Wednesday

6th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22

The flood subsides
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[6] At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had
made, [7] and sent forth a raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were
dried up from the earth. [8] Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the wa-
ters had subsided from the face of the ground; [9] but the dove found no place to
set her loot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the
face of the whole earth. So he put forth his hand and took her and brought her
into the ark with him. [10] He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth
the dove out of the ark; [11] and the dove came back to him in the evening, and
lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had
subsided from the earth. [12] Then he waited another seven days, and sent forth
the dove; and she did not return to him any more.

[13] In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month,
the waters were dried from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the
ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.

Leaving the ark
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[20] Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of
every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. [21] And when the Lord
smelled the pleasing odour, the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse
the ground because of man, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his
youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. [22]
While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and
winter, day and night, shall not cease."

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Commentary: 

8:6-12. The sending of the raven and the dove shows how anxious and how hope-
ful of salvation those in the Ark are; it also shows Noah’s wisdom and, yet again,
the harmony there should be between man and the animal world for things to go
well. This episode has led to the dove and the olive-branch becoming symbols of
peace and co-operation.

In Christian tradition the dove became a symbol of the Holy Spirit. On the basis
of this image Rupert of Deutz offers a spiritual application of this entire passage: 
"The dove that Noah sent out from the ark means the Holy Spirit, and he sent it
three times because every faithful soul draws from the sacraments of Christ or of
the Church a triple grace of the Holy Spirit. The first grace is remission of sins;
the second, distribution of the various gifts; the third, recompense in the resurrec-
tion of the dead [. . .]. Therefore, the first sending of the dove means the remis-
sion of sins which Christ, the true Noah, sent immediately after his resurrection
when he said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained' (Jn 20:23) [. . .]. After it
was sent the second time, the dove came back in the evening hearing in its beak
a small olive leaf, because the apostles were given the Holy Spirit a second time
on the day of the Pentecost, who at the end of the life of each of them called
them to the rest enjoyed by the heavenly Church with the eternal reward of per-
fect peace. After the dove was sent the third time it did not return, because after
the resurrection of the dead (which will be the third outpouring of the Holy Spirit)
they will not be sent out to return once more, for they will go out not to work but
to reign for ever. So too as regards the elect: this same dove comes to them
three times: first when they are baptized, for the remission of sins; second, to
receive the imposition of hands from the bishops; third (as I have said) in the re-
surrection of the dead" ("Commentarium in Genesim", 4:23).

8:13. The year 'six hundred and one" in the life of Noah.

8:20-22. The sacred writer highlights this first sacrifice that mankind offered
God after emerging from the flood. Here man is acknowledging God, and God
is pleased to accept man’s gesture. God’s contentment (described in very hu-
man terms) is to be seen particularly in his decision not to punish man any
further: man’s very nature (which he gets from Adam) inclines him towards evil,
so in view of his weakness, God undertakes never again to disturb the order of
the cosmos. Rendering God due worship (both interiorly and externally) is a
duty man has by his very nature. Thus, through religious cult and specifically
through some form of sacrifice, man recognizes God as his Creator and Lord,
to whom he owes everything that he is and everything he has, even his own life.
Acknowledging God in this way is a form of prayer, for, as the Catechism of the
Catholic Church says, "prayer is lived in the first place beginning with the reali-
ties of creation. The first nine chapters of Genesis describe this relationship with
God as an offering of the first-born of Abel’s flock, as the invocation of the divine
name at the time of Enoch, and as 'walking with God' (cf. Gen 4:4, 26; 5:24).
Noah’s offering is pleasing to God, who blesses him and through him all crea-
tion (cf. Gen 8:20-9:l7), because his heart was upright and undivided; Noah,
like Enoch before him, 'walks with God' (cf. Gen 6:9). This kind of prayer is lived
by many righteous people in all religions. In his indefectible covenant with every
living creature (cf. Gen 9:8-16), God has always called people to prayer. But it
is above all beginning with our father Abraham that prayer is revealed in the Old
Testament" (no. 2569).

Seen from a Christian perspective, the different kinds of sacrifices mentioned in
the course of Old Testament salvation history point to the perfect and enduring
sacrifice which Christ offered on the cross and which is perpetuated century af-
ter century in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Commenting on the present pas-
sage, St Bede observes: "Just as Abel consecrated the start of the first age of
the world by means of a sacrifice to God, so Noah began the second age"; and
(after recalling the sacrifices offered by Abraham, Melchizedek, and the patri-
archs,kings and priests of the Old Testament) he goes on to say that "All those
sacrifices were figures of our supreme King and true priest who on the altar of
the holy cross offered God the host of his body and his blood" ("Hexaemeron,
2: in Gen 8:21").


(II) 1st Reading: James 1:19-27

Doers of the Word, Not Hearers Only
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[19] Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to
speak, slow to anger, [20] for the anger of man does not work the righteousness
of God. [21] Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

[22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23]
For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who ob-
serves his natural face in a mirror; [24] for he observes himself and goes away
and at once forgets what he was like. [25] But he who looks into the perfect law,
the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that
acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.

[26] If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his heart, this man's religion is vain. [27] Religion that is pure and undefiled be-
fore God and the Father is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction,
and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

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Commentary:

19-27. In the previous verse the sacred writer referred to the effectiveness of "the
word of truth". Now he makes the point that although the Gospel has this effec-
tiveness, it is not enough just to hear it: we need to listen to it with docility (ver-
ses 19-21) and put it into practice (verses 22-27). Further on he will emphasize
this connection between faith and works (cf. 2:14-26).

19-20. These counsels occur frequently in the wisdom books of the Old Testa-
ment (cf., e.g., Proverbs 1:5; 10:19; Sirach 5:12-13; 20:5-8). To put doctrine into
practice one needs to listen to it with a good disposition (verse 21). The letter will
have more to say about prudence in speech (cf. 1:26; and especially 3:1ff).

"The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God": a Hebrew expres-
sion meaning that someone who gives way to anger is not acting justly in God's
eyes.

Anger is one of the "capital" sins (one of the "seven deadly sins"), capital be-
cause they lead to many other sins; anger leads particularly to the evil desire for
vengeance. Speaking of the effects of anger St. Gregory the Great explains that
it clouds one's judgment when making decisions, makes it difficult to get on with
others, causes discord and makes it difficult to see where the truth lies. More-
over, "it deprives one of righteousness, as it is written, 'The anger of man does
not work the righteousness of God' (James 1:20) because when one's mind is
not at peace, one's critical faculty is impaired and one judges to be right what-
ever one's anger suggests" ("Moralia", 5, 45). This sin is avoided by the practice
of the virtue of patience, of which St. James spoke a few verses earlier (cf. 1:2-4;
also 5:7-11).

21. "First he calls", St. Bede comments, "for the cleansing of mind and body from
vice, so that those who receive the word of salvation can live in a worthy manner.
A person who does not first turn his back on evil cannot do good" ("Super Iac. Ex-
positio, ad loc".).

To listen docilely to the word of God one needs to try to keep evil inclinations at
bay. Otherwise, pride--deceiving itself with all sorts of false reasons -- rebels a-
gainst the word of God (which it sees as a continuous reproach for a habit of sin
it is unwilling to give up).

22-25. Sacred Scripture frequently exhorts us to put the word of God into prac-
tice: "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like
a man who built his house upon the sand" (Matthew 7:26; cf., e.g., Ezekiel 33:
10-11; Matthew 12:50; Romans 2:13; James 2:14-26).

The comparison of the man looking into the mirror is a very good one: the word of
God is frustrated unless it leads to examination of conscience and a firm resolu-
tion to mend one's ways. Those who are doers of the word will be "blessed"; our
Lord says the same thing when He describes as blessed those who "hear the
word of God and keep it" (Luke 11:28).

St. James' counsels in this passage are a clear call for the consistency a Chris-
tian must seek at all times. Bl. John Paul II comments: "These are very serious,
very severe statements; a Christian should always be genuine, should never be
content with words alone. The mission he has received is a delicate one: he
should be leaven in society, light of the world, salt of the earth. As time goes by,
the Christian becomes more and more aware of his commitment, and the difficul-
ties it entails: he discovers he has to swim against the tide, he has to bear wit-
ness to truths which are absolute, yet invisible; he has to lose his earthly life in
order to gain eternity; he needs to feel responsible not just for himself but also
for his neighbor -- for whom he should light the way, and edify and save. How-
ever, he realizes that he is not alone in all this [...]. The Christian knows that not
only did Jesus Christ, the Word of God, become man to reveal saving truth and
redeem mankind; He has also chosen to stay with us on earth, mysteriously re-
newing the sacrifice of the Cross by means of the Eucharist and becoming spiri-
tual food for the soul and accompanying it on its journey through life" ("Homily",
1 September 1979).

25. "The perfect law, the law of freedom": that is, the good news brought by
Christ, who has made us children of God (cf. John 1:12; 1 John 3:1ff) and set us
free from every kind of servitude, both that of the Old Law (cf., e.g., Galatians 2:4
and 4:21ff...) and subjection to the devil, to sin and to death.

It can also be regarded as a law of freedom because when man obeys it he is ex-
pressing his freedom to the fullest degree (cf. John 8:31ff), and he is happy in this
life and will be blessed in the next (cf., e.g., Psalm 1:1ff; 119:1ff). Thus, when a
person sins and turns his back on this law, he becomes not a free man but a
slave: "Such a person may show that he has acted according to his preferences,"
St. Escriva explains, "but he does not speak with the voice of true freedom, be-
cause he has become a slave of his decision and he has decided for the worst,
for the absence of God, where there is no freedom to be found.

"I tell you once again: I accept no slavery other than that of God's love. This is be-
cause, as I have told you on other occasions, religion is the greatest rebellion of
men, who refuse to live like animals, who are dissatisfied and restless until they
know their Creator and are on intimate terms with Him. I want you to be rebels,
free and unfettered, because I want you--it is Christ who wants us!--to be children
of God. Slavery or divine sonship, this is the dilemma we face. Children of God or
slaves to pride, to sensuality, to the fretful selfishness which seems to afflict so
many souls" ("Friends of God", 37-38).

26-27. St. James now gives some examples of what doing "the word of truth"
(verse 18), that is, the Gospel, means--controlling one's tongue, being charitable
and not letting oneself be stained by the world.

The Old Testament often refers to widows and orphans as deserving of special at-
tention (cf. Psalm 68:5; 146:9; Deuteronomy 27:19), and the first Christians made
arrangements for the care of widows in the early communities (cf. Acts 6:1ff; 9:39;
1 Timothy 5:3ff). Concern for widows and orphans is included in the works of mer-
cy ("by which the temporal or spiritual wants of our neighbor are relieved" ("St.
Pius X Catechism", 943), which our Lord will take into account at the Last Judg-
ment (cf. Matthew 25:31-46).

"World" here has the pejorative meaning of "enemy of God and of Christians" (cf.
also 4:4; and other passages of Scripture, e.g., John 1:10; 7:7; 16:8-11; Ephe-
sians 2:2; 2 Peter 2:20); one needs to be constantly on the alert to avoid conta-
mination...

"God and the Father": this is the literal meaning of the Greek. In New Testament
Greek the term "God" when preceded by the definite article normally means not
the divine nature but the person of the Father. In this case by adding the words
"and the Father" St. James does not mean another, distinct Divine Person: he is
simply making explicit the meaning of the term "the God". It could also be trans-
lated by the paraphrase "before Him who is God and Father".


Gospel Reading: Mark 8:22-26

The Curing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida
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[22] And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to Him (Jesus) a
blind man, and begged Him to touch him. [23] And He took the blind man by
the hand, and led him out of the village. And when He had spit on his eyes and
laid His hands upon him, He asked, "Do you see anything?" [24] And he looked
up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." [25] Then again He
laid His hands upon his eyes; and He looked intently and was restored, and saw
everything clearly. [26] And He sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even
enter the village."

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Commentary:

22-25. Normally the cures which Jesus worked were instantaneous; not so in
this case. Why? Because the blind man's faith was very weak, it would seem,
to begin with. Before curing the eyes of his body, Jesus wanted the man's faith
to grow; the more it grew and the more trusting the man became, the more sight
Jesus gave him. In this way Jesus acted in keeping with His usual pattern: not
working miracles unless there was a right predisposition, yet encouraging a good
disposition in the person and giving more grace as he responds to the grace al-
ready given.

God's grace is essential even for desiring holy things: "Give us light, Lord. Be-
hold, we need it more than the man who was blind from his birth, for he wished
to see the light and could not, whereas nowadays, Lord, no one wishes to see
it. Oh, what a hopeless ill is this! Here, my God, must be manifested Thy power
and Thy mercy" (St. Teresa, "Exclamations of the Soul to God", 8).
　

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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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