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Friday 11 July 2008

Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia

St. Benedict, the Father of Western monasticism and brother of Scholastica, is considered the patron of speliologists (cave explorers). He was repelled by the vices of the city and in about the year 500, fled to Enfide, thirty miles away. He decided to live the life of a hermit and settled at the mountainous Subiaco, where he lived in a cave for three years, fed by a monk named Romanus. He organized the monks into a single monastic community and wrote his famous Rule prescribing common sense, a life of moderate asceticism, prayer, study, and work, and community life under one superior. It stressed obedience, stability, zeal, and had the Divine Office as the center of monastic life; it was to affect spiritual and monastic life in the West for centuries to come. (This is lifted from Catholic Online.)
I caught a flu and am not feeling well. So, I will be short today. In the reading of Hosea today, I found two passages which appear in the gospel of Luke and Matthew.
and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall upon us.
καὶ ἐροῦσιν τοῖς ὄρεσιν Καλύψατε ἡμᾶς, καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς Πέσατε ἐφ̓ ἡμᾶς. (Hosea 10:8b LXX)
Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.'
τότε ἄρξονται λέγειν τοῖς ὄρεσιν· πέσετε ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς, καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς· καλύψατε ἡμᾶς· (Luke 23:30)
Notice how Luke exchanged the pair of verbs. Why? Any suggestion?
Jesus was on his way to be crucified. He was consoling the women of Jerusalem and warned them of the coming disaster to Jerusalem in 70 AD. When Jesus quoted Hosea, he respected the intention of Hosea.
and out of Egypt I called my son.
καὶ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετεκάλεσα τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ. (Hosea 11:1b LXX)
Out of Egypt have I called my son.
ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐκάλεσα τὸν υἱόν μου. (Matthew 2:15b)
Obviously, Matthew did the translation himself without referring to LXX. Moreover, Matthew did not respect the intention of Hosea. This quotation is out of context and the view is opposite to the intention of Hosea.
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them, the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and burning incense to idols.
(Hosea 11:1-2)
Matthew applied this prophecy to the nativity story of Jesus. Joseph brought Mary and baby Jesus to flee the massacre of Herod the Great and hid in Egypt. After the death of Herod the Great, the Holy Family returned from Egypt. Matthew wanted the readers to see this as the fulfillment of Hosea's prophecy. Actually, Hosea was not predicting the future. Rather, he recounted the Exodus story in the past! Now, is it legitimate for Christians today to follow Matthew's way of interpreting the scripture? I have trouble following Matthew.

My dear Advocate, let me follow Jesus' footsteps, consoling others while himself was suffering. Grant me such heroic love for my neighbours. Amen.

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