DAILY MASS READINGS 6th October, 2014 Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Rosary: Joyful Mysteries Liturgical Colour: Green #1st Reading: GALATIANS 1:6-12 Brothers and sisters: I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. . . . The word of the Lord.... #Responsorial Psalm PS 111:1B-2, 7-8, 9 AND 10C. R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever. or: R. Alleluia. I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. Great are the works of the LORD, exquisite in all their delights. R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever. or: R. Alleluia. The works of his hands are faithful and just; sure are all his precepts, Reliable forever and ever, wrought in truth and equity. R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever. or: R. Alleluia. He has sent deliverance to his people; he has ratified his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name. His praise endures forever. R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever. or: R. Alleluia. #Gospel Acclamation: John 6:63,68 Alleluia, alleluia! Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia! Or John 13:34 Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord. Alleluia! #Gospel: LUKE 10:25-37 There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” . . . The Gospel of the Lord.... Go and do likewise #Gospel: Luke 10:25-37 #Meditation: If God is all-loving and compassionate, then why is there so much suffering and evil in this world? Many agnostics refuse to believe in God because of this seemingly imponderable problem. If God is love then evil and suffering must be eliminated in all its forms. What is Gods answer to this human dilemma? Jesus parable about a highway robbery gives us a helpful hint. Jesus told this dramatic story in response to a devout Jew who wanted to understand how to apply Gods great commandment of love to his everyday life circumstances. In so many words this religious-minded Jew said: I want to love God as best as I can and I want to love my neighbor as well. But how do I know that I am fulfilling my duty to love my neighbor as myself? Jesus must have smiled when he heard this man challenge him to explain ones duty towards their neighbor. For the Jewish believer the law of love was plain and simple: treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself. The real issue for this believer was the correct definition of who is my neighbor. He understood neighbor to mean ones fellow Jew who belonged to the same covenant which God made with the people of Israel. Up to a certain point, Jesus agreed with this sincere expert but, at the same time, he challenged him to see that Gods view of neighbor went far beyond his narrow definition. Jesus told a parable to show how wide Gods love and mercy is towards every fellow human being. Jesus story of a brutal highway robbery was all too familiar to his audience. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho went through a narrow winding valley surrounded by steep rocky cliffs. Many wealthy Jews from Jerusalem had winter homes in Jerico. This narrow highway was dangerous and notorious for its robbers who could easily ambush their victim and escape into the hills. No one in his right mind would think of traveling through this dangerous highway alone. It was far safer to travel with others for protection and defense. So why did the religious leaders refuse to give any help when they saw a half-dead victim lying by the roadside? Didnt they recognize that this victim was their neighbor? And why did a Samaritan, an outsider who was despised by the Jews, treat this victim with special care at his own expense as he would care for his own family? Who was the real neighbor who showed brotherly compassion and mercy? Jesus makes the supposed villain, the despised Samaritan, the merciful one as an example for the status conscious Jews. Why didnt the priest and Levite stop to help? The priest probably didnt want to risk the possibility of ritual impurity. His piety got in the way of charity. The Levite approached close to the victim, but stopped short of actually helping him. Perhaps he feared that bandits were using a decoy to ambush him. The Levite put personal safety ahead of saving his neighbor. What does Jesus story tell us about true love for ones neighbor? First, we must be willing to help even if others brought trouble on themselves through their own fault or negligence. Second, our love and concern to help others in need must be practical. Good intentions and showing pity, or emphathizing with others, are not enough. And lastly, our love for others must be as wide and as inclusive as Gods love. God excludes no one from his care and concern. Gods love is unconditional. So we must be ready to do good to others for their sake, just as God is good to us. Jesus not only taught Gods way of love, but he showed how far God was willing to go to share in our suffering and to restore us to wholeness of life and happiness. Jesus overcame sin, suffering, and death through his victory on the cross. His death brought us freedom from slavery to sin and the promise of everlasting life with God. He willingly shared in our suffering to bring us to the source of true healing and freedom from sin and oppression. True compassion not only identifies and emphathizes with the one who is in pain, but takes that pain on oneself in order to bring freedom and restoration. Jesus truly identified with our plight, and he took the burden of our sinful condition upon himself. He showed us the depths of Gods love and compassion, by sharing in our suffering and by offering his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins upon the cross. His suffering is redemptive because it brings us healing and restoration and the fulness of eternal life. God offers us true freedom from every form of oppression, sin, and suffering. And that way is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to embrace the cross of Christ, to suffer for his sake, and to lay down your life out of love for your neighbor? Lord Jesus, may your love always be the foundation of my life. Free me from every fear and selfish-concern that I may freely give myself in loving service to others, even to the point of laying my life down for their sake. -dailyscripture.net May the word of God bless and heal our hearts in Jesus name. Amen!!!
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 06:13:18 +0000
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