Sorry we have had no entries for a while. How convenient that I publish a new one when it is my turn to give the talk. This is material that attempts to explain the Gospel Readings for Sept 28 2014
Ed
26th Sunday Ordinary Time
My rough notes:
Saint Ruiz
. He was killed for refusing to leave Japan and renounce his Roman Catholic
beliefs during the persecution of Japanese Christians under the Tokugawa
Shogunate in the 17th century.
"Thy will be done"
Saint Lorenzo is patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the
Filipino people.
"becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross."
It is not whether you win or lose its how you play the game. - grantland
Rice
How many people have heard that??
The Lord measures our perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude
of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.
-- St. John of the Cross
First reading
Ezekiel challenges two old beliefs common among his people:
That children inherit the guilt
of their ancestors,
and that God is more strict than
merciful.
Self help guru Anthony Robbins had a saying that the past does not equal
the future. meaning the future is what you decide it to be.
This was the main theme of the previous Gospel last Sunday. That was what
all my priest was saying in Greenbelt. Oscar Wilde
the line:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
talks about fairness. there is nothing more fair than getting what you
deserve based on your actions and having the actions of the ones before you
having no bearing.
that is exactly what is said here:
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
there is nothing more fair than that. Forget what anyone else did, it is
what you decide to do . that is what counts. This is very contrary to the
saying
the sins of the father are the sins of the son.
John Connor: The whole thing goes: The future's not set. There's no fate but
what we make for ourselves.
Second reading
The notes I read for this reading pretty much show utter contempt for the
short version of the reading. I have to admit that was version I was initially
going to use. If you followed the unabridged version of the second reading you
might have noticed it is the Apostles Creed just in different words. (story of Lola Net)
p.188
"Jesus became man emptying himself of his divinity so we can become
divine." maybe your journey
towards being Christlike will not be built in a day. But what Father James in his book is
suggesting reminds of another quote. "inch by inch it's a cinch, yard by
yard its hard. Little decisons and
actions daily will bring you closer to God. It is a lot like baseball. Don't
always be looking for the rare home run. Consistent singles by the whole team
over time will get you to victory.
No pork diet,
Gospel
Jesus upbraids the religious leaders of his day for failing to recognize
the hand of God at work in events of their lives.
A very obvious inference here is that is not what you say but what you do
that counts.
What you do directly coincides with your beliefs. I can't tell you I
believe in a healthy diet but when you see me all you see on my plate is
lechon, chicharon and doughnuts.
That is why they are called values. In MBA class there are the declared
values ( which is mostly PR ) and your actual values.
In father James book there is the context of the "cheap yes".
Cheap grace. It is just a word but does not cost anything.
He says " we believe what we want to believe often to justify our own
mediocrity. the story of the bike and the sports car. Believe the rumor of the
bad priest but fail to look at the example of the good priest in front of you.
There are so many examples of those willing to put others before themselves
in our faith. I can not in good conscience say the same of our local
politicians. But those that know me I am sure are not surprised.
Recognize the cheap yes for what it really is, a no. When you say yes you
should have some conviction. Some integrity.
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
― C.S. Lewis
French writer Léon Bloy, who in the last moments of his life, said: “The
only real sadness in life is not becoming a saint”.
Twenty-sixth
Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A
Reading
1 EZ18:25-28
Thus
says the LORD:
You
say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear
now, house of Israel:
Is
it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When
someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it
is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But
if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he
does what is right and just,
he
shall preserve his life;
since
he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,
he
shall surely live, he shall not die.
Responsorial
Psalm ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
R/
(6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your
ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach
me your paths,
guide
me in your truth and teach me,
for
you are God my savior.
Remember
that your compassion, O LORD,
and
your love are from of old.
The
sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in
your kindness remember me,
because
of your goodness, O LORD.
Good
and upright is the LORD;
thus
he shows sinners the way.
He
guides the humble to justice,
and
teaches the humble his way.
Reading
2 Phil 2:1-11
Brothers
and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,any solace in
love,any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,complete my joy by being of the
same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing
out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more
important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also
for those of others.
Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ
Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a
slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled
himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel
Matthew 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, ‘but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe
him."
Points
To Ponder
1. Do I always look for fair in life?? Whose
definition of fair am I applying?
2. How different am I when no one is looking?
3. Personal : how often do I go to confession?
Do I hold anything back when I do?
