Page 135 - Demo

LUKE 
50His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.a
51He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.b
52He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.c
53The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.d
54He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,e
55according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”f
56Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The Birth of John.* 57When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.g 59* When they came on the eighth day to circumciseh the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his
father, 60but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.”i 61But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” 62So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.j 65Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
1:42
“You too, who have heard and have believed, are blessed. Every soul who has believed both conceives and generates the Word of God and recognizes His works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary
be in each one to exult in God. According to the esh one woman is the mother of Christ, but according to faith, Christ is the fruit of all men.”1 (St. Ambrose).
1:59
“This is the covenant between me and you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. Circumcise
the esh of your foreskin. That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:10-11).
For the Jewish people, circumcision is not simply a physical marker or a medical procedure: it is a religious ritual, by which the boy becomes a full participant in the covenant between God and Israel.
1 St. Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke.
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* [1:57–66] The birth and circumcision of John above all emphasize John’s incorporation into the people of Israel by the sign of the covenant (Gn 17:1–12). The narrative of John’s circumcision also prepares the way for the subsequent description of the circumcision of Jesus in Lk 2:21. At the beginning of his two-volume work Luke shows those who play crucial roles in the inauguration of Christianity to be wholly a part of the people of Israel. At the end of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 21:20; 22:3; 23:6– 9; 24:14–16; 26:2–8, 22–23) he will argue that Christianity is the direct descendant of Pharisaic Judaism.
* [1:59] The practice of Palestinian Judaism at this time was
to name the child at birth; moreover, though naming a male child after the father is not completely unknown, the usual practice was to name the child after the grandfather (see Lk 1:61). The naming of the child John and Zechariah’s recovery from his loss of speech should be understood as ful lling the angel’s announcement to Zechariah in Lk 1:13, 20.
a. [1:50] Ps 89:2; 103:13, 17.
b. [1:51] Ps 89:10; 118:15; Jer 32:17 (39:17 LXX).
c. [1:52] 1 Sm 2:7; 2 Sm 22:28; Jb 5:11; 12:19; Ps 147:6; Sir 10:14; Jas 4:6; 1 Pt 5:5.
d. [1:53] 1 Sm 2:5; Ps 107:9.
e. [1:54] Ps 98:3; Is 41:8–9.
f. [1:55] Gn 13:15; 17:7; 18:18; 22:17–18; Mi 7:20. g. [1:58] 1:14.
h. [1:59] 2:21; Gn 17:10, 12; Lv 12:3.
i. [1:60] 1:13.
j. [1:64] 1:20.