October 15, 2012

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Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church

Santa Teresa of Avila, a powerful saint and friend of St. John of the Cross.  Read more.

Lectionary: 467

A reading from St. Paul's epistle to the Galatians

Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1

Brothers and sisters:

It is written that Abraham had two sons,

one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.

Speaking to the Galatians, St. Paul gives them an explanation of the foreshadowing nature of Abraham's children.   He begins by noting that Abraham had two children.  Not just Isaac.  But also, Ishmael.  Isaac son of Sarah, the free woman.  And Ishmael the son of Hagar, her slave.

 

The son of the slave woman was born naturally,

the son of the freeborn through a promise.

Ishmael was born naturally.  God did not intervene to bring about Ishmael's birth.

But Sarah had a child in her old age when she had been sterile  all of her life.

 

Now this is an allegory.

An allegory is a metaphor.  A sign.  A parable.  This should give us pause.  God writes metaphors with people's lives.

These women represent two covenants.

One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;

this is Hagar.

This was a surprise to me. Because Hagar is an Egyptian.  But the reference is to Sinai, where God bound the Hebrews to His Law.  Mount Sinai is in Egypt.

Leviticus 26:46
46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

 

But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.

This is also a surprise to me.  Because Sarah, formerly Sarai, was born in Ur of the Chaldeans.  Or so I thought.  Unless, St. Paul is speaking in a veiled manner which I don't understand.

"Jerusalem above" could mean the Church.  The Church is our mother because we are born again in Christ by her Sacraments.

For it is written:

Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;

break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;

for more numerous are the children of the deserted one

than of her who has a husband.

Therefore, brothers and sisters,

we are children not of the slave woman

but of the freeborn woman.

If the veiled understanding is the one that applies, then St. Paul is not comparing Hagar and Sarah but Hagar and the Church.

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm

and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

 That now makes complete sense.  Since we are set free by Christ through the Sacraments in His Church.  Read more.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7

R. (see 2) Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
who looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Psalms frequently advise us to praise the name of the Lord.  And so we should.  Because this is the reason we were brought into the world.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Lk 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,

"This generation is an evil generation;

it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,

except the sign of Jonah.

Jesus is reprimanding the people for continually seeking signs rather than amending their lives and turning to God.

Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,

so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Then He compares Himself and the Jews to Jonah and the Ninevites.  You know the story of Jonah, right?  If not, you can read it here.

At the judgment

the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation

and she will condemn them,

because she came from the ends of the earth

to hear the wisdom of Solomon,

and there is something greater than Solomon here.

And then He contrasts Himself to Solomon.  Solomon, the wisest person that ever lived, is nothing compared to Christ.  And Jesus says that the Queen of Sheba, who so admired Solomon,

 would be a witness against the Jews, at the Day of Judgement.

At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here."

And He returns to the comparison between He and Jonah, saying that the Ninevites will also condemn the Jews, because the listened to a simple Prophet.  Yet, the God of the Prophets is here and the Jews won't listen.

Sincerely,

De Maria