Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 422
Reading 1JGS 11:29-39A
The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh,
and through Mizpah-Gilead as well,
and from there he went on to the Ammonites.
The Holy Spirit came upon Jepthah as he traveled to confront the enemies of Israel.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
Many people think that this vow is a result of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But that is wrong. Note that Jephthah walked past three cities and then another long distance before he arrived at his destination. It was at this time, which was probably a day later, that Jephthah made this vow. A vow which certainly did not come from the inspiration of God.
“If you deliver the Ammonites into my power,” he said,
“whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
shall belong to the LORD.
I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.”
This was sheer stupidity on Jepththah's part. He was not thinking about the sorrow his vow would cause to the family whose child he would kill. He was not thinking about the pain he would cause to the child which he would kill.
Why is this in Scripture? To show us how utterly we are fallen from grace and how much we need God. This man whom God used to save the Hebrews from the Ammonites did not deserve any grace. He was, at that moment, an utter fool being twisted on Satan's finger as a man would twist a blade of grass.
Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them,
and the LORD delivered them into his power,
so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them,
from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all)
and as far as Abel-keramim.
Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection
by the children of Israel.
God delivered on His promise to save the Hebrews from the Ammonites by the hand of Jepththah. And Jepththah returned home.
When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah,
it was his daughter who came forth,
And when he got home, the first one who ran to his arms, the one who loved him the most, the one whom he should have known would be the one who would come to meet him because of her great love for him. The one who would be most relieved that he came home safely. His loving daughter.
This was for a sign! It was God saying to him, "do you really think I want you to kill one of my innocent children? Then let me show you how I feel!" This was the opportunity God was extending to him to repent of the evil he had planned to do. But he didn't understand.
playing the tambourines and dancing.
She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he rent his garments and said,
“Alas, daughter, you have struck me down
and brought calamity upon me.
Why did he blame her for his idiocy?! It was his own wickedness which led to this result. God would not expect anyone to keep this vow to do anything wicked. The righteous thing would have been to repent of this wickedness. Compare what happened when another fool made the same sort of promise. Saul said that the man who ate honey would be slain. Then his own son who had not heard the vow, ate the honey. But Jonathan was rescued by the people of God that day:
1 Sam 14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. 44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
God did not expect that wicked vow to be kept then. Nor does He expect any wicked vows ever to be kept. He expects repentance from wickedness!
For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract.”
Yes, you can!
She replied, “Father, you have made a vow to the LORD.
Do with me as you have vowed,
because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you
on your enemies the Ammonites.”
The bravery of this child is beyond imagining! She is surely numbered with the Saints. In a certain way, she models the sweet mother of God who suffered so much pain when she was asked to give up her Divine Son to death on the Cross.
Then she said to her father, “Let me have this favor.
Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains
to mourn my virginity with my companions.”
“Go,” he replied, and sent her away for two months.
So she departed with her companions
and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
At the end of the two months she returned to her father,
who did to her as he had vowed.
Jepththah had two months to think about it and still went ahead with his idiocy! Unbelievable! May God have mercy on his soul.
Responsorial PsalmPS 40:5, 7-8A, 8B-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
God doesn't want your sacrifices of bulls and goats. He certainly doesn't want you to offer Him sacrifices at the expense of others. And He doesn't want any evil to be to Him in the guise of a sacrifice. God wants YOU! If you love God, give yourself to Him. And He, in turn, will give Himself to you.
GospelMT 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
Jesus is speaking about the Jews. God the Father sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to the Jews, in order to invite them to come to the Church and be saved. But they refused.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
All the while He was walking the earth, Jesus did signs and wonders to show the people of God that God wanted them to be His followers and join His Church. But they refused.
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
This is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70ad. Not one stone was left upon another:
Luke 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
This is a reference to the Gentiles. To us. When the Jews turned away from Christ, we were permitted to come to the Church:
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
This is a reference to the fact that admission into the Church is not a guarantee of salvation. One must be clothed in the white garments of righteousness, holiness and love in order to be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven:
Hebrews 12:14Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 422
Reading 1JGS 11:29-39A
The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh,
and through Mizpah-Gilead as well,
and from there he went on to the Ammonites.
The Holy Spirit came upon Jepthah as he traveled to confront the enemies of Israel.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
Many people think that this vow is a result of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But that is wrong. Note that Jephthah walked past three cities and then another long distance before he arrived at his destination. It was at this time, which was probably a day later, that Jephthah made this vow. A vow which certainly did not come from the inspiration of God.
“If you deliver the Ammonites into my power,” he said,
“whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
shall belong to the LORD.
I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.”
This was sheer stupidity on Jepththah's part. He was not thinking about the sorrow his vow would cause to the family whose child he would kill. He was not thinking about the pain he would cause to the child which he would kill.
Why is this in Scripture? To show us how utterly we are fallen from grace and how much we need God. This man whom God used to save the Hebrews from the Ammonites did not deserve any grace. He was, at that moment, an utter fool being twisted on Satan's finger as a man would twist a blade of grass.
Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them,
and the LORD delivered them into his power,
so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them,
from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all)
and as far as Abel-keramim.
Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection
by the children of Israel.
God delivered on His promise to save the Hebrews from the Ammonites by the hand of Jepththah. And Jepththah returned home.
When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah,
it was his daughter who came forth,
And when he got home, the first one who ran to his arms, the one who loved him the most, the one whom he should have known would be the one who would come to meet him because of her great love for him. The one who would be most relieved that he came home safely. His loving daughter.
This was for a sign! It was God saying to him, "do you really think I want you to kill one of my innocent children? Then let me show you how I feel!" This was the opportunity God was extending to him to repent of the evil he had planned to do. But he didn't understand.
playing the tambourines and dancing.
She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he rent his garments and said,
“Alas, daughter, you have struck me down
and brought calamity upon me.
Why did he blame her for his idiocy?! It was his own wickedness which led to this result. God would not expect anyone to keep this vow to do anything wicked. The righteous thing would have been to repent of this wickedness. Compare what happened when another fool made the same sort of promise. Saul said that the man who ate honey would be slain. Then his own son who had not heard the vow, ate the honey. But Jonathan was rescued by the people of God that day:
1 Sam 14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. 44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
God did not expect that wicked vow to be kept then. Nor does He expect any wicked vows ever to be kept. He expects repentance from wickedness!
For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract.”
Yes, you can!
She replied, “Father, you have made a vow to the LORD.
Do with me as you have vowed,
because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you
on your enemies the Ammonites.”
The bravery of this child is beyond imagining! She is surely numbered with the Saints. In a certain way, she models the sweet mother of God who suffered so much pain when she was asked to give up her Divine Son to death on the Cross.
Then she said to her father, “Let me have this favor.
Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains
to mourn my virginity with my companions.”
“Go,” he replied, and sent her away for two months.
So she departed with her companions
and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
At the end of the two months she returned to her father,
who did to her as he had vowed.
Jepththah had two months to think about it and still went ahead with his idiocy! Unbelievable! May God have mercy on his soul.
Responsorial PsalmPS 40:5, 7-8A, 8B-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
God doesn't want your sacrifices of bulls and goats. He certainly doesn't want you to offer Him sacrifices at the expense of others. And He doesn't want any evil to be to Him in the guise of a sacrifice. God wants YOU! If you love God, give yourself to Him. And He, in turn, will give Himself to you.
GospelMT 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
Jesus is speaking about the Jews. God the Father sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to the Jews, in order to invite them to come to the Church and be saved. But they refused.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
All the while He was walking the earth, Jesus did signs and wonders to show the people of God that God wanted them to be His followers and join His Church. But they refused.
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
This is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70ad. Not one stone was left upon another:
Luke 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
This is a reference to the Gentiles. To us. When the Jews turned away from Christ, we were permitted to come to the Church:
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
This is a reference to the fact that admission into the Church is not a guarantee of salvation. One must be clothed in the white garments of righteousness, holiness and love in order to be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven:
Hebrews 12:14Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
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