Scripture Reflection for Saturday, July 18,2008

Scripture: Saturday of 15th week, July 19th ,2008: Micah 2:1-5. Psalm
10:1-2,3-4, 7-8.14. Matthew 12:14-21. Lectionary # 394:

Matthew's community was composed of both Jews and Gentiles.
Traditionally, Matthew is thought to be a convert to Christianity and that
he may even have been a teacher. As an Israelite he knew the Hebrew
Scriptures very well as is easily attested by the composition, content, and
use of many citations stemming from the Tanakh. St. Jerome even thought
that there was an original Gospel of Matthew that was written in the
language of Jesus. This would be Aramaic and in some remote parts of Syria
there may be a dialect similar to it. Matthew is said to come from Syria.
His problem was how to keep his people together, both Israelite and
Gentile. It could easily move into a community divided against itself. By
writing his Gospel he attempted to be inclusive and to help both Gentile
and Israelite.
Matthew structures his Gospel in a way that reminds us of the Torah
which consists of five parts; Matthew has a liking for the number five and
uses this for his five sermons as well as for the five dreams that are
mentioned in the Gospel. We call the order of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
the Western order of the Gospels and has nothing to do with the
chronological order of the four Gospels. Mark is considered by the vast
majority of scholars to be the first Gospel ever written and Matthew shows
his dependence upon it for his outline and for many borrowings. Almost
two-thirds of Mark's Gospel is seen in Matthew's.
He loves to use some of the texts as fulfillment texts seen in the
life and words of Jesus who fulfills the Scriptures. There are clearly
eleven or twelves such direct citations that show his familiarity with the
Scriptures. He uses the Greek of the first translation of the Scriptures
(the Septuagint).This would be especially important for the Gentiles who
probably knew no Hebrew or very little. We can see that he is speaking
more to his time than the time of Jesus. As we now know and accept, the
Gospels are faith proclamations not biographies or lives of Jesus.
Perhaps, his most important section on the sayings of Jesus is the well
known Sermon on the Mount that we have seen in our liturgical readings; it
extends for three chapters (chapter 5 through 7). This Sermon is his way
of showing what Deuteronomy does, namely, an encouragement to live
according to God's covenant with Israel and to be advised frequently. It
is a beautiful book of the Hebrew Scriptures and does help us to understand
Matthew better.
Despite the historical conflict that seems to be narrated in today's
selection about the disciples of Jesus breaking the Sabbath, Jesus brings
in a very prophetic message that he took from Isaiah's Servant. This shows
us his concern for all peoples. He and Matthew develop a story of God's
love that we see is more concerned about mercy than sacrifice. The last
sentence is the one we are to concentrate upon today: "In his name. the
Gentiles find hope." Amen.