Daily Readings August 17, 2012

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time


Lectionary: 417

Reading 1
Ez 16:1-15, 60, 63

The word of the LORD came to me:Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.

God is still speaking to Ezekiel and He says, "Son of man, show Jerusalem her detestable sins."

Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem:By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan;your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

The Lord says to Jerusalem:  By rights, you are descended of pagans.  Your father and mother originate from pagan countries.

As for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut;you were neither washed with water nor anointed,nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling clothes.

On the day you were born, no one took care of you.  Even the most basic of care was neglected.  Your umbilical cord was not cut, you were not bathed or rubbed down with oil, nor disinfected with salt nor clothed or wrapped in a blanket.

No one looked on you with pity or compassionto do any of these things for you.Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as something loathsome,the day you were born.

No one cared about you. You were simply cast out onto the ground as something hateful.

Then I passed by and saw you weltering in your blood.

But I, God, passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood.

I said to you: Live in your blood and grow like a plant in the field.

And I said to you, live in your blood and grow like a plant in the field.

You grew and developed, you came to the age of puberty;your breasts were formed, your hair had grown,but you were still stark naked.

And you lived and came to puberty, your breasts developed and you grew hair but you were still unclothed.

Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old enough for love.So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover your nakedness;

But I came by you again and saw that you were ready for love, so I married you in order to hide your shame.

Note:  The terms "spread the corner of my cloak over you" and "cover you" are Hebraic euphemisms for matrimony.  We see one example of this in the story of Ruth where Ruth asks Boaz to throw his cloak over her, in essence proposing that he marry her.  Here's that part of it:

Ruth 3
King James Version (KJV)
⁵ And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.⁶ And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.⁸ And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.⁹ And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.¹⁰ And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

The book of Ruth.  It's short and really sweet.  I recommend it.  It is the story of the faithfulness of one of Jesus' great, great, grandmothers. The mother of Jesse.  Jesus is called the Branch of Jesse.

I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you;you became mine, says the Lord GOD.

and so I gave my word to you and wed you and you became mine, said the Lord.

Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood,and anointed you with oil.

Then I bathed you, washed you and rubbed you with oil.

Note:  "Bathed you and washed you" might mean "forgave you your sins."  "Annointed you with oil" might also mean, "filled you with my Spirit".  As today, we are annointed by the Holy Spirit in confirmation.

I clothed you with an embroidered gown,
put sandals of fine leather on your feet;
I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear.
I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms,
a necklace about your neck, a ring in your nose,

pendants in your ears, and a glorious diadem upon your head.
Thus you were adorned with gold and silver;
your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth.
Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food.

All these gifts probably have specific spiritual meanings designating different graces which God bestowed on Israel.  But I don't know what they might be.  Perhaps wisdom, faith, hope, charity, virtue, etc.

You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen.
You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was,
because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you,
says the Lord GOD.

This, I believe, is a reference to the epitome of the Davidic Kingdom during Kings David and Solomon's reign.

But you were captivated by your own beauty,you used your renown to make yourself a harlot,and you lavished your harlotry on every passer-by,whose own you became.

But during Solomon's reign, King Solomon himself bowed down to false gods having been perverted by his many wives.  And there was a down hill slide from there.

Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl,and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you,that you may remember and be covered with confusion,and that you may be utterly silenced for shamewhen I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD.

BUT, God says, I will always remember that you are my wife.  I married you forever and will remind you of our vows that you may be covered with shame when I forgive your many sins.

Or

Ez 16:59-63

Thus says the LORD:I will deal with you according to what you have done,you who despised your oath, breaking a covenant.

The Lord said:
I will punish you for breaking your word and for your sins.

Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl,and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you.

But I will remember that when you were young, I married you forever.

Then you shall remember your conduct and be ashamed

Then you will remember what you have done and be ashamed.

when I take your sisters, those older and younger than you,and give them to you as daughters,

This one is difficult to understand.  God says He will take Judah's sisters, He means the other 11 tribes. And give them to Judah as daughters?  Apparently, God will remarry Judah and adopt the rest of Israel.

even though I am not bound by my covenant with you.

He will do this even though He doesn't have to because Judah broke the Covenant with God.  Judah became like an unfaithful wife when she began to worship other gods.

For I will re-establish my covenant with you,that you may know that I am the LORD,that you may remember and be covered with confusion,and that you may be utterly silenced for shamewhen I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD.

So, God will re-establish His marriage covenant with the nation of Israel and thus confound the people of Israel and shame them for their sins, when He forgives them all they have done.

As strange as it may seem, I believe this has taken place, mystically with the Catholic Church, the New Jerusalem, the Sacraments which are the fountains of forgiving and justifying grace and literally in the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, who embodied all of the virtues of God's Virginal Bride.

Responsorial Psalm
Is 12:2-3, 4Bcd, 5-6

Respond. (1c) You have turned from your anger.

God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.

R. You have turned from your anger.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.

R. You have turned from your anger.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!

R. You have turned from your anger.

This Psalm is a summary of our entire Faith.  First, in order to please God, we must believe that He exists and is a rewarder of all who seek Him (Heb 11:6).  Next, "Eucharist" is Greek for thanksgiving.  When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim His death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26).  And then is the Mass, wherein, with one mouth and mind we glorify God in the Assembly (Rom 15:6).

Gospel
Mt 19:3-12

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,

Some of the religious teachers approached Jesus to test Him.

"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"

"Does God permit divorce?"  they asked.

He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginningthe Creator made them male and female and said,For this reason a man shall leave his father and motherand be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?

Jesus answered, "have you not read in Gen 2:24, where a man and woman are married and become one?

So they are no longer two, but one flesh.Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate."

So, they are no longer two individuals, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one tear asunder."

They said to him, "Then why did Moses commandthat the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?"

Then they asked, "Then why did Moses permit divorce?"

He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heartsMoses allowed you to divorce your wives,but from the beginning it was not so.

And He answered, "Because you are a cruel and cold blooded people and Moses didn't know how to handle you.  Moses permitted it, but God didn't.

I say to you, whoever divorces his wife(unless the marriage is unlawful)and marries another commits adultery."

Any man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery."

His disciples said to him,"If that is the case of a man with his wife,it is better not to marry."

Even Jesus own disciples disagreed with this teaching saying, "then why bother even getting married?"

He answered, "Not all can accept this word,but only those to whom that is granted.

"Not all can accept this word," Jesus said.  I think He is talking about not getting married at all.  I think He means, "that is true.  It is not necessary that all people be married.  But not all can accept this word."

Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;

He continues, "Some are simply unable to be married because they were born that way."  This might mean that there are some people who are simply not interested in being married or that some have physical deformities which render them incapable of having children and thus incapable of being married.

some, because they were made so by others;

Some because they have been castrated.  He is speaking here of the ancient and cruel practice of removing slaves' genitals.

some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

Here, however, we believe that He is speaking of men and women dedicating themselves to the service of God.  St. Paul also said:

1 Corinthians 7:31-34
King James Version (KJV)
³¹ And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.³² But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:³³ But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.³⁴ There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

Sincerely,

De Maria