Reflections on the Daily Readings

July 12 - 18, 2009.

The Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time. Psalter Week III.

Sunday Cycle B; Weekday Cycle I.  

Sunday 12:      The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 84; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13

In our first reading we see Amos being dismissed by Amaziah because Amaziah does not like the message which is being preached by Amos. Amos tells him that it is not his own message but God’s message and that he preaches at God’s command. In the second reading from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we are told that we were chosen by God before the world was created to be his own people. In choosing us he wants us to live in love and to be spotless in his sight. We do this by believing in him and in living according to his precepts. In our Gospel we see Jesus sending out the Twelve in pairs to preach and to cure. They do so and are successful because they do so in his name and with his authority. No matter what people may think, the message of God cannot be silenced simply because they may not like what it says or who it is who is preaching. We are the successors to the Twelve and we are the Church and so we too should proclaim the kingdom of God to the people of our own time whether they like it or not, knowing that a great reward lies in store for those who do listen and believe. 

Monday 13:     Of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Exodus 1:8-14, 22: Psalm 123; Matthew 10:34-11:1

Today we begin reading from the Book of Exodus which continues where we finished in the Book of Genesis last week. Almost 200 years have now passed in Egypt since the death of Joseph and his brothers and a new Pharaoh comes to power who knows nothing of the history of the Israelites in Egypt. He therefore has the Israelites enslaved and begins killing their sons out of fear that they may not be as loyal as he would like. Our Gospel passage today from St Matthew seems at first a little odd because Jesus tells his disciples that he did not come to bring peace but the sword. We know from bitter experience that this is correct for there are many places in the world where long and bloody battles have been fought because of religion and because of different views within Christianity, even within our own country. But Christ tells us that we should welcome all people regardless of their religious beliefs because if we welcome those who are holy and help those who come to us then we will bring peace to our world and the Gospel of Christ will spread throughout the world. 

Tuesday 14:     Of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Exodus 2:1-15; Psalm 68; Matthew 11:20-24

To help stamp out the Jewish race the pharaoh had decreed that all Jewish males were to be killed at birth but today we read in Exodus that Moses was not killed but was hidden by his mother. Eventually she placed him in a basket in the river because she could no longer conceal him. The child is found by the Pharaoh’s daughter who takes him home and entrusts him to his own mother. He lives in Pharaoh’s house and flees when he kills an Egyptian for striking a Hebrew. From here on, Moses will dominate our attention as we read about the history of the Jewish people. In our Gospel text we see Jesus admonishing those towns in which he had worked miracles because, despite all they had seen, they still refuse to change their ways and to live according to the Law of God. This is a reminder to us that we must be converted daily to the Gospel and play our part in the building up of the kingdom of God. It is also a reminder that Jesus had been busy in other parts of the Holy Land but that not all of it is recorded in the Gospels – again showing us that in fact we know only small though significant parts about his life on earth. 

Wednesday 15:           Memorial of St Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church*

Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12; Psalm 102; Matthew 11:25-27

In our first reading from the Book of Exodus we read of the first encounter between God and Moses in the burning bush. The Lord has heard the cry of his chosen people in Egypt and he appoints Moses to be his instrument in delivering them from their slavery. Moses is unsure about this but the Lord tells him that he will be with him. This promise to be with Moses is heard time and time again throughout the Old Testament and also in the promise of Jesus to his apostles – “I will be with you always.” In the Gospel, Jesus praises his Father for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children. All too often today people scrutinise their faith so much that they destroy it. The mysteries are called mysteries precisely because we do not have the capacity to understand them and yet that does not mean that they are false or to be ignored. A child accepts what he or she is told and believes in it and that is what we are asked to do. If we truly believe in Jesus and his word then no further proof should be necessary for the Lord will not deceive us as he only seeks our good.

Thursday 16:   Of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Exodus 3:13-20; Psalm 104; Matthew 11:28-30

In our text from Exodus we see Moses still questioning God about sending him to be the one to win freedom for the Israelites. A person’s name has always been important for the Jews as it tells a lot about the person and so Moses asks God for his name. The Lord replies, “I Am who Am,” and for the first time reveals himself as Yahweh, the God of power. The sacred name tells us that, unlike the pagans, this is a God who lives and he now hears the cry of his people and is about to act. By contrast we see Jesus in the Gospel calling the people to him and telling them that he is gentle and humble of heart. And yet both of these images are of the same God who is at once powerful and gentle, and who hears his people when they cry to him and will come to their aid. It is a reminder for us that God can do all things for us but at the same time he is not a God to be feared but one who genuinely cares for each of us. 

In Carmelite Churches:

July 16:            Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel*

1Kings 18:42b-45a; Psalm 14; Galatians 4:4-7; John 19:25-27

In the first reading we see our holy father Elijah instructing his servant to keep watch on the sky, for the drought which has plagued the land is soon to end. When he sees the small cloud, the servant is told to go and tell King Ahab. In the second reading, St Paul tells us that the one who redeemed us was born of a woman and was therefore subject to the Law as all humans were. By his being born in this way, we cease to be slaves. In the Gospel, we see Jesus upon the cross giving his mother into the care of the apostle John. For Carmelites, these readings are important for we are the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and therefore we are servants of the Lord and of his Word. Being the brothers of Our Lady we too must have a deep care for the children of God. 

Friday 17:        Of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Exodus 11:10-12:14; Psalm 115; Matthew 12:1-8

We now move ahead in our reading from Exodus to the instructions for the first Passover. The Pharaoh has still not agreed that the Hebrews may leave Egypt so the Lord is going to smite the firstborn of both man and beast in the land. The Hebrews are told how to prepare and how to avoid the death which is about to come for only those who prepare properly will be saved. This meal became an annual remembrance of how God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt. From this meal comes our Eucharist which reminds us that, through Jesus, the world has been delivered from slavery to sin. In the Gospel we see Jesus in conflict with the Pharisees for apparently breaking the sabbath, though in fact it was the disciples who committed the crime and not Jesus. Christ was not against observing the sabbath but he was against the Pharisaic over-development of sabbath legislation. He reminds them of what happened in the past and tells them that man is greater than the sabbath and not the other way around. He does not suggest that the sabbath should not be observed but to keep a perspective on things and not kill off the day completely. 

Saturday 18:    Of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Exodus 12:37-42; Psalm 135; Matthew 12:14-21

In the reading from the Book of Exodus we see the chosen people finally leaving Egypt. The Lord has heard their cry and is now leading them to a better life through the desert and across the Red Sea south of today’s Suez Canal. The Psalm is a hymn of praise to God for freeing his people. In the Gospel we read of the Pharisees plotting against Jesus while he goes off quietly and cures those who come to him seeking his comfort. He tells them to say nothing about him because his time has not yet come and he has more to do. Today, in our own time however, the Lord’s time has come and we all have a duty to proclaim the risen Lord who sets his people free from all that keeps them captive but only if they turn to him in faith and seek his help. 

Memorials this Week:

July 15:                  Memorial of St Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Bonaventure was born in Tuscany in 1221. He became a Franciscan and was elected their minister general in 1257, and spent much of his life working for unity among his Franciscan brothers. Having refused to be Archbishop of York he was later created Cardinal-bishop of Albano. One of the greatest mystical theologians and scholars of the middle ages, he was an outstanding figure at the Council of Lyons in 1274. During the Council he played an important part in the reunion of the Orthodox Greeks. He died during the Council, just before the collapse of his work. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588. 

July 16:                  Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The Sacred Scriptures speak of the beauty of Mount Carmel where the Prophet Elijah defended the faith of Israel in the living God. There, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, under the title of “Saint Mary of Mount Carmel” the Order of Carmelites had its formal beginning. From the fourteenth century this title, recalling the countless blessings of its patroness, began to be solemnly celebrated, first in England and then gradually throughout the whole Order. It attained its supreme place from the beginning of the seventeenth century when the General Chapter declared it to be the principal feast of the Order, and Paul V recognised it as the feast of the Scapular Confraternity.

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