The WORD today (see http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072018.cfm) reminds
me that God focuses on our salvation, not our condemnation.
Confrontation
should always be done in love.
When
you confront someone and tell the person what is wrong with him, the focus
should be on conversion. The aim should be to make the person realize the
mistake and have him learn from it. And have him change and improve. The focus
should not be on condemnation or fault finding. Focus should not be on
humiliating the person and making him feel bad about himself. This is what God
wants from us.
In the
first reading, Hezekiah was supposed to die. He was given a few days to fix
everything. But he prayed hard. And God, in his infinite goodness and mercy,
healed him and extended his life. God wants salvation. God wants healing. Not
death or condemnation.
In the
gospel, Jesus focused on life instead of the law. He let them do work and eat
on a Sabbath, even if it was prohibited by the law. His focus was on them. Was
on life. Not on blindly following the law. He desires mercy, not sacrifice.
God loves
us, and wants our salvation, not for us to be condemned.
With
this in mind, we should not be afraid to come to God. We should not be afraid
that he will punish us or what we did cannot be forgiven. He is a loving God,
and his love is greater than our sins. He wants us to he saved, not to be
punished. He wants us to live. And we can only really live if we come to him
and allow him to love us. To fill us. And to change us.
How do
I see God? Do I see him as a strict and punitive God, or as a generous and
loving God? Do I confront others? When I do, is my purpose to change and
improve them, or do I just want to embarrass, blame or point fingers? What is
God telling me today?
May we
always remember how much God loves us, and that he wants us to be saved. May we
be one with the psalmist to proclaim that God saved us, and we shall not die in
sin.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live.
Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for the reminder.
Lord, sorry for the times I get scared of coming to you. Sorry for thinking
that you cannot forgive me. Sorry for thinking that my sins are so great that
you cannot look at me with love. Help me always remember your love for me.
Lord, I allow you to love me. I allow you to fill me. Because I know that it is
only through your love that I can live, that I can be saved. Love me, fill me,
and transform me. As you do, use me to share your light in this world. Amen.
Blessed
day!
In
Christ,
-g-
Ps
See
related reflections:
Blessed Day!
In Christ,
-g-
July 20, 2018
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 393
Lectionary: 393
Reading 1 IS 38:1-6,
21-22, 7-8
When
Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:
"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."
Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"
Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:
"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."
Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"
Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.
Responsorial Psalm ISAIAH
38:10, 11, 12ABCD, 16
R.
(see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I
shall not die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Alleluia JN 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 12:1-8
Jesus
was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.
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