Thursday
20th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: Judges 11:29-39a
Jephthah's rash vow
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[29] Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through
Gilead and Manasseh, and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah
of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. [30] And Jephthah made a vow to
the Lord, and said, "If thou wilt give the Ammonites into my hand, [31] then
whoever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return
victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord's, and I will offer him up for
a burnt offering.”
Jephthath's victory over the Ammonites
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[32] So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the
Lord gave them into his hand. [33] And he smote them from Aroer to the neigh-
borhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a very great
slaughter. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.
In fulfillment of his vow, Jephthah sacrifices his daughter
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[34] Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and behold, his daughter
came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; she was his only child;
beside her he had neither son nor daughter. [35] And when he saw her, he rent
his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and
you have become the cause of great trouble to me; for have opened by mouth
to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” [36] And she said to him, "My fa-
ther, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has
gone forth from your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies,
on the Ammonites.” [37] And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for
me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains, and
bewail my virginity, I and my companions.” [38] And he said, "Go.” And he sent
her away for two months; and she departed, she and her companions, and be-
wailed her virginity upon the mountains. [39] And at the end of two months, she
returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had made.
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Commentary:
11:29-40. The Bible contains clear laws which, in addition to forbidding the kil-
ling of an innocent person (Ex 23:7), regard human sacrifice as a very grave sin,
a crime and a form of idolatry (cf. Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:10; Mic 6:7).
Human sacrifice was common among Israel's neighbours, as can be seen from
Ugarit and Phoenician texts and from the book of Kings (2 Kings 3:27) which
reports the sacrificing of the first-born son of Mesha, king of Moah; there even
seems to have been an instance of it in Israel (cf. 2 Kings 16:3). But in all cases
it is condemned. However, the sacrificing of Jephthah's daughter is reported with-
out any clear negative criticism and the event was commemorated year by year
(v. 40). The episode certainly is disconcerting, but it may be that the author (wri-
ting at a time when no one was in any doubt about human sacrifice being an abo-
mination) chose to respect the traditions that had come down, cruel and harsh
though they were, in order to convey a lesson about the sacredness of vows and
promises. Vows are such holy things that they should always be kept. But, for
that very reason, they should not be made rashly. This teaching is repeated else-
where in the Bible in reaction to abuses involved in the fulfillment of vows, espe-
cially by those who made them hurriedly and then went back on them (cf. Num
30:3; Deut 23: 22-24; Eccles 5:3-4; cf. also Lev 27:1ff).
When revelation reaches its fullness, the doctrine on vows and promises made
to God becomes quite clear: a person may, out of devotion, promise God that he
will perform some act – say some prayer, give alms or do some other good work.
Keeping this promise is a sign of respect for God's majesty and of love towards
a faithful God. Sometimes, that promise may take the form of a vow, that is, of
"a deliberate and free promise made to God, concerning some good which is pos-
sible and better” (Code of Canon Law, c. 1191, 1) which "is an act of devotion in
which the Christain dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2102). If having made a promise or vow, one
realizes that one has promised something wrong, one clearly should not keep
the promise: to do so would not be proof of fidelity to God; it would be sacrile-
gious. Therefore, Jephthah's action cannot be justified.
11:37. Jephthah's daughter asks him to delay carryout out his vow so that she
can "bewail her virginity”, that is, lament that fact that she will die before marrying
or conceiving a child. These were ambitions of every Israelite woman and not to
have achieved them would have been a reason for feeling ashamed and sorrow-
ful.
(II) 1st Reading: Ezekiel 36:23-28
Restoration; return from exile
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[23] And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned
among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations
will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my
holiness before their eyes. [24] For I will take you from the nations, and gather
you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.
Inner renewal
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[25] I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your un-
cleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. [26] A new heart I will
give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the
heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordi-
nances. [28] You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you
shall be my people, and I will be your God.
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Commentary:
36:16-39:29. In this second last section of the book, the prophet uses a series
of metaphors to paint the scene of a restored Israel. The oracles have an escha-
tological dimension to them, particularly the latter ones (38:1-39:29).
Overall, what we are given here is a song celebrating hope; nothing is impossible
to the Lord: he is able to renew Israel (36:16-38), by giving her a new heart and
a new spirit (v. 25); he can make the people come back to life (37:1-14); and the
unity between this new people and their Lord will he almost like the way things
were in Eden (37:15-28) -- so wonderful that it will astonish the nations (37:28).
The final oracles (38:1-39:29) are a dramatic climax that convey an idea of the
vicissitudes of the chosen people up to when their fortunes will be permanently
restored. The empires seem to be those determining the course of events, but
that is not the case: the Lord is always in control and, when the end comes, his
victory will be so amazing that not only Israel but all other nations, too, will know
that he truly is the Lord.
36:16-38. In these oracles, which continue the proclamation of Israel’s restoration
-purification, we can see the core of Ezekiel’s teaching, namely, that the Lord,
who is above all things, is the one who determines the election, punishment and
restoration of his people. People have an obligation to accept the gifts that God
offers; they must acknowledge that the Lord is sovereign and free, and render him
due worship. This teaching can be seen in the announcement about restoration
and a return to the promised land (vv. 16—24) and in the Lord’s promise of inner
renewal (vv. 25-38).
“They defiled it by their ways” (v. 17): the people’s straying, their sins, defiled
the promised land, the most precious of all the gifts God had given them. As
Ezekiel explains it, their exile was a necessary punishment (v. 19), but it is also
a condition for restoring to the land its lost honour.
“The holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations”
(v. 22): when the pagan nations saw the Israelites being deported, they thought
that the God of Israel had been defeated or, at least, that he had failed to protect
his people. In this sense the exile caused the name of the Lord to he profaned
among the nations. The return of the people to the promised land was a neces-
sary part of their deliverance (v. 24). but it was also needed to vindicate the
name of the Lord (v. 22). This “theology” of the Name of God carries over into
the New Testament, where we find it as a petition in the Our Father (cf. Mt 6:9;
Lk 11:2, and from there it becomes part of the whole Christian tradition. The
Catechism of the Council of Trent has this to say about these verses of Ezekiel:
“Many people judge the truth of religion and of its Author by the deeds and lives
of Christians. Those who truly profess their faith and put it into practice in their
lives carry out the most valuable apostolate, provoking in others the desire to
glorify the name of the heavenly Father” (Roman Catechism, 4, 10, 9).
“You shall be clean[sed]” (v. 25): Ezekiel views the renewal of Israel from the
perspective of divine worship -- sprinkling with water and other purification rites
being a sign of inner change. This passage can be read as an announcement
of the effects of Baptism: “Baptism, by the power of God, remits and pardons
all sin -- the original sin that we inherited from our first parents, and all our per-
onal sins, no matter how grave and terrible they may seem to us, no matter
how grave and terrible they were. This truth was foretold long ago by the pro-
phet Ezekiel, through whom the Lord God spoke: I will sprinkle clean water
upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses (Ezek 36:25)”
(ibid., 2, 2, 42).
“A new heart” and “a new spirit” (v. 26): renewal affects a person’s disposition
(heart) and motivation (spirit). The Israelites will have a completely new life-force:
as a result, their conduct will be perfect (v. 27), the Covenant will never again be
broken (v. 28), and the land, also cleansed of defilement, will he abundant in the
fruit it yields (v. 30).
God’s patent initiative in repatriating and renewing Israel is a proof of his disinter-
ested love for his people. Jesus makes this very clear, for example, in his dis-
course on the bread of life: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent
me draws him” (Jn 6:44). “Our salvation flows from God’s initiative of love for us,
because ‘he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins’ (Jn 4:10)’’
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 620).
Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Marriage Feast
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[1] And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, [2] "The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, [3]
and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but
they would not come. [4] Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who
are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves
are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' [5] But they
made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, [6] while
the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. [7] The
king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and
burned their city. [8] Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready, but
those invited were not worthy. [9] Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite
to the marriage feast as many as you find.' [10] And those servants went out
into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the
wedding hall was filled with guests.
[11] "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who
had no wedding garment; [12] and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in
here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. [13] Then the king
said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer dark-
ness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' [14] For many are called, but
few are chosen."
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Commentary:
1-14. In this parable Jesus reveals how intensely God the Father desires the
salvation of all men--the banquet is the Kingdom of heaven --and the mysterious
malice that lies in willingly rejecting the invitation to attend, a malice so vicious
that it merits eternal punishment. No human arguments make any sense that go
against God's call to conversion and acceptance of faith and its consequences.
The Fathers see in the first invitees the Jewish people: in salvation history God
addresses himself first to the Israelites and then to all the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).
Indifference and hostility cause the Israelites to reject God's loving call and there-
fore to suffer condemnation. But the Gentiles also need to respond faithfully to
the call they have received; otherwise they will suffer the fate of being cast "into
outer darkness".
"The marriage", says St Gregory the Great ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 36) "is the
wedding of Christ and his Church, and the garment is the virtue of charity: a per-
son who goes into the feast without a wedding garment is someone who believes
in the Church but does not have charity."
The wedding garment signifies the dispositions a person needs for entering the
Kingdom of heaven. Even though he belongs to the Church, if he does not have
these dispositions he will be condemned on the day when God judges all man-
kind. These dispositions essentially mean responding to grace.
13. The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the doctrine of the "last things",
one aspect of which is covered in this verse. Referring to the eschatological di-
mension of the Church, the Council recalls our Lord's warning about being on
the watch against the wiles of the devil, in order to resist in the evil day (cf. Eph
6:13). "Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice
of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly
life is completed (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage
feast and be numbered among the blessed (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and not, like the
wicked and slothful servants (cf. Mt 25:26), be ordered to depart into the eternal
fire (cf. Mt 25:41), into the outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their
teeth'" ("Lumen Gentium", 48).
14. These words in no way conflict with God's will that all should be saved (cf. 1
Tim 2:4). In his love for men, Christ patiently seeks the conversion of every single
soul, going as far as to die on the cross (cf. Mt 23:37; Lk 15:4-7). St Paul teaches
this when he says that Christ loved us and "gave himself up for us, a fragrant offe-
ring and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:2). Each of us can assert with the Apostle that
Christ "loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). However, God in his infinite
wisdom respects man's freedom: man is free to reject grace (cf. Mt 7:13-14).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].