Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 2 Pt 3:12-15a, 17-18

Beloved:
Wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation.

Therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned,
be on your guard not to be led into the error of the unprincipled
and to fall from your own stability.
But grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
To him be glory now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Responsorial 90:2, 3-4, 10, 14 and 16

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong,
And most of them are fruitless toil,
for they pass quickly and we drift away.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Alleluia Ephesians 1:17-18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to his call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 12:13-17

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
“Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them,
“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
They were utterly amazed at him.

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, please go here.

From: 2 Peter 3:8-15a, 17-18

True Teaching

[8] But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.

Moral Lessons to be Drawn

[11] Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness awaiting
for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! [13] But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

[14] Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. [15a] And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation.

[17] You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability. [18] But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

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Commentary:

8. This passage from v. 4 of Psalm 90 was often cited by Jewish rabbis in their calculations about how long the messianic times would last and when the end of the world would be; later on, millenarists would use it as a basis for their far-fetched theories about Christ and his saints bearing temporal rule for a thousand years over an earthly kingdom prior to the End. The author of the letter cites the psalm as an authority for the view that time is a function of Creation and has no connection with the eternity of God: the fact that the Parousia has not happened is no reason to deny that it will happen.

9-10. In this passage we are reminded that God, in his great mercy, does not seek our condemnation but, rather, wants all men to be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4; Rom 11:22) and shows wonderful patience towards them. The fact that the Parousia has not yet come about is quite compatible with the certainty that it will happen, and happen all of a sudden; therefore, far from being an excuse for making Christian life less demanding, the Parousia is a spur to stay vigilant (the Master himself used the simile of the thief: cf. Mt 24:43 44; Lk 12:39). “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)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 48).

“The earth and the works that are upon it”: there are so many variants in the Greek manuscripts that it is almost impossible to reconstruct the original text: but they all convey the idea that the earth will be affected by this universal cataclysm.

11-16. The writer now follows up these considerations with a moral exhortation, based on the conviction that the old world will disappear (v. 12) producing new heavens and a new earth (v. 13), and that men living in the period prior to this cataclysm will not know when it is going to happen (v. 15).

All this should not make Christians afraid; in fact, it should bolster their hope (vv. 12-14). God will keep his promise to grant heaven to those who persevere in good; but this hope of future reward should not lead one to neglect temporal affairs: “Far from diminishing our concern to develop the earth, the expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 39).

Hope opens the way to upright conduct (v. 11) of an even higher standard (v. 14). Christians should realize that they have a pressing
duty to grow in virtue as long as they live in this world (v. 15): “God may have given us just one more year in which to serve him. Don’t think of five, or even two. Just concentrate on this one year, that has just started. Give it to God, don’t bury it! This is the resolution we ought to make” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 47).

The practice of virtue leads to holiness and enduring union with God (v. 14; cf. 1 Thess 3:13). “’While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord’ (2 Cor 5:6) and, although we have the first fruits of the Spirit, we groan inwardly (cf. Rom 8:23) in our anxiety to be with Christ (cf. Phil 1:23). The same love urges us to live more for Him who died for us and who rose again (cf. 2 Cor 5:15). We make it our aim, then, to please the Lord in all things (cf. 2 Cor 5:9) and we put on the armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and resist the evil day (cf. Eph 6: 13)” (”Lumen Gentium”, 48).

12. “Waiting for and hastening”: these two verbs convey the idea that Christian hope is something dynamic; it is in no way passive. Contrary to a view quite widespread among the Jews of the time, it does not mean that the Parousia will come sooner, the more meritorious men are; what it means is that the more closely united to Christ they are, the nearer they are to his glory. Therefore, it is urgent that all should embrace faith in Christ. We who have this faith pray in the Our Father, “Thy kingdom come.” The first Christians made the same petition in their ejaculatory prayer, “Marana tha”, “Come, Lord” (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20), referring to the second coming of the Lord.

“The day of God”: the usual expression in the New Testament is “the day of the Lord” (1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:2; 2 Pet 3:10); both expressions refer to the point at which Christ will come to judge the living and the dead.

13. “New heavens and a new earth”: one of things promised for the End is that creation will be renewed, re-fashioned: the prophets proclaimed this (cf. Is 65:17), and the New Testament speaks of drinking new wine at the heavenly banquet (cf. Mt 14:25), being given a new name (cf. Rev 2:17), singing a new song (cf. Rev 5:9), living in a new Jerusalem (Rev 21:3). All this imagery conveys the idea that the whole universe will be transformed, man included (cf. Rom 8:19-22). “We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man (cf. Acts 1:7) nor the way the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distorted by sin, is passing away (cf. 1 Cor 7:31), and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells (cf. 2 Cor 5:2; 2 Pet 3:13), whose happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men” (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 39).

15-16. The reference to the writing of St Paul is clear evidence of the fact that from the very beginning of Christianity unity in faith was considered essential. It is difficult to say whether the sacred writer is thinking of some specific passage, for themes and even wording found in this letter are to be found in many Pauline letters—for example, on the subject of God’s forbearance in waiting for men to mend their ways (cf. Rom 2:4-11; 1 Tim 1:16); or that of holiness as the Christian goal (cf. 1 Col 1:7-8; Col 1:21-22; Eph 1:5-14).

[The “wisdom” of St Paul may be a reference to the special endowments the Apostle had for the spread of the Gospel; or it may refer to the charism of divine inspiration, thereby acknowledging that the Letters of St Paul are sacred scripture, because it would mean putting them on the level of the other sacred books (v. 16).

“Some things...difficult to understand”: he does not mention any specific subject; the point he is making is that the false teachers can do damage if they base their errors on arbitrary misinterpretations of Pauline texts. In his time St Augustine warned about the fact that “the heresies and perverse dogmas which entrap souls and hurl them into the abyss originate simply in a bad understanding of good
scriptures, and the rashness and audacity with which people put forward their misinterpretations” (”In Ioann. Evang.”, 18, 1).

That is why the Church, while at the same time giving people every encouragement to read Sacred Scripture, has established precise rules to avoid erroneous interpretations and to obtain the maximum possible fruit from assiduous reading. “it is for the bishops. ‘with whom the apostolic doctrine resides’ [St lrenaeus) suitably to instruct the faithful entrusted to them in the correct use of the divine
books, especially of the New Testament, and in particular of the Gospels. They do this by giving them translations of the sacred texts which are equipped with necessary and really adequate explanations. Thus the children of the Church can familiarize themselves safely and profitably with the Sacred Scriptures, and become steeped in their spirit” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 25).]

17-18. The letter ends with a very succinct summary of some of its main points— pastoral concern, ways to defend oneself against false teachers, and faith in the divinity of Christ.

“Beloved”: the faithful are referred to in this solicitous way elsewhere in the letter (3:1, 8, 14). The warnings and threats made by the sacred writer are born of his pastoral zeal to establish them in the truth (1:12) and remind them what the true teaching is (3:1).

When he encourages them not to lose their “own strength”, he is reminding them that firmness in the faith is an essential weapon for protecting themselves against deceitful teachers who are causing their faith and morals to waver (cf. 2; 3:16). Understanding and love should be shown towards those who are in error, but this should not “make us indifferent to truth and goodness. Love, in fact, impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all men the truth which saves (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 28).

“To him be the glory”: most of the doxologies which appear in the New Testament are in praise of God the Father (cf. Jude 25; Rom 16:27); this one addressed to Christ, whose divinity, as in other passages of the epistle, is openly confessed, He has the same glory as the Father: the doxology is not simply expressing a desire but stating a fact. The eternal love of Jesus Christ is the basis of the
Christian’s hope. “While she slowly grows to maturity, the Church longs for the completed Kingdom and, with all her strength, hopes and desires, to be united in glory with her King” (”Lumen Gentium”, 5).

From: Mark 12:1-17

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

[1] And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. [2] When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. [3] And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. [4] Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. [5]And he sent another, and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed. [6] He had still one other, a beloved son; finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ [7] But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ [8] And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. [9] What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others. [10] Have you not read the scripture: ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; [11] this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” [12] And they tried to arrest him but feared the multitude, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them; so they left him and went away.

On tribute to Caesar

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Hero’di-ans, to entrap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at him.

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Commentary:

1-12. This parable is a masterly summary of history of salvation. To explain the mystery of his redemptive death, Jesus makes use of one of the most beautiful allegories of the Old Testament the so-called “song of the vineyard,” in which Isaiah (5:1-7) prophesied Israel’s ingratitude for God’s favors. On the basis of this Isaiah text, Jesus reveals the patience of God, who sends one messenger after another—the prophets of the Old Testament—until at last, as the text says, he sends “his beloved son”, Jesus, whom the tenants will kill. This expression, as also that which God himself uses to describe Christ at Baptism (1:11) and the Transfiguration (9:7), points to the divinity of Jesus, who is the cornerstone of salvation, rejected by the builders in their selfishness and pride. To the Jews listening to Jesus telling this parable, his meaning must have been crystal clear. The rulers “perceived that he had told the parable against them” (v. 12) and that it was about the fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy (cf. note on Mt 21:33-46).

13-17. See commentary.

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From: Mark 12:18-27

The Resurrection of the Dead

[18] And Sadducees came to Him (Jesus), who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked Him a question, saying [19] “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother. [20] There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children; [21] and the second took her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; [22] and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died. [23] In the
resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

[24] Jesus said to them, “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? [25] For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in Heaven. [26] And as for being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [27] He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”

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Commentary:

18-27. Before answering the difficulty proposed by the Sadducees, Jesus wants to identify the source of the problem—man’s tendency to confine the greatness of God inside a human framework through excessive reliance on reason, not giving due weight to divine Revelation and the power of God. A person can have difficulty with the truths of faith; this is not surprising, for these truths are above human reason. But it is ridiculous to try to find contradictions in the revealed word of God; this only leads away from any solution of difficulty and may make it impossible to find one’s way back to God. We need to approach Sacred Scripture, and, in general, the things of God, with the humility which faith demands. In the passage about the burning bush, which Jesus quotes to the Sadducees, God says this to Moses: “Put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18 ©

We are waiting for the new heaven and the new earth

You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 89(90):2-4,10,14,16 ©