Procession of the Queen of Sheba; Meeting between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon
Piero della Francesca
1452-66
Fresco, 336 x 747 cm
San Francesco, Arezzo
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Posted on 07/20/2020 4:53:42 AM PDT by annalex
Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel.
O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Apollinaris, please go here.
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| Matthew | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Matthew 12 |
|||
| 38. | Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying: Master we would see a sign from thee. | Tunc responderunt ei quidam de scribis et pharisæis, dicentes : Magister, volumus a te signum videre. | τοτε απεκριθησαν τινες των γραμματεων και φαρισαιων λεγοντες διδασκαλε θελομεν απο σου σημειον ιδειν |
| 39. | Who answering said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. | Qui respondens ait illis : Generatio mala et adultera signum quærit : et signum non dabitur ei, nisi signum Jonæ prophetæ. | ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις γενεα πονηρα και μοιχαλις σημειον επιζητει και σημειον ου δοθησεται αυτη ει μη το σημειον ιωνα του προφητου |
| 40. | For as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. | Sicut enim fuit Jonas in ventre ceti tribus diebus, et tribus noctibus, sic erit Filius hominis in corde terræ tribus diebus et tribus noctibus. | ωσπερ γαρ ην ιωνας εν τη κοιλια του κητους τρεις ημερας και τρεις νυκτας ουτως εσται ο υιος του ανθρωπου εν τη καρδια της γης τρεις ημερας και τρεις νυκτας |
| 41. | The men of Ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas. And behold a greater than Jonas here. | Viri Ninivitæ surgent in judicio cum generatione ista, et condemnabunt eam : quia pœnitentiam egerunt in prædicatione Jonæ. Et ecce plus quam Jonas hic. | ανδρες νινευιται αναστησονται εν τη κρισει μετα της γενεας ταυτης και κατακρινουσιν αυτην οτι μετενοησαν εις το κηρυγμα ιωνα και ιδου πλειον ιωνα ωδε |
| 42. | The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon here. | Regina austri surget in judicio cum generatione ista, et condemnabit eam : quia venit a finibus terræ audire sapientiam Salomonis, et ecce plus quam Salomon hic. | βασιλισσα νοτου εγερθησεται εν τη κρισει μετα της γενεας ταυτης και κατακρινει αυτην οτι ηλθεν εκ των περατων της γης ακουσαι την σοφιαν σολομωνος και ιδου πλειον σολομωνος ωδε |
Thank You for picking up where Salvation left off.
God Bless You and Yours!
12:38–40
38. Then certain of the Scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xliii.) Because the Lord had so oft repressed the shameless tongue of the Pharisees by His sayings, they now turn to His works, whereat the Evangelist wondering, says, Then certain of the Scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign of thee; and that at a time when they should have been moved, when they should have wondered, and been dumb with astonishment; yet even at such time they desist not from their malice. For they say, We would see a sign of thee, that they may take Him as in a snare.
JEROME. They require a sign of Him, as though what they had seen were not signs; and in another Evangelist what they required is more fully expressed, We would see of thee a sign from heaven. Either they would have fire from heaven as Elias did; or after the example of Samuel they would that in summer-time, contrary to the nature of the climate, thunder should be heard, lightnings gleam, and rain descend; as though they could not have spoken falsely even against such miracles, and said that they befel by reason of divers hidden motions in the air. For if thou cavillest against what thou not only beholdest with thine eyes, but feelest with thine hand, and reapest the benefit of, what wilt thou do in those things which come down from heaven. You might make answer, that in Egypt the magi also had given many signs from heaven.
CHRYSOSTOM. But their words are full of hypocrisy and irony. But now they were railing against Him, saying that He had a dæmon; now they fawn upon Him, calling Him, Master. Wherefore the Lord rebukes them severely; He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. When they railed on Him, He had answered them mildly; now they approached Him with smooth and deceitful words, He rebukes them sharply; shewing that He was above either affection, and was neither moved to anger by evil speaking, nor was to be gained by flattery. What He says is this; What wonder that ye do thus to Me who am unknown to you, when you have done the same to the Father, of whom ye have had such large knowledge, in that, despising Him ye went after dæmons? He calls them an evil generation, because they have ever been ungrateful to their benefactors, and were made worse when they received benefits, which is the extreme of wickedness.
JEROME. Excellently is that said, and adulterous, seeing she has put away her husband, and, according to Ezekiel, has joined herself to many lovers.
CHRYSOSTOM. Which also proves Him to be equal to the Father, if not to believe in Him makes them adulterous.
RABANUS. Then He begins to answer them, giving them a sign not from heaven, which they were unworthy to see, but giving it them from the deep beneath. But to His own disciples He gave a sign from heaven, to whom He shewed the glory of His blessed eternity both in a figure on the mount, and after in verity when He was taken up into heaven. Wherefore it follows, And there shall no sign he given it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas.
CHRYSOSTOM. For the signs He wrought were not in order to move them, for He knew that they were hard as stone, but for the profit of others. Or because they had not received it when He had given them a sign such as they now desired. And a sign was given them, when by their own punishment they learned His power. This He alludes to when He says, No sign shall he given it. As much as to say; I have shewn you many mercies; yet none of these has brought you to honour My power, which you will then know when you shall behold your city thrown down upon the ground in punishment. In the mean time He brings in a saying concerning the Resurrection which they should after understand by those things that they should suffer; saying, Except the sign of the Prophet Jonas. For verily His Cross would not have been believed, unless it had had signs to testify to it. But if that were not believed, truly the Resurrection would not have been believed. For this reason also He calls this a sign, and brings forward a figure thereof, that the verity itself may be believed. It follows, As Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale,
RABANUS. He shews that the Jews were as criminal as the Ninevites, and that unless they repented they would be destroyed. But like as punishment was denounced against the Ninevites, and at the same time a remedy was set before them, so neither should the Jews despair of pardon, if at least after Christ’s resurrection they should do penitence. For Jonas, that is The Dove, or The mourner, is a sign of Him on whom the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a Dove, and who bare our sorrows. (Is. 53:4) The fish which swallowed Jonas in the sea, shews forth the death which Christ suffered in the world. Three days and nights was the one in the whale’s belly, the other in the tomb; the one was cast up on dry laud, the other arose in glory.
AUGUSTINE. (De Cons. Ev. iii. 24.) Some, not knowing the Scripture manner of speaking, would interpret as one night those three hours of darkness when the sun was darkened from the sixth to the ninth hour; and as a day in like manner those other three hours in which it was again restored to the world, from the ninth hour till sunset. Then follows the night preceding the sabbath, which if we reckon with its own day we shall have thus two days and two nights. Then after the sabbath follows the night of the sabbath prime, that is of the dawning of the Lord’s day on which the Lord arose. Thus we shall only get two nights and two days, with this one night to be added if we might understand the whole of it, and it could not be shewn that that dawn was indeed the latter part of the night. So that not even by taking in those six hours, three of darkness, and three of restored light, can we establish the computation of three days and three nights. It remains therefore that we find the explanation in that usual manner of Scripture of putting a part for the whole.
JEROME. Not that He remained three whole days and three nights in hell, but that this be understood to imply a part of the preparation day, and of the Lord’s day, and the whole sabbath day.
AUGUSTINE. (De Trin. iv. 6.) For that the three days were not three full and entire days, Scripture witnesses; the first day is reckoned because the latter end of it comes in; and the third day is likewise reckoned, because the first part of it is included; while the day between, that is the second day, appears in all its twenty-four hours, twelve of the night and twelve of the day. For the succeeding night up to the dawn when the Lord’s resurrection was made known, belongs to the third day. For as the first days of creation were, because of man’s coming fall, computed from morning to night; so these days are because of man’s restoration computed from night to morning.
CHRYSOSTOM. He said not openly that He should rise again, because they would have derided him, but hints it distantly that even they might believe that He foreknew it. He said not in the earth, but in the heart of the earth, therein declaring His tomb, and that none might suspect that there was only the semblance of death. Therefore also He spake of three days, that it should be believed that He was dead. But the sign itself proves the truth of it; for Jonas was in the whale’s belly not in figure but in deed; and surely the sign did not happen in very deed, if the thing signified happened only in figure. Wherefore it is manifest that they are children of the Devil who follow Marcion asserting that the passion of Christ was only a phantasy. And that He should suffer for them also, though they would not profit by it, is shewn by that which He speaks, that to this generation should be given the sign of Jonas the Prophet.
12:41–42
41. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
CHRYSOSTOM. That none should think that the same things would come to pass now among the Jews, as had of old been among the Ninevites; that as Jonas converted them and their city was delivered out of danger, so the Jews should be converted after the resurrection, the Lord now shews the contrary, that they should have no fruit of the benefit of the passion, but should suffer moreover grievous things, as He signifies below in the example of the dæmon. But now He first shews what just punishment they shall suffer, saying, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation.
REMIGIUS. The Lord shews in these words that there shall be one resurrection of the good and the bad against certain heretics, who said that there should be two, one of the good, another of the bad. These words likewise overthrow that fable of the Jews, who use to say that the Resurrection shall be held a thousand years before the Judgment; these words clearly proving that the Judgment shall ensue straight upon the Resurrection. And shall condemn it.
JEROME. Not by a sentence of judgment, but by the comparison of their example; as He adds, For they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. This word ‘hic’ is to be taken as an adverb of place, not as a pronoun. Jonas (according to the LXX) preached for three days, (Jonah 3:4 ἔτι τρδῖς ἡμέδαι) I for this so long time; he to the Assyrians an unbelieving nation, I to God’s own people the Jews; he preached with his voice only, doing no miracles, I, doing so many wonders, am falsely accused as Beelzebub.
CHRYSOSTOM. Yet does not the Lord stay here, but adds another denunciation, saying, The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. This was yet more than that first. Jonas went to them; the queen of the south waited not for Solomon to come to her, but herself sought him. Both a woman and a barbarian, and dwelling so far away, she was not afraid of death in her desire to hear his wise words. This woman went to Solomon, I came hither; she rose up from the ends of the earth, I go round about your towns and villages; he spake of trees and wood, I of unspeakable mysteries.
JEROME. So the queen of the south will condemn the Jews in the same manner as the men of Nineveh will condemn unbelieving Israel. This is the queen of Saba, of whom we read in the book of Kings and Chronicles, who leaving her nation and kingdom came through so many difficulties to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and brought him many gifts. Also in these instances of Nineveh and the queen of Saba, the faith of the Gentiles is significantly set above that of Israel.
RABANUS. The Ninevites typify those who cease from sin—the queen those that know not to sin; for penitence puts away sin, wisdom shuns it.
REMIGIUS. Beautifully is the Church gathered out of the Gentiles spoken of as a queen who knows how to rule her ways. Of her the Psalmist speaks; The queen stood on thy right hand. (Ps. 45:9.) She is the queen of the south because she abounds in the fervour of the Holy Spirit. Solomon, interpreted ‘peaceful,’ signifies Him of whom it is said, He is our peace. (Eph. 2:14.)
Catena Aurea Matthew 12
According to tradition, Saint Peter sent Apollinaris to Ravenna, Italy, as its first bishop. His preaching of the Good News was so successful that the pagans there beat him and drove him from the city. He returned, however, and was exiled a second time. After preaching in the area surrounding Ravenna, he entered the city again. After being cruelly tortured, he was put on a ship heading to Greece. Pagans there caused him to be expelled to Italy, where he went to Ravenna for a fourth time. He died from wounds received during a savage beating at Classis, a suburb of Ravenna. A beautiful basilica honoring him was built there in the sixth century.
Following Jesus involves risks—sometimes the supreme risk of life itself. Martyrs are people who would rather accept the risk of death than deny the cornerstone of their whole life: faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone will die eventually—the persecutors and those persecuted. The question is what kind of a conscience people will bring before the Lord for judgment. Remembering the witness of past and present martyrs can help us make the often small sacrifices that following Jesus today may require.
Patronage: Epilepsy, Gout, Aachen, Burtscheid, Düsseldorf, Ravenna, Remagen
From: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8
The Lord hands down his sentence
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[1] Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. [2] Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. [3] O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! [4] For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Formal religion is not enough
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[6] With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? [7] Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” [8] He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
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Commentary:
6:1-7:7. This is the third part of the book. As we have seen, the book oscillates between reproaches and messages of encouragement. This part is of the former type. The book began by taking Israel and Judah to task and by announcing their sentence (1:2-3:12); then came an augury of an eschatological restoration of the kingdom of God, with the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of the “remnant” (4:1-5:15). Now (6:1-7:7) the people are again condemned for their unjust and immoral behaviour. But the last verse (7:7) shows us that the prophet trusts in God and is confident that he will be heard. As in 4:l-5, this confidence on Micah’s part is an earnest of what is said in the final verses of the book (7:8-20), where one sees fulfilled all the hopes placed in the future.
The faults for which the prophet criticizes the people are infidelity and ingratitude towards the Lord (6:1-15) and a lack of virtue (6:6-8), particularly injustice (6:9-16), which has led to despair and betrayal (7:1-6).
6:1-5. Here begins the arraignment of Israel in the style of a court case (rib) in which the Lord and Israel speak. The rib is a literary form found quite frequently in prophetical writings (cf. Is 3:13-15; 5:3-7; Hos 4:1-3; etc.) It depicts a public trial or debate in which the Lord is the plaintiff (v. 2) and the world around (hills, mountains) is the witness (vv. 1-2). The drama of the scene lies in the fact that the people being addressed are at one and the same time the defendants (v. 2) and those who are expected to give judgment. Given the case made in the oracle, anyone present must agree with the prophet that the thing to do is to try to know the “saving acts of the Lord” (v. 5). The points made by God through the prophet involve basically an appeal to the very origin of the people of Israel and what the Lord did for them: he appeals to the basic elements of Israelite faith (cf. Deut 5:15). Similar arguments should also impress the Christian: “Christian soul, always remember your dignity, and having been invited to partake of the divine nature, do not fall hack by your behaviour into your past sinfulness. Be mindful of what head and body you are a member. Remember that you were freed from darkness and led into the light of the kingdom of God” (St Leo the Great, Sermones, 21, 3).
This message (especially vv. 3-4) is very familiar to Christians because it is used in the Reproaches sung during the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday. That chant combines the Micah text with short paragraphs taken from the Trisagium (an ancient liturgical hymn in honour of the Blessed Trinity), from Isaiah 5:1-5, and from events connected with the exodus from Egypt (updated in the liturgy by linking them to episodes in the passion of our Lord). That part of the Good Friday liturgy serves to remind Christians and people in general of their ingratitude towards God (as shown by their sins) -- God whose love andgenerosity are unbounded. It invites us to acknowledge our sins and helps to get us ready (collectively and personally) for conversion. When a Christian kisses the cross of Christ, he can apply the prophet’s words to himself -- as if Jesus were speaking them to him, for, as St Francis of Assisi says, “The demons alone did not crucify him; you helped them to crucify him, and to crucify him still, by falling into error and sin” (Admonitiones, 5, 3; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 598). The liturgy of the Adoration of the Cross is an excellent way of taking to heart Micah’s oracle.
6:6-8. These verses are a kind of summary of what true religion is; it is not only a matter of formal religious worship: it involves obedience towards God which in turn means practising justice and charity towards one’s neighbour (v. 8). Verse 7 alludes to the abominable Canaanite practice of sacrificing children to the God Moloch and to the Baals -- a practice roundly condemned elsewhere in the Bible: “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub” (1 Kings 16:34; cf. Lev 20:2; Deut 12:31; etc.). It could he that these sins from the Northern kingdom were finding their way into Judah (cf. 6:16), as 2 Kings 16:3 suggests and as Jeremiah asserts: “[the kings of Judah] have filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal” (Jer 19:4-5).
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From: Matthew 12:38-42
The Sign of Jonah
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[38] Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him (Jesus), "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." [39] But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. [42] The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here."
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Commentary:
39-40. This sign the Jews were asking for would have been a miracle or some other prodigy; they wanted Jesus, incongruously, to confirm his preaching--given with such simplicity--by dramatic signs. Our Lord replies by announcing the mystery of his death and resurrection, using the parallel of the case of Jonah: "No sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." Jesus' glorious resurrection is the "sign" "par excellence", the decisive proof of the divine character of his person, of his mission and of his teaching.
When St. Paul (1 Cor 14:3-4) confesses that Jesus Christ "was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures" (words which later found their way into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, the Creed used in the Mass), he must have had this passage particularly in mind. We can see another allusion to Jonah in the words our Lord spoke shortly before his ascension: "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead" (Lk 24:45-46).
41-42. Nineveh was a city in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) to which the prophet Jonah was sent. The Ninevites did penance (Jn 3:6-9) because they recognized the prophet and accepted his message; whereas Jerusalem does not wish to recognize Jesus, of whom Jonah was merely a figure. The queen of the South was the queen of Sheba in southwestern Arabia, who visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-10) and was in awe of the wisdom with which God had endowed the King of Israel. Jesus is also prefigured in Solomon, whom Jewish tradition saw as the epitome of the wise man. Jesus' reproach is accentuated by the example of pagan converts, and gives us a glimpse of the universal scope of Christianity, which will take root among the Gentiles.
There is a certain irony in what Jesus says about "something greater" than Jonah or Solomon having coming: really, he is infinitely greater, but Jesus prefers to tone down the difference between himself and any figure, no matter how important, in the Old Testament.
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