God wants to bless folks. He wants us to help (readings for July 29, 2018)

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

Commentary

Reading 1 2 KGS 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear.  Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."

But his servant objected, "How can I set this before a hundred people?"

Elisha insisted, "Give it to the people to eat. For thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'"  And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.

Responsorial Psalm PS 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reading 2 EPH 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humilityand gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spiritthrough the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Alleluia LK 7:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has risen in our midst. God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel JN 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.  A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.  Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near.  When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him,because he himself knew what he was going to do. 

Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little."  One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" 

Jesus said, "Have the people recline."  Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.  So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.  Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.  When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."  So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.

When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."  Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrewagain to the mountain alone.

1.    God cares for and desires to bless people.  He demonstrates that by meeting our physical needs, here healing and feeding. (first reading, gospel). See also Wisdom 7:22-23.

2.    We have to cooperate in, contribute to, that:

A.   By taking action in reliance upon His ability and faithfulness to provide what is needed.

B.    By doing so even (and especially) when we don’t understand how He will do that. (first reading, gospel). We are told to do this several other times in the gospels. See Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50, John 11:40.  That principle is also laid out in Proverbs 3:5-7.

C.    By making the most of what He has already given us. (first reading, gospel).

D.   By being humble, gentle, and patient with each other as we work together to deliver, and receive, God’s goodness. (second reading).

Respond to Evil by Growing the Good (Readings for July 28, 2018)

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

What these passages tell us not to do

Commentary

Reading 1 JER 7:1-11

The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 

Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD, and there proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Reform your ways and your deeds, so that I may remain with you in this place. Put not your trust in the deceitful words: "This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!"

Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place, in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.

But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful wordsto your own loss! Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, go after strange gods that you know not, and yet come to stand before me in this house which bears my name, and say: "We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again"? Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves? I too see what is being done, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm PS 84:3, 4, 5-6A AND 8A, 11

R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young—Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house! continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are! They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Alleluia JAS 1:21BC

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:24-30

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
"The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 

The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' 

He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' 

His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 

He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

1.   There is both good and evil at work in the world. (first reading, gospel).

2.   The good comes from God and it is exceedingly good. (psalm, gospel) It continues to grow and bear fruit in spite of the existence and efforts of the evil. (psalm, gospel).

3.   How are we to respond to the evil? By growing the good. That was the householder’s focus in today’s gospel. That was also the primary thrust of the instruction God delivered through Jeremiah in the first reading; He instructed folks to turn from evil things to good things, things that would bless others. That inevitably happens if we “[h]umbly welcome the word” as the alleluia verse describes. That sounds a lot like the response to evil laid out in Psalm 37 and Matthew 5 & 7.    

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4.   What are some specific ways that you can do that?  The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.  Everyone can do one or more of those works every day and that would exponentially grow the good in the world. Plus those works will give you joy, as described in Psalm 37:3-4.

God blesses, and blesses through, those who stick with Him (readings for July 27, 2018)

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

What these passages tell us not to do

Commentary

Reading 1 JER 3:14-17

Return, rebellious children, says the LORD, for I am your Master; I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently. When you multiply and become fruitful in the land, says the LORD, they will in those days no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD!" They will no longer think of it, or remember it,  or miss it, or make another.

At that time they will call Jerusalem the LORD's throne; there all nations will be gathered togetherto honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem, and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness.

Responsorial Psalm JEREMIAH 31:10, 11-12ABCD, 13

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say: He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob, he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror. Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion, they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings: The grain, the wine, and the oil, the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance, and young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

Alleluia SEE LK 8:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:18-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

1.    God blesses, and blesses through, those who stick with Him. (first reading, psalm, alleluia verse, gospel).

2.    That blessing is given to, and given through, people of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds (first reading, psalm).

3.    Not everyone who is offered God’s goodness will accept it. (first reading, psalm, gospel).

4.    The extent of that blessing can be exponential for/through those who earnestly seek it. (first reading, psalm, gospel).

5.    So how do we position ourselves to receive and deliver God’s blessings?

A.  Persevere, keep striving with the Lord, come back to Him if you make missteps, even serious ones. (first reading, alleluia verse, gospel).

B.   Have a soft, generous, heart toward God and your fellow man (first reading, alleluia verse, gospel).

C.   Do not let yourself be discouraged by distressing things going on in the world or your life, but instead focus on the Lord and delivering His goodness (gospel). Psalm 37provides some good guidance on how to do that, especially verses 1-11 and 27.  Other good guidance can be found in Peter’s reaction to the storm in Matthew 14:22-33; he rose above the storm as long as he kept focused on Jesus.