April 14, 2025
Monday of Holy Week
Lectionary: 257
Reading 1
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my
salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,
My foes and my enemies
themselves stumble and fall.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Verse Before the Gospel
Hail to you, our King;
you alone are compassionate with our faults.
Gospel
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages
and given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041425.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
42:1-7
Today we have the first of the four Songs of the
Servant of Yahweh from Isaiah. Together, they describe the finest
qualities of Israel and her great leaders. Today’s song describes a ‘chosen
one’ like Moses, David, and all Israel. As the Servant, he fulfils the role of
Davidic king and prophet. It is a beautiful description of a mysterious servant
of God which the Church has long realised applies so aptly to Jesus.
The passage is taken from the ‘Book of Consolation’, or
Second Isaiah (chaps 40-55). It speaks of Israel as a “Servant of Yahweh”,
chosen or set apart, to act as God’s witness before the nations. But the
four Songs of the Servant of Yahweh (42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-11;
52:13 – 53:12) present a mysterious ‘servant’ who in some ways is like the
‘servant-Israel’ of the other passages. In today’s passage, however, he is
distinguished from the servant-Israel, and shown to have other qualities which
show him as a particular individual.
Called by Yahweh while still in his mother’s womb, ‘formed’
by him, filled with his spirit, the servant is a “covenant” (i.e. disciple).
Yahweh has opened his ears, so that, by establishing justice on earth, he may
instruct mankind, and sort them and judge them by his word. He performs his
task gently and without display, even appearing to fail in it. He accepts
outrage and contempt and does not succumb because Yahweh sustains him.
Yahweh is speaking and says, “Here is my servant”. He
designates and consecrates the Servant. In the royal terminology of the ancient
Near East, “servant” could mean something like ‘trusted envoy’ or ‘confidential
representative’.
Jesus, too, called himself a ‘servant’:
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and
to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
He gave a dramatic example when he knelt down and washed his
disciples’ feet at the Last Supper (John 13:1-17).
He will not only ‘gather’ Israel, but he will be the light
to the nations everywhere. The New Testament sees Jesus as this servant—in his
person the attributes of the King-Messiah, Son of David, are united with those
of the suffering servant (see also Luke 4:17-21).
In the previous chapter, King Cyrus of Persia had been
introduced as delivering Israel from captivity in Babylon, but the Servant
would deliver the whole world from the prison of sin.
The passage speaks of gentleness and non-violence, a message
so necessary for our time. He is gentle, but not weak or passive:
He does not cry out or shout aloud…
He is a bringer of harmony and peace, not of noise and
turmoil:
…a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench…
He does not exploit the weak in a false show of power, but
empowers through bringing healing and wholeness to the frail and the weak. This
is just what Jesus did in his mission to the people.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
This passage is quoted by Matthew in his Gospel (Matt
12:18-21). In his gentleness and compassion, there is no weakness. There is a
great inner strength, but a total rejection of violence.
As well that passage says:
…the coastlands wait for his teaching…
This indicates the lands of the Mediterranean and, by
implication, the pagan lands lying beyond Israel. The Servant has a mission to
all, not just to some.
Then comes the special call made by Yahweh to the Servant:
I have called you in righteousness…
This is similar to the call made earlier to King Cyrus, who
will deliver the Jews from their Babylonian exile and allow them to return
home. The reading continues:
I have taken you by the hand and kept you…
In Hebrew, the same term for “kept” is also translated as
‘formed’, and is used in the creation story of Genesis to describe Yahweh
‘forming’ or ‘modelling’ the body of the first man. Jesus, of course, is the
New Adam.
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations…
Jesus as Messiah will inaugurate the New Covenant by his
suffering and death, a covenant now embracing peoples everywhere. We will see
that more clearly when we read more of the Suffering Servant during Holy Week.
This Servant has been called by God, the creator of all
things, to do God’s work and carry out his will. He will be “a light to the
nations” and will:
…open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness…
Originally this referred to release from the prison of the
Babylonian exile, but it also indicates the hope of liberation for every person
from all spiritual and moral bondage.
As we begin Holy Week, we are reminded that this work of
God’s servant, which we also are, has to go on through us. We are not here this
week just to be spectators, even grateful spectators. We are to be part of the
work which the Paschal Mystery inaugurated. We, too, are to be servants, ready,
if necessary, to suffer as Jesus did for the sake of our brothers and sisters.
Comments Off
Commentary on John
12:1-11
Today’s Gospel serves as a lovely prelude to the Passion of
Jesus. Jesus is back in the house of his friends, Mary, Martha and of course,
Lazarus—so recently brought back from the dead. Perhaps these are Jesus’ last
moments of companionship before the horrors that are to come.
True to character, Martha is the active hostess. Mary, the
contemplative, brings in a jar of an expensive perfumed unguent and pours it
all over the feet of Jesus, filling the house with its fragrance. It is a sign
of great love and echoes what the ‘sinful’ woman in Luke’s Gospel also did.
This account is probably the same as that described in Mark (14:3-9) and
Matthew (26:6-13), but is distinct from the story of the woman in Luke
(7:36-50).
As opposed to the “Beloved Disciple” in John’s Gospel (a
nameless character), Judas, on the other hand, is a spiritually blind materialist,
and sees what he regards as terrible waste. Hypocritically, he suggests the
money would have been better spent helping the poor. John implicates Judas as
“a thief”, more interested in getting the money for himself than sharing it
with those in need.
Jesus sees an altogether different meaning in Mary’s action.
He sees the tremendous love behind the action, and interprets it as a
symbolical anointing for his burial. Dying as a common criminal, Jesus would
normally not have been anointed (and, in fact, he was not anointed after his
burial; when the women went to do the act on Sunday morning, Jesus was already
risen). Jesus says in response:
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always
have me.
This is not to be understood in any cynical way. The poor
cannot be truly loved except in God and in Jesus:
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least
of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
Only those who truly love God (by whatever name they call
him) are able truly to love the poor and all those in need—and vice versa.
Also, in Jewish tradition, there was disagreement as to whether giving alms to
the poor or burying the dead (which would include anointing) was the greater
act of mercy. Those in favour of burial thought it an essential condition for
sharing in the final resurrection.
Finally, we are told Lazarus’ own life was in danger as well
as Jesus’. Lazarus is seen as the living sign of Jesus’ divine power, and so
they both must be wiped out. Many of the Church’s martyrs died for the same
reason. The word martyr means ‘witness’, witnessing to the
truth, love and power of Christ.
Am I willing to be a martyr-witness for Christ, to stand
beside him on the cross as he is mocked and insulted? This is the week for me
to find the answer to that question.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1062g/
Monday,
April 14, 2025
Holy Week
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you have called your people
to be the servant of one another in the cause of justice and mercy. You showed
us in Jesus, your Son, what it means to serve and how much this may cost us.
Fill us with the Spirit of Jesus, that we too may not break those who are weak
nor repel those groping in the dark.
Let him teach us to serve and to love with compassion for
the helpless and respect for the least and the poorest, together with Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 12: 1-11
Six days before the
Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the
dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was
among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure
nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the
house was filled with the scent of the ointment.
Then Judas Iscariot -- one of his
disciples, the man who was to betray himsaid, 'Why was this ointment not sold
for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?'
He said this, not because
he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the
common fund and used to help himself to the contents. So Jesus said, 'Leave her
alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial.
You have the poor with you always, you will not always have
me.'
Meanwhile a large number of
Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of Jesus but also to
see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief priests decided to
kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the Jews were
leaving them and believing in Jesus.
Reflection
We have entered into Holy
Week, the week of the Passover of Jesus, of his passing from this world to the
Father (Jn 13: 1). Liturgy today places before us the beginning of chapter 12 of
the Gospel of John, which serves as a link between the Book of the Signs (cc
1-11) and the Book of the Glorification (cc 1321). At the end of the “Book of
Signs” there appears, very clearly the tension between Jesus and the religious
authority of the time (Jn 10: 19-21, 39) and the danger which Jesus was facing.
Several times they had tried to kill him (Jn 10: 31;
11: 8, 53; 12: 10). So much it was
like this that Jesus was obliged to lead a clandestine life, because he could
be arrested at any moment (Jn 10: 40; 11: 54).
•
John 12: 1-2: Jesus persecuted by the Jews, goes
to Bethany. Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany to the house of
his friends Martha and Mary and of Lazarus. Bethany means, House of Poverty.
The police was looking for him (Jn 11: 57). They wanted to kill him (Jn 11:
50). But even now that the police was looking for Jesus, Mary, Martha and
Lazarus received him in their house and offered him something to eat. Because
love overcomes fear.
•
John 12: 3: Mary anoints Jesus. During the meal,
Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with a pound of perfume of pure spikenard (cf.
Lk 7: 36-50). It was a very costly perfume, so very expensive that it cost
three hundred denarii. Then she dried his feet with her hair. The whole house
was filled with the scent of the ointment. Mary does not speak during this
whole episode. She only acts. The gesture filled with symbolism speaks for
itself. In washing the feet, Mary becomes a servant. Jesus will repeat the
gesture at the Last Supper (Jn 13: 5).
•
John 12: 4-6: Reaction of Judas. Judas
criticizes the gesture of Mary. He thinks that it is a waste. In fact, three
hundred denarii were the wages of
three hundred days! The wages of almost a whole year spent in one time alone!
Judas thinks that the money should have been given to the poor. The Evangelist
comments and says that Judas had no concern at all for the poor, but that he
was a thief. They had a common fund and he stole the money. A strong judgment
which condemns Judas. It does not condemn the concern for the poor, but the
hypocrisy which uses the poor for self-promotion and to enrich oneself. Judas,
in his own egoistic interests, thought only about money. This is why he was not
aware of what Mary kept in her heart. Jesus reads in the heart and defends
Mary.
•
John 12: 7-8: Jesus defends the woman; Judas
thinks only of the waste and criticizes the woman. Jesus thinks of the gesture
and defends the woman: “Leave her alone; so that she can keep it for the day of
my burial!” And immediately Jesus says: “You have the poor with you always; you
will not always have me!” Which of the two lived closer to Jesus: Judas or
Mary? Judas, the disciple, lived together with Jesus for almost three years,
twenty-four hours a day. He was part of the group. Mary saw him once or twice a
year, on the occasion of some feast, when Jesus went to Jerusalem and visited
her in her house. But to live together with, not having any love does not help
us to know others. Rather it blinds people. Judas was blind. Many people live
together with Jesus and praise him even with many hymns, but do not truly know
him and do not reveal him (cf. Mt 7: 21). Two affirmations of Jesus merit a
more detailed comment: (a) “You have the poor with you always” and (b) let her
keep it for the day of my burial.”
•
“You have
the poor with you always.” Is it perhaps that Jesus wants to say that we
should not be concerned about the poor, given the fact that there will always
be poor? Or does he want to say that poverty is the destiny imposed by God? How
is this phrase to be understood? At that time, persons knew the Old Testament
by heart. It sufficed for Jesus to begin quoting a phrase of the Old Testament
and persons already knew the rest. The beginning of the phrase said: “There
will never cease to be poor people in the country” (Dt 15: 11ª). The rest of
the phrase which people already knew and which Jesus wants to remind is the
following: “And this is why I am giving you this command: always be open handed
with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need and is poor!”
(Dt 15: 11b).
•
“Let her
keep it for the day of my burial” According to this Law, the community
should accept the poor and share its goods with them. But, Judas instead of
“opening his hand to help the poor” and to share his goods with them, wanted to
do charity with the money of others! He wanted to sell the perfume of Mary for
three hundred denarii and use it to help the poor. Jesus quotes the Law of God
which taught the contrary. Anyone who, like Judas, carries out a campaign with
the money of the sale of the goods of other does not disturb or trouble. But,
the one who, like Jesus, insists on the obligation to accept the poor and to
share with them one’s own goods, this one disturbs, troubles, and runs the risk
of being condemned.
•
John 12: 9-11: The crowds and the authority. To
be the friend of Jesus could be dangerous. Lazarus is in danger of death
because of the new life received from Jesus. The Jews had decided to kill him.
Lazarus alive was a living proof that Jesus was the Messiah. This is why the
crowd was looking for him, because people wanted to experience closely the
living proof of the power of Jesus. A living community runs the risk of its
life because it is the living proof of the Good News of God!
Personal Questions
•
Mary was misinterpreted by Judas. Have you been
misinterpreted sometimes?
•
What does this text of Mary teach us? What does
the reaction of Judas say to us?
Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life, whom should I dread? (Ps
27: 1)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét