Friday of the Third Week of Lent
First Published:Thursday, March 23, 2006
Readings for Friday the 3rd Week of Lent
Reflection
We all have a very good understanding of the first and greatest commandment. It stems from the šema' (pronounced Shamá) meaning "hear" in Hebrew because when they recite it (daily) it begins "Hear O Israel…" The understanding that this was the "First Commandment" was common among the Hebrew people of Jesus' day.
When Jesus said; "The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." He took it much further. While some of the more liberal rabbinical writings of the time had pushed for the Jews to love each other, they had not, as Jesus did, meant to include all mankind.
It is difficult for anyone to follow this commandment as Jesus did. He set a very high bar for us. He later explains that we are to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile. All this we are expected to do. Looking back at the past year, it does not take me long to see where I have failed in this regard. On this Friday we offer our abstinence for all those times in the past year we have failed to honor God as first in our lives and all those times we have failed to love our neighbor.
Oh, and just in case we are feeling like splitting hairs, when Jesus says Love your neighbor as yourself, he does not mean we can treat our neighbor shabbily if we happen to have low self esteem. In those cases we are to treat our neighbor better than we do our selves.
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the Lord,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them. (Hos 14:10)
Pax
I welcome your comments. If you would like to make one and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and, if you wish, I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.
Scripture[1] from Hos 14:2-10
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
2 Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt.
(IV) Epilogue: Repentance and Salvation (14:2-9). Hosea's prophecy closes on a note of hope-hope based on the certainty that Yahweh loves his people. The proclamation of this love has two parts: the Prophet's summons to the people to return to its God (2-4) and God's answering promise of love spoken to the Prophet about the people (5-9). This structure is that of a penitential rite; first the people proclaim their repentance, then they receive God's assurance of forgiveness through a prophet. Hosea used the form in 6:1-3, but there it was ironical, for true repentance was lacking; here it is serious.
2. Israel has already "collapsed," suffered its definitive punishment, so the summons to "return" looks to a final repentance and union with Yahweh, an idea to which v. 9 (in the CCD version) returns. The fact of collapse does not prove that the oracle is later than 722; the Prophet could have foreseen both ruin and restoration (which, in fact, he never experienced) much earlier.
3 Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
3. True return means more than mere external cult: Sacrifices must represent true repentance expressed in sincere prayer ("words"). This is the good Yahweh will accept that makes the sacrifices ("bullocks") valuable because they symbolize true dedication. (Verse 3b is obscure: the CCD .is one possible emendation of the MT, "that we may render bullocks, our lips." The LXX has "we will repay with [the] fruit of our lips," removing all explicit reference to sacrifice-although the implicit contrast with the empty, pompous sacrificial cult still cannot be overlooked-and making the verse a simple call to prayer and penance.)
4 Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion."
4. A sample of the words and attitude demanded: Rejection of all Israel's fetishes, political schemes (such as the alliance with Assyria), military force (horses), as well as idols in the strict sense.
5 I will heal their defection, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.
5. Israel is sick with a hopeless disease, infidelity, which only God can cure; hence, God's love is free, i.e., not earned in any sense.
6 I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
7 and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
8 Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
6-8. The results of Yahweh's love are described: Israel will flourish in beauty (6-7) and plenty (8). The images taken from the plant world recall that Yahweh, not the Baals, gives increase. More over, the language reflects the strength and tenderness of God's love, for expressions like "fragrance of Lebanon," "blossom like the vine", "dwell in the shade," "wine," "lily" are taken from the love songs of Israel, such as are seen in Ct (cf. Wolff, Hosea, 302).
9 Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. "I am like a verdant cypress tree"-- Because of me you bear fruit!
9. Probably a separate saying attached to the foregoing because of the cypress image. I have humbled. . .: As in v. 2, a promise of final salvation after punishment. The translation, however, is uncertain; the verse may mean "I have answered him and watch over him," i.e., a simple promise that Yahweh will hear a repentant Israel. because of me. . . : Possibly, "on me fruit will be found for you." In either case, Yahweh is likened to the tree of life. This symbol was familiar from the fertility cults. Applied to Yahweh, it is one more assertion that he is the true master of life.
10 1 Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.
1 [10] (10)A later addition in the style of the wisdom literature.
10. An addition, in Wisdom style, of the scribes who compiled the Book of Hosea.
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright © by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968
Scripture from Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17
Jerome Biblical Commentary
6c I hear a new oracle:
7 5 "I relieved their shoulders of the burden; their hands put down the basket.
8 6 In distress you called and I rescued you;
5 [7] I relieved their shoulders of the burden: literally, "his [Israel's] shoulder," hence the plural translation. A reference to the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The basket: for carrying clay to make bricks. Cf Exodus 1:14.
6 [8] Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13.
Ps 81. A prophetic liturgy. Jewish tradition associates this Ps with the Feast of Tabernacles, and Mowinckel points out the similarity to Ps 95, hence including it in the enthronement Pss. Structure: 2-6, hymn (exhortation to rejoice and the reason); 6-17, an oracle delivered by a prophet, calling for obedience. 4-6. The solemn feast has been identified with both Passover and Tabernacles; at any rate, it is commanded by God since the Exodus. Tabernacles is probably the occasion; cf. Lv 23:24,34, the blowing of the "trumpet" on the "solemn feast." 6. I: A priest or prophet relates the message, speaking in God's name.
8 6 In distress you called and I rescued you; unseen, I spoke to you in thunder; At the waters of Meribah I tested you and said: Selah
9 'Listen, my people, I give you warning! If only you will obey me, Israel!
10 7 There must be no foreign god among you; you must not worship an alien god.
11 I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
14 But even now if my people would listen, if Israel would walk in my paths,
17 But Israel I would feed with the finest wheat, satisfy them with honey from the rock."
6 [8] Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13.
7 [10] There must be no foreign god among you: as in Psalm 50 and 95, Israel is challenged to obey the first commandment of fidelity to God after the proclamation of the exodus.
7-8. Yahweh freed Israel from slavery (the "basket" is for carrying clay bricks, as at the time of the Exodus), and he appeared "in thunder" at Sinai. The saving acts are a prelude to the proclamation of the (First) Commandment in 10-1I. 12-17. The lesson to be learned: Israel disobeyed, but if only she "would hear," then she would prosper.
Scripture from Mk 12:28-34
Jerome Biblical Commentary
28 5 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
5 [28-34] See the note on Matthew 22:34-40.
(v) On the First Commandment (12:28-34). This pronouncement story differs somewhat from the others in this series in that it portrays a friendly, rather than a controversial, discussion between Jesus and a scribe.
28. one of the scribes: The style of this introductory verse shows that it was composed by Mark to connect this pronouncement story with the previous one. which commandment is the first of all?: Teachers of the Torah, such as Hillel (ca. 25 BC), argued about the relative importance of the many commandments in the OT, with a view to finding the "parent commandment" from which all others could be deduced.
29 Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
29. hear, O Israel: Jesus cites Dt 6:5, the opening verse of the šema' (hear), which Jews recite daily.
30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
30. you are to love the Lord your God: The command to love Yahweh was considered the fundamental and all-inclusive stipulation of the covenant; since he is one, man's love of him must also be undivided.
31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
31. the second is this: love your neighbor as yourself: Lv 19:18 commanded that the Israelite love his fellow Jew, but even before Jesus the command was extended to include at least resident aliens. Both commandments were central in the religion of Israel, but their combination into a single moral principle appears to be original with Jesus.
32 The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.'
33 And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
32. you are right, Rabbi: The scribe repeats the substance of Jesus' words adding a word about the primacy of love over even ritual sacrifice (cf.1 Sm 15:22; Hos 6:6).
34 And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
34. you are not far from God's kingdom: The image is somewhat at variance with the usual concept of God's kingdom as something still to be given to men, and may be a secondary formulation of Jesus' original thought; cf 10:21 where, in a similar situation, Jesus commends the man, but reminds him that he has not yet reached the goal. after that no one dared asked him any question: An editorial comment by which Mark separates the previous stories from the next one in which Jesus takes the initiative.
First Published:Thursday, March 23, 2006
Readings for Friday the 3rd Week of Lent
Reflection
We all have a very good understanding of the first and greatest commandment. It stems from the šema' (pronounced Shamá) meaning "hear" in Hebrew because when they recite it (daily) it begins "Hear O Israel…" The understanding that this was the "First Commandment" was common among the Hebrew people of Jesus' day.
When Jesus said; "The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." He took it much further. While some of the more liberal rabbinical writings of the time had pushed for the Jews to love each other, they had not, as Jesus did, meant to include all mankind.
It is difficult for anyone to follow this commandment as Jesus did. He set a very high bar for us. He later explains that we are to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile. All this we are expected to do. Looking back at the past year, it does not take me long to see where I have failed in this regard. On this Friday we offer our abstinence for all those times in the past year we have failed to honor God as first in our lives and all those times we have failed to love our neighbor.
Oh, and just in case we are feeling like splitting hairs, when Jesus says Love your neighbor as yourself, he does not mean we can treat our neighbor shabbily if we happen to have low self esteem. In those cases we are to treat our neighbor better than we do our selves.
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the Lord,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them. (Hos 14:10)
Pax
I welcome your comments. If you would like to make one and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and, if you wish, I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.
Scripture[1] from Hos 14:2-10
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
2 Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt.
(IV) Epilogue: Repentance and Salvation (14:2-9). Hosea's prophecy closes on a note of hope-hope based on the certainty that Yahweh loves his people. The proclamation of this love has two parts: the Prophet's summons to the people to return to its God (2-4) and God's answering promise of love spoken to the Prophet about the people (5-9). This structure is that of a penitential rite; first the people proclaim their repentance, then they receive God's assurance of forgiveness through a prophet. Hosea used the form in 6:1-3, but there it was ironical, for true repentance was lacking; here it is serious.
2. Israel has already "collapsed," suffered its definitive punishment, so the summons to "return" looks to a final repentance and union with Yahweh, an idea to which v. 9 (in the CCD version) returns. The fact of collapse does not prove that the oracle is later than 722; the Prophet could have foreseen both ruin and restoration (which, in fact, he never experienced) much earlier.
3 Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
3. True return means more than mere external cult: Sacrifices must represent true repentance expressed in sincere prayer ("words"). This is the good Yahweh will accept that makes the sacrifices ("bullocks") valuable because they symbolize true dedication. (Verse 3b is obscure: the CCD .is one possible emendation of the MT, "that we may render bullocks, our lips." The LXX has "we will repay with [the] fruit of our lips," removing all explicit reference to sacrifice-although the implicit contrast with the empty, pompous sacrificial cult still cannot be overlooked-and making the verse a simple call to prayer and penance.)
4 Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion."
4. A sample of the words and attitude demanded: Rejection of all Israel's fetishes, political schemes (such as the alliance with Assyria), military force (horses), as well as idols in the strict sense.
5 I will heal their defection, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.
5. Israel is sick with a hopeless disease, infidelity, which only God can cure; hence, God's love is free, i.e., not earned in any sense.
6 I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
7 and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
8 Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
6-8. The results of Yahweh's love are described: Israel will flourish in beauty (6-7) and plenty (8). The images taken from the plant world recall that Yahweh, not the Baals, gives increase. More over, the language reflects the strength and tenderness of God's love, for expressions like "fragrance of Lebanon," "blossom like the vine", "dwell in the shade," "wine," "lily" are taken from the love songs of Israel, such as are seen in Ct (cf. Wolff, Hosea, 302).
9 Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. "I am like a verdant cypress tree"-- Because of me you bear fruit!
9. Probably a separate saying attached to the foregoing because of the cypress image. I have humbled. . .: As in v. 2, a promise of final salvation after punishment. The translation, however, is uncertain; the verse may mean "I have answered him and watch over him," i.e., a simple promise that Yahweh will hear a repentant Israel. because of me. . . : Possibly, "on me fruit will be found for you." In either case, Yahweh is likened to the tree of life. This symbol was familiar from the fertility cults. Applied to Yahweh, it is one more assertion that he is the true master of life.
10 1 Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.
1 [10] (10)A later addition in the style of the wisdom literature.
10. An addition, in Wisdom style, of the scribes who compiled the Book of Hosea.
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright © by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968
Scripture from Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17
Jerome Biblical Commentary
6c I hear a new oracle:
7 5 "I relieved their shoulders of the burden; their hands put down the basket.
8 6 In distress you called and I rescued you;
5 [7] I relieved their shoulders of the burden: literally, "his [Israel's] shoulder," hence the plural translation. A reference to the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The basket: for carrying clay to make bricks. Cf Exodus 1:14.
6 [8] Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13.
Ps 81. A prophetic liturgy. Jewish tradition associates this Ps with the Feast of Tabernacles, and Mowinckel points out the similarity to Ps 95, hence including it in the enthronement Pss. Structure: 2-6, hymn (exhortation to rejoice and the reason); 6-17, an oracle delivered by a prophet, calling for obedience. 4-6. The solemn feast has been identified with both Passover and Tabernacles; at any rate, it is commanded by God since the Exodus. Tabernacles is probably the occasion; cf. Lv 23:24,34, the blowing of the "trumpet" on the "solemn feast." 6. I: A priest or prophet relates the message, speaking in God's name.
8 6 In distress you called and I rescued you; unseen, I spoke to you in thunder; At the waters of Meribah I tested you and said: Selah
9 'Listen, my people, I give you warning! If only you will obey me, Israel!
10 7 There must be no foreign god among you; you must not worship an alien god.
11 I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
14 But even now if my people would listen, if Israel would walk in my paths,
17 But Israel I would feed with the finest wheat, satisfy them with honey from the rock."
6 [8] Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13.
7 [10] There must be no foreign god among you: as in Psalm 50 and 95, Israel is challenged to obey the first commandment of fidelity to God after the proclamation of the exodus.
7-8. Yahweh freed Israel from slavery (the "basket" is for carrying clay bricks, as at the time of the Exodus), and he appeared "in thunder" at Sinai. The saving acts are a prelude to the proclamation of the (First) Commandment in 10-1I. 12-17. The lesson to be learned: Israel disobeyed, but if only she "would hear," then she would prosper.
Scripture from Mk 12:28-34
Jerome Biblical Commentary
28 5 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
5 [28-34] See the note on Matthew 22:34-40.
(v) On the First Commandment (12:28-34). This pronouncement story differs somewhat from the others in this series in that it portrays a friendly, rather than a controversial, discussion between Jesus and a scribe.
28. one of the scribes: The style of this introductory verse shows that it was composed by Mark to connect this pronouncement story with the previous one. which commandment is the first of all?: Teachers of the Torah, such as Hillel (ca. 25 BC), argued about the relative importance of the many commandments in the OT, with a view to finding the "parent commandment" from which all others could be deduced.
29 Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
29. hear, O Israel: Jesus cites Dt 6:5, the opening verse of the šema' (hear), which Jews recite daily.
30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
30. you are to love the Lord your God: The command to love Yahweh was considered the fundamental and all-inclusive stipulation of the covenant; since he is one, man's love of him must also be undivided.
31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
31. the second is this: love your neighbor as yourself: Lv 19:18 commanded that the Israelite love his fellow Jew, but even before Jesus the command was extended to include at least resident aliens. Both commandments were central in the religion of Israel, but their combination into a single moral principle appears to be original with Jesus.
32 The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.'
33 And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
32. you are right, Rabbi: The scribe repeats the substance of Jesus' words adding a word about the primacy of love over even ritual sacrifice (cf.1 Sm 15:22; Hos 6:6).
34 And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
34. you are not far from God's kingdom: The image is somewhat at variance with the usual concept of God's kingdom as something still to be given to men, and may be a secondary formulation of Jesus' original thought; cf 10:21 where, in a similar situation, Jesus commends the man, but reminds him that he has not yet reached the goal. after that no one dared asked him any question: An editorial comment by which Mark separates the previous stories from the next one in which Jesus takes the initiative.
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