Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” March-April 2025
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
4th week, Psalter
FIRST READING
From the Book of Sirach (Sir 27:4-7)
When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains; so when a man argues, his faults appear. The potter’s vessels are tested in the furnace; likewise, a man’s way of reasoning is his testing ground. The fruit shows how the tree has been cultivated; so the word reveals the thoughts of the heart. Do not praise anyone before they have spoken, for this is the test of people. - The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
To bring out a person’s worth, it is enough to make them reason, writes Sirach: “When a man argues, his faults appear. The potter’s vessels are tested in the furnace; likewise, a man’s way of reasoning is his testing ground.” This is why the author urges us: “Do not praise anyone before they have spoken, for this is the test of people.” Just as the sieve separates the grain from the chaff, or as a tree is known by its fruits - says the Gospel - so a person’s actions are sifted by their own words. Always remembering that, in any case, only God knows the human heart. This truth echoes in the words of the psalm that the liturgy has us sing in response to this reading: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar” because the righteous person is one who has put down roots in the Lord, the only wise one, the only just one: “My rock: in him there is no wickedness.”
SECOND READING
From the first letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15:54-58)
Brothers and sisters, when this corruptible body has put on incorruptibility and this mortal body has put on immortality, then the saying of Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, stand firm and immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the second reading
In these last few Sundays, we have listened to passages from chapter 15 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul developed the theme of the resurrection. I would remind you that, while the Gospel, the first reading and the psalm are closely connected thematically, the second reading follows its own path, which is not always connected with the other readings. Thus, in these Sundays, Paul has helped us to understand the mystery of the resurrection and what it means for us. Today the Apostle concludes with a song of victory: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Paul writes “swallowed up” to emphasize that the prey has been captured and defeated. A fact of such magnitude that the Apostle can only give thanks to the one who brought it about: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord.” It is up to all of us, Paul concludes, to remain steadfast in the one who alone is the victor, Jesus: “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, stand firm and immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:39-45)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples in a parable: “Can a blind person guide another blind person? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher; but everyone who is well prepared will be like their teacher. Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the splinter that is in your eye,’ while you yourself do not see the beam that is in your eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye. There is no good tree that produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, is there a bad tree that produces good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit: figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes harvested from a bramble. A good person brings forth good from the good treasure of their heart; an evil person brings forth evil from their evil treasure: for the mouth expresses what overflows from the heart.” – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel
The first reading prepared us for and introduced us to the meaning of the Gospel passage: “For the mouth expresses what overflows from the heart,” Jesus says. Starting from the conclusion of the Gospel, we can thus understand the meaning of the entire passage. “No one gathers figs from thorns,” or “there is no good tree that produces bad fruit”; likewise, those who are not open to the truth cannot claim to guide others to the truth: a blind person cannot guide another blind person; both will fall into a pit. The words we find in today’s passage dismantle the certainties we often carry within us and through which we weigh and judge others: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the splinter that is in your eye,’ while you yourself do not see the beam that is in your eye?” Jesus does not stop at appearances, but through his teaching goes to the heart of what drives our actions. A stance taken to help us put our hearts in order.
