October 8, 2013

Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 462
Reading 1 JON 3:1-10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”

After the giant fish threw Jonah on the beach, God spoke to him again, sending him to Nineveh.

So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.

Reluctantly, Jonah made his way in that direction.

Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small,
put on sackcloth.

When Jonah began to walk through the city, the people of Nineveh heard his warning and turned to God.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
“Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth
and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive,
and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”

Every person from the lowest all the way to the King, repented in sack cloth and cried out to God.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

And God heard them and forgave them their sins and did not destroy Nineveh.

Responsorial Psalm PS 130:1B-2, 3-4AB, 7-8

R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.

R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.

R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

God is kindness and mercy.  Turn to God and beg His forgiveness and He will forgive you.  Turn to God and works meet for repentance and He will forgive you and you will be reconciled to Him.

Gospel LK 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

Martha is used here to illustrate the difference between the Old Testament and the New.  In the New Testament, we present ourselves before Jesus Christ, with complete faith in Him and focusing upon Him letting Him work in our lives.  This is the Sacramental disposition which Mary portrayed.

 Whereas, Martha portrayed the Covenant of works, where one is justified only if one keeps the Commandments perfectly and not at this time, but in the end when we appear before the Just Judge at the end of days.

Mary's is a preferable condition as the New  Testament is superior to the Old because we live amongst the Saints right now.  Having received our justification in the Sacraments (Heb 12:18-24; Heb 8:6).