Sunday, August 11, 2019

We must trust God & faithfully serve Him, regardless of circumstances (readings for August 11, 2019 Annotated) (Lectionary 117)

Key:
What these scriptures tell us about God
What these scriptures tell us to do
What these scriptures tell us about human nature
What these scriptures tell us not to do
Hyperlinks to additional resources

Reading 1 Wisdom 18:6-9  
The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courageYour people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned. For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19  
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.Exult, you just, in the LORDpraise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who 
fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve themin spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have 
put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Reading 2  Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19  
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seenBecause of it the ancients were well attested.By faith Abraham obeyedwhen he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.  By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is GodBy faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthySo it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised
but 
saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”  He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Alleluia Matthew 24: 42, 44  
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 12:32-48  
Jesus said to his disciples:
Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.  Sell your belongings and give alms.  Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps and 
be like servants who await their master’s returnfrom a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.   Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.  You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”

And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent stewardwhom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.  Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.  That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his willshall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.  Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”


What these scriptures tell us about God
when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
the LORD, who is our help and our shield.
your kindness, O LORD
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen
So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom
at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.  Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property
.  
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
What these scriptures tell us to do
with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage
Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes
in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.
Exult, you just, in the LORD; praise from the upright is fitting
fear him
hope for his kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine
put our hope in you
Because of it [faith] the ancients were well attested
By faith Abraham obeyed
he went out, not knowing where he was to go
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents 
he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God
By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy
saw it and greeted it from afar 
acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth
they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one  
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac
Stay awake and be ready!
Do not be afraid any longer, little flock
Sell your belongings and give alms
be like servants who await their master’s return
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival
You also must be prepared
the faithful and prudent steward

What these scriptures tell us not to do
if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk
That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will 

What these scriptures tell us about human nature 
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

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