Sunday, March 03, 2019

Striving to follow & serve the Lord (Readings for March 3, 2019 annotated)

Key:
What the scriptures tell us about God
What these scriptures tell us to do
What these scriptures tell us not to do
Commentary
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Reading 1 Sirach 27:4-7 
When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one's faults when one speaks.
As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just.
The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one's speech disclose the bent of one's mind. 
Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested.

Responsorial Psalm 92:2-3, 13-16 
R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to 
give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to 
give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow. They that are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to 
give thanks to you.
They shall 
bear fruit even in old age; vigorous and sturdy shall they be, Declaring how just is the LORDmy rockin whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to 
give thanks to you.

Brothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: 
Death is swallowed up in victory.Where, O death, is your victory?Where, O death, is your sting?The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, 
be firmsteadfastalways fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Alleluia Philippians 2:15-16 
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 6:39-45 
Jesus told his disciples a parable, "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.

"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. 
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."

What the scriptures tell us about God
your kindness
your faithfulness throughout the night
They that are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God
how just is the LORD
my rock
in whom there is no wrong
God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ
in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
No disciple is superior to the teacher

What these scriptures tell us to do
give thanks 
give thanks to the LORD
sing praise 
proclaim your kindness at dawn 
give thanks 
The just one 
planted in the house of the LORD 
give thanks 
bear fruit even in old age
Declaring how just is the LORD
give thanks 
be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain
Shine like lights in the world
hold on to the word of life
when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher
Remove the wooden beam from your eye first
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good

What these scriptures tell us not to do
Praise no one before he speaks
not perceive the wooden beam in your own
How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?

Commentary
Todays readings stress themes similar to those set out in the scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles: We Must Make Real Effort/Sacrifice to Receive All that God Offers, But It Is Well Worth Itand the dynamic discussed in Christians as God's Employees: A Loose Paraphrase of 2 Peter 1:3-11 

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