Lectionary: 436

Key

Bold = verse commented upon

Blue = comment

Highlight = direct command

Colossians 1:21-23

Brothers and sisters: You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds; God has now reconciled you in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.

Psalm 54:3-4, 7, and 8

O God, by your name save me, and by your might defend my cause. O God, hear my prayer; hearken to the words of my mouth.

Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life. Freely will I offer you sacrifice; I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.

John 14:6

I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Luke 6:1-5

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”

Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

                                                          

Comments

1.      The first reading and the alleluia verse stress the same theme as John 15:4-6: we must stay with Christ, abide in Him, to receive the benefits of His sacrifice. There is no way to receive those benefits apart from continuing to walk with Him. We also see that principle in Sirach 2:3, 7, 12-15, the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 24:43-25:13, and Luke 9:62.

2.          The Psalm and the Gospel reading tell us that God will help us to stay with Christ. He knows our limited capacity and will help us back to Him when we stray. See Psalm 103:13-14, Isaiah 55:7-11, and Luke 15.

3.      The Gospel reading also gives us one very helpful way to avoid straying from Jesus—stay in His word. See Deuteronomy 6:1-2, Deuteronomy 17:18-20; Sirach 2:16, Acts 17:10-12, Colossians 3:16,  1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:21-25, and 1 Peter 1:23-2:3.