Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Deuteronomy is the source of the first reading for Mass this weekend. Among the first five books of the Bible, Deuteronomy contains for Jews the basic rule of life, as it is the basic revelation of God about how to live well.
Moses is central in these books. He led the Hebrews from Egypt, where they had been enslaved and oppressed, and guided them across the stark Sinai Peninsula to the promised land.
He led them not because they had chosen him or because he somehow had assumed the role of leadership, but rather because God commissioned him.
Moses not only led the people to their own land—the land God had promised them—he also taught them how to live according to God’s law. Again, the teachings of Moses were not merely the thoughts of Moses himself, but the very wisdom of God conveyed to humanity by Moses.
In this reading, Moses, speaking for God, reveals the central reality of existence. God, the Creator, is everything. Moses, still speaking for God, further reveals that God is one. God is a person.
For its second reading, the Church this weekend offers us a selection from the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The loveliest and most powerful symbols and understandings of God and virtue in the ancient Hebrew tradition gleam in the verses of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The exact circumstances of its composition are unknown, but it was clearly first intended for an audience very aware of the traditions and beliefs of Judaism at the time of Jesus.
For the ancient Jews, from the time that Aaron, the brother of Moses, served as high priest, the central figure in Jewish society was the high priest. This person’s role extended far beyond officiating at religious ceremonies. He represented God. He also spoke for the people in acknowledging God as supreme.
This epistle sees Jesus as the great, eternal high priest. While the image of Caiaphas and previous high priests was less than lustrous among Jews of the time of Jesus, because the high priests allowed themselves to be tools of the Roman oppressors, the great high priest envisioned by Hebrews, Jesus, is holy and perfect.
As a human, the Lord represented all humanity. As God, the sacrifice of Jesus was perfect.
St. Mark’s Gospel furnishes the last reading. A scribe, an expert in Jewish religion, asked Jesus to capsulate the commandments. It was an understandable question. Jewish law, all seen as emanating from God, had 613 such commandments.
Responding, Jesus drew upon two divine statutes well-known to the audience, one from Deuteronomy, the other from Leviticus. This mere technique situated the Lord in the tradition of revelation and confirmed that he was no imposter. He was God’s spokesman.
Reflection
The Church is moving forward to the Solemnity of Christ the King, celebrated only a few weeks from now. In this feast, the Church will conclude its liturgical year and close its yearlong lesson, given us in part each of the 52 Sundays when we hear God’s word and pray.
As it approaches the year’s end, the Church, a good teacher, summarizes its teachings, declaring that God is everything. Ignoring God, disobeying God, bring chaos and doom. God guides us to peace and fulfillment in life, as he guided the Hebrews to freedom. He sends Jesus as our teacher and leader, as once Moses led the Hebrews.
In a few days, Americans will choose the 538 electors who, in late December, will select the next president. Voters will elect new members of Congress, who, in January, will begin to make the laws for our country.
It is time to place God at the center of decisions. God is love. He is perfect. †