The Word today, W18B
- Admin
- Aug 2, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 27, 2024
August 05 - August 10, 2024
Dedication of St Mary Major, Rome
Jeremiah 28:1-17 In critical times, there can be prophets who tell us what we want to hear. This was true in the past, as we hear in this gripping story of contrasting “words of the Lord.” Jeremiah is steadfast as usual.
Matthew 14:13-21 The multiplications in the desert has direct echoes of Moses and the manna. Our question might be “what happened?” “Matthew wants us to go a bit deeper: who is Jesus, our new Moses, who guides and nourishes us today?”
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 Our reading takes us to the heavenly court. It uses a key phrase: one like a son of man, used by J e s u s a b o u t himself. The ending of the reading is very like the ending of Matthew’s Gospel: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)
2 Peter 1:16-19 Is the Christian proclamation just stories or “clever myths”? Emphatically not, according to this reading. Jesus was a real historical person about whom believers hold well-grounded beliefs. The last sentence in the reading is very uplifting: take [prophecy] as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.
Mark 9:2-10 What kind of experience was the Transfiguration for Jesus and for those present? It Mark’s version it was a spiritual experience in which the true identity of Jesus was disclosed and the right responses to him indicated: Listen, to him. This echoes again our human condition: we are hearers of the Word, as Rahner put it.
Sts Sixtus II, bishop of Rome and his companions, martyrs
Jeremiah 30:1-2,12-15,18-22 A double message marks this passage from Jeremiah, weal and woe or rather the other way around, woe and weal! Yes, the disaster of the Exile brought about tremendous destruction. No, God’s love has never been taken away.
Matthew 14:22-36 The Gospels as a whole were written in the light of Easter and to proclaim the resurrection. This is true of the walking on the water. In this case, we are to understand that the risen, living Lord is with his church always, no matter what storms and tempests we face.
St Dominic, priest and religious
Jeremiah 31:1-7 The second part of Jeremiah is full of surprising and abundant consolation. Nowhere is this more evident is these lines today, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, so I am constant in my affection for you.” It was good news for the exiles; it is good new for us today.
Matthew 15:21-28 The story of the Canaanite woman is remarkable on several counts. First of all, a woman teaches Jesus. Secondly, Matthew underlines that Jesus came “only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This exception anticipates the Gentile mission, found at the close of this Gospel.
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, (Edith Stein) virgin and martyr
Hosea 2:16, 17, 21-22 The lectionary offers a powerful reading for the feast of Edith Stein, underlining the loving intimacy of God’s call.
Matthew 25:1-13 Our reading—quite traditional for the feast of virgins—reminds us that there are some things others cannot do for us: making journey inward to the heart of God.
St Laurence, deacon and martyr
2 Corinthians 9:6-10 Originally, this reading was about the collection for the Judean Christians, who were poor and under pressure. Paul’s reflection on generosity in giving in general, however, is always up to date.
John 12:24-26 This short reading, also special for the feast, takes up an image from the parables of Jesus and applies it directly to the cost of discipleship then and now.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bh, August 4). Eighteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080424.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/
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