A Contrite and Humble Heart

Homily for Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

The passage from the Book of Judges that we hear today is disturbing for all of us. Why it is included in the Book of Judges does nothing to help us when we hear it. Even more curious, it is included in the Lectionary for Daily Mass. Jephthah’s vow violates the law that appears in the book of Leviticus both in chapters eighteen and twenty: “Tell the Israelites: Anyone, whether an Israelite or an alien residing in Israel, who gives offspring to Molech shall be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person. I myself will turn against and cut off that individual from among the people; for in the giving of offspring to Molech, my sanctuary was defiled and my holy name was profaned.” Scholars believe that the story is included in the Scriptures to explain the custom of annually mourning the death of Jephthah’s daughter for four days.

However, there is a lesson to be learned in this violent story. His boastful vow is fundamentally transactional – “If God does this for me, then I will do this for God.” Such promises are futile. While we can pray for our intentions, we must always keep in mind that Jesus has taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s will must be first and foremost in our lives, and we should not be tempted to enter into a transactional relationship with God. As the Psalmist reminds us today, the divine banquet of which the Gospel text speaks does not necessitate sacrificial oblations or burnt offerings, but a conversion of heart.

As we celebrate the Eucharist today, the foretaste of the heavenly banquet, let us do so with a contrite and humble heart.