JUNE 23, 2016 : THURSDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Thursday of the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 374

Reading 12 KGS 24:8-17

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
His mother’s name was Nehushta,
daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
He did evil in the sight of the LORD,
just as his forebears had done.

At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
himself arrived at the city
while his servants were besieging it.
Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother,
his ministers, officers, and functionaries,
surrendered to the king of Babylon, who,
in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive.
And he carried off all the treasures
of the temple of the LORD and those of the palace,
and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel,
had provided in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold.
He deported all Jerusalem:
all the officers and men of the army, ten thousand in number,
and all the craftsmen and smiths.
None were left among the people of the land except the poor.
He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon,
and also led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon
the king’s mother and wives,
his functionaries, and the chief men of the land.
The king of Babylon also led captive to Babylon
all seven thousand men of the army,
and a thousand craftsmen and smiths,
all of them trained soldiers.
In place of Jehoiachin,
the king of Babylon appointed his uncle Mattaniah king,
and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Responsorial PsalmPS 79:1B-2, 3-5, 8, 9

R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

AlleluiaJN 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 7:21-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "The wise who built their house upon the rock"

If you could foresee a threat to your life and the lose of your home and goods, wouldn't you take the necessary precautions to avoid such a disaster? Jesus' story of being swept away by flood waters and wind storms must have caught the attention of his audience who knew that terrific storms did occasionally sweep through their dry arid land without any warning signs. When Jesus described the builders who were unprepared for such a life-threatening storm, he likely had the following proverb in mind: When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm for ever (Proverbs 10:25).

The only foundation that can keep us safe
What's the significance of the story for us? The kind of foundation we build our lives upon will determine whether we can survive the storms and trials of life that are sure to come. Builders usually lay their foundations when the weather and soil conditions are at their best. It takes foresight to know how a foundation will stand up against adverse conditions. Building a house on a flood plain, such as a dry river-bed, is a sure bet for disaster! Jesus prefaced his story with a warning: We may fool one another with our words, but God cannot be deceived. He sees the heart as it truly is - with its motives, intentions, desires, and choices (Psalm 139:2).

There is only one way in which a person's sincerity can be proved, and that is by one's practice. Fine words can never replace good deeds. Our character is revealed in the choices we make, especially when we must choose between what is true and false, good and evil. Do you cheat on an exam or on your income taxes, especially when it will cost you? Do you lie, or cover-up, when disclosing the truth will cause you pain or embarrassment? A true person is honest and reliable before God, neighbor, and oneself. Such a person's word can be taken as trustworthy.

Christ is the only rock that can save us
What can keep us from falsehood and spiritual disaster? If we make the Lord Jesus and his word the rock and foundation of our lives, then nothing can shake us nor keep us from God's presence and protection. Is the Lord Jesus and his word the one sure foundation of your life?

"Lord Jesus, you are the only foundation that can hold us up when trials and disaster threaten us. Give me the wisdom, foresight, and strength of character I need to do what is right and good and to reject whatever is false and contrary to your will. May I be a doer of your word and not a hearer only."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The house falls if Christ is not the rock and foundation, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"'For neither death nor life nor angels nor other things can separate us from the love of Christ' (Romans 8:38-39). Neither can the flooding of rivers, as in the lands of Egypt and Assyria [symbolize worldly wisdom opposed to God], do harm. Only those are harmed who build on sand, who practice the wisdom of the world. The winds that blow are like the false prophets. All these, coming together in one place, 'beat upon' the house. If it is founded on rock, they do no harm. 'The way of a snake upon a rock' is not to be found (Proverbs 30:19). But in the form of temptations and persecutions, which may mount into a flood, they beat upon even the one who seems to be well-founded. The house falls if it does not have Christ as its basis and foundation. But the truly wise person builds one's house 'upon a rock.' This is the way the Lord builds his church - upon the rock, with steadfastness and strength. This is why 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it' (Matthew 16:18). All the persecutions that fall upon that house accomplish nothing. The house is founded upon the rock. (excerpt from FRAGMENT 153)

www.dailyscripture.net

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, MATTHEW 7:21-29
​Weekday
​(Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16; Psalm 106)

KEY VERSE: "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who builds his house on rock" (v 24).
TO KNOW: Jesus concluded his Sermon on the Mount by telling his disciples that it was not enough to perform works of healing and miracles if they lived contrary to his teachings. The true disciple was one who followed his example of devotion to God's will. Jesus used the illustration of the construction practice of his time in which houses were built on a solid rock foundation. Houses built on the sand of the wadi were in danger of being destroyed by the floods that followed the winter rains. Christians who obeyed Christ's teachings were building on a stable foundation. Those who ignored his words were building upon superficial footing. They were at risk of being swept away by the difficulties that beset them in their daily lives.
TO LOVE: Do I obey Jesus in his Word and in his Church?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to strengthen the weak places in my spiritual house.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Thursday 23 June, 2016

Thu 23. St Paulinus of Nola. 2 Kings 24:8-17. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us—Ps 78(79):1-5, 8-9. Matthew 7:21-29.

Readings

‘He made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.’ 

Jesus’ listeners understood the wisdom of his words, he gave them choices, not directives as the scribes and Pharisees did. Jesus calls them to listen, reflect and act, and now 2,000 years later, his words still ring true and apply to us. 

In this special Jubilee Year we have, let us hope, endeavoured to practise the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, especially to the poor and marginalised. 

A sage once asked me regarding the poor, ‘Who would you least like to be?’, and it is not necessarily the destitute. The scriptures help us to discern where Jesus wants us to be in the market-place, so to read the Gospels and not act on them is like travelling with an unlit lantern. 

Lord, may your words be a light for my path. 

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Tears are Spectacles

At some times in life, the spectacles for seeing Jesus are our tears. We cry over what is good, over our sins, for the grace we receive, for joy. Let us ask ourselves, have we had that happiness of tears which prepare our eyes to look upon and to see the Lord?

— from Pope Francis Takes the Bus and Other Unexpected Stories 

June 23
St. John Fisher
(1469-1535)

John Fisher is usually associated with Erasmus, Thomas More and other Renaissance humanists. His life, therefore, did not have the external simplicity found in the lives of some saints. Rather, he was a man of learning, associated with the intellectuals and political leaders of his day. He was interested in the contemporary culture and eventually became chancellor at Cambridge. He had been made a bishop at 35, and one of his interests was raising the standard of preaching in England. Fisher himself was an accomplished preacher and writer. His sermons on the penitential psalms were reprinted seven times before his death. With the coming of Lutheranism, he was drawn into controversy. His eight books against heresy gave him a leading position among European theologians.

In 1521 he was asked to study the question of Henry VIII’s marriage. He incurred Henry’s anger by defending the validity of the king’s marriage with Catherine of Aragon and later by rejecting Henry’s claim to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

In an attempt to be rid of him, Henry first had him accused of not reporting all the “revelations” of the nun of Kent, Elizabeth Barton. John was summoned, in feeble health, to take the oath to the new Act of Succession. He and Thomas More refused because the Act presumed the legality of Henry’s divorce and his claim to be head of the English Church. They were sent to the Tower of London, where Fisher remained 14 months without trial. They were finally sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of goods.

When the two were called to further interrogations, they remained silent. Fisher was tricked, on the supposition he was speaking privately as a priest, and declared again that the king was not supreme head. The king, further angered that the pope had made John Fisher a cardinal, had him brought to trial on the charge of high treason. He was condemned and executed, his body left to lie all day on the scaffold and his head hung on London Bridge. More was executed two weeks later.

Comment:

Today many questions are raised about Christians' and priests' active involvement in social issues. John Fisher remained faithful to his calling as a bishop. He strongly upheld the teachings of the Church; the very cause of his martyrdom was his loyalty to Rome. He was involved in the cultural enrichment circles as well as in the political struggles of his time. This involvement caused him to question the moral conduct of the leadership of his country. "The Church has the right, indeed the duty, to proclaim justice on the social, national and international level, and to denounce instances of injustice, when the fundamental rights of man and his very salvation demand it" (Justice in the World, 1971 Synod of Bishops).

Quote:

Erasmus said of John Fisher: "He is the one man at this time who is incomparable for uprightness of life, for learning and for greatness of soul."

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 7,21-29

Lectio Divina: 

 Thursday, June 23, 2016

Ordinary Time

1) OPENING PRAYER

Father,
guide and protector of your people,
grant us an unfailing respect for your name,
and keep us always in your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 7,21-29

Jesus said to his disciples: 'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?"

Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers!

'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'

Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, unlike their own scribes.

3) REFLECTION

• Today’s Gospel presents the last part of the Sermon on the Mountain: (a) it is not sufficient to talk and sing, it is necessary to live and to practice (Mt 7, 21-23). (b) The community constructed on the foundation of the new Law of the Discourse of the Mountain will remain standing at the moment of the storm (Mt 7, 24-27). (c) The result of the words of Jesus in persons is a more critical conscience, concerning the religious leaders, the Scribes (Mt 7, 28-29).

• The end of the Sermon on the Mountain presents some opposition and contradictions which exist even in our time: (a) Persons who continually speak of God, but who do not do God’s will; they use the name of Jesus, but do not practice in their life the relationship with the Lord (Mt 7, 21). (b) There are persons who live in the illusion of working for the Lord, but on the day of the definitive encounter with Him, they will discover, tragically, that they have never known Him (Mt 7, 22-23). The two last words of the Sermon on the Mountain, of the house built on the rock (Mt 7, 24-25) and of the house built on sand (Mt 7, 26-27), illustrate these contradictions. By means of these Matthew denounces and, at the same time, tries to correct the separation between faith and life, between speaking and doing, between teaching and practicing.

• Matthew 7, 21: It is not sufficient to speak, it is necessary to practice. What is important is not to speak of God in a beautiful way or to know how to explain the Bible well to others, but rather to do the will of the Father and, in this way be a revelation of his face and of his presence in the world. Jesus made the same recommendation to the woman who praised Mary, His Mother. Jesus answered: “Blessed rather those who listen to the Word of God and put it into practice” (Lk 11, 28).

• Matthew 7, 22-23: The gifts should be at the service of the Kingdom, of the community. There were persons with extraordinary gifts, for example the gift of prophecy, of exorcism, of healing, but they used these gifts for themselves, outside the context of the community. In the Day of Judgment, they will hear a hard sentence from Jesus: “Away from me all evil doers”. Evil, iniquity is the opposite to justice. It is to do with Jesus what the Doctors did with the law: to teach and not to practice (Mt 23, 3). Paul will say the same thing with other words and arguments: “Though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains, if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned, if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever”. (1Cor 13,2-3).

• Matthew 7, 24-27: The parable of the house built on the rock. The final conclusion of the Sermon of the Mountain is to open oneself and to practice. Many people searched their security in extraordinary gifts or in observance. But the true security does not come from prestige or from observance. It comes from God! It comes from the love of God who has loved us first (1 Jn 4, 19). His love for us, manifested in Jesus exceeds everything (Rm 8, 38-39). God becomes source of security when we seek to do his will. There he will be the rock which supports us in the moments of difficulty and storm.

• Matthew 7, 28-29: To teach with authority. The Evangelist closes the Sermon of the Mountain saying that the crowds were admired with the teaching of Jesus, “because he taught with authority, and not like the Scribes”. The result of the teaching of Jesus is a more critical conscience of the people in regard to the religious authority of the time. His simple and clear words resulted from his experience of God, from his life dedicated to the Father’s Project. People remained admired and approved the teaching of Jesus.

• Community: the house built on the rock. In the Book of Psalms, frequently, we find the expression: “God is my rock and my fortress…My God, my rock, my refuge, my stronghold, my saving strength…” (Ps 18, 3). He is the defence and the strength of the one who seeks justice (Ps 18, 21. 24). The persons who trust in this God, become, in turn, a rock for others. Thus, the Prophet Isaiah invites people in the exile saying: “Listen to me you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh! Consider the rockfrom which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who gave you birth” (Is 51, 1-2). The prophet asks people not to forget the past. The people should remember that Abraham and Sarah, because of their faith in God, became rock, the beginning of the People of God. Looking toward this rock, the people should acquire courage to struggle and to get out from slavery. And Matthew also exhorts the community this way to have as foundation the same rock (Mt 7, 24-25) and thus, they themselves can be rock to strengthen their brothers and sisters in their faith. This is the sense of the name which Jesus gave to Peter: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church”(Mt 16, 18). This was the vocation of the first community, called to unite itself with God, the living rock, so as to become also a living rock, because they listen and put into practice the Word. (P 2,4-10; 2,5; Ep 2,19-22).

4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS

• How does our community seek to balance prayer and action, prayer and practice, to speak and to do, to teach and to practice? What should improve in our community, so that it will be a rock, a secure and welcoming house for all?

• Which is the rock which supports our community? Which is the point on which Jesus insists the most?

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

Help us, God our Saviour,
for the glory of your name;
Yahweh, wipe away our sins,
rescue us for the sake of your name. (Ps 79,9)

www.ocarm.org