Sunday, October 03, 2021

Readings for October 3, 2021 annotated, lectionary 140, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinks will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context.  Information about the meaning the original Hebrew or Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue.  That information is provided beneath the specific reading the words are contained in, and also collected towards the end of this post. 

Excerpts collected in yellow  tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. Excerpts collected in green  tell us about something God wants us to do.  Excerpts collected in red  tell us about something God does not want us to do. 

Finally, links to posts addressing similar scriptures/topics are collected at the very end of this post. 

Genesis 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name.  The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man.

When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man’ this one has been taken."

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.

alone =בַּד= bad

Blue Letter Bible

by itself; apart; separation                                                                                                      

partner = עֵזֶר= `ezer

Blue Letter Bible

succor; aid; one who helps

clings = דָּבַק= dabaq

Blue Letter Bible

stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to/with, follow closely, join to; adhere; to be glued; to be lovingly devoted to

flesh, body = בָּשָׂר= basar

Blue Letter Bible

flesh; the body itself; kindred, blood-relations; self

 

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (cf. 5) May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.

R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants around your table.

R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

fear = יָרֵא= yare'

Blue Letter Bible

revere; to stand in awe of, be awed; reverence, honour, respect; to cause astonishment; tremble; venerate

walk = הָלַךְ= halak

Blue Letter Bible

to go; proceed, move; enter; follow; go along; proceed; to go with, have intercourse with; to go after; pursue; live, manner of life; to go on, go forward; traverse; march; to flow, be poured out

 

ways = דֶּרֶךְ= dereḵ

Blue Letter Bible

manner, habit, way; course of life; mode of action  


Reading II

Hebrews 2:9-11
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, " that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”

 

Alleluia

1 John 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another, God remains in us and his loveis brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

loveγαπω = agapaō 

Blue Letter Bible

to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly; to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing; to take pleasure in the thing, prize it above other things, be unwilling to abandon it or do without it; to welcome with desire, long for

 

to be full of good-will and exhibit the same; to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of

 

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

"Love can be known only from the actions it prompts *** this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects; It was an exercise of the [] will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause[]”

 

"Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all ... and works no ill to any[]; love seeks opportunity to do good to 'all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith'”

 

“In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant ‘love’ and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential "love" in them towards the Giver, and a practical "love" towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.”

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

greet with affection, show affection for; persuade, entreat; to be fond of, prize, desire; to be well pleased, contented

love = γπη = agape

Blue Letter Bible

affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

the love of husband and wife; brotherly love, charity

 

Gospel

Mark 10:2-12

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"  They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"  They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorceand dismiss her."

But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment.  But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." 

In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

divorceπολω = apolyō  

Blue Letter Bible

to lose from, dismiss; to set free, release, loose; put away; to bid depart; to dismiss from the house, to repudiate; sever by loosening; undo

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicon

set free, release, relieve from; let go, let alone, leave one; discharge, disband; do away with, remove; do away with, refute calumnies against one; to be separated or detached

 

divorceποστσιον = apostasion   

Blue Letter Bible

primarily, “a defection,” lit., “a standing off;” repudiation; something separative; see also “to cause to depart, to cause to revolt;” “to stand off, or aloof, or to depart from anyone;” metaphorically, “to fall away;” “to withdraw or absent oneself from;” “departing from, refraining from;” to make stand off, cause to withdraw, to remove; to desert, withdraw from one; to shun, flee from; to withdraw one's self from, to fall away; to desist, desert, etc.:—depart, draw (fall) away, refrain, withdraw self

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

 having forsaken; cession, conveyance; See alsoloose from; release, relieve from; release on receipt of ransom; let go, let alone, leave one; do away with, remove; do away with; to be released; to be absolved from; be freed from; to be separated or detached

 

hardness of heart = σκληροκαρδα = sklērokardia

Blue Letter Bible

destitution of (spiritual) perception; see also hard, harsh, rough, stiff; harsh, stern, hard

 

flesh = σρξ = sarx

Blue Letter Bible

the complete person; a living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh)

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

the whole body; 

 

joined together = συζεγνυμι = syzeugnymi

Blue Letter Bible

“to yoke together;” to join together unite; to fasten to one yoke, yoke together; See also association, companionship; and  two draught cattle (horses or mules or oxen) yoked together, a pair or yoke of beasts; a pair 

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

yoke together, couple; be yoked with, coupled with, paired; live in close familiarity; to be closely united

 

separate= χωρζω = chorizo

Blue Letter Bible

to put apart, to depart from, parted, divide, put asunder, go away

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

separate, divide, exclude 

 

What these readings tell us about God/His ways

It is not good for the man to be alone

I will make a suitable partner for him

The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

the two of them become one flesh.

he, for whom and through whom all things exist

bringing many children to glory

He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers

If we love one another, God remains in us and his loveis brought to perfection in us.
they are no longer two but one flesh

what God has joined together, no human being must separate

What these readings tell us to do

a man leaves his father and mother 

clings to his wife

fear the LORD

walk in his ways

fears the LORD

love one another 

What these readings tell us not to do:

be alone

divorce

divorce

dismiss her
separate 

divorces his wife and marries another

adultery

divorces her husband and marries another

adultery

 Key words:

alone =בַּד= bad

Blue Letter Bible

by itself; apart; separation                                                                                                      

partner = עֵזֶר= `ezer

Blue Letter Bible

succor; aid; one who helps 

clings = דָּבַק= dabaq

Blue Letter Bible

stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to/with, follow closely, join to; adhere; to be glued; to be lovingly devoted to

flesh, body = בָּשָׂר= basar

Blue Letter Bible

flesh; the body itself; kindred, blood-relations; self 

fear = יָרֵא= yare'

Blue Letter Bible

revere; to stand in awe of, be awed; reverence, honour, respect; to cause astonishment; tremble; venerate

walk = הָלַךְ= halak

Blue Letter Bible

to go; proceed, move; enter; follow; go along; proceed; to go with, have intercourse with; to go after; pursue; live, manner of life; to go on, go forward; traverse; march; to flow, be poured out

 

ways = דֶּרֶךְ= dereḵ

Blue Letter Bible

manner, habit, way; course of life; mode of action  

loveγαπω = agapaō 

Blue Letter Bible

to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly; to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing; to take pleasure in the thing, prize it above other things, be unwilling to abandon it or do without it; to welcome with desire, long for

 

to be full of good-will and exhibit the same; to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of

 

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

"Love can be known only from the actions it prompts *** this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects; It was an exercise of the [] will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause[]”

 

"Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all ... and works no ill to any[]; love seeks opportunity to do good to 'all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith'”

 

“In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant ‘love’ and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential "love" in them towards the Giver, and a practical "love" towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.”

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

greet with affection, show affection for; persuade, entreat; to be fond of, prize, desire; to be well pleased, contented

love = γπη = agape

Blue Letter Bible

affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon 

the love of husband and wife; brotherly love, charity

divorceπολω = apolyō  

Blue Letter Bible

to lose from, dismiss; to set free, release, loose; put away; to bid depart; to dismiss from the house, to repudiate; sever by loosening; undo

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicon

set free, release, relieve from; let go, let alone, leave one; discharge, disband; do away with, remove; do away with, refute calumnies against one; to be separated or detached

 

divorceποστσιον = apostasion   

Blue Letter Bible

primarily, “a defection,” lit., “a standing off;” repudiation; something separative; see also “to cause to depart, to cause to revolt;” “to stand off, or aloof, or to depart from anyone;” metaphorically, “to fall away;” “to withdraw or absent oneself from;” “departing from, refraining from;” to make stand off, cause to withdraw, to remove; to desert, withdraw from one; to shun, flee from; to withdraw one's self from, to fall away; to desist, desert, etc.:—depart, draw (fall) away, refrain, withdraw self

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

 having forsaken; cession, conveyance; See alsoloose from; release, relieve from; release on receipt of ransom; let go, let alone, leave one; do away with, remove; do away with; to be released; to be absolved from; be freed from; to be separated or detached

 

hardness of heart = σκληροκαρδα = sklērokardia

Blue Letter Bible

destitution of (spiritual) perception; see also hard, harsh, rough, stiff; harsh, stern, hard

 

flesh = σρξ = sarx

Blue Letter Bible

the complete person; a living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh)

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

the whole body; 

 

joined together = συζεγνυμι = syzeugnymi

Blue Letter Bible

“to yoke together;” to join together unite; to fasten to one yoke, yoke together; See also association, companionship; and  two draught cattle (horses or mules or oxen) yoked together, a pair or yoke of beasts; a pair 

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

yoke together, couple; be yoked with, coupled with, paired; live in close familiarity; to be closely united

 

separate= χωρζω = chorizo

Blue Letter Bible

to put apart, to depart from, parted, divide, put asunder, go away

 

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

separate, divide, exclude 


Other posts addressing similar scriptures/topics:

Scriptural directions for husbands—collected

 

What Scripture Says About Being a Good Husband

 

A rosary prayer for husbands  

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