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Sacred Scriptures/Liturgy- Commentary on Sunday's Readings |
"Let the Dead Bury the Dead"
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, Pontifical Household Preacher
www.zenit.org
1 Kings 19:16b,19-21; Galatians 4:31-5:13-18; Luke 9:51-62
Benedict XVI's book "Jesus of Nazareth" appeared in April. I thought
that I would take account of the Pope's reflections in my commentary
on some of the next Sunday Gospels.
First of all, I'd like to remark on the content and purpose of the
book. It treats of Jesus in the period from his baptism in the
Jordan to the moment of his transfiguration, that is, from the
beginning of his public ministry almost to its epilogue.
The Pope says that if God gives him sufficient strength and time to
write it, a second volume will deal with the accounts of Jesus'
death and resurrection along with the infancy narratives. These were
not treated in the first volume.
The book presupposes historical-critical exegesis and uses its
findings, but desires to go beyond this method, aiming at a properly
theological interpretation, that is, one that is global, not narrow,
and that takes seriously the witness of the Gospels and Scriptures
as books inspired by God.
The purpose of the book is to show that the figure of Jesus that is
arrived at in this way is "much more logical and, from the
historical point of view, also more understandable than the
reconstructions that we have seen in the last decades. I hold," the
Pope adds, "that precisely this Jesus -- that of the Gospels -- is a
historically sensible and convincing figure."
It is quite significant that the Pope's choice to attend to the
Jesus of the Gospels finds a confirmation in the more recent and
authoritative orientation of the same historical-critical approach,
in, for example, the Scottish exegete James Dunn's monumental work
"Christianity in the Making."
According to Dunn, "the synoptic Gospels bear testimony to a pattern
and technique of oral transmission which has ensured a greater
stability and continuity in the Jesus tradition that has thus far
been generally appreciated."
But let us come to the Gospel reading for the 13th Sunday in
Ordinary Time. It recounts three different meetings Jesus had on the
same journey. We will focus on one of these meetings. "And to
another Jesus said, 'Follow me.' But he replied, 'Lord, let me go
first and bury my father.' But Jesus answered him, 'Let the dead
bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'"
In his book, the Pope comments on the theme of family relations
alluded to in the above Gospel passage in dialogue with the
Jewish-American Rabbi Jacob Neusner. In his book "A Rabbi Talks with
Jesus," Rabbi Neusner imagines himself as present in the crowds when
Jesus speaks.
Rabbi Neusner explains why, despite his great admiration for the
"Rabbi of Nazareth," he would not have been able to become his
disciple. One of the reasons for this is Jesus' position on family
relations. Rabbi Neusner says that on many occasions Jesus seems to
invite transgression of the fourth commandment, which says that we
must honor our father and mother. Jesus asks someone, as we just
heard, to forget about burying his own father and elsewhere he says
that whoever loves father and mother more than him is not worthy of
him.
Often the response to these objections is to cite other words of
Jesus that strongly affirm the permanent validity of family bonds:
the indissolubility of marriage, the duty to help one's father and
mother.
In his book, however, the Pope offers a more profound and
illuminating answer to this objection, an objection that is not only
Rabbi Neusner's, but also that of many Christian readers of the
Gospel. He takes his point of departure from something else Jesus
says. "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? ... Whoever does the
will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, sister, and
mother" (Matthew 12:48-50).
Jesus does not thereby abolish the natural family, but reveals a new
family in which God is father, and men and women are all brothers
and sisters thanks to a common faith in him, the Christ. Rabbi
Neusner asks whether he has a right to do this. This spiritual
family already existed: It was the people of Israel, united by
observance of the Torah, that is, the Mosaic law.
A son was only permitted to leave his father's house to study the
Torah. But Jesus does not say, "Whoever loves father or mother more
than the Torah is not worthy of the Torah." He says, "Whoever loves
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." He puts himself
in the place of the Torah and this can only be done by someone who
is greater than the Torah and greater than Moses, who promulgated
it.
Benedict XVI thinks that the rabbi is right to conclude: "Only God
can demand of me what Jesus asks." The Pope notes that the
discussion about Jesus and family relations -- like that about Jesus
and observance of the Sabbath -- thus brings us to the true heart of
the matter, which is to know who Jesus is. If a Christian does not
believe that Jesus acts with the authority itself of God and is
himself God, then Rabbi Neusner, who refuses to follow Jesus, has a
more coherent position than that particular Christian does. One
cannot accept Jesus' teaching if one does not accept his person.
Let us take some practical instruction from this discussion. The
"family of God," which is the Church, not only is not against the
natural family, but is its guarantee and promoter. We see it today.
It is a shame that some divergences of opinion in our society on
questions linked to marriage and the family impede many from
recognizing the providential work of the Church on behalf of the
family. She is often without support in this decisive battle for the
future of humanity.
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary