Celebración de la palabra

Monday April 8, 2019

Introduction

The first reading gives us the story about the restoring to life of the son of the hospitable woman of Shunem, who had given shelter to the prophet Elisha. The Gospel gives us the dramatic account of Jesus raising Lazarus. The greatest problems in human life are certainly the enemies of life: suffering and death. When we look up to Jesus, we see that he gave meaning to suffering by making it a way to serve God and people. He overcame our ultimate enemy, death, by coming to life again, by rising from the dead. Today, we see him defeating death not only in himself but in people, by raising his friend Lazarus. Let us ask him in this Eucharist for a strong faith in the resurrection, which he prepares for us too.

Opening Prayer

Our God of life,
you want us to live and be happy.
Your Son Jesus assures us:
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Do not let your life die in us.
Make us come out of our graves
of sin and mediocrity and fears.
Let life triumph in us,
even in our uncertainties and trials,
and make contagious for others
our hope that you have destined us
for life without end
through the firstborn from the dead,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reading 1: Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,
who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,
the daughter of Hilkiah;
her pious parents had trained their daughter
according to the law of Moses.
Joakim was very rich;
he had a garden near his house,
and the Jews had recourse to him often
because he was the most respected of them all.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,
of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon:
from the elders who were to govern the people as judges."
These men, to whom all brought their cases,
frequented the house of Joakim.
When the people left at noon,
Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk.
When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk,
they began to lust for her.
They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.

One day, while they were waiting for the right moment,
she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only.
She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.
Nobody else was there except the two elders,
who had hidden themselves and were watching her.
"Bring me oil and soap," she said to the maids,
"and shut the garden doors while I bathe."

As soon as the maids had left,
the two old men got up and hurried to her.
"Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us;
give in to our desire, and lie with us.
If you refuse, we will testify against you
that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."

"I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned.
"If I yield, it will be my death;
if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.
Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt
than to sin before the Lord."
Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her,
as one of them ran to open the garden doors.
When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden,
they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.
At the accusations by the old men,
the servants felt very much ashamed,
for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.

When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day,
the two wicked elders also came,
fully determined to put Susanna to death.
Before all the people they ordered:
"Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah,
the wife of Joakim."
When she was sent for,
she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.
All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.

In the midst of the people the two elders rose up
and laid their hands on her head.
Through tears she looked up to heaven,
for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.
The elders made this accusation:
"As we were walking in the garden alone,
this woman entered with two girls
and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.
A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her.
When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime,
we ran toward them.
We saw them lying together,
but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we;
he opened the doors and ran off.
Then we seized her and asked who the young man was,
but she refused to tell us.
We testify to this."
The assembly believed them,
since they were elders and judges of the people,
and they condemned her to death.

But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."

The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."

Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."


After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
'The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him,
"Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you,
lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."

The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

Or: Dn 13:41c-62

The assembly condemned Susanna to death.

But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."

The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him,
"What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."

Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."

After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
'The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah,
beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,"
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."

The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

R. (4ab) Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

Verse Before the Gospel: Ez 33:11

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion, that he may live.

Gospel: Jn 8:12-20

Jesus spoke to them again, saying,
"I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life."
So the Pharisees said to him,
"You testify on your own behalf,
so your testimony cannot be verified."
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified,
because I know where I came from and where I am going.
But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.
And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid,
because I am not alone,
but it is I and the Father who sent me.
Even in your law it is written
that the testimony of two men can be verified.
I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me."
So they said to him, "Where is your father?"
Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father.
If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
He spoke these words
while teaching in the treasury in the temple area.
But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Intercessions

Martha said: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”. Lord, make us aware that you are with us here and calling us to life. We pray: Son of the living God, give us life.
– Lord, give new life to your Church and give it courage, that a better Church may be born through the testing pains of renewal, we pray:
– Lord, pour out your life richly and deeply in adults and children preparing for baptism, that they may live close to you, we pray:
– Lord, sustain old people and the dying in the hope that they will rise in you, that they may entrust themselves to you in all serenity and with deep faith, we pray:
– Lord, keep inspiring with the value and the dignity of life those who suffer, the victims of injustice and misfortune, that they may not give up on life, we pray:
– Lord, look on our Christians community. Make us appreciate life as a gift and a task, so that we can use all our potentials to make it rich and full for others and for ourselves, we pray:
Lord Jesus, raise us up above our petty self-sufficiency to a hope stronger than death. Stay with us, now and for ever.

Prayer over the Gifts

God, our Father,
your Son, Jesus, has given meaning
to death as well as to life.
In his own body,
he experienced our sufferings, with our joys
and died our death
as an offering to you and to us.
As we join him in his sacrifice,
help us to bear with him
the burdens of our brothers and sisters,
that with him and with you,
we may live for ever.

Prayer after Communion

God of all that lives,
in this Eucharist, your Son Jesus, has reassured us
that he is the resurrection and the life
and that we have eternal life already now
if we believe in him.
Through the bread of life he has given us,
let him give us the energy
to live our life to the full
and with him, to make our life as a gift
by which we brighten the life of others.
Let him lead us to you,
that we may live in your unending joy for ever.

Blessing

Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.
God our Father wants us to live.
May we gratefully accept life from him
as a gift and an assignment. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us that we might live.
May we live with him a life
worthy of the sons and daughters of God. Amen.

The life-giving Spirit inspires us
to go the way of Christ as people living for others.
May he make us always available and open
to anyone in need. Amen.

And may the God of life,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
bless you and keep you in his love.

Commentary

The stories of both Susanna and the adulterous woman, powerful expressions of justice and divine mercy, have had a troubled textual history. The Susanna story from the Book of Daniel is evidently an appendix to the original Hebrew and has come to us only in its Greek translation. The adulterous woman narrative is not found in any of the earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts. There is further question as to its original provenance, since its language and style are not typically Johannine but seem to be more Lucan.
That having been said, the narratives and their teaching remain perennially strong. The false accusations made against Susanna are overturned by the prophetic insight of the young Daniel. Her accusers are found guilty of slander, and she is completely exonerated.
The story of the sinful woman of the Gospel leaves no doubt about her guilt or the malice of her accusers. The question posed to Jesus was more entrapment than a hoped-for sentence of death, since evidence indicates that the Jews in Roman times had no authority to render a death sentence. Jesus prescinds from the question of guilt or innocence. Was there a guiltless person in his audience who was in a position to move against the woman? One by one they take their leave. Left alone with the woman, Jesus sends her away in peace and exhorts her to sin no more.
Forgiveness lies at the very center of Christ’s mission. For this he came into the world, to lift the sentence that lay upon us. It is this sense of forgiveness that permeates the whole of his mis-sion, and he clearly indicates that his followers are to be like- minded. Forgive not seven times but seventy times seven.
As Holy Week approaches, we are again reminded of the price of our exoneration. Regardless of the sin, forgiveness is ours for the asking. We are now called to extend that same spirit to others.

Points to Ponder

The death penalty and Catholic teaching
Forgiveness for the asking
Forgiveness of others when not asked
Personal reconciliation with God
The sacrament of reconciliation.