Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: February 27, 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 8th 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 those studies 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 - Isaiah 49:14-15

The second suffering servant song of Isaiah (Isaiah 49:1-7) almost immediately precedes our 1st reading today. This song provides the setting for our reading:

*Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Thus says the LORD, the redeemer and the Holy One of Israel, To the one despised, whom the nations abhor, the slave of rulers: When kings see you, they shall stand up, and princes shall prostrate themselves. *

Commentators see the suffering servant as representing not only an individual, but a people as well; the entire people of Israel (the 12 tribes, not just the northern kingdom of that name). When David was king, the city of Jerusalem had come to represent the entire nation; sort of like Washington D.C. Wall Street and the Vatican all rolled into one.

This is part of the message of consolation that the prophet Isaiah directed to the Jewish exiles in Babylon when they were on the brink of despair. The exiles thought that God had abandoned them but the prophet tells them emphatically that this is not so.

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

Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
my LORD has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.

 

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From The Navarre Bible commentary with RSV-CE texts:

The Restoration of Zion
-----------------------
*[14] But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, my LORD has forgotten me?"

[15] ”Can a woman forget her sucking child, that, she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you."*
**
49:14-50:3. **After the oracles concerning the servant, the prophet now focuses on Zion, the city beloved of the Lord, to which people will come from all over, the diaspora, to settle there. It will be a genuine miracle. The first verses speak very movingly of God’s love for his people (49:14-20). The passage goes on, in a didactic style, to stress that the Lord will bring about the liberation of Jerusalem (49:21-26). It draws two comparisons–that of an eastern kingdom (49:22-23) and that of mighty warrior (49:24-26); each ends with an assertion reminiscent of Ezekiel’s message: “And you will know that I am the Lord” (cf. “Introduction to Ezekiel”, p. 595, below). Finally (50:1-3), the sense of abandonment felt by those in Jerusalem (cf. v. 14) is answered from another angle. Using the wedding imagery first used by Hosea (cf. Hos 1-3), the prophet puts words in the Lord’s mouth to the effect that the exile was not meant to be forever; it was not irrevocable. There was no document written to terminate the marriage (cf. Deut 24:1-2, Jer 3:8); nor was the sale contract ever closed. Exile was a punishment that had to happen; it was a temporary thing, provoked by the people’s sins. But God keeps his promises; he will restore Zion; he is as mighty now as he was at the time of the exodus, as he will demonstrate.

In the fullness of time, when Jesus brings salvation, this oracle will have even greater significance: “In Jesus Christ God has established a new and everlasting covenant with mankind. He has placed his almighty power at the service of our salvation. When his creatures lose confidence and are afraid through lack of faith, we hear once again the voice of Isaiah who speaks out in the name of the Lord: ‘Is my hand too short to redeem? Have I not strength to save?” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 190).

**49:15-16. **The image of the mother who can never forget her children (v. 15) is one of the most beautiful metaphors used in the Bible to describe the love that God has for his people; it has been echoed by spiritual writers down the ages. Pope John Paul II applies it with reference to the merciful love that God shows his own–the “rahamin” in Hebrew, a word that derives from maternal love (“rehem” meansmotherly embrace). Like a mother, God has borne mankind, and especially the chosen people, in his womb; he has given birth to it in pain, has nourished and consoled it (cf. 42:14; 46:3-4): “From the deep and original bond–indeed the unity–that links a mother to her child there springs a particular relationship to the child, a particular love. Of this love one can say that it is completely gratuitous, not merited, and that in this aspect it constitutes an interior necessity: an exigency of the heart. It is, as it were, a ‘feminine’ variation of the masculine fidelity: to self expressed by “hesed”. Against this psychological background, “rahamin” generates a whole range of feelings, including goodness and tenderness, patience and understanding, that is, readiness to forgive. …] This love, faithful and invincible thanks to the mysterious power of motherhood, is expressed in the Old Testament texts in various ways: as salvation from dangers, especially from enemies; also as. forgiveness of sins–of individuals and also of the whole of Israel; and finally in readiness to fulfill the (eschatological) promise and hope in spite of human infidelity” (“Dives In Misericordia”, note 52; cf. “Mulieris Dignitatem”, 8).

The first words of v. 16 are another graphic description of the love of God; and so we find John Paul II using them in an exhortation on that subject “Dear young people, receive the love that God first gives you (cf. 1 Jn 4:19). Hold fast to this certainty, the only one that can give meaning, strength and joy to life: his love will never leave you, his covenant of peace will never be removed from you (cf. Is 54:10). He has stamped your name on the palms of his hands (cf. Is 49:16)” (“World Youth Day”, 6 January1997).

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary with DRV text:

…God’s love to his Church is perpetual.
*
14 And Sion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.*

Ver. 14. Sion, the Jews, who will at last be converted in great numbers. (Houbigant)

15 Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.

 

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Other thoughts and commentary on the 1st Reading:

**14 But Zion said: **Zion, another name for Jerusalem, is used figuratively here as a personification of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.

**“The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”: **They must have felt that Yahweh had abandoned them to their fate; he has lost interest in them.

**15 Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?: **The prophet asks them, in God’s name, is there a mother so unnatural and so bereft of feeling that she could neglect and abandon her sucking infant, whose very existence depends on her caring for it?

**Even should she forget: **Even if it is within the bounds of possibility that there could be mothers who could do this…

**I will never forget you: **Yahweh himself declares that even if some unnatural mothers could forget their infants and let them die he will not be so unnatural with his Chosen People, because they are his children, however unworthy of his love and care they have proved themselves to be in the past.

This is possibly the most touching expression of God’s love in the entire Bible. God is, after all, our Father, and we are His adopted children. Saint John points this out in his gospel (John 3:16) where he says *“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” *The feminine image of God is natural in the setting of Jerusalem (Zion), a walled city, being pictured as being pregnant and filled with life.

 

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Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing Isaiah 49:14-15

**219 **God’s love for Israel is compared to a father’s love for his son. His love for his people is stronger than a mother’s for her children. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved; his love will be victorious over even the worst infidelities and will extend to his most precious gift: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son."40

40. Jn 3:16; cf. Hos 11:1; Isa 49:14-15; 62:4-5; Ezek 16; Hos 11.

**239 **By calling God “Father”, the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God’s parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood,62 which emphasizes God’s immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard:63 no one is father as God is Father.

62. Cf. Isa 66:13; Ps 131:2.

63. Cf. Ps 27:10; Eph 3:14; Isa 49:15.

370 In no way is God in man’s image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective “perfections” of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband.241

241. Cf. Isa 49:14-15; 66:13; Ps 131:2-3; Hos 11:1-4; Jer 3:4-19.

 

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

APPLICATION: In human relationships there is no greater love than that of a mother for her baby. It has been proved beyond doubt down through the history of the human race. It is an unselfish love, a love, a dedication that demands and expects nothing in return. The love between husband and wife has of its nature a tinge of selfishness in it—it is at its best a mutual love, which expects and demands an equal response. The love of a child for its parents, when it comes to the use of reason, is inspired by gratitude for past favors and by a self-interested hope for more favors to come. But the love of a mother for her helpless baby is absolutely free of all self-interest, it looks for no return either in the present or in the future.

This is the image that God employs to describe his love for his Chosen People : the love of a mother for the baby at her breast, a love free from all self-interest and prepared to go to any lengths in order to bring his children to the maturity and perfection planned for them.

The exiles, let us hope, believed his word and put their trust in him, but they could not and did not realize or foresee the real lengths to which that unselfish love of God for them would go. The most they hoped for and desired was a return to their native land where peace and plenty would be given them by their kind God. But this was only a tiny part of God’s plan for them; we know the full truth now. God’s plan was to bring them back to Jerusalem and Judah so that he would fulfill his promise given to Abraham and their ancestors.

In Judah would be born the descendant of Abraham, Judah and David—the Messiah who would bring them, and all who would accept him, to their real homeland, heaven. As we know, God carried out his plan in spite of the stubbornness and disloyalty of those Chosen People to whom he had been not only a kind father but a loving mother all through their history. If some, or many of them, failed to reach their true homeland—the real promised land of eternal peace and plenty—the fault was theirs not God’s.

With our greater knowledge today of God’s love for us, and of his interest in our true welfare, which the Incarnation has proved, we are much more guilty than the Jews of the Old Testament if we prove disloyal to God and ungrateful for all he has done for us. If we allow the things of this world, its pleasures, its wealth, its positions of power (all of which will end for us in a few years), to make us forget God and our own eternal welfare, then we are far worse than the disloyal Jews who know little about the future life, and who had not before their eyes the example of the Son of God crucified for their sakes.

Yet the sad fact is that there are millions of Christians today, who live un-christian lives; men and women who act and behave as if the world was the beginning and end of everything for them. They forget, or rather do all they can to forget, that there is a future life towards which they are steadily and quickly moving.

However, there is one ray of hope for even the worst of us, and that ray of hope is God’s declaration that his love for us is stronger and greater than even that of a mother for the baby at her breast. If we turn to him with true repentance—no matter how numerous or how heinous our past faults were—he will take us back once more to his bosom. He will forgive and forget our past if we will put that past behind us, and from now on serve him as loyal and grateful children. Great sinners in the past have become saints; great sinners in the future will become eternal citizens of heaven. You too, be you a great or a lesser sinner, can end like them, if like them you return truly repentant to the God of love.

 

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2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

As we finish our journey through 1st Corinthians for this cycle of readings, we are once again reminded by Saint Paul that divisions in the Church cannot be tolerated; we are all members of the one body.

In this letter Paul has already referred to “factions” or divisions which had arisen among his converts. It was nothing very serious— it was rather that some groups boasted of having Paul as their teacher. Others boasted of Apollos, a great orator who came there after Paul had left. Others claimed Cephas, Peter, as their model, while others again claimed Christ as their teacher— as they all could. But a small beginning like this could lead to serious conflict later perhaps. Paul, therefore, condemned them and told them it was the message not the messenger that counted (see Chapters 1-3). In the verses read today Paul stresses this last point and tells them the preachers of the gospel are Christ’s servants and no one but Christ and God had a right to pass judgment on them.

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

Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes,
for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will manifest the motives of our hearts,
and then everyone will receive praise from God.

 

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From* The Navarre Bible* commentary with RSV-CE texts:

Servant of Christ
-----------------
*[1] This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. [2] Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. *

**1-2. **The features of every apostle, as outlined here by St Paul-- “servants of Christ”, “stewards of God’s mysteries”–put this ministry beyond the reach of grudges and petty squabbles. “Servants of Christ”, that is, ministers of Christ, are people to whom he has entrusted his property–his teaching and his sacraments–for them to protect it faithfully and, acting as his agents, to manage it, pass it on and “disperse” it to others (cf. “Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.”). As Paul stresses, a basic qualification for being a servant or steward is trustworthiness: “Those are untrustworthy stewards who when it comes to dispensing the divine mysteries do not seek the welfare of the people, the honor of Christ or the advantage of his members …]. Trustworthy stewards are those who always seek the honor of God and the welfare of his members” (“ibid., ad loc.”).

The Magisterium of the Church has often applied these words to the Christian priesthood: “The Apostle of the Gentiles thus perfectly sums up what may be said of the greatness, the dignity and the duty of the Christian priesthood: ‘This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God’ (1 Cor 4:1). The priest is the minister of Christ, an instrument, that is to say, in the hands of the divine Redeemer. He continues the work of the redemption in all its universality and divine efficacy, that work that wrought so marvelous a transformation in the world. Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed ‘another Christ’, for, in some way, he is himself a continuation of Christ: ‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you’ (Jn 20:21), is spoken to the priest, and hence the priest, like Christ, continues to give ‘glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased’ (Lk 2:14). A priest is appointed ‘steward of the mysteries of God’ (cf. 1 Cor 4:1 ) for the benefit of the members of the mystical body of Christ, since he is the ordinary minister of nearly all the sacraments–those channels through which the grace of the Savior flows for the good of humanity. The Christian, at almost every important stage of his mortal career, finds at his side the priest with power received from God, for the purpose of communicating or increasing that grace which is the supernatural life of his soul” (Pius XI, “Ad Catholici Sacerdotii”).

[3] But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. [4] I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. [5] Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God.

**3-5. **A servant, an employee, is obviously answerable for his actions–but he is answerable only to his master; only his master can judge him. Therefore, referring to the minister of Christ, St Paul declares that only our Lord can be his judge, because it is to him his service is owed. This teaching applies in the first place to Church ministers; but it also applies to all the faithful, for all should serve God by putting their talents to good use. Therefore, it is not for us to judge others, unless we have some special position which obliges us to do so. And certainly any judgment we do make is valid only if it accords with the will of God; any type of rash judgment would lead to very unfortunate results. Even that judgment we make about ourselves–examination of conscience, which St Paul seems to be hinting at when he says that he is not aware of anything against himself–should be made with the help of grace. It is not a matter of subjective introspection, but rather a sincere review made in the presence of God. It is not meant to be a reply to the question, What do I think of my behavior?; but rather to a different question, What does God think of it? Thus, a Christian should not be trying to meticulously measure his conduct, but to have recourse to God, who is rich in mercy. If so, the end-product of his examination will never be like that of the Pharisee, “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men”, but instead, like the publican’s “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:11, 13).

The Apostle, as we can see, is speaking of his own experience, and speaking from a heart full of pastoral solicitude: he is not merely giving advice or taking people to task.

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary with DRV text:

God’s ministers are not to be judged…

1 Let a man so look upon us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.

Ver. 1. Mysteries of God. That is, the dogmas of faith, revealed by the Almighty. (Estius)
*
2 Here now it is required among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful.

3 But to me, it is a thing of the least account to be judged by you, or by man’s judgment: for neither do I judge myself.*

**Ver. 3. **Or by human judgment. Literally, by human day. The sense, says St. Jerome, is, by any human judgment, or by men, whose judgment is in the day, or time of this life: but God judges in his day, after this life, and chiefly at the last day of judgment. — Neither do I judge myself, so as to look upon myself absolutely certain of the state of my soul, or that I am for certain justified, though I am not conscious to myself of any thing, because I am to be judged by an omniscient God, the great searcher of hearts, who perhaps may discover faults, which I, partial to myself, overlook. Now if St. Paul durst not say, he was justified, what presumption is it for others to pretend to an absolute certainty, that they are just in the sight of God! (Witham)

4 For I am not conscious to myself of any thing: yet hereby I am not justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

Ver. 4. For I am not conscious. This great apostle of the Gentiles, though conscious to himself of no breach of duty, still does not dare to call himself just. How different is the conduct of this apostle, from those wicked impostors, who teach, that a man is justified by believing himself so. (Estius) — If this privileged apostle was afraid to from any judgment of his own heart and thoughts, whether they were pure or not, but left the trial thereof to the day of judgment, the day of his death, how presumptuous are they, who dare to pronounce on their election and predestination!

*5 Therefore, judge not before the time: until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise from God.
*
**Ver. 5. ***Judge not, *&c. He gives them an admonition against rash and false judgments, and hints at those among them, who said, this man is better, this man is greater than such a one, &c. See St. Chrysostom. (Witham)

 

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Other thoughts and commentary on the 2nd Reading:

1 Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ: The term used here for “servant” is hyperetes which designated the rowers on the lowest bank of the galleys; it later came to mean “assistant” or “helper”.

**and stewards of the mysteries of God: **The steward was the servant entrusted with the administration of the house. Saint Paul uses this term because he insists that he is administering his master’s property and not his own. The apostles are Christ’s stewards, charged with preaching divine revelation and not their own doctrines. The Corinthians must see in their teachers: the true servants of Christ—it is he who appointed and sent them, it is for him, for his gospel that they are primarily working. They are also stewards in that they have charge of God’s household. It is their duty to dispense the faith and the sacraments—“the mysteries of God.”

*“There is a big difference between being a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. Anyone who has read the Bible can be a servant of Christ, but to be a steward of the mysteries one must plumb their depths. Paul was acting as a steward of the mysteries when he commissioned Luke, for example, to write his Gospel, and when he sent Timothy *(1 Timothy 1:1-4) to sort out the Ephesian church. I would even dare to say that in Corinth Paul acted like a servant of Christ, whereas in Ephesus he became a steward of the mysteries of God (Ephesians 3:1-13).” [Origen (ca. A.D. 245), *Commentaries on 1 Corinthians

2,18,10-16]

**2 Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy: **The first and indispensable quality demanded of the apostle is that he be trustworthy, with a conscious devotion to God’s interests rather than his own.

“A steward’s duty is to administer well the things that have been entrusted to him. The things of the master’s are not the stewards but the reverse—what is his really belongs to his master.” [Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392),* Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 10,5]
**
3 It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal: ** The Corinthians, therefore, have no right to pass judgment on Paul’s actions. Only his master, God, who made him a steward has a right to do this.

**I do not even pass judgment on myself: **This does not mean that he does not examine his conscience; but he knows that he is incapable of passing a truly objective judgment on his actions.

**4 I am not conscious of anything against me: he is not conscious of any wrong-doing or carelessness in his task.

but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord: **Human judgment of Paul is not his concern, he is answerable not to man but to God who will judge him on the faithfulness of his ministry. The Lord is his judge—he will judge objectively without fear or favor.

5 Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes,: Do not take the Lord’s prerogative, wait until he judges. This applies not only to their judging of Paul but of one another.

**for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness: ** God sees all things and will therefore judge with full knowledge of the facts

**and will manifest the motives of our hearts: The intentions (purpose of the heart) may change the moral value of any act. A good act done with an evil intention becomes evil. An evil act done in ignorance of its evil, can be a good act if the doer intends to do good. An act, indifferent morally in itself, can be a good or an evil act according to the doer’s intention.
**
and then everyone will receive praise from God: The Lord will make known His judgment at the parousia, and he will judge justly and each will receive reward or punishment according to his actions.

*“God will judge in His own good time. A judge is insulted if a servant presumes to pronounce a verdict before the judge makes the decision known.” *[The Ambrosiaster (A.D. 366-384), *Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles 1 Corinthians 4,5]

 

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Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

**678 **Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching.582 Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light.583 Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as nothing be condemned.584 Our attitude to our neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love.585 On the Last Day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."586

582. Cf. Dan 7:10; Joel 3-4; Mal 3:19; Mt 3:7-12.

583. Cf Mk 12:38-40; Lk 12:1-3; Jn 3:20-21; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5.

584. Cf. Mt 11:20-24; 12:41-42.

585. Cf. Mt 5:22; 7:1-5.

586. Mt 25:40.

859 Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As “the Son can do nothing of his own accord,” but receives everything from the Father who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from him,371 from whom they received both the mandate for their mission and the power to carry it out. Christ’s apostles knew that they were called by God as “ministers of a new covenant,” “servants of God,” “ambassadors for Christ,” "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God."372

371. Jn 5:19, 30; cf. Jn 15:5.

372. 2 Cor 3:6; 6:4; 5:20; 1 Cor 4:1.

**THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

1117** As she has done for the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine of the faith, the Church, by the power of the Spirit who guides her “into all truth,” has gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and, as the faithful steward of God’s mysteries, has determined its "dispensation."34 Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that among liturgical celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense of the term, sacraments instituted by the Lord.

34. Jn 16:13; cf. Mt 13:52; 1 Cor 4:1.

 

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

**APPLICATION: **The lesson we all must learn from St. Paul today is that we must avoid judging our neighbor—the right to judge belongs to God, who alone is aware of all the facts and circumstances. The strange fact is that there is a deep-rooted inclination in most of us to pass a moral judgment, almost always a condemnatory judgment, on our neighbor’s actions. But this is an inclination we must resist, however strong the temptation. What we hear the neighbor say, or what we see him do, may appear evil to us, but even granted that it is evil, ours is not the right to condemn. That remains God’s prerogative. As St. Paul tells us, we cannot see the “purpose of the heart.” The neighbor’s intention, which alone gives moral value to his sayings or doings, is unknown to us, and so our judgment is passed without full knowledge of the facts. It is, therefore, rash.

This prohibition of judging and condemning our neighbor holds for all our neighbors, whether they be above us, below us, or our equals. With our equals, and those below us, we are inclined to be a little more lenient, perhaps because we understand their circumstances better. But as a rule, our severest condemnations are reserved for our superiors. Is it perhaps because we are jealous that they, and not we, hold the higher position, or is it less blameworthy in that we do not understand all the difficulties that they have to contend with? In either case our judgment of them is sinful for we are usurping a right which is not ours.

This does not mean that we must take no interest in our neighbors spiritual welfare. Though we are not our brothers judges, we are our brothers’ keepers. In all charity, and with true Christian humility and kindness, we must, wherever possible, help our neighbor to avoid offending God. Passing judgment on him and spreading defamatory tales about him is not the Christian approach to charitable help. Instead we must, as far as possible, cover up his failings and try to understand his weaknesses. In this frame of mind we can approach him discreetly, and if he sees our motives are really charitable we may, with God’s grace, bring him to realize his mistakes.

Many a broken home, many a lapsed Christian, many an impenitent death could and would have been prevented if neighbors were active in true love of their fellowman. And if some neighbor or neighbors are condemned when they come to the judgment seat, because we did not do our Christian duty, how can we expect a favorable judgment? We shall be judged not only on what we did but on what we left undone. Resolve today, never again to pass private judgment on your neighbor and his actions. Instead, always resolve to be ready with a word of advice, and of encouragement. Have a fervent prayer for a neighbor who seems in need of spiritual help.

One charitable word of encouragement and counsel given to an apparently erring neighbor will be more likely to help him than pages of condemnation and abuse. We shall be rewarded by God in the first case, whether we succeed or not. We shall be condemned for our judgment in the latter case whether our judgment was true or not, because we usurped God’s right.

 

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**Gospel - Matthew 6:24-34
**
The sayings in chapter six of Matthew (from which our gospel reading is take) all have one common theme: singleness of purpose. The disciple should attend exclusively to the service of God and should not permit himself to be distracted from this concentration even by what men think are legitimate concerns. To place this in the full context, let’s look also at verses 19-23:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

This discussion of light and the eye reflects the physiological understanding at the time that there was a light within the eye which allowed a person to see and when that light was extinguished, blindness ensued. Likewise, if Christ, the Light of the World, does not shine within you, your soul is in darkness and evil is the result.The section we read today deals with the things of this world and how we should be detached from them if we wish to be members of God’s kingdom on earth and in heaven.

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

Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

 

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From *The Navarre Bible *commentary with RSV-CE texts:

Trust in God’s Fatherly Providence (Continuation)
-------------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [24] "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

**24. **Man’s ultimate goal is God; to attain this goal he should commit himself entirely. But in fact some people do not have God as their ultimate goal, and instead choose wealth of some kind–in which case wealth becomes their god. Man cannot have two absolute and contrary goals.

25-32. In this beautiful passage Jesus shows us the value of the ordinary things of life, and teaches us to put our trust in God’s fatherly providence. Using simple examples and comparisons taken from everyday life, He teaches us to abandon ourselves into the arms of God.

*[25] "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? *

**27. **The word “span” could be translated as “stature”, but “span” is closer to the original (cf. Luke 12:25). A “cubit” is a measure of length which can metaphorically refer to time.

[28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat?' or What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

**33. **Here again the righteousness of the Kingdom means the life of grace in man–which involves a whole series of spiritual and moral values and can be summed up in the notion of “holiness”. The search for holiness should be our primary purpose in life. Jesus is again insisting on the primacy of spiritual demands. Commenting on this passage, Pope Paul VI says: “Why poverty? It is to give God, the Kingdom of God, the first place in the scale of values which are the object of human aspirations. Jesus says: `Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness’. And He says this with regard to all the other temporal goods, even necessary and legitimate ones, with which human desires are usually concerned. Christ’s poverty makes possible that detachment from earthly things which allows us to place the relationship with God at the peak of human aspirations” (“General Audience”, 5 January 1977).

[34] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”

34. Our Lord exhorts us to go about our daily tasks serenely and not to worry uselessly about what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow. This is wisdom based on God’s fatherly providence and on our own everyday experience: “He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds will not reap” (Eccles 11:4).

What is important, what is within our reach, is to live in God’s presence and make good use of the present moment: “Do your duty now', without looking back on yesterday’, which has already passed, or worrying over `tomorrow’, which may never come for you” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 253).

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary with DRV text:

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Ver. 24. Behold here a fresh motive to detach you from the love of riches, or mammon. We cannot both serve God and the world, the flesh and the spirit, justice and sin. The ultimate end of action must be one, either for this or for the next life. (Haydock)

25 Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment?

Ver. 25. A prudent provision is not prohibited, but that over-solicitude which draws the soul, the heart, and its affections from God, and his sweet all-ruling providence, to sink and degrade them in empty pursuits, which can never fill the soul. (Haydock) —* Be not solicitous*; i.e. too solicitous with a trouble and anxiety of mind, as appears by the Greek. — For your life; lit. for your soul, which many times is put for life. (Witham)

*26 Behold the birds of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?

27 And which of you by thinking can add to his stature one cubit?*

Ver. 27. Why should the children of God fear want, when we behold the very birds of the air do not go unprovided? Moreover, what possible good can this anxiety, this diffidence procure them? Almighty God gives life and growth, which you cannot do with all your solicitude, however intensely you think. Apollos may plant, Paul may water, but God alone can give the increase. (1 Corinthians iii. 6.) Of how much greater consequence is it then to love and serve Him, and to live for Him alone! (Haydock)

*28 And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin.

29 Yet I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed as one of these.

30 Now if God so clothe the grass of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven: how much more you, O ye of little faith?*
**
Ver. 30. **“O ye of little faith;” that is, of little confidence in God and his providence. (Menochius)

*31 Be not solicitous therefore, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?

32 For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.*

Ver. 32. It is not without reason that men are in such great fear and distress, when they are so blind as to imagine that their happiness in this life is ruled by fate. But such as know that they are entirely governed by the will of God, know also that a store is laid up for them in his hands. (St. Chrysostom)

33 Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice: and all these things shall be added unto you.

**Ver. 33. **Your Father knoweth; he does not say God knoweth, but your Father, to teach us to apply to him with greater confidence. (St. Chrysostom) — He that delivers himself entirely into the hands of God, may rest secure both in prosperity and adversity, knowing that he is governed by a tender Father. (St. Aquinas)

34 Be not therefore solicitous for to-morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

Ver. 34. The morrow will bring with it cares enough, to occupy you in providing what will then be necessary for you. Christ does not prohibit all care about temporal concerns, but only what hinders us from seeking the kingdom of heaven in the first instance; or what makes us esteem more the things of this world, than those of the next. (Menochius) — The affliction and labour which each day brings with it is a sufficient trial, nor ought we seek by our anxiety for labour and affliction before it arrive; for why should man forestall the evil day, which has not arrived, and perhaps may never arrive? But again, this does not prohibit us from making a provision for the morrow, for Jesus Christ does not say to us, provide not for the morrow, but, be not solicitous for to-morrow. (Estius, in different location) He who supplied our wants to-day, will supply them also to-morrow. The evil of the day is sufficient, without borrowing to-morrow’s burden to increase the load. It is the curse of the envious and wicked to be self-tormented, whilst they who live by faith, can always rejoice in hope, the true balm of every Christian’s breast, the best friend of all in distress.

 

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Other thoughts and commentary on the Gospel Reading:

24 "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon: The disciple cannot have a divided loyalty. Although we think of mammon today as being money, the Talmud uses the term also to describe possessions in general. Taken together with verses 19-21 and the passage which follows, the radical character of this teaching becomes evident. Material possessions are a false god that demands exclusive loyalty but we are to have only one God (the first commandment). Any claims which material possessions have on an individual must be totally and completely repudiated. This doesn’t mean that material possessions are evil and that we shouldn’t own anything, but it does mean that God must be first in our lives and those possessions which we do have we should always be willing to sacrifice to God. The two masters that Christ refers to are God and worldly wealth. Each demands fulltime service. If a man loves God, he has no time for mammon. If his heart is set on getting worldly wealth (mammon) he has no time for God.

**25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?: **“Worry” is more than simple thought and planning. Jesus is referring to the kind of worry which leads to a divided loyalty and ultimately to an exclusive concentration of possessions. Jesus doesn’t deny the reality of human needs (see verse 32). In speaking of food, drink and clothing, Jesus is saying that the person is more important than the external goods which sustain him. He tells his disciples and his hearers not to be over-solicitous about their food or their clothing. They must not make themselves slaves to this world’s goods.

**26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?: **The example he gives proves the above point. This does not excuse a person from earning a living; after all, birds work harder than most men in order to sustain themselves. It is not laziness that He recommends (see 2 Thessalonians 3:10). The audience to which these sayings are addressed is composed primarily of peasants and laborers and Jesus says nothing to them which invites them to abandon their life of incessant toil. God feeds the birds because the birds search and search hard for their food. Man must do likewise.

**27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?:. **What is recommended is that one’s anxiety should not exceed the labor that is require to secure a living. It is not the use of the necessities of life that is discouraged, but the accumulation of material possessions. Verse 27 can also be translated “Can any of you by worrying add a single cubit to your stature?” Accumulated possessions do not prolong the lifespan or increase one’s height.

**28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.

29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.

30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?:** For a proper attitude about clothing, Jesus uses the example of the wild flowers which bloom in profusion on the Palestinian hills; hills which are a dull brown most of the year. The bright display of color lasts only a few weeks but is very impressive while it lasts. Solomon’s clothing, the proverbial example of wealth in the Bible, did not endure much longer than the wild flowers in the overall history of God’s people. Jesus is telling them that their faith is not as deep as it should be (see also Matthew 6:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20).
**
31 So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’: **This is the point Christ is driving home. While we must do our daily chores and do our best to provide for our needs, we must always remember to give God first place in our hearts. If we do this the very daily chores become a prayer and an act of reverence and trust in God who has a divine interest in us.

**32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

33 But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides: **To make the provision of food and clothing one’s major concern, an object of anxiety, is to live like the pagans who know no dedication except to the accumulation of goods in this world. God’s righteousness is His plan for the salvation of the human race. The disciples must maintain their dedication to the reign of God and submit themselves to and cooperate with His plan.

**34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil: **This was probably a popular proverb and a wise one it is. The parable of the man whose barns were too small to hold all he possessed, and who was on the point of building larger ones, when he was called to the judgment seat, brings this truth out. Yet, we must plan ahead in many ways but we must not be so occupied planning for a wealthy, worldly future that we forget the real future. What this saying addresses is that if our “saving” becomes “accumulation”, it has detracted from the loyalty which we owe to God alone.

 

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There are numerous paragraphs that contain references to this passage in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. To see them all, go here:

The Cross Reference - Matthew 6:24-34

 

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Some questions on the Readings for personal study and reflection from my web site:

* What does the 1st Reading tell you about the character of God, especially in connection with this Sunday’s Gospel Reading?

* As this Sunday’s Gospel tells us about the loving providence of God, so in the 2nd Reading St. Paul tells us that we should leave the judgment of the state of another’s soul in God’s hands. Do I ever put my self in God’s place in this regard? When I see a wayward brother or sister, what is my responsibility?

* What is the link between treasure and heart? Heart and eye? Eye and body? Master and money? How does your choice of treasure, master and perception (verses 19-24) affect your attitude toward life (verses 25-27)?

* What is your attitude toward your possessions? Your estate? Your career? Whatever you hold valuable? How are you “serving” these things? How does that compare with what Jesus says in Mt 5:3?

* What does God’s care for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field teach you?

* Considering this past week, is your “bank” on earth or in heaven? What do you need to change accounts? Who has been your master lately? Why?

* What causes you the most worry? What are signs that indicate you are worrying too much? What is god saying to you through this passage about handling your particular worry or disappointment?

* Why is it better to pray rather than to worry?

 

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A meditation on the Gospel Reading for practical application from* Catholic Matters*:

APPLICATION: The lesson is evident : God must have first place in our lives, if we really believe in a future, eternal life, as all Christians, and most other sane men do. But we still must earn our living and work our passage through life. What Christ is warning us against is that we must not get so attached to, and so enslaved by, the things of this world, that we neglect God and our own eternal happiness.

Most of us will say: “there is little danger that we shall get enslaved by the wealth of this world—we have so little of it.” But a man can get so attached to the little he has and so anxious to increase it, that he can cut God out of his life and forget the one thing necessary. Remember that a man can be drowned as easily in a tub of water as he could be in the deepest point in the Atlantic ocean. It is not the possession of the things of this world that Christ forbids, but letting the things of this world possess us. While we make the wealth and the goods of this earth serve our eternal purpose we can be true followers of Christ, but if we let them enslave us to the exclusion of that purpose then we are indeed on the wrong road.

In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, it was not the possession of much wealth that brought Dives to hell. but the wrong use of it. He lacked charity. He ignored his needy neighbors. He selfishly tried to spend all his wealth on himself. Neither was it the poverty of Lazarus that brought him to Abraham’s bosom, but the willing acceptance of his lot. He was unable, through illness, to earn his bread. He got little charity from those who could and should have helped him. Yet he bore with his misfortune patiently and so earned heaven. The fact is, of course, that not all rich men will go to hell. Neither will all beggars go to heaven.

While we work honestly for our living, we have every right to our just wage and have every freedom to spend what we earn on the necessities of life for ourselves and our families. We can also make the normal provisions for the years that may lie ahead. What our Lord is condemning is the inordinate love of riches and the things of this world—a love so inordinate that it leaves us no time, and no desire, to look for, and provide for, our real future—the life that begins when we leave this earth and all that it has