XX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE B –
2018
v
Wisdom sends her servants to invite to the
banquet of wisdom, of a coherent life.
v
Jesus invites us to eat his flesh, those who
hear him are offended. How can he say
that? Why does he say that he has come down from heaven, if he is from our own
town and we know him well…?
v
Paul invites his community from Ephesus to a
wise life, a life guided by wisdom.
v
In the responsorial psalm, we repeat: TASTE AND
SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD!
THE BOOK OF PROVERBS
« The
first Reading is taken from the book of Proverbs.
« We
are surprised when we read this book, because it is like a mosaic of literary
styles: prose, poetry, sayings…
« We
do not find in it the theological spirit that we find in other books of the Old
Testament; it seems to be absent.
« With
the books of: Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom it is part of the wisdom
literature. These books try to answer the questions that every human being has
on the meaning of: life,
death, sickness, suffering, sin, goodness, evil…
« This
literature developped after the return from the exile in Babylon, it has a
great resemblance to the wisdom literature of the neighboring peoples.
« From
its fragmentation, we deduce that it has several authors, from different times.
The scholars believe that probably around 200 B.C. the book was already
completed and included in the groups of Writings.
« It
was customary in the ancient world to attribute the authorship of some books to
important people expert in a given matter. In Israel they attributed:
o
to Solomon, the wise King, the books of wisdom.
o
to David the poetic books like the Psalms.
o
to
Moses the law.
« But
Solomon is not the author of the book of Proverbs, the book has several
different authors.
First Reading:
Proverbs 9:1-6
Let us use our
imagination to understand the message of this passage:
Ø This
fragment presents very beautiful images
Ø Wisdom
is portrait as a feminine being
o
That builds her house on seven columns, this
number speaks of wholeness and we may think, looking at the New Testament, of
the Holy Spirit, who in the book of Revelation is described as the seven
spirits of God.
o
She prepares a table with food, and wine, images
that invite us to think about the pleasure in eating and drinking. The gift of
Wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives to us
is not only an intellectual knowledge, it means also to savor the realities that are
related to God, to enjoy the presence of
God in our life.
o
She sends her maid servants to invite, but as we continue reading
we understand that she is the one who invites.
Could it be that it is Wisdom who invites, but by means of her servants?
The
same that happens with us, God invites us by means of his messengers.
o
In this image of the table and the invitation we
may discover the overabundance of Wisdom that is given without limits to those
who welcome her.
o
She calls the humble, those who lack knowledge,
those who are willing to accept the invitation because they do not have
anything, and are invited to eat and drink at her table.
o
Thus, they will be able to reject stupidity of evil and sin.
o
And walk on the way of knowledge and
understanding.
o
Those who accept the invitation of Wisdom will
be able to repeat with the psalmist:
Psalm 33:2-3. 10-11. 12-13. 14-15
Taste
and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
v The
psalms fall into the literary genre of
poetry.
v The
psalms are hymns that are meant to be recited preferably to the accompaniment of a musical instrument in the
context of worship.
v The
word “psalm” comes from the Greek word psalmos
which means “song,” In Hebrew they are called
mizmor, word that implies that
its recitation is accompanied by the harp
or the zither.
v The
authors of the psalms use the densely packed, image-filled language of poetry
to express the yearnings of the human heart.
v Like
poetry the psalms are not meant to be read quickly. They must be dwelt in,
thought about, and meditated on until the words take root and the meaning
becomes personal and can be prayed from the heart.
GOSPEL John 6:51-58
We continue with the discourse of the Bread of
Life.
John in his Gospel does not intent to narrate
events of Jesus’ life as such. Rather he
uses some of the events to make a theological reflection on the event in
relation to our faith in the Son of man, the Son of God, the Christ.
Jesus has given them bread to eat in abundance,
using the five loaves and the two fishes that a young boy offered to him.
From that event John speaks about the true bread
that has come down from heaven, Jesus.
In
today’s reading
o Jesus
proclaims himself the bread that has come down from heaven, he who eats it will
live forever.
o The
Jews argue and get angry, because Jesus speaks of himself as transcendent (come
down from heaven) but they know his family.
o However,
Jesus repeats again: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and do not
drink his blood, you will not have life within you. The verb used here for eating means to chew.
o On
eating his body and drinking his blood, in the Eucharist, a bond is established
between Jesus and the disciple, similar to the union that exists between the
Father and Jesus.
o The
disciple is a child of God because he/she is united to the Son of the Father
made flesh for the salvation of the world. Like the Son he/she enters into an
intimate and deep relationship with the Father.
The union that is formed through the bread and the wine –the
body and blood of Jesus- is not meant to be static. The disciple is meant to be
sent to share this intimate life with others.
SECOND READING: Ephesians
5:15-20
§ In
the Sunday’s liturgy of the ordinary time the first reading and the Gospel have
the same theme, and usually the second reading has another theme
§ However,
today the second reading has also the theme of wisdom, wisdom as life for those
who welcome Jesus.
§ Paul
invites the community of Ephesus to live wisely, making the most of the present
time.
§ Seeking
to know the will of God
§ Instead of the excesses in eating and
drinking, the author invites the community to prayer, praise, thanksgiving, in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
§ What a wonderful program of life for those who
want to begin anew every day in the following of our God and Lord!
CLARETIAN CORNER (From the documents of the
Founder and the Foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian
Missionary Sisters)
… many parents, from the best considered among the
population for their social situation and
Anthony Mary Claret, Archbishop of Cuba, kneeling
at the feet of Your Holiness, reverently explains: That certain maids who had offered
themselves to the service of God in the
religious life, began their novitiate
in a monastery dedicated to
the education of girls in the city of Tarragona, in Catalonia, they could not profess their solemn
religious vows due to the current political circumstances in the Spanish
Government. Two sisters among
them: Antonia and Florentina had been in
the novitiate of that monastery for ten years, practicing the religious
virtues. By the Divine Providence and
with the approval of Your Holiness, by virtue of the presentation by the Royal
Patronage, I was promoted and consecrated, although being unworthy, to this
Archdiocese. As soon as these novices
knew this, moved by the desire of a greater perfection, they did not hesitate
to leave their motherland, and dedicate themselves to a greater perfection than
that of their monastery. Burning for
love toward their brethren, wishing to take care of the education of the girls
of this new world, who were lacking such remarkable Institute; after having
asked fervently to God, and completely submissive to the opinion of their
spiritual director, who they had humbly consulted; and having examined and meditated such huge enterprise,
they pleaded with me to kindly receive them,
accompanied by other three young women, who, being very much inclined to
the religious state, were moved by similar impulses of charity and wished to
come to these regions (St.
Anthony Mary Claret, from the petition sent to Pope Pius IX)
BIBLIOGRAFIA
BIBLIA, versión de la Conferencia
Episcopal Española, 2010
BIBLE, oficial translation United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops. (website)
CAVINS, Jeff, CHRISTMYER, Sarah & GRAY,
Dr. Tim. Psalms. The School of Prayer, 2009.
CLARET, Anthony
Mary. Letters.
PARIS, María Antonia. Letters.
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