DAILY- HOMILY

March 14, 2014
Friday First Week of Lent 

Ez 18: 21-28 / Ps 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8 / Mt 5:20-26

Reading: Ez 18: 21-28
If the sinner turns from his sin, observes my decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live, he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be charged against him; he will live as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? - word of Yahweh. Do I not rather want him to turn from his ways and live? But if the righteous man turns away from what is good and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him, but he will die because of his infidelity and his sins. But you say: Yahweh's way is not just! Why, Israel! Is my position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong? If the righteous man dies after turning from his righteous deeds and sinning, he dies because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.

Gospel: Mt 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister "Fool" deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God. Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

Reflection:
     The scribes and Pharisees were admired for their zeal, concern for purity, perfection and devotion to oral tradition. But this made them arrogant because they looked down upon those who were ignorant of the Law, thus they avoided the company of sinners. Since they are men of the Law they think they deserve the love of God. It is, for them, their privilege.
     We, too, are Pharisees when we present ourselves as just, good, religious yet blind to the situation of our reality that we are sinners. Of what use will our prayers be if we do not have compassion? We do not kill physically but our hearts are full of anger, hatred and judgments against others. We open our mouth to sing hymns yet that same mouth we use to gossip and destroy others. If we want to be upright externally, we have to be more zealous and perfect than the Pharisees. This is a herculean task. Legal observance is not enough. We may fall into arrogance because everything depends on our strength. Christ came for those who cannot help themselves. He died for sinners. If we are not sinners then the effort of Christ is of no value for us. Like the Pharisees we conduct ourselves as hypocrites.

Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing
     * Virginia Hernandez, Ditas dela Paz, Fleur Torres, Tony Torres
     * Erlyn Banayo
     * Mary Ann Yu
... for personal intentions
     * Pauline Kahn
     * Carlos Quicho
     * Kudzai Guri
... for the repose of the soul
     * Toots Monfort
... 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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