July 20, 2026
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 395
Reading 1
Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel.
O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 50:5-6,
8-9, 16bc-17, 21, 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power
of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072026.cfm
Commentary on Micah
6:1-4,6-8
We have a rather unusual reading today, but one that is full
of love and tenderness. The scene is that of a courtroom and of people on
trial. The Lord lodges a legal complaint against Judah. Those on trial are
God’s people and he is their judge. The witnesses are the surrounding mountains
and hills.
There are three distinct parts:
- The
evidence against God’s people. The Lord summons the people to listen to
his accusation and to prepare their defence against the charges that
follow. The Lord speaks poignantly in reminding the people of his gracious
acts in their behalf.
- Their
response in which they ask what compensation they need to pay for their
sins.
- God,
through the mouth of his prophet, tells them what he expects.
Let’s explore each of these.
In the first part, the people are called on to stand up and
face their judge and the mountains and hills are told to listen as witnesses to
the judge’s accusations against his people in Judah. In both the Hebrew (Old)
and Christian (New) Testaments, mountains are holy places where God likes to
commune with his people, e.g. Mts. Sinai, Nebo, Zion, Carmel as well as the
mountains of the Sermon on the Mount and the transfiguration of Jesus on Tabor.
They are the impassive, unchanging witnesses through time of the great
covenants God made with his people.
The evidence against the people is all the wrongs they have
done and their total ingratitude for all that God has done for them. In the
verses immediately following today’s reading, some of these wrongs are listed.
They include:
- rich
men full of violence;
- people
speaking falsehoods;
- false
weights and measures designed to cheat buyers;
- people
imitating the semi-paganism of the Northern Kingdom with its corrupt
worship and social injustice.
That the people should respond to his love in such a way,
Yahweh cries out:
O my people, what have I done to you?
And he reminds them of how he rescued them from the slavery
of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and brought them to
the Promised Land.
The words here form the basis for the lamentations
(the Improperia) used in the Good Friday liturgy to call us to
repentance for our sinful ingratitude to God’s love in our lives.
The Lord asks:
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
The plea is softened by the address “O my people”,
expressing sorrow rather than anger.
In the second part, the people respond by asking what they
should do to make recompense. What gifts should they bring into God’s presence
to appease him? They suggest both lawful and forbidden sacrifices. Does Yahweh
God want holocausts of young calves? Does he want offerings of thousands of
rams and “rivers of oil”? Does he want them to give up their first-born sons as
penitential compensation for their sins and “transgressions”? Of course, Yahweh
would never demand human sacrifice as some of the other religions did. It shows
how religiously confused the people are.
And finally, in the third part, through his prophet, God
rejects all of these. He does not want to be appeased; he does not need to be
appeased. He is above all that. What he does want, and what gives him the
greatest happiness, is to see a deep inner conversion on the part of his
people, a radical changing of their ways. This will make him happy because
therein lies his people’s own happiness too. He wants a religion of merely
external ritual to be replaced with a religion of the spirit, as expressed in
the prophets—justice (Amos), love (Hosea), and humility before God (Isaiah).
So the reading ends with one of the most lovely sentences in
the whole of the Bible, one which perhaps we have heard quoted, but never knew
where it came from:
What does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God?
Everything is contained there. It covers both the teaching
of the Old and the New Testaments on how we should behave. If we can live like
this, our lives will be perfect:
- to
treat others with justice, and in deep respect to give to each one what is
their right and their due,
- to
be filled with love: both agape and philia,
and
- to
be deeply united in prayer with our God.
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Commentary on
Matthew 12:38-42
Today’s passage follows two others, which we have not read.
In the first, Jesus is accused of doing what he does by the power of Satan
(Matt 12:22-32). This is an accusation which he easily shows is self-contradictory
and makes no sense. In the second, he says that a tree which is rotten inside
cannot produce good fruit (Matt 12:33-37). Goodness comes from a person’s
interior. The words are directed at his accusers whom he more than once accuses
of being hypocrites—pious and law-abiding on the outside, but full of malice
inside.
It is these same people who approach him today. It is
difficult to know their mood as they ask Jesus for a sign. Is it a genuine
request for Jesus to indicate the source of his authority and power, or is it a
hostile demand for Jesus to present his credentials?
In response, Jesus first says that:
An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no
sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Yes, “evil and adulterous”, because for anyone with an open
mind, Jesus has been giving nothing but signs ever since he began his public
life. The ordinary people have been full of praise and amazement at what Jesus
is doing and say:
A great prophet has risen among us!…God has visited his
people! (Luke 7:16)
But these leaders, blinded by their own prejudice, are even
saying that the teaching, exorcisms and healings of Jesus are the work of
Satan.
In addition to all this, they are going to get an
unmistakable sign of who Jesus really is. They will be given “the sign of the
prophet Jonah”:
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the
belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man
will be in the heart of the earth.
This is a clear reference to Jesus’ resurrection—the
conclusive sign of his identity and power.
Mention of Jonah leads Jesus to say that:
…people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah,
and indeed something [i.e. Jesus] greater than Jonah is here!
Similarly:
The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with
this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to
listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed something greater than Solomon is
here!
This of course also refers to Jesus, who is greater by far
than Solomon.
We, too, have the privilege of listening to Jesus and we
know the sign of his resurrection. Is it not possible that there are many
people around us who, not knowing Jesus, but following the guidance of their
consciences, will find themselves going before us into the Kingdom?
Complacency is probably one of our biggest temptations: “I
am good enough; I observe the basic requirements of my religion.” Is that all
that Jesus expects of me?
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Monday, July 20,
2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord, be merciful to your
people.
Fill us with your gifts and make
us always eager to serve you in faith, hope and love.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading – Matthew 12: 38-42
Some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up. 'Master,' they
said, 'we should like to see a sign from you.' He replied, 'It is an evil and
unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is
the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah remained in the belly of the sea-
monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart
of the earth for three days and three nights. On Judgement Day the men of
Nineveh will appear against this generation and they will be its condemnation,
because when Jonah preached they repented; and look, there is something greater
than Jonah here.
On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will appear against
this generation and be its condemnation, because she came from the ends of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look, there is something greater than
Solomon here.
Reflection
Today’s Gospel presents to us a discussion
between Jesus and the religious authority of the time. This time, the doctors
of the law and the Pharisees are those who ask Jesus for a sign. Jesus had made
many signs: he had cured the leper (Mt 8: 1-4), the servant of the centurion
(Mt 8: 5-13), Peter’s mother-in-law (Mt 8: 14-15), the sick and the possessed
of the city (Mt 8: 16), he had calmed down the storm (Mt 8: 23-27), had cast
out the devils (Mt 8: 28-34) and had worked many other miracles. The people
seeing all these signs recognize in Jesus the Servant of Yahweh (Mt 8: 17; 12:
17-21). But the doctors and the Pharisees were not capable to perceive the
significance of so many signs which Jesus had made. They wanted something
different.
•
Matthew 12: 38: The request for a sign made by
the Pharisees and the doctors. The Pharisees arrived and said to Jesus: Master,
we should like to see a sign from you." They want Jesus to make a sign for
them, a miracle, and thus they will be able to verify and examine if Jesus is
or not the one who is sent by God according to what they imagined and expected.
They wanted to ascertain it, to be sure. They wanted to submit Jesus to their
own criteria, in such a way as to be able to place him into their own Messianic
frame. There is no openness in them for a possible conversation. They had
understood nothing of all that Jesus had done.
•
Mathew 12: 39: The response of Jesus: the sign
of Jonah. Jesus does not submit himself to the request of the religious
authority, because it is not sincere: “An evil and unfaithful generation that
asks for a sign! The only sign that will be given them is the sign of the
prophet Jonah.” These words constitute a very strong judgment regarding the
doctors and the Pharisees. They evoke the oracle of Hosea who denounced the
people, accusing it of being an unfaithful and adulterous spouse (Hos 2: 4).
The Gospel of Mark says that Jesus before the request of the Pharisees sighed
profoundly (Mk 8: 12), probably out of indignation and of sadness before such a
great blindness: because it is not worthwhile to place a beautiful picture
before someone who does not want to open the eyes. Anyone who closes the eyes
cannot see! The only sign which will be given to them is the sign of Jonah.
•
Matthew 12: 41: There is something greater than
Jonah here. Jesus looks toward the future: “For as Jonah remained in the belly
of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the son of man be
in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” Therefore, the only
sign will be the resurrection of Jesus which will be prolonged in the
resurrection of his followers. This is the sign which will be given to the
doctors and the Pharisees in the future. They will be placed before the fact
that Jesus, condemned to death by them and to the death of the cross, God will
raise him from the dead and he will continue, in many ways to raise those who
believe in him., for example, he will raise them in the witness of the
apostles, “persons without instruction” who will have had the courage to face
authority announcing the resurrection of Jesus (Act 4: 13). What converts is
witness, not miracles: “On Judgment Day, the men of Nineveh will appear against
this generation, and they will be its condemnation, because when Jonah
preached, they repented.” The people of Nineveh converted because of the
witness of the preaching of Jonah and they denounced the unbelief of the
doctors and the Pharisees: because “Look, there is something greater than Jonah
here.”
•
Matthew 12: 42: There is something greater than
Solomon here. The reference to the conversion of the people of Nineveh is
associated and makes one recall the episode of the Queen of the South. “On
Judgment Day the Queen of the South will appear against this generation and be
its condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon and look, there is something greater than Solomon here!” This
reminder of the episode of the Queen of the South who recognizes the wisdom of
Solomon, indicates how the Bible was used at that time. By association: the
principal rule of interpretation was the following: “The Bible is explained
through the Bible.” Up until now this is one of the more important norms for
the interpretation of the Bible, especially for the prayerful reading of the
Word of God.
Personal Questions
•
To be converted means to be completely changed
morally, but also to change the ideas and the way of thinking. A moralist is
one who changes behaviour but keeps unaltered his way of thinking. And I how am
I?
•
Before the renewal of the Church today, am I a
Pharisee who asks for a sign or am I like the people who recognize that this is
the way wanted by God?
Concluding Prayer
Better your faithful love than life itself; my lips will
praise you.
Thus I will bless you all my life, in your name lift up my
hands. (Ps 63: 3-4)
