Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty God,
our hope and our strength,
without You we falter.
Help us to follow Christ
and to live according to Your will.
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 5:38-42
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel forms part of a small literary unit which goes from Mt 5:17 to Mt 5:48, which describes how to pass from the ancient justice of the Pharisees (Mt 5:20) to the new justice of the Kingdom of God (Mt 5:48). It describes how to go up to the Mount of the Beatitudes, from where Jesus announces the new Law of love. The great desire of the Pharisees was to live in justice, to be just before God. This is the desire of all of us. Just is the one who succeeds in living where God wants him/her to live. The Pharisees tried to attain justice through the strict observance of the Law. They thought that with their own effort they could succeed in being where God wanted them to be. Jesus takes a stand concerning this practice and announces the new justice which should surpass the justice of the Pharisees (Mt 5:20). In today’s Gospel we are almost reaching the summit of the mountain. Only a little is lacking. The summit is described in one sentence: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48), on which we will meditate in tomorrow’s Gospel. Let us look closely at this last degree which is still lacking to reach the summit of the mountain, of which Saint John of the Cross says, “Here reign silence and love.”
• Matthew 5:38: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. Jesus quotes a text of the Ancient Law saying, “You have heard how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth!” He shortened the text, because the complete text said: “Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, blow for blow” (Ex 21:23-25). As in the previous cases, here Jesus makes a completely new rereading. The principle “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” was already found in the origin of the interpretation which the scribes made of the law. This principle should be overthrown, because it perverts and destroys the relationship among people and with God.
• Matthew 5:39ª: Do not give back evil for evil received. Jesus affirms exactly the contrary: “But I say to you do not offer resistance to the wicked.” When some violence is received, our natural reaction is to pay the other one with the same coin. Vengeance asks for “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” Jesus asks to pay back the evil not with evil, but with good. Because if we do not know how to overcome the violence received, the spiral of violence will take up everything and we will not know what to do. Lamech said: For a wound received I will kill a man, and for a scar I would kill a young person. If the vengeance of Cain was worth seven, then Lamech will count for seventy-seven” (Gen 4:24). And it was precisely because of this terrible act of vengeance that everything ended in the confusion of the Tower of Babel. (Gen 11:1-9). Faithful to the teaching of Jesus, Paul writes in the letter to the Romans: “Never pay back evil with evil; let your concern be to do good to all men. Do not allow yourselves to be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:17.21). To be able to have this attitude it is necessary to have much faith in the possibility of recovery that the human being has. How can we do this in practice? Jesus offers four concrete examples.
• Matthew 5:39b-42: the four examples to overcome the spiral of violence. Jesus says: “rather (a) if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; (b) if anyone wishes to go to Law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. (c) And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him. (d) Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away” (Mt 5:40-42). How are these four affirmations to be understood? Jesus Himself helps us to understand. When the soldier hit Him on the cheek, He did not offer the other cheek explicitly and invite another strike. Rather, by not threatening or not blocking another blow, He still “offers” the other cheek. At the same time, He reacted with energy: “If there is some offense in what I said, point it out, but if not, why do you strike Me?” (Jn 18:23) Jesus does not teach us to be passive. Saint Paul thinks that paying evil with good “you will make others be ashamed” (Rom 12:20). This faith in the possibility to recover the human being is possible only beginning from the root which comes from the total gratuity of the creative love which God shows us in the life and the attitudes of Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Have you ever felt within you such a great anger as to want to apply the vengeance “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”? What did you do to overcome this?
• In your daily life, how would you implement or act out the four examples in Matthew 5:39b-42?
• How can these affirmations of Jesus be applied to immigration and allowing immigration into the country?
• Many times, people will agree with affirmations such as these, and then give a BUT… and proclaim exclusions, exceptions, and limitations. Consider real-life modern situations that suggest an opportunity for “turning the other cheek”, “giving more than is asked”, eye for an eye”, etc. Do you too have a BUT, or ONLY IF limitation in your answer? Would Jesus say the same thing?
5) Concluding Prayer
Give ear to my words, Yahweh,
spare a thought for my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God! To You I pray. (Ps 5:1-2)
1) OPENING PRAYER
God of mercy and compassion,
you challenge us to be responsible
for the good and the evil we do
and You call us to conversion.
God, help us to face ourselves
that we may not use flimsy excuses
for covering up our wrongs.
Make us honest with ourselves,
and aware that we can always count on Jesus Christ
to be our guide and strength on the road to You,
now and for ever.
2) GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
3) REFLECTION
The text of today s Gospel forms part of a broader or more extensive whole: Mt 5:20 up to Mt 5:48. In these passages Matthew tells us how Jesus interprets and explains the Law of God. Five times He repeats the phrase: You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, in truth I tell you! (Mt 5:21. 27. 33.38. 43). Before, He had said: Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; no, I have come not to abolish, but to complete them (Mt 5:17). The attitude of Jesus before the Law is, at the same time, one of breaking and of continuity. He breaks away from the erroneous interpretations, but maintains firm the objective which the Law should attain: the practice of a greater justice, which is Love.
Matthew 5:20: An uprightness which surpasses that of the Pharisees. This first verse presents the general key of everything which follows in Matthew 5:20-48. The word Justice never appears in the Gospel of Mark, and it appears seven times in that of Matthew (Mt 3:15; 5:6.10.20; 6:1.33; 21:32). This has something to do with the situation of the communities for which Mark wrote. The religious ideal of the Jews of the time was to be just before God. The Pharisees taught: people attain justice before God when they succeed to observe all the norms of the law in all its details! This teaching generated a legalistic oppression and caused great anguish in the people because it was very difficult to be able to observe all the norms (cfr. Rm 7:21-24). This is why Matthew takes the words of Jesus on justice to show that it has to surpass the justice of the Pharisees (Mt, 5:20). According to Jesus, justice does not come from what I do for God in observing the law, but rather from what God does for me, accepting me as His son or as His daughter. The new ideal which Jesus proposes is the following: therefore, be perfect as is your Heavenly Father! (Mt 5:48). That means: you will be just before God when you try to accept and forgive people as God accepts and pardons me, in spite of my defects and sins.
By means of these five very concrete examples, Jesus shows us what to do in order to attain this greater justice which surpasses the justice of the and the Pharisees. As we can see, today’s Gospel takes the example of the new interpretation of the fifth commandment: You shall not kill! Jesus has revealed what God wanted when He gave this commandment to Moses.
Matthew 5:21-22: The law says: You shall not kill! (Ex 20:13). In order to observe fully this commandment it is not sufficient to avoid murdering. It is necessary to uproot from within everything which, in one way or another, can lead to murder, for example, anger, hatred, the desire to revenge, insult, and exploitation, etc.
Matthew 5:23-24. The perfect worship which God wants. In order to be accepted by God and to remain united to Him, it is necessary to reconcile oneself with brother and sister. Before the destruction of the Temple, in the year 70, when the Christian Jews participated in the pilgrimages in Jerusalem to present their offerings at the altar and to pay their promises, they always remembered this phrase of Jesus. In the year 80, at the time when Matthew wrote, the Temple and the Altar no longer existed. They had been destroyed by the Romans. The community and the communitarian celebration became the Temple and the Altar of God.
Matthew 5:25-26: To reconcile oneself. One of the points on which the Gospel of Matthew exists the most is reconciliation. That indicates that in the communities of that time, there were many tensions among the radical groups with diverse tendencies and sometimes even opposing ones. Nobody wanted to cede to the other. There was no dialogue. Matthew enlightens this situation with the words of Jesus on reconciliation which demands acceptance and understanding. The only sin that God does not forgive is our lack of pardon toward others (Mt 6:14). That is why one should try to reconcile yourself before it is too late!
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
Today there are many people who cry out for justice! What meaning does evangelical justice have for me?
How do I behave before those who do not accept me as I am? How did Jesus behave before those who did not accept Him?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
From the depths I call to You, Yahweh:
Lord, hear my cry.
Listen attentively to the sound of my pleading! (Ps 130,1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
Your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward You
and toward people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do Your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel (Mt 5:17-19) teaches how to observe the law of God in such a way that its practice indicates in what its complete fulfillment consists (Mt 5:17-19). Matthew writes in order to help the communities of converted Jews to overcome the criticism of the brothers of their own race who accused them saying, “You are unfaithful to the Law of Moses.” Jesus Himself had been accused of infidelity to the Law of God. Matthew has the clarifying response of Jesus concerning His accusers. Thus, he gives some light to help the communities solve their problems.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is to be salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5:17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3:21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15:1,5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even went so far as to say, “Anathema Jesus!” (1 Cor 12:3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a space where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized Him continued to be timely for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close themselves off in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, what was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of people, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5:19: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique plan of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us His Spirit.
4) Personal questions
• Laws are written in the negative: “thou shall not...”. Love is performed in the positive: as service, caring, helping. It is the same with virtues and vices, which each address in a positive and negative way. Take each Commandment and rewrite it in a positive way of action that conforms to an act of love. Can it be done? Can you do what it demands?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who believe faith in Jesus does not demand action as well? How would you approach that attitude? Is yours a faith and a life that shows love in action, or would someone who observes you say they see talk, but not much action as well?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem,
Zion, praise Your God.
For He gives strength to the bars of your gates,
He blesses your children within you. (Ps 145:12-13)
1) Opening prayer
God of wisdom and love,
source of all good,
send Your Spirit to teach us Your truth
and guide our actions
in Your way of peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 5:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."
3) Reflection
• Today in the Gospel we receive an important instruction on the mission of the community. It should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mt 5:13-16). Salt does not exist for itself, but to give flavor to the food. Light does not exist for itself, but for the service of people. At the time when Matthew wrote his Gospel, this mission was very difficult for the communities of converted Jews. Although they were living in faithful observance of the Law of Moses, they were expelled from the synagogues, cut away from their Jewish past. Regarding this, among the converted pagans, some said, “After the coming of Jesus, the Law of Moses has become obsolete.” All this caused tension and uncertainty. The openness of some seemed to be criticism of the observance of others, and vice versa. This conflict brought about a crisis which led many to become adamant in their own position. Some wanted to advance, to go ahead, while others wanted to place the light under the table. Many asked themselves, “In the final analysis, what is our mission?” Recalling and updating the words of Jesus, Matthew tries to help them.
• Matthew 5:13-16: Salt of the earth. By using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus makes known what the mission is and the reason for being a Christian community: to be salt. At that time, when it was very hot, people and animals needed to consume much salt. The salt, which was delivered by merchants in great blocks in the public square, was consumed by the people. What remained fell to the ground and lost its savor. “It no longer serves for anything, but it is thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” Jesus recalls this practice in order to clarify for the disciples the mission which they have to carry out.
• Matthew 5:14-16: Light of the world. The comparison is obvious. Nobody lights a candle and places it under the tub. A city built on the hill top cannot be hidden. The community should be light; it should enlighten. It should not be afraid to show the good that it does. It does not do it to make itself seen, but what it does can be seen. The salt does not exist for itself. The light does not exist for itself. This is how the community should be. It cannot remain enclosed in itself. “Your light must shine in people’s sight, so that seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in Heaven.”
• Matthew 5:17-19: Not one dot, not one little stroke will disappear from the Law. Among the converted Jews there were two tendencies. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament because we are saved by the faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3:21-26). There are Christian groups today that believe only this as well. Others thought that they should continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15:1-2). In each of the two tendencies there were even more radical groups. Before this conflict, Matthew tries to find a balance, the equilibrium, over and above the two extremes. The community should be the space where this equilibrium can be attained and lived. The response given by Jesus continued to be very timely: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities cannot be against the Law, nor can they close themselves off in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they must move forward and show in a practical way that the objective which the law wants to attain in life is the perfect practice of love.
Jesus completes the law by His summation: to love one another. He sums it up by example, as well as His instruction (Mk 12:31-33). To believe in Jesus is not just believing some history, it is also believing who Jesus is, and therefore, the importance of following His instruction. To love, and to work in imitation of Jesus in love, demands outward action and a sincere concern and care for every brother and sister in the world, all of God’s children, starting with our community.
•The different tendencies in the first Christian communities. The plan of salvation has three stages united among themselves from the earth to life: a) the Old Testament: the path of the Hebrew people, orientated, guided by the Law of God. b) The life of Jesus of Nazareth: it renews the Law of Moses starting from His experience of God, Father and Mother. c) The life of the communities: through the spirit of Jesus, they tried to live as Jesus lived it. The union of these three stages generates the certainty of faith that God is in our midst. The intention to break or weaken the unity of this plan of salvation gave rise to various groups and tendencies in the communities:
i) The Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as Messiah and accepted only the Old Testament. In the communities there were some people who sympathized with the thought of the Pharisees (Acts 15:5).
ii) Some converted Jews accepted Jesus as Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which the communities lived the presence of the risen Jesus. (Acts 15:1).
iii) Others, both converted Jews and pagans, thought that, with Jesus, had come the end of the Old Testament: from now on, Jesus alone and the life in the Spirit.
iv) There were also Christians who lived so fully the life in the liberty of the Spirit, that they no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor the Old Testament (1Cor 12:3).
v) Now the great concern of the Gospel of Matthew is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three form part of the same and only plan of God and give us the central certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the communities by faith in Jesus of Nazareth.
4) Personal questions
• Salt and light are taken for granted today. We have salt in all of our food and electric lights at any time. What would you choose to use instead of salt and light for examples today, and why?
• Through modern travel and technology, our community can be seen (observed) by those next door or by other people or communities across the globe. Is our community a “city on a hill” for the worldwide community? How can we be salt and light for someone nearby as well as in another country?
• Those Jesus sent on the mission went out and did not sit at home or in an office waiting to be visited. How do we “go out” to meet others and other communities near and far on our mission, as individuals, as an individual local community, or as a larger community?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh judiciously guides the humble,
instructing the poor in His way.
Kindness unfailing and constancy mark all His paths,
for those who keep His covenant and His decrees. (Ps 25:9-10)
1) Opening prayer
God of wisdom and love,
source of all good,
send Your Spirit to teach us Your truth
and guide our actions
in Your way of peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up onto the mountain. And when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
Then He began to speak. This is what He taught them:
How blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the gentle; they shall have the earth as inheritance.
Blessed are those who mourn; they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness; they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful; they shall have mercy shown them.
Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be recognized as children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of righteousness; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.
3) Reflection
• From today, beginning of the 10th week of Ordinary Time, up to the end of the 21st Week of Ordinary time, the daily Gospels are taken from Matthew. Starting from the beginning of the 22nd week of Ordinary Time, up to the end of the Liturgical Year, the Gospels are taken from Luke.
• In Matthew’s Gospel, written for the communities of the converted Jews of Galilee and Syria, Jesus is presented as the New Moses, the new legislator. In the Old Testament the Law of Moses was codified in five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Imitating the ancient model, Matthew presents the New Law in five great discourses spread over in the Gospel: a) the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1 to 7:29); b) the Discourse on the Mission (Mt 10:1-42); c) The Discourse of the Parables (Mt 13:1-52); d) The Discourse of the Community (Mt 18:1-35); e) The Discourse on the Future of the Kingdom (Mt 24:1 – 25:46). The narrative parts, which have been put in among the five Discourses, describe the practice of Jesus and show how He observed the New Law and incarnated it in His life.
• Matthew 5: 1-2: The solemn announcement of the New Law. In agreement with the context of the Gospel of Matthew, in the moment when Jesus pronounces the Sermon on the Mount, there were only four disciples with Him (cf. Mt 4:18-22). Few people. But an immense multitude was behind Him (Mt 4: 25). In the Old Testament, Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God. As it happened to Moses, Jesus went up to the Mountain, and seeing the crowd, He proclaimed the New Law. The solemn way in which Matthew introduces the proclamation of the New Law is significant: “Seeing the crowds, He went onto the mountain. And when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He began to speak. This is what He taught them: How blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs”. The eight Beatitudes open in a solemn way the “Sermon on the Mount” – the sermon on the mountain. In them Jesus defines who can be considered blessed, who can enter into the Kingdom. There are eight categories of persons, eight entrance doors to the Kingdom, for the community. There are no other entrances! Anyone who wants to enter into the Kingdom should identify himself with at least one of these eight categories.
• Matthew 5: 3: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Jesus acknowledges the richness and the value of the poor (Mt 11: 25-26). He defines His own mission in these words: “to proclaim the Good News to the poor” (Lk 4:18). He Himself lives in poverty. He possesses nothing for Himself, not even a stone where to rest His head (Mt 8:20). And to anyone who wants to follow Him, He offers a choice: God or money! (Mt 6:24). In Luke’s Gospel it is said, “Blessed are you who are poor!” (Lk 6:20). But who is poor in spirit? It is the poor person who has the same spirit that animated Jesus. It is not the rich person, neither the poor person who has the mentality of a rich person. But rather it is the poor person who acts as Jesus: he thinks of the poor and recognizes the value in him. It is the poor person who says, “I think that the world will be better when the little one who suffers thinks of the least.”
1. Blessed the poor in spirit => for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
2. Blessed the meek => they shall have the earth as inheritance
3. Blessed those who mourn => they will be consoled
4. Blessed those who hunger and thirst for justice => they shall have their fill
5. Blessed are the merciful => they shall have mercy shown them
6. Blessed are the pure in heart => they shall see God
7. Blessed are the peacemakers => they shall be recognized as children of God
8. Blessed those persecuted for the cause of justice => theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
• Matthew 5: 4-9: The new project of life. Every time that in the Bible they try to renew the Covenant, they begin by re-establishing the rights of the poor and the excluded. Without this, the Covenant cannot be renewed! This is the way the Prophets did, this is how Jesus did. In the Beatitudes, He announces the new Project of God, which accepts the poor and the excluded. It denounces the system which excludes the poor and which persecutes those who fight for justice. The first category of the “poor in spirit” and the last category of those “persecuted for the cause of justice” receive the same promise of the Kingdom of Heaven. And they receive it beginning now, in the present, because Jesus says, “theirs is the Kingdom!” The Kingdom is already present in their life. Between the first and the last category, there are six other categories which receive the promise of the Kingdom. In them there is the new project of life which wants to reconstruct life totally through a new type of relationship: with material goods (the first two); with persons among themselves (2nd two); with God (3rd two). The Christian community should be an example of this Kingdom, a place where the Kingdom begins and takes shape, beginning now.
• The three duos: First one: the meek and those who mourn: the meek are those poor of whom Psalm 37 speaks. They have been deprived of their land and they will inherit it again (Ps 37: 11; cf. Ps 37:22,29,34). Those who mourn are those who weep in the face of injustices in the world and in people (cf. Ps 119:136; Ezek 9:4; Tob 13:16; 2 Pet 2:7). These two Beatitudes want to reconstruct the relationship with material goods: the possession of the land and of the reconciled world.
Second duo: those who hunger and thirst for justice and the merciful: Those who are hungry and thirsty for justice are those who desire to renew human living together, in such a way that once again it may be according to the demands of justice. The merciful are those who feel in their heart the misery of others because they want to eliminate the inequality among brothers and sisters. These two Beatitudes want to reconstruct the relationship among persons through the practice of justice and solidarity.
Third duo: The pure in heart and the peacemakers: The pure in heart are those who have a contemplative look which allows them to perceive the presence of God in everything. Those who promote peace, the peacemakers, will be called children of God, because they make an effort so that a new experience of God can penetrate in everything and can integrate all things. These two Beatitudes want to build up the relationship with God: to see the presence of God which acts in everything, and be called son and daughter of God.
• Matthew 5:10-12: The persecuted for the cause of justice and of the Gospel. The Beatitudes say exactly the contrary of what society in which we live says. In fact, in society, those who are persecuted for the cause of justice are considered as unhappy, wretched persons. The poor are unhappy. Blessed is the one who has money and can go to the supermarket and spend as she wishes. Blessed is the one who is hungry for power. The unhappy and wretched are the poor, those who weep! In television, the soap operas diffuse this myth of the happy and fulfilled person. And without being aware, the soap operas become the model of life for many of us. Is there still place in our society for these words of Jesus: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice and of the Gospel? Blessed are the poor! Blessed are those who weep!”? And from my own perspective, being a Christian, whom do I consider blessed?
4) Personal questions
• We all want to be happy. All of us! But are we truly happy? Why yes? Why no? How can we understand that a person can be poor and happy at the same time?
• In which moments of your life have you felt truly happy? Was it a happiness like the one proclaimed by Jesus in the Beatitudes, or was it of another type?
5) Concluding Prayer
I lift up my eyes to the mountains;
where is my help to come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. (Ps 121:1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
Your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 12:38-44
In His teaching Jesus said, 'Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets; these are the men who devour the property of widows and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.'
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then He called His disciples and said to them, 'In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.'
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel we are getting to the end of the long teaching of Jesus to His disciples. From the first cure of the blind man (Mk 8:22-26) up to the cure of the blind Bartimaeus in Jericho (10:46-52), the disciples walked with Jesus toward Jerusalem, receiving much instruction from Him about the passion, death and resurrection and the consequences for the life of the disciple. When they reached Jerusalem, they witness the debates of Jesus with the traders in the Temple (Mk 11:15-19), with the high priests and the Scribes (Mk 11: 27 - 12: 12), with the Pharisees, Herodians and the Sadducees (Mk 12:13-27), with the Doctors of the Law (Mk 12:28-37). Now, in today’s Gospel, after the last criticism against the Scribes (Mk 12:38-40), Jesus instructs the disciples. Sitting opposite the treasury Jesus called their attention to the gesture of sharing of a poor widow. In that gesture they should look for the manifestation of the will of God (Mk 12: 41-44).
• Mark 12: 38-40: The criticism of the doctors of the Law. Jesus calls the attention of the disciples to the arrogant and hypocritical behavior of some of the doctors of the Law. They liked very much to go around the squares in the city wearing long tunics, and to receive the greeting of the people, to occupy the first places in the Synagogue and to have the place of honor at the banquets. They liked to enter the houses of the widows and to say long prayers in exchange for money! And Jesus says, “These people will receive a great condemnation!”
• Mark 12:41-42. The widow’s mite. Jesus and His disciples sitting opposite the treasury of the Temple observed that all left their alms. The poor put in a very small amount, a few cents; the rich put in coins of great value. The Treasury of the Temple received much money. Everyone took something for the maintenance of the cult, to support the clergy and for the maintenance of the building. Part of this money was used to help the poor, because at that time there was no social security. The poor depended on public charity. And the poor who needed greater help were the orphans and the widows. They had nothing. They depended for everything on the help of others. But even without having anything, they tried to share. In this way, a very poor widow, put in her alms into the treasury of the Temple. Just a few cents!
• Mark 12: 43-44. Jesus indicates where God’s will is manifested. What has greater value: the ten cents of the widow or the one thousand dollars of the rich? For the disciples, the one thousand dollars of the rich were much more useful than the ten cents of the widow. They thought that the problems of the people could be solved only with much money. On the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves, they had said to Jesus, “Are we to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?” (Mk 6: 37) In fact, for those who think this way, the ten cents of the widow do not serve for anything. But Jesus says, “This widow who is poor has put into the treasury more than all the others”. Jesus has different criteria. He calls the attention of His disciples to the gesture of the widow, and teaches them where they and we should seek the manifestation of God’s will: in the poor and in sharing. Many poor people today do the same thing. People say, “The poor do not let another poor person starve”. But sometimes, not even this is possible. Cicera, the lady of the interior zone of Paraiba, Brazil, who went to live in the periphery of the capital city, would say, “In the interior, people were poor, but there was always a piece of bread to share with the poor person who knocked at the door. Now that I am in the great city, when I see a poor person who knocks at the door, I hide out of shame, because at home I have nothing to share with him!” On the one hand, rich people who have everything, but who do not want to share; on the other side, poor people who hardly have anything, but who want to share the little that they have.
• Alms, sharing, riches. The practice of giving alms was very important for the Jews. It was considered a “good work”, because the Law of the Old Testament said, “Because the poor will never be missing in the country; this is why I give you this command, and I say to you: Always be open handed with your brother in your country who is in need and poor” (Deut 15:11). The alms, deposited in the treasury of the Temple, whether for the worship, or for the needy, for the orphans and for the widows, were considered an action pleasing to God. To give alms was a way of recognizing that all the goods belong to God and that we are simple administrators of these goods, in such a way that there will be abundant life for all. The practice of sharing and of solidarity is one of the characteristics of the first Christian communities: “None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money from the sale of them to present it to the apostles; (Acts 4:34-35; 2:44-45). The money from the sale, offered to the apostles, was not accumulated, but rather “it was then distributed to any who might be in need” (Acts 4:35b; 2: 45). The entrance into the community of persons who were richer introduced into the community the mentality of accumulation and blocked the movement of solidarity and of sharing. James warns these people, “Now you rich! Lament; weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is rotting; your clothes are all moth-eaten” (Jas 5: 1-3). To learn the way to the Kingdom, we all need to become pupils of that poor widow, who shared all she had, what was necessary to live (Mk 12:41-44).
4) Personal questions
• How is it that the two cents of the widow can be worth more than one thousand dollars of the rich? Look closely at the text and see why Jesus praises the poor widow. What message does this text contain for us today?
• What difficulties and what joys have you found in your life in the practice of solidarity and in sharing with others?
5) Concluding Prayer
My mouth is full of Your praises,
filled with Your splendor all day long.
Do not reject me in my old age,
nor desert me when my strength is failing. (Ps 71:8-9)
1) Opening prayer
Father,
Your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 12:35-37
While teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, 'How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said, “The Lord declared to my Lord, take your seat at my right hand till I have made your enemies your footstool.” David himself calls Him Lord; in what way then can He be his son?' And the great crowd listened to Him with delight.
3) Reflection
• In the Gospel of the day before yesterday, Jesus criticizes the doctrine of the Sadducees (Mk 12: 24-27). In today’s Gospel, He criticizes the teaching of the doctors of the Law. And this time His criticism is not directed to the incoherence of their life, but to the teaching which they transmit to the people. On another occasion, Jesus had criticized their incoherence and had said to the people, “The Scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses: You must, therefore, do and observe what they tell you, but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practice what they preach” (Mt 23:2-3). Now, He shows Himself reserved in regard to those who taught the Messianic hope, and He bases His criticism on arguments taken from the Bible.
• Mark 12: 35-36: The teaching of the Doctors of the Law on the Messiah. The official propaganda both of the government and of the Doctors of the Law said that the Messiah would come as the Son of David. This was the way to teach that the Messiah would be a glorious king, strong and dominating. This is how the people shouted on Palm Sunday: “Blessed the Kingdom that is coming from our Father David!” (Mk 11:10). The blind man of Jericho also cried out in this same way: “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” (Mk 10: 47).
• Mark 12:37: Jesus questions the teaching of the doctors about the Messiah. Jesus questions this teaching of the Scribes. He quotes a Psalm of David: “The Lord declared to my Lord, take your seat at my right hand, till I have made your enemies your footstool!” (Ps 110:1). Jesus adds, “If David calls Him Lord, how then can He be his son?” This signifies that Jesus was not completely in agreement with the idea of a Messiah, Glorious Lord, who would come like a powerful king to dominate and to impose Himself on all His enemies. Mark adds that people were pleased with the criticism of Jesus. In fact, history reveals that the “poor of Yahweh” (anawim) were expecting a Messiah who was not a dominator, but the servant of God for humanity.
•The diverse forms of Messianic hope. Throughout the centuries, the Messianic hope grew, assuming diverse forms. Almost all the groups and movements of the time of Jesus were waiting for the coming of the Kingdom, but each one in his own way, the Pharisees, the Scribes, the Essenes, the Zealots, the Herodians, the Sadducees, the popular prophets, the disciples of John the Baptist, the poor of Yahweh. In the time of Jesus, three tendencies in the Messianic hope could be distinguished.
a) The Messiah personally sent by God: For some, the future Kingdom should arrive through one sent by God, called Messiah, or Christ. He would have been anointed so as to be able to carry out His mission (Isa 61:1). Some expected that he would be a prophet; others, a king, a disciple or a priest. Malachi, for example, expects the prophet Elijah (Mal 3:23-24). Psalm 72 expects an ideal king, a new David. Isaiah expects now a disciple (Isa 50:4), now a prophet (Isa 61:1). The unclean spirit shouted, "I know who you are: the Holy One of God!” (Mk 1: 24). This was a sign that there were people who expected a Messiah who would be a priest (Holy or Sanctifier). The poor of Yahweh (anawim) expected the Messiah to be “Servant of God”, announced by Isaiah.
b) Messianism without the Messiah. For others, the future would arrive suddenly, unexpected, without mediations, without help from anyone. God Himself would come in person to fulfill the prophecies. There would not be a Messiah, properly so called. There would be a messianism without a Messiah. Of this we are aware in the Book of Isaiah where God Himself arrives with the victory in hand (Isa 40: 9-10; 52:7-8).
c) The Messiah has already come. There were also some groups which did not expect the Messiah. According to them the present situation should continue as it was, because they thought that the future had already arrived. These groups were not popular. For example, the Sadducees did not expect the Messiah. The Herodians thought that Herod was a messianic king.
• The light of the Resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus is the light which enlightens unexpectedly all the past. In the light of the Resurrection Christians would begin to read the Old Testament and would discover in it new meaning which before could not be discovered, because the light was missing (cf. 2 Cor 3:15-16). They sought in the Old Testament the words to express the new life which they were living in Christ. There they found the majority of the titles of Jesus: Messiah (Ps 2: 2) Son of man (Dan 7: 13; Ezek 2: 1), Son of God (Ps 2: 7; 2 Sam 7: 13), Servant of Yahweh (Isa 42: 1; 41: 8), Redeemer (Isa 41:14; Ps 19:15; Rut 4:15), Lord (LXX) (almost 6000 times!). All the great themes of the Old Testament spring up in Jesus and find in Him their full realization. In the Resurrection of Jesus springs up the seed and, according to everything that has been said by the Fathers of the Church, the whole Old Testament becomes New Testament.
4) Personal questions
• What is the hope for the future of today’s world in which we live?
• Does faith in the Resurrection influence your way of life?
5) Concluding Prayer
I am waiting for Your salvation, Yahweh,
I fulfill Your commandments.
I observe Your precepts, Your judgements,
for all my ways are before You. (Ps 119:166, 168)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
Your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 12:28b-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents a beautiful conversation between Jesus and a doctor of the Law. The doctor wants to know from Jesus which is the first of all the commandments. Today, many people want to know what is most important in religion. Some say: to be baptized. Others, to pray. Others say: to go to Mass or to participate in worship on Sunday. Others say: to love your neighbor! Others are worried about the appearance or the changes or tasks in the Church.
• Mark 12:28: The question of the doctor of the Law. A doctor of the Law, who had seen the debate of Jesus with the Sadducees (Mk 12:23-27), was pleased with Jesus’ response, and he perceives in Him a great intelligence and wants to take advantage of this occasion to ask Him a question: “Which is the first one of all the commandments?” At that time the Jews had an enormous number of norms which regulated, in practice, the observance of the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Some said: “All these norms have the same value, because they all come from God. It does not belong to us to introduce distinctions in the things of God”. Others would say, “Some Laws are more important than others, that is why they oblige more!” The doctor wanted to know Jesus’ opinion.
• Mark 12:29-31: Jesus’ response. Jesus responds by quoting a passage of the Bible to say that the first commandment is “to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength!” (Dt 6:4-5). At the time of Jesus, the pious Jews made of this text of Deuteronomy a prayer which they recited three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. It was also one of the four verses written in the phylacteries (tefillin) that men (mostly) wore. Among them it was known as today we know the Our Father. And Jesus adds, quoting the Bible again, “the second one is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other more important commandment than this one”. (Lev 19:18). A brief and profound response! It is the summary of all that Jesus has taught about God and about life (Mt 7:12).
• Mark 12:32-33: The answer of the doctor of the Law. The doctor agrees with Jesus and draws this conclusion: “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself; this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.” In other words, the commandment of love is more important than the commandments related to worship and sacrifice in the Temple. This affirmation was already used by the prophets of the Old Testament (Hos 6:6; Ps 40:6-8; Ps 51:16-17). Today, we would say that the practice of love is more important than novenas, promises, Masses, prayers, and processions.
• Mark 12:34: The summary of the Kingdom. Jesus confirms the conclusion reached by the doctor and says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!” In fact, the Kingdom of God consists in recognizing that love toward God is equal to the love of neighbor. Because if God is Father, we all are sisters and brothers and should show this in practice, living in community. "On these two commandments depend the Law and the prophets” (Mt 22:4). The disciples must keep in mind, fix in their memory, in their intelligence, in the heart, in their hands and feet this important law of love: God is only attained through the total gift of self to our neighbor!
• The first and most important commandment. The most important and first commandment was and will always be: “to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12:30). In the measure in which the people of God, throughout the centuries, have deepened the meaning and the importance of the love of God, it has become aware that God’s love is true and real only in the measure in which it is made concrete in the love to neighbor. And thus, the second commandment which asks for the love for neighbor, is similar to the first commandment of God’s love (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31). “Anyone who says I love God, and hates his brother, is a liar” (1 Jn 4:20). “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22:40).
4) Personal questions
• There are different kinds of love, some incomplete. There is love that is possessive: “I love my spouse, you can’t have him/her”. There is the love that wants to share the one/thing loved: “I love these candies! Have some!” There is love that begets obligation: “I have to take care of my cat”. And there is the love that brings total service, as one does to a new baby: no one questions why the baby is upset, or advises the baby to eat less, but only responds with complete service at the moment.
Which form of love do I give to God, really and truly, and which form of love would my friends, neighbors, or community say I give?
• Of these types of love, which do I have for the people around me? Is it different for the people I see but don’t know personally? What should it be, and am I honest in my self-evaluation?
• I am on my way to the last Sunday Mass today. Someone approaches and needs my help. Do I miss Mass and help, or avoid the person so I can make it to Mass? How does your answer fit with these commandments from Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
Direct me in Your ways, Yahweh,
and teach me Your paths.
Encourage me to walk in Your truth and teach me
since You are the God who saves me. (Ps 25:4-5)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
Your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 12:18-27
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants. So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise. And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled."
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel the confrontation between Jesus and the authorities continues. After the priests, the elders and the scribes (Mk 12:1-12) and the Pharisees and the Herodians (Mk 12:13-17), now the Sadducees appear who ask a question about resurrection. It is a controversial theme, which caused argument and discussion among the Sadducees and the Pharisees (Mk 12:18-27; cf. Acts 23:6-1).
• In the Christian communities of the years seventy, the time when Mark wrote his Gospel, there were some Christians who, in order to not be persecuted, tried to reconcile the teaching of Jesus with the ideas of the Roman Emperor. The others who resisted the Empire were persecuted, accused and questioned by the authority due to neighbors who felt annoyed, bothered by their witness. The description of the conflicts of Jesus with the authority was a very great help for the Christians so as not to allow themselves to be manipulated by the ideology of the Empire. In reading these episodes of conflict of Jesus with the authorities, the persecuted Christians were encouraged to continue on this road.
• Mark 12:18-23. The Sadducees: The Sadducees were the aristocratic elite of land owners and traders. They were willing to borrow from Hellenism and believed in written, but not oral, law. They did not accept faith in the Resurrection. At that time, this faith was beginning to be challenged by the Pharisees and popular piety. It urged the resistance of the people against the dominion of the Romans, and of the priests, of the elders and of the Sadducees themselves. For the Sadducees, the Messianic Kingdom was already present in the situation of well-being in which they were living. They may have followed what we call today as the “Theology of Retribution,” which distorted reality. According to this theology, God rewards with richness and well-being those who observe the Law of God, and He punishes with suffering and poverty those who do evil. A variation of this today in some independent Christian communities is called “Prosperity Theology”. It is also related to the concept of Deuteronomist Theology, which refers to the agenda of the Deuteronomic authors. This explains why the Sadducees did not want change. They wanted religion to remain as it was, immutable like God Himself in the written law. This is why they did not accept faith in the Resurrection and in the help of angels, who sustained the struggle of those who sought changes and liberation.
• Mark 12:19-23. The question of the Sadducees: They go to Jesus to criticize and to ridicule faith in the Resurrection, to tell about the fictitious case of the woman who got married seven times and at the end she died without having any children. The so-called law of the levirate obliged the widow who had no children to marry the brother of the deceased husband. The son who would have been born from this new marriage would be considered the son of the deceased husband. Thus he would have a descendant. But in the case proposed by the Sadducees, the woman, in spite of having had seven husbands, remained without a son. They asked Jesus: “In the Resurrection, when they will rise, to whom will the woman belong? Because seven had her as wife!” This was in order to say that to believe in the resurrection was absurd.
• Mark 12:24-27: The response of Jesus. Jesus responds harshly: “Surely, the reason why you are wrong is that you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Jesus explains that the condition of persons after death will be totally different from the present condition. After death there will be no marriage, but all will be as the angels in Heaven. The Sadducees imagined life in Heaven as life on earth. And at the end Jesus concludes: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living! You are in great error.” The disciples are warned: those who are on the side of these Sadducees will be on the side opposite to God.
4) Personal questions
• What is the Church’s teaching of Heaven, and what is my own view?
• We in the Church have written laws, doctrine, authoritative teaching (in writing, as in Encyclicals), and the writing of the saints. We also have oral stories, Catholic culture, devotions, and ‘popular’ personal interpretations. Do I know the difference between these and do I have a grasp on what is firm truth and what is personal opinion?
• Do I also believe in the resurrection? What does the following mean for me: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and in life everlasting?”
• Have you heard or met anyone who believes in the theology of retribution or prosperity theology?
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord, I lift up my eyes to You who are enthroned in heaven.
Just as the eyes of slaves are on their masters' hand,
or the eyes of a slave-girl on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on Yahweh our God,
for Him to take pity on us. (Ps 123:1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
Your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 12:13-17
Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him.
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel, the confrontation between Jesus and the authorities continues. The priests and the scribes had been criticized and denounced by Jesus in the parable of the vineyard (Mk 12:1-12). Now, they themselves ask the Pharisees and the Herodians to set up a trap for Jesus in order to be able to condemn Him. They ask questions to Jesus concerning the taxes to be paid to the Romans. This was a controversial theme which divided public opinion. The enemies of Jesus want, at all cost, to accuse Him and diminish the influence that He had on the people. Groups which before were enemies, now get together to fight against Jesus. This also happens today. Many times, people or groups, enemies among themselves, get together to defend their privileges against those who embarrass them with the announcement of truth and of justice.
• Mark 12:13-14: The question of the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees and the Herodians were the local leaders in the villages of Galilee. It was a long time since they had decided to kill Jesus (Mk 3:6). Now, because of the order of the priests and of the elders, they want to know whether Jesus is in favor or against the payment of taxes to the Romans and to Caesar. It’s an underhanded and sly question, full of malice! Under the appearance of fidelity to the Law of God, they look for reasons in order to be able to accuse Him. If Jesus says “You should pay!” they could accuse Him of being a friend of the Romans. If He were to say, “No, you do not have to pay!” they could accuse Him of being subversive to the authority of the Romans. This seemed to be a dead end!
• Mark 12:15-17: Jesus’ answer. Jesus perceives their hypocrisy. In His response He does not lose time in useless discussion, and goes straight to the heart of the question. Instead of responding and discussing the affair of the tribute to Caesar, He asks to be shown a coin and He asks, “Whose portrait and inscription is this?” They answered, “Caesar’s!” The answer of Jesus: “Then pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” In practice, they already recognized the authority of Caesar. They were already giving to Caesar what belonged to Caesar, because they used his currency to buy and sell and even to pay the taxes of the Temple! What interested Jesus was that they should “give to God what belongs to God!” That is, they restitute the people to God, which, because of their teaching, they blocked the entrance into the Kingdom (Mk 23:13). Others explained this sentence of Jesus in another way: “Give to God what belongs to God!”. That is, practice justice and honesty as the law of God demands, because your hypocrisy denies God what is due to Him.
• Taxes, tributes, taxes and denarii. In Jesus’ time, the people of Palestine paid many taxes, tributes, including one tenth of their income, both to the Romans as well as to the temple. The Roman Empire had invaded Palestine in the year 63 AD and they imposed many taxes and tributes. According to the estimates made, half or even more of the family salaries were used to pay the tributes, taxes and the tenth of their income. The taxes which the Romans demanded were of two types: direct and indirect.
a) The Direct Tax was on property and on persons. The tax on property (tributum soli): the fiscal officers of the government verified how large the property was, the production and the number of slaves and they fixed the amount to be paid. Periodically, there was a verification through the census. The tax on persons (tributum capitis): was for the poor class who owned no land. This included both men and women, between 12 and 65 years of age.
b) The Indirect Tax was placed on transactions of different types: a crown of gold: originally, it was a gift to the Emperor, but then it became an obligatory tax. This was paid on special occasions, for example, the feast and the visits of the Emperor. The tax on salt: the salt was the monopoly of the Emperor. It was necessary to pay the tribute on salt for commercial use, as in the salt used by fishermen to dry up the fish and to sell it. From this comes the word “salary.” A tax on buying and selling: this money was paid to the fiscal officers during the holidays. A tax when a slave was bought, in every registered commercial contract, for exercising a profession: there was need for everyone to have a license for everything. Even the prostitutes had to pay. A tax for the use of public utilities: Emperor Vespasian introduced the tax on the use of the public toilets in Rome. He would say: “Money does not stink!”
c) Other taxes and obligations, toll or customs, forced work; special expenses for the army (to give hospitality to the soldiers; to pay for the food of the troops), taxes for the Temple and the worship.
4) Personal questions
• Do you know of a case where groups of people who were enemies between themselves, but who were then united to oppose a person who bothered or inconvenienced and denounced them? Has this happened at any time with you?
• What is the meaning of this sentence today: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God?”
• How have you handled hypocrites in your life, either publicly as a group or in private?
• Have you been hypocritical to others? How do you guard against this?
5) Concluding Prayer
Each morning fill us with Your faithful love,
we shall sing and be happy all our days;
Show Your servants the deeds You do,
let their children enjoy Your splendor! (Ps 90:14:16)
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Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father and protector,
without You nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings You have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
3) Reflection
• The dynamics of the account. The condition of Jesus as an itinerant teacher offers Martha the possibility to receive Him in her house. This account presents the attitude of both sisters: Mary sitting down at Jesus’ feet is all taken up listening to His Word; Martha, instead, is taken up completely by many services and she gets close to Jesus to protest about her sister’s behavior. The dialogue between Jesus and Martha occupies a long space in the account (vv.40b-42): Martha begins with a rhetorical question, “Lord, do You not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself?”; then she asks for the intervention of Jesus so that He can call the sister back to the domestic work which she has abandoned: “Tell her to help me”. Jesus answers in an affectionate tone; this is the sense of the repetition of the name, “Martha, Martha”: He reminds her that she is concerned about “many things”, and in reality she needs “only one” and He concludes by recalling that the sister has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her. Luke has built up this account on a contrast: the two different personalities of Martha and Mary; the first one is all taken up by “many things”, the second one does not do even one, she is all taken up with listening to the Master. The purpose of this contrast is to underline the attitude of Mary who dedicates herself to listen fully and totally to the Master, thus becoming the model for every believer.
• The person of Martha. She is the one who takes the initiative to receive Jesus in her house. In dedicating herself to receive the Master she is full of anxiety for the multiplicity of things to be prepared and by the tension of seeing herself alone to do it all. She is taken up by so much work, she is anxious, and experiences a great tension. Therefore, Martha “goes to Jesus” and addresses to Him a legitimate question for help: why should she be left alone by the sister? Jesus answers seeing that she is only worried, she is divided in the heart between the desire of serving Jesus with a meal worthy of His person and the desire to dedicate herself to listen to Him. Jesus, therefore, does not disapprove of Martha’s service, but only the anxiety with which she does it. Before, Jesus had explained in the parable of the sower that the seed that fell among the thorns recalls the situation of those who listen to the Word, but allow themselves to be taken up by other concerns (Lk 8:14). Therefore, Jesus does not disapprove of Martha’s work, the value of acceptance and welcoming concerning His person, but He warns the woman about the dangers into which she may fall: anxiety and agitation. Jesus had already said something about these risks: “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and everything else will be given to you as well” (Lk 12:31).
• The person of Mary. She is the one who accepts the Word: she is described with the imperfect form: “she was listening”, a continuing action in listening to the Word of Jesus. Mary’s attitude is in contrast with her sister’s anxiety and tension. Jesus says that Mary has preferred “the best part” that corresponds to listening to His Word. From the Word of Jesus the reader learns that there are not two parts of which one is qualitatively better than the other, but there is only the good one: to accept His Word. This attitude does not endorse avoiding one’s own tasks or daily responsibilities, but only the knowledge that listening to the Word precedes every service, every activity.
• Balance between action and contemplation. Luke is particularly attentive to link listening to the Word to relationship with the Lord. It is not a question of dividing the day in times dedicated to prayer and others to service, but attention to the Word precedes and accompanies the service. The desire to listen to God cannot be replaced by other activity: it is necessary to dedicate a certain time and place to seek the Lord. The commitment to cultivate listening to the Word comes from the attention to God: everything can contribute: the environment of the place, the time. However, the desire to encounter God should come from within one’s own heart. There is no technical element which automatically leads one to encounter God. It is a problem of love: it is necessary to listen to Jesus, to be with Him, and then the gift is communicated, and falling in love begins. The balance between listening and service involves all believers, in family life as well as in professional and social life: What can we do so that baptized persons persevere and attain maturity of faith? We should train ourselves to listen to the Word of God. This is the most difficult but surest way to attain maturity of faith.
4) Personal questions
• Do I know how to create in my life situations the paths of listening? Do I limit myself only to listen to the Word of God in church, or rather, do I dedicate myself to personal and profound listening, looking for suitable times and places?
• Do you limit yourself to a private use of the Word or do you proclaim it in order to become light for others and not only a lamp which lights one’s own private life?
• The Church has a long history in the Fathers and Doctors of the Church to help understand how to listen to the Word of God. Have you read and learned from this treasure of the Church to enable more profound listening?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, who can find a home in Your tent,
who can dwell on Your holy mountain?
Whoever lives blamelessly, who acts uprightly,
who speaks the truth from the heart. (Ps 15:1-2)
1) Opening prayer
God our Father and protector,
without You nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings You have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today tells us of Jesus’ visit to Nazareth, His native community. Passing through Nazareth was painful for Jesus. What was His community at the beginning, now is no longer so. Something has changed. Where there is no faith, Jesus can work no miracles.
• Matthew 13: 53-57ª: The reaction of the people of Nazareth before Jesus. It is always good for people to go back to their land. After a long absence, Jesus also returns, as usual, on a Saturday, and He goes to the meeting of the community. Jesus was not the head of the group, but just the same, He speaks. This is a sign that people could participate and express their own opinion. People were astonished. They did not understand Jesus’ attitude: "Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” Jesus, son of that place, whom they knew since He was a child, how is it that now He is so different? The people of Nazareth are scandalized and do not accept Him: “This is the carpenter’s son, surely?” The people do not accept the mystery of God present in a common man, as they are, and as they had known Jesus. In order to speak about God He should be different. As one can see, not everything was positive. The people, who should have been the first ones to accept the Good News, are the first ones to refuse it. The conflict is not only with foreigners, but also with His relatives and with the people of Nazareth. They do not accept because they cannot understand the mystery which envelops Jesus: “Is not His mother, the woman called Mary, and His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude, and His sisters too, are they not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?” They are not able to believe.
• Matthew 13:57b-58: Jesus’ reaction before the attitude of the people of Nazareth. Jesus knows very well that “no one is a prophet in his own country.” He says, “A prophet is despised only in his own country and in his own house.” In fact, where there is neither acceptance nor faith, people can do nothing. Prejudice prevents it. Jesus Himself, even wanting, can do nothing. He was astonished at their lack of faith.
• The brothers and sisters of Jesus. The expression “brothers of Jesus” causes much division between Catholics and Protestants. Based on this and other texts, the Protestants say that Jesus had many brothers and sisters and that Mary had more children! Catholics say that Mary did not have any other children. What are we to think of this? Both positions, that of Catholics as well as that of Protestants, contain arguments taken from the Bible and from the tradition of their respective Churches. We should consider that in our communities today we also call each other “brother” and “sister”, yet we don’t share immediate parents. In that day, children didn’t move far from their parents like they might do today, so many extended family relationships existed within the same community. For this reason, it is not helpful to discuss this question with arguments which are only intellectual, because it is a question of profound convictions, which have something to do with faith and with the sentiments of each one. An argument which is merely intellectual cannot change a conviction of the heart! It only irritates and repels! Even if I do not agree with the opinion of others, I have to respect it. In the second place, instead of talking about texts, all of us, Catholics and Protestants, should unite in order to fight for the defense of life, created by God, a life disfigured by poverty, injustice, lack of faith. We should recall some other sayings of Jesus: “I have come so that they may have life and life to the full” (Jn 10:10); “That all may be one, so that the world may believe that You, Father, have sent Me” (Jn 17:21); “Do not prevent them! Anyone who is not against us is for us” (Mk 10:39,40).
4) Personal questions
• In Jesus something changed in His relationship with the community of Nazareth. Since you began to participate in community, has anything changed in your relationship with your family? Why?
• Has participation in the community helped you to accept and to trust people, especially the more simple and the poorest?
• When two join to form a new community in marriage, their relationship with their families also changes. Reconsider the previous questions in light of this as well.
5) Concluding Prayer
For myself, wounded wretch that I am,
by Your saving power raise me up!
I will praise God’s name in song,
I will extol Him by thanksgiving. (Ps 69: 29-30)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father and protector,
without You nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings You have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading – Matthew 13:44-46
Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents two brief parables from the discourse on the parables. They are similar to each other, but with significant differences that clarify aspects of the mystery of the Kingdom which the parables are revealing.
• Matthew 13:44: The parable of the treasure hidden in the field. Jesus tells a very simple and brief story which could happen in the life of any person. He says, “The kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; someone finds it and hides it again, then he goes off with great joy, he sells everything he owns and buys the field.” Jesus does not explain, He only says, “The kingdom of Heaven is similar to a treasure hidden in a field.” In this way He urges the listeners to share with others what this story has aroused in them. I share some points that are discovered: (a) The treasure, the Kingdom, is already found in the field, in life. It is hidden. We go through the field and step over the plants without being aware. (b) The man finds the treasure, just out of chance. He did not expect to find it, because he was not looking for it. (c) Seeing that it is a question of a very important treasure, what does he do? He does what we all would do in order to take possession of the treasure. He goes and he sells everything that he has and he buys the field. And, thus, together with the field, he obtains the treasure, the Kingdom. The condition is to sell everything! (d) If the treasure, the Kingdom, is already in my life, then this important aspect of life begins to have new value. (e) In this story, what dominates is gratuity. The treasure is found by chance, independently from our plans. The Kingdom comes! We must reap the consequences and not allow this moment of grace to go by without bearing fruit.
• Matthew 13:45-46: The parable of the merchant of fine pearls. The second parable is similar to the first one, but with an important difference. Let us try to discover it. The story is the following: “The kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value, he goes off and sells everything he owns and buys it.”. I share some points that I have discovered: (a) it is the story of a merchant of pearls. His profession is to look for pearls. This is the only thing that he does in his life: to look for and to find pearls. Looking, he finds a pearl of great value. Here the discovery of the Kingdom is not just by chance, but it is the fruit of a long search. (b) The merchant of pearls knows the value of the pearls, because many people would like to sell him the pearls that they find. But the merchant does not allow himself to be deceived. He knows the value of his merchandise. (c) When he finds a pearl of great value, he goes and sells everything which he owns and buys the pearl. The Kingdom has the greatest value.
• Summarizing the teaching of the two parables. Both of them have the same objective: to reveal the presence of the Kingdom, but each one reveals it in a different way: through the discovery of the gratuity of God’s action in us, and through the effort and the search which each human being makes to discover the meaning of his/her life.
4) Personal questions
• Have I ever found a hidden treasure? Have I sold everything in order to buy it?
• What is the pearl that you are looking for and you have not as yet found?
• Both parables are built upon “finding”. To find, there has to be some effort to “look”. What am I doing to “look” for the Kingdom so that I can find it?
• What is my image of the Kingdom? How will I know when I find great treasure?
5) Concluding Prayer
I will sing of Your strength,
in the morning acclaim Your faithful love;
You have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge when I was in trouble. (Ps 59:16)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father and protector,
without You nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings You have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 13:36-43
Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents Jesus’ explanation, at the petition of the disciples, of the parable of the wheat grain and the darnel. Some experts think that this explanation, which Jesus gives to His disciples, is not Jesus’ but the community’s. This is possible and probable, because a parable, by its nature, requires the involvement and the participation of people in the discovery of its significance. Just as the plant is already contained within the seed, in the same way, certainly, the explanation of the community is in the parable. And it is precisely this objective that Jesus wanted and wants to attain with the parable. The meaning which we are discovering today in the parable which Jesus told two thousand years ago was already enclosed, or contained, in the story that Jesus told, just as the flower is already contained in its seed.
• Matthew 13:36: The request of the disciples to Jesus: the explanation of the parable of the wheat grain and the darnel. The disciples, in the house, speak and ask for an explanation of the parable of the wheat grain and the darnel. (Mt 13:24-30). It has been said many times that Jesus, in the house, continued to teach His disciples (Mk 7:17; 9:28,33; 10:10). At that time, there was no television, and people spent the long winter evenings together, speaking about the facts and events of life. On these occasions Jesus completed the teaching and the formation of His disciples.
• Matthew 13:38-39: The meaning of each one of the elements of the parable. Jesus responds taking again each one of these elements of the parable and giving them significance: the field is the world; the good seed are the members of the Kingdom; the darnel is the members of the adversary (the evil one); the enemy is the devil; the harvest is the end of time; the reapers are the angels. And now reread the parable (Mt 13:24-30) giving to each one of these six elements: field, good seed, darnel, enemy, harvest and reapers, the right significance. In this way the story assumes a completely new sense and it is possible to attain the objective that Jesus had in mind when He told the parable of the darnel and the good seed. Some think that this parable should be understood as an allegory and not as a parable properly so-called.
• Matthew 13:40-43: The application of the parable or of the allegory. With the information given by Jesus, you will better understand its application: Just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send His angels and they will gather from His kingdom all causes of failing and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.”
The destiny of the darnel is the furnace. The destiny of the grain is to shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father. Behind these two images there is the experience of the people. After they have listened to Jesus and have accepted Him in their life, everything has changed for them. This means that in Jesus what they expected has taken place: the fulfillment of the promises. Now life is divided into before and after having accepted Jesus in their lives. The new life has begun with the splendor of the sun. If they continued to live as before, they would be like the darnel in the furnace: life without meaning, which is good for nothing.
• Parable and Allegory. There is the parable. There is the allegory. There is the mixture of both which is the more common form. Generally, everything in the parable is a call. In the Gospel of today, we have the example of an allegory. An allegory is a story which a person tells, but when she is telling it, she does not think about the elements of the story, but about the theme which has to be clarified. In reading an allegory it is not necessary to look at the story as a whole, because in an allegory the story is not constructed around a central point which later serves as a comparison. Rather, each element has its own independent function, starting from the sense which it receives. It is a matter of discovering what each element of the two stories tries to tell us about the Kingdom, as the explanation which Jesus gave of the parable: field, good seed, darnel, enemy, harvest, reapers. Generally the parables are also allegories, and a mixture of both.
4) Personal questions
• In the field everything is mixed up: darnel and grain. In the field of my life, what prevails: darnel or grain?
• Notice that this parable includes “all who cause others to sin” as well as “all evildoers”. We often just focus on our own sins. Do I focus on what effect I have on others and whether I cause others to sin by what I say or do? Will I think about that, now and during my self-examinations now?
• Have you tried to talk with other people to discover the meaning of some parable?
5) Concluding Prayer
How blessed is he who has Jacob's God to help him.
His hope is in Yahweh his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them. (Ps 146:5-6)
