Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: January 16, 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 **2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A. **In the Gospel Reading, we see John the Baptist proclaim Jesus to be "the Lamb of God’.

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

My own weekly study can be found here under “Current Study.” (by the way: the website has been recently updated, so if you haven’t been there for a while, check it out)

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

Here are a pair of Catholic Bible study podcasts on the Gospel Reading, each about an hour long:

–Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother
–St. Martha’s Adult Faith Formation

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.
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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 49:3, 5-6

The Jerusalem Bible titles this reading “The 2nd Song of the Servant of Yahweh”. There are four servant songs in Isaiah (42:1-7; 49:1-7; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). They describe poetically the person (or nation) that will bring people to an awareness of God’s power, justice, and love. The servant will do this by his whole way of living, but most of all by the way he will bear the suffering brought about by the evil acts of the people. In his suffering, he will justify the people so that they can be restored to God after their separation. The early Church looked back to these servant songs of the Old Testament and began to see how clearly they defined the life and death of Jesus. This second Song of the Suffering Servant deals more with the “call” of the servant. He was called “from the womb.” The “light” theme of Epiphany is picked up in the last line of this reading.

These were prophecies uttered to encourage the Jewish exiles to persevere in their trust in Yahweh, who would liberate them from Babylon, and eventually send them the long-expected Messiah, promised to Abraham. This “one who is to come,” will give perfect obedience to God, will bear severe hardship, will be “a man of sorrows,” and because of this he will bring back all men, Jew and Gentile, to God. He will represent the whole human race, and earn for it the true friendship of God.

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

The LORD said to me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
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, the LORD 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.

 

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From the Navarre Bible Commentary with Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) translation:

Second Song of the Servant of the Lord
--------------------------------------

*[3] And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."

[5] And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength–[6] he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."*

49:1-6. In the first Song of the Servant of the Lord (42:1-9) we meet the “servant” for the first time and we are told of his mission to liberate the exiles. In this second song, the servant himself speaks. He addresses .the “coastlands”, “peoples from afar”, and he is conscious of having been chosen by God from his mother’s womb to carry out God’s plans of salvation even in those distant parts (cf. vv. 1-3). Here we are told about two aspects of his mission, which we will hear more about in the oracles that follow. First, he is to play a leading role in the recovery of the tribes and the repatriation of the exiles (v. 5); second, he will extend salvation to the ends of the earth (cf. v. 6).

This poem contains, things that the servant has to say about himself (vv. 1-4), and things that God says about the servant (vv. 5-6). The servant is well aware that he was called by God, even from his mother’s womb, (like Jeremiah; cf. Jer 1:5) and has been charged with preaching to the pagan peoples (“the coastlands”) or at least to his compatriots in the diaspora (cf. v. 1; cf. Jer 1:1-10; 25:13-38); he has been endowed with qualities that enable him to speak out, with words that find their mark like arrows, even if that creates divisions (v. 2; cf. Jer 1:10); and also, despite the divine protection given him, he feels depressed and disappointed, as happened to Jeremiah (vv. 3-4; cf. Jer 1:7; :8:18-20). Everything that the servant does is grounded on what the Lord has told him: “You are my servant, Israel” (v. 3). Some commentators are of the view that “Israel” here is a later interpretation, put in to support the collectivist interpretation of the servant that soon became widespread; but there is little evidence to support that: the word “Israel” is missing only in one manuscript, and not an important one at that. The mention of Israel does not argue against the servant’s being an individual rather than a collectivity, for in poetry a person can be addressed by his own name or by his family name. In fact, both in biblical Israel and nowadays we often find people using their place of birth as a surname.

Concluded on the next post…

 

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In vv. 5-6 the Lord spells out the servant’s mission: it is to renew the people in such a way that even non-Israelites can see the light and attain salvation. Although the universal mission of the servant is not clearly defined here, for his work is meant to be confined to the tribes of Jacob, still the achievement of this objective (the re-assembling of Israel) will be a kind of light to help the pagan nations see and acknowledge God. The expression “light to the nations”. (v. 6) already occurred in the earlier poem (42:6); there it could be taken in a social sense–to bring about the liberation of the exiles and captives; here, the religious meaning is clear: salvation will spread to all the nations.

To sum up, the servant of the Lord (be he an individual or a collectivity, or more likely both) has been chosen by God, who loves him most specially; he has all the main qualities of a prophet; and he must influence his compatriots so as to enlighten those from outside, and bring them salvation.

The messianic interpretation of the servant figure, based on this second song, was widespread among the Jews of Alexandria who made the Septuagint Greek translation; it was also held by members of the Qumran community and by some authors of the period between the Old and New Testaments (the author of the “Book of Enoch”, for example). All these interpreted the servant as standing for the entire people of Israel. Christians, from the beginning, applied the songs of the servant to Jesus, and saw them as finding fulfillment in his life. Thus, although the image of the “sharp sword” (v. 2) refers to the effectiveness of the word of God, in Hebrews 4:12-13 we find it used with reference to Revelation as a whole which is fully and perfectly manifested in Jesus Christ (cf. also Rev 1:16 and 2:12). We find the expression, “light to the nations” or “light to the peoples” being applied by Simeon to Jesus (Lk 2:32). Indeed, in the Acts of the Apostles it is applied to those who, in line with Jesus’ teaching and as cooperators in his work of salvation, are setting out to preach to the Gentiles, as the words Paul and Barnabas speak in the synagogue of Psidian Antioch testify: “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 13:46-47). Hence the Church sees her mission as spreading the truth about Jesus, the light that enlightens everyone: “The light, of God’s face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of Jesus Christ, ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Col 1:15), the ‘reflection of God’s glory’ (Heb 1:3), ‘full of grace and truth’ (Jn 1:14). Christ is ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6). …] Jesus Christ, the ‘light of the nations’, shines: upon the face of his Church, which he sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to every creature (cf. Mk 16:15). Hence the Church, as the people of God among the nations, while attentive to the new challenges of history and to mankind’s efforts to discover the meaning of life, offers to everyone the answer which comes from the truth about Jesus Christ and his Gospel” (John Paul II, “Veritatis Splendor”, 2).

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary with Douay-Rheims text:

Christ shall bring the Gentiles to salvation…

3 And he said to me: Thou art my servant, Israel, for in thee will I glory.

Ver. 3. Glory. In the Church, God is adored in spirit and truth. Isaias is ordered thus to address the Israelites.

5 And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.

Ver. 5. *Will not. *Hebrew, Septuagint, &c., “to be gathered.” (Haydock) — The original text, independent of the Masorets, may have the sense of the Vulgate. Yet there are other proofs of the synagogue’s rejection. (Calmet) — Protestants, “though Israel be not gathered, yet,” &c. Marginal note, or “that Israel may be gathered, and I may,” &c. (Haydock)

*6 And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.

Ver. 6. Earth. St. Paul, explains this of Christ, (Acts xiii.) who said, Go teach all nations, Matthew xxviii. Isaias was one of his first preachers.

 

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Other thoughts and comments on the 1st Reading:

3 You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory: The “servant,” the Messiah, says God has appointed him as his (faithful) servant who will bring all men to reverence and glorify God.

4 [Not included in this Reading]

5 For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb: He was predestined before his birth for this office. He is to be in human nature, formed in his mother’s womb by God. The full implication of these words can be seen in their fulfillment, as described in Luke’s Gospel: “the angel answered (Mary’s question regarding her virginity): *‘the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow and so the child will . . . be called the Son of God’” *(Lk. 1: 34-36. see Mt. 1: 18-22).

That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him: The Chosen People were to be the first to whom the Messiah and his message would come.

**And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength!

6 It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob:** The twelve tribes of Israel were named after the sons of Jacob (Israel). It was these tribes who settled the Promised Land after the exodus from Egypt.

**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: The mission of the Servant is expanded from Israel to the ends of the earth. This is a fulfillment of the promise to Abram in Genesis 12:3: “All the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” It is also the fulfillment of the prophecy of Simeon when Jesus was brought to the Temple for the presentation (Luke 2:31-32): “You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for Glory to your people Israel.” This is also quoted by Paul and Barnabas when they met opposition in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia and turned to the Gentiles.

 

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Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing Isaiah 49:3,5-6:

**64 **Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts.22 The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations.23 Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel’s salvation. The purest figure among them is Mary.24

22. Cf. Isa 2:2-4; Jer 31:31-34; Heb 10:16.

23. Cf. Ezek 36; Isa 49:5-6; 53:11.

24. Cf. Ezek 2:3; Lk 1:38.

**713 **The Messiah’s characteristics are revealed above all in the "Servant songs."82 These songs proclaim the meaning of Jesus’ Passion and show how he will pour out the Holy Spirit to give life to the many: not as an outsider, but by embracing our "form as slave."83 Taking our death upon himself, he can communicate to us his own Spirit of life.

82. Cf. Isa 42:1-9; cf. Mt 12:18-21; Jn 1:32-34; then cf. Isa 49:1-6; cf. Mt 3:17; Lk 2:32; finally cf. Isa 50:4-10 and Isa 52:13-53:12.

83. Phil 2:7.

 

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

**APPLICATION: **That these prophecies were remembered and studied by devout Jews is evident from the words of Simeon, who because of his saintly life, had been promised that he would live to see the promised Messiah. The promise was fulfilled. He was inspired to come to the temple on the very day the Blessed Mother brought the Infant Jesus for his presentation, as the Mosaic law prescribed. Simeon recognized in the Infant Jesus the promised Messiah. He took him in his arms, and sang his “Nune dimittis . . . My eyes have seen the salvation you have prepared for all the nations, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel” (Lk. 2: 27-32).

We too today, twenty centuries later, can sing that “Nune dimittis” with heartfelt joy and gratitude, for we can see, and have seen with the eyes of faith, that our Savior, the Son of God, has come among us, and has enlightened us with the true knowledge of our real purpose in life.

Because of our Christian faith, life has an entirely different meaning for us from what it had for our pagan ancestors. The real pagans today—those who never heard of Christ, or of his all-loving divine Father—and especially the self-made pagans, who. have heard of God and of his divine Son who became man, but do not believe in his divinity or his message, must and should, look at human life on earth as a torture invented by some cruel sadistic joker. If they happen to have many of this world’s goods they may he able to avoid some of life’s hardships. But wealth cannot guarantee them good health and peace of mind; in fact, its possession adds to the torture that the thought of having to die very soon must constantly cause them. They must leave it all and end in a hole in the ground, like their pet dog or any other dumb beast of the field.

If, instead, the neo-pagan has little of this world’s possessions, his few years on earth are but a purgatory in preparation for NOTHING.

Let us thank and bless God, with the saintly Simeon and with the millions of devout Christians down through the centuries, for having given us the light of faith, and the source of that light, his beloved Son who came among us. Because of Christ’s coming on earth, and because of the gospel of peace and hope that he has left to us, we know the purpose of life. We know why we are here, we know why we must expect and accept trials and troubles, because we know where we are going, and understand that life’s tribulations, as well as its joys and consolations, are the road which leads us to the true life.

*Thank you, God of love, for sending your divine Son to make heaven available to us! Thank you for having given us the Christian faith, which shows us what path to follow in our journey to that real heaven. Please forgive our past forgetfulness of your goodness, and give us the grace to follow our loving Savior more closely in future, so that when death calls us we may be worthy of the eternal life he earned for us. Amen. *

 

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2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

We now begin a study of the first part of 1st Corinthians; a study which will continue until Lent. During the period between Epiphany and Lent we study the first part of 1st Corinthians during Cycle A, the middle part of 1st Corinthians during Cycle B, and the last part of 1st Corinthians during Cycle C.

Corinth was one of the most important commercial cities in the Roman Empire. Occupying a strategic position on the isthmus which linked the Peloponnese Peninsula to continental Greece, it had two ports; one on the Aegean Sea and one on the Ionian Sea – it was virtually an obligatory stop on the route from Asia to Italy.

According to Homer, Corinth was founded in the 9th century B.C. and saw its heyday in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. with its schools of rhetoric and philosophy (the tomb of Diogenes was one of its proudest monuments). In 146 B.C. it was razed by the Roman General Lucius Mummius Achaicus; 100 years later Julius Caesar founded a new Roman colony on the ruins of the old city, giving it a new prosperity which lasted for three centuries.

Corinth was the capital of Achaia (Achaia and Macedonia were the two provinces into which the Romans divided Greece). It was also the residence of the Roman Proconsul. In the 1st century A.D. it had a population of some 600,000, making it the largest city in Greece. Up to 2/3 of the population were slaves, the rest being mainly Roman families. Since it was a key trading center, it had a cosmopolitan population-- including people from Asia Minor, Phoenicians, Egyptians and others. And it had a Jewish community of some size, as can be seen from the fact that there was a synagogue in the city (Acts 18:4).

It was also a city with many different religions and with temples dedicated to all sorts of gods-- and it was notorious for its low level of morality. Life “Corinthian style” was synonymous with depravity-- a woman of loose morals was known as a “Corinthian girl”. Its aberrations included the cult of Aphrodite, which had 1,000 “priestesses” who practiced what was euphemistically called “sacred prostitution.”

In the year 50 A.D., St. Paul went there to preach the gospel. He made some converts among his fellow-Jews, and many among the Gentiles, during his two years’ stay there. He left for Ephesus in 52 A.D., and from there he wrote this Epistle to the church of Corinth, correcting some of the abuses that had crept in, and adding further explanations to the gospel message he had already taught them.

The opening verses of this letter have been chosen for our reading today, because they show the prophecy, read in the first Reading, as fulfilled among the pagans, as well as emphasizing the purpose of the Messiah’s coming: the sanctification and true enlightenment of all nations.

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

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

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From the Navarre Bible Commentary with Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) translation:

1-9. With slight variations almost all St Paul’s letters begin in the same kind of way: there is a greeting (vv. 1-3), which carries the name of the writer, information on the addressee(s), and the conventional phrase; and an act of thanksgiving to God (vv. 4-9), in which the Apostle refers to the main qualities and endowments of the Christians to whom he is writing. By comparing his letters with other letters that have come down to us from the same period, it is quite apparent that St Paul usually begins his letters in the style of the time. yet he does not entirely follow this rigid pattern: he changes the usual opening–“Greeting!” (cf. Acts 15:23; 23:26)–to this more personal one, which has a pronounced Christian stamp: “Grace to you and peace.” Also, the way in which he introduces himself and describes those he is addressing tells much more than a simple “Paul to the Corinthians: greeting!” Even his words of thanksgiving convey tenderness and warmth–and their tone is not merely human, for he attributes to God the virtues he praises in the faithful.

The Fathers of the Church have drawn attention to this characteristic of Paul’s letters–the way he manages to convey a deep doctrinal message in a familiar style, nicely suited to whomever he happens to be addressing: “A doctor”, St John Chrysostom explains, “does not treat the patient in the same way at the start of his illness as when he is recovering; nor does a teacher use the same method with children as with those who need more advanced tuition. That is how the Apostle acts: he writes as suits the needs and the times” (“Hom. On Rom”, Prologue).

Greeting
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[1] Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

**1. **St Paul attaches to his name three features which identify him—his divine calling; his office as Apostle of Jesus Christ; and the will of God, the source of his apostolic vocation.

“Called”: this is a carefully chosen word designed to convey the vigorous and personal way God called him. He calls all men to faith, to grace, to holiness, and to heaven (cf., e.g. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 1:26; 7:20; Eph 1:18). By defining himself as “called” (cf. Rom 1:1), St Paul is very probably referring to the episode on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:1-19), when Christ changed his life, as he had earlier changed the lives of the Twelve.

“Apostle of Christ Jesus”: Paul can find no stronger expression than this to describe his mission: he is forever applying this title to himself–thirty-five times by our reckoning. This fact of his apostleship is the basis of his authority–authority to praise, teach, admonish and correct orally and in writing. He is so totally identified with this mission that he has no other purpose than to pursue it; his life is dedicated to this end; all his thoughts, words and actions are aimed at achieving it. Humbly (because he once persecuted the Church: 1 Cor 15:9) and yet forthrightly (cf. 1 Cor 9:1-2) he puts himself on the same level as the Twelve as far as vocation and apostleship are concerned.

“By the will of God”: the Apostle’s energy and vitality are ascribable not to himself but to God, who had plans for Paul ever since he was in his mother’s womb (Gal 1: 15); so much so that later in this letter he actually says, “If I preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).

“Our brother, Sosthenes”: it is uncertain whether this was the same person as the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth mentioned in Acts (18:17). The prominent position given him here suggests that he was someone well-known to the community at Corinth, either for his ministry among them or because he often accompanied St Paul; he may have been the secretary, or scribe, who actually wrote the letter down (cf. 16:21).

Continued below…

 

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[2] To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

**2. **“The church of God at Corinth”: the addressee of the letter. The very grammar of the phrase emphasizes the fact that the Church is not the totality of the local communities: rather, each local community–here, the Christians of Corinth–represents the whole Church, which is one and indivisible: “The Apostle calls it [the community] ‘the church of God’ in order to show that unity is one of its essential and necessary characteristics. The Church of God is one in its members and forms nothing but a single Church with all the communities spread throughout the world, for the word ‘church’ does not mean schism: it means unity, harmony, concord” (St John Chrysostom, “Hom on 1 Cor”, 1, “ad loc”.).

In another three brush-strokes St Paul here describes those who make up the Church–those sanctified in Jesus Christ, those called to be saints, those who invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Those sanctified in Christ Jesus”: the faithful receive at Baptism the grace which makes them a holy people (cf. Ex 19:6; 1 Pet 2:9); the participle “sanctified” implies something stable, such as is the intimate union between the individual Christian and Jesus. The formula “in Christ Jesus” here refers to the fact that the baptized are grafted on to Christ like branches attached to a wine (cf. Jn l5:1ff); this link with Christ is what makes them saints, that is, sharers in God’s own holiness; and it involves a duty to strive for moral perfection. “As those who profess any art, even though they depart from its rules, are still called artists, so in like manner the faithful, although offending in many things and violating the engagements to which they had pledged themselves, are still called holy, because they have been made the people of God and have consecrated themselves to Christ by faith and Baptism. Hence, St Paul calls the Corinthians sanctified and holy, although it is certain that among them there were some whom he severely rebuked as carnal, and charged with grosser crimes” (“St Pius V Catechism”, I, 10, 15).

“Called to be saints”: through faith and Baptism “all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 40).

“Those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”: this circumlocution describes Christian believers (cf. Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; Rom 10:12); what makes them different from others is that they worship Jesus Christ as Lord and God, in the same way as the faithful of the Old Covenant invoked the name of Yahweh. To be a member of the Church of God, therefore, it is essential that a person believe that Christ is God. “We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. He is the eternal Word of the Father before time began, one in substance with the Father, “homoousios to Patri”, through whom all things were made. He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and was made man. 'Equal, therefore, to the Father according to his divinity, less than the Father according to his humanity, his unity deriving not from some impossible confusion of substance but from his Person”’ (Paul Vl, “Creed of the People of God”, 11).

[3] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Peace of soul, that “serenity of mind, tranquillity of soul, simplicity of heart, bond of love, union of charity” of which St Augustine spoke (“De Verb. Dom. Serm.”, 58), originates in the friendship with God which grace brings with it; it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22-23). This is the only true kind of peace: “There is no true peace, just as there is no true grace, other than the grace and peace which come from God,” St John Chrysostom teaches, “Possess this divine peace and you will have nothing to fear, even if you be threatened by the direct danger, whether from men or even from the demons themselves; whereas see how everything is a cause of fear for the man who is at war with God through sin” (“Hom. on 1 Cor”, 1, “ad loc”.).

 

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From the *1859 Haydock Commentary *with Douay-Rheims text:

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Sosthenes a brother,

Ver. 1. Paul called to be an apostle. St. Paul had preached to the Corinthians, and had remained a long time with them, to instruct and confirm them in the faith. During his absence, the faithful of Corinth were divided into several parties, on occasion of some new teachers, who had come amongst them. (Calmet) — It was to heal the wounds caused by these divisions, that the present epistle was written. (St. Thomas Aquinas; Haydock) — *And Sosthenes. *There are various conjectures made concerning the person St. Paul here mentions. Some are of opinion that this Sosthenes is the same mentioned, Acts xviii. 17. who was beaten before the tribunal of Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, when St. Paul was carried before that magistrate. Eusebius says, that Sosthenes was one of the 72 disciples, and a different person from the one mentioned in Acts. Estius takes him to be St. Paul’s secretary. The common opinion is, that he was a great sufferer for the faith at Corinth, and St. Paul here mentions him as a man worthy their imitation. (Calmet)

2 To the church of God that is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in every place of theirs and ours;

**Ver. 2. **In every place of theirs and ours. Inasmuch as among Christians in all places there ought to be such an union in faith, and conformity of discipline, as if they were all in one place. (Witham)

3 Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

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Other thoughts and comments on the 2nd Reading:

**1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God: **Paul is an authentic apostle, like the twelve, by virtue of his divine call. Paul rightly attributes his vocation, to be an apostle of Christ, to the direct intervention of God. He had done nothing to deserve it. In fact, he had done everything to make himself unworthy of it. Of the bitter opponents of the early Christians in Jerusalem, he was the most bitter. A vision of the risen, glorified Christ, seen on the road to Damascus, had changed his outlook, and his way of life (see Acts 9: 1-19; Gal 1:12). Paul probably mentions his credentials since there are some in Corinth who seem to doubt his authority (1 Cor 9:1-2; 2 Cor 10—12).

“From the very beginning Paul casts down the Corinthians’ pride, in that he speaks of himself as ‘called.’ ‘For what I have learned,’ says Paul, ‘I did not discover myself, but it was while I was persecuting the Church that I was called. It was God who willed that you too should be saved in this way.’ We have done nothing good by ourselves, but by God’s will we have been saved. We were called because it seemed good to Him, not because we were worthy.’” [Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392), Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 1,1]

and Sosthenes our brother: Paul, in his letters, usually mentions one or more of his assistants in the apostolate, who are with him at the time of writing. Evidently, Sosthenes was known to the Corinthian Christians. Most probably he was the Sosthenes mentioned in Acts 18:17, who was the president of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth and was beaten up by the Jews who opposed Paul, because most probably, he had favored Paul and was about to join him.

2 to the church of God that is in Corinth: ** Paul uses the Greek word ekklesia (assembly) to designate a local church, denoting unity (CCC 752). The Septuagint used ekklesia to translate the Hebrew qahal Yahweh, that is, the assembly of Yahweh, meaning God’s Chosen People. This is a term applied to the assembly of Israelites, particularly in their desert wanderings (Deuteronomy 23:2). It shows that from the earliest days the Christian Church saw itself as God’s Chosen People of the new covenant. As part of the ekklesia the Christian community is beginning to transcend local barriers.
**
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus: By the merits of Christ’s sacrifice (Heb 10:10) and incorporated by baptism into the Body of Christ (1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26).

called to be holy: Sometimes translated “saints”. Christians are holy (i.e., “set apart”), just as Israel was a holy nation by divine election (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). While we are mostly saints-in-progress here on earth, everyone who is admitted to heaven is a Saint.
**
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: **Calling on the name of the Lord is an act of praise and worship (Gen 4:26; Ps 116:17). It is closely linked with the sacramental liturgy of the Church, as in baptism (1 Cor 6:11; Mt 28:19; Acts 2:38; CCC 2156). Invoking the name of the Lord “everywhere” recalls the universal worship of God’s name envisioned in Mal 1:11. The early Christians saw this fulfilled in “the pure offering” of the Eucharist (CCC 2643).

**their Lord and ours: **The Corinthians are not the only Christians but are members of a much larger body who accept Jesus as Lord and reverence his name.
*
“The Church ought to be unified because it belongs to God. It does not exist only in Corinth, but all over the world, and it is one, for the Church’s name (ekklesia) means ‘assembly.’ It is not a name of separation, but a name of unity and concord." *[Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392), Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 1,1]

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Two of the usual blessings found in the openings or the endings of the New Testament letters. Peace, in St. Paul, has a fuller meaning through the Hebrew shalom, which meant well-being. Christian peace, especially in St. Paul, means reconciliation with God (see Col. 1: 20; Rom. 5:1), and unity among the brotherhood (Col. 3:15). Paul’s customary salutation signifies the gracious goodness of God and the gifts that He gives to men whom He saves in Christ. We now have forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God (Rom 1:7; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3).
*
“If our peace comes from God’s grace, why are you so proud, since you are saved by grace? How can anyone find grace with God, except through humility?” *[Saint John Chrysostom (A.D. 392), Homilies on the First Epistle to the Corinthians 1,3]

 

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Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing 1 Corinthians 1:1-3:

**401 **After that first sin, the world is virtually inundated by sin There is Cain’s murder of his brother Abel and the universal corruption which follows in the wake of sin. Likewise, sin frequently manifests itself in the history of Israel, especially as infidelity to the God of the Covenant and as transgression of the Law of Moses. And even after Christ’s atonement, sin raises its head in countless ways among Christians.287 Scripture and the Church’s Tradition continually recall the presence and universality of sin in man’s history:

    *What Revelation makes known to us is confirmed by our own experience. For when man looks into his own heart he finds that he is drawn towards what is wrong and sunk in many evils which cannot come from his good creator. Often refusing to acknowledge God as his source, man has also upset the relationship which should link him to his last end, and at the same time he has broken the right order that should reign within himself as well as between himself and other men and all creatures.*288

287. Cf. Gen 4:3-15; 6:5,12; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor 1-6; Rev 2-3.

288. GS 13 § 1.

752 In Christian usage, the word “church” designates the liturgical assembly,141 but also the local community142 or the whole universal community of believers.143 These three meanings are inseparable. “The Church” is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ’s Body.

141. Cf. 1 Cor 11:18; 14:19,28,34,35.

142. Cf. 1 Cor 1:2; 16:1.

143. Cf. 1 Cor 15:9; Gal 1:13; Phil 3:6.

1695 *“Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God,”*13 "sanctified . . . [and] called to be saints,"14 Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit.15 This “Spirit of the Son” teaches them to pray to the Father16 and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the Spirit"17 by charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation.18 He enlightens and strengthens us to live as “children of light” through "all that is good and right and true."19

13. 2 Cor 6:11.

14. 1 Cor 1:2.

15. Cf. 1 Cor 6:19.

16. Cf. Gal 4:6.

17. Gal 5:22,25.

18. Cf. Eph 4:23.

19. Eph 5:8, 9.

 

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

**APPLICATION: **The conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus—the changing of the arch-enemy of Christianity into an apostle of Christ Jesus—was, after the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost day, the greatest benefit God conferred on the infant Church. From the moment he began his apostolate, he devoted himself wholeheartedly and exclusively to the spreading of Christianity among the Gentiles. Every thought of his mind, every bodily energy, and every gift of grace and nature which he possessed, were given to that one end : to make Christ and his message of salvation known to all men. He did not forget his fellow- Jews, but when they rejected him and his master Christ, he turned to the Gentiles.

During the 34 years of his missionary activity, he founded flourishing Christian churches in the principal towns of Asia Minor and Greece. In Rome itself he played a big part in the spread of the faith, from his prison cell. After his release in 62 from his first imprisonment, he spent another four or five years preaching in Spain and Italy, and re-visiting his earlier converts. Finally, in the year 67 or thereabouts, he laid down his life in Rome for the faith for which he had lived.

His apostolate did not end with his death. He has left to the Church a collection of letters, which are a source of encouragement and instruction for all who would live a true Christian life.

Today, he reminds each one of us that being Christians means we are called to be saints in heaven, when our years on earth come to an end. In heaven we shall certainly be, if we appreciate properly our Christian vocation, and live as true Christians, each day of our earthly lives. This does not mean that we must not take any interest in the affairs of this world, nor does it mean that we should neglect the earthly duties, which our own particular walk in life imposes on us. On the contrary living a truly Christian life means that we carry out faithfully and honestly our daily tasks. Our week-days are as important as our Sundays. In fact, if our week-days are dishonestly, that is sinfully, spent, our Sunday display of “Christian devotion” is not only a sham, it is an attempt at deceiving God. In reality, we are deceiving only ourselves.

Paul is still praying and wishing for us that grace and peace which he wished for the Corinthians. We need God’s grace, and his divine help, to live in peace and union with him, and with our fellowman. Paul’s prayer for us will be heard. Christ our Lord will not refuse his most devoted apostle if, but only if, we heed Paul’s words, and try every day to follow the path of faith which he preached to the Corinthians, and is still preaching to us today.

 

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Oops! That last post should have read “a meditation on the 2nd Reading”!!

 

[Fidelis]

Gospel - John 1:29-34

Each year the Gospel reading for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time is from the gospel of John. In our reading today, Jesus is recognized by John the Baptist. The time is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. John the Baptist is baptizing in the Jordan River.

All four Evangelists narrate the part played by John the Baptist to prepare the people for the proximate arrival, in their midst, of the promised and long-expected Messiah. The Baptist had spent his youth, and early manhood, living as a hermit in the desert of Judah. God revealed to him that the time had come for him to go to the Jordan riverside, to bring the glad tidings to the Chosen People.

This passage [verses 19-34] form a unity, beginning and ending with reference to the Baptist’s “testimony”: it thereby emphasizes the mission given him by God to bear witness, by his life and preaching, to Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. The Precursor exhorts people to do penance and he practices the austerity he preaches; he points Jesus out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; and he proclaims him boldly in the face of the Jewish authorities. He is an example to us of the fortitude with which we should confess Christ: “All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of the word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which the put on in Baptism” (Vatican II, “Ad Gentes”, 11).

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

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

 

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Here is the *Navarre Bible Commentary *on the Gospel Reading:

*[29] The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! *

**29. **For the first time in the Gospel Christ is called the “Lamb of God”. Isaiah had compared the sufferings of the Servant of Yahweh, the Messiah, with the sacrifice of a lamb (cf. Isaiah 53:7); and the blood of the paschal lamb smeared on the door of houses had served to protect the firstborn of the Israelites in Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:6-7): all this was a promise and prefiguring of the true Lamb, Christ, the victim in the sacrifice of Calvary on behalf of all mankind. This is why St. Paul will say that “Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The expression “Lamb of God” also suggests the spotless innocence of the Redeemer (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-20; 1 John 3:5).

The sacred text says “the sin of the world”, in the singular, to make it absolutely clear that every kind of sin is taken away: Christ came to free us from Original Sin, which in Adam affected all men, and from all personal sins.

The Book of Revelation reveals to us that Jesus is victorious and glorious in Heaven as the slain lamb (cf. Revelation 5:6-14), surrounded by saints, martyrs and virgins (Revelation 7:9, 14; 14:1-5), who render Him the praise and glory due Him as God (Revelation 7:10).

Since Holy Communion is a sharing in the sacrifice of Christ, priests say these words of the Baptist before administering it, to encourage the faithful to be grateful to our Lord for giving Himself up to death to save us and for giving Himself to us as nourishment for our souls.

*[30] This is He of whom I said, `After me comes a man who ranks before me, for He was before me.’ [31] I myself did not know Him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel." *
**
30-31. **John the Baptist here asserts Jesus’ superiority by saying that He existed before him, even though He was born after him. Thereby he shows us the divinity of Christ, who was generated by the Father from all eternity and born of the Virgin Mary in time. It is as if the Baptist were saying: “Although I was born before Him, He is not limited by the ties of His birth; for although He is born of His mother in time, He was generated by His Father outside of time” (St. Gregory the Great, “In Evangelia Homiliae”, VII).

By saying what he says in verse 31, the Precursor does not mean to deny his personal knowledge of Jesus (cf. Luke 1:36 and Matthew 3:14), but to make it plain that God revealed to him the moment when he should publicly proclaim Jesus as Messiah and Son of God, and that he also understood that his own mission as precursor had no other purpose than to bear witness to Jesus Christ.

[32] And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from Heaven, and it remained on Him. [33] I myself did not know Him; but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ [34] And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

**32-34. **To emphasize the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Evangelist includes here the Precursor’s testimony regarding Jesus’ Baptism (cf. the other Gospels, which describe in more detail what happened on this occasion: Matthew 3:13-17 and paragraph). It is one of the key points in our Lord’s life, in which the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is revealed (cf. note on Matthew 3:16).

The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said in Genesis 1:2 that He was moving over the face of the waters. Through this sign of the dove, the Isaiah prophecies (11:2-5: 42:1-2) are fulfilled which say that the Messiah will be full of the power of the Holy Spirit. The Baptist points to the great difference between the baptism he confers and Christ’s Baptism; in John 3, Jesus will speak about this new Baptism in water and in the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:5; Titus 3:5).

“The Son of God”: it should be pointed out that in the original text this expression carries the definite article, which means that John the Baptist confesses before his listeners the supernatural and transcendent character of Christ’s messiahship–very far removed from the politico-religious notion which Jewish leaders had forged.

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: Behold the lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sins of the world.

**Ver. 29. Behold the Lamb of God. John the Baptist let the Jews know who Jesus was, by divers testimonies. 1st, By telling them he was the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin, or sins of the world, who was come to be their Redeemer, and to free mankind from the slavery of sin; 2ndly, that he was greater than he, and before him, though born after him; 3rdly, that God had revealed to him that Jesus was to baptize in the Holy Ghost; 4thly, that he saw the *Spirit descending upon him *from heaven, and remaining upon him; 5thly, that he was the Son of God, ver. 34. (Witham) — Who taketh away. It was only a being like Christ, in whose person the divine and human natures were united, that could effectually take away the sins of the world. As man, he was enabled to suffer; and as God, his sufferings obtained a value equal to the infinite atonement required. (Haydock)

*30 This is he of whom I said: After me cometh a man, who is preferred before me, because he was before me.

31 And I knew him not, but that he may be made manifest in Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32 And John gave testimony, saying: *I saw the Spirit coming down as a dove from heaven, and he remained upon him.

33 And I knew him not; but he, who sent me to baptize with water, said to me: He upon whom thoiu shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34 And I saw: and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God.*

 

[Fidelis]

SO MUCH can be said about this Gospel Reading, but here are some other comments and thoughts:

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him: Apparently, Jesus remained for a few days after his baptism (see Jn. 1: 33-45), near the Jordan region where John was preaching.
**
and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world: **Since John’s gospel doesn’t stress atonement for sin as the primary purpose of Jesus’ crucifixion and/or exaltation, John the Baptist’s affirmation probably reflects the Servant of the Lord of Isaiah 53:7-12 where the Servant is compared to a lamb and is said to bear the iniquity of many (read Is 53:7-12, CCC 608). This was the interpretation of the Greek Church Fathers. The Latin Fathers interpreted it as a reference to the Passover lamb whose blood, while not taking away sin, protected the people from destruction, and whose flesh was partaken of in a liturgical meal (Ex 12:1-27).

The Baptist points out Jesus to the people as the Messiah, the “servant of God” of whom Isaiah spoke. John spoke in Aramaic, and in that language the same word Thalya can mean lamb or servant. The “passover lamb” (Ex. 12: 7) had no part in taking away sin, but the servant of God, in Isaiah 53:7-12, is compared to a “lamb led to the slaughter,” and suffering for the sins of his people.

30 He is the one of whom I said: This is, on the previous day (Jn. 1: 27; Mt. 3: 6).
**
'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me: **Because the Baptist was born six months before Christ, but Christ, in his divine nature, preceded him (see Jn. 1: 1). This is an affirmation of the pre-existence of Jesus. Whether the Baptist understood the full meaning of his words or not is debatable, but when John the Evangelist was writing his gospel the real meaning of these words was clear to all Christians.

31 I did not know him but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.": The Baptist’s mission to prepare the Chosen People for the proximate arrival of the Messiah.

Prior to this time the Baptist, whether he had met Jesus personally or not, had not received the sign he was to be given letting him know definitively that Jesus was the Messiah, even though the express purpose of his baptizing had been to prepare men for the Messiah’s coming. God had told him in effect: “wait for this particular sign”, not “rely upon your own experience, feelings or insight”.

**32 John testified further: **St. John uses the word “testify” or “witness” at least 46 times in his Gospel. The Greek root of this word is where we get our word martyr.
**
saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky: **John the Baptist recognized the Messiah only when he baptized him and is given the promised sign. (John presupposes you know the synoptic baptism story because he doesn’t recount it, but refers to it). The theophany (appearance of God to man) at the baptism was an objective event and not merely a private experience of Jesus. John the Baptist possibly did not have the Christian revelation of the Holy Spirit as a distinct person in the Godhead—he may have only understood the Spirit in the Old Testament sense, as signifying God’s vital power.

and remain upon him: The Greek expression is used often in John (also translated “dwell” or “abide”) for the enduring bond between Father and Son (14:10; 15:10) and for the indwelling of the Trinity in the believer (6:56; 14:17; 15:4-7).

33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’: John’s baptism was only a type, or symbol, of the real baptism with which Christ would baptize men. He would confer on them not only “grace,” friendship with God, but sonship of God (see CCC 1287—89).

The recognition of the Messiah by John the Baptist was of divine origin. The Old Testament prophets had foretold an outpouring of the Spirit in the Messianic age [Joel 2:28f (3:1f in NAB and NJB), Isaiah 32:15; Ezekiel 39:29; Zechariah 12:10].

**34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.": **Possibly an allusion to Isaiah 42:1, recognizing Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. Baptism by John the Baptist equals the Old Testament expectation. The Baptism of Jesus equals the New Testament fulfillment in the Holy Spirit.

The Baptist’s witness was that the man he had baptized and on whom he had seen the Spirit descend (the sign of identification given him by God—“he who sent me"), was the expected Messiah, the servant described in Isaiah (see Luke 3:21-22; CCC 535). At that time, his divinity was not yet recognized, nor was it made manifest, but by the time the Evangelists wrote, it was the basic teaching and belief of the Church.