Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 470
Lectionary: 470
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
to the holy ones who are in Ephesus
and faithful in Christ Jesus:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In Christ we have redemption by his Blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
to the holy ones who are in Ephesus
and faithful in Christ Jesus:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In Christ we have redemption by his Blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4, 5-6
R. (2a) The
Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
AlleluiaJN 14:6
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 11:47-54
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
Meditation: Do not lose the
key of knowledge
How can God's wisdom
free us from being double-minded and spiritually blind? God sent his prophets
to open the ears of his people to hear and understand God's word and intention
for their lives. God's wisdom is personified in the voice of the prophets, a
voice that often brought rejection and death because they spoke for God rather
than for human favor and approval. Jesus chastised many of the religious
leaders of his day for being double-minded and for demanding from others
standards which they refused to satisfy. They professed admiration for the
prophets from the past by building their tombs while at the same time they
opposed the message that the prophets spoke in God's name. They rejected the
prophets' warnings and closed their ears to the word of God.
Jesus in the key of
knowledge that opens God's kingdom for us
What does Jesus mean when he says they have taken away the key of knowledge? The religious lawyers and scribes held the "office of the keys" since they were the official interpreters of the Scriptures. Unfortunately their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were "shut off" to the Scriptures. They not only shut themselves to heaven - they also hindered others from understanding God's word. Through pride and envy, they rejected not only the prophets of old, but God's final prophet and Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "key of David" (see Isaiah 22:22; Revelations 3:7) who opens heaven for those who accept him as Lord and Savior. He is the "Wisdom of God" and source of everlasting life.
What does Jesus mean when he says they have taken away the key of knowledge? The religious lawyers and scribes held the "office of the keys" since they were the official interpreters of the Scriptures. Unfortunately their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were "shut off" to the Scriptures. They not only shut themselves to heaven - they also hindered others from understanding God's word. Through pride and envy, they rejected not only the prophets of old, but God's final prophet and Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "key of David" (see Isaiah 22:22; Revelations 3:7) who opens heaven for those who accept him as Lord and Savior. He is the "Wisdom of God" and source of everlasting life.
Humility helps us to be
receptive to God's wisdom
Only the humble of heart - those who thirst for God and acknowledge his word as true - can truly understand the wisdom which comes from above. [See Psalm 119:99ff: "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation."] God is ever ready to speak his word to us and to give us true wisdom and understanding. Do you hunger for the wisdom which comes from above?
Only the humble of heart - those who thirst for God and acknowledge his word as true - can truly understand the wisdom which comes from above. [See Psalm 119:99ff: "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation."] God is ever ready to speak his word to us and to give us true wisdom and understanding. Do you hunger for the wisdom which comes from above?
"Lord Jesus, may
your word take root in my heart and transform all my thoughts and actions. Give
me wisdom and understanding that I may know your will for my life and have the
courage to live according to it."
Daily Quote from the
early church fathers: The key of knowledge that opens the kingdom
of God, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"We consider that
the key of knowledge means the law [of Moses] itself, and by faith in him, I
mean justification in Christ. Although the law was in shadow and type, yet
those types show to us the truth, and those shadows depict to us in many ways
the mystery of Christ. A lamb was sacrificed according to the law of Moses.
They ate its flesh. They anointed the lintels with its blood and overcame the
destroyer. The blood of a mere sheep could not turn away death. Christ was
typified under the form of a lamb. He endures to be the victim for the life of
the world and saves by his blood those who are partakers of him. One might
mention many other instances as well, by means of which we can discern the mystery
of Christ sketched out in the shadows of the law. When speaking to the Jews, he
once said, 'There is one that accuses you, even Moses, whom you trusted. For if
you had believed Moses, you should have also believed me, because he wrote of
me' (John 5:45-46). 'You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them
you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me' (John 5:39).
Every word of divinely inspired Scripture looks to him and refers to him. As it
has been shown, if Moses speaks, he typified Christ. If the holy prophets that
you name speak, they also proclaimed to us in many ways the mystery of Christ,
preaching beforehand the salvation that is by him." (excerpt from COMMENTARY
ON LUKE, HOMILY 86)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13,
LUKE 11:47-54
Weekday
(Ephesians 1:1-10; Psalm 98)
Weekday
(Ephesians 1:1-10; Psalm 98)
KEY VERSE: "Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed" (v 47).
TO KNOW: Jesus continued his tirade against the scribes, the "scholars of the law" (v 45). By their superficial religiosity, they were following in the footsteps of their ancestors who killed the prophets. While they piously built memorials to the prophets, they refused to do what the prophets required: "to do right...love goodness, and to walk humbly with God" (Micah 6:8). The blood of those who died for the truth stretched from "A-Z": Abel to Zechariah, the first and last murders in the Hebrew canon of scripture (Gn 4:8; 2 Chr 24:20-22). Jesus charged the Scribes of depriving people of the key to knowledge of God's kingdom by distorting God's word and not practicing it themselves.
TO LOVE: Am I obedient to God’s Law?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, I pray for all who faithfully witness to the Gospel even to the point of death.
Thursday 13 October 2016
Thu 13th. Ephesians 1:1-10. The Lord has
made known his salvation—Ps 97(98):1-6. Luke 11:47-54.
'What does the spirit say to me?'
Alas, you lawyers. You've taken away the
key of knowledge. Jesus had strong words for the teachers and the educated
among the scribes and Pharisees. He said they'd withheld the knowledge from
those who 'wanted to go in.' They were the ones who'd had the opportunity to
study the scriptural law but instead of drawing others into this understanding,
they laid heavy burdens on people, binding them to the literal letter of the
law, without opening up the beauty of its inner truth. What can I learn from
this? What can I learn from those who oppose or misunderstand me? Sometimes it
feels risky to speak and do as Jesus would wish. I need to be attentive in prayer
and to be open to what the Spirit is saying to me or asking of me.
ST.
EDWARD THE CONFESSOR
St.
Edward was born in 1003 as the son of the Duke of Normandy and nephew
of King Edmund Ironside of England. He grew up in exile in Normandy from the
age of 10 when the Danes gained control of England, and the early experience of
loss, coupled with his earnest religious piety, caused him to renounce worldly
ambition and devote himself to the love of God.
On the death of the Danish king, Canute, in 1042, he was called to the throne of England, which he accepted dutifully and held until 1066. His saintly bearing made him a popular sovereign, and his actions even more so. He abolished an unjust tax and was known to cure people with his touch.
Having made a vow of chastity, he accepted marriage for the sake of his kingdom, but lived with his queen in celibacy, as brother and sister.
Unable to fulfill a vow to embark on a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s tomb without leaving his subjects vulnerable to attack, his vow was commuted by the pope to the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Abbey in Westminister, where he was buried upon his death a week after it’s dedication.
On the death of the Danish king, Canute, in 1042, he was called to the throne of England, which he accepted dutifully and held until 1066. His saintly bearing made him a popular sovereign, and his actions even more so. He abolished an unjust tax and was known to cure people with his touch.
Having made a vow of chastity, he accepted marriage for the sake of his kingdom, but lived with his queen in celibacy, as brother and sister.
Unable to fulfill a vow to embark on a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s tomb without leaving his subjects vulnerable to attack, his vow was commuted by the pope to the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Abbey in Westminister, where he was buried upon his death a week after it’s dedication.
Edward
died on January 5, 1066, and was canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1161.
LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 11,47-54
Lectio Divina:
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Ordinary Time
1) OPENING PRAYER
Lord,
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) GOSPEL READING - LUKE 11,47-54
Jesus said: 'Alas for you because you build tombs for the prophets, the
people your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness to what your
ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.
'And that is why the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets
and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation
will have to answer for every prophet's blood that has been shed since the
foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who
perished between the altar and the Temple." Yes, I tell you, this
generation will have to answer for it all.
'Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have
not gone in yourselves and have prevented others from going in who wanted to.'
When he left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on
him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, lying in wait
to catch him out in something he might say.
3) REFLECTION
• Once again for the one hundredth time, today’s Gospel speaks about the
conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities of that time.
• Luke 11, 47-48: Alas for you because you build tombs for the prophets.
“Alas for you because you build tombs for the prophets, the people your
ancestors killed! In this way you both witness to what your ancestors did and
approve it; they did the killing, you do the building”. Mathew says that these
were the Scribes and the Pharisees (Mt 23, 19). Jesus’ reasoning is clear. If
the ancestors killed the prophets and the sons built the toms, it is because
the sons approved the crime of their fathers; besides everybody knows that the
dead prophet does not disturb anybody. In this way the sons become witnesses
and accomplice of the same crime (cf. Mt 23, 29-32).
• Luke 11, 49-51: To ask for an account of the blood that has been shed
since the foundation of the world. “That is why the wisdom of God said: I will
send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so
that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood that has
been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Able to the
blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell
you, this generation lying in wait to catch him out in something he might say”.
Compared with the Gospel of Matthew, Luke usually offers a brief version of
Matthew’s text. But here he increases the observations: “shed since the
creation of the world, of the blood of Abel”. He did the same thing with the
genealogy of Jesus. Matthew, who wrote for the converted Jews, begins with
Abraham (Mt 1, 1.2.17), while Luke goes back to Adam (Lk 3, 38). Luke universalizes
and includes the Pagans, then he writes his Gospel for the converted Pagans.
The information about the murdering of Zechariah in the Temple is given in the
Book of Chronicles: “The spirit of God then invested Zechariah son of Jehoiada
the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, ‘Why
transgress Yahweh’s commands to your certain ruin? For if you abandon Yahweh,
he will abandon you. Then they plotted against him and at the king’s order
stoned him in the court of the Temple of Yahweh” (2Cr 24, 20-21). Jesus knew
the story of his people to the minutest detail. He knew that he would be the
next one on the list from Abel to Zechariah; and up until now the list
continues to be open. Many people have died for the cause of justice and of
truth.
• Luke 11, 52: Alas for you Doctors of the Law. “Alas for you lawyers who
have taken away the key of knowledge. You have not gone in yourselves and have
prevented others from going in who wanted to”. How do they close the Kingdom?
They believe that they have the monopoly of knowledge in regard to God and to
God’s Law and they impose on others they own way, without leaving a margin for
a different idea. They present God as a severe judge and in the name of God
they impose laws and norms which have nothing to do with the commandments of
God, they falsify the image of the Kingdom and kill in others the desire to
serve God and the Kingdom. A community which organizes itself around this false
god “does not enter into the Kingdom”, neither is it an expression of the
Kingdom, and prevents its members from entering into the Kingdom. It is
important to notice the difference between Matthew and Luke. Matthew speaks
about the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven and the phrase is written in the
verbal form in the present: "Alas for you, lawyers of the Law and
Pharisees, hypocrites, who close the Kingdom of Heaven before men, because in
this way you do not enter and you prevent others from going in who wanted to
enter.(Mt 23, 13). The expression to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven could
mean to enter in Heaven after death, but it is probable that it is a question
of entering into the community, around Jesus and in the communities of the
first Christians. Luke speaks about the key of knowledge and the phrase is written
in the verbal form in the past. Luke simply ascertains the pretension of the
Scribes to possess the key of knowledge in regard to God and to the law of God
prevents them from recognizing Jesus as Messiah and prevents the Jewish people
from recognizing Jesus as Messiah: You take possession of the key of knowledge.
You yourselves do not enter and you prevent others to enter.
• Luke 11, 53-54: The reaction against Jesus. The reaction of the religious
authority against Jesus was immediate. “When he left there, the Scribes and the
Pharisees began a furious attack on him, and tried to force answers from him on
innumerable questions, lying in wait to catch him out in something he might
say”. Since they considered themselves the only true interpreters of the Law of
God, they tried to provoke Jesus on questions of interpretation of the Bible so
as to be able to surprise him in something which he would say. Thus the
opposition against Jesus and the desire to eliminate it continues to grow. (Lk
6, 11; 11, 53-54; 19, 48; 20, 19-20; 22, 2).
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Many persons who wanted to enter were prevented from doing it and they no
longer believed because of the anti-evangelical attitude of the priests. Do you
have any experience regarding this?
• The Scribes began to criticize Jesus who thought and acted in a different
way. It is not difficult to find reasons for criticizing anyone who thinks
differently from me. Do you have any experience regardi8ng this?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Yahweh has made known his saving power,
revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of his faithful love
and his constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98,2-3)
revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of his faithful love
and his constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98,2-3)
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