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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

March 7, 2013



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Thursday of the Third Week of Lent 
Lectionary: 240

Reading 1JER 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD:
This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you,
so that you may prosper.
God is speaking to Jeremiah saying:
This is what I have said.  Obey me and you shall be mine.  Do all that I have commanded you and you will be well.

But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.  When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
But the people of Israel turned their backs to me and refused to keep my commandments.  From the day that I led them out of Egypt to the present, they have disobeyed Me.  They will not listen to you either.

Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech.
Therefore tell them:
This is a rebellious people who will not listen to the Word of God their Lord.  They have no faith in God.  Therefore, the Word of God is not heard from their mouths. 

Responsorial PsalmPS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
If today you hear the God's Word, take heed and obey.
Come let us sing praises to God, let us proclaim our Savior.  Let us come before Him and give thanks.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Let us bring forth joyful adoration to our Lord, our Creator.  For He is our God.   And we are His people.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh that you would obey God's Word and not rebel as did your forefathers in the desert.  Where they rebelled against the Lord and provoked His anger.  If you hear God's Word, listen and obey. 

GospelLK 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Jesus drove out a devil which caused a man to be mute.  And when the man spoke, the people were amazed.

Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
Some in the crowd said, "He is a devil himself and therefore can drive out devils."  Others tested Him and asked for indications that He is from heaven.  But knowing them, He said, "Every Kingdom at war with itself will die.  Every house fighting against itself will fall."

And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
 
Therefore they will be your judges.

If Satan is fighting himself, how will his domain remain?
If you say that by the power of Beel, I am casting out the devils, then by what power do your people cast them out?   Therefore, they will judge your words.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
But if it is by God that I cast out devils, then you can be sure that the Kingdom of God is here with you now.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.  But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.
I am stronger than Satan and I have come into His world and am defeating Him.  And when I am done all who have followed me will be greatly rewarded:

Matthew 19:26-28
King James Version (KJV)
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.  27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
But if you are not with me, you are my enemy.  Whoever does not follow me, is lost. 

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