A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 34)
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – July 20, 2008
“The Patient Justice of God”
BIBLE READINGS
Wis 12:13, 16-19 // Rom 8:26-27 // Mt 13:1-24-43
N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
This Sunday’s liturgy highlights the patient justice of God who sows generously the good seed of the kingdom here on earth. He is the all-powerful Master of the field of human history and wills to be a kind and compassionate judge. Moreover, he chooses to be indulgent and wisely allows the seeds of life and the seeds of death to grow together temporarily until the day of the final harvest. This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Wis 12:13, 16-19) underlines that God shows his strength more by leniency than by punishment. His power is infinite and his loving concern for all his creation is boundless. Moreover, his justice is unimpeachable and above suspicion.
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent comments: “Today’s first reading is a meditation on the justice or righteousness of God throughout history. History is a long succession of merciful acts on the part of the Lord who is Israel’s leader. God’s righteousness as manifested in history proves to be different from the righteousness of men or the righteousness of the law. God is concerned about everything, and he thus makes it clear that when he judges, he judges with full knowledge of every case. His righteousness has its origins in his power, and his sovereignty over all things makes him patient with all. He has plenty of time at his disposal. Man, because his power is limited, represses those who oppose him. God alone, because he created everything and holds sway over all, can be patient and can judge mercifully.”
The absolute power and the gentle, compassionate stance of the forgiving God depicted by the author of the Book of Wisdom reinforces the beautiful message in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mt 13:24-43) concerning the patient mercy of God in dealing with all. While the parable of the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds that becomes a great tree, and the parable of the leaven that makes the whole dough rise underline the mysterious but inevitable growth of God’s kingdom, the parable of the wheat and the weeds both growing in the field delineates the long-suffering, creative patience of God as he brings to perfection his saving plan.
Adrian Nocent explains: “God does allow what he has sown to grow … But at the same time he allows the seeds to continue their growth: the seeds he did not sow and could not possibly have sown. But God is simply waiting patiently. The world must go its way, and God allows it to do so. He is waiting for the harvest; meanwhile good and evil are so intermingled in this world that it is better not to intervene too soon, lest the good be uprooted with the evil. The kingdom, however, is constantly growing, like the mustard seed, like the yeast spreading through the dough. The Lord is waiting for the kingdom to reach maturity. In recording these parables, St. Matthew was certainly well aware of the state of the community for which he was responsible. He could see the community growing like the mustard seed – starting as a tiny seed, then becoming a large tree. He was aware that the yeast was at work in the mass of dough, but he could also see the weeds mingling with the good grain. The situation was undoubtedly a problem for his faithful, as it is for us today, and it was no simple matter to allay their doubts and to rekindle their faith in divine Providence. His purpose in the Gospel, therefore, had to be to show the dynamics of the kingdom and how the kingdom was growing despite the enemies and failures; he had to rouse the community to reflect on its own responsibility as it waited for the great Day of God’s coming.”
In this Year of St. Paul, our Sunday reflection is enriched with his assertion: “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groaning” (Rom 8:26). As we wait for the final harvest and experience both the kingdom of God as well as the forces of evil that continue to assail us in today’s world, the Holy Spirit intercedes within us for the completion of God’s saving plan. Indeed, the presence of the Holy Spirit assures us that the patient justice of God triumphs like the fruitful wheat over the evil weeds and enables us to trust, amidst our weakness and trials, in the efficacious growth and victory of God’s kingdom.
The following excerpt from Henry Denker’s excellent novel, “PAYMENT IN FULL” illustrates the presence of both the good and evil in the world and gives us a glimpse of the final victory of the good over evil (cf. READER’S DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS, vol. 3, 1991, p. 250-251). The episode we report here happened in 1935 in New York’s Wadleigh High School for Girls. Elvira Hitchins, a very intelligent black girl adopted by a Jewish family and greatly loved by them, was experiencing the pain and viciousness of racial prejudice in a school where she was enrolled as the only black student.
By the end of the first week Elvira’s isolation had become a fixed mode of conduct. In classes and in gym she always ended up alone. In the lunchroom one table became hers by default. She covered her hurt by reading her assignments while she ate. She was determined not to give way to tears.
On the second Tuesday of the term Mrs. Shor arrived early, carrying with her the batch of essays her students had handed in the day before. The results were what she expected. Her girls did not lack writing ability, but inhibition was their enemy. She felt sure that by the term’s end she would have them all writing well. The hall bell clanged for class. Mrs. Shor smiled pleasantly as her charges took their seats. She waited until the last of them arrived before she closed the door and faced the class. “Girls,” Mrs. Shor began. “I read and graded all your essays last night. I can’t say that I was pleased. So many of you did not respond to the assignment. Who you really are never came through. There was only one essay that really addressed the topic”. She picked up a one-page essay and began to read.
“WhoAm I? I am the girl who sits alone in the lunchroom. I am the girl no one speaks to. I am the girl the rest of the girls whisper about. They never call me by name. But there is one name they call me behind my back. But no matter how much it hurts, I will not cry. And I will not leave. Like all the other girls, I have earned my place here. And no one is going to drive me out. I will sit alone. I will eat alone. I will graduate alone. But I am here to stay.”
One by one the girls in the class turned their eyes toward Elvira, who sat up straight and tall, impervious to their stares. Mrs. Shor turned in Elvira’s direction. “My dear, I have graded this essay an A.” Afterward, in the lunchroom, Elvira took her place at her table. She took a sandwich from her lunchbox and began to eat while memorizing her Latin declensions. Shortly thereafter Mildred Thomason, a tall, ungainly girl, slipped away from her own table, taking her lunch with her. She approached Elvira. “Do you mind?” Mildred asked. “No. I don’t mind,” Elvira said. Mildred sat down. For a brief and uneasy time they ate in silence, until the girl said, “I never finished my essay. I got stuck in the middle. After I told all about my family, I didn’t know where to go from there. I guess I couldn’t write about myself.” By that time a girl named Gladys Holtzer had brought her lunch to the table to join them. When the period ended, Mildred said, “Maybe we can all have lunch together tomorrow, Elvira.” “I would love it,” Elvira said.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
What image of God is presented in today’s Old Testament reading? Why is his care and judgment beyond reproach? How does he deal with his children who had sinned?
What is the good news that you heard from the three parables of this Sunday’s Gospel? How does the patient justice of God affect and shape your personal response to him? Do you trust in the slow but inexorable growth and victory of the kingdom of God?
Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you and interceding for the completion of the divine saving plan? Do you look upon St. Paul and learn from him the way to respond to the patient justice of God and to the animating power of the Holy Spirit?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
your judgment is beyond reproach
and your care for all creation
is worthy of love, adoration and praise.
You are patient and treat us with great compassion.
In the great field of human history,
you allow the good and the bad to co-exist momentarily.
You temper justice with kindness
and offer us the gift of conversion.
As we gaze onward
to the future reaping of the good wheat at the end time,
we believe in the ultimate victory of the good over evil.
Thank you for the grace of forgiveness
and the chance to grow in your love.
Like St. Paul, who was totally configured to Christ,
may we respond fully to your patient justice
and allow the life of Christ to grow within us.
When the final reaping comes,
may we become a part of the fruitful harvest of the Spirit
and be gathered together
into your eternal kingdom of love, justice and peace.
We glorify you, Father,
in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.” (Wis 12:16)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Meditate on the patient justice of God and by your compassionate acts of charity endeavor to translate into life the spirit of divine goodness. Give the outcast your special care and direct your concern to the service of the poor, the lonely, and the marginalized.
ACTION PLAN: To help us experience more deeply the power and patient justice of God, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 4, n. 34): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US