Commentary

Sunday, August 11, 2019, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Faith and God’s Institution

First Commentary: Wisdom 18:6-9

The book of Wisdom tells us that our fathers, the children of Israel, knew that the Passover was coming and that in their faith, they had courage. They awaited their salvation and the destruction of their foes who were the Egyptians and they realized that they were glorified when their adversaries were punished. The book of Wisdom says, “For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.”

What this all means is that the Israelites did not tell the Egyptians what they were doing but they followed God’s instructions in faith. They sacrificed a lamb and offered the Passover meal as instructed and in so doing, they did their part in putting God’s plan into action. The Israelites were together when they left Egypt but more importantly, they were together with God and God was with them.

It is God’s plan for all of us to take an exodus out of this life into the next and be with Him in His Kingdom. But just as the children of Israel had to do their part in faith by following God’s instructions in order to make their exodus out of Egypt, we must do our part in faith by following His instructions.

We follow the instructions and commandments of Christ when we celebrate the Eucharist. The Last Supper was the last Passover Meal of Christ and at the Last Supper, He made Himself the Sacrifice replacing the lamb. Christ commanded us to relive the Last Supper with the words, “Do this in memory of me.” Luke 22:19

Our offering of unleavened bread and wine which is later transformed into the Living Body and Blood of Christ is the sacrifice that we offer at every Mass which puts us into one accord with God through the Mystical Body of Christ—the Church. Just as the Israelites celebrated the Passover Meal and followed Moses out of Egypt, we must follow the Truth and the Light of Christ and we do this at every Mass.

In order to understand how the divine institution is put into one accord, we have to accept the fact that we cannot think of the divine institution in a physical sense and that the exodus of the Israelites was just the beginning of mankind’s real journey to the Kingdom.

Many people look at the Church as being an institution in the physical sense and according to the dictionary; you could say that is true. But once again, when we think about God and our relationship with Him, we need to step out of the box and stop thinking in human ways.

The Church is the people and the institution is the Church being in communion with God and God being in communion with the Church. Therefore, through our faith, we are in communion with God and He is in communion with us.

This communion will manifest itself when we enter the Kingdom of heaven which I see as the ultimate divine institution as we share the joy of eternal life with God. Life on earth is the real journey (our exodus) and the way of reaching our destination safely is through faith and using our faith to follow the Truth and the Light.

Too Much to Ignore or Reject

Second Reading Commentary: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

In Hebrews, we learn that, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Faith is a difficult thing for some people because faith is: believing something which cannot be proven in a physical or tangible way. But faith is also a gift which we all have. We all believe in something. For example, young children believe in their parents and therefore, have faith in their parents.

But when it comes to thinking about God, some of us run into problems because we think like human beings who require tangible proof. We are human so it is only normal to think as a human but not when it comes to God. We have to put all that is human aside. Think about it. Does it not make since to believe in the One who created you?

This passage from Hebrews talks about Abraham and tells us that he obeyed God in faith. Consider this: Abraham did not have the evidence to draw strength from that we have. We have him and his son Isaac. We have Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel and all of the prophets. We have Mary, Joseph and the Apostles and all of the saints. And at the top of the list, we have Christ who lived among us.

That is just too much to ignore or reject. God gave us faith and our faith should be with Him.

Be Prepared and Share Your Faith

Gospel Commentary: Luke 12:32-48

Jesus said to the disciples, “Do not be afraid…your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom…Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out…that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

In all of our readings today, faith is the subject and we have to take ourselves out of our human way of thinking and put the dictionary aside in order to get the message. We know that Jesus does not mean for us to save up money in a safe place so that we can buy our way into heaven. Jesus is talking about faith! He is telling us to have no fear because the more faith we have, the stronger our faith will be and the stronger our faith is, the less it can be influenced by temptation and the evil one.

Everything that Jesus says after this first part of today’s gospel is all about being prepared and sharing our faith with others. Jesus reminds us that at an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. Therefore, we should concentrate on making ourselves ready and remain ever vigilant.

Jesus said, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely…Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Jesus is commanding us to share our faith. The more faith we have, the more we are expected to share it. We share our faith by living our lives in a way that proclaims God’s Word which means that we obey the Commandments. We share our faith in the way that we interact with people which should proclaim that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We share our faith by evangelizing which means that we share the Word with others.

The bottom line is that we are given faith, we are expected to use our faith and we are expected to share our faith. If we fail to share our faith, we will be like the servant who is unprepared when the master arrives.

Reading 1          Wisdom 18:6-9

The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage.
Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes.
For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

Responsorial Psalm          Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-22

R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Exult, you just, in the LORD; praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Reading 2          Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said,
“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Gospel          Luke 12:32-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”