20201012 SPIRITUAL EXEGESIS
12 October, 2020, Monday, 28th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Galatians 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1 © |
Christ freed us: do not submit again to slavery
The Law says, if you remember, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his free-born wife. The child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two covenants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are slaves, is Hagar. The Jerusalem above, however, is free and is our mother, since scripture says: Shout for joy, you barren women who bore no children! Break into shouts of joy and gladness, you who were never in labour. For there are more sons of the forsaken one than sons of the wedded wife. So, my brothers, we are the children, not of the slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 112(113):1-7 © |
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 11:29-32 © |
As Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign
The crowds got even bigger, and Jesus addressed them:
‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’
SPIRITUAL EXEGESIS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GALATIANS 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1; LUKE 11:29-32 ]
Life is concerned about truth and reality here and now. We do not read history for the sake of curiosity and knowledge of the past. More importantly for us who read history, we want to learn the lessons from history so that we do not have to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors and at the same time to learn from them the principles of righteous living, governing, building our peoples and our communities.
This is true also with respect to the interpretation of history in the scriptures. Scriptural exegesis is primarily concerned the literal exegesis, that is, investigating the literal meaning of the text written for people of their time by understanding the historical context, the culture, the addressees, the intention of the author or the speaker, and the message that was meant to be conveyed to readers or listeners. In the past, biblical scholars had gone to the extreme of wanting to find the historical Jesus, as if it would provide us all the answers. The search for the Jesus of History was a failure because the exact historical Jesus in the gospels could not be found as the gospel had many layers of interpretations. In other words, the events and sayings of Jesus have been reinterpreted and used by the evangelists and Christian communities in different ways and for different occasions.
This is not surprising as the Bible, being the Word of God, with God as the author, could have intended the past events to have a prophetic meaning for the future. This is why the Church does not confine herself to the historical critical method in reading the bible, but also the use of typology and allegory as well. Whilst the historical meaning is important for us to locate the context of the event, the spiritual and theological message goes beyond the literal events or the meaning intended by the speakers or writers. In other words, literal exegesis interprets the words of the bible, whilst spiritual exegesis expounds the realities and events, the hidden and theological meaning.
Hence, spiritual exegesis seeks to give the full meaning, the “sensus plenior” of the text. To find the full meaning of the text, besides the historical meaning, scholars would employ the use of typology and allegory. The use of typology shows that the second event which is similar to an event in the past has a higher meaning and a kind of fulfillment. For example, Jesus is the type of Moses and Elijah, the Eucharist is a type of Manna to feed the people in Egypt. The types are the shadows of the real thing to come. Allegory gives the hidden but fuller meaning and reality to the names, events, places and characters. Indeed, the allegorical meaning is the highest of all meanings. It is within this context that we must interpret the scripture texts of today’s readings. Both St Paul and our Lord employed the use of typology and allegory to convey their message to their listeners.
In the first reading, Paul did a spiritual exegesis of Abraham, Hagar and Sarah. He wrote, “Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his free-born wife. The child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two covenants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are slaves, is Hagar.” Hagar and Sarah represent two distinct covenants in salvation history. Hagar was associated with Mount Sinai where the law was given to Moses. Sarah was a symbol of freedom through grace. She was symbolic of the heavenly Jerusalem above because she was a free woman. We are saved by faith in Christ not because of obedience to the law.
St Paul therefore likened the Judaizers, who were subjected to the Mosaic Law, as slaves, represented by Hagar. They were under the burden of the Mosaic Law. Sarah was a free woman not under the law. Hence, those of us who are in Christ are sons and daughters of the heavenly Jerusalem because we are born into freedom. “So, my brothers, we are the children, not of the slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.” As a consequence, we too receive all the blessings promised to Abraham, since we are heirs of Abraham. It was not because of the laws that we are blessed but simply the fact that we share in the faith of Abraham, our father. At the same time, by using the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, St Paul was reminding the Gentile Christians that their persecution by the Judaizers was a repeat of the abuse that Sarah, the free woman received under Hagar. (Gn 16:4f) But if they persevered like Sarah, by resisting the Judaizers in keeping the Law to be saved, eventually, they would triumph like Sarah who was given a son. We too will triumph if we give ourselves to Jesus in faith and not subject ourselves under the law like the Judaizers.
In the gospel, Jesus also used the typology of Jonah and Solomon to indicate His identity. Jonah was a type of Jesus. Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Jonah was a prophet who preached repentance to the Gentiles. He was in the belly of the whale. So too our Lord preached repentance to all. He came to save all men, Jews and Gentiles alike. Against the narrow understanding of the Jews, where salvation was only for the Jews, Jesus, like the prophet Jonah, called everyone to repentance and be saved. Again, just as Jonah was buried in the belly of the earth, our Lord was in the earth for three days. Just as God rescued Jonah, the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
So too, Solomon was a type. He was a symbol of wisdom so much so that the Queen of the South would travel from afar just to hear him. And the Lord said, “there is something greater than Solomon here.” He is greater than Jonah and Solomon. Jesus as the Word of God was the Wisdom of God in person. Just as a pagan woman came to visit Solomon to hear his wisdom, Jesus’ mission is also extended to all the Gentiles as well. Ironically, it would be the Gentiles that would grow the Church. If Christianity were taken over by the Jews, it would have become another sect within Judaism since entry to Christianity would require one to be first a Jew, be circumcised, and observe the Jewish Laws before one could be a Christian.
In the light of what was said, we need to give a definitive response. Jesus is warning us not to seek more signs than those already given. We are called to believe in the Word as the Ninevites and the Queen of the South did. We have no excuses because we too have all the privileges. We have the full scriptures, unlike the Jews who only had the Old Testament. The bible which is the Word of God gives us the complete story of our salvation in Christ, and the divine plan for humanity. We have two thousand years of the history of the Church. For two thousand years, we have heard the testimony of many Catholics and Christians with regard to their encounters with the Lord; and most of all, how many were willing to be martyred or persecuted for their faith in Him. We have the benefit of two thousand years of spirituality and theology to help us to encounter Jesus and to understand our faith deeper. So it is not signs that we need. What we need is humility, and faith in Him.
With these privileges come responsibility as well. Just as the Ninevites repented, we too must repent and turn to the Lord in faith, we too must “stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” This means that we should not fall into legalism in the practice of our faith but equally not fall into lawlessness when we allow sins to enslave us again. Whilst we should not think that mere observance of the laws can save us, living our faith lawlessly without guidance, especially from the Word of God, would harm us. Faith must ultimately be expressed in love and in righteous actions. (Gal 5:6) Without love, faith is dead.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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