4th Sunday A

Welcome to our Bible
Study
4th
Sunday in Ordinary Time A
29 January 2017
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
In aid of focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

1st
reading: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13
 2,3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth,
who have observed his law; seek justice, seek
humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day
of the LORD'S anger.
 3,12 But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a
people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in
the name of the LORD; 13 the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall
there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue;
they shall pasture and couch their flocks with none
to disturb them.

1st
 2,3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth,
who have observed his law; seek justice, seek
humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day
of the LORD'S anger.
 3,12 But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a
people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in
the name of the LORD; 13 the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall
there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue;
they shall pasture and couch their flocks with none
to disturb them.
The focus is on humility.

1st
 2,3 Seek the LORD, all you
humble of the earth, who
have observed his law;
seek justice, seek humility;
perhaps you may be
sheltered on the day of the
LORD'S anger.
 3,12 But I will leave as a
remnant in your midst a
people humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in the
name of the LORD; 13 the
remnant of Israel. They
shall do no wrong and
speak no lies; nor shall
there be found in their
mouths a deceitful tongue;
they shall pasture and
couch their flocks with none
to disturb them.
Commentary
 Zephaniah is a prophet before
the Exile. He is a cultic prophet
interested in the Temple and its
rites.
 2,3 contains 3 imperatives
 Seek the Lord
 Seek justice
 Seek humility
 The addressees are the humble
of the earth, the less fortunate.
 The purpose: that they may be
sheltered on the day of the
Lord’s anger (when there is a
judgment).

1st
 2,3 Seek the LORD, all
you humble of the earth,
who have observed his
law; seek justice, seek
humility; perhaps you
may be sheltered on the
day of the LORD'S
anger.
 3,12 But I will leave as a
remnant in your midst a
people humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in
the name of the LORD;
13 the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies; nor
shall there be found in
their mouths a deceitful
tongue; they shall
pasture and couch their
flocks with none to
disturb them.
 3,12 is God’s promise to preserve a
humble and lowly remnant people to
the humble of the earth.
 Vv.12-13 give the characteristics of the
remnant people.
 Shall take refuge in the name of the
Lord.
 Shall do no wrong and speak no lies
 A deceitful tongue not found in their
mouths.
 They observe his law (2,3)
 These resound Psalm 15, a ritual
prayer recited by the pilgrims before
entering the Temple.
 The last part of v.13 assures the
humble remnants of a safe pasture of
their flocks.
 No one will disturb their livelihood.

Reflections on the 1Reflections on the 1stst
readingreading
 We must learn how to be humble.
 To be humble is to keep God’s laws.
 As humble people, we must know our priority:
 to seek God, justice and humility.
 We pray that God sends us humble people to
accompany us.
 They are God-fearing.
 They don’t dare to do their own thing.
 God protects them as they work for a living.

Resp. Ps 146:6-7. 8-9. 9-10
 R. (Mt 5:3) Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven
is theirs!
 6 The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
7 gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
 8 The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
9 The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
 9 The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
10 The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

Resp. Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
 R. (Mt 5:3) Blessed the poor
in spirit; the kingdom of
heaven is theirs!
 6 The LORD keeps faith
forever,
secures justice for the
oppressed,
7 gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
 8 The LORD gives sight to the
blind;
the LORD raises up those who
were bowed down.
9 The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
 9 The fatherless and the
widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he
thwarts.
10 The LORD shall reign
forever;
your God, O Zion, through all
generations. Alleluia.
Commentary
 The psalm affirms God’s affection and
special attention to the poor.
 The poor are spelled out as:
 Oppressed, v.6
 Hungry, v.7
 Captives, v.7
 Blind, v.8
 Bowed down, humiliated, v.8
 The just, v.9
 Strangers, v.9
 The fatherless and the widow, v.9
 They have their corresponding blessings:
 Faith, justice, v.6
 Food, freedom. V.7
 Sight, raising up, v.8
 Love, protection v. 9
 Sustenance, v.9
 God has no heart for the wicked, for those
who cause sufferings to the poor.
 V.10 affirms the eternity of God’s reign of
justice and peace.

Reflections on the Psalm
 We are reminded that God loves the poor.
 He helps them get out of their misery.
 Don’t think that God has abandoned them.
 In contrast, God blocks the evil plans of the
wicked.
 Warning to the wicked: Don’t continue with
your evil plans. You may apparently succeed,
but God will come and get you.

2nd
reading:1 Corinthians 1:26-31
 26 Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of
you were wise by human standards, not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather,
God chose the foolish of the world to shame the
wise, and God chose the weak of the world to
shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and
despised of the world, those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29
so that no human being might boast before God. 30
It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who
became for us wisdom from God, as well as
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31
so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should
boast in the Lord."

2nd
 26 Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of
you were wise by human standards, not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather,
God chose the foolish of the world to shame the
wise, and God chose the weak of the world to
shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and
despised of the world, those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29
so that no human being might boast before God. 30
It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who
became for us wisdom from God, as well as
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31
so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should
boast in the Lord."
The focus is on God’s choosing the weak.

2nd
reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Calling
 26 Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were
wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many
were of noble birth.
God’s favorite: the foolish
 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, 28
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who
count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something,
29 so that no human being might boast before God.
Christ: the wisdom
 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for
us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts,
should boast in the Lord."
A simple outline!

2nd
Calling
 26 Consider your own calling,
brothers. Not many of you were
wise by human standards, not
many were powerful, not many
were of noble birth.
God’s favorite: the foolish
 27 Rather, God chose the
foolish of the world to shame
the wise, and God chose the
weak of the world to shame the
strong, 28 and God chose the
lowly and despised of the
world, those who count for
nothing, to reduce to nothing
those who are something, 29
so that no human being might
boast before God.
Christ: the wisdom
 30 It is due to him that you are
in Christ Jesus, who became
for us wisdom from God, as
well as righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written,
"Whoever boasts, should boast
in the Lord."
Commentary
 Not many Corinthian Christians are wise,
powerful and of noble birth. V.26
 Many Corinthian Christians come from
poor families.
 Only a few belong to the elite.
 There are more foolish, weak and lowly
people in the Corinthian church.
 But they can be very useful to God:
 The foolish to shame the few wise
 The weak to shame the strong. V.27
 The lowly to reduce to nothing those who
are something. V.28
 V.29 gives the over-all purpose of God:
 No human being should boast before God.
 Christ is identified as: wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification and
redemption. V.30
 V.31 repeats the reasoning in v.29:
 Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.

Reflections on the 2nd
reading
 In our churches, not all our members are smart
(intelligent, fast learners, etc.).
 In fact, many are average or below average (slow
learners).
 But many more are much, much below average (they
don’t learn at all, no matter what).
 The reading warns us not to despise these little and
humble ones, who are materially and intellectually
poor.
 In the eyes of God, they are useful to humble the
wise, to test our patience and other virtues.
 Boasting has no place in the church, except in Christ.

Gospel reading: Matthew 5:1-12a
 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the
mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples
came to him. 2 He began to teach them, saying: 3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they
will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they
will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will
see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who
are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when
they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind
of evil against you (falsely) because of me. 12 Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the
mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples
came to him. 2 He began to teach them, saying: 3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they
will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they
will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will
see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who
are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when
they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind
of evil against you (falsely) because of me. 12 Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
The focus is on the meek (humble).

Setting
 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after
he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He began to teach
them, saying:
The Beatitudes
 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are
they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
A beatitude of different formulation
 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and
utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.
The Imperatives
 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
A simple outline!

Setting
 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he
went up the mountain, and after he
had sat down, his disciples came to
him. 2 He began to teach them,
saying:
The 8 Beatitudes
 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4
Blessed are they who mourn, for they
will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the land. 6
Blessed are they who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will
be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the
merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for
they will see God. 9 Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God. 10 Blessed are they
who are persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
A beatitude of different formulation
 11 Blessed are you when they insult
you and persecute you and utter
every kind of evil against you (falsely)
because of me.
The Imperatives
 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward will be great in heaven.
Commentary
 V.1 provides the setting of the
Beatitudes.
 The mountain referred to (Mt. Tabgha
today), is not really a mountain.
 The rabbis sit down as they teach.
 Jesus sits down as he teaches.
 Let us pay attention to the beatitude in
v.5, which is about the meek people.
 It is close to the themes of the 1st
and 2nd
readings.
 It is hard to focus on each beatitude,
because each one is a focus in itself.
 Vv.11-12 go together. The reward for
v.11 is in v.12.
 V.12 contains two imperatives which
mean the same thing: rejoice and be
glad.

Reflections on the gospel reading
 The gospel reading summarizes who a true and happy
follower of Jesus is.
 All the 8 beatitudes mentioned must be found in every
disciple.
 To those who are seeking perfection, they should not
miss a single beatitude.
 To check ourselves, we must ask the following
questions:
 Am I poor in spirit? Am I meek? Am I a peacemaker? Etc…
 If we live according to the beatitudes, we are happy.
 We cannot experience blessedness and happiness, if
we live to the contrary.

 "Blessed are the
poor in spirit
 4 Blessed are they
who mourn,.
 5 Blessed are the
meek,
 6 Blessed are they
who hunger and
thirst for
righteousness,
merciful,
clean of heart.
peacemakers,
 10 Blessed are
they who are
persecuted for the
sake of
righteousness,
The contrary are:
 They don’t need God. They are self-
sufficient.
 They always want gimmicks. They don’t
show solidarity to the poor and the
oppressed. They always think of gratifying
themselves.
 They are proud and arrogant. They think they
know everything. They think they know what
they are doing.
 They are self-righteous. They have no sense
of sincere and honest relationships.
 They are hostile. They are tyrants. They are
heartless. They inflict pain on other people.
They withhold their support to the needy.
 They are full of malice. They have bad
motives, even in doing good.
 They are war freaks. They always start a
fight. They challenge. They play games with
other people.
 They persecute. They silence the good
people.
In other words, they can’t build good relationships with other people and
with God. They cannot build the Church.

Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
 In the first reading, God addresses himself to the
humble and lowly to seek God, justice and humility.
 In the psalm, God sides with the poor and humble.
 In the second reading, God prefers the weak.
 In the gospel, for the purpose of focusing, we
choose “Blessed are the meek…” because this is
the theme of the 1st
two readings.

How to develop your homily/sharing
 What is to be meek? What is to be humble?
 We, Christians, must learn how to be humble and
meek, to be acceptable to God.

 In the first reading, God asks the humble and
lowly to seek God, justice and humility.
 In the first place, we are supposed to be
humble.
 Humble people are not offensive and
threatening, but they accomplish God’s plan.
 God works best with the humble.

 In the second reading, God uses the humble to
shame the arrogant.
 The poor, wise and ignorant are not useless in
the eyes of God.
 We should not reject them.
 They have a big role in humbling us.
 No one should boast of her / his wisdom,
knowledge, wealth and accomplishments.
 Boasting turns God off. It is attributing one’s
success to oneself.

 In the gospel reading, Jesus teaches 8
beatitudes, all of which revolve around
meekness, as read along with the 1st
and 2nd
readings.
 Let us believe that meekness (humility) is the
key towards being poor in spirit, merciful and
kind, in solidarity with the afflicted, being
peacemaker, etc.
 Meekness is the starting point to accomplish
God’s plan in us.

 We cannot share in the mission of Christ if
we appear arrogant and proud.
 We cannot enter into people’s lives if we
brandish our accumulated wealth, data,
learning and academic degrees to them.
 When advancing God’s kingdom, we leave
behind all those garbage.
 They are foolishness in the eyes of God.
 What matters are the values of the kingdom.

 In the church, we have no right to boast that we have
attended a lot of formation seminars, or trainings, or,
that we have been serving for more than 10 years, if we
do not show it in the way we live our lives!
 Talented people, inventors, good speakers do not take
pride in their accomplishments.
 If you notice, when you are congratulating them after a
terrific performance, they just give a little smile. They
know someone is better. Or, they know that the glory is
not theirs, but God’s.
 Christian discipleship consists in being humble.
 A true and authentic Christian disciple follows Christ,
who showed himself to be humble in his incarnation
and in all things, from birth to death.

 The eucharist is a sacrament of humility.
 It is received only by humble and meek people, who
recognize the greatness of God and their littleness.
 In the eucharist, once again, Jesus humbles himself
by appearing as bread and wine.
 In the eucharist, we affirm that the Church is built by
humble and meek people.
 In the eucharist, we affirm that the world is changed
by humble people.

Our Context of Sin and Grace
 Arrogant, haughty
 Showy
 Proud
 Grandstanding
 Boastful, braggart
 Oppressive
 Elitist
 Choosy, picky
 Unjust
 Oppressive
 Justice and PeaceJustice and Peace
MovementsMovements
 Knows oneselfKnows oneself
 UnpretentiousUnpretentious
 Meek and mildMeek and mild
 SolidaritySolidarity
 HumbleHumble
 St. Francis of AssisiSt. Francis of Assisi
 Follows ChristFollows Christ

Suggested Songs
 Beatitudes
 Mapapalad
 Come Build My Church
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZugkzkgjDk
 OLAS Stage Play on humble St. Francis
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJLm0T0_7Ck
 For past issues of the Bible Study
 https://sites.google.com/site/olasianofm/

 Dear brothers and sisters,
Christians as they passionately advance
God's interests must be humble and meek.
Fr. Cielo

4th Sunday A

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4th Sunday A