A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 38)
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – August 14, 2011 *
“Mercy for All”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 56:1, 6-7 // Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 // Mt 15:21-28
(N.B. Series 9 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 Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The word of God continues to speak to us Sunday after Sunday … day after day. This Sunday’s liturgy of the word invites us to extend the horizon of our faith and to thank God for his grandiose “mercy to all”.
In the Old Testament reading (Is 56:1, 6-7), the prophet Isaiah depicts the beautiful vision of a house of prayer for all peoples. Foreigners who love and serve the Lord, keeping faithfully his commands, will be brought joyfully into the Lord’s holy mountain. They will join the chosen people Israel in divine worship. Indeed, the Sovereign Lord will lead more people, other than Israel, into his universal temple and all-inclusive place of worship.
God’s intention to extend the manifold privilege of Israel to all peoples finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. In ministering to the marginalized Canaanite woman, Jesus surpassed ethnic boundaries and anticipated the worldwide mission to all peoples that will be set forth after his resurrection. By professing her faith in Jesus, the Canaanite mother’s plea for her daughter was heeded. The healing signifies Jesus’ welcome of an excluded “foreigner” into his compassionate heart.
The worldwide saving mission to all peoples was exemplified by Saint Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. Having encountered intimately the Risen Lord and powered by the apostolic energy of the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift, Paul followed obediently the dynamics of the divine plan of salvation, i.e. “to the Jews first and also to all nations”. He was deeply grieved that as a people, the Israelites did not welcome the Gospel centered on Jesus Christ as the Messiah. And yet the ever-positive Paul, as we could verify in today’s Second Reading (Rom 11: 13-15, 29-32), never lost hope. Saint Paul was convinced that Israel’s fall is temporary, not definitive. His hope for the Israel’s conversion was based on the wholly-gratuitous love of God and his unfailing mercy for all.
The biblical scholar John Pilch comments: “Israel’s stumbling is not definitive or irremediable. Paul explains how Israel’s fall made it possible for the Gentiles to accept Jesus and thereby stir Israel to envy. If the failure of Israel brought such a blessing, imagine the result when they all accept Jesus! (…) While the Jews have ruptured the right relationship with God by rejecting the good news, they are still loved by him because the election of Israel is irrevocable. The promises or covenants with the patriarchs still stand forever. God simply doesn’t vacillate about those who be blesses and chooses. In point of fact, all groups have been disobedient to God at one time or another. This is what allows God to have mercy on all.”
The positive and hopeful stance of Saint Paul with regard to Israel, the people of the first covenant and his very own people, is deeply engaging and challenging. Harold Buetow explicates: “Paul warns both Jews and Gentiles to be faithful, and sees the ultimate solution in God’s mercy … Since the Nazi atrocities against both Jews and Christians, most mainline churches have emphasized the rich Jewish roots of Christianity, affirmed the validity and permanence of God’s covenant with the Jewish people, and called for fraternal dialogue between Christians and Jews to promote cooperation in pursuit of social justice, peace and other common good. Both sides are urged to what the Jews call teshuva and Christians call repentance. Realizing that all of us set up walls which separate us from God and from one another, let us try to develop three attitudes. The first is gratitude for all the blessings we have. The second is humility and the avoidance of smugness that can turn people away from what we stand for. Last but not the least is compassion, by which we can truly feel with the suffering of others to the point of breaking the vicious cycle of evil by repaying evil with good. These attitudes in turn might inspire others to further positive attitudes which might help make the walls that separate the human family come tumbling down.”
The following article is on a positive note. It gives us a glimpse into the ecumenical direction and inter-religious dialogue that the Church is carrying out in the modern world, following the divine universal saving plan. It is also consonant with Saint Paul’s conviction concerning God’s mercy for all (cf. Marco Bellizi, “The Jews and the Frail Pope” in L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO, May 18, 2011, p. 11-12).
Every time you met John Paul II you had the feeling that something important was happening; he had a solemnity about him that was instantly perceptible. However, the full value of the Polish Pope has not yet been recognized … These opinions were expressed by Rabbi Jack Bemporad, 78, a man who has spent his life promoting mutual understanding between religious. He was born in Italy but moved to the United States when he was six years old, after the approval of Mussolini’s racial laws. The Rabbi led Jewish communities in Texas, California and New Jersey. Since 1992 he has lived at the Center for Inter-Religious Understanding in Rome and teaches at the Pontifical University of St. Aquinas. Bemporad was and is an important spokesman for relations with the Church: he worked with Cardinal Willebrands and Cardinal Cassidy to achieve full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Holy See. He met John XXIII – the Vatican Council “was one of the crucial experiences of my life”, he says – as well as Benedict XVI. And of course, he had frequent meetings with Karol Wojtyla, of whom, on the eve of his Beatification, he spoke on this interview with L’Osservatore Romano.
Rabbi Bemporad, you met John Paul II several times, for example in Denver (1993) and in Vatican City (1994), when you discussed the views of Jews in the Catholic Catechism. You also led a large delegation of Rabbis and religious leaders to thank the Pope shortly before his death. What are your memories of these meetings?
Perhaps the first impression one had in meeting personally with John Paul II was his gravitas. A presence immediately made itself manifest which made you feel that something important was at stake. At the same time, his profound humanity and love shone through and you felt he was interested in you and in what you are doing and the topic at hand.
In Denver the meeting took place in the day, since it was scheduled after his many talks and conferences and his concern was that religions work together to offer and objective and universal ethic that could help deal with the pressing problems we face: war, poverty, inequality, and lack of education in so many parts of the world.
The meeting at the Vatican was much more theoretical and theological. It related to the work our Center had done in educating the inter-religious community on the new catechism and the topic was how best to conduct theological dialogue between Christian and Jews.
What one was left with after these and other meetings was the Pope’s complete dedication to making the world better for all human beings, his dedication to a dialogue wherein one must be true to one’s faith, without being false to the faith of others, and how serious and difficult this task was.
When John Paul II visited Jerusalem, you commented on the event in the media. Looking back, according to you, what really made that trip so memorable?
I think the image of the frail Pope, with no assistance from the aids, slowly walking to the wall to insert the beautiful prayer of forgiveness and reconciliation struck an unforgettable chord in the hearts of Jews, not just in Israel, but in Jews throughout the world. I also think his meeting with Polish Holocaust survivors, who recognized that this Pope as a young man was a witness to this horror, demonstrated solidarity with the suffering of the Jewish people.
In your opinion, which act of John Paul II has been most appreciated by the Jewish community?
I think his most important act was the visit to the Synagogue in Rome which included re-statement of the most important innovations of Nostra Aetate and subsequent documents. Pope John Paul II believed that the changes between Christians and Jews should be given significant expression. What better way to show these changes than to walk into the Rome Synagogue, embrace Rabbi Toaff before the world.
Did the personal attitude of John Paul II contribute to building Jewish opinion with regard to the Pope?
Yes, the Jewish people have the highest opinion and respect for John Paul II. He was the first Pope to enter a synagogue and he authorized Cardinal Cassidy to ask forgiveness for past acts of anti-Judaism, using the Hebrew word, teshuvah, which means not only the asking for forgiveness, but the resolve to start out in a new direction. In addition, he initiated and completed the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Holy See and wherever he went throughout the world, he met with Jewish communities to reach out in friendship and understanding. No prior Pope had done so much.
We are acquainted with the story of the Jewish orphan whom the young Karol Wojtela refused to convert, respecting the will of the child’s parents who had died in a concentration camp. If you were in similar circumstances, would you have done the same?
Yes, except that Judaism is not a religion that actively seeks proselytes. This act shows the Pope’s sensitivity and understanding.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What do I do to help build a house of prayer for all peoples?
Do I believe that the common good embraces all? How do I mirror God’s all-inclusive love and Christian compassion in daily life?
Do I believe that God’s merciful love is for all and that the gifts and the call of God for Israel are irrevocable? How do I act on this conviction?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Leader: Almighty God,
your merciful love is for all.
Your compassion touches peoples of all nations, cultures and colors
and your care embraces the whole creation.
Let our prayers in various tongues rise up to you
from vast continents and jewel-like islands of the earth.
Help us to welcome each other
and may our Church be a “house of prayer for all peoples”.
Do not let us exclude anyone
nor marginalize anybody
through selfishness, indifference and conceit.
Do not allow false divisions
exclude the needy and the poor,
the lonely and vulnerable,
from our care.
In the spirit of Saint Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles,
help us to trust in your universal plan of salvation
and to believe that your gifts and call for Israel
are irrevocable.
Give us the zeal and wisdom
to promote inter-religious understanding among all peoples.
Grant us also the courage to deal with the pressing problems
in our society today,
drawing grace and mercy from the heart of Jesus,
whose rising to life
set off the universal mission to the whole world.
O compassionate Father,
let the Spirit of the Risen Christ energize us
that we may bring efficaciously your merciful and saving love
to all creation.
May you be praised, honored and adored,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” (cf. Rom 11:29)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
ACTION PLAN: Pray that today’s efforts toward inter-religious dialogue may be blessed by the Lord, especially between the Christians and the Jews By your act of justice, service and compassion especially to the marginalized, allow the universal love of God to permeate the earth and his heavenly kingdom to come upon us all.
ACTION PLAN: That we may extend more efficaciously the universal saving love of God for all peoples and creation, 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: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 38).
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