11/07/2023
Commentary on the Readings for Friday, November 3, 2023:
St. Paul was born a Jew of Tarsus and he was so zealous that he became a leader of those who persecuted the Church before his own conversion, which came when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Syria in the midst of mission to root out the Christians there. So, it is not surprising that he would show great sorrow for unconverted Jews, since he once shared their ignorance of Christ. However, it should be noted that Christ enables us to love all those who do not know Him and to do what God enables us to do if we are so minded, to assist in their conversion.
St. Paul’s statement that he would wish that he too be accursed and cut off for Christ “for the sake of my own people” is oriental hyperbole. It brings to mind a similar statement of Moses when he asked to be blotted out of the book of life rather than see his people all condemned.
Thus, St. Paul is not literally wishing to give up his heaven for others, but rather to make any sacrifice necessary to save souls of his fellow countrymen, similar to Moses’ plea. Still, this is a heroic pleading and one which comes from the heart and not from bluster or insincerity.
The children of Israel have a proud heritage, indeed, as God’s chosen people, recipients of the covenants and the Law, the patriarchs and the glory of God who dwelled amongst them. They are the people chosen to bring the Messiah into the world for all men. Hence the intense love for his people exhibited by St. Paul and his fatherly concern for their salvation. As St. Paul said, “my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing witness.”
Psalm 147 praises God for what He has provided for Israel, whose heartbeat and capital is Jerusalem. Remembering that the Church is the “New Jerusalem” (see Galatians 4:26), we proclaim, “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem,” with the people of God from all times.
In the Gospel, taken from St. Luke 14: 1-6, we learn that Jesus, once again, is not afraid to bring himself and the Gospel into the home of a Pharisee. He is, of course, well aware they that are leaders in Israel will lead the way to His death, still He shares the Good News with them as well. But He is aware of their hypocrisy, especially as relates to legalisms like the way they keep the Sabbath. They are more concerned with the letter of the Law than with its heart, which is love and respect for God.
Thus, He poses a question about whether it is lawful to cure on the Sabbath to the scholars of the Law and the Pharisees present, but they refuse to hazard an answer. Why didn’t they respond? Probably because they are aware that Jesus has cured others on the Sabbath (actually He does this seven times according to Scripture) and they are afraid to challenge Him publicly at this point.
Jesus then heals the man suffering from dropsy and poses another question to which they have no good answer. He says who among you would not rescue his son or even an ox if they fell into the cistern on the Sabbath? They cannot deny they would, but how they must have resented being tied in such a knot by Jesus. So, they remained silent.
We cannot afford to remain silent when it comes to sharing Jesus and the Gospel message, both by our words and our actions. If we choose to pretend, as those who claim to oppose abortion personally, but do nothing while serving in national public office where they can vote to limit or prevent this great evil, then, we too are hypocrites and will be called to account on Judgment Day.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-november-3-2023
