Sunday, June 26, 2005
MONDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
JUNE 27, 2005
MONDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
GENESIS 18:16-33
Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
set out from there and looked down toward Sodom; Abraham was walking
with them, to see them on their way. The LORD reflected: "Shall I
hide from Abraham what I am about to do, now that he is to become a
great and populous nation, and all the nations of the earth are to
find blessing in him? Indeed, I have singled him out that he may
direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of
the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD may carry
into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him." Then the
LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and
their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their
actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I
mean to find out." While the two men walked on farther toward
Sodom, the LORD remained standing before Abraham. Then Abraham drew
nearer to him and said: "Will you sweep away the innocent with the
guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would
you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the
fifty innocent people within it? Far be it from you to do such a
thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty, so that the
innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge
of all the world act with justice?" The LORD replied, "If I find
fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole
place for their sake." Abraham spoke up again: "See how I am
presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! What
if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy
the whole city because of those five?" He answered, "I will not
destroy it if I find forty-five there." But Abraham persisted,
saying, "What if only forty are found there?" He replied, "I will
forbear doing it for the sake of forty." Then Abraham said, "Let not
my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found
there?" He replied, "I will forbear doing it if I can find but
thirty there." Still Abraham went on, "Since I have thus dared to
speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?" He
answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." But he
still persisted: "Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up
this last time. What if there are at least ten there?" He
replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it." The
LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and
Abraham returned home.
MATTHEW 8:18-22
When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the
other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will
follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens
and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to
rest his head." Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, let me
go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead."
REFLECTION
The beauty of Christ's message and the coherence of his life
fascinate us all. There is something in the heart of every person
that responds deeply to Our Lord, because Christ shows us how great
we can be. But it is not sufficient to simply admire Christ. Our
Lord passes by our life in many ways each day, and it is up to us to
seize the opportunity to follow him. He does not force us.
Jesus says: "But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Christ
does not pull punches. Following him is going to make us feel
uncomfortable. The day-to-day surrender to him requires letting go
of our normal securities and launching out to unfamiliar territory
where we will sow for heaven and not for earthly rewards. There are
no vacations in living out our Christianity. If we finish our day
without having felt the Gospel pinch us and push us beyond our
limits by its demands of charity and truth, the chances are that we
are beginning to walk the wrong path.
"Follow me and let the dead bury their dead." This is a harsh
statement by Christ. This would-be apostle is going to lose Christ.
If he hesitates, Christ is gone. Jesus clearly states that he is
more important than our family ties, which are usually the strongest
human relationships we have. He is challenging us to see if there is
something holding us back. Do we give Christ's values only second or
third place to what other people whom we love will think of us? Is
human respect or fear keeping us from following Christ radically?
Christ wants to do tremendous things through us, but we have to be
careful not to lose the opportunities he affords us to be a greater
witness to him when it gets tough. "Beware the grace of God that
passes never to return."
We surely don't want to lose Jesus. Our life will certainly be great
if we put Jesus above
all other worries and concerns. We should indeed thank Jesus for
challenging us to love him with totality and through sacrifice. He
is our Lord and our God. We cannot lose when we give him our total
trust.
PRAYER
"Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my
understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I
possess you have given me. I surrender it all to you to be disposed
of according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace -
with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more."
(Prayer of Ignatius Loyola, 1491-1556)
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Jaime Cardinal Sin, D.D.
Eternal rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.
- In thanksgiving for the healing of Maria Alyssa Martina Balingit.
- for the eternal repose of the souls of Cristina, Rosvie & Aljohn.
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon
them. May they rest in peace.
- Birthday: Jean Paul Tan
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- In Memoriam: Mary Elizabeth L. Yu (Oct 30, 1935 - Jun 29, 1999)
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
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