19th Week in Ordinary Time
18th August 2023 (Friday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Joshua 24:1-13
In those days: Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterwards I brought you out. Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not laboured and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’
Psalm 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22 and 24 (R. 1b)
R/. For his mercy endures forever.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Accept the word of God, not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 19:3-12
At that time: Pharisees came up to Jesus and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Fidelity – the key!
Guidlines: The whole beauty and value of all spirituality and relationships lie in one fundamental norm: fidelity. The simplest questions are: how much am I faithful to God? And how much am I faithful to the others, particularly with whom I am linked?{alertSuccess}
1. Today’s Word of God in both the readings pivot around the theme of “fidelity”. The first reading from Joshua 24. 1-13 narrates in detail about God’s fidelity. God has been faithful to His chosen people Israel in numberless ways.
2. He chose them, not because of their greatness but because of His love. He intervened in their lives with touching attention and care. He liberated them from the mighty yoke of slavery through His mighty hand of wonders. He stood by them and defeated their enemies on their behalf.
3. This fidelity is so abundant and exuberant. That is why through Joshua, God reminds the people, “I gave you a land on which you had not laboured, and cities which you had not built, and you dwell therein; you eat the fruits vineyards and olive yards which you did not plant”.
4. In the gospel, Jesus addresses one crucial aspect of this fidelity, and that is marital fidelity. This fidelity is endangered and shattered by divorce. There is a steep rise in divorces and that too, often not for worthwhile reasons. According to human law, divorces are allowed, but not according to divine law.
5. The Catholic Church does not permit divorces, because marriage is an indissoluble communion of two partners. It is not a mere social contract or organised relationship between a male and a female. It is a sacrament which means it is sacred and divine. It is a twofold covenant – with God and with each other. It is God who joins man and woman together. And they become one. Therefore, it requires fidelity and commitment.
6. When the couple loses sight of these aspects of sacrament and covenant, the hardness of the heart and infidelity increase. In religious life too, this fidelity shows itself in “making themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven”. In other words, whoever does not keep himself a eunuch (renouncing physical potency in chastity) is breaching the covenant of fidelity.
Practice: Whether in the ordinary Christian life or consecrated life, fidelity to God and each other is the key principle. While love is its source and strength, piety and chastity are the effects and testimonies{alertSuccess}