Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Wednesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time
August 30, 2006
Wednesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time - Yr II
2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-10, 16-18
We instruct you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to shun any brother who walks in a disorderly way and not
according to the tradition they received from us. For you know how one
must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, nor
did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and
drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. Not
that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves
as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. In fact, when we were
with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work,
neither should that one eat. May the Lord of peace himself give you
peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. This
greeting is in my own hand, Paul's. This is the sign in every letter;
this is how I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of
you.
MATTHEW 23:27-32
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are
like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but
inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so,
on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with
hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials
of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our
ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets'
blood.' Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the
children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your
ancestors measured out!"
REFLECTION
The thought that Christ's second coming was imminent so disturbed a
number of the Thessalonian Christians that it created a problem for
their Church. Their interest in secular affairs, in the work they did
to earn a living for their families, in their concern for one another
and for the poor, their interest in these matters faded away. They
could think of nothing other than the Day of the Lord.
Paul was always conscious that the eyes of their neighbors were
constantly on the members of this new religious community. Christians
would be judged by the way they lived. He was anxious that their
behavior should give their pagan neighbors no reason to complain about
them or to judge them.
He advises the Thessalonians who have abandoned their this-world
responsibilities because of the oncoming Day of the Lord, that their
life-style is disordered, unlike the sort of life he himself had lived
when he was with them. He worked and he worked hard, not only preaching
the Good News. In addition he worked with his hands, earning his daily
bread, so as not to be a burden to any of them. Paul had also laid down
a rule when he was with them-and of this he now reminds them- "If
anyone refuses to work, he should not eat."
Fr. Joseph Krempa relates Paul's experience to our experience today.
"One can become so preoccupied with the world-to-come as to diminish
any interest in the world in which we live. Zealots obsessed with the
coming end of the world show little interest in human rights, corporate
behavior, or morality in foreign or domestic policy. Paul never saw
faith or hope in the Lord's coming as a rationale for neglecting our
obligations in this world. In fact Jesus' return as Judge requires a
vibrant missionary zeal to transform and change our world in
preparation for his coming."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- birthday blessings and for the special intentions of Normal B.
Bernal.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- 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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� 2006 Daily-Homily
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