February 20, 2025
Thursday of the
Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 338
Reading 1
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them:
“Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.
Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth
and all the birds of the air,
upon all the creatures that move about on the ground
and all the fishes of the sea;
into your power they are delivered.
Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat;
I give them all to you as I did the green plants.
Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.
For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting:
from every animal I will demand it,
and from one man in regard to his fellow man
I will demand an accounting for human life.
If anyone sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
For in the image of God
has man been made.
Be fertile, then, and multiply;
abound on earth and subdue it.”
God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
“See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.”
God added:
“This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on
the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together,
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Alleluia See John 6:63c, 68c
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022025.cfm
Commentary on
Genesis 9:1-13
After the Flood, God extends his blessings over Noah and his
family and over all the animals that have survived. Furthermore, the mandate
given to the Man in the garden is repeated. The family of Noah,
effectively the ancestors of all humanity, are to be fruitful and multiply.
In addition, Noah and his descendants are given responsibility and lordship
over every living thing—on the earth, in the air and in the water.
In the Garden, Man had been blessed and was consecrated lord
of creation; he is now blessed and consecrated anew. All creatures are
now at his disposal. Now, not only are plants given as food (as was the
case in the Garden), but the other creatures, too, like animals, may be taken
as food. They may also be used for doing heavy work (e.g. ploughing) or for their
skins (e.g. to make tents and clothes). In the Garden, where answers to
all needs were readily available, there was no need to work nor, in their
innocence, to wear clothes. Humans and animals alike were plant-eaters
only. Now the animal can become the victim of Man’s needs.
And, with the eating of animals, a new element is introduced
with the prohibition to eat meat in which blood, the source of life, has not
been already removed. Israelite law also forbade eating animal flesh torn
in the field by other animals (here, there is a reading back into pre-history
of regulations that only were legislated later on).
Furthermore, there is to be absolute respect for human life
and no spilling of human blood, for every human person is made in the image of
God. Animals, too, were to be punished if they caused the death of a
human person. According to the Mosaic law, a domestic animal that had
taken human life was to be stoned to death.
Because a living being dies when it loses most of its blood,
the ancients regarded blood as the seat of life, and therefore as sacred.
Although, in itself, the prohibition against eating meat with blood in it is
comparable to the ritual laws of the Mosaic code, the Jews considered it
binding on everyone. This was because it was given by God to Noah, the new
ancestor of all mankind. And so the early Christian Church retained this
restriction for a time (see Acts 15:20,29).
God himself is the great defender of human life, which is
precious to him because Man was created in his image, and because Man is the
earthly representative and focal point of God’s kingdom. God then makes
his first covenant with mankind to last forever, a covenant which includes every
living thing that was with Noah in the ark.
…never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of
a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
The sign of that covenant is a rainbow crossing the
skies. Rain and the rainbow doubtless existed long before the time of
Noah’s flood, but after the flood the rainbow took on new meaning as the sign
of the covenant with Noah. Every time it appeared, it was a reminder of
the covenant. Rainbows, too, are the sign of sunshine after rain.
The covenant with Noah, which is represented by the rainbow,
involves the whole of creation. Later covenants will be more specific.
The covenant with Abraham, the sign of which is circumcision, was to be limited
to his descendants only (Gen 17). The covenant with Moses was to be
confined to Israel alone and entailed corresponding obligations: fidelity to
the Law and to Sabbath observance in particular.*
For us, of course, the final covenant is the New Testament
between God and the world, signed in the blood of Jesus on the Cross and
celebrated in every Eucharist. But each one of us can and does dishonour
this Covenant every time we violate the Way that Jesus has shown us. This
New Covenant is renewed every time we celebrate the Eucharist together, but the
keeping of this covenant depends on how we live our daily lives in relationship
with God, with those around us and with ourselves.
__________________________________________
*For a list of covenants, see the section about this in
the NIV Study Bible.
Comments Off
Commentary on Mark
8:27-33
We now come to a high point in Mark’s Gospel which the texts
of previous days have been leading up to. Since the beginning of this
Gospel the question has been continually asked: “Who is Jesus?” Today we
get the answer. The blind and deaf disciples show that they are beginning
to see more clearly.
So Jesus himself puts the question that has been underlying
all that has gone before:
Who do people say that I am?
The disciples give a number of answers reflecting the
speculations of the people. These include:
- John
the Baptist come to life again
- Elijah,
who was expected to return to earth just before the arrival of the Messiah
- One
of the other prophets
Then Jesus asks his disciples what they believe:
But who do you say that I am?
Peter speaks up in the name of all:
You are the Messiah.
This is indeed a dramatic moment. Jesus is not just an
ordinary rabbi, not just a prophet. He is the long-awaited Christ, the Messiah,
the anointed King of Israel. This is a tremendous breakthrough for the
disciples. However, they are told to keep this to themselves for the time
being. There were many expectations about the Messiah and Jesus did not
want to be identified with them.
But it is not the end of the story. There is a sudden
and unexpected twist for which they were not at all prepared. Jesus immediately
begins to tell them what is going to happen to him in the days ahead: that he
will suffer grievously, be rejected by the religious leaders of his own people,
be put to death and—perhaps most surprising of all—after three days rise again.
And there was no mistaking his meaning for:
He said all this quite openly.
The religious leaders mentioned here are part of the
Sanhedrin, a 71-member ruling council of the Jews consisting of elders, the
chief priests and the scribes. Under Roman rule, the Sanhedrin had
authority in religious matters.
For the first time in this Gospel, Jesus refers to himself
as the “Son of Man”. He will do this many more times. The title was
first used in the book of Daniel (7:13-14) as a symbol of “the holy ones of the
Most High” (Dan 7:27), referring to those faithful Israelites who receive the
everlasting kingdom from the “Most High” (i.e. God).
In the apocryphal books of 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra, the title
“Son of Man” does not refer to a group, but to a unique figure of extraordinary
spiritual endowments—who will be revealed as the one through whom the
everlasting kingdom decreed by God will be established. Of itself, this
expression means simply “a human being”, or, indefinitely, “someone”, and there
are instances of this use in pre-Christian times. Its use in the New Testament
is probably due to Jesus’ speaking of himself in that way, “a human being”, and
the later Church’s taking this in the sense of the Jewish apocrypha and
applying it to him with that meaning.
It is not difficult to imagine how the disciples must have
been profoundly shocked, and could not believe their ears at what Jesus was
telling them. Peter, their impetuous leader, immediately begins to
protest. They have just pronounced Jesus to be the long-awaited leader of
the Jewish people, and now he says he is going to be rejected and executed by
their very own leaders. It made absolutely no sense whatever. Jesus
turns round, looks at his disciples and scolds Peter with the terrible words:
Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not
on divine things but on human things.
This is what the gradual opening of the eyes of the blind
man in yesterday’s story indicated. They had reached the stage where they
had made the exciting discovery that their Master was none other than the
long-awaited Messiah. They had answered the first question of Mark’s
Gospel: Who is Jesus? But they were still immersed in all the traditional
expectations that had grown up around the coming of the Messiah as the victorious
and triumphing king who would put all Israel’s enemies to flight.
But they would have to unlearn all this. The rest of Mark
will answer the second question: What kind of Messiah is Jesus? or what does it
mean for Jesus to be Messiah?
And a further question follows from that: What will all that
mean for the disciples—and for us? We will see some answers to that
tomorrow.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord God, merciful Father, your Son came to set all people
free, to make the poor rich in faith and hope, to make the rich aware of their
poverty. Unite us all in one trust in you and in one common concern for one
another; give us all your attitude and that of Jesus, of not distinguishing
between ranks and classes and sexes but of seeking together the freedom brought
us by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading -
Mark 8: 27-33
Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea
Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say
I am?' And they told him, 'John the Baptist, others Elijah, others again, one
of the prophets.' 'But you,' he asked them, 'who do you say I am?' Peter spoke
up and said to him, 'You are the Christ.' And he gave them strict orders not to
tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of man was
destined to suffer grievously, and to be rejected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise
again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter tried
to rebuke him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said
to him, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God thinks, but as human
beings do.'
Reflection
Today’s Gospel speaks about Peter’s blindness who does not
understand the proposal of Jesus when he speaks about suffering and of the
Cross. Peter accepts Jesus as Messiah, but not a suffering Messiah. He is
influenced by the “yeast of Herod and the Pharisees”, that is, by the
propaganda of the
government of that time in which the Messiah was a glorious
Messiah. Peter seemed to be blind. He was not aware of anything, but wanted
Jesus to be as he wished. To understand well the importance and weight of this
blindness of Peter it is well to consider it in its literary context.
• Literary context: The Gospel of Mark transmits
to us three announcements of the Passion and death of Jesus: the first one in
Mark 8: 27-38; the second one in Mark 9: 30-37 and the third one in Mark 10: 32-45.
This whole which goes up to Mark 10: 45, is a long instruction of Jesus to the
disciples to help them to overcome the crisis produced by the Cross. The
instruction is introduced by
the healing of a blind man (Mk 8: 22-26) and at the end it
is concluded with the healing of another blind man (Mk 10: 46-52). The two blind persons represent the
blindness of the disciples. The healing of the first blind man was difficult.
Jesus had to do it in two stages. The blindness of the disciples was also
difficult. Jesus had to give a long explanation concerning the meaning of the
Cross to help them understand why the cross was producing blindness in them.
Let us consider closely the healing of the blind man:
• Mark 8: 22-26: The first healing of a bland man. They took a blind man before Jesus,
asking Jesus to cure him. Jesus cures him, but in a different way. First, he
takes him outside the village. Then he put some of his saliva on the eyes of the
blind man and, laid his hands on him and asked him: Can you see anything? The man answered: I see
persons; they look like trees that walk! He could only see one part. He
exchanged trees for persons, or persons for trees! Jesus cures him only in the
second time. This description of the cure of the blind man introduces the
instruction to the disciples, in reality the blind man is Peter. He accepted
Jesus as the Messiah, but a glorious Messiah. He saw only one part! He did not
want the commitment of the Cross! The blindness of the disciples is also cured
by Jesus, in different stages, not all at once.
• Mark 8: 27-30: The discovery of reality: Who do people say I am? Jesus asks: “Who
do people say I am?” They answered expressing the different opinions: “John the
Baptist.” “Elijah or one of the Prophets.” After having heard the opinions of
others, Jesus asks: “And you who do you say I am?” Peter answers: “The Lord,
the Christ, the Messiah!” That is, the Lord is the one whom the people are
expecting! Jesus agrees with Peter but forbids him to speak about that with the
people. Why? Because at that time all expected the coming of the Messiah, but
each one in his own way: some expected the king, others the priest, doctor,
warrior, judge, prophet! Nobody seemed to be expecting the Messiah, Servant and
Suffering, announced by Isaiah (Is 42: 1-9).
• Mark 8: 31-33: First announcement of the Passion. Then Jesus began to teach saying
that he is the Messiah Servant and affirms that, as Messiah Servant announced
by Isaiah, he will soon be condemned to death in carrying out his mission of
justice (Is 49: 4-9; 53: 1-12). Peter is horrified; he calls Jesus apart to rebuke
him. And Jesus said to him: “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinkingnot as God
thinks, but as human beings do.” Peter thought he had given the right answer.
In fact, he had said the correct word: “You are the Christ!” But he does not
give it the correct sense. Peter does not understand Jesus. He was like the
blind man. He exchanged people for trees! The response of Jesus
was very hard: “Get behind me, Satan!” Satan is a Hebrew
word which means accuser, the one who leads others away from the way to God.
Jesus does not allow anyone to lead him away from his mission. Literally the
text says: “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter has to follow Jesus. He must not
change things and intend that Jesus follows Peter.
For Personal
Confrontation
• We all believe in
Jesus. But some believe that Jesus is in one way, others in another way. Which
is today the most common image that people have of Jesus? Which is the response
which people today would give to Jesus’ question? And I, what answer do I give?
• What prevents us
today from recognizing the Messiah in Jesus?
Concluding Prayer
I will praise Yahweh from my heart; let the humble hear and
rejoice. Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh, let us acclaim his name
together. (Ps 34: 2-3)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét