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This week I’m leading Bible Study at St. Brigid’s, so once again I’m posting my notes for this Sunday’s Mass Readings…<\/p>\n
This week’s Readings speaks to both the continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments, focussing on the idea that morality flows from God, that living a holy life flows from imitation of God.<\/p>\n
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The name of this book comes from<\/a> the Greek translation of the Scriptures, the Septuagint (LXX). The name “Leviticus” comes from the Greek word,\u00a0leuitikos<\/span>, which\u00a0means “pertaining to the Levites”<\/span>, since it initially appears to be chiefly concerned with the regulation of the priests. Following the incident with the Golden Calf, all priests came from the Tribe of Levi. However, it should be pointed out that the majority of regulations in this book actually concern Israelite laity.<\/p>\n The book of Leviticus is vital to our understanding the Jewish concepts of cleanliness, sacrifice and priesthood. This particular section of Leviticus (Chapters 17-25) forms the “Holiness Code” of the people Israel, describing what they must do in order to remain a holy people. While much of what this book\u00a0commands relates to the ceremonial law (and is therefore not binding on Christians) it also provides much of the context to understand Jesus’ life and ministry and, in particular, his saving sacrifice.<\/p>\n The extract from Leviticus in this Sunday’s First Reading\u00a0may surprise many. People\u00a0usually associate judgement and legalism with the Old Testament, and the New Testament with\u00a0grace and forgiveness. However, this passage shows it\u00a0to be an inaccurate picture of Scripture. We find in the First Reading,\u00a0exhortations to holiness, inner purity, forgiveness and even the command to “love your neighbour as yourself”<\/span>.<\/p>\n The LORD said to Moses,\u00a0<\/span>“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them:\u00a0<\/span>Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.<\/span><\/p>\n “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.\u00a0<\/span>Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen,\u00a0<\/span>do not incur sin because of him.\u00a0<\/span>Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.\u00a0<\/span>You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u00a0<\/span>I am the LORD.”<\/span><\/p>\n The LORD said to Moses, <\/span>“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: …<\/span><\/p>\n Moses is a prophet and mediator.<\/p>\n God tells him to speak to the Children of Israel on His behalf.<\/p>\n God is giving instructions which will set Israel apart from the immoral Canaanites.<\/p>\n Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.<\/span><\/p>\n The people are called to holiness and this\u00a0moral injunction finds its foundation in God’s own character. In theology, we call this the\u00a0“imitatio Dei”<\/span>. It is the idea that imitation of God is\u00a0the driving factor in morality. We are to be kind, forgiving and generous because God is all of these things. St. Paul writes the following to the Ephesians:<\/p>\n Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.<\/span><\/p>\n – Ephesians 5:1-2<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n This is a concept will be expanded upon by Jesus in the Gospel.<\/p>\n The word “holy”<\/span> appears more often in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. It means sacred, set apart for God and His purposes.<\/p>\n “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We often think of the Old Testament as related exclusively to exterior action and purity, but this verse shows that, even prior to Christ, interior disposition was considered extremely important.<\/p>\n I find the verb used here to be very telling. To “bear”<\/span>\u00a0something means to carry something. To\u00a0“bear hatred”<\/span> means to carry it around with us wherever we go and to exhaust energy in supporting it. When considered in these\u00a0terms, it shows the insanity of “bear[ing] hatred”<\/span>. It both exhausts and hurts us.<\/p>\n Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen,\u00a0<\/span>do not incur sin because of him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This verse implies that it is possible to reprove someone in two different ways, one way where you can incur sin yourself and another way in which you do not. Obviously, we want the latter… In what way might we “incur sin”<\/span> when we “reprove”<\/span> others? Given the context of the preceding and following verses, I would suggest that it relates to one’s motivations and interior disposition while doing so. When I reprove, am I free from hatred? Do I truly have the other person’s best interests<\/span> at heart?<\/p>\n In His teaching in Matthew’s\u00a0Gospel, Jesus gives us a pattern to follow when it comes to calling back those who stray:<\/p>\n “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault…\u00a0<\/span>if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you… I<\/span>f he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector<\/span>“<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n – Matthew 18:15-20<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n As an alternative interpretation, could this verse mean that we incur sin if we fail to correct a brother?<\/p>\n Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, I find the verb of this command to be illuminating. If we “cherish”<\/span>\u00a0something, it means we protect it, value it, keep it safe. We typically talk about “cherish[ing]”<\/span> children or relationships so that they grow. We are told that we can’t do that with grudges.<\/p>\n You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u00a0<\/span>I am the LORD.”<\/span><\/p>\n We more commonly associate this saying with Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27<\/a>) and the Apostles in their epistles (Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8<\/a>), but here we discover it to be a command of the Old Testament. According to Jesus, this command, together with Deuteronomy 6:5, sum up the whole of the Law and the Prophets: love of God and love of neighbour (Matthew 22:37-39 &\u00a0Mark 12:30-31).<\/p>\n The difference is that, in the New Testament, Jesus shows us<\/span> what “lov[ing] your neighbour as yourself”<\/span> truly looks like.<\/p>\n In this psalm, David reflects upon the nation’s\u00a0history and how God has responded to Israel’s\u00a0repeated rejection of Him. The character of God is described in detail, particularly in terms of forgiveness and mercy. In the First Reading, the Israelites were told to be holy like God (“imitatio Dei”<\/span>) and therefore this psalm gives us a pattern to follow and imitate.<\/p>\n R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Bless the LORD, O my soul;<\/span> R. The Lord is kind and merciful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n He pardons all your iniquities,<\/span> R. The Lord is kind and merciful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Merciful and gracious is the LORD,<\/span> R. The Lord is kind and merciful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As far as the east is from the west,<\/span> R. The Lord is kind and merciful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n R. The Lord is kind and merciful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Essential characteristics of God.<\/p>\n Bless the LORD, O my soul;<\/span> The Psalmist speaks to his own soul, calling it to worship.<\/p>\n Bless the LORD, O my soul,<\/span> The Psalmist exhorts his soul to remember all the blessings received from\u00a0the Lord.<\/p>\n He pardons all your iniquities,<\/span> The characteristics mentioned in the refrain are spoken of here. God forgives. God heals.<\/p>\n He redeems your life from destruction,<\/span> This verse points forward to restoration and ultimately Resurrection.<\/p>\n The word “kindness”<\/span>\u00a0mentioned here is the Hebrew word\u00a0“hesed”<\/span>, which relates to covenant love or fidelity. God is faithful to His covenant which makes us His family.<\/p>\n Merciful and gracious is the LORD,<\/span> Once more, God’s mercy is extolled.<\/p>\n Not according to our sins does he deal with us,<\/span> God’s mercy is described. He shows His mercy in His\u00a0leniency – were we to really receive the punishments our sins\u00a0deserved, we’d be in serious trouble…<\/p>\n As far as the east is from the west,<\/span> If you travel north, you eventually start travelling south again. However, if you travel eastwards, you continue to travel eastwards indefinitely. The same is true if you travel westwards. East and west are infinitely far apart – this is how far He has removed our sins from us.<\/p>\n As a father has compassion on his children,<\/span> An analogy of fatherhood is employed, although it is worth noting that earthly fatherhood is only a mere shadow of God’s fatherhood since He is the perfect Father.<\/p>\n The “fear”<\/span>\u00a0which is mentioned in this translation\u00a0might be better rendered as “awe”. It is a recognition of who God is and who we are.<\/p>\n Paul writes to the Church at Corinth. The city was extremely religious and the centrepiece of the city’s pagan worship was the temple of\u00a0Venus\/Aphrodite, which involved considerable temple prostitution. This, no doubt, provides the backdrop for Paul’s exhortation to holiness amid such moral pollution. The passage is also probably greatly influenced by Paul’s time in Athens, speaking with\u00a0the philosophers, the “wise” of the day…<\/p>\n Brothers and sisters:\u00a0<\/span>Do you not know that you are the temple of God,\u00a0<\/span>and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?\u00a0<\/span>If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person;\u00a0<\/span>for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.<\/span><\/p>\n Let no one deceive himself.\u00a0<\/span>If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,\u00a0<\/span>let him become a fool, so as to become wise.\u00a0<\/span>For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,\u00a0<\/span>for it is written:<\/span><\/p>\n God catches the wise in their own ruses, <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n and again:<\/span><\/p>\n The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,\u00a0<\/span>Paul or Apollos or Cephas,\u00a0<\/span>or the world or life or death,\u00a0<\/span>or the present or the future:\u00a0<\/span>all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.<\/span><\/p>\n Brothers and sisters: …<\/span><\/p>\n All Christians are in the family of God since they share in the New Covenant.<\/p>\n Do you not know that you are the temple of God,\u00a0<\/span>and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Paul describes the Corinthian Church as a Temple (as opposed to individual Christians being Temples). This picks up on the theme from the First Reading since, if they are a temple, then they are holy (“set apart”<\/span>).<\/p>\n The Church as “Temple”, flows from the idea that Jesus’ Body is the New Temple. We see this clearly expressed in the Gospel of John. His body\u00a0is “destroyed” and “rebuilt” three days later.<\/p>\n Later in Corinthians 6:19, Paul describes\u00a0each individual Christian as a Temple. A Temple is a place of worship and where sacrifice take place. In his Epistle to Romans, Paul describes what this temple worship and sacrifice should look\u00a0like:<\/p>\n I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. <\/span>Do not be conformed to this world\u00a0but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n – Romans 12:1-2<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The Temple of Solomon represents a foreshadow of Christ’s own Body, each individual Christian, the local congregation and the Church universal (Ephesians 2:19-22<\/a>).<\/p>\n How do you behave around the\u00a0Tabernacle at Church? Imagine for a moment, that your parish priest asks you to take home the Tabernacle while there is building work going on at the parish. As you drove back home with the Tabernacle, how would you drive? How would you respond if another driver cut you up? How would you behave if that Tabernacle was kept in your front room? What would you watch on TV? I ask these questions because each individual Christian is an image bearer of God, each individual Christian is a Temple, holy (“set apart”<\/span>). We should have a similar kind of reverence for own bodies\u00a0and for our fellow Christians, in much the same way we have reverence for the Eucharist in the Tabernacle.<\/p>\n If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person;\u00a0<\/span>for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.<\/span><\/p>\n This is a continuation of a metaphor which Paul had begun prior to the start of this passage. Earlier he has said that diligent builders will receive a reward (1 Corinthians 3:14<\/a>) and careless ones will receive a purging during their salvation (1 Corinthians 3:15<\/a>). He now says that those who are destructive will find themselves destroyed.<\/p>\n Desecration of a temple as a heinous crime. Paul is referring to the Corinthians who are tearing apart the Corinthian Church with quarrelling and factions.<\/p>\n “Paul says this in order to prick the consciences of those who have corrupted their bodies through evil living, especially the man who was having an affair with his father\u2019s wife.”<\/span><\/p>\n – The Ambrosiaster (A.D. 366-384), Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles 1 Corinthians 3,17<\/span><\/p>\n Let no one deceive himself.\u00a0<\/span>If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,\u00a0<\/span>let him become a fool, so as to become wise.\u00a0<\/span>For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, …<\/span><\/p>\n Man prides himself on wisdom, but true wisdom comes from God. Paul no doubt is remembering his time in Athens dealing with the “wisdom” of the Philosophers. The culmination of Christian “foolishness” is the cross and resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), both of which were stumbling blocks for the Athenians (Acts 17).<\/p>\n The wisdom of God is not always easy to grasp. This is worth remembering when we come to wrestle with Jesus’ hard teachings in today’s Gospel (“turn the other cheek”<\/span> etc).<\/p>\n …for it is written:\u00a0<\/span>God catches the wise in their own ruses, …<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n This comes from Job:<\/p>\n He takes the wise in their own craftiness;<\/span> – Job 5:13<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n These words are spoken by Job’s “friend” Eliphaz, saying that God frustrates the proud and lifts up the lowly.<\/p>\n …and again:\u00a0<\/span>The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n This comes from the Psalms:<\/p>\n the Lord<\/span>, knows the thoughts of man,<\/span><\/span> – Psalm 94:11<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n This is a plea for God to bring down those whose wickedness seems to go unnoticed by God.<\/p>\n So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,\u00a0<\/span>Paul or Apollos or Cephas,\u00a0<\/span>or the world or life or death,\u00a0<\/span>or the present or the future:\u00a0<\/span>all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.<\/span><\/p>\n There should be no boasting in men. The Corinthians were notorious for bragging about who had baptized them and thereby creating divisions within the Corinthian Church. The “Paul”<\/span> mentioned is St. Paul himself. “Apollos”<\/span> was an early Christian teacher and missionary. “Cephas”<\/span> is another name of St. Peter.<\/p>\n When Paul says that\u00a0“all belong to you”<\/span>, he is referring to the\u00a0inheritance we have by virtue of our union with Christ. He explains this more in another letter:<\/p>\n For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nText<\/h3>\n
Questions<\/h3>\n
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Commentary<\/h3>\n
Psalm\u00a0(Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13)<\/h2>\n
Text<\/h3>\n
\n and all my being, bless his holy name.<\/span>
\n Bless the LORD, O my soul,<\/span>
\n and forget not all his benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n heals all your ills.<\/span>
\n He redeems your life from destruction,<\/span>
\n crowns you with kindness and compassion.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n slow to anger and abounding in kindness.<\/span>
\n Not according to our sins does he deal with us,<\/span>
\n nor does he requite us according to our crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n so far has he put our transgressions from us.<\/span>
\n As a father has compassion on his children,<\/span>
\n so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.<\/span><\/p>\nQuestions<\/h3>\n
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Commentary<\/h3>\n
\nand all my being, bless his holy name.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nand forget not all his benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nheals all your ills.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncrowns you with kindness and compassion.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nslow to anger and abounding in kindness.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nnor does he requite us according to our crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nso far has he put our transgressions from us.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nso the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.<\/span><\/p>\n2nd Reading (1 Corinthians 3:16-23)<\/h2>\n
Text<\/h3>\n
\nthat they are vain.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nQuestions<\/h3>\n
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Commentary<\/h3>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>that they are but a breath.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n