October 14, 2012

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 143

A Reading from the Holy Book of Wisdom

 Wis 7:7-11

I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

>>>This poem probably has to do with King Solomon.  This was King Solomon's prayer:

1 Kings 3
King James Version (KJV)
⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.⁷ And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.⁸ And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.⁹ Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?¹⁰ And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.¹¹ And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;¹² Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.¹³ And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.¹⁴ And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

>>>Wisdom comes from the Word of God.  Or more accurately, wisdom is the Word of God.  It is better to follow the Commandments of God.  Better to seek the Kingdom of Heaven, than to have any riches in this life:

Matthew 16:26
King James Version (KJV)
²⁶ For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

>>>Righteousness and wisdom go hand in hand.  A man that does not seek righteousness is not a wise man.

Psalm 37:29-31
King James Version (KJV)
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.  ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.

>>>Therefore, seek first the Kingdom of God and righteousness and all else will be provided for you.

Matthew 6:33
King James Version (KJV)
³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Response. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!

R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.

R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!

R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

 

>>> There is a great deal in this Psalm.  But I'll stick to two points in order to be brief.

1st.  It says, "Let your work be seen by your servants".   That impacts me so profoundly.  Because when I didn't believe in God, I could not see Him.  Not that I can see Him as I can see another person.  But I could not see His works nor feel His presence in the world.  But the day that I realized that nothing in this world could exist except by Him, that day, I began to see God working in the world.  So, all I can say is "Thanks be to God!"

2nd.  "Fill us with your love, O Lord and we will sing for joy!"  That is what we should all do when we receive the Sacraments.  Especially in the Eucharist where we receive Love Incarnate.

Second Reading from St. Paul's epistle to the Hebrews

 Heb 4:12-13

Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

>>>This is a verse which is spiritually veiled.  Protestants frequently say that this speaks of the Bible.  But if you look below, this is a verse about Jesus, the Word of God.  "No creature is concealed from HIM."

So, simultaneously, this verse is about God and His Wisdom.  Jesus is the Word of God and the Wisdom of God.  On another level it is also the Gospel which is preached to us by the Church and contained in the Bible.

No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.

>>>God is our Judge.

Romans 14:10
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁰ But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

And we will render an account for every unthinking word that leaves our mouths:

Matthew 12:36
King James Version (KJV)
³⁶ But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Mk 10:17-30

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

>>>A man came up to Jesus and asked Him what he must do to be saved.

Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.

>>>Jesus tested him to see if he knew that Jesus is God.

You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."

>>>Then He told him that he must keep the Commandments if he wants to be saved.

He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."

>>>The man answered that he had always kept the Commandments.

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

>>>Jesus replied, "if you want to be perfect, sell everything and give to the poor, then join me."

At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

>>>But the man was sad, because he was very rich and could not part with his wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"

>>>Jesus looked around at His students and said, "It will be very difficult for the rich to enter heaven."

The disciples were amazed at his words.

>>>His students were astounded.

So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

>>>Jesus repeated, it will be harder for a thick rope to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.  (Note:  Apperently, "camel" is another word for rope in Aramaic.)

Makes sense in Aramaic
An alternative linguistic explanation is taken from George M Lamsa's Syriac-Aramaic Peshitta translation² which has the word 'rope' in the main text but a footnote on Matthew 19:24 which states that the Aramaic word gamla means rope and camel, possibly because the ropes were made from camel hair. Evidence for this also comes from the 10th century Aramaic lexicographer Mar Bahlul who gives the meaning as a "a large rope used to bind ships". (cf.http://www.aramaicnt.org/HTML/LUKE/evidences/Camel.html) 

They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"

>>>The students couldn't believe it and said, "then who can be saved?"

This tells me that the disciples understood Jesus to mean possessions.  Not enormous riches.  Because not everyone is extremely wealthy.  But almost everyone has at least a few possessions.

Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."

>>>Jesus said to them, "Don't worry, everything is possible for God."

Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."

>>>And Peter asked, "how about those of us who have given up our jobs and our families to be with you?"

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

>>>And Jesus said, those who have given up everything for me and to proclaim the Gospel, will receive a hundred fold in the life to come.

Or  the alternate reading.

Alternate reading from the Gospel according to St. Mark

Mk 10:17-27

>>>The alternate reading is the same as the first only a few verses are left out.  So, I'll just copy it below without comment.

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."

Sincerely,

De Maria