The Resurrection of Christ
Albrecht Altdorfer
c. 1516
Oil on wood, 71 x 37 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Posted on 07/23/2020 5:13:41 AM PDT by annalex
This word of the LORD came to me:
Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!
I remember the devotion of your youth,
how you loved me as a bride,
Following me in the desert,
in a land unsown.
Sacred to the LORD was Israel,
the first fruits of his harvest;
Should any presume to partake of them,
evil would befall them, says the LORD.
When I brought you into the garden land
to eat its goodly fruits,
You entered and defiled my land,
you made my heritage loathsome.
The priests asked not,
“Where is the LORD?”
Those who dealt with the law knew me not:
the shepherds rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after useless idols.
Be amazed at this, O heavens,
and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD.
Two evils have my people done:
they have forsaken me, the source of living waters;
They have dug themselves cisterns,
broken cisterns, that hold no water.
R. (10a) With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
O LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your faithfulness, to the clouds.
Your justice is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them to drink.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
Keep up your mercy toward your friends,
your just defense of the upright of heart.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Bridget, please go here.
KEYWORDS: catholic; mt13; ordinarytime; prayer;
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| Matthew | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Matthew 13 |
|||
| 10. | And his disciples came and said to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables? | Et accedentes discipuli dixerunt ei : Quare in parabolis loqueris eis ? | και προσελθοντες οι μαθηται ειπον αυτω δια τι εν παραβολαις λαλεις αυτοις |
| 11. | Who answered and said to them: Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given. | Qui respondens, ait illis : Quia vobis datum est nosse mysteria regni cælorum : illis autem non est datum. | ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις οτι υμιν δεδοται γνωναι τα μυστηρια της βασιλειας των ουρανων εκεινοις δε ου δεδοται |
| 12. | For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath. | Qui enim habet, dabitur ei, et abundabit : qui autem non habet, et quod habet auferetur ab eo. | οστις γαρ εχει δοθησεται αυτω και περισσευθησεται οστις δε ουκ εχει και ο εχει αρθησεται απ αυτου |
| 13. | Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. | Ideo in parabolis loquor eis : quia videntes non vident, et audientes non audiunt, neque intelligunt. | δια τουτο εν παραβολαις αυτοις λαλω οτι βλεποντες ου βλεπουσιν και ακουοντες ουκ ακουουσιν ουδε συνιουσιν |
| 14. | And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. | Et adimpletur in eis prophetia Isaiæ, dicentis : Auditu audietis, et non intelligetis : et videntes videbitis, et non videbitis. | και αναπληρουται αυτοις η προφητεια ησαιου η λεγουσα ακοη ακουσετε και ου μη συνητε και βλεποντες βλεψετε και ου μη ιδητε |
| 15. | For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. | Incrassatum est enim cor populi hujus, et auribus graviter audierunt, et oculos suos clauserunt : nequando videant oculis, et auribus audiant, et corde intelligant, et convertantur, et sanem eos. | επαχυνθη γαρ η καρδια του λαου τουτου και τοις ωσιν βαρεως ηκουσαν και τους οφθαλμους αυτων εκαμμυσαν μηποτε ιδωσιν τοις οφθαλμοις και τοις ωσιν ακουσωσιν και τη καρδια συνωσιν και επιστρεψωσιν και ιασομαι αυτους |
| 16. | But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. | Vestri autem beati oculi quia vident, et aures vestræ quia audiunt. | υμων δε μακαριοι οι οφθαλμοι οτι βλεπουσιν και τα ωτα υμων οτι ακουει |
| 17. | For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them. | Amen quippe dico vobis, quia multi prophetæ et justi cupierunt videre quæ videtis, et non viderunt : et audire quæ auditis, et non audierunt. | αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν οτι πολλοι προφηται και δικαιοι επεθυμησαν ιδειν α βλεπετε και ουκ ειδον και ακουσαι α ακουετε και ουκ ηκουσαν |
13:10–17
10. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) The disciples understanding that the things which were spoken by the Lord to the people were obscure, desired to hint to Him that He should not speak in parables to them. And his disciples came to him, and said, Why speakest thou to them in parables?
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom, xlv.) Wherein it is worthy admiration, that the disciples who desire to learn of Him, know when they ought to ask Him, for they do not this before the multitude. This Matthew declares, when he says, And they came to him; (Mark 4:10) and Mark more expressly says, that they came to him when he was alone.
JEROME. We must enquire how they could come to Him at that time when Jesus was sitting in the ship; we may understand that they had at the first entered into the ship, and standing there, made this enquiry of Him.
REMIGIUS. The Evangelist therefore says, came to him, to express that they eagerly enquired of Him; or they might indeed approach Him bodily, though the space between them was small.
CHRYSOSTOM. And observe moreover their goodness, how great their thought for others, that they enquire about what concerns others, before what relates to themselves. For they say not, ‘Why speakest thou to us in parables?’ but to them. And he answered and said unto them, Because it is given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven.
REMIGIUS. To you, I say, who adhere to Me, and believe in Me. By the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, He intends the Gospel doctrine. To them, that is, to them that are without, and who would not believe on Him, the Scribes namely and Pharisees, and to the rest who continue in unbelief, it is not given. Let us then, with the disciples, come unto the Lord with a pure heart, that He may think us worthy to interpret to us the evangelic teaching; according to that, They who draw near to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine. (Deut. 33:3)
CHRYSOSTOM. In saying this, He does not imply any necessity or fate, but shews at once, that they, to whom it is not given, are the cause of all their own miseries, and yet that the knowledge of the Divine mysteries is the gift of God, and a grace given from above. Yet this does not destroy free will, as is manifest from what follows, for to prevent that either these should despair, or those be remiss, when they hear that to you it is given, He shews that the beginning of all lays with ourselves, and then He adds, For whoso hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound; and whoso hath not, from him shall be taken what he hath. As much as to say, Whoso has the desire and the zeal, to him shall be given all those things which are of God; but whoso lacketh these, and does not contribute that part that pertains to him, to him neither are the things which are of God given, but even those things that he hath are taken from him; not because God takes them away, but because he hath made himself unworthy of those that he has. Wherefore we also, if we see any hearkening carelessly, and having exhorted him to attend, he do not heed us, let us be silent; for should we persevere in urging him, his sloth-fulness will be the more charged against him. But him that is zealous to learn, we draw onwards, pouring forth many things. And He well said according to another Evangelist, That which he seemeth to have; (Luke 8:18.) for, in truth, he has not even that he has.
REMIGIUS. He that has a desire to read, shall have given to him power to understand, and whoso has not desire to read, that understanding which by the bounty of nature he seems to have, even that shall be taken from him. Or, whoso has charity, to him shall be given the other virtues also; and from him who has not charity, the other virtues likewise shall be taken away, for without charity there can be nothing good.
JEROME. Or, To the Apostles who believe in Christ there is given, but from the Jews who believed not on the Son of God there is taken away, even whatever good they might seem to have by nature. For they cannot understand any thing with wisdom, seeing they have not the head of wisdom.
HILARY. For the Jews not having faith, have lost also the Law which they had; and Gospel faith has the perfect gift, inasmuch as if received it enriches with new fruit, if rejected it subtracts from the riches of ancient possession.
CHRYSOSTOM. But that what He had said might be made more manifest He adds, Therefore speak I unto them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. Had this been a natural blindness, He ought to have opened their eyes; but forasmuch as it is voluntary, therefore He said not simply, ‘They see not,’ but, Seeing they see not. For they had seen the dæmons going out, and they said, He casts out dæmons by Beelzebub; they heard that He drew all men to God, and they say, This man is not of God. (John 9:16) Therefore because they spake the very contrary to what they saw and heard, to see and to hear is taken from them; for they profit nothing, but rather fall under judgment. For this reason He spake to them at first not in parables, but with much clearness; but because they perverted all they saw and heard, He now speaks in parables.
REMIGIUS. And it should be noted, that not only what He spake, but also what He did, were parables, that is, signs of things spiritual, which He clearly shews when He says, That seeing they may not see; but words are heard and not seen.
JEROME. This He says of those who were standing on the shore, and separated from Jesus, and who because of the dashing of the waves heard not distinctly what was said.
CHRYSOSTOM. And that they should not say, He slanders us as an enemy, He brings forward the Prophet declaring the same opinion, as it follows, That there might be fulfilled in them the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, With the hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not behold. (Is. 6:9)
GLOSS. (non occ.) That is; With the hearing ye shall hear words, but shall not understand the hidden meaning of those words; seeing ye shall see My flesh indeed, but shall not discern the divinity.
CHRYSOSTOM. This He said because they had taken away their own sight and hearing, shutting their eyes, and hardening their hearts. For not only did they not hear at all, but they heard obtusely, as it follows, The heart of this people is waxed gross, and they have heard hardly with their ears.
RABANUS. The heart of the Jews is made gross with the grossness of wickedness, and through the abundance of their sins they hear hardly the Lord’s words, because they have received them ungratefully.
JEROME. And that we should not suppose that this grossness of the heart and heaviness of the ears is of nature, and not of choice, He adds the fruit of their own wilfulness, For they have shut their eyes.
CHRYSOSTOM. Herein He points out how extreme their wickedness, how determined their aversion. Again to draw them towards Him, He adds, And be converted, and I should heal them; which shews that if they would be converted, they should be healed. As if one should say, If he would ask me I would immediately forgive him, this would point out how he might be reconciled; so here when He says, Lest they should he converted and I should heal them, He, shews that it was possible they should be converted, and having done penitence should be saved.
AUGUSTINE. (Quæst. in Matt. q. 14.) Otherwise; They have shut their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, that is, themselves were the cause that God shut their eyes. For another Evangelist says, We hath blinded their eyes. But is this to the end that they should never see? Or that they should not see so much as this, that becoming discontent with their own blindness and bewailing themselves, should so be humbled, and moved to confession of their sins and pious seeking after God. For Mark thus expresses the same thing, Lest they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. From which we learn, that by their sins they deserved not to understand; and that yet this was allowed them in mercy that they should confess their sins, and should turn, and so merit to be forgiven. But when John relating this expresses it thus, Therefore they could not believe because Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them, (John 12:39) this seems to be opposed to this interpretation, and to compel us to take what is here said, Lest they should see with their eyes, not as though they might come to see after this fashion, but that they should never see at all; for he says it plainly, That they should not see with their eyes. And that he says, Therefore they could not believe, sufficiently shows that the blindness was not inflicted, to the end that moved thereby, and grieving that they understood not, they should be converted through penitence; for that they could not, unless they had first believed, and by believing had been converted, and by conversion had been healed, and having been healed understood; but it rather shews that they were therefore blinded that they should not believe. For he speaks most clearly, Therefore they could not believe. But if it be so, who would not rise up in defence of the Jews, and pronounce them to be free from all blame for their unbelief? For, Therefore they could not believe, because he hath blinded their eyes. But because we must rather believe God to be without fault, we are driven to confess that by some other sins they had thus deserved to be blinded, and that indeed this blinding prevented them from believing; for the words of John are these, They could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes. It is in vain then to endeavour to understand it that they were therefore blinded that they should be converted; seeing they could not be converted because they believed not; and they could not believe because they were blinded. Or perhaps we should not say amiss thus—that some of the Jews were capable of being healed, but that being puffed up with so great swelling pride, it was good for them at first that they should not believe, that they might understand the Lord speaking in parables, which if they did not understand they would not believe; and thus not believing on Him, they together with the rest who were past hope crucified Him; and at length after His resurrection, they were converted, when humbled by the guilt of His death they loved Him the more because of the heavy guilt which had been forgiven them; for their so great pride needed such an humiliation to overcome it. This might indeed be thought an inconsistent explanation, did we not plainly read in the Acts of the Apostles that thus it was. This then that John says, Therefore they could not believe, because he hath blinded their eyes that they should not see, (Acts 2:37) is not repugnant to our holding that they were therefore blinded that they should be converted; that is to say, that the Lord’s meaning was therefore purposely clothed in the obscurities of parables, that after His resurrection they might turn them to wisdom with a more healthy penitence. For by reason of the darkness of His discourse, they being blinded did not understand the Lord’s sayings, and not understanding them, they did not believe on Him, and not believing on Him they crucified Him; thus after His resurrection, terrified by the miracles that were wrought in His name, they had the greater compunction for their great sin, and were more prostrated in penitence; and accordingly after indulgence granted they turned to obedience with a more ardent affection. Notwithstanding, some there were to whom this blinding profited not to conversion.
REMIGIUS. In all the clauses the word ‘not’ must be understood; thus; That they should not see with their eyes, and should not hear with their ears, and should not understand with their heart, and should not be converted, and I should heal them.
GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) so then the eyes of them that see, and will not believe, are miserable, but your eyes are blessed; whence it follows; Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
JEROME. If we had not read above that invitation to his hearers to understand, when the Saviour said, He that hath, ears to hear let him hear, we might here suppose that the eyes and ears which are now blessed are those of the body. But I think that those eyes are blessed which can discern Christ’s sacraments, and those ears of which Isaiah speaks, The Lord hath given me an ear. (Is. 50:4)
GLOSS. (ord.) The mind is called an eye, because it is intently directed upon what is set before it to understand it; and an ear, because it learns from the teaching of another.
HILARY. Or, He is speaking of the blessedness of the Apostolic times, to whose eyes and ears it was permitted to see and to hear the salvation of God, many Prophets and just men having desired to see and to hear that which was destined to be in the fulness of times; whence it follows; Verily I say unto you, that many Prophets and just men have desired to see the things that ye see, and to hear the things that ye hear, and have not heard them.
JEROME. This place seems to be contradicted by what is said elsewhere. Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad. (John 8:56)
RABANUS. Also Isaiah and Micah, and many other Prophets, saw the glory of the Lord; and were thence called ‘seers.’
JEROME. But He said not, ‘The Prophets and the just men,’ but many; for out of the whole number, it may be that some saw, and others saw not. But as this is a perilous interpretation, that we should seem to be making a distinction between the merits of the saints, at least as far as the degree of their faith in Christ, therefore we may suppose that Abraham saw in enigma, and not in substance. But ye have truly present with you, and hold, your Lord, enquiring of Him at your will, and eating with Him.1
CHRYSOSTOM. These things then which the Apostles saw and heard, are such as His presence, His voice, His teaching. And in this He sets them before not the evil only, but even before the good, pronouncing them more blessed than even the righteous men of old. For they saw not only what the Jews saw not, but also what the righteous men and Prophets desired to see, and had not seen. For they had beheld these things only by faith, but these by sight, and even yet more clearly. You see how He identifies the Old Testament with the New, for had the Prophets been the servants of any strange or hostile Deity, they would not have desired to see Christ.
Catena Aurea Matthew 13
From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.
She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.
Bridget constantly strove to exert her good influence over Magnus; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order known as the Bridgetines.
In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses.
A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. In 1999, Bridget, Saints Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe.
Bridget’s visions, rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the years that the legitimate Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon, France. She saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the marketplace.
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From: Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13
When Israel was devout, it had nothing to fear
------------------------------------------------------------------ [1] The word of the Lord came to me, saying, [2] ”Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,
I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride. how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. [3] Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; evil came upon them, says the Lord.”
[7] And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. [8] The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit.
[12] Be appalled. O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, [13] for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
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Commentary:
2:1-25:38. Most of the oracles are in verse in this part of the book, but there are some prose passages. It is possible that the scroll containing the earliest oracles (which was burnt in 605 by order of King Jehoiakim: cf. 36:2l-23) was made up largely of the poems found in this part (2:1-25:38). They would have been arranged in some sort of thematic order with an eye, too, on chronology.
In the first ten chapters, the oracles turn on the two great themes of the two introductory visions. Firstly, in connexion with the vision of the root of almond (1:11-12), we get a summary of the sins that the prophet has noticed in his role as watchman: Israel and Judah have forsaken the Lord; therefore they must be chastised. God has been faithful, but the people have rejected him; this wrong must be righted without delay--unless there is a genuine change of heart (2:1-4:4). Secondly, in connexion with the vision of the boiling pot facing away from the north (1:13-19), we get oracles threatening destruction from that quarter (4:5-10:25).
>From chapter 11 on, prose passages appear with greater frequency, and Jeremiah’s symbolic actions begin to have a higher profile. The prophet has personal experience of suffering, and his cries for help epitomize the way the people feel when they are struck down by misfortune in punishment for their sins (11:1-20:18). This part of the book ends with a severe indictment of those who ought to have given leadership but failed to do so (21:1-25:38).
All of this first part of the book is a severe warning to the people of Jerusalem and the entire kingdom of Judah. Even so, divine mercy can still be discerned: there is a prospect of forgiveness and salvation.
2:1-4:4. The oracles contained in this section were spoken early in Jeremiah’s ministry, during the reign of Josiah, and possibly before that king set in train his religious reform (for nowhere does Jeremiah refer to it). This means that they would date from the period 627-622 BC. The difference is clearly drawn (3:6-11) between Israel, the Northern kingdom, whose capital was Samaria, and which had fallen to Assyria in 722, and Judah, the Southern kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem. Assyria had been in control of Israel for some one hundred years, but now it was in decline; and Josiah, king of Judah, was trying to re-establish national unity on all levels – social, political and religious. His efforts would culminate in the great religious reform that began in 622 and which sought to centralize all ritual religious worship in Jerusalem.
The oracles in this section are set in this historical background. The earliest, those conserved in verse form, were spoken by Jeremiah himself and exude the vitality and pain of someone who was an eyewitness. The passages that now appear in prose may well have been added later, when the book was being rewritten after the first manuscript was burned (cf. 36:21-23). These oracles are a warning about sin, about the punishment that it draws down, and about the need for personal conversion in order to attain salvation. The text as it now stands makes it clear that the misfortune that overtook the people of Israel was due to their unfaithfulness to God (2:1-37). Even so, the Lord calls all to conversion; if they respond, he will restore peace and unity to the people (3:1-4:4).
2:1-37. The oracles in this chapter follow the pattern of pleadings used in the ancient Middle East when pacts or alliances were broken. First, the accused party and the witnesses are apprised of the subject of the dispute used. Then the benefits enjoyed by the accused are spelt out; he, for his part, should have adhered to what he agreed in the covenant. This is followed by a list of charges, often couched in the form of questions: and then at the end comes a demand for immediate action to be taken to set things right. If no agreement is arrived at, a declaration of war inevitably follows.
The word of the Lord here is not that of a judge but of one of the two parties who made the Covenant and has been deceived by the unfaithfulness of the other. The prophet begins by reminding the people of all the benefits they received from God during the time that they were faithful to him. In the early days, as they made their way through the wilderness, they had a loving relationship with the Lord, and he took care of them (vv. 1-3); he rescued them from Egypt and brought them to the land promised to them as their inheritance (cf. Hos 1-3). However, instead of staying true to the Lord, the Israelites forsook him and fell lower than other nations (symbolized here by the peoples of the Aegean, “the coasts of Cyprus”, and the Arab lands, “Kedar”: v. 10). Their religion centred on a personal God who took provident care of his followers, yet they turned their backs on him to worship Baal and other gods, who are quite worthless (vv. 6-7). They may form alliances with earthly powers in the hope of getting help, but to no avail.
Even the language that Jeremiah uses shows that Israel has been distancing itself from God (he is upbraiding Israel, to have Judah react). In the opening verses he addresses his people using the familiar form of the word “you” (vv. 2-3), then he changes to the formal “you” (vv. 4-10), and eventually uses the third person (vv. 11-15). Only in the second part of these oracles does the familiar form return, when he reproves the people, to get them to mend their ways (v. 16-37).
The metaphor of the leaking cisterns (v. 13) conveys very well just how ineffective are Israel’s pacts with foreign nations. In Jeremiah’s time, there was a lot of debate about whether or not to make alliances with Assyria or Egypt to ensure survival in the face of hostile foreign powers. The prophet regards such pacts as being of no real use, but he also points to the danger of idolatry that may arise through contact with foreigners. Hence the sarcasm in vv. 16-18: Memphis and Tahpanhes, were two cities on the Lower Nile; “the Euphrates”: literally, “River” (no definite article) in Hebrew. The people’s fascination with the waters and lands of Egypt and Assyria indicates the pull exercised by those great powers on Israel. God had taken care of his people, he had given them a beautiful land of their own, yet Israel had turned away from him and gone after idols -- infidelity leading to idolatry (vv. 4-27). Yet Israel will not acknowledge that it has done wrong, so the Lord accuses the people of their sins and warns them that if they don’t change they will be brought low (vv. 28-37).
2:13. The image of the broken cisterns that cannot hold water is used again and again in Christian writing as an example of the condition of man when, instead of trusting in the Lord, he relies on himself or on earthly things. St Irenaeus of Lyons, for example, advises us to look for really solid support: “Where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God: and where the Spirit is. there is the Church and all grace. The Spirit is truth. Those who are not possessed of the Spirit are not suckled at their mother’s breast to give them life, nor do they draw from the living waters that flow from the body of Christ: they hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, and drink stagnant water. They abandon the faith of the Church and are no longer protected; they reject the Spirit and are not enlightened. Having departed from the way of truth, they are overcome by every error; they can find no sure footing. Their beliefs change from one moment to the next, and they never come to any conclusion because they would rather be the masters of words than followers of the truth. They do not build on rock, but on sand” (Adversus haereses, 3, 24, 1-2).
For his part, St John of the Cross applies the image to those who neglect God in their insatiable desire for possessions. “Their appetite grows and their thirst increases the further they find themselves from the only source that can satisfy them, who is God. God himself said of them through Jeremiah his prophet: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. What they drink in created things cannot satisfy their thirst, but only increases it. They sin in a thousand ways through their love for created things, and do themselves incalculable harm” (Ascent of Mount Carmel, 3, 19, 7).
Parable of the Sower
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[10] Then the disciples came and said to Him (Jesus), "Why do You speak to them in parables?" [11] And He answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. [12] For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [13] This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. [14] With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. [15] For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.'
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. [17] Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
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Commentary:
10-13. The kind of Kingdom Jesus was going to establish did not suit the Judaism of His time, largely because of the Jew's nationalistic, earthbound idea of the Messiah to come. In His preaching Jesus takes account of the different outlooks of His listeners, as can be seen in the attitudes described in the parable of the sower. If people were well disposed to Him, the enigmatic nature of the parable would stimulate their interest; and Jesus later did give His many disciples a fuller explanation of its meaning; but there was no point in doing this if people were not ready to listen.
Besides, parables--as indeed any type of comparison or analogy—are used to reveal or explain something which is not easy to understand, as was the case with the supernatural things Jesus was explaining. One has to shade one's eyes to see things if the sun is too bright; otherwise, one is blinded and sees nothing. Similarly, parables help to shade supernatural brightness to allow the listener to grasp meaning without being blinded by it.
These verses also raise a very interesting question: how can divine revelation and grace produce such widely differing responses in people? What is at work here is the mystery of divine grace--which is an unmerited gift--and of man's response to this grace. What Jesus says here underlines man's responsibility to be ready to accept God's grace and to respond to it. Jesus' reference to Isaiah (Matthew 13:14-15) is a prophecy of that hardness of heart which is a punishment meted out to those who resist grace.
These verses need to be interpreted in the light of three points: 1) Jesus Christ loved everyone, including people of His own home town: He gave His life in order to save all men; 2) the parable is a literary form designed to get ideas across clearly: its ultimate aim is to teach, not to mislead or obscure; 3) lack of appreciation for divine grace is something blameworthy, which does merit punishment; however, Jesus did not come directly to punish anyone, but rather to save everyone.
12. Jesus is addressing His disciples and explaining to them that, precisely because they have faith in Him and want to have a good grasp of His teaching, they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not "follow Him" (cf. note on Matthew 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God and will grow ever blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from them.
This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a parable which gives a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God's gifts become closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to sin they eventually lose God's grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us--without taking away our freedom--to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.
14-15. Only well-disposed people grasp the meaning of God's words. It is not enough just to hear them physically. In the course of Jesus' preaching the prophetic words of Isaiah come true once again.
However, we should not think that not wanting to hear or to understand was something exclusive to certain contemporaries of Jesus; each one of us is at times hard of hearing, hard-hearted and dull-minded in the presence of God's grace and saving word. Moreover, it is not enough to be familiar with the teaching of the Church: it is absolutely necessary to put the faith into practice, with all that that implies, morally and ascetically. Jesus was fixed to the wood of the Cross not only by nails and by the sins of certain Jews but also by our sins—sins committed centuries later but which afflicted the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ, who bore the burden of our sins. See the note on Mark 4:11-12.
16-17. In contrast with the closed attitude of many Jews who witnessed Jesus' life but did not believe in Him, the disciples are praised by our Lord for their docility to grace, their openness to recognizing Him as the Messiah and to accepting His teaching.
He calls His disciples blessed, happy. As He says, the prophets and just men and women of the Old Testament had for centuries lived in hope of enjoying one day the peace the future Messiah would bring, but they had died without experiencing this good fortune. Simeon, towards the end of his long life, was filled with joy on seeing the infant Jesus when He was presented in the temple: "He took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, `Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation'" (Luke 2:28-30). During our Lord's public life, His disciples were fortunate enough to see and be on close terms with Him; later they would recall that incomparable gift, and one of them would begin his first letter in these words: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life; [...] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our [or: your] joy may be complete (1 John 1:1-4).
This exceptional good fortune was, obviously, not theirs but of special merit: God planned it; it was He who decided that the time had come for the Old Testament prophecies to be fulfilled. In any event, God gives every soul opportunities to meet Him: each of us has to be sensitive enough to grasp them and not let them pass. There were many men and women in Palestine who saw and heard the incarnate Son of God but did not have the spiritual sensitivity to see in Him what the Apostles and disciples saw.
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