September 12, 2013

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Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 440

Reading 1COL 3:12-17

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.

We who are baptized should put on Christ and let his love reign amongst us.

And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.

Whether we are living in a stressful time or a time of abundance, we should live in peace within ourselves.  Jesus did not come to give peace to the world.  But all who live for Him receive a peace which only He can bring.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Always talk to each other about God and what God wants in your life.  You love your children and always talk about them.  You love your sports teams and always talk about them.  Boast then about God whom you should love more than anyone else.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

And everything that we do, we should do in the name of Christ, our Lord and give thanks to the Father through Him.

Responsorial PsalmPS 150:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (6) Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

We have much for which to praise God.  In fact, nothing which we have is our own.  Not even our very lives.  Therefore, praise God in every breath of life that enters your body and in every beat of your heart.  For God holds all of those things in the palm of His hand and you are merely borrowing them until He calls them back.

GospelLK 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:

“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,

do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,

pray for those who mistreat you.

To the person who strikes you on one cheek,

offer the other one as well,

and from the person who takes your cloak,

do not withhold even your tunic.

Give to everyone who asks of you,

and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.

In a certain sense, Jesus is telling us that our faith in God will be tested by fire and that our souls are being purified even in this life.  Remember when a certain man insulted King David and his men wanted to kill that man?  What did King David say?

2 Samuel 16:5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.  6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.  7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:  8 The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.  9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.  10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?  11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him.

 Therefore, receive hardship in peace of mind and continue to praise God.  For all things turn out for the good for the man who loves God.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

For if you love those who love you,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners do the same.

If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners,

and get back the same amount. 

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,

and lend expecting nothing back;

then your reward will be great

and you will be children of the Most High,

for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

And again, God wants us to be peaceful, merciful and forgiving.  We must realize that we also offend even when we don't mean to.  Therefore, let us forgive those whom we see as offenders.  Because all mankind is our brothers.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.

Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and gifts will be given to you;

a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,

will be poured into your lap.

For the measure with which you measure

will in return be measured out to you.”

Let us not be quick to judge.  Because God will judge us with the same measure we judge others.  If we want others to be perfect towards us, we must be perfect towards them.  Let us then be perfect towards others and be merciful and forgiving towards them and we will then imitate our Heavenly Father who is good to the good and the wicked, expecting nothing in return.