Deuteronomy 4:32 – 34, 39 – 40
God revealed himself to Adam and Eve, Noah and Abraham. And, he revealed himself by name to Moses and entered into a covenant relationship with Israel through him. In this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses enjoins the people to put their faith in God because he has demonstrated such great power for them. The text we will hear on Sunday is part of a magnificent, comprehensive homily on the election of Israel. It is one of the stylistic and theological highpoints of the Book of Deuteronomy. In its present form, it probably dates to the time of the Babylonian exile, but it probably has roots in a Levitical sermon; its style dates it in the 7th century BC.
To understand this Sunday’s reading, let’s first read Dt. 1:1-8 and 4:1-8.
32 “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?
33 Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God…and live?: it was believed that anyone who beheld God could not live (cf. Jgs 6:22-23; 13:22).
34 Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
Testings: the demonstrations of God’s power as in the ten great plagues of Egypt; cf. Dt. 7:19; 29:2.
35 All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God and there is no other.
36 Out of the heavens he let you hear his voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire.
37 For love of your fathers he chose their descendants and personally led you out of Egypt by his great power,
38 driving out of your way nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to make their land your heritage, as it is today.
39 This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.
the LORD is God…there is no other: notice the monotheistic reference here. This leads most scripture scholars to conclude that this must be a post-exilic writing.
40 You must keep his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever.”
In this address, we hear Moses invite his listeners to take the long view, to look at the entire expanse of time and ask themselves if any other people or nation has had an experience comparable to what they have had in their relationship with God.
Matthew 28:16 – 20
Throughout John’s Gospel, we discover the clearest instruction on the Trinity as Jesus declares, “the Father and I are one,” and “I will send the Spirit, the Advocate, who will teach you.” We do not hear such clear teaching about the Trinity in the Synoptic Gospels. There are hints at it, such as at our Lord’s baptism and Transfiguration. Yet, in this Sunday’s reading from the very end of the Gospel of Matthew, we hear the risen Lord instruct his disciples to make disciples of all nations and baptize them with a Trinitarian formula. This passage is unique to Matthew. It most likely reflects a formula that was adopted decades after our Lord’s resurrection. As you will read in your footnotes, this climactic scene has been called a “proleptic parousia,” (the assigning of a person, event, etc., to a period earlier than the actual one; the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred; prochronism) for it gives a foretaste of the final glorious coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 26:64). Then his triumph will be manifest to all; now it is revealed only to the disciples, who are commissioned to announce it to all nations and bring them to belief in Jesus and obedience to his commandments.
16 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
The eleven: the number recalls the tragic defection of Judas Iscariot.
To the mountain . . . ordered them: since the message to the disciples was simply that they were to go to Galilee (Matthew 28:10), some think that the mountain comes from a tradition of the message known to Matthew and alluded to here. Most, however, consider it a theological statement, similar to the mountain of temptation (4:8), the mountain of the sermon (5:1) and the mountain of the transfiguration (17:1). For the significance of the mountain, see the note on Matthew 17:1. Recall that God reveals himself from the top of the mountain to both Moses and Elijah.
This encounter on the mountain is the only time that Matthew records the disciples encountering the risen Lord. And, remember, it is a 60-mile journey from Jerusalem to Galilee; we can only imagine what the disciples had to say to each other as they made this three-day trip.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
But they doubted: the Greek can also be translated, “but some doubted.” The verb occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in Matthew 14:31 where it is associated with Peter’s being of “little faith.” For the meaning of that designation, see the note on Matthew 6:30.
18 Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
All power . . . me: the Greek word here translated power is the same as that found in the LXX translation of Daniel 7:13-14 where one “like a son of man” is given power and an everlasting kingdom by God. The risen Jesus here claims universal power, i.e., in heaven and on earth. By overcoming death – and sin – Jesus has been given all power in heaven and on earth; of course, it is the Father who has given him this power.
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,
Therefore: since universal power belongs to the risen Jesus (Matthew 28:18), he gives the eleven a mission that is universal. They are to make disciples of all nations. As you will read in your footnotes, while “all nations” is understood by some scholars as referring only to all Jews or all Gentiles, it is probable that it included both Jews and Gentiles; remember, Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience who is now living in exile among gentiles, many of whom are coming to the faith.
Disciples: Not just students but disciples, ones who follow Jesus in all his ways. I am reminded of Rom 12:11 and Rev 3:16.
Baptizing them: baptism is the means of entrance into the community of the risen one, the Church. Baptism – that is, a washing with water – had a long tradition in the Jewish faith; it symbolized cleansing and purification and was a ritual that was repeated often in the life of a devout Jew. Here, however, it is intended to happen only once and speaks of both cleansing of sin and welcoming into the communion of the Trinity.
In the name of the Father . . . holy Spirit: this is perhaps the clearest expression in the New Testament of trinitarian belief. It may have been the baptismal formula of Matthew’s church, but primarily it designates the effect of baptism, the union of the one baptized with the Father, Son, and holy Spirit. Baptism is a rite of initiation; to baptize “into the name” is to signify that the person baptized belongs to the Trinity of persons whose names are invoked in the ritual.
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
All that I have commanded you: the moral teaching found in this gospel, preeminently that of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The commandments of Jesus are the standard of Christian conduct, not the Mosaic law as such, even though some of the Mosaic commandments have now been invested with the authority of Jesus.
Behold, I am with you always: the promise of Jesus’ real though invisible presence echoes the name Emmanuel given to him in the infancy narrative; see text and note at Matthew 1:23. That Jesus lives in the Church is a belief elaborated in the Pauline writings but also found in the Gospels. The Church itself is the witness of the resurrection, since its life and activity are a constant testimonial that Jesus lives.
End of the age: see the text and notes at Matthew 13:39 and Matthew 24:3.
Romans 8:14 – 17
This Sunday, we hear the end of Paul’s exhortation to the community in Rome to live as heirs of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
children of God: the vivifying power of the Spirit not only gives believers a new life but bestows on them the character of adopted children. Christians, by reason of the Spirit’s presence within them, enjoy not only new life but also a new relationship to God, that of adopted children and heirs through Christ, whose sufferings and glory they share.
15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”
Abba: see text and note at Mark 14:36.
16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified: notice the requirement to suffer before glorification. The paschal mystery must be accepted in its entirety.