Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 222
Lectionary: 222
Thus says the LORD:
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
If you hold back your foot on the
sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with maliceB
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with maliceB
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Responsorial Psalm86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (11ab) Teach me your way, O
Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Verse Before
The GospelEZ 33:11
I take no pleasure in the death of
the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion, that he may live.
but rather in his conversion, that he may live.
GospelLK 5:27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named
Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
Meditation:
Jesus
calls sinners to follow him
When
your neighbor stumbles through sin or ignorance, do you point the finger to
criticize or do you lend a helping hand to lift him or her up? The prophet
Isaiah tells us that God repays each in kind. When we bless others, especially
those who need spiritual as well as physical and material help, God in turn
blesses us.
Who
do you point the finger at?
When Jesus called a despised tax collector to be his disciple he surprised everyone including Levi (also known as Matthew). The religious leaders were especially upset with Jesus' behavior towards public sinners like Levi. The Jewish people were roughly divided into two groups: the orthodox Jews who rigidly kept the law and all its petty regulations, and the rest who didn't keep all the minute regulations. The orthodox treated the latter like second class citizens. They scrupulously avoided their company, refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of friendship with them, including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and public sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews.
When Jesus called a despised tax collector to be his disciple he surprised everyone including Levi (also known as Matthew). The religious leaders were especially upset with Jesus' behavior towards public sinners like Levi. The Jewish people were roughly divided into two groups: the orthodox Jews who rigidly kept the law and all its petty regulations, and the rest who didn't keep all the minute regulations. The orthodox treated the latter like second class citizens. They scrupulously avoided their company, refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of friendship with them, including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and public sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews.
A
true physician of body, mind, and soul
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus' defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn't need to treat healthy people - instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life.
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus' defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn't need to treat healthy people - instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life.
The
orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they
neglected to help the very people who needed the greatest care. Their religion
was selfish because they didn't want to have anything to do with people not
like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I
came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically
the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Do you thank the Lord
for the great mercy he has shown to you? And do you seek the good of all your
neighbors and show them mercy and kindness?
Leave
all and follow Christ
What does it mean to "leave all and follow the Lord"? Bede the Venerable (673-735 AD), an Anglo-Saxon monk who wrote numerous commentaries on the Scriptures, explains what it meant for Matthew and for us to "follow" as disciples of the Lord Jesus:
What does it mean to "leave all and follow the Lord"? Bede the Venerable (673-735 AD), an Anglo-Saxon monk who wrote numerous commentaries on the Scriptures, explains what it meant for Matthew and for us to "follow" as disciples of the Lord Jesus:
"By
'follow' he meant not so much the movement of feet as of the heart, the
carrying out of a way of life. For one who says that he lives in Christ ought
himself to walk just as he walked, not to aim at earthly things, not to pursue
perishable gains, but to flee base praise, to embrace willingly the contempt of
all that is worldly for the sake of heavenly glory, to do good to all, to
inflict injuries upon no one in bitterness, to suffer patiently those injuries
that come to oneself, to ask God’s forgiveness for those who oppress, never to
seek one's own glory but always God's, and to uphold whatever helps one love
heavenly things. This is what is meant by following Christ. In this way,
disregarding earthly gains, Matthew attached himself to the band of followers
of One who had no riches. For the Lord himself, who outwardly called Matthew by
a word, inwardly bestowed upon him the gift of an invisible impulse so that he
was able to follow."
Are
you ready to forsake all for the Lord Jesus Christ?
"Lord
Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them
with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious
blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts
are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are
yours; possess them always and only for yourself." (Prayer of
Augustine, 354-430)
A
Daily Quote for Lent: Our
All-powerful Physician, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD
"Our
wound is serious, but the Physician is all-powerful. Does it seem to you so
small a mercy that, while you were living in evil and sinning, he did not take
away your life, but brought you to belief and forgave your sins? What I suffer
is serious, but I trust the Almighty. I would despair of my mortal wound if I
had not found so great a Physician." (excerpt from Sermon 352, 3)
SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, LUKE 5:27-32
(Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, LUKE 5:27-32
(Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86)
KEY VERSE: "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners" (v. 32).
TO KNOW: Jews regarded tax collectors (publicans) as sinners because they were suspected of exacting more than their due from their own people. Moreover, they were viewed as traitors because they worked for the occupying Roman government. Jesus accepted people as they were, and he invited a tax collector named Levi ("Matthew" in Mt 9:9) to leave his post and follow him as a disciple. The tax collector "got up and followed him." The Greek for "got up" is the same word used to describe the resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus from the dead. Levi had arisen to a new life, and in gratitude, he gave a banquet in Jesus' honor and invited a large number of people considered as public sinners. When the religious leaders criticized Jesus because of his table fellowship with "sinners," he told them that he had not come for those who self-righteously believed they had no need for repentance, but for those who recognized their need to change their lives.
TO LOVE: Where do I need conversion in my life?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to examine the faults that I need to overcome this Lent.
Saturday 29 February 2020
Isaiah 58:9-14. Psalm 85(86):1-6. Luke 5:27-32.
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may be faithful in your sight – Psalm 85(86):1-6.
‘I have come not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may be faithful in your sight – Psalm 85(86):1-6.
‘I have come not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’
Your invitation places challenging demands on me, Lord, demands
that I have no hope of carrying out without your love and help. Your invitation
does not allow me to run away from the world, but makes me confront it in all
its goodness and sinfulness.
I know I am weak and not up to the task on my own, but your
words from Isaiah are full of tenderness and reassure me that you will be there
to guide me, to give me strength and to give me relief through all the
difficult times and desert places I have to go through in following you.
Lord of my life, I ask for the grace never to lose sight of your
love for me, so that I can respond to your call to follow. Continue to offer me
the signature blessing of your presence, that I may sing praise to your name.
Saint Oswald
Saint of the Day for February 29
(605 – August 5, 642)
 |
| Saints Oswald and Notburga | Hand-colored metalcut print | Meister mit dem Maschenhintergrun |
The last acts in the life of today’s saint make for an amazing
story. In truth, they merely underscore the holiness he exhibited throughout
his life.
Born into a military family in 10th-century England, Oswald was
a nephew of the archbishop of Canterbury, who raised him and played a crucial
role in his early education. Oswald continued his studies abroad in France,
where he became a Benedictine monk.
Following his appointment as bishop of Worcester, and later as
archbishop of York, he founded monasteries and introduced many reforms. He
supported—and improved—scholarship at the abbeys he established, inviting
leading thinkers in such fields as mathematics and astronomy to share their
learning.
He was widely known for his sanctity, especially his love for
the poor. The final winter of his life was spent at the cathedral in Worcester
that he so loved. At the start of Lent, he resumed his usual practice of
washing the feet of 12 poor men each day. On Leap Year Day, February 29, he died
after kissing the feet of the 12th man and giving a blessing.
The news of Oswald’s death brought an outpouring of grief
throughout the city.
Reflection
Nepotism does not always lead to bad results proving that God
can use even something quite negative to bring about some good. Oswald seemed
to enjoy favors as a result of his uncle, the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he
followed his own humble path and gained sanctity serving the poor.
Lectio Divina: Luke 5:27-32
Lectio Divina
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Season of Lent
1) OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God, merciful Father,
when You call us to repentance,
you want us to turn to people
and to build up peace and justice among us all. According to Your promise,
let us become, with Your strength,
lights for those in darkness,
water for those who thirst,
re-builders of hope and happiness for all.
May we thus become living signs
of Your love and loyalty,
for You are our God for ever.
when You call us to repentance,
you want us to turn to people
and to build up peace and justice among us all. According to Your promise,
let us become, with Your strength,
lights for those in darkness,
water for those who thirst,
re-builders of hope and happiness for all.
May we thus become living signs
of Your love and loyalty,
for You are our God for ever.
2) GOSPEL READING - LUKE 5:27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs
post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he
got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The
Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do
you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus said to them in
reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I
have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."
3) REFLECTION
Today s Gospel presents the same theme which we reflected upon
in January in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 2:13-17). This time, it is only the Gospel
of Luke which speaks and the text is much shorter, concentrating its attention
on the principal supper which is the call and conversion of Levi, and what the
conversion implies for us who are entering into the time of Lent.
Jesus calls a sinner to be His disciple. Jesus calls Levi, a tax
collector, and he immediately left everything, follows Jesus, and begins to
form part of the group of the disciples. Luke says that Levi had prepared a
great banquet in his house. In the Gospel of Mark, it seemed that the banquet
was in Jesus’ house. What is important here is the insistence on the communion
of Jesus with sinners, around the table, which was a forbidden thing.
Jesus did not come for the just, but for sinners. This gesture
of Jesus causes great anger among the religious authorities. It was forbidden
to sit at table with tax collectors and sinners, because to sit at table with
someone meant to treat him as a brother! With His way of doing things, Jesus
was accepting the excluded and was treating them as brothers of the same family
of God. Instead of speaking directly with Jesus, the of the Pharisees
speak with the disciples: Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and
sinners? Jesus answers: It is not those that are well who need the doctor; I
have come to call not the upright, but sinners, to repentance! His
consciousness of His mission helps Jesus to find the response to indicate the
way for the announcement of the Good News of God. He has come to unite the
dispersed people, to reintegrate those who are excluded, to reveal that God is
not a severe judge who condemns and expels, but rather He is Father who accepts
and embraces.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
Jesus accepts and includes people. What is my way of accepting
people?
Jesus’ gesture reveals the experience that He has of God the Father. What is the image of God which I bear and express to others through my behavior?
Jesus’ gesture reveals the experience that He has of God the Father. What is the image of God which I bear and express to others through my behavior?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Listen to me, Yahweh, answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard me, for I am faithful,
save Your servant who relies on You. (Ps 861-2)
for I am poor and needy.
Guard me, for I am faithful,
save Your servant who relies on You. (Ps 861-2)
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