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Monday – Twenty-eighth week – OT1
Readings: Rom 1:1-7; Lk 11:29-32.
Reading 1 (Rom 1:1-7): Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the Gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel (Lk 11:29-32):
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
I. THEME: Make an effort to listen, to study, and to proclaim the Good News.
There are some who were deeply in sins; but when God gave them an opportunity to repent, they conversed and used the remaining of their life for the glory of God. There are some whom God gave so many opportunities; they did not take advantage of them; they demanded more opportunities or proofs to believe in Him. The compassionate God always gives us many chances to repent and to inherit salvation; our duty is to take advantage of these chances. Do not ignore them because we don’t know if we will have more chances.
Today readings center around the listening, studying, and proclaiming of the Good News. In the first reading, St. Paul took advantage the opportunity Christ gave to him when he was on the way to Damascus to persecute Christians. Paul recognized God’s love, grace, and mission which Christ gave to him in proclaiming the Good News to the Gentiles. In the Gospel, Jesus compared his audience’s indifference with the jealous and sincere attitude of the Ninevites and the queen of the south. His purpose is to remind them to take full advantage of opportunities they are having before they have to pay a dearly price on the Last Judgment Day.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: The Good News is important to both Paul and the Romans.
1.1/ Paul’s vocation is to preach the Good News: Today report outlined what Paul will expound in detail in the Letter to the Romans. There are six important points.
(1) Paul is a Christ’s servant: Paul called Christ “Kurios” which means “Master;” and called himself “doulos” which means “servant or slave.” In the Old Testament, many leaders and prophets also called God “Master” and called themselves “servants” (Jos 1:2, 24:29; Amo 3:7; Jer 7:25). They were proudly to call themselves as God’s servants.
(2) Paul’s vocation: He was “called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God.” In the Old Testament, many leaders and prophets also responded to God’s call, such as Abraham (Gen 12:1-3), Moses (Exo 3:10), Isaiah (Isa 6:8-9), and Jeremiah (Jer 1:4-5). Paul wanted to insist that it is a God’s call; not what people would like to do.
(3) “The Gospel which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures”: Many prophets, such as Micah, Isaiah, Sophronia, Jeremiah… often announced the coming of the Messias. Christ came to fulfill the prophets’ prophecy.
(4) Christ’s Incarnation: “The Gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness.” Christ is both the Son of God and the Son of man.
(5) Christ’s resurrection: is the center of the Good News which St. Paul proclaimed. If Christ did not resurrect, our faith will be useless. Because he resurrected, we hope to be arisen with him.
(6) The Good News of salvation is announced to the Gentiles: “Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles.” Paul did not understand this point when he persecuted Christians on the way to Damascus; but Christ had revealed this plan and chosen him to be the apostle of the Gentiles.
1.2/ Salvation is also for the Romans: “Among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rome is the community which was not established by Paul; but had a very important position for the early Church. Paul knew Rome will be the center of the Church and Christ foretold that he will be his witness at Rome.
2/ Gospel: Christ’s wisdom is more than Solomon’s and has more weight than Jonah’s.
2.1/ Jonah is the sign for the Ninevites: Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.”
According to the Book of Jonah, when God commanded him to preach repentance to the Ninevites the first time, he refused to do so; and instead, he bought a ticket to Tarshish to avoid God. During his journey on a ship, God caused a fierce storm, and Jonah knew the reason for this was himself, so he asked the captain and sailors to throw him to the sea. God caused a whale to swallow him, and he stayed in the fish’s belly for three days before the fish came to a coast and vomited him out. Based on this story, Jesus wanted to say to his audience that he will only give this evil generation a big sign as Jonah’s sign; that is, he will stay in a tomb for three days, and resurrect gloriously on the third day.
After Jonah came out of the fish’s belly, God commanded him to preach repentance to the Ninevites the second time, he reluctantly did so because he hated them for they are the Israelites’ enemies and did not want them to be saved. When he preached to them only once, the whole city, from the king to his people, repented and proclaimed a fast to pray to God. Because of this result, Jesus declared to his audience, “At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.” Jesus gave his generation so many opportunities to believe in him; but they refused to do so. Thus, the one who will accuse them on the Last Day is not him but the Ninevites, because God only gave them one opportunity and they believed in Him.
2.2/ Solomon is the sign for the queen of the south: According to the Book of Wisdom, when the queen of the south heard about the famous wisdom of king Solomon, she set out for a long journey and brought with her many gifts so that she could hear and witness some of his wisdom. Jesus himself is God’s wisdom by which Solomon’s wisdom came from, are standing before them and revealing to them God’s wisdom; but they ignore him.
Because of this, Jesus said to his audience: “At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation, and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– We should take opportunities when they come to learn and to practice what God commands. When opportunities pass, we don’t know if we will have more opportunities. Moreover, happiness is to know God and to practice what He teaches; why don’t we do that to be happy as soon as possible?
– We must spend time to learn Scripture to know God’s wisdom. Scripture has power to bring happiness and salvation to our life.