Wednesday
25th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: Ezra 9:5-9
Ezra is pained to find the law ignored
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[5] And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garments and
my mantle rent, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord
my God, [6] saying:
"O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to thee, my God, for our ini-
quities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the
heavens. [7] From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt;
and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand
of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter
shame, as at this day. [8] But now for a brief moment favour has been shown by
the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant, and to give us a secure hold within this
holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our
bondage. [9] For we are bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bon-
dage, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to
grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to
give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.
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Commentary:
9:1-15. Ezra is deeply distressed to find that the people of God have intermarried
with the local inhabitants, who do not belong to the people of God (the Law for-
bade such marriages: cf. Deut 7:3-4); Ezra acknowledges this sin and does
penance for it.
(II) 1st Reading: Proverbs 30:5-9
The Words of Agur
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[5] Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
[6] Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you, and you he found a liar.
[7] Two things I ask of thee;
deny them not to me before I die:
[8] Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
[9] lest I be full, and deny thee,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.
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Commentary:
30:1-14. “The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa” is translated in the Vulgate
as “The words of Gatherer the son of Vomiter”, a reference, seemingly, to Solo-
mon. St Bede comments: “Immediately afterwards come some words of Solo-
mon, spoken by him in a different way. Perhaps because it is called ‘Ecclesias-
tes’ in Greek, the name in Latin is ‘He who gathers together’’’ (In proverbial Salo-
monis, 30, 1). Verses 2-6 are reminiscent of the style and theme of the book of
Job (cf. Job 17:6; 24:25), and after them comes a prayer (vv. 7-9) and some
counsels (vv. 10-14). On Massa, see the note on 31:1-9.
30:8-9. “Feed me with the bread that is needful to me’’ (v. 8). To have the neces-
sary space to develop a relationship with God and cope with the ordinary affairs
of life, a person needs a basic level of subsistence. Lack of the necessaries of
life, and having too much of the good things -- both situations are an obstacle to
serving God and other people (cf. v. 9). Our Lord taught us to ask in the Our
Father, “Give us this day our daily bread’’ (cf. Mt 6:11; Lk 11:3). The Roman
Catechism sees these words as including ‘‘the idea of a frugal and temperate life,
for we should seek only what is needed to meet our natural requirements and not
demand many, rich delicacies, […] In the same way, it says ‘daily bread’, for we
eat it to recover our strength and the energy that we use up every day. […] We
should often ask to be constant in our love and adoration of God, and to be wholly
convinced of the truth that our Iife and health depends on God’’ (4, 13, 13). The
opposite would be the attitude of the rich person who draws comfort from the fact
that he has wealth, yet it prevents him from seeking God and being concerned
about his neighbour. This teaching can be seen, too, in the parable of Lazarus
and the rich man (Lk 16:19-31).
Gospel Reading: Luke 9:1-6
The Mission of the Apostles
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[1] And He (Jesus) called the Twelve together and gave them power and autho-
rity over all demons and to cure diseases, [2] and He sent them out to preach
the Kingdom of God and to heal. [3] And He said to them, "Take nothing for your
journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. [4]
And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. [5] And wher-
ever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from
your feet as a testimony against them." [6] And they departed and went through
the villages, preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere.
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Commentary:
1-4. This is the first mission the Apostles were sent on. Jesus wants them to
gain experience which will stand to them in the mission they will have after He
ascends into Heaven. He charges them to do what He Himself did--preach the
Kingdom of God and heal the sick. This scene is commented on at greater
length in notes on Matthew 10:7-8; 10:9-10; and Mark 6:8-9.
[Notes on Matthew 10:7-8 states:
7-8. Previously, the prophets, when speaking of the messianic times, had used
imagery suited to the people's spiritual immaturity. Now, Jesus, in sending His
Apostles to proclaim that the promised Kingdom of God is imminent, lays stress
on its spiritual dimension. The power mentioned in verse 8 are the very sign of
the Kingdom of God or the reign of the Messiah proclaimed by the prophets. At
first (chapters 8 and 9) it is Jesus who exercises these messianic powers; now
He gives them to His disciples as proof that His mission is divine (Isaiah 35:5-6;
40:9; 52:7; 61:1).]
[Notes on Matthew 10:9-10 states:
9-10. Jesus urges His disciples to set out on their mission without delay. They
should not be worried about material or human equipment: God will make up any
shortfall. This holy audacity in setting about God's work is to be found throughout
the history of the Church: if Christians had bided their time, waiting until they had
the necessary material resources, many, many souls would never have received
the light of Christ. Once a Christian is clear in his mind about what God wants
him to do, he should not stay at home checking to see if he has the wherewithal
to do it. "In your apostolic undertakings you are right--it's your duty--to consider
what means the world can offer you (2 + 2 = 4), but don't forget--ever!--that, fortu-
nately, your calculations must include another term: God + 2 + 2 ..." (St. J.
Escriva, "The Way", 471).
However, that being said, we should not try to force God's hand, to have Him do
something exceptional, when in fact we can meet needs by our own efforts and
work. This means that Christians should generously support those who, be-
cause they are totally dedicated to the spiritual welfare of their brethren, have no
time left over to provide for themselves: in this connection see Jesus' promise in
Matthew 10:40-42.]
[Notes on Mark 6:8-9 states:
8-9. Jesus requires them to be free of any form of attachment if they are to
preach the Gospel. A disciple, who has the mission of bringing the Kingdom
of God to souls through preaching, should not rely on human resources but on
God's Providence. Whatever he does need in order to live with dignity as a herald
of the Gospel, he must obtain from those who benefit from his preaching, for the
laborer deserves his maintenance (cf. Matthew 10:10).
"The preacher should so trust in God that he is convinced that he will have every-
thing he needs to support life, even if he cannot himself obtain it; for he should
not neglect eternal things through worrying about temporal things" (St. Bede,
"In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc."). "By these instructions the Lord did not
mean that the evangelists should not seek to live in any other way than by de-
pending on what was offered them by those to whom they preached the Gospel;
otherwise this very Apostle [St. Paul] would have acted contrary to this precept
when he earned his living by the labor of his own hands" (St. Augustine, "De
Consensu Evangelistarum", II, 30).]
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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.
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