MATTHEW 12:38-42: MONDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
manuel tuazon, ocds
[Note: The scheduled Reading for today, Exodus 14:5-18 is taken from
the Old Testament. The "Navarre Bible: Texts and Commentaries" is
currently available in the New Testament version only. Therefore, only
today's Gospel and its commentary are being posted.]
A.M.D.G.
For: Monday, July 21, 1997
16th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial: St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest, Religious &
Doctor of the Church
From: Matthew 12:38-42
The Sign of Jonah
-----------------
[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."
***********************************************************************
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 X-Sender: mtu...@popd.ix.netcom.com
(Unverified)
X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.5
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
To:
From: mtu...@ix.netcom.com (manuel tuazon, ocds)
Subject: MATTHEW 12:38-42: MONDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
[Note: The scheduled Reading for today, Exodus 14:5-18 is taken from
the Old Testament. The "Navarre Bible: Texts and Commentaries" is
currently available in the New Testament version only. Therefore, only
today's Gospel and its commentary are being posted.]
A.M.D.G.
For: Monday, July 21, 1997
16th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial: St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest, Religious &
Doctor of the Church
From: Matthew 12:38-42
The Sign of Jonah
-----------------
[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."
***********************************************************************
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 Four Courts Press, Kill Lane,
Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland. Printed in Hungary.
"The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries" is currently available in
the New Testament version only.
"Nihil Obstat": Stephen J. Greene, "Censor Deputatus".
"Imprimi Potest": J. O'Carroll, Diocesan Administrator, 15 October
1987.
Reprinted with permission from the U.S. publisher (see below).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you feel inspired, become a part of this apostolate by sharing this
e-mail or a printed copy with a relative or a friend or placing the
copy or copies in a bookrack at a church (with the pastor's permission,
if possible). May our good Lord richly bless you and please remember
this ("tiny mustard seed") apostolate in your prayers.
INVITATION: If you wish to subscribe directly to the "Daily Word For
Reflection", have a computer and are connected to the Internet, please
send your e-mail request and address to:
and I'd be more than happy to include you in a private mailing list.
If you're located outside the United States of America and have a
significant time difference, please let me know and I'll put you in an
"advance" list.
The "Daily Word For Reflection" is a free service and a non-discussion
list intended primarily to allow quiet reflection on the Word of God.
The Navarre Bible is available in the United States and Canada from
Scepter Publishers, PO Box 1270, Princeton, NJ 08542. The toll-free
number is 1-800-322-8773; the fax number is 609-683-8780.
Today's reading is available also on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/7174/
(Owned and maintained by John Mood)
http://infoweb.magi.com/~menardd/gospel.htm
(Owned and maintained by Denis Menard)
"It is not enough to discover Christ--you must bring Him to others!
The world today is one great mission land, even in countries of
long-standing Christian tradition." (Pope John Paul II)
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." (St. Jerome)
manuel tuazon, ocds
[Note 1: This is a resend. Some subscribers have alerted me that the
original send was corrupted in transit. If you received the original
uncorrupted and this is a duplicate, please ignore and delete. Thank
you.]
[Note 2: The scheduled Reading for today, Exodus 14:5-18 is taken from
A.M.D.G.
From: Matthew 12:38-42
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
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.
**********************************************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentary
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,