February 18, 2025
Tuesday of the Sixth
Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 336
Reading I
When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth,
and how no desire that his heart conceived
was ever anything but evil,
he regretted that he had made man on the earth,
and his heart was grieved.
So the LORD said:
“I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created,
and not only the men,
but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air,
for I am sorry that I made them.”
But Noah found favor with the LORD.
Then the LORD said to Noah:
“Go into the ark, you and all your household,
for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just.
Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs,
a male and its mate;
and of the unclean animals, one pair,
a male and its mate;
likewise, of every clean bird of the air, seven pairs,
a male and a female,
and of all the unclean birds, one pair,
a male and a female.
Thus you will keep their issue alive over all the earth.
Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth
for forty days and forty nights,
and so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth
every moving creature that I have made.”
Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him.
As soon as the seven days were over,
the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
29:1a, 2, 3ac-4, 3b & 9c-10
R. (11b) The Lord will bless his
people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021825.cfm
Commentary on
Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5,10
Today we have the story of the Great Flood. Is there some
deep memory behind this story and then reading into it a religious
meaning? What was the cause of the Flood? Or was it pure
myth? Was it some overflowing of the rivers going through the region that
is now Iraq? Was it the result of a tsunami caused by a mighty earthquake
in the Mediterranean? In any case, it is another ‘Fall’ story.
The New American Bible introduces the
story in this way:
The story of the great flood is a composite narrative based
on two separate sources interwoven into an intricate patchwork. To the Yahwist
source, with some later editorial additions, are usually assigned 6:5-8; 7:1-5,
7-10, 12, 16, 17, 22-23; 8:2-3, 6-12, 13, 20-22. The other sections come
from the “Priestly document”. The combination of the two sources produced
certain duplications; also certain inconsistencies, such as the number of the
various animals taken into the ark and the timetable of the flood. Both
biblical sources go back ultimately to an ancient Mesopotamian story of a great
flood, preserved in the eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic. The latter
account, in some respects remarkably similar to the biblical account, is in
others very different from it. (edited)
The New Jerusalem Bible also
comments:
There are also several Babylonian stories of the Flood which
show similarities to the biblical narrative. This last does not derive from
them, but draws on the same source, namely, on the memory of one or more
disastrous floods in the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris which tradition had
enlarged to the dimensions of a worldwide catastrophe. But there is this
fundamental difference: the author has used this tradition as a vehicle for
teaching eternal truths—that God is just and merciful, that human beings are
perverse, that God saves his faithful ones (see Heb 11:7). The Flood is a
divine judgement which foreshadows that of the latter days (see Matt 24:37-39;
Luke 17:26-28), just as Noah’s salvation prefigures the saving waters of
baptism (1 Pet 3:20-21). (edited)
The setting is that mankind has become steeped in sin and
immorality. As the reading opens, we are told that:
The Lord saw that the wickedness of humans was great in
the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only
evil continually.
There was moral corruption everywhere. (And, because
human nature did not change after the Flood, the situation did not greatly
improve.) At this time, too, there is as yet no distinction between
Israel and everyone else.
God, described in very human terms, “is sorry” not only for
the creation of human beings, but also for all the:
…animals and creeping things and birds of the air…
Though morally innocent, the animal world, as creatures
under human corrupted rule, shared in being judged. The heavenly bodies
and the plants were excluded (because they would not have been wiped out by a
flood).
Saying that God “is sorry” is a human way of expressing the
fact that tolerance of sin is totally incompatible with his sanctity (1 Sam
15:29 reminds us that God, unlike humanity, never has to repent). In a
far greater number of passages the expression means that God’s anger has been
appeased and his threat withdrawn as soon as his people change their ways (see
Jer 26:3-6).
There is one human exception to the universal corruption.
Noah was a good man, who “had found favour in the sight of the Lord”. The
destruction to come will, through him, become a reconstruction. Noah and
his family will become a righteous remnant which will survive and regenerate,
paving the way for the appearance of God’s people in the person of Abraham.
Much of the full story is left out in our readings.
Before the rains come, Noah and all his family are to go
aboard the ark. The actual building of the ark according to instructions
given by God is omitted in our reading. The English word ‘ark’ comes from
the Latin translation arca, meaning a ‘box’ or a ‘chest’. (Consider
also the ‘Ark of the Covenant’—it was a kind of wooden chest.)
Noah is told to bring with him and his family seven each
(male and female) of “clean animals” and “a pair of the animals that are not
clean, the male and its mate” and seven “pairs of the birds of the
air”. (For an explanation of the number ‘seven’, see the reading from
Wednesday of Week 6 of Ordinary Time.) The ceremonially ‘unclean’ animals
would only have to reproduce themselves after the Flood, but greater numbers of
ceremonially clean animals would be needed also for the burnt offerings that
Noah would sacrifice and for food. One might have thought that God would
have got rid of all the ‘unclean’ animals altogether, but their continuing
presence after the flood had to be accounted for.
We need to remember that we are not dealing here with a
historical event, but with a myth. Myths play a very important role in
human life and culture. A myth is basically a story which expresses a
deep truth that cannot really be expressed in any other way. It is a way,
too, of presenting deep truths to people who are uneducated and illiterate (but
by no means unintelligent). Much of the Old Testament takes the form of
myth, but we should not be concerned about this. In fact, it is this
realisation that opens up to us the full meaning of
passages. Fundamentalism and literalism have the opposite effect.
Seven days after they went aboard, God said he would send
rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights and every living thing on the earth
would be wiped out. This period of time is often used to indicate a
significant period in salvation history (see Deut 9:11 and Matt 4:1-11—the temptation
of Jesus in the desert). Noah did everything that God had told him to do and
seven days later the rains began.
The message is clear: God protects the virtuous and punishes
the wicked. However, we might modify our way of saying that now.
Based on many other passages both in the Old and New Testaments, it is
difficult for us to accept a God who takes vengeance on those who go against
the way of life he proposes to us. It contradicts the teaching that
Jesus, the Son of God, gave us, especially in his sacrificial death for us
sinners. As Paul tells us, it is easy to understand a person’s dying for
a good person, but not for a wicked one (see Rom 5:7). That is exactly
what Jesus, with the full approval of his Father, did for us.
There is indeed punishment for sin but it flows out of the
sinful acts themselves. Evil is destructive; good is nurturing and
growth-inducing. Evil brings division; goodness brings peace and harmony.
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Commentary on Mark
8:14-21
Yesterday we saw the blindness of the Pharisees in asking
Jesus to give some sign of his authority from God. Today we see the
blindness of Jesus’ own disciples. This, of course, is pointing to our
blindness in not recognising the clear presence of God in our own lives.
The disciples are travelling across the lake in the
boat. They had forgotten to bring food with them and there was only one
loaf between them all. As they cross the lake, Jesus is talking to them
saying:
Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the
yeast of Herod.
For the Jews, yeast was a corrupting agent because it caused
fermentation. That was why at the Pasch they ate unleavened, incorrupt
bread. And Paul tells the Corinthians:
Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of
dough, as you really are unleavened. (1 Cor 5:7)
Jesus is telling his disciples to avoid two opposing kinds
of corruption: that of the Pharisees, which is based on narrow-minded and
intolerant legalism, and that of Herod, which is based on amoral and hedonistic
pleasure-seeking.
However, the disciples are not really listening to their
Master. They latch on to the word “yeast” and link it with their present
obsession—not enough bread. Their lunch is the only thing on their
minds. Jesus, of course, knows what is going on in their minds.
He scolds them:
Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still
not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and fail
to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I
broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken
pieces did you collect?
They answer, “Twelve”, and Jesus says:
And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets
full of broken pieces did you collect?
And they responded, “Seven”.
Then Jesus said to them:
Do you not yet understand?
Five loaves for 5,000 with 12 baskets over, seven loaves for
4,000 with seven baskets over, and they, a mere dozen people, are worried about
being short of food when Jesus is with them?
Mark tends to be very hard on the disciples. They
cannot see, they cannot hear, and they fail to understand what is happening
before their very eyes. But they are learning gradually, as we shall
see.
Of course, Mark is firing his shots not just at the
disciples, but at you and me. How much faith do we have in God’s care for
us? Can we hear? Can we see? Are we also without understanding?
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Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
when we do not see clear in life, when suffering comes our
way, we tend to blame you or people.
Help us to realize clearly how much of the evil around us
comes from within ourselves, from our greed for riches and power, from our
self-complacency and selfishness. Speak to us your word of forgiveness and
change us from a silent majority of evil into solidarity of love, by the grace
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading -
Mark 8: 14-21
The disciples had forgotten to take any bread and they had
only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, 'Keep your
eyes open; look out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.' And
they said to one another, 'It is because we have no bread.' And Jesus knew it,
and he said to them, 'Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not
understand, still not realize? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes and do not
see, ears and do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves
for the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?'They
answered, 'Twelve.' 'And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' And they answered, 'Seven.'
Then he said to them, 'Do you still not realize?'
Reflection
Yesterday’s Gospel spoke of the misunderstanding between
Jesus and the Pharisees. Today’s Gospel speaks of the misunderstanding between
Jesus and the disciples and shows that the “yeast of the Pharisees and of
Herod” (religion and government), had, in such a way, taken possession of the
mentality of the disciples to the point of hindering them from listening to the
Good News.
• Mark 8: 14-16: Attention to the yeast of the
Pharisees and of Herod. Jesus warns the disciples: “Look out for the yeast of the
Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” But they did not understand the words of
Jesus. They thought that he spoke like that because they had forgotten to buy
bread. Jesus says one thing and they understood another. This „clash‟ was the
result of the insidious influence of the “yeast of the Pharisees” in the mentality
and in the life of the disciples.
• Mark 8: 17-18a: The question of Jesus. In the face of this almost total lack of perception
in the disciples, Jesus rapidly asks them a series of questions, without
waiting for an answer. Hard questions which express very serious things and
reveal the total lack of understanding on the part of the disciples. Even if it
seems unbelievable, the disciples reached the point in which there was no
difference between them and the enemies of Jesus. First Jesus had become sad
seeing the “hardness of heart” of the Pharisees and of the Herodians (Mk 3, 5).
Now, the disciples themselves have “hardened their heart” (Mk 8, 17). First,
“those outside” (Mk 4, 11) did not understand the parables because “they have
eyes and do not see, listen but do not understand” (Mk 4, 12). Now, the
disciples themselves understand nothing, because “they have eyes and do not
see, listen, but do not understand” (Mk 8, 18). Besides, the image of the
“hardened heart” evoked the hardness of heart of the people of the Old Testament
who always drifted away from the path. It also evoked the hardened heart of
Pharaoh who oppressed and persecuted the people (Ex 4, 21; 7, 13; 8, 11.15.28;
9, 7…). The expression “they have eyes and do not see, listen but do not
understand” evoked not only the people without faith criticized by Isaiah (Is
6, 9-10), but also the adorers of false gods, of whom the Psalm says: “they
have eyes and see nothing, have ears and hear nothing” (Ps 115, 5-6).
• Mark 8: 18b-21: The
two questions regarding the bread. The two final questions refer to the
multiplication of the loaves: How many baskets did they gather the first time?
Twelve! And the second? Seven! Like the Pharisees, the disciples also, in spite
that they had collaborated actively in the multiplication of the loaves, did
not succeed in understanding the meaning. Jesus ends by saying: “Do you still
not understand?” The way in which Jesus asks these questions, one after the
other, almost without waiting for an
answer, seems to cut the conversation. It reveals a very big clash. Which is
the cause for this clash?The cause of the clash between Jesus and the disciples.
The cause of the clash between Jesus and the disciples was not due to ill will
on their part. The disciples were not like the Pharisees. They also did not
understand, but in them there was malice. They used religion to criticize and
to condemn Jesus (Mk 2: 7, 16, 18, 24; 3: 5, 22-30). The disciples were good
people. Theirs was not ill will. Because even if they were victims of the “yeast
of the Pharisees and of the Herodians,” they were not interested in defending
the system of the Pharisees and the Herodians against Jesus. Then, which was the cause? The cause of the
clash between Jesus and the disciples had something to do with the Messianic
hope. Among the Jews there was an enormous variety of Messianic expectations.
Secondly, the diverse interpretations of the prophecies, there were people who
expected a Messiah King (cfr. Mk 15: 9, 32). Others, a Messiah, Saint or Priest
(cfr. Mk 1: 24).
Others, a Messiah, a subversive Warrior (cfr. Lk 23: 5; Mk
15: 6; 13: 6-8). Others, a Messiah, Doctor (cfr. Jn 4: 25; Mk 1: 22- 27).
Others, a Messiah, Judge (cfr. Lk 3: 5-9; Mk 1: 8). Others, a Messiah, Prophet
(6: 4; 14: 65). It seems that nobody expected
a Messiah, Servant, announced by the Prophet Isaiah (Is 42: 1; 49: 3; 52: 13).
They did not expect to consider the messianic hope as a service of the
people of God to humanity. Each one according to their own
interests and according to their social class, expected the Messiah, but
wanting to reduce him to their own hope.
This is why the title Messiah, according to the person or social
position, could mean very different things. There was a great confusion of
ideas! And precisely in this attitude of Servant is found the key which turns
on a light in the darkness of the disciples and helps them to convert
themselves. It is only in accepting the Messiah as the Suffering Servant of
Isaiah, that they will be capable to open the eyes and to understand the
Mystery of God in Jesus.
For Personal
Confrontation
• Which is for us
today the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod? What does it mean today for me
to have a “hardened heart?
• The yeast of Herod
and the Pharisees prevents the disciples to understand the Good News. Perhaps,
today the propaganda of the Television prevents us from understanding the Good
News of Jesus?
Concluding Prayer
I need only say, 'I am slipping,' for your faithful love,
Yahweh, to support me; however great the anxiety of my heart, your consolations
soothe me. (Ps 94: 18-19)
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