Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
Reading 2: Rom 8:28-30
Gospel: Mt 13:44-52
Let me start this reflection with a little biblical history some may or may not be familiar with.
The combination of the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings are referred to as Deuteronomistic History (DH) and are intended to serve as a unified history of the Israelite people from the time they entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua until the conquest of both the northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and the conquest of the southern Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. The term “Deuteronomistic” refers to the theological school of thought that was responsible for the authorship of these books and also of the Book of Deuteronomy.
DH was probably originally written in the 7th century B.C. as a condemnation of the kings and people of the northern Kingdom of Israel that resulted in the Assyrian conquest of 722. In other words, it was written to explain why the northern kingdom fell; and the reason it fell was the failure of the kings and people to follow God’s commandments. DH was then edited and added to during the Babylonian Exile of the southern Kingdom of Judah from 587 to 546 B.C. to explain the same fate of Judah.
If we read chapters 22 and 23 of 2nd Kings, we will see that it seems apparent that the Israelites were unaware of the law code given them by God and inscribed as a “Book of the Law” by Moses. During renovations of the temple in Jerusalem in about 622 B.C., the high priest Hilkiah found what he described as “the book of the law” (2 Kgs 22:8) and brought the book to King Josiah. Josiah was so distraught that he tore his garments because he realized the people had not abided by the law. One of the stipulations in that law is the celebration of the Passover. But, 2 Kgs 23:21-23 tells us that no Passover had been celebrated in Israel or Judah since the time of the Judges. Therefore, either the law was ignored by the people or they were unaware of it. The later seems more probable based on 2 Kgs 23.
The Book of Deuteronomy is probably based on that law code, found in the temple in 622 B.C., and was probably written after DH as an introduction to DH. Simply put, the Book of Deuteronomy says: These are the laws that God gave Moses. DH says: Here is what happened because we did not obey those laws. Who the author of this “Book of the Law” was and how it turned up in the temple hundreds of years after the temple was built is a fascinating matter of speculation for another discussion.
If we read DH as a history, we can follow the people from their entrance into the Holy Land and conquest of that land (Joshua); through the settlement of the land (Judges); to the formation of a monarchial form of government (1st & 2nd Samuel).
The Books of 1st & 2nd Kings carry us through the history of both Israel and Judah from the time of King Solomon (David’s son), through the separation of the nation into Israel and Judah, to the period of the exile; a span of time from roughly 950 B.C to 560 B.C. And it is in the Books of Kings that we encounter all the kings of Israel and Judah and how their actions affected the final outcome of the nation.
Our first reading comes from 1st Kgs 3 and gives us the history behind the legend of Solomon’s great wisdom. Solomon was the wisest of kings, but he had his faults as well. He was particularly enamored of wealth and women and was eventually led into idolatry by his foreign wives. By the way; the Law of Moses strictly forbade intermarriage between Israelites and foreigners. It also specified that a king could not be personally rich or have too many wives (Solomon had about 300). So, Solomon didn’t turn out to be the great king he is sometimes depicted as and it was his policies that caused the northern tribes to secede from Judah and form their own nation. But Solomon was at least wise enough to humble himself before God and to ask for the gift of wisdom rather than for riches, etc. So, if there is a message in this for us, it is to be humble before God and pray for that which will benefit the common good, not for personal gain.
Our Responsorial comes from Psalm 119, which is a very unique Psalm. Psalm 119, longest by far of all the Psalms, is an acrostic poem. It is composed of 22 stanzas which correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the stanzas is composed of eight verses and, although you can’t see this when it is read in English, each verse begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 119 is a praise of God’s laws and instruction for the people to live by, and each of the eight verses in each stanza contains at least one word for “instruction” such as: Law, Edict, Promise, Decree, Teaching, etc. If you look at 119 in the bible, you will see that each stanza has a title, such as Aleph, Beth, Gimel, etc., which are the Hebrew letters highlighted in that stanza.
In our second reading from chapter 8 of Romans, St. Paul reminds us that we who have accepted the teachings of Christ, passed on to us through the apostles and the teachings of the church, have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and: “conformed to the image of his son” are, therefore, brothers and sisters of Christ and heirs of God. We are justified and glorified through our continual acceptance of those truths.
In our gospel passage Jesus again teaches in parables and we have reflected on the reason for doing so in our last couple of weeks of gospels, so we probably don’t need to discuss those reasons again. But the message is clear: Whoever embraces the words of Christ will understand the kingdom of heaven and will give up everything to attain it.
But there is one curious verse at the end of our passage worth mentioning. A scribe is an educated Jew who has studied and fully understands Mosaic Law. And a scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is one who understands and has accepted the teachings of Christ. Therefore, that scribe has knowledge of both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant and is able to see that the teachings of Christianity do not contradict the Law, they fulfill the Law. It may very well be that the author of the Gospel of Matthew (and we don’t know who he was) was such a scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven and came to believe in that kingdom.
The Golden Thread? Like Solomon, we should pray for the wisdom to understand what we have been taught so that we will recognize that the kingdom of heaven is real. And in recognizing it, we will become true disciples and strive to attain that kingdom.
