repeated on a number of occasions (cf. 23:22; Deut 24:19:22).

Verse 2 (“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy”: cf. also 20:26) and v. 18 (“you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord”: cf. also 19:33-34) sum up the entire ethic of Leviticus and indeed of the whole Law of God. Jesus himself says this, as reported in Matthew 22:34-40 (parallel texts in Mk 12:28-31 and Luke 10:25-28): "When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets’ " (Mt 22:34-40).

Moral and Religious Duties
--------------------------
[1] And the Lord said to Moses, [2] "Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel, You shall be holy; for I the Lord am holy.[17] “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him. [18] You shall not take vengeance or bear grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

 

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From the 1859 Haydock commentary with DRV text:

Divers ordinances, partly moral, partly ceremonial or judicial.

*1 The Lord spoke to Moses, *saying:

2 Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them:* Be ye holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.*

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him.*

**Ver. 17. **Openly, is not in the Hebrew or other versions. Instead of bearing malice at the heart, we are authorized to demand our right in a legal manner, or to correct in a fraternal matter, the person who may have injured us, lest we *incur *sin for our neglect, and the offender continue impenitent. Jesus Christ instructs us to do this with as little disturbance as possible, Matthew xviii. 15. Yet public sins must undergo a public correction, 1 Timothy v. 20. (St. Augustine, ser. 82.) Love should regulate our complaints. (St. Augustine, q. 70.)

*18 Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord.

Ver. 18. Revenge, by private authority, or out of passion, which the pagans themselves acknowledged was more becoming a brute than a man, feræ est. (Musonias, Sen. de ira ii. 32.) — Citizens. Hebrew, “observe or lie not in wait.” Septuagint, “act not with fury against the son of thy people.” (Calmet) — Hebrew notor, means to upbraid when doing a kindness. — Thy friend. Hebrew rehaka, may denote thy neighbour, or any one with whom we have any thing to do. Thus God orders us to love strangers as ourselves, (ver. 34,) and to help our enemy, Exodus xxiii. 4. The false insinuations of the Jews are fully exploded by Jesus Christ, Matthew xxii. 39. We must love the offender, but detest the offence. (St. Augustine, contra Faust. xix. 24.) If God required his people to exterminate the Chanaanites, he did not authorized them to entertain any personal animosity against their persons, but they were to act as ministers of his justice. “O Lord, (said Philo very justly) we do not rejoice at the misfortune of our enemy, (Flaccus) having learnt from thy holy laws to compassionate the distress of others. But we thank thee for…delivering us from our afflictions.” (Calmet)

 

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Other thoughts and comments on the 1st Reading:

**1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy: **The Lord Yahweh told Moses to give this command to all the people of Israel. They were chosen by God and formed into a special people or nation for no other reason except that through them, and from them would come one day the one who would make all men “holy,” that is, adopted sons of God. In the meantime they were to keep the knowledge of the true God alive on earth and make themselves as worthy as possible for this greatest of honors, in which they would (with all men) partake when the Incarnation took place.
**
for I, the LORD your God, am holy: **All the nations and peoples of the time had their local and national gods, but they were neither holy nor could they encourage holiness for they were gods made into man’s likeness while Yahweh the true God was holiness itself; his people knew that he had created them in his own likeness not vice-versa, and they should therefore strive to imitate his holiness and goodness.

17 "You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart: One of the principal ways of proving their holiness is now put before them. Knowing man’s weak nature, and knowing that any man can offend his neighbor, God tells his Chosen People that they must not let any such offense sink into their hearts.

**Though you may have to reprove your fellow man: **Instead, they must try to make the offending neighbor see and admit his fault and thus bring him back to true brotherly friendship once more.

do not incur sin because of him: The sin would lie in the failure to correct your fellow man. Correction to ensure proper conduct is a very serious responsibility. If they refuse to do this, and continue to bear enmity against the offending brother, they themselves become guilty of as grievous a sin.
**
18 Take no revenge: **The natural inclination of mere human nature is to “get one’s own back,” to repay the offender in his own coin. This the spiritual man, the man who knows and adores the true God, whose nature is holiness, must not do.

and cherish no grudge: They must “forgive and forget.” Taking vengeance by external acts is wrong, but so is internal hatred or refusal to forgive an offending brother.
**
against your fellow countrymen: **As Yahweh had set them as a “nation apart,” a people who were surrounded on all sides by pagan neighbors with whom any contact would endanger the purity of their true religion, the rules of conduct, the laws of charity, he lays down for them apply only to their fellow Israelites. The circumstances of the time and the attraction of the false religions which catered for human weaknesses made this separation necessary.

**You shall love your neighbor as yourself: ** This law is valid for all time and for all mankind without distinction, but the most the Israelites could be expected to do in those days was to put it into practice among their own people. But note the injunction that should an alien or stranger (a non-Israelite) come to live among them, they were to treat him as one of themselves (19: 33). The law of brotherly love therefore was universal once the circumstances made its application possible. Do to your neighbor what you would like and want your neighbor to do to you, is the yard-stick by which charity is measured.

According to the teaching of Christ in Luke 10:29, “neighbor” is to be taken in its widest possible extension. Also, according to Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 12:30-31, this command, taken together with Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and might”, sums up the whole of the Law and the Prophets.
**
I am the LORD: **Hence these commands. It is not Moses or any human authority who is imposing the obligation of leading a holy life, as shown especially in brotherly love, but God himself, who has the supreme and absolute right to give such orders.

 

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*Catechism of the Catholic Church *paragraphs referencing Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18:

**2055 **When someone asks him, "Which commandment in the Law is the greatest?"8 Jesus replies: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets."9 The Decalogue must be interpreted in light of this twofold yet single commandment of love, the fullness of the Law:

    *The commandments: "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.*10

8. Mt 22:36.

9. Mt 22:37-40; cf. Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18.

10. Rom 13:9-10.

2196 In response to the question about the first of the commandments, Jesus says: "The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these."2

The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."3

2. Mk 12:29-31; cf. Deut 6:4-5; Lev 19:18; Mt 22:34-40; Lk 10:25-28.

3. Rom 13:8-10.

2811 In spite of the holy Law that again and again their Holy God gives them - “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” - and although the Lord shows patience for the sake of his name, the people turn away from the Holy One of Israel and profane his name among the nations.74 For this reason the just ones of the old covenant, the poor survivors returned from exile, and the prophets burned with passion for the name.

74. Ezek 20:9,14,22,39; cf. Lev 19:2.

 

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A meditation on the 1st Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **“You shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” This command given by God to the Israelites seems at first sight impossible of fulfillment for weak, human nature. God is holiness itself, he is holy by his nature, which is divine, while man, even the best of men, seems inclined to unholiness or evil by his very nature. But God did not command the Israelites to be as holy as he is—that would be an impossibility. What he does give them is the reason why they should be as holy as men can be. He is the God of holiness, the God of all perfection, they are his chosen ones. They should therefore strive to achieve such human perfection as would make them worthy of the holy state he has planned for them, namely, adopted sonship.

This same command holds for all men still. We Christians should find it much easier to fulfill, since the Incarnation, which was only very vaguely revealed to the Israelites, has taken place in our history—“before our eyes” as it were. Through the Incarnation, we know God’s real purpose for us men. He has made us his adopted sons, he has given us the example of Christ, his divine Son in true human nature, who as man lived a life of perfect holiness, perfect obedience to his heavenly Father. With such an example, and with the clear understanding of what the end and purpose of our journey through life is, we should not find it so hard to strive to make ourselves worthy of the honor and the great future God has in store for us.

We are God’s adopted sons. There is an eternity of happiness awaiting us when we end our sojourn here below The Christian who is convinced of this truth, as every sincere Christian is, will not look on the command to be holy so much as a command, as a necessary preparation for what is to come, a preparation which he gladly undertakes. The bride-to-be who is told by her mother to prepare herself fittingly for her wedding-day would hardly call this a command. We are destined to be brides of Christ for all eternity. We are convinced of this, that is why we are Christians. Now then could we look on the necessary preparations for our wedding-day, the day of our judgment, as something onerous, something we dislike?

We have seen God’s love for us. The Incarnation shows a love which surpasses the wildest hopes or imagination of men. Would we be so mean and so ungrateful as to refuse the puny bit of human love which he asks of us in return? We know for certain what future God has planned for us and earned for us through the God-man Christ—an eternity of happiness with God in heaven. Who would be so foolish, so forgetful of his own best interest, as to let the trifling, fleeting, unsatisfying things of this earth prevent him from reaching such a happy, unending future?

God’s call to us to be holy is really not a command but the kind and loving advice of an infinitely loving Father.

 

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2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 3:16-23

As we work our way through the first part of 1st Corinthians, last week we heard Saint Paul tell of the true wisdom of God. This week he again addresses the divisions in the people of God and reminds the Corinthians (and us) who we really belong to.

One of the abuses St. Paul had to correct was the divisions that were arising among them. These he had already referred to (1:10-13; see Third Sunday of the Year) and returns to them briefly in today’s reading. The Christians of Corinth do not belong to the Apostles or preachers who taught them, but to God through Christ. They are, each one of them, nothing less than the temple of God, for the Holy Spirit dwells in them. They must be united therefore, or they cannot be holy, worthy of the divine indwelling. In Christianity they have true wisdom (see last Sunday above), divine wisdom, not the wisdom of this world, which is folly in the eyes of God.

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

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

Let no one deceive himself.
If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are vain.

So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

 

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From the Navarre Bible commentary:

Apostolic Ministry (continuation)
---------------------------------

*[16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? [17] If any one destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are. *

**16-17. **These words apply to the individual Christian, and to the Church as a whole (cf. note on 1 Corinthians 3:9). The simile of the Church as God’s temple, frequently used by St. Paul (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:16), shows that the Holy Trinity dwells in the soul in grace. As [Pope] Leo XIII reminds us, by means of grace God dwells in the just soul as in a temple, in a special and intimate manner" (“Divinum Illud Munus” 10). Although this indwelling is attributed to the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19), it really comes about through the presence of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, because all actions of God which terminate outside God Himself (activities “ad extra”) are to be seen as actions of the one, unique divine nature.

This sublime mystery which we could never have suspected, was revealed by Jesus Christ Himself: “The Spirit of truth …] dwells with you, and will be in you …]. If a man loves me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our home with him” (John 14:17-23). Although this is a matter which we never plumb in this life, some light is thrown on it if we remember that “the Divine Persons are said to inhabit as much as they are present to intellectual creatures in a way that transcends human comprehension, and are known and loved (cf. “Summa Theologiae”, I, q. 43, a. 3) by them, yet in a way that is unique, purely supernatural, and in the deepest sanctuary of the soul” ([Pope] Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis,
Dz-Sch”, 35).

Reflection on this wonderful fact will help us to realize how extremely important it is to live in the grace of God, and to have a horror of mortal sin, which “destroys God’s temple,” depriving the soul of God’s grace and friendship.

Moreover, through this indwelling a human being begins to receiving an inkling of what the Beatific Vision–Heaven–will be like, for “this admirable union [of indwelling] differs only by virtue of man’s [present] condition and state from union whereby God fills the blessed [in Heaven]” (“Divinum Illud Munus”, 11).

The presence of the Trinity in the soul in grace invites the Christian to try to have a more personal and direct relationship with God, whom we can seek at every moment in the depths of our souls: “Get to know the Holy Spirit, the Great Stranger, on whom depends your sanctification. Don’t forget that you are God’s temple. The Advocate is in the center of your soul: listen to Him and be docile to His inspirations” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 57).
*
[18] Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. [19] For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” [20] and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” *

Concluded on the next post:

 

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**18-20. **As an application of his teaching about true wisdom, St Paul shows Christians that the worst kind of foolishness is that of thinking one is wise when one in fact is not. He uses two biblical quotations (Job 5:13; Ps 94:11 ) as a gloss to prove that an exclusively human approach is always doomed to failure.

Christians, therefore, are wiser the more they identify their desires with the plan God has for each; that is, the more supernatural their outlook on life is: “We must learn to acquire the divine measure of things, never losing our supernatural outlook, and realizing that Jesus makes use also of our weaknesses to reveal his glory. So, whenever your conscience feels the stirrings of self-love, of weariness, of discouragement, or the weight of your passions, you must react immediately and listen to the Master, without letting the sad truth about our lives frighten us, because as long as we live our personal failings will always be with us” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 194).

[21] So let no one boast of men. For all things are yours, [22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; [23] and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

21-23. One consequence of the defective wisdom which St Paul spoke about in the preceding verses is the Corinthians’ desire to seize on one particular teacher. They have forgotten that all ministers are there to serve the faithful (v. 5). In fact, the Apostle tells them, it is not only the teachers that are theirs: “all things are yours.” This clearly emphasizes the great dignity involved in being a Christian: by being an adoptive son of God, a brother of Jesus Christ, the Christian has a share in Christ’s lordship over the universe (cf. 1 Cor
15:24-28), and is the master of all creation (cf. 2 Cor 6:10), through which he should move with a certain proprietorial feeling, called as he is to live in the freedom of the glory of the sons of God (cf. Rom 8:21), a freedom which God has won for him (cf. Gal 4:31). Human factions and dissensions of the type that have arisen among the Corinthians show that they have forgotten all this and therefore their sense of vocation has become impoverished. The Christian belongs to Christ alone: he has only one master, Christ. “Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth”, St John of the Cross explains; “mine are the people, the righteous are mine and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, for Christ is mine and all for me. What, then, do you ask for and seek, my soul? All this is yours, and it is all for you. Do not despise yourself, do not despise the crumbs that fall from your Father’s table” (“A Prayer of the Soul Enkindled by Love”).

The Apostle’s words also remind us of the love and respect that man should have for created things, which God has entrusted to him (cf. Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 37). “The world is not evil,” Monsignor Escriva reminds us “for it has come from God’s hands; it is his creation; Yahweh looked upon it and saw that it was good (cf. Gen 1:7ff). We ourselves, mankind, make it evil and ugly with our sins and infidelities …] our age needs to give back to matter and to the most trivial occurrences and situations their noble and original meaning. It needs to restore them to the service of the Kingdom of God, to spiritualize them, turning them into a means and an opportunity for a continuous meeting with Jesus Christ …]. It is understandable that the Apostle should write: 'all things are yours, you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s (1 Cor 3:22-23). We have here an ascending movement which the Holy Spirit, infused in our hearts, wants to call forth from this world, upwards from the earth to the glory of the Lord” (“Conversations”, 114-115).

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary with DRV text:

*16 Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you?

17 But if any man violate the temple of God: him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

Ver. 16-17. Know you not. After the apostle had described the builders who are employed in the spiritual edifice, he then proceeds to speak of the duties of those who are the living temples of Christ. As for you, may brethren, who are the temples of God, preserve yourselves in purity of faith, and innocence of morals. Fly from those false apostles who seek your ruin, and remain steadfast in that faith which you have received from us; (Calmet) that is, the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic faith. What a happiness for the faithful minister to assist in erecting and ornamenting the living temples of God; but what punishment must await the unfaithful minister, who by his own neglect and bad example, helps to ruin and destroy the temples God himself had entrusted to his care! (Haydock) — The Spirit of God dwelleth in you, having received the grace of God at your conversion: you are the holy temple of God: But if any one violate, or profane the temple of God, either by false doctrine, or by any grievous offence, he destroys the spiritual edifice, that was built in his soul upon the faith and grace of God. He cannot be said to be built any longer upon the same foundation: and therefore *God will destroy *such persons: they shall not be saved even by fire, or temporal punishments, but shall be excluded for ever from heaven, and condemned to eternal punishments. (Witham)

18 Let no man deceive himself: if any man among you seem to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise.

19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: *I will catch the wise in their own craftiness.

20 And again: *The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

21 Let no man, therefore, glory in men.

**Ver. 18-21. Let no man deceive himself. He next precautions them against themselves, and admonishes them to be upon their guard against curiosity, presumption, and self-love, and tells them to undervalue all other sciences, when put in competition with the science of salvation, the knowledge of the gospel. It hence appears, that some of the Corinthians were renowned for that human eloquence which the world so much esteems, and accordingly the apostle discovers to them the danger to which they are exposing themselves, by pursuing their present line of conduct. (Calmet) — If any man among you seem to be wise in this world. He hints at some new teachers among them, (not at Apollo) who to gain the esteem of men, had introduced errors from profane philosophy, or the false principles of human wisdom, which, as he had told them before, was folly in the sight of God. He therefore tells such persons, that to become truly wise, they must become fools, by returning to the simplicity of the gospel-doctrine. (Witham) — Let no man. That is, let no man say, I am for Paul, I am for Apollo. This language will introduce into the Church of God those various sects that existed amongst the philosophers, who were distinguished by the title of Platonics, Stoics, Peripatetic, and so on. (Grotius)

*22 For all things are yours, whether it be Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come: for all are yours:

23 And you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.*

Ver. 22-23. All things are yours. Are ordained for your good. For this end, I, Apollo, and Cephas have been sent to promote your salvation. The world and all things in it are allowed you, are yours, that by making good use of them, you may save your souls: that death may be to you a passage to a happy eternity, that the things to come may be your eternal reward. — You are Christ’s, you belong to him who hath redeemed you, and sanctified you by his grace: and Christ is God’s, Christ as man, who being the Son of God, was made also man, and sent to make known the glory of God, his divine perfections of mercy, justice, &c.

 

[Fidelis]

Other thoughts and commentary on the 2nd Reading:

**16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?: **The Temple in Jerusalem was still standing when Paul wrote these words (A.D. 56). The Corinthian community is a temple of God, because the Divine Spirit dwells in it. Later, in chapter 6 (6:19), the metaphor of the Temple is applied to the body of the individual Christian, because the Spirit dwells in every one of the baptized. The individual application is secondary. The Spirit comes into the community and gives Himself to individuals through the community.
**
17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; **for the temple of God, which you are, is holy: The community is holy because it belongs go God; this is a fundamental theological reality to which Saint Paul often refers.

Both the pagan and the Jewish converts knew what a temple was—the dwelling-place of a God or gods. Pagans, as well as Jews, regarded desecration of a temple as a heinous crime. As Christians they knew, they had been taught, that with baptism the Holy Spirit had come to dwell within them. His presence was proved to them by his many gifts. Should any of them destroy this temple of God, that is, expel the Holy Spirit by sin, then they were destroying themselves, excluding themselves from God. It is not God really who destroys them, but they themselves. God’s temple is holy: As pagans and Jews they recognized this. Now that they are the temples of God they must be holy.
*
“Paul says this in order to prick the consciences of those who have corrupted their bodies through evil living, especially the man who was having an affair with his father’s wife.”* [The Ambrosiaster (A.D. 366-384), Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles 1 Corinthians 3,17]

**18 Let no one deceive himself: Let no one be so foolish as to think that the wisdom of the worldly-wise is better than the divine revelation and knowledge which he has received through the Christian faith. Christianity may seem folly to the worldly pagans, but it is a worthwhile folly.
**
If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise: Become a fool by accepting the foolishness of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
**
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God: ** The wisest man this world ever knew, if his wisdom and learning began and ended with the things of this world, was nothing but a fool in the sight of God. His wisdom was not only useless but if it prevented him from coming to know God and his own real purpose in life, it was fatal.

**for it is written: “He catches the wise in their own ruses,”: **“How does God catch the wise in their own craftiness (Job 5:13)? By showing them that while they imagined they can do without God, just then they would have all the more need of Him. They are reduced to such a strait as to appear inferior to fishers and illiterates, whose wisdom they cannot now do without.” [Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392), Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 10,3]

**20 and again: “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”: **To prove his point Paul quotes from the Old Testament (Job 5:13 and Ps. 94:11).

**21 So let no one boast about human beings: **Paul refers now to the divisions mentioned previously in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 (3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A). It was not Paul or Apollos or Cephas who gave them the divine wisdom of the Christian faith—it was a free gift of God… In their vain and merely human appraisal of the ministers of the gospel the Corinthians have shown themselves to be fools, judging by the wisdom of this world. If the Corinthians were genuinely wise, they would see everything in the world and those with whom they exist in the Church in their true relations with one another.

**for everything belongs to you 22 Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you: **No Christian should glory in men, calling himself a disciple of any preacher, to the detriment of the unity of the Church. The ministers of the gospel are for the faithful, not the faithful for them.

**23 and you to Christ, and Christ to God: **Paul associates to the preachers all creation and all the happenings of history. God ordains all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Belonging to Christ, who in turn belongs to God, the Christian dominates the world and its happenings. He shares already by faith and hope in the triumph of the Lord. Notice the scale of ownership: God to Christ to Church members to Church leaders; and the scale of obligation to serve: Church leaders to Church members to Christ to God.
*
“We are Christ’s because we have been made by Him [by grace]. But Christ is God’s, not as a creature but as His own Son.” *[Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392), Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 10,4]

 

[Fidelis]

Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph referencing 1 Corinthians 3:16-23

**THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

797 **"What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church."243 "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members."244 The Holy Spirit makes the Church “the temple of the living God”:245

    *Indeed, it is to the Church herself that the "Gift of God" has been entrusted. . . . In it is in her that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit, the pledge of incorruptibility, the strengthening of our faith and the ladder of our ascent to God. . . . For where the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace.*246

243. St. Augustine, Sermo 267,4:PL 38,1231D.

244. Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis:DS 3808.

245. 2 Cor 6:16; cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; Eph 2:21.

246. St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3,24,1:PG 7/1,966.

 

[Fidelis]

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

• In the 2nd Reading, what is the basis of our dignity in the Lord (verse 16)? In the context of verse 17 and Mt 5:48, how should we conduct ourselves?

• After reading verses 16-17, how would you describe yourself? Is that the way your teachers regard you? What kind of care should your catechists, teachers, or pastor take of your development in the faith? If you are a catechist, teacher, or pastor, how do you fulfill the responsibility described by Paul? (What does Paul suggest should happen if you do not?)

 

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

APPLICATION: Today these words of St. Paul call on each one of us to stop and think of the divine gift God gave us when he made us Christians. We know where we come from, we know where we are going. God created us—be it through evolution or directly, it matters not—and it is to God that we owe the fact that we are here and now on this planet. But great though the gift of earthly life is, it would be, without the hope of a future life, a source of unhappiness for any thinking man. If after all my striving, all my endeavors, all my attempts to collect all the pleasures, wealth and happiness that this life can give, I were convinced that I would end forever in a hole in the ground, in a few years’ time, what a cloud of unhappiness would hang over even my happiest day!

But thanks to the divine gift of faith, I know that my few years on this earth are only a period given me to prepare for my future. I know that my earthly death is not the end but the beginning of my real life—a life that will never again end. What a consoling, what an uplifting thought this is, not only in my hours of suffering or trouble but in my moments of greatest happiness. I can see in them a foretaste of what is to come, as I can and should see in my sufferings the divine medicine which will one day bring me back to eternal health.

We have the true wisdom; we know the real truths. Let the world-wise wear out their strength collecting this world’s empty packages; let the neo-pagans keep on burying God and straining all their nerves to build a heaven on earth; we know the true value of this world’s goods; we know where the true, lasting heaven is, and please God it is there we are going.

But to get there we must never forget that we are God’s temple, as St. Paul tells us today. We must keep that temple pure and holy. We belong to God; we are his adopted sons. Let us strive every day of our lives to be worthy of this gratuitous divine honor. We could forfeit and lose this privilege—others have done so before us. God forbid that any of us should find himself among their number when he is called from this life.

 

[Fidelis]

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:38-48

* Continuing with the Sermon on the Mount we have been hearing from in the last several weeks, this Sunday we will hear the remainder of the section of Matthew 5 sometimes called “the Six Antitheses”. Each antithesis follows a similar format: Jesus citing the Old Law, saying “you have heard it was said…”, and responding with the refrain “…But I say to you”. Jesus is thus established as the new Moses and the lawgiver of the New Covenant.

* In verses 38-42, Jesus speaks about the law of retaliation. The command “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (taken from Exodus 21:24) sounds harsh to our ears, but in the context of the ancient Middle East, it was actually an enlightened improvement on the prevailing practice which allowed unlimited retaliation for offenses committed. Even so, Jesus goes even further in eliminating the policy of private retaliation from the personal life of the disciple (Romans 12:17).

* In verses 43-48, Jesus reminds his hearers of what was considered one of the two greatest commandments (Mt 22:39), that is, to love one’s neighbor as oneself (see Lev 19:18) along with the common belief that one should “hate” their enemies (the Jews of the time had a very definition of “neighbor”, restricting it to fellow Jews; thus the parable of the Good Samaritan. See Luke 10:29-37). Jesus, in this instance, removes limits on to whom they are to extend their charity. In fact, they (and we) are to strive to imitate the perfection of God the Father who has solicitude for all (verses 45, 48).

Here is the Gospel Reading as we will hear it this morning:

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

[Fidelis]

From the *Navarre Bible *commentary with RSV-CE text:

Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,)* [38] “You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ [39] But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; [40] and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; [41] and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. [42] Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.”*

38-42. Among the Semites, from whom the Israelites stemmed, the law of vengeance ruled. It led to interminable strife, and countless crimes. In the early centuries of the chosen people, the law of retaliation was recognized as an ethical advance, socially and legally: no punishment could exceed the crime, and any punitive retaliation was outlawed. In this way, the honor of the clans and families was satisfied, and endless feuds avoided.

As far as New Testament morality is concerned, Jesus establishes a definitive advance: a sense of forgiveness and absence of pride play an essential role. Every legal framework for combating evil in the world, every reasonable defense of personal rights, should be based on this morality. The three last verses refer to mutual charity among the children of the Kingdom, a charity which presupposes and deeply imbues justice.

*[43] "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ *

43-47. This passage sums up the teaching which precedes it. Our Lord goes so far as to say that a Christian has no personal enemies. His only enemy is evil as such–sin–but not the sinner. Jesus Himself puts this into practice with those who crucified Him, and He continues to act in the same way towards sinners who rebel against Him and despise Him. Consequently, the saints have always followed His example–like St. Stephen, the first martyr, who prayed for those who were putting him to death. This is the apex of Christian perfection–to love, and pray for, even those who persecute us and calumniate us. It is the distinguishing mark of the children of God.

Concluded on the next post…

 

[Fidelis]

**43. **The first part of this verse–“You shall love your neighbor”–is to be found in Leviticus 19:18. The second part–“hate your enemy”—is not to be found in the Law of Moses. However, Jesus’ words refer to a widespread rabbinical interpretation which understood “neighbors” as meaning “Israelites”. Our Lord corrects this misinterpretation of the Law: for Him everyone is our neighbor (cf. the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37).

[44] But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. [45] So that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [46] For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

**46. **“Tax collectors”: the Roman empire had no officials of its own for the collection of taxes: in each country it used local people for this purpose. These were free to engage agents (hence we find reference to “chief tax collectors”: cf. Luke 19:2). The global amount of tax for each region was specified by the Roman authorities; the tax collectors levied more than this amount, keeping the surplus for themselves: this led them to act rather arbitrarily, which was why the people hated them. In the case of the Jews, insult was added to injury by the fact that the chosen people were being exploited by Gentiles.

[47] And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [48] You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."

48. Verse 48 is, in a sense, a summary of the teaching in this entire chapter, including the Beatitudes. Strictly speaking, it is quite impossible for a created being to be as perfect as God. What our Lord means here is that God’s own perfection should be the model which every faithful Christian tries to follow, even though he realizes that there is an infinite distance between himself and his Creator. However, this does not reduce the force of this commandment; it sheds more light on it. It is a difficult commandment to live up to, but along with this we must take account of the enormous help grace gives us to go so far as to tend towards divine perfection. Certainly, perfection which we should imitate does not refer to the power and wisdom of God, which are totally beyond our scope; here the context seems to refer primarily to love and mercy. Along the same lines, St. Luke quotes these words of our Lord: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36; cf. note on Luke 6:20-49).

Clearly, the “universal call to holiness” is not a recommendation but a commandment of Jesus Christ.

“Your duty is to sanctify yourself. Yes, even you. Who thinks that this task is only for priests and religious? To everyone, without exception, our Lord said: Be ye perfect, as My Heavenly Father is perfect'" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 291). This teaching is sanctioned by chapter 5 of Vatican II's Constitution "Lumen Gentium", where it says (40): "The Lord Jesus, divine teacher and model of all perfection, preached holiness of life (of which He is the author and maker) to each and every one of His disciples without distinction: You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect’ …]. It is therefore quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human manner of life is fostered also in earthly society.”

 

[Fidelis]

From the 1859 Haydock Commentary with DRV text:

*38 You have heard that it hath been said: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

Ver. 38. Hence your doctors * have concluded that revenge, equal to the injury, was permitted.

39 But I say to you, not to resist evil: but if any one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Ver. 39. Not to resist evil; i.e. not to resist or revenge thyself of him that hath done evil to thee. — Turn him the other cheek. Let him have also thy cloak. These are to be understood as admonitions to Christians, to forgive every one, and to bear patiently all manner of private injuries. But we must not from hence conclude it unlawful for any one to have recourse to the laws, when a man is injured, and cannot have justice by any other means. (Witham) — What is here commanded, is a Christian patience under injuries and affronts, and to be willing even to suffer still more, rather than to indulge the desire of revenge; but what is further added does not strictly oblige according to the letter, for neither did Christ, nor St. Paul, turn the other cheek. (St. John xviii. and Acts xxiii.) (Challoner) — Hence also the Anabaptists infer, that it is not lawful to go to law even for our just rights; and Luther, that Christians ought not to resist the Turks. (Bristow)

*40 *And if any man will go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

41 And whosoever shall force thee to go one mile, go with him other two.
*

Ver. 41. Go with him other two. I know many interpreters would have it to signify no more than two in all. But the literal sense of the Latin, and also of the best Greek manuscripts. (as Dr. Wells takes notice in his amendments to the Prot. translation) express two more, i.e. not only as far again, but twice as far. And thus it is expounded by St. Augustine, Serm. Domini in monte. t. iii. p. 193. Ed Ben. (Witham) — Continue to be his guide sooner than lose patience, or be wanting in charity. (Haydock)

Concluded on the next post…

 

[Fidelis]

42 *Give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away.

43 You have heard that it hath been said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy.

**Ver. 43. ***And hate thy enemy. *The words of the law (Leviticus xix. 18.) are only these: thou shalt love thy friend as thyself; but by a false gloss and inference, these words, and hate thy enemy, were added by the Jewish doctors. (Witham)

*44 But I say to you: Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you,
**
Ver. 44. I come to establish the purity of the law, which they have corrupted. (Haydock)
*
45 That you may be the children of your Father, who is in heaven: who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love those that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans the same?*

**Ver. 46. **The publicans. These were the gatherers of the public taxes: a set of men, odious and infamous among the Jews, for their extortions and injustice. (Challoner)

*47 And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens the same?

48 Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect*

Ver. 48. Jesus Christ here sums up his instructions by ordering us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect; i.e. to imitate, as far as our exertions, assisted by divine grace, can reach, the divine perfection. (Witham) — See here the great superiority of the new over the old law. But let no one hence take occasion to despise the old. Let him examine attentively, says St. Chrysostom, the different periods of time, and the persons to whom it was given; and he will admire the wisdom of the divine Legislator, and clearly perceive that it is one and the same Lord, and that each law was to the great advantage of mankind, and wisely adapted to the times of their promulgation. For, if among the first principles of rectitude, these sublime and eminent truths had been found, perhaps neither these, nor the less perfect rules of morality would have been observed; whereas, by disposing of both in their proper time, the divine wisdom has employed both for the correction of the world. (Hom. xviii.) Seeing then that we are thus blessed as to be called, and to be the children of so excellent a Father, we should endeavour, like Him, to excel in goodness, meekness, and charity; but above all in humility, which will secure to us the merit of good works, through the infinite merits of our divine Redeemer, Master, and model, Christ Jesus the Lord. (Haydock)