Danielou The Lord of History

THIRTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

WEDNESDAY

Listening to the Vigils 2^nd Reading, I picked up the echo of the word "jealousy".

Again, at the Mass entry, Fr. Raymond, explained the two aspects of the Divine jealousy.

- nothing and no one may trespass upon the exclusive right of God, his primacy, his unique claim of worship.

- nothing and no one may trespass upon the exclusive right of God, his primacy, his unique claim of worship.

- the whole Bible is there to show that the bond between the Lord and the Israelites, and between Christ and the soul, is also a single, exclusive and irrevocable union.

On the closer Reading, I found word jealous(y) occurs 7 times.

First Reading - EzekieI 20:27- 44 Second Reading From The Lord of History by Jean Danielou If you would only bear with my vanity for a little! Pray be patient with me; after all, my jealousy on your behalf is the jealousy of God himself; I have betrothed you to Christ, so that no other but he should claim you, his bride without spot. Saint Paul is thinking of the churches he has won for Christ, betrothed to the Lord. His affection for them is anxious, exacting. He cannot bear any suspicion of infidelity in the engagement; the very thought of them falling short of their promises to Christ is intolerable to him. As he says, he is "jealous" of them; but this quality of mind requires some further elucidation, for the idea of "jealousy" has unpleasant associations. Elsewhere in the New Testament, jealousy sometimes stands for the feeling of resentment against any perfection in others that we ourselves lack; this is certainly one of the vilest deformities of which human nature is patient. Yet the scriptures also use the word in quite another meaning, to denote something of great religious worth, belonging in particular and primarily to God himself. It is actually stated in the Bible that the very name of the Lord bespeaks jealous love. This terminology is somewhat disconcerting; but it is simply the vivid presentation of one attribute of the living God, namely, his absolute refusal to tolerate any rival in human affections. It is important to be accurate here: it is only the worship due to God alone that he will in no case consent to share; there is no question of forbidding the indulgence of ordinary human affections in their proper place. But nothing and no one may trespass upon the exclusive right of God, his primacy, his unique claim of worship. No creature may ever be treated as God. This scriptural use of language derives, of course, from customary usage in respect of something that is lawful and valuable in human life, and is seen at its best in the jealous regard that husbands and wives have for each other, inasmuch as they will have no intrusion of third parties, or reconcile themselves to any idea that love once given can ever be withdrawn or transferred. Essentially, that is a noble attitude of mind, and simply gives expression to the quality of singleness in human love. Scripture transposes the same attitude of mind into the context of divine love, because the whole Bible is there to show that the bond between the Lord and the Israelites, and between Christ and the soul, is also a single, exclusive and irrevocable union. Responsory Ex 20:1-3; Is 42:8 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. + You shall have no other gods but me. V. I am the Lord; the Lord is my name. I will not yield my glory to another, nor my honor to idols. + You shall have ... Responsory Jer 3:11.20 Come back, faithless Israel. + No longer will I frown on you, for my love is unfailing. V. As a faithless wife leaves her husband, so have you, Israel, been faithless to me, says the Lord. + No longer ...