Meeting Jesus through the Gospel
1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit*. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.
2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’
3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.
4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.
5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.
6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.
7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene. It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.
* The Holy Spirit is the energy of God – wind, fire, water, Transforming Pentecostal Spirit, Giver of Wisdom, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Holiness. Advocate/Paraclete (Comforter, Consoler, Prosecuting Lawyer, Defence Lawyer, Helper), leads into whole truth, reminds you of all that Jesus taught, speaks Jesus’ words, will speak through you, dwells within you, prays for you, leads you, power of God, who knows the very depths of God, the Bond of Love between Father and Son, Sanctifier. He continues the work of Jesus in the world through you and me.
August 16, 2010
Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
That evening my wife died,
and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things
that you are doing mean for us?”
I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house ofIsrael
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
That evening my wife died,
and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things
that you are doing mean for us?”
I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house of
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.
The people of Israel Temple Kingdom of God
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
Gospel
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
‘If you wish to be perfect’. This does not say there are two classes of disciples – those who ‘just keep the commandments’ and those who wish to be perfect. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells all his disciples to ‘be perfect as your heavenly Father’. We are all to surrender ourselves totally to God and not cling to what we love whether it is possessions, intellectual abilities or whatever our ego loves. No one is to love father or mother or anyone more than Jesus. We are to deny ourselves and follow him daily. This is hard like carrying a cross. We are to be poor in spirit having only what we need. We are to share the rest with the poor. This deeply contradicts the amassing of money found in the consumerist society. What is holding you back from giving yourself totally to Jesus?
August 17, 2010
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
say to the prince ofTyre
Thus says the Lord GOD:
say to the prince of
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!”—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, “I am a god!”
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
you say, “A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!”—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, “I am a god!”
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
Tyre, so close, to Israel, was a source of corruption for the morals of Israel oracle applies to all who set their hearts on the things of this world. Whatever the name or the fame, the wealth or possessions, power and the strength that we acquire in this life, we are but men. Death and the loss of everything faces even the strongest of tyrants. Whatever we earn it is for a few years only and so many times growth turns suddenly into recession and all is lost. Is there another way?
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'In truth I tell you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven kingdom of Heaven Israel
It is impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. Entry is for those who accept Jesus’ offer of friendship. “Where your treasure is there is your heart.” Wealth is a means and not an end. We need enough to live on and must give the rest away. This is the teaching of Jesus for all his disciples. Our treasure on which we set out hearts must be Jesus himself. We must search for him and not for wealth and power. We must live for him every day and all the day. The ‘new age’ is to be defined as the age of love. Everything will be determined by how much we have loved Jesus. Love for Jesus is the true wealth that will give us everything there is. Are you rich or poor? Do you want to be rich? Do you see religion in these terms?
August 18, 2010
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
The word of the Lord came to me:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds ofIsrael ,
in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds ofIsrael
who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,
and slaughtered the fatlings,
but the sheep you have not pastured.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick
nor bind up the injured.
You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost,
but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd,
and became food for all the wild beasts.
My sheep were scattered
and wandered over all the mountains and high hills;
my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,
with no one to look after them or to search for them.
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of
in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of
who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,
and slaughtered the fatlings,
but the sheep you have not pastured.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick
nor bind up the injured.
You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost,
but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd,
and became food for all the wild beasts.
My sheep were scattered
and wandered over all the mountains and high hills;
my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,
with no one to look after them or to search for them.
Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
As I live, says the Lord GOD,
because my sheep have been given over to pillage,
and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast,
for lack of a shepherd;
because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,
but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I swear I am coming against these shepherds.
I will claim my sheep from them
and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep
so that they may no longer pasture themselves.
I will save my sheep,
that they may no longer be food for their mouths.
As I live, says the Lord GOD,
because my sheep have been given over to pillage,
and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast,
for lack of a shepherd;
because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,
but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I swear I am coming against these shepherds.
I will claim my sheep from them
and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep
so that they may no longer pasture themselves.
I will save my sheep,
that they may no longer be food for their mouths.
For thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
The rulers of Israel
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Gospel
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The landowner did not act unjustly even by our rules. He lived by other values. He is generous. We can rejoice that this is another image of God. If we are only to receive what we deserve in the next life then we need worry indeed. But we have a Father who is generosity itself. Actually we are all those who have come at the eleventh hour! We are all ‘unprofitable servants’ treated as if we had worked night and day, prodigal sons welcomed like heroes after wasting our Father’s property. The reason: God is like that. We are precious to me and he loves us and will honour us (Is 43:4). Out of love for him, let us work night and day. However don’t let us think that we earn heaven. We can’t earn anything before God. It is all gift, supreme gift. Do you rejoice in your Father?
August 19, 2010
Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
The call of the prophets for repentance falls on deaf ears. Human beings cannot turn from their sins and it is no good telling them to do so. It is like asking a man to jump over the highest fence. It is only when God himself saves us that we will be saved. It is only when he puts a new heart in us that we will love and keep his commandments. God in Christ is our Saviour. No one can save themselves. We need to beg him for the new heart and new spirit as the Church prays in the Responsorial Psalm today.
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Gospel
Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again, 2 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. 3 He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. 4 Next he sent some more servants with the words, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, my banquet is all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." 5 But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. 7 The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. 8 Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, 9 go to the main crossroads and invite everyone you can find to come to the wedding." 10 So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, 12 and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." 14 For many are invited but not all are chosen.'
There is a wedding. We know who the guests are but who is the bride? The religion brought by Jesus is not one of the Law and we should not make it such. It is easy to do this when we stress the Church as an organisation and salvation as ‘saving one’s soul’. His is the religion of the marriage feast. The good news is that in his love he invites you to be ‘the bride’. Ours is a religion of ‘bride-hood’. If you fall in love with the Bridegroom then the rest is easy. The saints each in their own way did this and so they could do great deeds of ‘sacrifice’ for God – not sacrifices for them but only for onlookers. They were on fire with love and that makes all the difference. Have you been given the gift of falling in love? We should pray for this.
August 20, 2010
Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
The hand of the LORD came upon me,
and led me out in the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the center of the plain,
which was now filled with bones.
He made me walk among the bones in every direction
so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.
How dry they were!
He asked me:
Son of man, can these bones come to life?
I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”
Then he said to me:
Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:
Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.
I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,
cover you with skin, and put spirit in you
so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.
I prophesied as I had been told,
and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;
it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.
I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,
and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
Then the LORD said to me:
Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,
and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD:
From the four winds come, O spirit,
and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;
they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
Then he said to me:
Son of man, these bones are the whole house ofIsrael
They have been saying,
“Our bones are dried up,
our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to theland of Israel
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
and led me out in the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the center of the plain,
which was now filled with bones.
He made me walk among the bones in every direction
so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.
How dry they were!
He asked me:
Son of man, can these bones come to life?
I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”
Then he said to me:
Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:
Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.
I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,
cover you with skin, and put spirit in you
so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.
I prophesied as I had been told,
and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;
it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.
I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,
and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
Then the LORD said to me:
Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,
and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD:
From the four winds come, O spirit,
and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;
they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
Then he said to me:
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
They have been saying,
“Our bones are dried up,
our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
The Israelites in captivity in Babylon Jerusalem Babylon
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.Gospel
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together 35 and, to put him to the test, one of them put a further question, 36 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' 37 Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too.'
There are two truths we must bear in mind. The first is that God created us out of nothing. All we are and have are his gift. Before God we have no rights. The second is that he created us out of love to share himself with us as beloved children in Christ Jesus. He wants us to become like him. If we understand the first can we do our own thing? If we understand the second, would it be sensible to do our own thing? We are to live for God completely in love. This is what our nature as a human being demands. Coming from God we are to be like God and so love the whole of creation and in particular other human beings. God our Creator and Father loves them and so should we. Have you understood what it means to be a human being?
August 21, 2010
Memorial of Pius X, pope
Memorial of Pius X, pope
The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,
and there I saw the glory of the God ofIsrael
coming from the east.
I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,
and the earth shone with his glory.
The vision was like that which I had seen
when he came to destroy the city,
and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.
I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple
by way of the gate which faces the east,
but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.
And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord.
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,
while the man stood beside me.
The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,
this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children ofIsrael
and there I saw the glory of the God of
coming from the east.
I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,
and the earth shone with his glory.
The vision was like that which I had seen
when he came to destroy the city,
and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.
I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple
by way of the gate which faces the east,
but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.
And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord.
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,
while the man stood beside me.
The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,
this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children of
We can only think in terms of our experience and so the prophet thinks in terms of the Temple
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel
1 Then addressing the crowds and his disciples Jesus said, 2 'The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. 3 You must therefore do and observe what they tell you; but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practise what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! 5 Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader headbands and longer tassels, 6 like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, 7 being greeted respectfully in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi. 8 'You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one Master, and you are all brothers. 9 You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you must be your servant. 12 Anyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.
Mark is recording these words mainly for the sake of the Church. We are not to seek glory for ourselves even if unconsciously. We should preach only what we practice and have sympathy for the ones who struggle with God’s Laws. Jesus ridicules religious insignia – he spoke of phylacteries and tassels. Today he would ridicule those who wear religious dress in order to gain honour and respect. Titles such as “My Lord” “Your Excellency” and even “Father” are excluded from his community. But most of all he condemns the mentality of superiority which goes along with these titles. W must not exalt ourselves or bask in the praise of others. In his community we should all strive to ‘wash each others feet’ in humble and unassuming service and love. There should be no ranks in theory or practice. This is the true Church of Christ
No comments:
Post a Comment