Sunday, September 04, 2005
MONDAY 23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 5, 2005
MONDAY 23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
Colossians 1:24-2:3
Brothers and sisters: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in
my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his Body, which is the Church, of which I am a minister in
accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion
for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from
generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones, to
whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope
for glory. It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and
teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect
in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise
of his power working within me.
For I want you to know how great a struggle I am having for you and for
those in Laodicea and all who have not seen me face to face, that their
hearts may be encouraged as they are brought together in love, to have
all the richness of assured understanding, for the knowledge of the
mystery of God, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge.
Luke 6:6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and
there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and
the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the
sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he
realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand,
"Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus
said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather
than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Looking
around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He
did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed
together what they might do to Jesus.
REFLECTION
The scribes and Pharisees saw everything from the framework of
reference of the law. It was the Law of Moses that gave them the
criteria for making a moral judgment, a decision about whether
something was right or wrong. In itself this was not a bad thing. After
all, it was God who had given them the law, and it was a good thing to
abide by the law. However there is something missing in their
reasoning. There is something twisted in their thinking as they wait to
see if Jesus will cure this man with a withered hand on the Sabbath.
Jesus puts the Law of Moses into its proper perspective. He asks the
scribes and the Pharisees: "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath
rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" The
law is not an end in itself but for the purpose of doing good, of
saving life. So the ultimate criterion is doing good. The negative
precept of not doing work on the Sabbath is not directed at limiting
good but at glorifying God. God is also glorified in doing good to the
sick and lame on the Sabbath. When the law is put into its
proper perspective, the actions of Jesus become occasions for giving
great glory to God.
The scribes and Pharisees were out to get Jesus, to trap him in doing
something they could accuse him of. Their intention in following the
dictates of the law was not pure. Their interest was not in glorifying
God but in finding something to hold against Jesus, their enemy. When
our intention is not pure, we will find ways to twist the truth, to
pervert the good in a self-serving manner. We will be blinded by our
impure intention, and our blindness will lead to anger against what is
truly good, in the same way the scribes and Pharisees became enraged at
Jesus' good act of healing.
There are times when our intentions are not pure, times when we twist
and contort the truth in order to make everything turn out the way we
want it to. Let us pray for the grace to see the world and the
circumstances of our life with a pure heart, a heart that is not
clouded by selfishness, envy, anger or greed. Let us keep all of the
moral do's and don'ts in the proper perspective of glorifying God by
doing good. Let us never weave God's moral law into our own selfish
argument in order to condemn someone.
PRAYER
"Lord, in your victory over sin and death on the cross and in your
resurrection you give us the assurance of sharing in the eternal rest
of heaven. Transform my heart with your love that I may freely serve my
neighbor for his good and find joy and refreshment in the celebration
of Sunday as the Lord's Day."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the victims of hurricane Katrina.
- for the good health & special intentions of Elsa & Paolo.
- for the speedy recovery of Annika Nadine Uy.
- for the speedy recovery of Pacita Ocampo.
- for all the victims of hurricane Katrina.
- healings for Judy, Rich, Pat S, Melinda, Nathan, Mary, Anne, Von &
Joyce.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Angie O. So
- Birthday: Angelo Dano Or
- 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.
Have a good day!
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