Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1ROM 8:1-11 Brothers and sisters:Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesushas freed you from the law of sin and death. For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do,this God has done:by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful fleshand for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us,who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.For those who live according to the fleshare concerned with the things of the flesh,but those who live according to the spiritwith the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death,but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God;it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.But you are not in the flesh;on the contrary, you are in the spirit,if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.But if Christ is in you,although the body is dead because of sin,the spirit is alive because of righteousness.If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,the one who raised Christ from the deadwill give life to your mortal bodies also,through his Spirit that dwells in you. Responsorial PsalmPS 24:1B-2, 3-4AB, 5-6 R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;the world and those who dwell in it.For he founded it upon the seasand established it upon the rivers.R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?or who may stand in his holy place?He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,who desires not what is vain.R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,a reward from God his savior.Such is the race that seeks for him,that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. Daily Reading & Meditation Saturday (October 26): Unless you repent Scripture: Luke 13:1-9 1 There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? 3 I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 6 And he told this parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, `Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground? 8 And he answered him, `Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. 9 And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. Meditation: What can a calamity, such as a political blood-bath or a natural disaster, teach us about Gods kingdom and the consequences of bad choices and sinful actions? Jesus used two such occasions to address the issue of sin and judgment with his Jewish audience. Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Jerusalem at the time, ordered his troops to slaughter a group of Galileans who had come up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice in the Temple. We do not know what these Galileans did to incite Pilates wrath, nor why Pilate chose to attack them in the holiest of places for the Jews, in their temple at Jerusalem. For the Jews, this was political barbarity and sacrilige at its worst! The second incident which Jesus addressed was a natural disaster, a tower in Jerusalem which unexpectely collasped, killing 18 people. The Jews often associated such calamities and disasters as a consequence of sin. Scripture does warn that sin can result in calamity! Though the righteous fall seven times, and rise again; the wicked are overthrown by calamity (Proverbs 24:16). The real danger and calamity which Jesus points out is that an unexpected disaster or a sudden death does not give us time to repent of our sins and to prepare ourselves to meet the Judge of heaven and earth. The Book of Job reminds us that misfortune and calamity can befall both the righteous and the unrighteous alike. Jesus gives a clear warning – take responsibility for your actions and moral choices and put sin to death today before it can destroy your heart, mind, soul, and body as well. Unrepentant sin is like a cancer which corrupts us from within. If it is not eliminated through repentance – asking God for forgiveness and for his healing grace, it leads to a spiritual death which is far worse than physical destruction. Jesus parable of the barren fig trees illustrated his warning about the consequences of allowing sin and corruption to take root in our hearts and minds. Fig trees were a common and important source of food for the people of Palestine. A fig tree normally matured within three years, producing plentiful fruit. If it failed, it was cut down to make room for more healthy trees. A decaying fig tree and its bad fruit came to symbolize for the Jews the consequence of spiritual corruption caused by evil deeds and unrepentant sin. The unfruitful fig tree symbolized the outcome of Israels unresponsiveness to the word of God. The prophets depicted the desolation and calamity of Israel, due to her unfaithfulness to God, as a languishing fig tree (see Joel1:7,12; Habakuk 3:17; and Jeremiah 8:13). Jeremiah likened good and evil rulers and members of Israel with figs that were good for eating and figs that were rotten and useless (Jeremiah 24:2-8). Jesus parable depicts the patience of God, but it also contains a warning that we should not presume upon patience and mercy. Gods judgment will come – sooner or later – in due course. Why does God judge his people? He judges to purify and cleanse us of all sin that we might grow in his holiness and righteousness. And he disciplines us for our own good, to inspire a godly fear and reverence for him and his word. God is patient, but for those who persistently and stubbornly rebel against him and refuse to repent, there is the consequence that they will lose their soul to hell. Are Gods judgments unjust or unloving? When Gods judgments are revealed in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). To pronounce Gods judgment on sin is much less harsh than what will happen if those who sin are not warned to repent. God, in his mercy, gives us time to get right with him, but that time is now. We must not assume that there is no hurry. A sudden and unexpected death leaves one no time to prepare to settle ones accounts when he or she must stand before the Lord on the day of judgment. Jesus warns us that we must be ready at all times. Tolerating sinful habits and excusing unrepentant sin will result in bad fruit and eventual destruction. The Lord in his mercy gives us both grace and time to turn away from sin, but that time is right now. If we delay, even for a day, we may discover that grace has passed us by and our time is up. Do you hunger for the Lords righteousness and holiness? Lord Jesus, increase my hunger for you that I may grow in righteousness and holiness. May I not squander the grace of the present moment to say yes to you and to your will and plan for my life.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:07:28 +0000
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