Daily Readings August 29, 2012

The Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

Scripture says:

Colossians 1:24
King James Version (KJV)
²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

St. John the Baptist suffered and died for the Christian Faith.  St. John is known as the precursor.  He preceded Jesus in life and in death.  Read more.  To come back, click your Back button.

Lectionary: 427/634

Reading 1 2 Thes 3:6-10, 16-18

For the past three days, we've been visiting with St. Paul and the Thessalonians.

We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.

This is a strong confirmation of the admonition to hold the Traditions in Chapter 2, verse 15:

2 Thessalonians 2:15
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁵ Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

For you know how one must imitate us.

Remember when Jesus was admonishing the people not to imitate the Pharisees, not too long ago.  He said:

Matthew 23:1-3
King James Version (KJV)
1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,² Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:³ All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Well, Moses seat has become the Seat of Peter and the rulers of the Church sit upon it, now.  And St. Paul says, "Imitate us".  In another place he says:

1 Corinthians 11:1
King James Version (KJV)
1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,nor did we eat food received free from anyone.On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,so as not to burden any of you.Not that we do not have the right.Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,so that you might imitate us.In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you thatif anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.

This verse, to me, is a veiled reference to the Eucharist, "if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat."  In another place, St. Paul says:

Romans 2:13
King James Version (KJV)
¹³ (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

And in another:

Galatians 5:6
King James Version (KJV)
⁶ For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

1 Corinthians 7:19
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Doing the Commandments, doing the works of love, are very important to our salvation.  Unless we do so, we will not have the right to eat of the Tree of Life and live forever:

Revelation 22:14
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁴ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.The Lord be with all of you.

St. Paul closes with a blessing for all.

This greeting is in my own hand, Paul's.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

Then he makes another reference to some confusion as to which are St. Paul's letters.  He states that he writes in a particular way which will make his writings distinguishable from any other.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 4-5

Response. (1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

 I guess you think I see the Eucharist everywhere.  Well, you're not too far wrong.  This Psalm is another reference to the Eucharist, in my opinion.  It is also a reference to our salvation which is not by our works.  But is according to our works.  What's the difference?

It seems very simple to me.  I don't get why so many people have trouble with the concept.

A.  Salvation is not by our works.  We don't save ourselves.  We don't wash away our own sins.
B.  Salvation is by the mercy of God.  Those who obey Him and keep His Commandments will be saved, according to their works.

Example 1:  A fellow says, "I'm saved by my faith alone."  Is he truly saved?  Without getting too technical, which would involve factoring in presumption, pride and other sins, I'd have to say, "I don't know."  God knows.  This fellow will stand before the Judgement seat just like all the rest of us.

Example 2:  A fellow says, "I'm saved because of my love for God and my works."  Is he truly saved?  The same applies as in Example 1.  God knows, we don't.

Gospel Mk 6:17-29

St. Mark recounts the story of St. John the Baptist's death.

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prisonon account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.John had said to Herod,"It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

St. John had admonished Herod that it was sinful for him to be married to his own brother's wife.

Herodias harbored a grudge against himand wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

For this reason, Herodias, the treacherous wife of Herod's brother whom he was also taking for a wife, wanted to kill St. John.

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,and kept him in custody.

Herod knew and respected St. John, knowing him to be a holy man.  And apparently, because of his reespect for St. John, he kept him in custody.  It almost sounds as though he was keeping him safe from  that twisted woman, the wife of his brother, whom he was marrying.

When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,yet he liked to listen to him.

When he heard St. John speak, he grew confused and hurt.  But he liked to listen to him.  Perhaps the grace of God was stirring in his cold heart.

She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.

During a  birthday banquet, Herodias, the treacherous wife, found an opportunity to deceive Herod and get her hands on St. John.

Herodias' own daughter came inand performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.

She sent her daughter to do a dance for Herod and the guests, which they loved.

The king said to the girl,"Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."He even swore many things to her,"I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."

In his giddiness, he promised the girl anything she desired.

She went out and said to her mother,"What shall I ask for?"

The girl kept her head and went to consider the matter with her mother.

She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request,"I want you to give me at onceon a platter the head of John the Baptist."

The treacherous woman probably wanted to eliminate any chance that St. John might ever convince Herod to annul the marriage and end her life of plenty, told the girl to ask for the head of St. John on a platter, at once.  Before he could change his mind.

The king was deeply distressed,but because of his oaths and the guestshe did not wish to break his word to her.So he promptly dispatched an executioner with ordersto bring back his head.

The King was distressed but could not save face without keeping his promises to the girl.  So he ordered the execution immediately.

He went off and beheaded him in the prison.He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.The girl in turn gave it to her mother.

The executioner gave the girl St. John's head on a platter and she in turn gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard about it,they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

When St. John's disciples learned about it, they came and put his body to rest.

Sincerely,

De Maria