Ordinary Time, The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation
The title “Ordinary Time” is taken from the Latin ordinal, from which we get our word ordinary. It’s not that this season is bah ha humdrum. Rather, it is a season of counting time from week to week.
During Ordinary Time this year, we will march through the gospel of Matthew in a somewhat linear fashion. We will also march through other New Testament books in a somewhat linear fashion. During this period between Christmas and Lent we will cover the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians. There will also be an Old Testament reading, chosen to complement the gospel passage in some way. Sometimes it is the Old Testament source of a quote; other times it is a similar story. Sometimes the connection is a reach. The New Testament reading sometimes lines up with the Gospel and Old Testament readings, but sometimes there is just no connection.
A good practice with the Ordinary Time readings is this: first read the gospel passage. Then read the Old Testament passage and see what you think the connection is. Then read the New Testament reading and see if there is a connection.
Another good practice is to read the entirety of a book: in this case Matthew and 1 Corinthians. The lectionary readings often leave out chunks of the books and it can be hard to get a sense of the overall narrative. For extra credit, you might want to engage in larger portions of the Old Testament readings as well.
If you are interested to go deeper into the lectionary readings, a good overview can be found at catholic-resources.org.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
We only hear from this Old Testament book twice in the Sunday cycle.
Leviticus contains most of the laws that a Jew is commanded to observe on a regular basis. Traditionally young boys begin their academic study with this book. Even today, many of these laws remain at the center of what it means to be a good Jew.
This book is concerned with ritual purity – how to attain and maintain it.
The Jewish Study Bible has this to say about the Levitical law: “The system forced a separation between the experience of encountering God’s sanctity and matters pertaining to death… Because God is eternal, God does not die… By following the ritual purity regulations, ancient Israelites separated themselves from what made them least God-like.” So the emphasis here is on being God-like, with some things sorted into the category of being “death-like.”
This short passage is worth spending some time with, looking at it in shades of gray rather than black and white. “You shall not hate any of your kindred.” Who are my kin? This brings to mind Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. “Reprove your neighbor openly.” Again, who is my neighbor? How far does this responsibility go? How long should I try?
“Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people.” Does this mean I can hold grudges against those who are not my “own people?” What does revenge look like in modern culture?
Rabbinic interpretation of verse 18 is that love is the blanket command covering all ethical duties not spelled out elsewhere. If you don’t know what to do, love.
Matthew 5:38-48
This reading continues a verse by verse exploration of chapter 5 – instructions on how to be disciples.
Last week Jesus challenged us to do far more than the “least” – tend to the spirit of the law rather than just the letter of it. Jesus is not an enemy of the commandments or Jewish law – it’s not that they became invalid with his coming. Rather, Jesus says that the commandments are not a way to gain status with God. Keeping them doesn’t garner us more love or acceptance. Sit with that for a while: what you do does not make God love you any more and what you don’t do does not make God love you any less.
Jesus continues the style of teaching from last week by saying, in effect, “You thought it meant only this, but it actually means also this…”
Verse 38 contains the familiar saying “an eye for an eye.” This law appeared in many ancient legal codes. It sounds barbarous to us today but its original intent was to limit retaliation to an exact reciprocity.
Verse 39 is another familiar saying “turn the other cheek.” If someone slapped a person on the right cheek, that was not necessarily seen as a problem. But to slap someone on the left cheek implied a back-handed blow which was considered an offense against the honor of the person struck. The striker could be taken to court and sued.
We read this and assume that Jesus is saying you will be slapped on the other cheek as well and you should just take it. But what he’s really saying is that you turn the other cheek. If they slap you, then there is an injustice you can do something about. Or perhaps the person will carefully consider and be shamed into not committing the offense.
Jesus advocates resistance on a different level. It’s a strategy for good to triumph, not resignation or indifference to evil. The tactic is to use shame, which was a dominant force in the ancient world with a goal of leading someone into a metanoia, a change of heart and life. St. Paul had a parallel teaching in Romans 12:19-21.
Verse 40 is a similar example: a creditor was not allowed by law to take a person’s cloak. For a person to give the cloak and have it taken was to expose the injustice of the situation, thereby shaming the person into hopefully better action. Verses 41 and 42 are the same.
Verses 43-44 continue to go deeper and deeper beyond the minimum. Many Jews narrowly interpreted the Torah call to love of neighbor by strictly defining who was a neighbor. Everyone else was an enemy and, therefore, could be treated with the opposite of love.
In verse 44 he enlarges the demand, going beyond non-violence or passive resistance to actively and proactively loving the Other. Jesus says we can use tactics to lead people into conversion against certain behaviors. But more than that, we are to lead lives that proactively love, in the hopes that we avoid those behaviors in the first place – lead people to conversion before confrontations happen.
I think here of Fr. Vinny’s example to the Newman community: never once have I heard him criticize or disparage Earl or what he did. Instead Fr. Vinny holds up love of all, a strategy more powerful than outright resistance. A strategy that ultimately puts Earl to shame.
This passage ends with the highest demand of all in verse 48: be perfect. The Greek word here means wisdom and maturity; conformity to a divine ideal. God does not demand sinless perfection from us because he knows us and he knows we would fail. Rather, he demands Godly wisdom and a maturity that seeks to be conformed more and more to his image. A maturity that goes far beyond the bare minimum into the realm of Love.
As you prayerfully read these verses, where is God inviting you into more than the least. more than observing the letter of the law?
What’s the Connection?
Each week I will offer a potential connection between the OT and Gospel reading. This is not the only “right” answer! If you have other ideas, I would love to hear them!
Leviticus challenges the reader to consider the level of personal responsibility for others’ behaviors. Jesus takes us far beyond that, ultimately asking us to lead lives that serve to instruct others in the way we all should live.
Leviticus attempts to limit retaliation and counsels love. Jesus tells us to be wise about our actions and to use them to lead others into Love.
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
See detailed background on the book from The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time.
For this bit of Ordinary Time, we’ll be in Part I of this letter: Divisions in the Community 1:10-4:21. This particular passage comes from 3:5-4:5 The Right Attitude Towards Pastors.
For the word translated “temple” in this passage, Paul uses the Greek word naos sanctuary – the place where God dwells.
You might have come from a faith background that had many prohibitions based on the fact that “you are a temple of God.” Growing up Southern Baptist had many such restrictions against dancing, smoking, playing cards, and alcohol. Which is not necessarily bad. But let me give you these verses in the Southern Version so that they can take on new meaning for you:
Don’t y’all know that y’all are the dwelling place of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in all y’all? If anyone destroys God’s dwelling place, God will destroy that person; for the dwelling place of God, which y’all are, is holy. Y’all all is the holy dwelling place of God!
Paul speaks corporately here. Christianity is not a lone ranger endeavor. I can seclude myself, follow all the restrictions to the letter, and be the holiest I can possibly be but it means nothing until I am in community. As a community, we are the temple, we are the sanctuary, we are the holy place where God dwells.
How do you experience God dwelling in the different communities of which you are a part?
Questions to ponder
How do you experience God dwelling in the different communities of which you are a part?
Where are you satisfied with the bare minimum or close to it? How is God calling you to a deeper discipleship?
How might this inform your upcoming season of Lent?
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger