Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 483
Lectionary: 483
Brothers and
sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh.
They are children of Israel;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh.
They are children of Israel;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Responsorial PsalmPS 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
AlleluiaJN 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 14:1-6
On a sabbath Jesus
went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.
Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,
“Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”
But they kept silent; so he took the man and,
after he had healed him, dismissed him.
Then he said to them
“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,
would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?”
But they were unable to answer his question.
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.
Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,
“Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”
But they kept silent; so he took the man and,
after he had healed him, dismissed him.
Then he said to them
“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,
would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?”
But they were unable to answer his question.
Meditation: "They were watching Jesus"
How do you approach the commandment to observe the sabbath as a
day of rest to honor the Lord? The Pharisees were convinced that Jesus was a
reckless Sabbath-breaker. The Gospels record seven incidents in which Jesus
healed people on the Sabbath - the seventh day of the week set apart for rest
and the worship of God. You would think Jesus' miracles on the Sabbath day of
rest would draw admiration and gratitude from all. Unfortunately, each incident
seemed to incite increasing hostility from the religious leaders who held an
interpretation that went beyond God's intention for the Sabbath day of rest.
They were certain that Jesus was a dangerous and irreligious man, a
Sabbath-breaker, who must be stopped at all costs!
Why did the Pharisees invite Jesus to dinner on the Sabbath,
after he had already repeatedly broken their Sabbath regulations? Luke, a
physician and keen observer of the human condition, notes the disposition of
the Pharisees as they bring Jesus into their table fellowship. Body language
often communicates more truthfully than words. Luke says the scribes and
Pharisees were watching Jesus, no doubt with great suspicion.
They wanted to catch Jesus in the act of breaking the Sabbath ritual so they
might accuse him of breaking God's law and find some way to discredit him.
Jesus' attention and affection quickly turned to a person who had a physical
ailment called dropsy. How did such a pitiable person get into this dinner
party? In the hot arid climate of Palestine, homes were open and people freely
dropped in without much fuss or attention. For the religious minded it was
considered uncharitable to exclude beggars. And if a rabbi came to dinner, it
would be expected for him to speak a few words. So, famous rabbis obviously drew
crowds of bystanders wherever they went.
God's work of love and mercy never rests
Jesus already knew that his hosts wanted to catch him in the act of breaking their Sabbath rituals. So when Jesus gave his defense for healing on the Sabbath, they treated him with cold silence. They were ensnared in their own legalism and could not understand or see the purpose of God in allowing a work of healing to take precedence over rest. Why did God give the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath and enjoined his people to refrain from work on that day? The "Sabbath rest" was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God's goodness and the goodness of his works, both in creation and redemption. It was a day set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on our behalf. It was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and to provide needed rest and refreshment. It was not, however, intended to put a stop to love of God and love of neighbor. The law of love supersedes the law of rest! Jesus shows the fallacy of the Pharisees' legalism by pointing to God's intention for the Sabbath: to do good and to heal.
Jesus already knew that his hosts wanted to catch him in the act of breaking their Sabbath rituals. So when Jesus gave his defense for healing on the Sabbath, they treated him with cold silence. They were ensnared in their own legalism and could not understand or see the purpose of God in allowing a work of healing to take precedence over rest. Why did God give the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath and enjoined his people to refrain from work on that day? The "Sabbath rest" was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God's goodness and the goodness of his works, both in creation and redemption. It was a day set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on our behalf. It was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and to provide needed rest and refreshment. It was not, however, intended to put a stop to love of God and love of neighbor. The law of love supersedes the law of rest! Jesus shows the fallacy of the Pharisees' legalism by pointing to God's intention for the Sabbath: to do good and to heal.
God's word has power to heal and to set us free from ignorance,
error, intolerance, and prejudice. Do you honor the Lord's Day with
appropriate rest and worship of God, and do you treat your neighbor with love
and mercy in all situations?
"Lord Jesus, may I always honor you, both in my work
and in my rest, and in the way I treat my neighbor. Fill me with your love and
keep me free from a critical and intolerant spirit that I may always seek to
please you and to bring good to my neighbor as well."
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, LUKE
14:1-6
Weekday
(Romans 9:1-5; Psalm 147)
Weekday
(Romans 9:1-5; Psalm 147)
KEY VERSE: "Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?" (v 3)
TO KNOW: Jesus was amazed about the scribes and Pharisees lack of proportion. They went to endless trouble in obeying their petty rules and regulations while ignoring the true purpose of the law: mercy and justice. While Jesus was dining in the home of a leading Pharisee, he observed a man suffering from dropsy (an accumulation of fluid in the body), and without hesitation he healed the man. The religious leaders regarded Jesus as a law-breaker since he healed on the Sabbath. They considered healing to be work, a violation of the Sabbath law. Jesus knew perfectly well what the legal experts were thinking, and he quoted their own law and practice to them. If an ox were to fall into a well on a Sabbath, would they not immediately pull it out? But the religious leaders refused to have compassion for this man who was held bound by a disease. These scholars remained silent as they were so bound by the letter of the law that they could not recognize its spirit.
TO LOVE: Do I try to respond to people's needs whenever I am aware of them?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to understand the true meaning of the Lord's Day?
Friday 30 October 2015
FRI 30TH.
Day of penance. Romans 9:1-5. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem—Ps 147:12-15,
19-20. Luke 14:1-6.
‘Is it
against the Law to cure on the Sabbath?’
Jesus,
once again you are at loggerheads with legalism. This is one of seven incidents
in the gospels when you healed a person on the Sabbath.
It is
possible that the man with dropsy was planted there in order to trap you. You
knew you were under scrutiny. They were spying on you. Most of us lose our
nerve or our temper in such circumstances, but you remained serene. You never
gave anybody up as hopeless; you did not refuse even an enemy’s invitation to a
meal.
Jesus,
help me to realise that normally an enemy cannot be made into a friend if I
completely refuse to meet and talk with that person. That only produces an
ever-widening gap between us. Let my concerns reach out to others and their
needs as yours did with his sick man.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
A Preparation Place
|
If I am a true Christian, I don’t view things the same way a
non-Christian does. Someone who doesn’t know Jesus views this world as an
ending place; Christians see it as a preparation place.
October
30
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
(c. 1533-1617)
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
(c. 1533-1617)
Tragedy and challenge beset today’s saint early in life, but
Alphonsus Rodriguez found happiness and contentment through simple service and
prayer.
Born in
Spain in 1533, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within
the space of three years, his wife, daughter and mother died; meanwhile,
business was poor. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the
business and, with his young son, moved into his sisters’ home. There he
learned the discipline of prayer and meditation.
Years
later, at the death of his son, Alphonsus, almost 40 by then, sought to join
the Jesuits. He was not helped by his poor education. He applied twice before
being admitted. For 45 years he served as doorkeeper at the Jesuits’ college in
Majorca. When not at his post, he was almost always at prayer, though he often
encountered difficulties and temptations.
His
holiness and prayerfulness attracted many to him, including St. Peter Claver,
then a Jesuit seminarian. Alphonsus’s life as doorkeeper may have been humdrum,
but he caught the attention of poet and fellow-Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins,
who made him the subject of one of his poems.
Alphonsus
died in 1617. He is the patron saint of Majorca.
Comment:
We like to think that God rewards the good even in this life. But Alphonsus knew business losses, painful bereavement and periods when God seemed very distant. None of his suffering made him withdraw into a shell of self-pity or bitterness. Rather, he reached out to others who lived with pain, including enslaved blacks. Among the many notables at his funeral were the sick and poor people whose lives he had touched. May they find such a friend in us!
We like to think that God rewards the good even in this life. But Alphonsus knew business losses, painful bereavement and periods when God seemed very distant. None of his suffering made him withdraw into a shell of self-pity or bitterness. Rather, he reached out to others who lived with pain, including enslaved blacks. Among the many notables at his funeral were the sick and poor people whose lives he had touched. May they find such a friend in us!
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 14,1-6
Lectio:
Friday, October 30, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
strengthen our faith, hope and love.
May we do with loving hearts
what you ask of us
and come to share the life you promise.
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.
strengthen our faith, hope and love.
May we do with loving hearts
what you ask of us
and come to share the life you promise.
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 - Luke 14,1-6
It happened that on a Sabbath day Jesus had gone to share a meal
in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. Now
there in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers
and Pharisees with the words, 'Is it against the law to cure someone on the
Sabbath, or not?'
But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away.
Then he said to them, 'Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without any hesitation?' And to this they could find no answer.
But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away.
Then he said to them, 'Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without any hesitation?' And to this they could find no answer.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel narrates an episode of the discussion between
Jesus and the Pharisees, which took place along his journey from Galilee up to
Jerusalem. It is very difficult to situate this fact in the context of the life
of Jesus. There are similarities with a fact narrated in the Gospel of Mark (Mk
3, 1-6). Probably it is a question of the many stories transmitted orally and,
in the oral transmission; they were adapted in accordance with the situation,
the need and the hopes, of the people of the communities.
• Luke 14, 1: The invitation on a Saturday. “On a Sabbath day Jesus went to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees and they watched him closely”. This initial information on the reception in the house of a Pharisee gives Luke the possibility to present several episodes which speak about welcoming, accepting to have a meal: the cure of the sick man (Lk 14, 2-6), choice of places where to eat (Lk 14, 7-11), choice of the guests invited (Lk 14, 12-14), those invited who do not accept the invitation (Lk 14,15-24). Many times Jesus is invited by the Pharisees to share a meal. Perhaps the reason for inviting him was out of curiosity and some malice, wishing to observe Jesus to see how he observes the prescriptions of the law.
• Luke 14, 2: The situation which brings about the action of Jesus. “There was a man with dropsy”. It is not said how a man with dropsy could enter the house of the head of the Pharisees. But if he is in front of Jesus it is because he wants to be cured. The Pharisees observe Jesus. It was a Saturday, and it is forbidden to cure on a Saturday. What to do? Can it be done or not?
• Luke 14, 3: The question of Jesus to the Scribes and the Pharisees. “Jesus addressing the lawyers and the Pharisees asked, Is it against the law to cure someone on the Sabbath or not? With his question Jesus explains the problem which they had before them: “Can one cure or not on Saturday? Does the law permit this, yes or no? In Mark’s Gospel the question is even more provocative: “Is it permitted on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” (Mk 3, 4).
• Luke 14, 4-6: The cure. The Pharisees do not respond and remain in silence. Before the silence of the one who neither approves nor disapproves, Jesus takes the man by the hand, cures him and sends him away. After, to respond to a possible criticism, he explains the reason that has moved him to cure: “Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without any hesitation?” With this question Jesus shows the incoherence of the lawyers and of the Pharisees. If one of them has no problem, on Saturday, to help his son or even an animal, so Jesus also has the right to help the man with dropsy. Jesus’ question recalls the Psalm, where it is said that God himself helps men and animals (Ps 36, 8). The Pharisees “Could not respond anything to these words”; because before the evidence, there are no arguments which can deny it.
• Luke 14, 1: The invitation on a Saturday. “On a Sabbath day Jesus went to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees and they watched him closely”. This initial information on the reception in the house of a Pharisee gives Luke the possibility to present several episodes which speak about welcoming, accepting to have a meal: the cure of the sick man (Lk 14, 2-6), choice of places where to eat (Lk 14, 7-11), choice of the guests invited (Lk 14, 12-14), those invited who do not accept the invitation (Lk 14,15-24). Many times Jesus is invited by the Pharisees to share a meal. Perhaps the reason for inviting him was out of curiosity and some malice, wishing to observe Jesus to see how he observes the prescriptions of the law.
• Luke 14, 2: The situation which brings about the action of Jesus. “There was a man with dropsy”. It is not said how a man with dropsy could enter the house of the head of the Pharisees. But if he is in front of Jesus it is because he wants to be cured. The Pharisees observe Jesus. It was a Saturday, and it is forbidden to cure on a Saturday. What to do? Can it be done or not?
• Luke 14, 3: The question of Jesus to the Scribes and the Pharisees. “Jesus addressing the lawyers and the Pharisees asked, Is it against the law to cure someone on the Sabbath or not? With his question Jesus explains the problem which they had before them: “Can one cure or not on Saturday? Does the law permit this, yes or no? In Mark’s Gospel the question is even more provocative: “Is it permitted on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” (Mk 3, 4).
• Luke 14, 4-6: The cure. The Pharisees do not respond and remain in silence. Before the silence of the one who neither approves nor disapproves, Jesus takes the man by the hand, cures him and sends him away. After, to respond to a possible criticism, he explains the reason that has moved him to cure: “Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without any hesitation?” With this question Jesus shows the incoherence of the lawyers and of the Pharisees. If one of them has no problem, on Saturday, to help his son or even an animal, so Jesus also has the right to help the man with dropsy. Jesus’ question recalls the Psalm, where it is said that God himself helps men and animals (Ps 36, 8). The Pharisees “Could not respond anything to these words”; because before the evidence, there are no arguments which can deny it.
4) Personal questions
• The liberty of Jesus before a situation. Even though he is
being observed by those who do not approve him, he does not lose his liberty.
Which is the liberty that I have?
• There are difficult moments in life, in which we are obliged to choose between the immediate need of our neighbour and the letter of the law. How should we act?
• There are difficult moments in life, in which we are obliged to choose between the immediate need of our neighbour and the letter of the law. How should we act?
5) Concluding prayer
I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart,
in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.
Great are the deeds of Yahweh,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2)
in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.
Great are the deeds of Yahweh,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét