Ordinary Time

Jan 16 2025

Scripture Study for

Malachi denounces the priests of Israel who have not only defiled their office but have also led the people astray with their faulty teaching. The honor given God’s name by the nations is in sharp contrast with the dishonor accorded it by the priests. The command given the priests includes a threat of the punishment that will be exacted if is not followed. The reading does not tell us whether or not the priests took this condemnation to heart. For us it serves as a reminder that privileged positions within the community bring with them serious responsibilities. Failure to fulfill these responsibilities will meet with drastic consequences.

The metaphor of the nursing mother characterizes the deep affection Paul has for his converts. This image also effectively exemplifies apostolic self-giving. Both the mother and the missionary spend themselves with no thought of receiving anything in return other than the satisfaction of having given themselves out of love. Paul and his companions were within their rights to expect hospitality from their converts. However, they chose to forgo this prerogative. Instead, they proclaimed the gospel as they saw fit, asking for nothing in return. The recompense they receive for their ministry is the religious maturity of their converts, and for this they are grateful to God.

Jesus issues a scathing denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. While he recognizes the authenticity of their office, he criticizes them for the obvious disparity between what they teach and how they live. He criticizes their method of interpreting the law and their love of praise. In their zeal to honor the law, they placed heavy burdens on the people, and they did nothing to alleviate their weight. Furthermore, they used outward displays of devotion to garner deferential treatment. Jesus insists that such pomposity has no place among his followers. He warns that those who exalt themselves now will experience ultimate humiliation; those who humble themselves now will enjoy ultimate exaltation.

Jan 16 2025

Living in God

In an article on “successful aging” (New Theology Review, November, 2010), Dr. Lawrence M. Lenoir proposes that the art of giving and receiving love is at the heart of growing old gracefully. Research shows that being in a loving relationship quiets the demons of depression and despair. So, if you want to be healthy, be loving. Jesus would agree.

The rabbis of Jesus’ day argued about which was the greatest commandment of the six hundred thirteen in the Torah. When the Pharisees asked Jesus, he answered that what God wanted most from the chosen people who had been liberated from slavery and called to live in a covenantal relationship was a return of the love God showed to them. This love has two faces: loving God totally and loving one another as one loves oneself.

Loving is a contagious activity. If you are loved, you tend to be loving. Paul is sounding this note when he writes to the Thessalonians about how they became imitators of him and his fellow evangelizers Timothy and Silvanus, and of the Lord himself, receiving the word and living in faith, joy, and love for each other, because they believed in God’s love for them, revealed in Christ.

Our love must flow outward in compassionate generosity. The Lord called on Israel to show its love by not oppressing aliens, not wronging weak orphans and defenseless widows, and not extorting the poor by demanding interest on loans. No less is asked of those who have received the Holy Spirit and live in community with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s us. Love one another.

Consider/Discuss

What do you think God wants most from you?
Does anything prevent you from responding to God’s love with all your heart, soul, and mind?
Who is the neighbor who most needs your love at this time?

Responding to the Word

It is difficult to love, especially when we have been hurt by others. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring you the “fire of God’s love.” Call on the Spirit to deepen your awareness of God’s love for you, shown by giving us life and the gifts of faith, hope, and love.

Jan 16 2025

Scripture Study for

Israel’s law was quite humane. It exhorted the Israelites to be especially attentive to those within their community who were the most vulnerable, defenseless, and disadvantaged. It singled out the alien, the widow, and the orphan, because in a patriarchal society these groups had very little legal recourse. If they were further oppressed and they cried out to God, God would hear their cry just as God had heard the cry of the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt. The law is also concerned with those burdened with financial hardship. Every attempt must be made to ensure that they undergo no added humiliation or distress.

Paul insists that, as important as the transmission of the gospel might be, it is really handed down by the example of lifestyle. He challenges the Christians to follow his example and that of Jesus. He has a particular circumstance in mind when he says this. The Thessalonians were converted in the midst of affliction, and it is within such circumstances that they give witness to others. Those who are faithful amidst the tribulations of this life will be spared the final wrath of God. Paul is not painting a picture of doom; he is giving meaning to the hardships that the Christians are presently enduring.

A Pharisee, a lawyer or expert in the law, asks Jesus to identify which of the six hundred thirteen commandments is the most important, an issue that held con siderable interest at the time. Jesus’ answer is faithful to his own Jewish faith. He endorses the summons that constitutes the Shema, the most significant prayer of the Israelite religion (see Deuteronomy 6:5). He insists that the love of God must occupy one’s entire being and not be simply a superficial allegiance. He then adds a second commandment, which is said to be like the first in importance. From this proclamation flows the responsibility to love God with one’s entire being and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

Jan 16 2025

God’s Currency

In a country that has a strong commitment to separation of church and state, it is noteworthy that our money, both bills and coins, is inscribed with the words “In God We Trust.” The history of this motto and its relation to our currency goes back to the Civil War. Changing it has never gotten much support. It serves as a helpful reminder about where our true security lies.

In the Gospel, the Pharisees, along with some supporters of the Roman regime called Herodians, get into the act of trying to trap Jesus into taking a stand that would get him in trouble with either the Roman authorities or his own people. But Jesus, as much the fox as Herod was reputed to be, slips out of their net by noting that there can be different loyalties without a loss of priorities.

Jesus calls on them to produce the idolatrous coin that no devout Jew should carry, since it declared Caesar to be a god. Then he advises them to return to the emperor the coin that bears his image but to return to God what bears God’s image, that is, themselves, made in the image of God.

A new order is revealed when we give God’s image back to God by our words and deeds, showing God’s image to others. When this happens, the motto “In God We Trust” becomes not merely stamped on paper or branded on copper, but encountered in living flesh and blood.

Consider/Discuss

Do you ever reflect on the words stamped on the money in your pocket?
When have you experienced the tension between “repay[ing] to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”?

Responding to the Word

We pray to recognize what it means to be a good citizen, giving to our country what is needed for the support of the common good. And we pray to discern wisely when loyalty to Christ and the building up of the kingdom of God may call for a response that challenges what civil authorities propose.

Jan 16 2025

Scripture Study for

Cyrus was the Persian ruler who permitted the Israelites to return from captivity in Babylon. He is called God’s anointed, a title ascribed to Israelite kings, and particularly Davidic kings. Cyrus the foreigner is the agent of the release of the Israelites, but their release is for the sake of the enlightenment of the foreign nations. It is not by accident that Cyrus plays this role. God has specially chosen him. This call occurred even though Cyrus did not know the God of Israel. God works through people without their even knowing that it is really God who is directing the events of history.

Paul writes in his own name and in the names of two missionary companions, Silvanus and Timothy. Apparently they were the three men who founded the church in Thessalonica and now they are writing back to their own converts. Paul speaks for all three men when he tells the Thessalonians how grateful the missionaries are for their fidelity to the gospel that was preached to them. The converts are remarkable for their show of faith, love, and hope. Theirs is an active faith, one that produces fruits. Probably the most significant expression of faith is the love that they show to others.

The Pharisees hoped to set a trap to ensnare Jesus. They ask him to interpret a point of law: Should the Jews pay taxes to Rome? If Jesus answers no, he can be accused of political insubordination of the type that might incite others to respond in kind. If he says yes, he will appear to have relinquished Israel’s boast of being a people bound only to God. He says neither yes nor no, but directs them to “give back” or “repay” what is owed to both Caesar and God. Jesus’ response suggests that one can indeed be loyal to both a religious tradition and a secular power. It may be very difficult at times, especially when their claims seem to conflict, but it is possible.