DAILY- HOMILY

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN, BISHOP
MONDAY 23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Col 1:24—2:3 / Ps 62:6-7, 9 / Lk 6:6-11

COLOSSIANS 1:24—2:3
At present I rejoice when I suffer for you; I complete in my own flesh
what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body,
which is the Church. For I am serving the Church since God entrusted
to me the ministry to make the word of God fully known. I mean that
mysterious plan that for centuries and generations remained secret,
and which God has now revealed to his holy ones. God willed to make
known to them the riches and even the Glory that his mysterious plan
reserved for the pagan nations: Christ is in you and you may hope
God's Glory. This Christ we preach. We warn and teach everyone true
wisdom, aiming to make everyone perfect in Christ. For this cause I
labor and struggle with the energy of Christ working powerfully in me.
Let Christ Jesus, the Lord, be your doctrine I want you to know how I
strive for you, for those of Laodicea and for so many who have not met
me personally. I pray that all may be encouraged. May you be
established in love, that you may obtain all the riches of a full
understanding and know the mystery of God, Christ himself. For in him
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

LUKE 6:6-11
On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching.
There was a man with a paralyzed right hand and the teachers of the
Law and the Pharisees watched him: Would Jesus heal the man on the
Sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him. But Jesus knew their
thoughts and said to the man, "Get up and stand in the middle." Then
he spoke to them, "I want to ask you: what is allowed by the Law on
the Sabbath, to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?"
And Jesus looked around at them all. Then he said to the man, "Stretch
out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored,
becoming as whole as the other. But they were furious and began to
discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.

REFLECTION
This Gospel illustrates clearly the difference between observing the
letter of the law and following the spirit of the law, between a
legalistic observance of the commandments and a loving adherence to
God's will.

What is God's intention for the commandment: Keep holy the Sabbath
day? For Jesus, the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
The Scribes and Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus in the act of breaking
the Sabbath ritual so that they might accuse him of breaking God's
law. In a few penetrating words, Luke records that Jesus knew their
thoughts. They were filled with fury and contempt for Jesus because he
contradicted their notion of right and wrong. They were caught up in
their own legalism because they failed to understand the mind of God.
Jesus opened to them a new perspective, a paradigm shift, by pointing
God's intention for the Sabbath: to do good and to save life rather
than to do evil or to destroy life.

We, Christians, celebrate Sunday as the Lord's Day, to commemorate
God's work of redemption in Jesus Christ and the new work of creation
He accomplished through Christ's death and resurrection. Taking "our
sabbath rest" is a way of expressing honor and worship to God for all
that He has done for us. Such "rest" however should not excuse us from
our Christian duty of love for our neighbor. If we truly love the Lord
above all else, then the love of God will over flow to love of
neighbor as well. If we honor the Lord in the way we celebrate Sunday,
the Lord's Day, then it should be manifested in the way we treat our
neighbor.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Mrs. Loida Buensalida, Ysabel
Generoso, Mrs. Ochie Padilla
… for the eternal repose of the souls of Ruben M. Pasion. Eternal rest
grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and all
the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Rena Mendoza
- Birthday: Nancy Alicbusan
- Birthday: Carissa P. Marin
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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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