Sunday, July 16, 2006
Monday 15th Week in Ordinary Time
July 17 2006
Monday 15th Week in Ordinary Time - Yr II
ISAIAH 1:10-17
Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction
of our God, people of Gomorrah! What care I for the number of your
sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and
fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no
pleasure. When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you?
Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your
incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of
assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear. Your new
moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray
the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash
yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease
doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the
wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
MATTHEW 10:34-11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring
peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For
I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her
mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's
enemies will be those of his household. "Whoever loves father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his
cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life
will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the
one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward. And
whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to
drink because he is a disciple - amen, I say to you, he will surely not
lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands to his
Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach
in their towns.
REFLECTION
At the time the Gospels were written, the vast majority of Christians
were converts from either paganism or Judaism. Matthew was writing his
Gospel primarily for converts from Judaism. In the eyes of everyone,
these converts were renouncing their culture and their family, as well
as their religion. They embraced their new faith with such passion that
it led to a severe wrenching from their past and to deep interfamily
conflicts as well.
The words of Jesus consoled them: "Do not suppose that my mission on
earth is to spread peace. My mission is to spread not peace, but
division" - the word our version translates as "division" is the
Aramaic word for "sword." Jesus is saying, " I have come not to bring
peace but the sword." And he says, "This sword will cut through blood
relationships, making a man's enemies those of his own household."
Jesus' words consoled the converts, assuring them they were moving
along the right path.
What does this passage say to us who for the most part, certainly, are
born Christians, not converts? Given the closeness of family ties and
deep family ties in our culture, perhaps the passage is telling us
today that no matter how strong the claim of the family is on us, if
there is a conflict between the demands of the family and Christ's
values, our primary loyalty has to be to Christ and his values, even if
this means that the family-members will look on us as traitors. As
Christ puts it, this is the cross we must take up today, if we are to
be worthy of him.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the continued recovery of Aida.
- for the speedy recovery of Cadio.
- for the continued recovery of Tito Cale.
- for the personal intentions of PM.
- for the continued and complete recovery of Ding Vidanes.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Charlene Blanche Yu
- Wedding Anniversary: Sheryl & Peter Lim Iii
- In Memoriam (+): Lim Giok Chat (1906 - 1987)
- In Memoriam (+): Ruth Antioquia Lee
- 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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