Saturday, July 07, 2012
SATURDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
JULY 7, 2012
SATURDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
Am 9:11-15 / Mt 9:14-17
AMOS 9:11-15
"This is what I have ordered: I will sift the nation of Israel among the nations as one sifts with a sieve, letting no pebble pass through. All sinners among my people shall die, those who say, `Evil will not reach or overtake us.' On that day I shall restore the fallen hut of David and wall up its breaches and raise its ruined walls and so build it as in days of old. They shall conquer the remnant of Edom and the neighboring nations upon which my name has been called." Thus says Yahweh, the one who will do this. Yahweh says also, "The days are coming when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes overtake the sower. The mountains shall drip sweet wine and all the hills shall melt. I shall bring back the exiles of my people Israel; they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will have orchards and eat their fruit. I shall plant them in their own country and they shall never again be rooted up from the land which I have given them," says Yahweh your God.
MATTHEW 9:14-17
Then the disciples of John came to him with the question, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not your disciples?" Jesus answered them, "How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for the patch will shrink and tear an even bigger hole in the coat. In the same way, you don't put new wine in old wineskins. If you do, the wineskins will burst and the wine will be spilt. No, you put new wine in fresh skins; then both are preserved."
REFLECTION
The normal cycle in the Old Testament was sin, followed by God's wrath and divine punishment. Even the last of the prophets, John the Baptist, preached of an angry God who would lay the ax to the roots, whose wrath and punishment were inevitable.
To hear about God in love with the sinner was an entirely new idea. All this newness was difficult for people like the Pharisees and John's disciples to accept. In today's Gospel, John's disciples ask Jesus why he and his disciples don't respect the ancient Jewish religious practice of fasting. Jesus explains that when the groom is present at a wedding party, there is to be no mourning, only good eating and good drinking. `After I have gone from them,' he says, `my disciples can fast.'
This was difficult for John's disciples and the Pharisees to comprehend. So Jesus introduces the parable about wine and wineskins to explain. Jesus is using the old wineskins as a metaphor for a closed mind. New ideas cannot be contained by a closed mind. New ideas are expansive, the closed mind is taut, rigid. A closed mind cannot receive new ideas.
Jesus' teaching is ever new. As one penetrates his teaching more deeply and applies it to the new situation of our own day, one gains new insight. Those whose minds are not open will be unable to fully embrace Jesus and his teachings.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, SJ
- Mon Torres
- Ditas dela Paz
- Deanne Montoya
- Eriberta Calvario
… for the personal intentions of
- Beny Chua
- Bernice Nancy
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Xander Ngo
- Birthday: Thelma N. Velarde
- Birthday: Sis. Marie Francisco O.S.A
- Birthday: Lourdes S. Recto
… 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!
SATURDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
Am 9:11-15 / Mt 9:14-17
AMOS 9:11-15
"This is what I have ordered: I will sift the nation of Israel among the nations as one sifts with a sieve, letting no pebble pass through. All sinners among my people shall die, those who say, `Evil will not reach or overtake us.' On that day I shall restore the fallen hut of David and wall up its breaches and raise its ruined walls and so build it as in days of old. They shall conquer the remnant of Edom and the neighboring nations upon which my name has been called." Thus says Yahweh, the one who will do this. Yahweh says also, "The days are coming when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes overtake the sower. The mountains shall drip sweet wine and all the hills shall melt. I shall bring back the exiles of my people Israel; they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will have orchards and eat their fruit. I shall plant them in their own country and they shall never again be rooted up from the land which I have given them," says Yahweh your God.
MATTHEW 9:14-17
Then the disciples of John came to him with the question, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not your disciples?" Jesus answered them, "How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for the patch will shrink and tear an even bigger hole in the coat. In the same way, you don't put new wine in old wineskins. If you do, the wineskins will burst and the wine will be spilt. No, you put new wine in fresh skins; then both are preserved."
REFLECTION
The normal cycle in the Old Testament was sin, followed by God's wrath and divine punishment. Even the last of the prophets, John the Baptist, preached of an angry God who would lay the ax to the roots, whose wrath and punishment were inevitable.
To hear about God in love with the sinner was an entirely new idea. All this newness was difficult for people like the Pharisees and John's disciples to accept. In today's Gospel, John's disciples ask Jesus why he and his disciples don't respect the ancient Jewish religious practice of fasting. Jesus explains that when the groom is present at a wedding party, there is to be no mourning, only good eating and good drinking. `After I have gone from them,' he says, `my disciples can fast.'
This was difficult for John's disciples and the Pharisees to comprehend. So Jesus introduces the parable about wine and wineskins to explain. Jesus is using the old wineskins as a metaphor for a closed mind. New ideas cannot be contained by a closed mind. New ideas are expansive, the closed mind is taut, rigid. A closed mind cannot receive new ideas.
Jesus' teaching is ever new. As one penetrates his teaching more deeply and applies it to the new situation of our own day, one gains new insight. Those whose minds are not open will be unable to fully embrace Jesus and his teachings.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, SJ
- Mon Torres
- Ditas dela Paz
- Deanne Montoya
- Eriberta Calvario
… for the personal intentions of
- Beny Chua
- Bernice Nancy
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Xander Ngo
- Birthday: Thelma N. Velarde
- Birthday: Sis. Marie Francisco O.S.A
- Birthday: Lourdes S. Recto
… 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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
-- These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 3:19 AM 
