February 27, 2014

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jas 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 49:14-15ab, 15cd-16, 17-18, 19-20

R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
This is the way of those whose trust is folly,
the end of those contented with their lot:
Like sheep they are herded into the nether world;
death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Quickly their form is consumed;
the nether world is their palace.
But God will redeem me
from the power of the nether world by receiving me.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Fear not when a man grows rich,
when the wealth of his house becomes great,
For when he dies, he shall take none of it;
his wealth shall not follow him down.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Though in his lifetime he counted himself blessed,
“They will praise you for doing well for yourself,”
He shall join the circle of his forebears
who shall never more see light.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Gospel Mk 9:41-50

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”

From: James 5:1-6

A Warning for the Rich

[1] Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon
you. [2] Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. [3] Your gold
and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat
your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures for the last days. [4] Behold, the
wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry
out and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
[5] You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your
hearts in a day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned, you have killed the
righteous man; he does not resist you.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-6. With exceptional severity and energy the sacred writer again (cf. 2:5-7) criti-
cizes the sins of the well-to-do. In tones reminiscent of the Prophets (cf., e.g., Is
3:13-26; Amos 6:1ff; Mic 2:1ff), he reproves their pride, vanity and greed (vv. 2-3)
and their pleasure-seeking (v. 5), warning them that the judgment of God is near
at hand (vv. 3, 5). The opening exhortation—”weep and howl”—is a very forceful
call to repentance.

The Church has constantly taught that we have a duty to do away with unjust in-
equalities among men, which are frequently denounced in Scripture. The Second
Vatican Council made an urgent call for a more just, fraternal society, a call for so-
lidarity: “To fulfill the requirements of justice and equity, every effort must be made
to put an end as soon as possible to the immense economic inequalities which
exist in the world and increase from day to day, linked with individual and social
discrimination, provided, of course, that the rights of individuals and the character
of each people are not disturbed” (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 66).

People who are well-to-do should use their resources in the service of others.
In this connection, the Church teaches that “they have a moral obligation not to
keep capital unproductive and in making investments to think first of the common
good. [...] The right to private property is inconceivable without responsibilities to
the common good. It is subordinated to the higher principle which states that
goods are meant for all” (SCDF, “Libertatis Conscientia”, 87).

2-3. Greed, an inordinate desire for material things, is one of the seven deadly
sins. An avaricious person offends against justice and charity and becomes in-
sensitive to the needs of his neighbor, so keen is he on his self-aggrandizement.
“If you are inclined to avarice,” say St Francis de Sales, “think of its folly: it makes
us slaves to that which was intended to serve us. Remember how we must leave
everything when we die; perhaps those who get our wealth then will only squan-
der it, and even to their ruin” (”Introduction to the Devout Life”, 4, 10).

Our Lord also speaks about the moth and the rust which consume earthly trea-
sures, and tells us that the true treasure is good works and upright actions,
which will earn us an everlasting reward from God in heaven (cf. Mt 6:19-21).

“You have laid up treasure for the last days”: a reference to the Day of Judgment,
as in v. 5: “you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter” (cf. e.g., Is 34:6;
Jer 12:3; 25:34). It can also be translated as “you have laid up treasure in the last
days”, which would be a reference to the present time, which (ever since the co-
ming of the Messiah) is seen as in fact the last days, the beginning of the escha-
tological era. The two renderings are compatible because they both have refe-
rence to the Judgment.

4. Cheating workers of their earnings was already condemned in the Old Testa-
ment (cf., e.g., Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14-15; Mal 3:5). It is one of the sins which
“cries out to heaven” for immediate, exemplary punishment; the same applies to
murder (cf. Gen 4:10), sodomy (Gen 18:20-21) and oppression of widows and
orphans (Ex 22:22-24).

The Church has often reminded the faithful about the duty to pay fair wages: “re-
muneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified
livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual
level to correspond to the role and the productivity of each, the relevant economic
factors in his employment, and the common good” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et
Spes”, 67).

“The Lord of hosts”: a common Old Testament description of God, manifesting
his omnipotence, as Creator and Lord of the whole universe; it is used to acclaim
God in the Sanctus of the Mass: “Lord God of power and might” (”Dominus Deus
Sabaoth”).

5. This description of the lifestyle of these rich people (vv. 2, 3, 5) recalls the pa-
rable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16: 19ff). Those who live in this way do
well to listen to the Master’s warning: “Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts
be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and
that day come upon you suddenly like a snare” (Lk 21:34).

Against the hedonism condemned by the sacred writer, Christians should be
conscious of the duty to promote a just society: “Christians engaged actively in
modern economic and social progress and in the struggle for justice and charity
must be convinced that they have much to contribute to the prosperity of man-
kind and to world peace. Let them, as individuals and as group members, give a
shining example to others. Endowed with the skill and experience so absolutely
necessary for them, let them preserve a proper sense of values in their earthly
activity in loyalty to Christ and his Gospel, in order that their lives, individual as
well as social, may be inspired by the spirit of the Beatitudes, and in particular
by the spirit of poverty.

“Anyone who in obedience to Christ seeks first the kingdom of God will derive
from it a stronger and purer love for helping all his brethren and for accompli-
shing the task of justice under the inspiration of charity” (”Gaudium Et Spes”,
72).

6. “The righteous man”: according to St Bede (cf. “Super Iac. Expositio, ad loc.”),
this refers to our Lord, who is just “par excellence” and is described as such in
other passages of Scripture (cf., e.g., Acts 3:14; 7:52). This interpretation is quite
appropriate, given the fact that in the needy we should see Jesus Christ himself
(cf. Mt 25:31-45); they often suffer at the hands of those who refuse to recognize
even their most elementary rights: “The bread of the needy is the life of the poor,
whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood. To take away a neighbor’s living
is to murder him; to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood” (Sir 34:
21-22).

“Every man has the right to possess a sufficient amount of the earth’s goods for
himself and his family. This has been the opinion of the Fathers and Doctors of
the Church, who taught that men are bound to come to the aid of the poor and
to do so not merely out of their superfluous goods [...] Faced with a world today
where so many people are suffering from want, the Council asks individuals and
governments to remember the saying of the Fathers: ‘Feed the man dying of hun-
ger, because if you do not feed him you are killing him!’ and it urges them accor-
ding to their ability to share and dispose of their goods to help others, above all
by giving them aid which will enable them to help and develop them selves’
(”Gaudium Et Spes”, 69).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

From: Mark 9:41-50

Scandal

[41] “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because
you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his reward.

[42] “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would
be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were
thrown into the sea. [43] And if your hand causes you to sin cut it off; it is better
for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquencha-
ble fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to en-
ter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye causes
you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] where their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched. [49] For every one will be salted with fire. [50] Salt
is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in
yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

41. The value and merit of good works lies mainly in the love of God with which
they are done: “A little act, done for love, is worth so much” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 814). God regards in a special way acts of service to others, however small
“Do you see that glass of water or that piece of bread which a holy soul gives to
a poor person for God’s sake; it is a small matter, God knows, and in human judg-
ment hardly worthy of consideration: God, notwithstanding, recompenses it, and
forthwith gives for it some increase of charity” (St Francis de Sales, “Treatise on
the Love of God”, book 2, chap. 2).

42. “Scandal is anything said, done or omitted which leads another to commit sin”
(”St Pius X Catechism”, 417). Scandal is called, and is, diabolical when the aim of
the scandal-giver is to provoke his neighbor to sin, understanding sin as offense
against God. Since sin is the greatest of all evils, it is easy to understand why
scandal is so serious and, therefore, why Christ condemns it so roundly. Causing
scandal to children is especially serious, because they are so less able to defend
themselves against evil. What Christ says applies to everyone, but especially to
parents and teachers, who are responsible before God for the souls of the young.

43. “Hell”, literally “Gehenna” or “Ge-hinnom”, was a little valley south of Jerusa-
lem, outside the walls and below the city. For centuries it was used as the city
dump. Usually garbage was burned to avoid it being a focus of infection. Gehen-
na was, proverbially, an unclean and unhealthy place: our Lord used this to ex-
plain in a graphic way the unquenchable fire of hell.

43-48. After teaching the obligation everyone has to avoid giving scandal to o-
thers, Jesus now gives the basis of Christian moral teaching on the subject of “oc-
casions of sin” — situations liable to lead to sin. He is very explicit: a person is ob-
liged to avoid proximate occasions of sin, just as he is obliged to avoid sin itself;
as God already put it in the Old Testament: “Whoever lives in danger will perish by
it” (Sir 3: 26-27). The eternal good of our soul is more important than any temporal
good. Therefore, anything that places us in proximate danger of committing sin
should be cut off and thrown away. By putting things in this way our Lord makes
sure we recognize the seriousness of this obligation.

The Fathers see, in these references to hands and eyes and so forth, people who
are persistent in evil and ever-ready to entice others to evil behavior and erro-
neous beliefs. These are the people we should distance ourselves from, so as to
enter life, rather than accompany them to hell (St Augustine, “De Consensu Evan-
gelistarum”, IV, 16; St John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St Matthew”, 60).

44. “Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched”: these words
constituting v. 44 are not in the better manuscripts. They are taken from Isaiah 66:
24 and are repeated as a kind of refrain in vv. 46 (omitted for the same reason as
v. 44) and 48. Our Lord uses them to refer to the torments of hell. Often “the worm
that does not die” is explained as the eternal remorse felt by those in hell; and the
“fire which is not quenched,” as their physical pain. The Fathers also say that both
things may possibly refer to physical torments. In any case, the punishment in
question is terrible and unending.

49-50. “Every one will be salted with fire.” St Bede comments on these words:
“Everyone will be salted with fire, says Jesus, because spiritual wisdom must pu-
rify all the elect of any kind of corruption through carnal desire. Or he may be
speaking of the fire of tribulation, which exercises the patience of the faithful to
enable them to reach perfection” (St Bede, “In Marci Evangelium expositio, in
loc.”).

Some codices add: “and every sacrifice will be salted with salt”. This phrase in
Leviticus (2:12), prescribed that all sacrificial offerings should be seasoned with
salt to prevent corruption. This prescription of the Old Testament is used here to
teach Christians to offer themselves as pleasing victims, impregnated with the
spirit of the Gospel, symbolized by salt. Our Lord’s address, which arises out of
a dispute over who is the greatest, ends with a lesson about fraternal peace and
charity. On salt which has lost its taste cf. note on Mt 5:13.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

James 5:1-6 ©

An answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths. All your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your body. It was a burning fire that you stored up as your treasure for the last days. Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated them – listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realise that the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered you no resistance.

Psalm

Psalm 48:14-20 ©