17th Week in Ordinary Time
05th August 2023 (Saturday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Leviticus 25:1, 8-17
The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, "You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven, years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty- nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow no reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you.You may eat the produce of the field. "In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property And if you make a sale to your neighbour or buy from your neighbour, you shall not, wrong one another. You shall pay your neighbour according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God.
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8 (R. 4)
R/. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/.Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 14:1-12
At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus and he said, to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John. beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Truth is not timid!
Guidlines: Courage and justice are oft- proclaimed slogans but least followed principles. We must guard against reducing them to the disguises for mere pursuit of self-interests{alertSuccess}
1. The theme of justice is very prominent in both readings of the day. In the first reading from Leviticus 25. 1-17, obviously the central topic is the celebration of the (fiftieth) jubilee year. But, a closer look reveals to us that the jubilee theme pivots around the issue of justice.
2. It is a celebration of holiness (“you shall hallow the fiftieth year”. “it shall be holy to you”, “you shall fear your God”). It is a celebration of liberty (“proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants”), a celebration of a return to the family (“each of you shall return to his family”), a celebration of the regain of the property (“each of you shall return to his property”), and a celebration of just transactions (“you shall not wrong one another).
3. In the gospel, Matthew 14. 1-12, the central figure is John the Baptist. He was beheaded by Herod the tetrarch because he was a man of justice. He condemned the adulterous act of Herod living with Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. This infuriated Herodias and she plotted to kill him. On Herod’s birthday, she gets him beheaded, as per the promise of Herod to Herodias’ daughter as a reward for her appeasing dance.
4. Obviously, the direct and visible villain is Herodias, because she is the brain behind the whole murder. But this does not mitigate the fault of Herod or Herodias’ daughter or the other dignitaries present at the party. All are condemnable.
5. It is not only those who commit a wrong but all those who are prompted to do it. All through the pages of human history, the just suffer at the hands of the unjust. They just always have to pay a heavy price for their convictions and fight for truth and justice. But that is not a waste battle or a lost one. God rewards them.
Practice: Many may feel happy and great to glorify and idolize the martyrs after their death. How ironic it is that people speak of “living saints” after their death! It would be better that people support and follow the example of these just men while alive rather than organizing a “cult” and cultic activities after their death.{alertSuccess}