Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 361
Lectionary: 361
Brothers and
sisters:
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit
for anything as coming from us;
rather, our qualification comes from God,
who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant,
not of letter but of spirit;
for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious
that the children of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses
because of its glory that was going to fade,
how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious?
For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious,
the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory.
Indeed, what was endowed with glory
has come to have no glory in this respect
because of the glory that surpasses it.
For if what was going to fade was glorious,
how much more will what endures be glorious.
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit
for anything as coming from us;
rather, our qualification comes from God,
who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant,
not of letter but of spirit;
for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious
that the children of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses
because of its glory that was going to fade,
how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious?
For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious,
the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory.
Indeed, what was endowed with glory
has come to have no glory in this respect
because of the glory that surpasses it.
For if what was going to fade was glorious,
how much more will what endures be glorious.
Responsorial PsalmPS 99:5, 6, 7, 8, 9
R. (see 9c) Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his footstool;
holy is he!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel, among those who called upon his name;
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they heard his decrees and the law he gave them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
O LORD, our God, you answered them;
a forgiving God you were to them,
though requiting their misdeeds.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his footstool;
holy is he!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel, among those who called upon his name;
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they heard his decrees and the law he gave them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
O LORD, our God, you answered them;
a forgiving God you were to them,
though requiting their misdeeds.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
AlleluiaPS 25:4B, 5A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
and guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
and guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 5:17-19
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Wednesday
(June 10): "Great
are those who teach and obey the commandments"
Meditation: Why do people tend to view the "law of
God" negatively rather than positively? Jesus' attitude towards the law of
God can be summed up in the great prayer of Psalm 119: "Oh, how I love
your law! It is my meditation all the day."
For the people of Israel the "law"
could refer to the ten commandments or to the five Books of Moses, called the
Pentateuch or Torah, which explain the commandments and ordinances of God for
his people. The "law" also referred to the whole teaching or way of
life which God gave to his people. The Jews in Jesus' time also used it as a
description of the oral or scribal law. Needless to say, the scribes added many
more things to the law than God intended. That is why Jesus often condemned the
scribal law because it placed burdens on people which God had not intended.
The essence of God's law
Jesus made it very clear that the essence of God's law - his commandments and way of life, must be fulfilled. God's law is true and righteous because it flows from his love, goodness, and holiness. It is a law of grace, love, and freedom for us. That is why God commands us to love him above all else and to follow in the way of his Son, the Lord Jesus who taught us how to love by laying down our lives for one another.
Jesus made it very clear that the essence of God's law - his commandments and way of life, must be fulfilled. God's law is true and righteous because it flows from his love, goodness, and holiness. It is a law of grace, love, and freedom for us. That is why God commands us to love him above all else and to follow in the way of his Son, the Lord Jesus who taught us how to love by laying down our lives for one another.
Reverence and respect
Jesus taught reverence for God’s law - reverence for God himself, reverence for the Lord's Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for another person's good name, respect for oneself and for one's neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master and enslave us. Reverence and respect for God's commandments teach us the way of love - love of God and love of neighbor. What is impossible to humans is possible to God who gives generously of his gifts and the Holy Spirit to those who put their faith in him. God gives us the grace, help, and strength to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think and judge as he judges, and to act as he acts with mercy, loving-kindness, and goodness. The Lord loves righteousness and hates wickedness. As his followers we must love his commandments and hate every form of sin and wrong-doing. Do you seek to understand the intention of his law and to grow in wisdom of his ways?
Jesus taught reverence for God’s law - reverence for God himself, reverence for the Lord's Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for another person's good name, respect for oneself and for one's neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master and enslave us. Reverence and respect for God's commandments teach us the way of love - love of God and love of neighbor. What is impossible to humans is possible to God who gives generously of his gifts and the Holy Spirit to those who put their faith in him. God gives us the grace, help, and strength to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think and judge as he judges, and to act as he acts with mercy, loving-kindness, and goodness. The Lord loves righteousness and hates wickedness. As his followers we must love his commandments and hate every form of sin and wrong-doing. Do you seek to understand the intention of his law and to grow in wisdom of his ways?
Jesus promised his disciples that he would give
them the gift of the Holy Spirit who writes God's law of love and truth on our
hearts. The Spirit teaches us God's truth and gives us wisdom and understanding
of God's ways. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, strengthens us in
temptation, and transforms us, day by day, into the likeness of Christ himself.
There is great blessing and reward for those who obey God's commandments and
who help others, especially the younger generations, to love, respect, and obey
the Lord.
"Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and
sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts, minds, and bodies, so that all our
thoughts, words, and deeds may be be in accord with your Father’s law and
wisdom. And thus may we be saved and protected through your mighty help."
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, MATTHEW 5:17-19
Weekday
(2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Psalm 99)
Weekday
(2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Psalm 99)
KEY VERSE: "But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (v 19b).
TO KNOW: Like Moses, Jesus taught his followers that the law of God had lasting validity and must be obeyed. Jesus emphasized the permanency of God's law by saying that not even smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet (Hb. yod,, Grk iota) in the Hebrew alphabet or the tiniest flourish of the pen would pass from the law until its fulfillment in the final age. Jesus' dispute with the religious leaders was not with the Mosaic Law itself, but with their legalistic interpretation. Jesus deepened the meaning of the law through his words and works. He said that those who taught others that justice and charity was the true purpose of God's law, and practiced it by loving God and one another, would inherit a place in God's kingdom. Those who willfully disregarded God's law would be excluded from God's reign.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to be guided by your law in all I do.
TO SERVE: Do I give good example by my respect for God's law?
Wednesday 10 June 2015
2 Corinthians 3:4-11. Holy
is the Lord our God—Ps 98(99):5-9. Matthew 5:17-19.
‘How much greater is the
brightness of the administration of the Spirit!’
How amazing that the Holy
Spirit has been given to teach us day after day after day. Sometimes it is a
Scripture verse that stands out as we read. An impulse rises within, prompting
us to encourage a struggling friend or provide a meal for a sick neighbour.
Maybe our conscience twitches at some point in the day, moving us to a moment
of repentance. Most likely these are times when the Spirit is teaching us. As
we open our hearts, the Spirit is with us, pouring out grace upon grace on our
lives.
Jesus is with us, too, to
forgive us when we fail. Our selfishness, anger, greed or petty fault-finding
come as no surprise to him. He will always forgive and continue to teach us the
path to life. Lord, give me the grace to hear your voice and follow your
teaching today.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
Praise God Always
|
We are invited to praise God, even in our times of suffering. In
our own chapters of life, tribulation will come, but so will endurance, grace,
and blessings.
June 10
Blessed Joachima
(1783-1854)
Blessed Joachima
(1783-1854)
Born into an aristocratic family in Barcelona, Spain, Joachima was
12 when she expressed a desire to become a Carmelite nun. But her life took an
altogether different turn at 16 with her marriage to a young lawyer, Theodore
de Mas. Both deeply devout, they became secular Franciscans. During their 17 years
of married life they raised eight children.
The
normalcy of their family life was interrupted when Napoleon invaded Spain.
Joachima had to flee with the children; Theodore, remaining behind, died.
Though Joachima reexperienced a desire to enter a religious community, she
attended to her duties as a mother. At the same time, the young widow led a
life of austerity and chose to wear the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis
as her ordinary dress. She spent much time in prayer and visiting the sick.
Four years
later, with some of her children now married and younger ones under their care,
Joachima confessed her desire to a priest to join a religious order. With his
encouragement she established the Carmelite Sisters of Charity. In the midst of
the fratricidal wars occurring at the time, Joachima was briefly imprisoned
and, later, exiled to France for several years.
Sickness
ultimately compelled her to resign as superior of her order. Over the next four
years she slowly succumbed to paralysis, which caused her to die by inches. At
her death in 1854 at the age of 71, Joachima was known and admired for her high
degree of prayer, deep trust in God and selfless charity.
Comment:
Joachima understands loss. She lost the home where her children grew up, her husband and, finally, her health. As the power to move and care for her own needs slowly ebbed away, this woman who had all her life cared for others became wholly dependent; she required help with life’s simplest tasks. When our own lives go spinning out of control, when illness and bereavement and financial hardship strike, all we can do is cling to the belief that sustained Joachima: God watches over us always.
Joachima understands loss. She lost the home where her children grew up, her husband and, finally, her health. As the power to move and care for her own needs slowly ebbed away, this woman who had all her life cared for others became wholly dependent; she required help with life’s simplest tasks. When our own lives go spinning out of control, when illness and bereavement and financial hardship strike, all we can do is cling to the belief that sustained Joachima: God watches over us always.
LECTIO: MATTHEW
5,17-19
Lectio:
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 5, 17-19
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till
heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear
from the Law until all its purpose is achieved.
Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel (Mt 5, 17-19) teaches how to observe the law of
God in such a way that its practice indicates in what its complete fulfilment
consists (Mt 5, 17-19). Matthew writes in order to help the communities of the
converted Jews to overcome the criticism of the brothers of their own race who
accused them saying: You are unfaithful to the Law of Moses”. Jesus himself had
been accused of infidelity to the Law of God. Matthew has the clarifying
response of Jesus concerning his accusers. Thus, he gives some light to help the
communities solve their problems.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3, 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15, 1.5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12, 3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized him continued to be actual for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close up themselves in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, which was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5, 19: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique project of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3, 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15, 1.5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12, 3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized him continued to be actual for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close up themselves in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, which was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5, 19: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique project of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.
4) Personal questions
• How do I see and live the law of God: as a growing horizon of
light or as an imposition which limits my freedom?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem,
Zion, praise your God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 145,12-13)
Zion, praise your God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 145,12-13)
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