July 27, 2026
Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 401
Reading 1
The LORD said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth;
wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water.
I bought the loincloth, as the LORD commanded, and put it on.
A second time the word of the LORD came to me thus:
Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing,
and go now to the Parath;
there hide it in a cleft of the rock.
Obedient to the LORD’s command, I went to the Parath
and buried the loincloth.
After a long interval, the LORD said to me:
Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth
which I told you to hide there.
Again I went to the Parath, sought out and took the loincloth
from the place where I had hid it.
But it was rotted, good for nothing!
Then the message came to me from the LORD:
Thus says the LORD:
So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot,
the great pride of Jerusalem.
This wicked people who refuse to obey my words,
who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts,
and follow strange gods to serve and adore them,
shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing.
For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins,
so had I made the whole house of Israel
and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD;
to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty.
But they did not listen.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave
you birth.
You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you,
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing
and anger toward his sons and daughters.
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
“I will hide my face from them,” he said,
“and see what will then become of them.
What a fickle race they are,
sons with no loyalty in them!”
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
“Since they have provoked me with their ‘no-god’
and angered me with their vain idols,
I will provoke them with a ‘no-people’;
with a foolish nation I will anger them.”
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
He spoke to them another parable.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072726.cfm
Commentary on
Jeremiah 13:1-11
Today’s passage presents the symbol of the “linen
loincloth”. It describes, not something that actually happened, but a symbolic
vision. The meaning is clear: Israel, whom Yahweh had fastened as close to
himself as a loincloth round his waist, had broken away and contracted the
corruption of Babylonian idolatry. Not infrequently the prophets like to
present the Lord’s message in the form of symbolic images, something like
parables.
The prophet is told by Yahweh to purchase a linen loincloth
and put it round his waist and he does so. Linen was the material from which
the robes of the priests were made and was symbolic of Israel’s holiness as a
“priestly kingdom” (Exod 19:6). So the linen loincloth or belt was a symbol of
the formerly close relationship between God and his people. Jeremiah is also told
not to put the loincloth in water, a symbol perhaps of the sinful pride of
Judah, which did not want to be washed clean.
Later Jeremiah is told to take the loincloth around his
waist and to hide it in a hole in a rock near the Perath, another name for the
River Euphrates. The river Euphrates, which flowed through Babylonia, is here a
symbol of the corrupting Assyrian and Babylonian influences, which began during
the reign of Ahaz and which brought about Judah’s abandonment of Yahweh for the
idols of their conquerors.
The Perath may, however, refer to the town of Parah (see
Joshua 18:21-24), which was near the modern Wadi Farah, three miles northeast
of Anathoth (Jeremiah’s birthplace). Since in other contexts the Hebrew for
Perath refers to the river Euphrates, it serves as an appropriate symbol of the
corrupting Assyrian and Babylonian influence on Judah that began during the
reign of Ahaz. It is more likely that Jeremiah would have been told to put the
loincloth in a place easily accessible to him. In any case, the symbol has the
same connotation.
Jeremiah hides the loincloth, as instructed. After a
considerable length of time, Yahweh tells the prophet to retrieve the
loincloth. The hiding of the loincloth for a long time beside the river
represents the period of exile of the Jewish people in Babylon.
When Jeremiah found it, it had become filthy dirty and was
fit for nothing, least of all to be worn. Clearly it had become dirty from
contamination with the place where it was concealed. The meaning of the symbol
of the loincloth is then spelt out clearly. The people of the southern kingdom
of Judah and its capital Jerusalem are going to be punished for their arrogance
and pride:
Thus says the Lord…I will ruin the pride of Judah and the
great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who
stubbornly follow their own will and have gone after other gods to serve them
and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.
That had not been God’s idea originally. He had wanted the
whole House of Judah to be in a close and intimate relationship with him, just
as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist. God says they were to:
…be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory.
Unfortunately, in their arrogance and pride, they refused to
listen. Now they will pay the price for their infidelity. They will be carried
away by the very creators of the idols they worshipped.
Once again we are being asked to reflect on the idols in our
own lives. What are the things, the desires and the ambitions which come
between us and our relationship with God? Do we try to compromise, to sit on
the fence, to try to have our cake and eat it? Do we try at the same time to
serve God and ‘mammon’—something Jesus said was impossible?
Where your treasure is, there your heart is too, Jesus said
on another occasion. Where and what is my treasure in life? How close am I to
my God and his ways?
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Commentary on
Matthew 13:31-35
Today we have two short parables which both reflect the
experience of the early Church and also highlight features of the Kingdom.
Considering when they were written, they exude an extraordinary level of trust
and confidence in God’s power, a trust which was not disappointed although the
results were not seen for generations.
The first is the parable of the mustard seed. The mustard
seed is not actually the smallest seed known today, but it was the smallest
seed used by Palestinian farmers and gardeners. Nor did it, strictly speaking,
produce the largest of trees, but under favourable conditions, it could reach
some 10 feet (or 3 metres) in height, big enough to provide shelter for birds.
The early Church, scattered in tiny communities largely cut
off from each other and all over the Mediterranean area, must have felt very
small and very vulnerable. The idea that in time it would become the central
cultural influence all over Europe, Roman and barbarian, must have been beyond
the wildest dreams of those early Christians. But that tiny seed did become a
large tree providing shelter and comfort to millions and, from the
Mediterranean, spread to every corner of the world.
The second parable about yeast in the dough is similar, but
with a different nuance. In the Bible, yeast is usually a symbol of that which
is evil and corrupt. Jesus warned his disciples about the yeast of the
Pharisees (Mark 8:15). Similarly, at the Passover, the Jews eat unleavened
bread, that is, bread free from leaven or yeast. In this parable, however,
yeast is presented as a symbol of growth.
A tiny amount of yeast put into a large batch of dough
produces striking results. (The 3 measures would produce enough to feed 100
people!) A dough batch, over a matter of hours, can swell to twice its original
size as the process of fermentation takes place. The effects of the yeast,
quite invisible, reach to every corner. Again, when this was written, that was
not yet the case. The Church had made very little impact on its surrounding
societies. But over the years, its influence grew until Christianity became the
prevailing faith and cultural influence of the whole of Europe and then
continued to spread out to other parts of the world.
This second parable points to a very important element in
the life and work of the Church. It only exerts its influence when it is
totally immersed in the society it wishes to reach and influence. And it can do
this while still being only a small part of the whole. While never identifying
itself with many of the prevailing ideologies and values of our societies,
Christian communities must at the same time never separate themselves from
their surroundings. There is a danger that we become inward-looking and spend
most of our energies on the already converted. There is a strong evangelising
element in this parable which cannot be ignored.
We need to remember that these are primarily parables of the
Kingdom and not just of the Church, which is the imperfect sign of the work of
the Kingdom going on in our world. And what these parables say applies first of
all to the work of building the Kingdom in our world—it is a work which will go
on inexorably, because it is based on truth, love and justice, and which slowly
penetrates every corner of every society.
We can become aware to the point of depression at the amount
of evil that we see around us and yet there is a gradual forward movement at
all levels. But as the previous parable reminds us, the wheat has always to
co-exist with the weeds—both inside and outside the Church, both inside and
outside the Kingdom.
Today’s reading concludes with a repetition of the statement
that Jesus only spoke to the crowds in parables. And Matthew sees this as the
fulfilment of a prophetic text from the Old Testament. It is in fact a
quotation from Psalm 78:
I will open my mouth to speak in parables… (Ps
78:2)
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2172g/
Monday, July 27,
2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our Father and protector, without you
nothing is holy, nothing has value. Guide us to everlasting life by helping us
to use wisely the blessings you have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 13: 31-35
Jesus put another parable before
them, 'The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed
in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is
the biggest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air can come
and shelter in its branches.'
He told them another parable, 'The kingdom of
Heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour
till it was leavened all through.'
In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in
parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to
fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: I will speak to you in parables, unfold
what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.
Reflection
We are meditating on the Discourse
of the Parables, the objective of which is that of revealing, by means of
comparisons, the mystery of the Kingdom of God present in the life of the
people. Today’s Gospel presents to us two brief parables, the mustard seed and
the yeast. In these Jesus tells two stories taken from daily life, which will
serve as terms of comparison to help the people to discover the mystery of the
Kingdom. When meditating these two stories it is not necessary to try to
discover what each element of the stories want to tell us about the Kingdom.
First, one must look at the story itself, as a whole and try to discover which
is the central point around which the story was constructed. This central point
will serve as a means of comparison to reveal the Kingdom of God. Let us try to
discover which is the central point of the two parables.
•
Matthew 13: 31-32: The parable of the mustard
seed. Jesus says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed” and then
immediately he tells the story: a mustard seed which is very small is cast into
the ground; being very small, it grows and becomes larger than other plants and
attracts the birds which come and build their nests on it. Jesus does not
explain the story. Here applies what he said on another occasion: “Anyone who
has ears to hear, let him hear!” That is, “It is this. You have heard, and so
now try to understand!” It is up to us to discover what the story reveals to us
about the Kingdom of God present in our life. Thus, by means of this story of
the mustard seed, Jesus urges us to have fantasy, because each one of us
understands something about the seed. Jesus expects that the persons, all of
us, begin to share that which each one has discovered. Now, I share three points
that I have discovered on the Kingdom, beginning with this parable: (a) Jesus
says: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed.” The Kingdom is not
something abstract, it is not an idea. It is a presence in our midst (Lk 17:
21). How is this presence? It is like the mustard seed: a very small presence,
humble, which can hardly be seen. It is about Jesus, a poor carpenter, who goes
through Galilee, speaking about the Kingdom to the people of the towns. The
Kingdom of God does not follow the criteria of the great of the world. It has a
different way of thinking and of proceeding. (b) The prophecy evokes a prophecy
of Ezekiel, in which it is said that God will take a small twig of the cedar
and will plant it on the mountain of Israel. This small twig of cedar “will
bring forth branches and will bear fruit and will become a magnificent cedar.
Under it all the birds will live, every kind of birds will rest under it. All
the trees of the forest will know that I am the Lord, who humiliated the tall
tree and exalted the low one; I dry the green tree and make the dry tree come
to life. I the Lord have spoken and I will do it” (Ez 17: 22-23). (c) The
mustard seed, even if very small, grows and gives hope. Like the mustard seed,
in the same way the Kingdom has an interior force, and it grows. How does it
grow? It grows through the preaching of Jesus and of the disciples in the towns
of Galilee. It grows up until today, through the witness of the community and
becomes good news of God which radiates light and attracts persons. The person,
who gets close to the community, feels welcomed, accepted, at home, and builds
in it her nest, her dwelling. Finally, the parable leaves in the air a
question: who are the birds? The question will receive an answer later, in the
Gospel. The text suggests that it is a question of the pagans who will be able
to enter into the Kingdom (Mt 15: 21-28).
•
Matthew 13: 33: The parable of the yeast. The
story of the second parable is the following: A woman took a bit of yeast and
mixed it with three measures of flour, till it is leavened all through. Once
again, Jesus does not explain, he only says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the
yeast...” Like in the first parable, it is up to us to discover the
significance which this has for us today. The following are some points which I
have discovered and which have made me think: (a) What grows is not the yeast,
but the dough. (b) It is a question of something of a house, well known to a
woman in her house. (c) The yeast is mixed up with the pure dough of flour and
contains something fermented. (d) The objective is to have all the dough
fermented, and not only one part. (e) The yeast is not an end in itself but
serves to make the dough grow.
•
Matthew 13: 34-35: Why Jesus speaks in parables.
Here, at the end of the Discourse of the Parables, Matthew clarifies the reason
which urged Jesus to teach the people using the form of parables. He says that
it was in order that the prophecy would be fulfilled which said: "I will
open the mouth to use parables; I will proclaim hidden things since the
creation of the world.” In reality, the text that has been quoted is not of a
prophet, but rather it is a Psalm (Ps 78: 2).
For the first Christians the whole of the Old Testament was
a great prophecy which announced in a veiled way the coming of the Messiah and
the fulfilment of the promises of God. In Mark 4: 34-34, the reason which urged
Jesus to teach the people by means of parables was to adapt the message to the
capacity of the people. With these examples taken from the life of the people,
Jesus helped the persons to discover the things of God in the life of every
day. Life then became transparent. He made them perceive that what was
extraordinary in God is hidden in the ordinary and common things of daily life.
People understood the things of life. In the parables they received the key to
open them and to find in them the signs of God. At the end of the Discourse of
the Parables, in Matthew 13: 52, as we shall see later, another reason will be
explained why Jesus chose to teach with parables.
Personal Questions
•
Which point of these two parables did you like
best or which struck you more? Why?
•
Which is the seed that without being aware has
grown in you and in your community?
Concluding Prayer
I will sing of your strength, in the morning acclaim your
faithful love; you have been a stronghold for me, a refuge when I was in
trouble. (Ps 59: 16)
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