Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
7th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle A)
Readings:
Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
Psalm 103:1-4, 8-10, 12-13
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Matthew 5:38-48
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Living in Holiness
The First Reading is from the Holiness Code of the Sinai
Covenant, defining the kind of righteous behavior a Holy God expects from His
children. The code of conduct God established included loving Him and respecting
others. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that being obedient to God's
commands in the Holiness Code by showing God's love and justice to members of
the human family, professing believers distinguished themselves from others by living
as genuine children of God (the Gospel reading). Quoting from the command for
holiness in Leviticus 11:44, St. Peter wrote that the strength to offer this
kind of love comes from living in imitation of God's holiness (1 Pt 1:14-16),
and St. Paul wrote that holiness comes from having the courage to love others
as Christ loved us.
The Responsorial Psalm reflects on God's mercy in forgiving the sins of those who are faithful and fear offending Him. The psalmist compares God to a father who shows loving compassion to his children, revealing his understanding of the Lord's intense love for humanity. St. Thomas Aquinas, reflecting on God's extraordinary love, wrote: "So splendid is the grace of God and his love for us that he has done much more for us than we can ever comprehend" (Expositio in Credum, 61).
In the Second Reading, St. Paul urged the Christian community at Corinth to live in holiness. He told the Corinthian Christians that they are individually and collectively the "temple of God" because God the Holy Spirit dwells within the holy soul of every faithful believer in Christ Jesus. Paul then gave a teaching about true wisdom versus human wisdom. He wrote that the worst kind of foolishness comes from thinking one is wise by human standards, which is foolishness to God. Paul taught that Christians grow wiser the more they identify the desires for their lives with God's divine plan. The focus for Christians must be supernatural, realizing that Jesus works through our human weakness to reveal His divine glory.
In the Gospel Reading, Jesus continues His teaching on six standards of conduct. Biblical scholars refer to the six examples of Christian perfection in Matthew 5:21-48 as the "Six Antithesis." An antithesis is a contrast or opposition of words or sentiments. Using the repeated formula "You have heard it said/But I say to you" and "It was also said to you/But I say to you," Jesus contrasted the accepted interpretation of the Mosaic Law with His teaching that internalized and intensified the Law of Moses to yield a new standard of obedience.
In the Old Testament, God told His covenant people: "For I, the LORD [Yahweh], am your God; and you shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy" (Lev 11:44). A holy Father deserves holy children, and as New Covenant Christians, Jesus calls us to an even higher standard of holiness than our Old Covenant brothers and sisters. The Church challenges us to live in the image of God the Son and to commit ourselves to what Jesus taught when He said, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48), an impossible standard that is only possible through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
The First Reading Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18 ~ Love of
Neighbor as a Mark of Holiness
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the whole Israelite
community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy." [...] 17 "You
shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may
have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. 18 Take
no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love
your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."
In our reading, God's command to the Israelites is from the Holiness Code of the Sinai Covenant, a set of religious and secular laws found in Leviticus Chapters 17-26. The section of those commands within the Holiness Code found in Leviticus 19:1-37 address conduct within the covenant community. The first commands to love God and to love one's neighbor appear in the Ten Commandments, the first three of which address the people's relationship with God (Ex 20:3-11; Dt 5:7-15), and the love of one's neighbor consisting of the last seven of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:12-17; Dt 5:17-21). However, the Israelites thought of extending love to one's neighbor in terms of one's countryman or woman (covenant brothers and sisters) and that the command to love did not pertain to those outside the covenant.
In Luke 10:29, a scholar of the law who wanted to test Jesus asked: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responded by quoting two passages from Old Covenant law: "You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind" from Deuteronomy 6:7. Next, He quoted from Leviticus 19:18, "and your neighbor as yourself." Then the scholar tested Jesus further by asking, "And who is my neighbor?" (Lk 11:29). Jesus answered by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan as an illustration that the command to love one's neighbor extended beyond fellow Jews.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that by being obedient to Leviticus 19:18 in showing God's love and justice to others, the people of God were distinguishing themselves from others in the world by behaving as "children of God" (Mt 5:43-48; see the Gospel reading). Quoting from the command for holiness in Leviticus 11:44, St. Peter wrote that the strength to offer this kind of love comes from living in imitation of God's divine goodness (1 Pt 1:14-16), and St. Paul wrote that holiness comes from having the courage to love others as Christ loved us: As God's dear children, then, take him as your pattern, and follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up for us as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God (Eph 5:1-2) because God is love (1 Jn 4:8). That God is love becomes the principle of our activity in extending our works of mercy and charity to others and fulfilling the commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (also, see 1 Jn 3:2-10).
Responsorial Psalm 103:1-4, 8-10, 12-13 ~ God's Mercy
The response is: "The Lord is kind and merciful."
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his
holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Response:
3 He pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills. 4 He
redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion.
Response:
8 Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and
abounding in kindness. 9 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, 10 nor
does he requite us according to our crimes.
Response:
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put
our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so
the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Response:
In the previous psalm, the psalmist, at the point of death, pleaded with God for help (Ps 102:11, 24). Now he blesses God (an expression of gratitude) and thanks Him for restoring his health (103:3-4). In verses 8-10, he gives his reasons for his praise by summarizing what God has done for His covenant people. In verses 12-13, he reflects on God's mercy in forgiving the sins of those who are faithful and fear offending God. He compares God to a father who shows loving compassion to his children (verse 13). The psalmist's description of God reveals his understanding of God's intense love for humanity. St. Thomas Aquinas also reflected on God's passionate love for humanity. He wrote: "So splendid is the grace of God and his love for us that he has done much more for us than we can ever comprehend" (Expositio in Credum, 61).
The Second Reading 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 ~ The Christian
is the Dwelling Place of God
16 Do not you know that you are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God
will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy. 18 Let
no one deceive himself. If any one among you considers himself wise in this
age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this
world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: "God catches the
wise in their own ruses," 20 and again: "The Lord knows the thoughts of the
wise, that they are vain. " 21 So let no one boast about human beings, for
everything belongs to you, 22 Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world of life
or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, 23 and you to
Christ, and Christ to God.
In his first letter to the Christians of Corinth in Greece, St. Paul urged the community to live in holiness because they are individually and collectively the "temple of God." In verses 16-17, Paul refers both to individual Christians and the Body of Christ, the Church. The Church as God's temple is a favorite simile St. Paul used in his letters to the Corinthians (1 Cor 6:19-20; 2 Cor 6:16), in which he reminded the community that God the Holy Spirit dwells within the holy soul of every faithful believer in Christ Jesus. Therefore, if harm came to any of them, God would bring divine justice against their oppressor because the faithful Christian belongs to Him.
We know through Jesus's teaching that the Holy Spirit dwells within the soul of all baptized Christians, making them the tabernacles (dwelling place) of the Most Holy Trinity; for where one person of the Most Holy Trinity is present, so are the other two. In His last homily on the night of the Last Supper, Jesus said, "The Spirit of Truth ... dwells with you, and will be in you ... If a man loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (Jn 14:17-23). On the same subject, Pope Leo XIII wrote: "by means of grace, God dwells in the just soul as in a temple, in a special and intimate manner" (Divinum illud munus, 10).
As an application of his teaching about true wisdom versus human wisdom, Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the worst kind of foolishness was thinking one is wise by human standards, which is foolishness to God. He quoted two Biblical passages, Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11 (verses 19-20), to support his claim that the human approach without God is doomed to failure. He argued that Christians grow wiser the more they identify the desires for their lives with God's divine plan. Therefore, the Christian's outlook must be supernatural, realizing that Jesus works through our human weakness to reveal His divine glory (verses 18-20).
Paul also taught that one consequence of worldly wisdom was to focus on the teachings of one particular teacher (citing himself, Apollos, and St. Peter, to whom he referred to by the Greek transliterated Aramaic title Jesus gave Peter = "Rock," Cephas). In following only one teacher, one forgets that all God-inspired Christian ministers of the Gospel dedicate their lives to serving the faithful (verse 21) and attaching oneself to one or another preacher can cause divisions within the community. All Christian teachers who serve the Church and submit to her authority belong to all Christians. And, by being adopted sons and daughters of God, every baptized Christian has a share in Jesus's Lordship: for everything belongs to you, 22 Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world of life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, 23 and you to Christ, and Christ to God (verses 22- 23).
The Gospel of Matthew 5:38-48 ~ The Fifth and Sixth
Antithesis from the Sermon on the Mount
38 Jesus taught His disciples: "You have heard
that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to
you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your
right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. 40 If anyone wants to go to law
with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. 41 Should anyone press
you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. 42 Give to the one
who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. 43 You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute
you, 45 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun
rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not
the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is
unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as
your heavenly Father is perfect."
Antithesis #5: Teaching about Retaliation (verses 38-42)
Our Gospel Reading continues Jesus's teaching from the Sermon on the Mount that began in Matthew 5:17. Biblical scholars refer to the six examples of Christian perfection in Matthew 5:21-48 as the "Six Antithesis. An antithesis is a contrast or opposition of words or sentiments. Using the repeated formula "You have heard it said/But I say to you" and "It was also said to you/But I say to you," Jesus contrasts the accepted interpretation of the Mosaic Law with His teaching that internalizes and intensives the Law of Moses to yield a new standard of obedience.
The expression an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in verse 38 is in the Law codes of Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. It is called the lex talionis, the law of reciprocity or equivalent compensation. Most people regard the Old Testament command: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, as unreasonably harsh and barbaric. On the contrary, the intent of this commandment was to moderate vengeance, protect the innocent family members of an accused or convicted perpetrator of a crime, and ensure that the punishment visited on the offender did not exceed the crime. It was common in ancient cultures for a man's entire family to suffer the death penalty or find themselves sold into slavery for his offense. The law of reciprocity or equivalent compensation found in the Law Codes of the Sinai Covenant and the Code of Hammurabi (a Babylonian law code dating to the 17th century BC) demands that the punishment fits but does not exceed the crime. This law became the mark of a civilized society.
The response Jesus asks is beyond seeking equivalent compensation for the commission of a crime, an injustice, or an inconvenience. He gives four examples of acting in love rather than in retaliation:
What Jesus demands of the Christian seems an almost impossible standard of conduct. He asks the Christian to "offer no resistance to evil" and "go the extra mile" to extend love and compassion. Jesus is not demanding that Christians become the "footstools of the wicked," and He is not rejecting the law of reciprocity, but what He is rejecting is vengeance or meanness on a personal level. In Romans 12:19, St. Paul taught, Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath [of God], for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
That is not to say we do not seek civil justice for wrongs. Without civil laws, society would be in anarchy since there would be no other deterrent for the behavior of the unrighteous non-believer. But when the civil laws do not bring justice, we are promised God's divine justice and vengeance on our behalf. Whenever we are seeking redress for wrongs inflicted upon us, we must be willing to acknowledge that, ultimately, justice must be left in the hands of our just and righteous God to deliver what is right for us either temporally or eternally. We must also acknowledge that when someone asks us to forgive or to be merciful, in the repentance of our sins and at our judgment before the throne of God, we will be pleading for His divine mercy. The way the meek and merciful peacemakers of the Beatitudes strike back at their enemies is through love by praying for their persecutors, and the way we show our gratitude for God's grace to us is by extending our mercy to others.
Antithesis #6: Teaching about the Love of Enemies (verses 43-48)
You don't love in your enemies what they are, but what you would have them become by your prayers. St. Augustine (354-430AD)
To hate your enemy (verse 43) is not a teaching in the Old Testament. There is, however, a command to love one's neighbor in Leviticus 19:18, which Jesus will repeat in Matthew 19:19, 22:39, and Mark 12:31. Jesus will also repeat this teaching concerning love of one's enemies in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6:27-35. In Leviticus 19:18, God called His people to a standard of holiness by commanding, Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The Old Covenant people of God interpreted one's "neighbor" as only extending to a fellow member of the covenant people and hatred of one's enemies as natural and therefore acceptable. Jesus's teaching was that this limited interpretation was unacceptable, and He extended the command to love not only to pagan Gentiles but He to love even to the enemy and the persecutor.
The reason Jesus gave for this radical redefinition of those we must love appears in Matthew 5:45. As children of God, Jesus calls upon us to imitate our Father in heaven, who grants His blessings of sun and rain to the righteous and the unrighteous. In the same way that God does not withhold His blessings, so too must we not withhold our love. This passage contains the key teaching of the Sermon on the Mount in verse 48: the Christian must be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect. In the Gospels, the Greek word teleios, "to be perfect," occurs only three times; twice in this passage and once in Matthew 19:21, where Jesus told a rich young ruler to go and sell what he had and give it to the poor if he wanted to be "perfect." This standard is an impossible demand without the action of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's life.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His disciples in every generation to a higher standard of faithfulness than was required of the faithful who had lived under the Law of the Sinai Covenant. In Romans 10:4, St. Paul wrote that Christ is the end of the Law for the justification of everyone who has faith, which means that yielding to the sovereignty of God only through obedience to the Law is not enough. God's action in the Incarnation of Jesus of Nazareth superseded the old Mosaic Law. The New Covenant in Christ Jesus became the goal or true meaning of the "Law of God," and without whom, the true meaning of the Law of God cannot be understood or lived.
In Romans 13:8-10, St. Paul also addressed how love, as defined by Christ, fulfilled the law of the Old Covenant. Paul wrote: for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law, and Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Christ is both the end and fulfillment of the Old Covenant Law in two ways:
Under the New Covenant, when the love of Christ directs our moral decisions and relationships with each other, the intent of the continuing moral law expressed in the Old Covenant is safeguarded and fulfilled. In fulfilling and transforming the Old Covenant Law, God requires a New Covenant and a new Law of holiness and obedience lived in the love of Christ. The transformed and intensified love of Christ must be demonstrated by the unselfish gift of charity to all men and women in the human family and fulfilled by the Holy Spirit dwelling in each Christian heart which beats with the life of the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth!
Catechism References (* indicated Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Leviticus 19:2 (CCC 2811);
19:18 (CCC 2055*)
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (CCC 797*)
Matthew 5:42 (CCC 2443*); 5:43-44 (CCC 1933*, 2844); 5:44-45 (CCC 2303, 2608*); 5:44 (CCC 1825*, 1968*, 2262*); 5:45 (CCC 2828); 5:46-47 (CCC 2054*); 5:47 (CCC 1693), 5:48 (CCC 443*, 1693, 1968*, 2013, 2842)
The love of neighbor is incompatible with hatred of enemies (CCC 1933*, 2303*)
The prohibition against harming others apart from self-defense (CCC 2262*, 2263-2265, 2266*, 2267)
Prayer and the pardon of enemies (CCC 2842*, 2843*, 2844*, 2845*)
The heavenly Father's perfection calls all to holiness ( CCC 2012*, 2013*, 2014, 2015*, 2016*)
We become temples of the Holy Spirit in baptism (CCC 1265*)
Saints are temples of the Holy Spirit (CCC 2684*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.