The Kerygma Family: DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH Daily Bible Reflections for June 17, 2014 Get empowered by His message to you this Tuesday! Praying for you, Bo Sanchez PS. Do you live in the Philippines? Sign up for Bos weekly cellphone message. This is FREE. (That is why you have to live in the Philippines to sign up for this service.) Text: BOSEZ__ and send to any of the following numbers: Globe (09178494444); Sun (09228945555) And youll start receiving Bos inspiring message to encourage you, guide you, and bless your week. 17 June Tuesday TODAYS READINGS: DIDACHE THE ONLY PERMANENT THING “...your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:48 It was our first time in Sydney, Australia, a wonderful gift from God. But we came in the dead of winter, and although it wasn’t snowing, the temperature was close to zero. Staying outdoors was difficult when we walked in the city streets. So when we saw a huge, royal-looking building, we went in to stay warm. It was the Queen Victoria Building, a shopping mall and not a royal palace as it appeared to be on the outside. It was originally used for stately purposes for the Queen of England. But its purpose has changed — from royalty use to commercial use. In a coffee corner inside the mall, I reflected on this issue called change. They say that the only thing permanent in life is change. But even change changes. Then wisdom came to me. There is something that’s truly permanent in this world: God’s love. That thought warmed my heart more than the coffee. Count on it — God’s love is constant and it never changes! Rolly España ([email protected]) Reflection: Lord, thank You for the wisdom in the thought that You created me so that You can love me. Your love has never changed or wavered. Jesus, everywhere I turn You are there pursuing me with all Your love. You are my Good Shepherd. St. Joseph Cafasso, pray for us. COMPANION 1ST READING The punishment Ahab and Jezebel receive for their sins is very harsh. But then, not only did they murder an innocent man, they also stole his property from his heirs. The story reminds us of the responsibility of exercising power. The more power, talent or wealth we have, the greater our duty to share what we have with others. 1 Kings 21:17-29 17 After the death of Naboth the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has come to take possession. 19 This is what you shall tell him, ‘The Lord says: After murdering, do you also take possession? For this, the Lord says: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’” 20 Ahab said to Elijah: “Have you found me out, my enemy?” “Yes,” he answered. “Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the Lord’S sight, 21 I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line, whether slave or freeman, in Israel. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.” 23 Against Jezebel, too, the Lord declared, “The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.” 24 “When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one of them dies in the field, the birds of the sky will devour him.” 25 Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. 26 He became completely abominable by following idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. 27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. 28 Then the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, 29 “Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.” P S A L M Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 11, 16 R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. 1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R)9 [11] Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my guilt. 14 [16] Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God; then my tongue shall revel in your justice. (R) GOSPEL Perfection is our calling. We may not reach perfection before gaining eternal life in heaven, but we can and should strive for it. Jesus explicitly calls us to this goal in the Gospel today, and is also a source of immense inspiration in the hope it holds for people living under the grace of the Holy Spirit. Let us never sell ourselves short of who we can be in God’s eyes and under His grace. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you. Matthew 5:43-48 43 Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” think: Let us never sell ourselves short of who we can be in God’s eyes and under His grace. SABBATH PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT In the time of Moses, God reminds His people to be holy as God is holy. Luke says it another way, “Be merciful as God is merciful.” Still, Matthew describes it another way, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a tall order to follow but not without the grace of God. By striving to live the spirit of the Beatitudes of Jesus, a Christian is challenged to love and mercy. Being perfect is exactly this: to imitate the love and mercy of God. No one can be perfect as God is. He alone is holy and perfect in all His ways, yet the call remains the same: to follow Him. As the popular phrase says: Practice makes perfect! Jesus reminds His followers that by loving those who love us, we achieve no benefit. The Christian is to love even those who will persecute and destroy his reputation. After all, we were once enemies of God ourselves, but have been brought close to Him by the blood of His Son, who loved us and sacrificed Himself for us. Jesus gives us an example of loving one’s enemies when, at the cross, He invokes the Father’s mercy upon those who crucify Him. He shows us how to love by loving those outside our circle of friends when He illustrates the parable of the Good Samaritan. Finally, He teaches us to love. We notice how he was silent at His arrest and trial before Pilate and Herod. Through His life and ministry, He shows us the way of love. Who do we consider as our enemies in life? Who are they who seemingly have nothing to do with us, those we don’t bother to relate with? These are the people God is asking us to reach out to and love. There is no virtue in loving those who love you. Jesus challenges us to look beyond. We can choose to live mediocre lives or to step beyond our comfort zones and reach out to the less fortunate who need our care and attention — to help them see God in and through us. God will accept this more as a pleasing sacrifice. But the choice remains up to us. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL REFLECTION QUESTION: Where in your life can you become more holy, more merciful, and more perfect as God calls you to be like Him? Merciful and Loving God, give me the grace to be like You more and more each day. Amen.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:38:18 +0000
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