Res Biblica

The episode of the two greatest commandments is reported to us by Matthew in a context of a disputation in which the hidden intentions of Jesus' interlocutors are laid bare. Little do the Pharisees know that as they test Jesus, they are being judged. In the question of the scribe we find an academic question: how does one come up with a framework that brings together all 613 precepts of the Law in a simplified way? The expected answer was the Shema. Jesus gives the expected answer but adds a second one, the one that the Pharisees have been neglecting. Read this article and use the following for your guide.

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The episode about the two greatest commandments appears in all Synoptic gospels in different contexts. In Mark and Matthew, it appears within a a series of disputations with the power groups of Jerusalem. In Luke, it appears in the context of Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem and introduces the parable about the Good Samaritan. Matthew follows the outline of Mark in presenting the episode. The Pharisees are out to "test" Jesus. In Matthew's gospel, this has been happening since the time Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in a synagogue (Matthew 12:14). The resolve then was to "destroy" Jesus (12:14). Since then, Matthew presents the question about a sign (16:1-4) and the question about divorce (19:1-12) as specific examples by which the Pharisees carry out their plan. After Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the commotion he causes in the Temple, he is approached first by chief priests and elders who ask him about his authority, then by students and Pharisees and Herodians (22:15-22), Sadducees (22:23-33) and finally by the Pharisees themselves.

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Maybe I should now apply for a sabbatical in 2009. The Pontifical Biblical Institute will be celebrating its centenary that year and I think some of the activities will be interesting. I received a letter announcing the event just this morning when I went to my parents' place in Antipolo. R. P. Stephen Pisano, S. J. who was my professor in Textual Criticism is now the Rector of the Institute and the one in charge of Alumni Affairs signed the letter. He writes:

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"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's" has been for centuries the Christian guideline for communal living in a world that finds them strange and alien. We "give to Caesar" so long as obedience to him does not mean disobedience to God who alone deserves our total commitment. The original context of the saying is found in Matthew 22:15-22, the gospel reading for the 29th Sunday OT A. Read this article and use the following for your reflection.

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The pericope is cut off from the previous section by the phrase "then" (v. 15), the beginning of a new action by the Pharisees who decide to trap Jesus in what he says, and the arrival of new interlocutors: the students (mathetas) of the Pharisees with the Herodians. The episode closes with their departure (v. 22)

The present debate with the lay leaders of Jerusalem are to be understood within the series of confrontations that began with the elders and high priests in Matthew 21:23. The interrogations will end in 22:46 but Jesus will have something to say about these confrontations in Matthew 23, when as Son of Man he pronoounces judgment on the representatives of Jerusalem's power groups, both lay and priestly.

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Matthew 22:1-14 is the third parable of a series that Jesus tells his interlocutors. He had already disturbed his hearers with the two previous parables (cf. Matthew 21:45), which share similarities in structure, though not in content. This third parable is similar to Luke 14:16-24 except that in Luke there is nothing about a new invitation and the throwing out of a party crasher. As it stands in Matthew's gospel, the parable is a commentary -- a midrash in a form of a mashal? -- on the words "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it. (Matthew 21:43)" and is meant to be a warning against being complacent vis-a-vis the kingdom.

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The parable of the king's banquet is meant be a commentary on the words: "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it. (Matthew 21:43)" . The main point of the parable is found in the latter part, about the king who discovers that a man without a wedding garment was able to get into the banquet. Read the article about The Wedding Garment or this article and use the following for your guide.

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The Church is a cultivated fiield, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about again. The land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator. Yet the true viine is Christ who gives life and fruitfulness to the branches, that is , to us, who through the Church remain in Christ, without whom we can do nothing. (CCC 755)

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The parable of the wicked tenants in the vineyard is the second parable that Jesus offers the religious leaders who ask about his authority. While the parable of the two sons brings to light the attitude of these leaders to the ministry of John the Baptist, this second parable gives them a veiled insight into what willl happen if they continue to reject even Jesus who comes with the authority of the son of the vineyard's owner. We have written on this same section of Matthew in two different occassions, links to which are found below.

Psalm 118:22-23
The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard
The Tenants of the Vineyard

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Jesus' parable of the two sons were directed to those who were so fixated to their idea of God's will that they missed it being expressed in the voice of the Baptist. We too can be so fixated on an aspect of Catholicism or Christianity that we end up being disobedient to the will of God. Read about the parable of the two sons here and use the following for your reflection.

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The parable of the two sons immediately follows the events surrounding the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. His entrance into the Holy City, the act of cleansing the Temple raise questions in the minds of those who safeguard the privilege of those who take part in the covenant with David and Israel. What is important in these covenants however is obedience to God; the spirit of the religion of the fathers is fidelity to God expressed in obedience to His will. John the Baptist called everyone to repentance as preparation for the coming of God's reign. The chief priests and the elders refused to heed that voice. Jesus makes them aware of it.

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The parable of the owner of the vineyard is about the reversal of fortune effected by God's mercy manifested in Christ. "First" and "last" are relativized before God's justice, which is also His mercy. It is because of this relativization that the reversal of fortunes effected by the kingdom of God manifesting itself in the work of Christ can make the first, last and the last, first. Read the article on the parable of the owner of the vineyard and use the questions below for your reflection

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The parable of the owner of the vineyard who goes out to call workers at different times of the day was the inspiration for the introduction of John Paul II's post-synodal exhortation "Christifideles laici". There, emphasis was placed on the words "You go to the vineyard too" (20:4) as an imperative for the laity to find their place within the Church's mission. (CL,2). The application of the parable to a document about the life and mission of the lay faithful in the Church assumes an identification between the Lord of the vineyard and the God who calls everyone in every stage of human history to be participants in his work. Gregory the Great (Homily XIX) and John Chrysostom (In Matthaeum 64,3), apply the parable to the different stages of the human life and admonish the faithful to respond to God's invitation at whatever age or level of maturity they are in. Whether old (the first) or very young (the last), the Lord invites them to the holy life.

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We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
for by thy cross thou hast redeemed the world.

One may wonder, why do we give so much honour to the Holy Cross. Over and above being the symbol of Christianity, the Holy Cross brings to light many fundamental truths that are being taught by the Holy Catholic Church.

First of all, the Lord Jesus in who the fullness of God was pleased to dwell bodily [Col. 1:19, 2:9] did not regard Himself equal with God during the incarnation. Setting aside His infinite power, He took upon Himself the human nature and humbled Himself in full obedience to the heavenly Father, even to His death on the Cross.

Through His perfect sacrifice as the Lamb of God, He was exalted and given the Most Holy Name that is above all names so that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bend in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Because of this, the Holy Cross is the symbol of Divine Love. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.

The Holy Cross is the symbol of salvation. Through Jesus Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism, those who believe in Him and obey His teachings, they will enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The Holy Cross is the symbol of Divine compassion. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but in order that the world may be saved through Jesus. (From CatholicDoors)

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John 3:13-17 is a part of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus and is one of the texts that proclaim the relationship of between Christian faith, eternal life and the significance of the Cross to both. Below is an illustration of the text as it appears in the Revised Standard Version. Click on it for a larger view.

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Matthew 18:15-20 gives the guidelines for the way members of the Church should act in cases of a brother or a sister who sins. In all the steps of the process, the community has one goal: not to lose a sheep that has strayed. Read the article you find here and here and use the following as your guide for reflection.

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Take heed to yourselves if your brother sins,
rebuke him;
and if he repents,
forgive him.

It has been suggested that Matthew expanded on this Q passage creating a three-step process meant for handling offenses in the community. This might well be the case since the Matthaean community were made up of Jewish converts who have had experience in community handled disputes. This, together with a remark by Paul in 1 Corinthians (1 Cor. 6:2-8) point us to a feature of the early Church that allowed it to handle legal matters within the community of faith.

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Matthew 16:21-28 and parallels is the basis for the ascetic dimension of the Christian life. Baptism makes the Christian an "alter Christus" and associates him/her closely to the sacrifice of the Cross. The baptismal rite highlights this when the baptizandi are marked on the forehead with the cross of Christ. Read this article on Matthew 16:21-28 and "Being An Alter Christus"; use the following for your reflection.

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Matthew 16:21-28 follows the episode of Peter's confession. It is separated from the preceding episode by the phrase "from that time onwards". 17:1 begins another section with the episode of the Transfiguration. The current selection can be divided as follows 21 Jesus speaks of his suffering, death and resurrection 22-23 Peter's misunderstanding 24-28 Jesus' speech about the cross. 24 Discipleship and the Cross 25-26 Saving and Being Lost 27-28 Conclusion: The Son of Man and Judgment

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The Woe Oracles we find in Isaiah 5:8-25 and 10:1-4 probably made up a literary whole before a redactor or a series of redactors inserted the materials currently separating them. As these are now found in Isaiah 4:2-12:6, they are the prophet's laments over a group of people that has contributed to the downfall of Israel which now (in a date after the Babylonian exile and coinciding with the time of the third Isaiah?) awaits the coming of a New Messiah and a New Jerusalem. There is a redactional phrase that connects these oracles together leading to the last vision of Yahweh's victory in battle in Isaiah 66:24: "for all this, his wrath is not turned back and his hand is still outstretched" (Isaiah 5:25b, 9:20b, 10:4b).

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