13TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Lk 9:51-62

The Gospel for this Sunday is divided into two parts: (a) Lesson on tolerance and (c) the honesty of Jesus and the demands of following him.

On tolerance. Jesus scolded James and John for wanting to destroy the Samaritan village that refused to welcome them.

On the honesty of Jesus and the demands of discipleship. Jesus did not hide the sacrifices that a person must make if he wants to be a disciple. They are: (a) financial hardship and insecurity, (b) sacrifice of family ties, and (c) leave behind one’s former way of life.

When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled…

Take up or assumption is “analempsis” in Greek. We find the same expression in the Gospel of John. Here as in John it refers to the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus into heaven.

The word is also an allusion to Elijah. “As they (Elijah and Elisha) walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind” (2Kngs 2:9-11).

He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem…

This signals the second half of the public ministry of Jesus as well as that of the gospel of Luke.

Resolutely indicates the determination and commitment of Jesus to carry out the Father’s will.

Jerusalem is central to the gospel of Luke. The public ministry of Jesus unfolds as Jesus travels to Jerusalem. It is there that he will die. It is there that the Christian community will be born on Pentecost Day. It is also from there that the mission of Jesus will spread to all the corners of the earth.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

The Jews avoided contact with the Samaritans because the former regarded the latter as an impure race with an impure religion. In fact the Samaritans were Israelites who inter-married with their pagan neighbors.

They kept rival temples: the temple in Jerusalem for the Jews and the temple on Mt. Gerizim for the Samaritans. For this reason the Samaritans were particularly hostile to the Jews on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. And for this reason also, the pilgrims would rather take the longer route via Perea just to avoid crossing Samaritan territory.

By going to a Samaritan village, Jesus wanted to break down the walls of division (Ephesians 2). This attempt will be followed by the mission of the deacon Philip to Samaria (Acts 8:5-25).

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

James and John may have had the prophet Elijah in mind. He destroyed his enemies with fire from heaven. “Then the king sent a captain with his company of fifty men after Elijah. The prophet was seated on a hilltop when he found him. "Man of God," he ordered, "the king commands you to come down." "If I am a man of God," Elijah answered the captain, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men” (2Kings 1:10-12).

That they were prone to violence may be deduced from their name of “Boanerges”, that is, sons of thunder (Mk 3:17). We, however, have to credit them for their confidence in Jesus— that they can indeed call down fire from heaven, if Jesus permits them.

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

The first candidate was told that following Jesus could mean financial insecurity and material hardship.

And to another he said, “Follow me.”But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead”.

It is not that his father has died. Probably what is meant here is: “Once my father dies I will follow you.”
The follower of Jesus must be ready to sacrifice family ties.

A Muslim girl in the US converted to Christianity. Usually that meant making her and her family enemies to such an extent that the family would be ready to kill her. It was fear for her life that she fled from home.

And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Here is where we find the connection of the Gospel to the First Reading. The difference is that Elijah allowed Elisha to give a good-bye feast to his family while Jesus would not allow it.

If you are plowing the field and you keep on looking back, the furrows would be crooked. If you decided to be a follower of Jesus and you keep on looking back, it means that your decision to follow Jesus is shaky. What does it mean when a married woman keeps on looking back at the man she could have married but did not? It means that she is not happy with her present marriage. It means that her marriage is shaky.

Jesus says that only those who are ready to give him their full commitment and dedication should attempt to follow him.

12th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Lk 9:18-24

LITURGICAL NOTE

The Sundays at this time of the year is called ordinary not because it is unimportant but because there is no particular mystery of Christ that is being celebrated. And for this reason the Sundays are just being counted as 1st Sunday, 2nd Sunday, etc.

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

1. Parallels are found in Mt 16:13-25 and Mk 8:27-35. But there are important differences. For example,
• Luke does not report Peter objecting to Jesus’ announcement of his suffering and death and earning the rebuke “Get behind me, Satan”.
• Luke alone says that carrying one’s cross is something that is done on a daily basis.

2. Luke reports that this happened when Jesus was at prayer. Jesus at prayer is a major theme of Luke’s gospel.
• Baptism (3:21)
• Choice of the Twelve (6:12)
• Transfiguration (9:28)
• Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray (11:1)
• Last Supper (22:32)
• Jesus on the cross (23:46)

3. People think that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead (having been beheaded by Herod Antipas), or Elijah or one of the prophets. People believed that Jesus was a prophet and nothing more. Elijah was expected to herald the Messiah. Therefore, people did not consider Jesus as the Messiah.

4. Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah of God. This means that Peter sees Jesus as one who exercises the power to save the people from the power of evil by means of healing and forgiveness.
• Peter is able to come to this conclusion because he has been with Je-sus.
• In first century Palestine, Messiah means a military leader from Da-vid’s line who would restore the Kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6).
• Peter’s declaration in Matthew is “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Mark’s declaration is simply “You are the Christ”.

5. He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. In Mark this prohibition is called the Messianic secret. Jesus in effect forbids them to from proclaiming that he is the Messiah until they know what that title really means.

6. If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
• In Matthew and Mark, taking up one’s cross refers to the suffering and death that a disciple should expect and be ready to face. In fact in the early days of Christianity, martyrdom was a real possibility.
• In Luke (with the addition of “daily”) taking up one’s cross means that the disciple must be ready to accept the demands of discipleship in one’s life.

11th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love.

Lk 7:36—8:3

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

1. This episode of Luke is not the same as the episode recounted in Mt 26:6ff and Mk 14:3ff where a woman pours oil on his head in the house of Simon the Leper. This episode of Luke is also not to be confused with a similar even in John 12:1ff where the event took place in the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Here it was Mary who did the pouring of the ointment. For this reason we cannot identify the woman as Mary Magdalene. It is, therefore, a defamation to call Mary Magdalene a prostitute.

2. Banquet
• It is part of hospitality for the host to offer his special guest a kiss, to wash his feet which were dirty from travel and to anoint the head with oil. Simon the Pharisee did not do these for Jesus.
• Guests do not sit but recline on divans.
• The woman was called a sinner. She was probably guilty of public immorality. She was either a prostitute or a promiscuous woman. In fact, letting her hair down in public strengthens this suspicion.
• The ointment was costly. You had to work for 18 months to buy it.

3. Parable
• Debt of 50 and 500.
• The woman might be a sinner but you Simon are also a sinner, al-though not a big one. But while she has received forgiveness, you have not because you have not recognized you own sinfulness.

CORPUS CHRISTI (C)

Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Lk 9:11b-17

LITURGY

Today’s feast is called “Corpus Christi” in Latin. In English it is “The Body of Christ.” However, the complete name of the feast is the Body and Blood of Christ. In other words, it is the feast of the Eucharist.

Yet we have already celebrated this feast on Maundy Thursday. At the Last Supper, Christ gave the gift of his Body and Blood to his Church. That he did this before he died means that the gift of the Eucharist is an important gift. And if we remember that words of Jesus “Do this in memory of me”, we will understand why the Eucharist is an important gift of Jesus to his Church.

Traditionally a procession of the Sacred Host on a monstrance is held on this feast. It is intended to be a public declaration of our faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus is really present in the Eucharist.

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

1. The feeding of the 5 thousand is the only miracle reported by all the four gospels. Therefore, it must be important. Why is it important?

2. There is a connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is like a symbol. The New Testament is the fulfillment of the symbol. We see this kind of connection in this miracle.

• The feeding of the 5 thousand in a deserted place recalls the feeding of the people of Israel with manna in the desert.
• Moses provided manna for the Israelites. Jesus provided food for the 5 thousand. For this reason, Jesus is called the new Moses.
• Both the manna in the desert and the bread Jesus provided for the 5 thousand both symbolize the Eucharist. This is why the miracle is important.
How do we know that the miracle symbolizes the Eucharist?
• The words used in the miracle are similar to the words used for the Eucharist. Take the five loaves and two fish, look up to heaven, said the blessing, broke them and gave them.

3. Fragments. This word was used in the early Church for the broken pieces of Eucharistic bread.

PARTICIPATION IN THE EUCHARIST

Vatican II laid this guideline for the celebration of the Liturgy: There must be an active and intelligent participation by the whole community. The Liturgy includes the Mass.


Today there is a trend among some Catholics for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass.The language used is Latin. The priest has his back to the people. The ceremonies are different. The people usually prayed the Rosary while mass was going on. This was because people didn’t understand the language and they didn’t see what the priest was doing. It is as if the Mass was the business of the priest and the people were the audience watching the priest as he did his thing.

Although the Pope has allowed the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, it is clear that in this Mass there can be no active or intelligent participation by the whole community.

Today the Liturgy is celebrated in the language the people can understand. The priest faces the people. For this reason it is easier to foster an active and intelligent participation by the whole community. There are areas that we can pay attention to in order to promote an active and intelligent participation.

1. The Liturgy of the Word. Unless the community hear and understand what is being proclaimed, how can they intelligently participate? Hence, the sound system must be good. The readers must practice reading from the microphone.

2. The singing. The choir must teach the community to sing. It is not the job of the choir to sing and the community to listen. The Mass is not a concert of the choir. The community is not active if all they do is to listen.

3. Responses. The community must respond to the priest. If the priest says, “The Lord be with you” and the community keeps its mouth shut, there is no active participation. If the priest says, “The Body of Christ” and the communicant does not respond with “Amen”, then there is no active participation.

4. When people come late for the Mass and leave early, there is poor participation. The ideal is for the people to come before the Mass begins and leave after the singing is over.

The Mass is not a show where the community simply watches what is going on in the sanctuary. It is a celebration where the community actively and intelligently participates.