2024 Reflections

(Posted from latest to oldest articles.)

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The Honour of a Father (Feast of the Holy Family)

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 The book of Sirach (also known as Ben Sira or Ecclesiasticus) is often classified as “wisdom literature.” One of the hallmarks of that genre is that it contains much practical wisdom that is useful for everyday life, putting it in the same category as the books of Proverbs and Wisdom (although Sirach is notably much longer than these other two). Although it is not in modern Jewish or Protestant biblical canons, it is accepted as Scripture by Catholics and Orthodox, and has been read by the Church since ancient times.¹

This section of Sirach, in particular, is an homage to the honour that is due to a father. The reasons for this honour are because of the care that they give to their children. This is why God calls Himself a Father to His children (Isaiah 63:16, 64:8; Malachi 2:10), and is also why the fourth commandment promises long life to those who honour their parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3).

Sirach further states that this honour extends even when one’s father is old, since one’s duties do not end when one has grown up and no longer depends on one’s parents (v. 13). He even goes so far as to say that kindness to one’s father atones for sin (v. 14). This is meant to underscore just how vital keeping the fourth commandment really is.

In the Gospels, the ideal model for a father is St. Joseph. Today’s Gospel reading talks about how Joseph leads his family to safety when Herod plans to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:13-23). He shows fatherly care for his wife and the child that has been placed in his care, proving himself to be a perfect example of the fatherly image painted by Sirach.

As we remember the Feast of the Holy Family, let us pray that more fathers will follow the example of St. Joseph, and that we will learn how to honour our fathers better, as Sirach teaches.

Note

1 It is found in the Greek Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and is cited as Scripture by the Babylonian Talmud at numerous points (see Bava Kammah 92b for the most explicit example), which is evidence that some Jews accepted it as Scripture even after the time of Christ. For a more complete defence of the canonicity of Sirach, see the book Why Catholic Bibles are Bigger by Gary Michuta.

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The Child of Bethlehem (4^th Sunday of Advent)

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The prophet Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets. He lived in the 8th and early 7th centuries BC, during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Jeremiah 26:18-19, Micah 1:1). Like most of the prophets who lived during this time, he spoke out against the lawlessness and idolatry of Israel, and his declarations of God’s judgment make up the majority of the book. In the middle of his book, however, he shifts from his Oracles of Judgment to what are termed “Oracles of Salvation,” wherein he declares that God will exalt Jerusalem, cause His law to go forth from Mount Zion, and bring about the Messiah (Micah 4-5).

One of the most interesting features of this text is the fact that Bethlehem is explicitly mentioned as the birthplace of the Messiah. “Ephrathah” signifies the clan name that the inhabitants of Bethlehem went by (Ruth 1:2, 4:11), and the house of David is said to be from that clan (1 Samuel 17:12). Thus we see an indirect affirmation that this Messiah would come from the line of David.

We also get a hint of the Messiah’s divine origin from the fact that God says of Him that “shall come forth for me … whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” The implication here is that the Messiah has existed even before Creation itself, since He comes from of old. Also, the Hebrew Bible reserves the title “Ancient of Days” to Yahweh (cf. Daniel 7:9, 13, 22), so the application of this description to the one coming forth indicates His divinity.

Finally, this Messiah is said to bring about peace. One of the titles given to the Messiah is “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), and the covenant He brings about is called the “Covenant of Peace” (Isaiah 54:10, Ezekiel 34:25, 37:26). This is not a mere earthly peace, since Jesus after all did say that He would come not to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34ff). Rather, the peace in view is a more transcendent kind of peace, between God and man. St. Paul refers to this as “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” which he declares “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

As Advent comes to a close, we await with eager expectation the Feast of the Nativity, in which all the Messianic prophecies of the past four weeks’ readings find their fulfillment in the birth of Christ, and the promised peace mentioned in Micah comes to us. We are reminded of the Angels’ greeting to the shepherds, which also apply to us who set our hope in Him: “on earth, peace to people of goodwill” (Luke 2:14).

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God in the Midst (3^rd Sunday of Advent)

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The prophet Zephaniah lived in Judah during the 7th century BC, and prophesied during the days of King Josiah (640–609 BC). He is a grandson of king Hezekiah (Zeph. 1:1), which makes him unique among the prophets in being part of the house of David. At this time, Judah was experiencing a spiritual revival, as the Law was rediscovered, and idolatry was removed from the land (2 Kings 22-23). However, this was not to last, as the kings that came after Josiah brought back idolatry and lawlessness, which ultimately led to the fall of Judah.

Zephaniah foresaw this, and spoke of the imminent judgment of Judah, warning that they would be swept away by the Babylonians on account of their sins. However, after this, Judah’s enemies would also experience judgment, and Judah would be vindicated and restored.

This passage is a statement of the reversal of the fortunes of Judah, as the judgments brought upon them would be taken away, and they would return to their land. God is depicted as a mighty warrior who fights His people’s battles for them. He not only watches over them from afar, but is said to be in their very midst. Their sorrow is said to be turned into singing and rejoicing, as the last two verses of Zephaniah declare their ingathering from the Babylonian Exile:

I will deal with all your oppressors

at that time.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

At that time I will bring you home,

at the time when I gather you;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes, says the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:19-20)

The coming of the Lord to His people’s midst happened in a very real way during the Incarnation, when God the Word took on flesh through Mary, the new Daughter of Zion (cf. CCC 2676), and dwelt among us. Like the return from exile, this advent came as a reversal of fortunes, only this time, this would result in salvation from eternal death, and those who would benefit include not only Jews, but the nations as well.

Like the people of Jerusalem of old, those who put their faith in Jesus can rejoice because they experience spiritual revival in this life, and will in the future experience final vindication and deliverance from judgment when the Lord comes again on the last day.

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Israel’s Salvation (2^nd Sunday of Advent)

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Baruch presents the story of how Jerusalem had been utterly humiliated because of her being taken captive by Babylon. This unfortunate captivity came about due to her sins and her turning away from God (Baruch 1:15-2:10). Yet God will not turn away from Jerusalem forever, and the book presents the Jews as repentant and asking God for deliverance from their predicament, ending with God’s promise of restoration.

Today’s reading is strongly reminiscent of the language found in the latter half of Isaiah (chs. 40-66). Its closest parallel is Isaiah 40:3-5, which speaks of God’s deliverance in similar terms, and may have directly influenced this passage:

A voice cries out:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

This passage is a reminder to the Jews in exile that if they repent and seek God, God will vindicate them and will personally come to lead them to their land. The language is strongly reminiscent of the language of the Exodus, which points to a recurring motif in the prophetic books of the return from Babylonian Exile being a type of second Exodus, which is even more miraculous and providential than the first.

Finally, we see a direct parallel between this reading and Isaiah 40:3-5, and the coming of John the Baptist to announce the arrival of the Messiah in the Gospels. The passage from Isaiah is even quoted as being fulfilled by the Baptist (Mark 1:3). This points us to the spiritual reality of our own spiritual exile due to sin, and how God has come in the person of Jesus to lead us out of that exile.

In the context of Advent, we reflect upon this great mystery of how the Exile in the Old Testament prepared the way for the coming of the Saviour. We rejoice at His first coming, and wait expectantly for His second.

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The Lord is our Righteousness (1^st Sunday of Advent)

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In Jeremiah 30-33, we have what is often referred to the “Book of Consolation,” which is so-called because its optimistic tone contrasts sharply with the gloomy mood of the rest of Jeremiah. While most of the book focuses on Judah’s sin and God’s judgment for their sin, this section focuses on God’s promise to heal and restore His people. Contained here are the most significant prophecies of the coming Messiah.

The prophecy in this passage of a righteous branch is a reiteration of God’s promise to David to raise up descendants who will sit on his throne forever. Although God will discipline them if they go astray, He will never renege on this promise (2 Samuel 7). Many of David’s descendants did indeed go astray, yet God in His grace allowed the dynasty to continue.

Here, God declares that He will raise up a descendant for David who will perfectly embody God’s justice and righteousness. He is called a branch that will spring up like a shoot from David’s line, which is recurring image of the coming Messiah (see also Jeremiah 23:5). He referred to as “The Lord, our Righteousness” (Yahweh Tzidkenu)–perhaps a hint of the Messiah’s divine nature, and will bring about Israel’s salvation (a promise which is reiterated in the NT, cf. Romans 11:23-26).

This Messianic prophecy points us forward to the coming of Christ. We see in His first coming that He would come to save His people from their sins, just as the Angel Gabriel declared (Matthew 1:21). This salvation was accomplished at the Cross, and will be fully realized at His second coming, when all injustice is put to an end, and those who wait upon Him will live in perfect peace. Until then, we walk by faith in the expectation that our present tribulations are transitory, and will make way for something greater.

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The Son of Man (Feast of Christ of King)

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The book of Daniel contains a number of visions pertaining to the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. The first is in chapter 2, where Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s vision and speaks of four kingdoms that are superseded by God’s kingdom, which overtakes all other kingdoms and fills the earth. Later on in chapter 3, when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are tossed into the fire, and a divine figure is seen appearing alongside them and protecting them from the fire.

Now, we have this passage, Daniel has a vision of a figure called “the Son of Man,” who is said to come in the clouds of heaven. This is typical imagery for deity in the Ancient Near East. The Lord, for example, is depicted as riding in the clouds in Psalm 104:3 and Isaiah 19:1. By applying this imagery to the Son of Man, Daniel’s vision indicates to us that a divine entity is in view.

This Son of Man is then given dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth, and all the world shall serve Him. This global rulership is further evidence of His divinity, since no ordinary human is worthy of the honours and authority that are accorded to this figure. These visions of a heavenly Messiah inform the hopes of the Jewish people, who endure foreign domination and earthy oppression with the hope that the coming of the Messiah would one day free them from all this suffering.

Given the exalted status of the Son of Man in Daniel, it is no wonder, then, that when Jesus invokes this imagery and applies them to Himself in the trial of the Sanhedrin, He is accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death (Mark 14:61-64). Yet, despite this sentencing, Jesus is vindicated at His Resurrection, and at His Ascension receives the throne that is promised to Him (Matthew 28:18, Hebrews 1:4-9).

This Feast of Christ the King, we recognize and celebrate Christ’s Kingship, and await the glorious future when He comes again and makes all things new.

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Eternal Life (33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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One of the most poignant lines in the Nicene Creed comes at the very end, where we confess: “and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” This line expresses the Christian belief in the final consummation of all things, where everyone’s bodies will be resurrected, the righteous to eternal life, and the wicked to eternal condemnation.

Although this belief is thought of as a New Testament concept, we see evidence for it in the Old Testament as well. We read, for example, that Job proclaims that even after his body is destroyed, he will see God in the flesh (Job 19:25-27). Yet today’s reading from Daniel is one of the clearest examples of the affirmation that there will be a resurrection and final judgment at the last day.

This day shall be preceded by a period of great trouble, far exceeding anything that came before it in history (v. 1a). This closely mirrors language found in both the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25) and the book of Revelation, indicating a direct line of development in progressive revelation.

Yet there is hope, as it states that God will deliver his people (v. 1b), and that all the righteous shall inherit eternal life (v. 2). This gives great comfort to us who have faith in God, knowing that death is not the end, and our faithfulness will be rewarded in the end. Especially honoured in this passage are those who share their wisdom with others and help lead them to righteousness (v. 3).

This also serves as a warning to those who do not yet have faith, to repent and believe while there is yet time. Otherwise, they will suffer eternal punishment by being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

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The Widow’s Faith (32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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After declaring that there would be a drought in the land of Israel, Elijah was commanded by the Lord to go up north to the Phoenician port town of Zarephath. While the reason for this command is not explicitly stated, it was presumably so that he would be spared the wrath of Ahab and Jezebel, who at this time were slaughtering the prophets of God. There, he meets the widow mentioned in our reading, who provides for the prophet even though she had very little provision. In return, God miraculously caused her flour and oil to last many days.

For the widow, it must have taken great faith to give what little provision she had to this prophet she had never met before, especially given that he was an Israelite and she a Phoenician. The Phoenicians were closely related to the Canaanites, the same people that Israel had driven out of the Holy Land. What’s more, Jezebel, who brought Baal worship to Israel, was a Phoenician. By responding in faith to Elijah’s request and promise, she stood in direct contrast to the unrighteous Jezebel, as an example of a faithful Gentile who believed in the word of the Lord.

The widow of Zarephath foreshadows the widow’s mite in our Gospel reading (Mark 12:38-44). Both show how the importance of offering everything up to God, and that even if one has just a little, God can make great things out of it when it is offered up in faith.

More significantly, Jesus would go on to use her as an example in Luke 4:24-26 of how foreigners will respond in faith even when God’s own people go astray. Thus, the widow at Zarephath becomes a foreshadowing of the conversion of the Gentiles. Like her, we were originally outside of God’s people, but have been brought near to Him and grafted into His people by faith (Romans 11:11-24, Ephesians 2:11-22).

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Hear O Israel (31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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This passage of Scripture is known as the Shema, and contains the central affirmation of Israel’s faith, which is the oneness of God. Three times a day, pious Jews recite the Shema as part of their daily prayers. It reminds them that they are committed to the one God, Yahweh, and are to serve and worship Him alone. Although the Bible refers to many heavenly beings as “gods” (Heb. elohim, e.g. Psalm 8:5, 82:1, 6), these beings are still creations of Yahweh, and thus are contingent upon Him for their existence, and subordinate to His authority. He, on the other hand, is uncreated and contingent upon nothing outside of Himself.

This precept came at a critical moment in Israel’s history, as they were about to enter a land were most of the inhabitants worshipped other deities. These were either lesser spirits attempting to usurp God’s authority, or else mere figments of the peoples’ imaginations. Either way, God’s people are to have nothing to do with them. We see later on in the Old Testament that the temptation to idolatry was a constant one, and God had to continually call His people away from idols and back to Him.

Corollary to this is the command to love God with one’s entire being. Exclusive devotion to Yahweh had to be accomplished not just in words, but in actions. This meant putting Him first before all else, and dedicating every aspect of one’s life to Him. This also meant putting continual reminders of Him everywhere, and teaching His precepts to one’s children, as the rest of the Shema teaches:

Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

This command, although given to the children of Israel, is just as relevant to Christians today. Amid temptations to relativize the faith and put worldly concerns before it, we should remember that in all things, God comes first. Furthermore, we should not only remind ourselves of this, but all those around us, which includes our family, friends, and peers.

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Return from Exile (30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Jeremiah 30-33 is known as the “Book of Consolation,” because its tone is that of consolation and hope, which contrasts sharply with the pessimistic tone of the rest of the book, which speak mainly of Israel’s sins and God’s punishment for those sins. The main thrust of the Book of Consolation is that although, God punishes His people with exile, in accordance with the curses of the Law (Deut. 28), He will not leave them in that state forever, but will restore them to their land. This culminates in the establishment of the New Covenant, as explained in Jer. 31:31-34.

This specific passage focuses on the return from exile. Israel was exiled by the Assyrians, and Judah by the Babylonians. The Babylonian exile lasted for about 70 years, until God allowed the Jews to return to the Holy Land under the Achaemenid Persians in the late 6th century B.C. On that day, the people are delivered from the “north country,” a reference to the fact that all the invading empires had to come to the land from the north.

The mourning of the people will be replaced by singing and gladness, and God will reiterate His Fatherhood over His people. The language used here is reminiscent of the language found in Exodus 15 (esp. vv. 20-21) suggesting that this restoration is a new Exodus, which is just as mighty and miraculous as the first one.

This return from exile is only a foretaste of God’s ultimate deliverance under Jesus. When this passage says that among the returning exiles are the blind and lame, this foreshadows Jesus’ healing of the blind Bartimaeus (Mk. 10:46-52). Thus, Jesus’ healings represent a greater deliverance than the return from exile. Even this healing is only a foretaste of the ultimate deliverance, which occurs when Jesus saves us from sin on the cross.

This is the greatest deliverance, because it is not only Israel that is saved, but the whole world, and this salvation is not just from earthly oppression, but from the eternal death that is due to sin.

J. Luis Dizon

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The Servant and His Children (29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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This passage is part of the fourth Servant Song in Isaiah, which is also one of the most well known because of how often it is quoted in the New Testament. It is a prophecy of how the servant, the Messiah, will undergo suffering and death to save His people. Because of how clearly it expounds on this theme, Isaiah 53 is considered one of the clearest prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament.

Verses 10-11 is rather curious for what it says about the Servant. The first thing to note is that it says God will prolong His days. Although the Servant is said to die in the preceding verses (8-9), here we see that death is not the end, and that He is given a new lease on life. This is fulfilled in the Resurrection of the Messiah, where God vindicates Him and through Him conquers death.

The second thing to note is that the Servant will see offspring. This reference to offspring is also explained in the NT. The book of Hebrews, quoting from Isaiah 8:18, takes up this theme where it is written: “Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying . . . ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given me.” (Hebrews 2:11-13). Thus, this reference to offspring should be understood as referring to those who believe in the Messiah.

Finally, the Servant is said to make many to be accounted righteous. This is the theme of Justification, which is elaborated in great detail in St. Paul’s letters, and is one of the key doctrines of the Christian faith. Believers in Jesus are made righteous through Him, and are thereby acquitted of their sins and given access to Heaven. In the process, they are also adopted as God’s children and made partakers of the divine nature (John 1:12-13, 2 Peter 1:4).

As we reflect upon what Christ has done for us, let us give thanks that He has justified us and brought us into God’s holy family.

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Seeking Wisdom (28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Since the Book of Wisdom falls in the genre of Wisdom literature, a significant portion of the book is dedicated to extolling Wisdom, personifying wisdom and extolling her virtues, which are really the fruits of one who possesses Wisdom. This closely mirrors the first three chapters of Proverbs, which is similarly an exhortation to obtain her. One thinks, for example, of the famous verse “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7). The passage also echoes 1 Kings 3, where God offers Solomon anything he wanted, and Solomon chose to ask for understanding of mind to govern his people and discern good from evil.

Later on, the chapter lists for us the virtues of Wisdom, which are what she promises to those who obtain her:

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

mobile, clear, unpolluted,

distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,

irresistible, beneficent, humane,

steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,

all-powerful, overseeing all,

and penetrating through all spirits

that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle. (Wisdom 7:22-23)

This list of virtues is reminiscent of the “Fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23, where St. Paul writes that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” This teaches that true wisdom is only made possible by the Holy Spirit, who imparts her virtues to those on in whom He dwells.

Finally, one cannot miss the importance of prayer in these passages. The author receives wisdom because he prays to receive it. Similarly, St. James writes, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (James 1:5). Therefore, the key to wisdom is prayer, coupled with a healthy spiritual life of regular participation in the sacraments and reflection on God’s word.

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One Flesh (27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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In his 1950 encyclical Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII underscored the importance of believing in the historicity of Adam and Eve by condemning the doctrine of “Polygenism,” which holds that not all human beings descend from Adam and Eve, either by denying their existence or denying that all ancestries derive from them. “For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion,” he wrote, “which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents.” (Humani Generis §37)

There are many reasons why it is necessary to hold that Adam and Eve were real persons. One has to do with the transmission of original sin, since St. Paul teaches that from one man sin entered the world (Rom. 5:12-18). Another is that in Luke, Jesus’ genealogy is ultimately traced back to Adam (Lk. 3:38).

But besides this, another critical reason, which we find in today’s reading, is that our concepts of marriage and family originate with the first couple. From the very beginning, God made man not to be alone, but to be with a partner who is complementary to him, as the Hebrew phrase “helper fit for him” (‘ezer knegdо̄) indicates.

This first couple serves as the template for all future marriages, which is why marriage has always been meant to be one man with one woman. Even in instances in the Old Testament when polygamy was practiced by certain individuals, it was always seen at best as something to be tolerated as less than ideal, and at worst as a snare that would lead to sin (e.g. Deut. 17:17).

This is also the reason why divorce is wrong. Even in the Old Testament, when it was tolerated, God made clear that He hates divorce (Mal. 2:16). In the Gospel, Jesus brings us back to the ideal that was espoused in Genesis by saying that anyone who divorces apart from sexual immorality,[1] and marries another, is guilty of adultery (Mk. 10:2-16).[2]

In an age of no-fault divorce and broken homes, this teaching is a sober reminder that we must treat marriage as holy and avoid things like divorce that cheapen and destroy this sacred institution. Couples must take seriously their vow to love and stay with one another for life, and we pray for all marriages, especially those which are in danger of faltering. Only by doing this can we safeguard marriage and give it the respect and reverence it deserves.

Notes

[1] The Greek word for “sexual immorality” is pornenia, from which we get the word pornography.  Basically it refers to relationships that were pornenia, or inappropriate, such as a man marrying his daughter or his sister.  Divorce is not always a sin.  Usually people have good reasons to separate.  Even Canon Law allows for separation (not so much for divorce).

[2] However, Canon Law does allow for separation (without divorce) in cases where physical or phycological abuse is present, in order to protect the abused spouse. Even in such cases, remarriage is not permitted, and reconciliation remains the ideal solution, even if it is not always possible (see CCC 1649).

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The Spirit of Prophecy (26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The book of Numbers records for us how Moses struggled to lead Israelites during their wilderness wanderings. The particular passage in our readings comes right after the appointment of the seventy elders who were assigned to ease the burden of Moses by listening to the complaints of the people of Israel (Numbers 11:16-24). These elders were appointed to show that even a great man such as Moses cannot do everything by himself, but has to share the burden by delegate some responsibilities to others. Here, we see God confirming the appointment of the elders by placing His Holy Spirit upon them and causing them to prophesy.

In addition, God also placed the Spirit upon two men who were not in among the elders, Eldad and Medad. We are not told who these two men are, or why God chose them specifically to receive the Spirit, but Moses uses this as an opportunity to express his desire that all of Israel receive the Spirit of prophecy. This also becomes an opportunity for him to teach Joshua that God dispenses His gifts to whomever He wills, not just to appointed leaders. This becomes the same lesson Jesus teaches to His disciples in our Gospel reading when a man they do not recognize also receives the ability to perform mighty acts, stating that he does so by God’s help (Mark 9:38-48).

These incidents of Spirit-filled power foreshadow the general outpouring of the Holy Spirit that begins at Pentecost and continues up to the present day. Although God continues to pour forth His Spirit upon believers today, not all of us are granted the ability to prophesy. Instead, the Spirit brings with Him a diversity of gifts, with each person receiving a different type and measure according to their calling in life (1 Corinthians 12). It remains for us to recognize our own gifts, make use of them to edify others, and encourage others to recognize and make good use of their own gifts.

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Suffering for Righteousness (25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Like most wisdom literature, the book of Wisdom is filled with proverbs and teachings contrasting the behaviour of the righteous with that of the unrighteous. Here, the book presents us with an image of a group of wicked men who seek to persecute a righteous man. Verses 14-16 tell us that the reason for this hostility towards him is because, by his righteous conduct, he shames the wicked and condemns them for their ways:

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;

the very sight of him is a burden to us,

because his manner of life is unlike that of others,

and his ways are strange.

We are considered by him as something base,

and he avoids our ways as unclean;

he calls the last end of the righteous happy,

and boasts that God is his father. (Wisdom 2:14-16)

Although the author of Wisdom originally intended this passage to be a description of how the righteous will be treated by the wicked, there is an uncanny similarity between this description and what the Messiah is said to undergo in the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53, as well as Jesus’ prophecies about His own death, such as what we find in today’s Gospel reading (Mark 9:30-37). Thus, Wisdom presents us with a prophetic foreshadowing of the tribulations of the Messiah. This is evidence of the book’s divine inspiration.

It should also be noted that although Jesus is the ultimate example of a righteous man who is persecuted for his righteousness, Scripture teaches us that others who seek to walk in the paths of righteousness should expect to see the same treatment. Jesus taught as much when He said, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:20).

However, we should not despair when this happens to us, because Jesus also said that those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, because they will inherit God’s Kingdom (Matthew 5:10-12). This should give us hope when the world around us shows its hostility towards those who follow Christ.

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The Rejected Servant (24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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This is also one of the Old Testament readings for Palm Sunday. For my previous reflection on the same passage, see The Vindication of the Servant.

This Old Testament reading is part of the third Servant Song of Isaiah, which begins at verse 4: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens—wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.” The purpose of this Servant Song is to highlight how the Servant will act as a teacher of the Lord who speaks words of comfort and encouragement to His people (v. 5).

However, the people reject him and subject him to insults and physical abuse (v. 6). Despite this, the Servant continues to do his task and does not turn back from it. He patiently awaits the vindication of the Lord, who will prove him innocent and condemn those who have rejected him (vv. 7-9).

This song, like the more famous one in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, prophesies the tribulations that the Messiah will experience. It connects with our Gospel reading, where Jesus predicts His own death well in advance of it actually happening (Mark 8:27-35). This shows that Jesus is well aware of what is coming, and is prepared to face it for the salvation of mankind. It also prepares us for His coming Passion, which we will reflect upon more fully when we get to the season of Lent.

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Healing and Deliverance (23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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After declaring God’s judgment on Judah and the nations for their wickedness and failure to uphold justice, the book of Isaiah shifts in theme to how, despite their sins, the people of Israel will experience deliverance from the punishment that was meted out to them. This deliverance is described in miraculous terms here, which emphasizes the fact that just as it was God who rendered judgment in the first place, only God can take them out of their plight. This is to show how God will not always be angry at His people, but will eventually turn away His wrath and show mercy, as Psalm 30:5 tells us: “For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

The immediate fulfillment of this prophecy was the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Exile, as signaled by verse 10: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” However, as with many Biblical passages, there are multiple fulfillments to this passage, since not everything specified in the passage happened during the return from Exile. The blind, deaf and lame were not made whole again then, nor did the land experience the miraculous revival mentioned in verses 1-2 and 8-9.

We see in the Gospels—especially this Sunday’s reading—how the prophecy about the blind seeing, the deaf hearing and the lame regaining their sight was fulfilled at the time of Jesus. He performed all of the miraculous healings described in the passage. In so doing, He shows how the coming deliverance from sin was greater than the first deliverance that happened five hundred years prior.

Yet part of the prophecy remains to be fulfilled. The revivification of the land points forward to the Second Coming, when there will be a new earth, and a new Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22). At that time, everything that God has promised will come to pass, and His people (not only Jews, but also Gentiles who believe in Christ) will finally experience ultimate peace.

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The Wisdom of the Law (22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The book of Deuteronomy begins with a historical prologue detailing how God rescued Israel out of Egypt and guided them through the wilderness, in a manner reminiscent of ancient near eastern vassal treaties. These treaties usually began with a historical prologue which explained how the suzerain-vassal relation came to be, providing context for the treaty's stipulations. In Deuteronomy, God is the suzerain, and Israel is the vassal. The book's prologue sets the stage for the Law that God is about to give them, which will serve as guidance and instruction for how to live their lives.

One of the main purposes of the Law is to display God's wisdom, not just to Israel, but also to the Gentile nations surrounding Israel. They are to witness Israel's obedience to the Law and learn from their example about God's wisdom, which ultimately leads to God’s glory. Although we learn later in the Old Testament that Israel failed to follow God's Law properly, we see how Israel could have acted as a light to the nations. This ideal continues to be reflected later in Scripture, when the prophets speak of the law going forth from Jerusalem to all nations (Isaiah 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-4, Habakkuk 2:14)

We see Jesus upholding the wisdom of the Law in our Gospel reading, where He chastises the Pharisees for disregarding it in favour of their own traditions (Mark 7). St. Paul also speaks of the relevance of the Law when he says “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3:31), and “we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately” (1 Timothy 1:8). Even though we are not under the Old Covenant, the moral principles of justice and equity that undergirded the old laws are still relevant, as they show how God applied those principles to ancient Israel's context, and provide a blueprint for us to discern how to apply the same principles in our own.

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Serve the Lord (21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The end of the book of Joshua is a covenant renewal ceremony between God (represented by Joshua) and the people of Israel. Here, they are reminded of all the good things that God has done for them, from the calling of Abraham out of the Land of Ur to the present day (vv. 2-14). They are then instructed to choose whether to continue following God or to serve other gods whom they had not known (vv. 15-18). Finally, they are warned that if they transgress the Covenant and serve other gods, God will punish them by allowing them to fall into the hands of their enemies (vv. 19-20).

This ceremony mirrors the pattern of Deuteronomy, which also begins with a historical prologue detailing all that God has done (Deut. 1-5), followed by stipulations (Deut. 5-27), and then a list of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deut. 28). Later on in history, we see that these blessings and curses were prophetic, as Israel will go through many cycles of obedience and disobedience, with the periods of disobedience becoming more and more severe, before Israel finally suffers the ultimate punishment stipulated in Deut. 28, which is exile from the land.

Joshua knows that this will happen, so he tells the people that they will not be able to serve the Lord (v. 19). We later learn that although Joshua and his immediate generation kept God’s law, their descendants would not do the same, as recorded in Judges:

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred ten years. So they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. Moreover, that whole generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them, who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:8-10)

The spiral into disobedience is recorded for us in the rest of Judges, and continued into the later historical books.

This pattern of obedience followed by disobedience can be observed in almost every period of history, including our own. One generation may be faithful to God, while the next will forget Him and become unfaithful. We are all faced with the choice of whether we will choose the path of faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Like Joshua, we must all choose whether or not we will say “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We must pray that, by God’s grace, we will make the right choice always.

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Wisdom’s Feast (20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom is often presented as a personification of how to live wisely in this world. She is presented as a kind sister and friend who protects us from making bad decisions (Proverbs 7:3-4). She is said to love those who cling to her, guard them from evil, and exalt them (Proverbs 4:5-9).

Thus, we see in this Sunday’s first reading how she invites the naive to come to her house. Her teaching is symbolized by a lavish banquet of bread and mixed wine, which fills the soul and makes the foolish wise (vv. 2, 5). Her ways lead to life, which contrasts to the way of death which foolishness leads to (vv. 13-18). By embracing wisdom, we are protected from making foolish (and potentially destructive) decisions, and enabled to live the best possible life: a life characterized by virtue and godliness.

The Church since early times has also discerned a sacramental sense in these passages. Pope St. Gregory the Great, for example, saw the seven pillars of Wisdom’s house (v. 1) as an allegory for the seven sacraments.¹ In the same vein, St. Cyprian connects the “Bread and Wine” mentioned in the reading to the Holy Eucharist. As he writes in one of his letters:

The Holy Spirit through Solomon shows forth the type of sacrifice of the Lord, making mention of the immolated victim and of the bread and wine and also of the altar and of the apostles. “Wisdom,” he says, “has built a house and she has set up seven columns. She has slain her victims, mixed her wine in a chalice, and has spread her table.” He declares the wine is mixed, that is, he announces in a prophetic voice that the chalice of the Lord is mixed with water and wine.²

As we ponder this passage, let us thank God that He has given us the sacraments, through which we can grow in our union with God. Through this sacramental grace, we can grow in wisdom for daily living, and has given us the strength to live lives of heroic virtue.

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On Facing Adversity (19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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This Sunday’s Old Testament reading is a rather ironic follow-up to the preceding story about how Elijah overcame the prophets of Ba'al, and showed that Yahweh alone is the true God (1 Kings 18). Even though God gave all of Israel a remarkable display of power during that contest of divine power, many continued to worship Ba'al, and Jezebel in particular sought to kill Elijah for having the prophets of Ba'al eliminated and her god shown to be false (1 Kings 19:1-3). The scene is reminiscent of the Pharaoh in Exodus continually hardening his heart, despite all of the plagues that were wrought in his midst.

Even more ironic is Elijah's reaction to the whole situation. He despairs of ever bringing Israel back to God, and even asks God to take his life. It is almost as if he had forgotten of the miracles that God worked through him. This is reminiscent of how Israel would often lose faith in God, despite having witnessed His miracles, which were evidence of His providential care for them. Even a mighty prophet of God such as Elijah is not immune to doubts, and we should not be surprised or be dismayed if we observe similar tendencies within ourselves.

God has to gently remind Elijah that He is still with him, and that his task is not yet done. The prophet still has to bear witness to the true God, and will be protected from the unbelieving leadership until his task is done. It is interesting that He does this by causing a cake of bread to appear before Elijah, which, just like last Sunday's reading, connects with this Sunday's Gospel reading by acting as a foreshadowing of Jesus offering Himself as the Bread of Life.

This story serves as encouragement for us when we see that the unbelieving world disbelieves in the truth, and moreover seeks to persecute believers for standing up for the truth. We must remember that God is our protector and provider, that He will strengthen us for the task at hand by His grace communicated through the Sacraments, and will bring it to its completion. Our task, as St. Paul puts it, is to merely plant the seed and water it, and wait upon God to bring about its growth (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).

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Bread from Heaven (18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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One of the most amazing things about this story is how quickly Israel appears to forget about the God’s miraculous providence. It was not that long ago that they witnessed God bring about the ten plagues, and then parted the Red Sea to let them escape from Egypt. Yet here we see them complain as though the previous miracles hadn’t happened, and they no longer believed that God could provide for them.

What is more, they even express a desire to return to Egypt, and accuse Moses and Aaron (and indirectly, God) of bringing them out of Egypt just to kill them with starvation. It seems as if they actually preferred slavery over the (seemingly) uncertain future that was ahead of them! This fickleness on the part of Israel shows that even among God’s people, there is bound to be doubt and unbelief.

And yet, God still chooses to work with and through such people. Although God would have been more than justified to simply strike the Israelites dead right there and then, He instead chooses to condescend to them by providing them with what they desire. He gives them manna, which is elsewhere described as the food of angels (Psalm 78:25, Wisdom 16:20).

Thus, they were sustained for forty years with sustenance that came directly from Heaven, which served as a constant reminder to them that their lives were in God’s hands at all times, and that they were to trust in Him. The Catechism eloquently explains it in these words: “The remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God; their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God’s faithfulness to his promises” (CCC 1334).

This heavenly provision later on becomes a foreshadowing of Jesus providing Himself as the Bread of Life. As the Catechism tells us, “[The] manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, ‘the true bread from heaven.’” (CCC 1094). We see Jesus Himself making this connection in our Gospel reading (John 6:24-35). He teaches us that whereas the manna only sustained physical life, He would sustain spiritually by providing eternal life.

We receive Him as the bread of life every Sunday in the Eucharist. However, in order for this to benefit us, we must receive Him by faith, and not doubt God the way Israel did in the wilderness, lest we risk being struck down like they were in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:5).

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The Prophet Elisha (17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The prophet Elisha figures prominently in the first half of the book of 2 Kings (chs. 2-13). He was chosen by Elijah to succeed him as prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel, before the latter was assumed into heaven (2 Kings 2:1-8). Although his prophetic ministry spanned the reigns of several kings of Israel from Ahab to Jehoash, he was always in the shadow of his former master, and never achieved the same level of fame. Whereas Elijah is mentioned 29 times in the New Testament, Elisha is only mentioned in passing once (Luke 4:27).

Yet, despite the relatively few mentions of him, he does play an important role in salvation history. The “Elisha Cycle,” as it is often called, is a collection of numerous miracle stories performed by the prophet. Notably, several of these miracles foreshadow the miracles performed by Jesus. His raising of the Shunammite woman’s son (2 Kings 4:18-37) echoes the raising of both Jairus’ daughter and the son of the widow of Nain. Likewise, the curing of Naaman’s leprosy (2 Kings 5) echoes the many stories of Jesus healing lepers, especially the Samaritan who, like Naaman, was considered outside of the covenant people of God (Luke 17:11-19). Most significantly for our purposes, the story in the second reading echoes Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fish in our Gospel reading (John 6:1-15). Even the disciples' question in John 6:9 ironically echoes Elisha's servant's question in 2 Kings 4:43.

These parallels indicate to us that Elisha was a type of Christ. His ministry and miracles are meant to foreshadow the even greater miracles that would take place during Jesus’ ministry. This serves to prepare the Jewish people to recognize and receive their Messiah, both by furnishing proof of His Messiahship, as well as forming their minds so that they know what to expect.

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False Shepherds (16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Most of the prophet Jeremiah’s indictments against the people of Judah were directed towards the leadership–the king, the priests, and the self-styled prophets who only spoke what pleased the king’s ears, rather than what God truly wanted them to say. They were largely responsible for leading the people into sin through their bad example, as well as their neglect of the Law and of proper worship. They are said to have caused the scattering of God’s flock through their neglect. Because of this, God was especially wroth with them, and they received the brunt of the coming punishment.

This highlights a principle that appears throughout the Bible, that those who are in positions of authority and influence are held to a higher standard, since they are responsible not only for their own spiritual lives, but those of others as well. St. James, for example gives this warning: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1) Similarly, Jesus upbraids Nicodemus for his lack of understanding by telling him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?” (John 3:10) This principle is as valid now as it ever was. When we see those in positions of church leadership misuse their authority, we know that God will punish them severely for this. He will not allow the abuse of the offices He has established to stand for long, but will establish justice and piety.

Finally, the passage ends on a positive note by stating that after removing the neglectful shepherds, God will regather His people and give them new shepherds who will care for them. He then promises to send them the Messiah. We who live under the New Covenant can take comfort in the fact that Messiah has already come to us, and no matter what our church leaders do, He will never leave nor forsake us, but has promised to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5).

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Prophetic Opposition (15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The book of Amos presents the prophecies of a man who was called by God to declare God’s judgments on the northern kingdom of Israel for their many sins. We can date the events of the book to around 762 B.C., based on a reference to an earthquake mentioned in Amos 1:1, as well as the mention of kings Uzziah and Jeroboam II. After a brief indictment of the surrounding nations in the first two chapters, most of the rest of the book details their offenses against the Law, and how their kingdom was about to come to an end because of them, an end which is recorded in 2 Kings 17.

Israel’s king and priestly class did not take kindly to Amos’ warnings. In our reading, we see the priest Amaziah telling Amos to cease declaring judgments on Israel and king Jeroboam II. Amos’ reply shows that he is no mere prophet for hire, but was appointed directly by God. As such, he is obligated to convey God’s message, and to attempt to silence him is to go against God Himself.

As punishment to Amaziah for his opposition, he declares the following judgment against him:

“Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.

You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,

and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

Therefore thus says the Lord:

‘Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,

and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,

and your land shall be parceled out by line;

you yourself shall die in an unclean land,

and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’” (Amos 7:16-17)

This reading teaches us that those who speak God’s truth to a society that refuses to heed it can expect opposition. This has been true of every age, which is why Jesus said “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household” (Mark 6:4). Similarly, Christians who speak God’s truth today can expect similar opposition. We will be called judgmental or bigoted for standing for the truth. However, we should follow the example set by Amos, and not cease to speak God’s word under pressure, but continue to stand for what is right.

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Israel’s Rebellion (14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The book of Ezekiel chronicles the prophet Ezekiel’s calling to preach to the Kingdom of Judah during the final stage of their history, just prior to their final fall at the hands of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The reason for this fall, as the book explains, is that Judah had abandoned God’s law, embraced the idolatrous practices of the nations around them (including sacrificing their children to Molech), and placed their trust in their alliances with foreign powers such as Egypt, rather than God. These same problems afflicted the northern kingdom of Israel, which had fallen back in 722 BC under the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Now Judah, was about to fall to the same mistake.

 

However, God was not about to simply let them go their own way. Before inflicting His punishment, He first warns the people to repent of their sins by sending them prophets. Ezekiel was one of the last of the pre-exilic prophets, whose job it was to give Judah its final warning before their inevitable punishment overcame them. He is elsewhere likened to a watchman whose task is to warn of impending danger, and all who fail to heed the warning are responsible for their own lives (Ezekiel 33:1-9). The purpose of this is so that Judah would have no excuse for failing to obey God. As the final verse indicates, regardless of whether they obey or not, they cannot feign ignorance, as God’s command to repent was made clear to them.

From this, we learn that God always gives sufficient warning to people when they are going astray from Him. When God judges individuals or nations for their sin, they cannot feign ignorance, as they are accountable to what they know, either from natural revelation, or from explicit written revelation. But the sin is greater on the part of those who have greater revelation from God. As Jesus warned the Jewish cities He preached in, their lot would be worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah, because they heard God’s word directly from Him, and still they rejected it (Matthew 11:20-24). Likewise, we are under greater judgment if we turn our backs from what we know, since we have no excuse.

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Life, Death, and Immortality (13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Of all the books in the Old Testament, the book of Wisdom has the most extended discussion of the nature of life, death, and the afterlife. It teaches that death was not an original part of God’s created order, but is a consequence of human sin, which in turn was spurred by “the devil’s envy.”

Nevertheless, despite our mortality, we see here a promise of eternal life when it states that “righteousness is immortal” and “God made him in the image of his own eternity.” We also see this in the following passage, where it states that the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and only appear to have perished (Wisdom 3:1-9). Few other places in the Old Testament provide us with such a glimpse of the afterlife. For example, we read in Job:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

and after my skin has been thus destroyed,

then in my flesh I shall see God,

whom I shall see on my side,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

My heart faints within me! (Job 19:25-27)

Likewise, the book of Daniel contains this affirmation:

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:2-3)

All of this is connected to the mysterious figure mentioned in Wisdom 2:12-20, who calls himself God’s child, and is persecuted by the wicked. It is not altogether clear whom the original author had in mind when he wrote this, but later generations of readers could not help but notice the similarity in language to Isaiah 53, which is the clearest Messianic passage in the Old Testament, and the most oft-quoted in the New. Thus, interpreters see here a foretelling of Christ. In this light, we see that Christ is the one who makes eternal life available to all who believe in Him.

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God and Evil (12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The book of Job is of great interest to readers who are interested to know what the Bible has to say about the Problem of Evil. In chapters 38-41, we see God’s response to Job’s questions as to why He allowed suffering to happen to him. God’s response is essentially to inform Job that he is speaking in ignorance, and rather than giving a straight answer to his question, responds with questions of his own. The implication behind the questions is that Job, as a fallible human being, is incapable of comprehending the grand scheme of things, that God does not need to explain to him why things happened the way they did, and that he would not be able to understand anyway.

From this narrative, we learn three things about God in relation to the Problem of Evil: First, God does not need to give us an explanation. As our Creator, He owes us nothing. Furthermore, we would not be able to fully comprehend God’s explanation even if He were to give it, and regardless of whether or not we can comprehend it, there will always be some who will reject such explanations out of hand.

Second, God is infinitely wiser than us. Even if the full explanation lies beyond our grasp, we can be assured that nothing happens randomly or capriciously. God allows everything to happen for a reason, and He uses all of it to accomplish His plans and bring about the greater good. Nobody expressed this greater than St. Paul, who praises God for the infinite wisdom of His plans:

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

“Or who has given a gift to him,

to receive a gift in return?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

And finally, even if we are unable to comprehend the full reasons as to why God allows evil, we must nevertheless trust that His plans are good. The Bible teaches us that whatever momentary suffering we may suffer will bring about good for us and contribute to our salvation (Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18). The important thing is that we do not lose sight of this, to continue to remain faithful to God in all circumstances, and if we ever find ourselves adopting an attitude of impatience or questioning God, to be like Job and repent (Job 42:1-6).

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The Plant (11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The Book of Ezekiel chronicles the very end of the First Temple period, just before the Judean monarchy was brought to an end by Babylon. Many of Ezekiel’s prophecies are criticisms of Judah’s leadership and religious establishment, who were neglecting the law through idolatry and injustice, as well as trusting in political alliances rather than God to safeguard their nation. Chapter 17 in particular presents a criticism of king Zedekiah’s decision to rely on their alliance with Egypt to break free from vassalage with Babylon, presenting this not only as rebellion against Babylon, but against God Himself, who allowed them to fall into Babylon’s grip:

“But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, in order that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke—in Babylon he shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.” (Ezekiel 18:15-18)

And yet, despite this judgment, God is prepared to make good come out of bad. In verses 22-24, we get this cryptic allegory of a sprig being taken from a cedar and planted on a mountain. Cedar trees are often used as a symbol for Israel (e.g. Numbers 24:6). This image calls to mind Isaiah 11, which speaks of the shoot springing forth from the stump of Jesse (referring to the Davidic dynasty). The sprig then grows into a great cedar tree, which becomes a shelter for all manner of beasts and birds. This is similar in imagery to Daniel 2:34-35, which speaks of a stone that becomes a mountain and fills the whole earth. The stone in this vision represent God’s Kingdom, which Christ will cause to grow among every nation and tribe.

One also cannot fail to see the parallel between this and the parable of the mustard seed found in today’s Gospel reading (Mark 4:26-34). A very similar image is given, with the main difference being the type of plant used. From this, we can infer that the passage in Ezekiel is a Messianic prophecy, which foretells how God will take one from the house of David who will bless the whole world, and usher in the Kingdom of God. We see the fulfillment of this prophecy when Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom, which has been growing and spreading throughout the world since Pentecost, and will be finally consummated at the Second Coming.

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The First Gospel (10^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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The Fall of humanity was an occasion of great sorrow, for from it come all the evils of this world. Wars, oppressions, and death itself, all come to us because of that primordial transgression. Yet even in this tragedy, God gives a signal of hope that all will be made right. This comes in Genesis 3:15, which is the first declaration of the Gospel. The Catechism tells us about the significance of this passage:

“After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall. This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium (“first gospel”): the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers.” (CCC 410)

How this is fulfilled can be seen in salvation history: God chooses a people for Himself, through whom He will bring blessing to the nations through the coming of a Messiah (Genesis 12:1-3). Out of that nation, God selects a young Jewish girl named Mary, who gives her “yes” to the angel Gabriel and then gives birth to Jesus (Luke 1:26-36). St. Paul tells us that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, Satan and the powers of this world are defeated and put to shame (Colossians 2:15). Satan is thus crushed in two senses: First by Mary, when she consents to become the mother of our Saviour, and after that by Jesus, when He triumphs over Satan on the Cross. As the Catechism points out:

“The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the ‘New Adam’ who, because he ‘became obedient unto death, even death on a cross,’ makes amends superabundantly for the disobedience of Adam. Furthermore many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium as Mary, the mother of Christ, the ‘new Eve.’ Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (CCC 411)

But there is a third sense in which the Serpent is crushed. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He establishes His Church out of redeemed men and women of every nation. To this Church, Paul writes: “The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). This means we are in constant battle against Satan. Whenever the Gospel is preached and sinners are saved, we gain a small victory against him. But the final victory will come at the end of time, when Christ returns and vanquishes Satan for good. When He does, we will be right alongside Him and achieve victory with Him.

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The Blood of the Covenant (Corpus Christi Sunday)
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After their escape from Egypt, the second half of Exodus recounts how God established the Mosaic Covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. The Old Testament reading concludes a section where the Israelites receive their first set of laws, and undergo a sacrificial ceremony where they vow uphold all of the laws that God has enjoined on them.

As part of this ceremony, oxen were sacrificed as peace offerings. Moses took the blood of these oxen and sprinkled the people with it. This served to remind the people that they owed their entire lives to God. It is therefore fitting that they give back to Him a part of what He has given them by sacrifice.

There was more to this ceremony, however. The sprinkling of the blood also sacramentally bound the people to God. From that point forward, they were part of the Mosaic Covenant, and all of the promised blessings and curses attached to it were applied to them. If they obey, God will provide abundantly to them, but if they disobey, God will make them like the animals they have slaughtered, as the prophet Jeremiah declares: “And those who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make like the calf when they cut it in two and passed between its parts” (Jeremiah 34:18).

In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews looks back at this ceremony and notes how in the Old Covenant, nearly everything was purified with blood, and how without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). The rest of Hebrews 9-10 explains how the Mosaic Covenant was merely provisional, and was always meant to point forward to something greater than itself. In particular, it pointed forward to the New Covenant, which was inaugurated through the blood of Christ.

Thus, every bloody sacrifice that we read of in the Old Testament serves as a type that pointed towards Him. His sacrifice cleanses us of our sins and brings us into the New Covenant, and in the Eucharist, that same sacrifice and its benefits are mystically made present once again. As we commemorate the Feast of Corpus Christi, we can look back at these Old Testament stories and see how God was preparing to bring this to us all along.

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The One True God (Trinity Sunday)

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Our Old Testament reading comes from the historical section of the book of Deuteronomy, where Moses recounts to the people of Israel how God led their fathers out of Egypt in the Exodus. Through the miracles that God wrought, He showed how the gods of the Egyptians were completely impotent, and not gods at all. He further shows Himself by many wonders to be the one true God and how the gods of all the other nations were nothing but idols. All of this leads to the affirmation of His uniqueness, found in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

Yet there is more to the nature of the one God than is immediately obvious to a surface reading of the text. We learn in many other places that God can appear to be two persons at once, such as in Genesis 19:24. We also read of a being that is described as an angel, yet also bears the name of Yahweh (Exodus 23:20-21). Later on, we find a description of Wisdom in Proverbs 8:22-23, where Wisdom is presented as co-Creator with God.¹ For this reason, some Jews came to see God as two persons, a concept that came to be known as “Two Powers in Heaven.”² Although this tradition was suppressed in later Judaism, it is a testament to the presence of this idea in the Hebrew Bible.

We have the most explicit presentation of this idea in the New Testament. Here, we see Jesus presented as divine through His words, works and titles. Most significant for our understanding of Deuteronomy, however, is an enigmatic reading in Jude 5. There it states: “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.”³

If we take this passage at face value, it teaches us that the God whom Moses describes as saving Israel out of Egypt was none other than Christ Himself. Even before His Incarnation, He was already at work, redeeming a people for Himself, in preparation for when He would someday come into their midst.

Thus, an early hint of God’s triune nature emerges from a close study of these passages put together. This Trinity Sunday, let us meditate upon how God reveals His true nature through the Sacred Scriptures.

Notes

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From Babel to Pentecost (Pentecost Sunday)

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Those who attend both the Saturday evening and Sunday Masses during Pentecost may notice that the first reading is different in both. On Saturday evening, the story of Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 is read, while the Pentecost narrative from Acts 2 is read on Sunday. The use of two different readings is significant once one uncovers the connection between both.

In the Babel story, the people construct a tower (known in ancient times as a Ziggurat), which they believe will enable them to reach God directly. They also hope by this to create a name for themselves. God, seeing the worldly ambition and wicked intentions behind this plan, frustrates the building of the tower by making the builders unable to understand one another. Whereas before they all spoke one common language, afterwards they no longer had this common language.* Thus, they were unable to continue working towards this tower, and dispersed into different nations.

Fast forward the Pentecost, and we see the Holy Spirit granting Jesus’ disciples the ability to speak different languages, in accordance with Joel 2:28-32, where God declares that He will send His Spirit upon all flesh. This gift enables them to speak to all the different nations assembled in Jerusalem for the feast. They are all able to understand the disciples’ preaching, and this causes the Gospel to spread throughout the world, uniting believers into one body from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).

Pentecost, therefore, is a reversal of Babel. At Babel, God divides the people into different nations by confusing their language. At Pentecost, God uses the miraculous imparting of languages to unite the different nations into one people: His Church. Unlike at Babel, the Church is not united by any earthly idea or thing, but by the Holy Spirit. This task of uniting the nations will continue until, in the words of Revelation, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev. 11:5)

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Ascended (Feast of the Ascension)

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Forty days after the Resurrection, we celebrate Christ’s ascension into Heaven. Before He died, Christ told His disciples in advance that He would ascend up into Heaven, and from there send the Holy Spirit to them (John 16:5-16). On Ascension Thursday, Jesus fulfills the first half of what He promised, and ten days from hence, He fulfills the second half of that promise at Pentecost Sunday.

From Heaven, Christ continually intercedes for us before God the Father. Through His intercession, those who are redeemed have full access to God, and are continually being sanctified. As Hebrews 7:25 tells us, “he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” All good things we receive from the Father come through this intercession.

 

Christ will not always remain in Heaven however, as He will someday come back down to earth to defeat Satan one final time, and institute the New Jerusalem. As the angels declared to the disciples in the reading, Jesus “will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) When He returns, those who placed their hope and faith in Him will be vindicated, and will be set free from all pain and suffering: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

 

As believers, we have hope in Christ for the present, because of His continual intercession for us, as well as for the future, because of His promise to come again in glory. We should never waver in this hope, but to keep it in the forefront of our minds at all times.

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Gospel for all Nations (Sixth Sunday of Easter)

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This passage of Acts marks the first major wave of conversion of Gentiles to the Christian faith. Prior to meeting with Cornelius, St. Peter had a vision wherein several non-kosher animals were presented to him, from which he was instructed to eat. Upon refusing on the grounds that they were ritually unclean, the Lord said to him, “do not call unclean what I have called clean.” This happened three times until men sent by Cornelius appeared at his doorstep (Acts 10:9-23).

At this point Peter realized that under the New Covenant, Gentiles were not to be excluded, but incorporated into God’s people just as the Jews had been. He connects this to the vision he saw before in Acts 10:28, where he says, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.” Thus, he would declare that God shows no partiality, favouring one nation over another, but extends salvation in Christ to everyone regardless of social class or ethnic origin (vv. 34-35). After preaching about the saving work of Christ, we see the Holy Spirit coming down upon all the Gentiles in the room, who were subsequently baptized (vv. 44-48).

This move of the Spirit marked the beginning of the spread of the Gospel beyond the confines of Judea and Samaria. God’s will is that all men may be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), and that the Gospel should spread to all the ends of the earth before the end comes (Matt 24:14). The apostles would later go out throughout the world to such far off places as Rome, India, Arabia and Ethiopia. But it all begins with the conversion of Cornelius and his men.

Those of us who are Gentile believers are recipients of this move of the Gospel to the nations. We should be ever grateful to God for having sent His Son to save us, and do what we can to help spread the Gospel to all nations and peoples.

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Paul the Preacher (5^th Sunday of Easter)

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This week’s Acts reading comes at the heels of St. Paul’s conversion, which is describe for us in Acts 9:1-20. In verses 21-25, we see how right after Saul¹ is baptized, he wastes no time in beginning to proclaim the same Messiah whom he formerly rejected, using his immense scriptural learning to bear in defending his newfound faith, to the astonishment and chagrin of his former colleagues.

Three years later (according to the chronology in Gal. 1:18), Saul comes to Jerusalem in order to meet with the apostles. What happened in the intervening period is unknown to us, but he probably spent that time reflecting upon his conversion and growing in understanding his newfound faith to ensure that he had an accurate knowledge of it. He is seen with suspicion by the disciples at first, which was understandable given his past as an enemy of the Christians. Perhaps they thought his conversion was insincere, or that he was there to spy upon the Jerusalem church. It is only after St. Barnabas speaks on his behalf that he is accepted as part of the community (in line with Barnabas’ reputation as the “son of encouragement”). He then proceeds to preach to the Hellenists in Jerusalem—the very same people who had stoned St. Stephen to death before him in Acts 6-7—showing how the evangelistic witness to that community could not be stopped even by the death of the first martyr.

Verse 31 summarizes the growth of the Church at this time, how believers came from throughout Palestine and walked in the fear of the Lord. The conversion of a notorious enemy of the faith no doubt spurred on greater missionary zeal, and caused many Jews who were otherwise suspicious of the Gospel to become receptive to it. This shows us how God can turn even a great persecutor into a great promoter, or a great sinner into a great saint, and advance His Kingdom through them. We should pray that God may raise us up to be like St. Paul, boldly proclaiming the Gospel to all around us and leading others to eternal life.

J. Luis Dizon

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The Cornerstone (4th Sunday of Easter)

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This week’s reading from Acts continues the previous reading wherein Sts. Peter and John healed the lame beggar at the temple, on which occasion they declared the Gospel of Jesus (Acts 3). This prompted the temple police to arrest them, after which they are interrogated as to by what authority they were healing and preaching in the Temple (Acts 4:1-7).

Peter’s reply was that they were able to heal the beggar by the power of Jesus Christ, whom the rulers of the people had rejected. He then identifies Jesus as the “Cornerstone” which the builders rejected (v. 10), which is an allusion to Psalm 118:22. The cornerstone referred to the stone which held the walls of a building together, making it absolutely foundational. St. Paul would later refer to the Church as being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). Despite their claim to mediate access to God via the Temple, since the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, they proved themselves to be out of step with God’s will.

Peter then declares that Christ alone provides salvation to all mankind, and that there is no other name by which we may be saved (v. 12). This calls to mind Jesus’ declaration in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” This statement excludes there being any other way to God apart from Christ, as only He could provide a perfect atonement for sins.

This was a provocative statement, as it went against the pluralism of the Roman world. It remains provocative today, as our multicultural society abhors any declaration of exclusive truth. However, since this teaching comes from Christ Himself, we cannot deny or water it down. We must remain firm in it just as the original apostles did, and seek the conversion of all those who do not yet know the Saviour.

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St. Peter’s sermon in Acts 3 comes right after his healing of the lame beggar in front of the Jerusalem temple gate. He declared that the man was healed by the power of Christ Jesus (v. 16), who had been crucified by the same people to whom he was preaching not that long ago.

In his sermon, he holds the Jerusalem crowd responsible for rejecting their Messiah and handing Him over to be crucified.¹ He refers to Jesus as the “Author or Life,” which is both an affirmation that He is God, as well as a declaration that it is through faith in Christ that one may receive eternal life. Perhaps he is here recalling Christ’s words in the upper room: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He proves that Christ is truly their Saviour from the fact that 1) the Old Testament prophets foretold His suffering beforehand, and 2) they were witnesses to this fulfillment.

Despite their guilt in crucifying Jesus, however, they are not beyond redemption. Peter tells the crowd that they may still receive forgiveness and eternal life if they repent and believe upon that same Christ whom they had previously rejected. If they do this, he declares, their sins will be wiped away. While we are not told how many in that crowd came to faith, we know that the Church continued to grow after that, which means his words must have had an impact on the crowd.

Peter’s message gives hope to all of us because it shows that, no matter how many times we sin and betray Christ, forgiveness is offered to us. If we confess and turn away from our sins, St. John tells us, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all uncleanness (1 John 1:9). Let us, then, make use of this opportunity to avail ourselves of God’s mercy.

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Witnesses of the Lord (1^st Sunday of Easter)

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During the Easter Season, the first reading for Sundays is taken from the book of Acts rather than the Old Testament. Acts chronicles the life of the early church, and how Christianity spread from its birthplace in Jerusalem to the rest of the known world, culminating in St. Paul’s voyage to Rome.

In our reading, St. Peter is preaching regarding the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Twice, he appeals to the fact that he and the Apostles were witnesses to these things. He says this to emphasize the fact that he is not merely passing on something that he heard from others, but experienced directly. As he writes in one of his epistles, “we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

Likewise, St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, recounts how when Jesus was raised from the dead, “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).

By appealing to eyewitness testimony, the Apostles assure us that the Resurrection is not a myth, or hearsay. Rather, it is a real historical event that took place in a definite place and time. And because it is a real event, it has real consequences for our lives. Paul teaches us that our eternal life depends on whether we confess and live by the reality of the Resurrection: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

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The Vindication of the Servant (Palm Sunday)

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This reading is the third of four Servant Songs that are in the book of Isaiah (the other three are in 42:1-7, 49:1-12, and 52:13-53:12). Here, rather than the Servant being addressed by God, it is the Servant speaking directly. In the first half of the reading, he is said to be the obedient servant who does not rebel against God, and has a knowledgeable tongue to be able to teach and exhort others. Thus, the servant is also a teacher of righteousness for God’s people.

When we get to the second half of the reading, however, the tenor of the song shifts, and now the Servant speaks of being persecuted by those around him for what he teaches to them. Through this persecution, however, he retains hope that he will be vindicated by God. Verse 7 bears this out, as well as the next two verses immediately after this reading:

He who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who is my adversary?

Let him come near to me.

Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;

the moth will eat them up. (Isaiah 50:8-9)

This servant song summarizes the experience of Jesus throughout Holy Week. The week begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate today as Palm Sunday. He spends the next few days teaching in the Temple, which causes the Pharisees and Sadducees to turn against Him and plot His death. That plot will eventually culminate in the events of Good Friday. Jesus is aware that all this would happen, because He already predicted it would happen beforehand (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19)

Through all of Jesus’ experiences in Passion Week, He knows that He will ultimately be vindicated by His Father, just as the Servant Song in Isaiah says. This certain knowledge, in addition to His desire to save us, is why He is able to accept the Father’s will: “not my will but Yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39).

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The New Covenant (5^th Sunday of Lent)

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In past readings, we were introduced to a succession of covenants that God made with important individuals, after whom each covenant was named. These included the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant. We see that these covenants are the means by which God stays united to His people, which is why we read the oft-repeated refrain that they will be God’s people, and He will be their God (e.g. Genesis 17:7, Exodus 6:7, etc.). Each covenant included promises and conditions that needed to be met, whether it was a ritual such as circumcision, or the keeping of certain laws. Whenever a new covenant was established, it built on the previous one, and revealed God’s plans in greater detail.

The ultimate fufillment of God’s plans however, comes through what is known as the “New Covenant.” This covenant is hinted at in numerous places in the Old Testament, and is referred to by many names, but Jeremiah 31 is the only place where it is explicitly called as such. He declare his intention to establish this new covenant even while castigating His people for breaking the terms of the one He established with them at Sinai. This new covenant would differ from the old one in that it would focus more on what is internal, rather than what is external. Hence, God declares that He will inscribe His laws in people’s hearts, and they will all come to know Him.

We see this covenant inaugurated by Jesus in the Gospels. The emphasis on the internal condition of the heart is revealed to us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The promise that God would teach us His ways directly is fulfilled through the coming of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things (John 14-16). Finally, the old covenant signs are replaced with the new covenant sacraments, particularly Baptism (through which a person enters into the covenant), and the Eucharist (through which the benefits of the covenant are communicated). It is for this reason that when Jesus institutes the Eucharist, He refers to the cup as the “blood of the covenant” (cf. Matthew 26:28). All this comes through Christ, who is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15, 12:24).

As people of the New Covenant, we who are Christians are heirs to a greater promise than what the previous covenants contain. Through our worship, we thank God for these blessings. Through the sacraments, we partake of their benefits. And through evangelization, we call upon others to believe in Christ and thus be included in the New Covenant, with all of its blessings.

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Exile and Return (4^th Sunday of Lent)

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The history of the divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah is a sad tale of how God’s chosen people broke the Covenant that God made with them at Mt. Sinai, and thus incurred the curses that He threatened would befall covenant breakers (Deuteronomy 28). Despite God warning them through His prophets, the people did not listen, but instead persecuted and even killed many of the prophets.

Eventually, Israel succumbed to its fate when the Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered them in 721 BC. Judah managed to survive somewhat longer, with God’s blessings occasionally coming upon them when righteous kings such as Hezekiah and Josiah came upon the throne, but they too ultimately met the same fate under the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BC, and their exile would last for seventy years. Scripture makes clear that these were no mere geopolitical events, but rather Assyria and Babylon were the instruments of God’s wrath against His wayward people.

However, God’s chastisement would not last forever. Eventually, the Jews learned their lesson, and resolved to follow God’s Law more stringently. Eventually, their deliverance would come when Babylon was overthrown by the Median Empire, which was then replaced by the Achaemenid Persian Empire. King Cyrus the Great was known for his policy of religious tolerance, and largely respected the beliefs of his subject peoples, even if he did not hold to those beliefs himself. Rightly then does Isaiah present Cyrus as God’s shepherd and anointed one (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1). God in his providence used his tolerance to bring the Jews back to their land so that they could rebuild their temple, the story of which is recorded for us in Ezra-Nehemiah, as well as Esther.

This is instructive for us today, because we see how seriously God takes covenant breaking. If we take His commandments lightly, a similar chastisement will come upon us. On the other hand, however, if we repent and resolve to live according to His precepts, we will experience deliverance.

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The Covenant Code (3^rd Sunday of Lent)

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When God rescued Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He brought them to Mt. Sinai, where He committed Himself in a covenant to constitute them as His chosen people on earth. In return, Israel was expected to listen to God’s voice and do as He says. We see this when God through Moses tells the people:

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites. (Exodus 19:4-6)

As part of the stipulation for this covenant, God gave them a law code that they were expected to abide by, and all the covenant blessings were conditional upon their keeping it. This law was summarized in what is known as the Ten Commandments. This Law became central to the identity of this new nation as a covenant people. As Scott Hahn points out, these commandments “gave this ragtag outfit of twelve loosely knit tribes a new identity. The Decalogue revealed to Israel a radically new way of living under the lordship of Yahweh.”¹ So central was this Law to Israelite life that the stone tablets containing them were deposited in the Ark of the Covenant and kept in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:16).

Even though we are under the New Covenant, this law continues to inform our moral life. As Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19).

Thus, we see in the New Testament that almost all these commandments are restated in some form or another, testifying to their enduring relevance.² As St. Paul tells us: “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31).

Most importantly, this Law serves as the teacher that leads us to Christ, as St. Paul states in Galatians 3:24. Through the Law, we realize our sin and thus our need for a Saviour. Thus, Law and Gospel come together to produce a complete picture of God’s story of how He saves us.

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The Binding of Isaac (2^nd Sunday of Lent)

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The binding of Isaac is one of the most significant events in the Bible’s redemptive history. It is pivotal because it marks Abraham’s faithfulness to God’s covenant promises, wherein God promises to bless him and his progeny, and make them as numerous as the sand and the stars (Genesis 12, 15 and 17). We see here that God reaffirms those promises and adds the additional detail that his descendants shall be triumphant over their enemies.

This episode also figures prominently in the New Testament, which comments upon it as a sign of his faithfulness. Hebrews, for example tells us that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because he knew that if God was able to give him Isaac in his old age, He would also be able to give Isaac back to him even after he was sacrificed:

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Likewise, St. James uses Abraham’s act of obedience as an example of how man is justified by works and not by faith alone:

Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:20-24)

Finally, the Binding of Isaac is significant for Christians because it prefigures the sacrifice of Christ. Although the New Testament does not explicitly make this connection, it appears in the writings of the early church fathers and has been the standard Christian interpretation ever since. The ram which is found stuck in the thicket is a type of Christ, and just as the ram is sacrificed that Isaac may live, Jesus gives His life that we may live. As St. Paul declares in the epistle reading: "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" (Romans 8:32)

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The Noahic Covenant (1st Sunday of Lent)

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In the aftermath of the Flood story in Genesis, God establishes a covenant with Noah. This covenant is one of the first of several covenants that God “cuts” with humans in the Biblical story (after the one with Adam and Eve). A covenant can basically be defined as “a kinship bond between two parties, with conditions or obligations, established by an oath or its equivalent.”¹ It differs from a contract in that, “unlike most contracts, covenants are not merely civil but sacred bonds, in which an oath is employed to call on God... to enforce the covenant obligations.”²

In this case, since Noah is the progenitor of all the people who would come after him, the covenant with him may be said to be a universal covenant that applies to all humanity. Various allowances, such as the eating of meat, and the use of capital punishment against murder, are given herein. The latter is particularly noteworthy, since it reflects the gravity with which God regards the taking of human life, and sees it as an assault on the image in which He created human beings.

Later Jewish tradition would expand upon this covenant and posit seven “Noahide Laws” that all humans, whether Jew or Gentile, are bound to obey. While such traditions probably do not go back to Noah, they do reflect the importance of Noah as a representative of all humanity, just as Adam was before him.

Most significantly, God sets his bow down as a reminder that He would never again flood the world. Although commonly understood to be a rainbow, the word for bow (qeshet) denotes a warbow. This signifies that God is laying down His arms, as it were, in making His promise. Although the rainbow is often misused as a symbol in our day, its significance as a reminder of God’s promise to never flood the world again remains valid, and we as Christians must never forget that vital truth. As St. Peter reminds us, God is delaying His judgment to allow us more time to repent, for God does not wish any to perish, but that all may repent. (2 Peter 3:9)

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Ritual and Moral Purity (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Leviticus contains extensive instructions for what to do if a person contracts a certain skin disease. Although the disease in question has traditionally been identified as leprosy, the instructions are meant to be applicable to a wide variety of skin diseases, including leprosy.¹

While the instructions to isolate the infected person may have had some medical benefits, in terms of preventing the spread of such diseases, the primary concern of this passage is not health, but ritual cleanliness. Skin diseases were associated with death, and just as contact with a dead body renders one unfit to come near the tabernacle (Numbers 19:11-13), so does the presence of skin disease. It is also notable that in many Bible passages, the Lord inflicts skin disease as a punishment for transgression, so there is an association with sinfulness as well, although not everyone who contracts such a disease necessarily did so because of something they did.

Although we no longer need to be outwardly clean in order to come to God in the New Covenant, the need to be ritually pure in the Old Testament provides a picture of the need to be morally pure, which applies in all ages. We know that coming to the Lord’s table with sin in our lives can lead to judgment and even death, as St. Paul teaches us (1 Corinthians 11:27-31). Even if we no longer need to be concerned about our outward purity, we still need to be inwardly pure in order to have access to God via the Eucharist.

Finally, the association of skin disease with one’s moral status puts a new dimension to the Gospel reading where Jesus heals the leper (Mark 1:40-45). Jesus is not just restoring his health, but also his access to the temple. This thus becomes a reflection of how Jesus through His atoning work grants us access to God. Similarly, although sin may make us unfit to receive our Lord, we can restore that fitness if we repent and turn back to Him through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

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Hope Amid Suffering (5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

The book of Job relates the story of how Job copes with suffering after losing everything and being afflicted with grievous illness. It is particularly concerned with the problem of evil. Job’s fate shows us how God permits evil in order to accomplish His plans and bring about the greater good. However, because our perspective is limited, we often do not see what that greater good might be. Thus, Job only sees the misery afflicting him at present. He muses on the reality of suffering, and how every person must experience it at some point in their life, albeit in varying degrees. For him, life is a never ending series of troubles.

And yet, Job does not lose hope. Later in the book, he declares that he will someday see God in the flesh after he dies. Here, we see Job affirming the Resurrection of the dead. Although this concept is not fully fleshed out in the Old Testament, we do see the seeds of the belief here:

“O that my words were written down!

O that they were inscribed in a book!

O that with an iron pen and with lead

they were engraved on a rock forever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

and after my skin has been thus destroyed,

then in my flesh I shall see God,

whom I shall see on my side,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:23-27)

When we get to the New Testament, this teaching is fleshed out further. Jesus during His earthly ministry healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead, as the Gospel shows. However, this is only a prelude to the greatest act of restoration, which is the Resurrection of the dead. Paul reminds us that our momentary afflictions are preparing us for an eternal glory beyond comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). When it arrives, Scripture declares, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and suffering will be no more (Revelation 21:4).

This is the hope that we as believers hold on to, that despite our present sufferings, we will someday be liberated from it all, and spend eternity with God.

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The Prophetic Word (4th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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A prophet is someone whom the Lord has anointed to speak His revelation. Prophecy is usually associated with predicting the future, although not all prophecy concerns the future. Prophecy is how we come to know God’s will, as Scripture tells us, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7).

This OT passage from Deuteronomy concerns the sending of a prophet to the people of Israel. After this, God gives a criterion for how one can tell a true prophet from a false prophet. Such a criterion is necessary as many would falsely claim to be a prophet throughout history, as Jesus warns us in the Gospels (Mark 13:22), and as the passage of subsequent history shows us. The criterion is that whatever the prophet speaks will come to pass, and nothing that he says will fail to materialize:

You may say to yourself, “How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?” If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Although God has sent many prophets throughout history who can conceivably fit the description given here, one future prophet is envisioned who embodies the prophetic charism more greatly than all the rest. In the book of Acts, both St. Peter (Acts 3:22) and St. Stephen (Acts 7:37) apply this passage of Deuteronomy to Jesus Christ, and indeed, Jesus was recognized as a prophet during His lifetime (John 6:14). But his role is not reducible to that of a prophet only, as He is also a priest and a king. Nevertheless, His words and actions can be seen as prophetic revelation, in the sense that they fully reveal to us the will of God. As Hebrews tells us:

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Thus, if we want to know how we should live, and what God wants us to know, we can look to Jesus’ words and actions for guidance.

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Being a Prophetic Voice (3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Jonah is best known for his refusal to preach to the people of Nineveh, and his subsequently being swallowed by a large fish while trying to escape. In Jonah 3-4, he was asked again to preach to the Ninevites, and this time he reluctantly accepted. This reading tells us that he preached in the city for three days, and they listened and repented, so God spared them. The rest of the chapter relates to us the measures that the inhabitants of the city took:

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:6-10)

The next chapter tells us that Jonah was upset at God for this, and that Jonah knew all along that this would be the result. His reluctance to preach to the Ninevites was due to his national pride (after all, the Assyrians were subjugators of the Israelites), and his reluctance to see them come to repentance. God’s response shows us that He desired to show mercy upon all nations, not just Israel. This would find fuller expression in the New Covenant, when God creates a new people, the Church, comprised of every nation, tribe and tongue.

This story also teaches us the importance of the faithful acting as God’s prophetic voice to the world. This is why this passage is connected to our Gospel reading (Mark 1:14-20). Both are about God raising up men lead others to true faith. All the faithful–clergy and laity–have this prophetic call as God’s Church. Although each believer lives under different circumstances, we all have the opportunity and obligation to be a prophetic witness to the world through our words and actions. We must point others to Christ, and urge them to repent and believe.

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Hearing God’s Voice (2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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In Hebrew, Samuel’s name means “God heard” (Shmu’ El). His name is a reference to the fact that his birth came about as a result of God listening to the supplications of his mother, Hannah, who had been barren for many years (the story is recounted in 1 Samuel 1-2). As thanks for hearing her prayer, Hannah dedicated Samuel to God, and Samuel was raised in the house of God by Eli the priest.

Thus, Samuel grew up surrounded by holy things and holy people. Despite this, he did not immediately know the Lord. It was only when Eli informed him that the voice he was hearing was the Lord’s that he came to know God and receive his commission as a prophet. This teaches us that it is important to have more spiritually aware people in our lives to attune us to God’s voice, so that we can more readily recognize Him when He calls out to us. It also teaches us that simply being around religious places and people does not guarantee a relationship with God. While those things help, ultimately we have to form that relationship through the exercise of our own will.

The pairing of 1 Samuel 3 with John 1:35-42 as our Gospel reading is also significant, as the parallels between the two are striking. In the Gospel account, Andrew recognizes Jesus’ divine origin immediately, but his brother Simon does not initially do so, and has to be informed by Andrew of this fact. Despite his initial skepticism, Simon would go on to be chosen by Christ as the first leader of the Church, just as Samuel led Israel as the final judge before the monarchy was established. Here, we see that the events of the Old Testament reading serve as a foreshadowing of the event told in the Gospel, making Samuel a type of St. Peter.

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Light to the Nations (Feast of the Epiphany)

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This passage of Isaiah is addressed to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Here, the prophet predicts a future where the Jewish people would be gathered from all of the nations they were scattered in and brought to Zion. Then, the light of Israel would arise and give light to the nations, who would walk in that light, and give homage to Israel.

A partial fulfillment of this passage came when King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the Jews would be allowed to return to their land and rebuild their temple. The glory of Israel would not be seen then, however. After the second temple was built, it lacked the glory even of the first temple, where God Himself had dwelt, in conjunction with the Ark of the Covenant (which Jeremiah had hidden in a secret place, according to 2 Maccabees 2). Thus, the passage would await a fuller fulfillment at the coming of Christ.

Traditionally, the passage has been interpreted as being fulfilled when the Magi came to worship the child Jesus, hence its association with the Epiphany. We can see this from many details in the text. For example, the constant references to light, radiance and rising all point towards the star that shone over Bethlehem. Also, the nations are said to bring gold and frankincense to Israel, which is what we see the Magi bringing to the child Jesus.

The reference to Midian, Ephah and Sheba (which are located in the Arabian peninsula) can also be an indication that some of the Magi originated there. Also, the reference to kings in v. 3 has led to the interpretation that the Magi were kings. It is probable that the Magi had some sort of royal authority in the nations they originated. Whatever the case, it is not hard to see how the coming of the Magi would fulfill this prophecy.

This Old Testament scripture shows us how the events of the Nativity were foretold hundreds of years in advance. Today, we walk in the light of God’s glory in Christ, who is the Light of the World (John 8:12). Just as the Magi were guided by the star during Epiphany, may we also continue to be guided by His light.