Readings
for
31 August 2003
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Today's First Reading is from The Book of Deuteronomy, beginning at the
4th
Chapter and the 1st Verse (Deut 4:1-2, 6-8)
And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and
unto the ordinances,
which I teach you, to do them; that you may live, and go in and possess
the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives you. You shall
not add to the word which I command you,
neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments
of Yahweh your God which I command you. Keep therefore and do
them;
for this is your wisdom and
your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that shall hear all
these statutes, and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and
understanding people." For what great nation is there, that hath
a
god so nigh unto them, as Yahweh our God is whensoever we call upon
him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and
ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this
day?
La Primera Lectura es del Libro de Deuteronomio, empezando en el 4mo
Capitulo, y el Primero Verso
(Deut 4:1-2, 6-8)
AHORA pues, oh Israel, oye los estatutos y derechos
que yo os enseño,
para que los ejecutéis, y viváis, y entréis, y
poseáis la tierra que Yahweh el Dios de vuestros padres te da.
No
añadiréis á la palabra que yo os mando, ni
disminuiréis de ella, para que guardéis los mandamientos
de Yahweh
vuestro Dios que yo os ordeno. Guardadlos, pues, y ponedlos por obra:
porque esta es
vuestra sabiduría y vuestra inteligencia en ojos de los pueblos,
los
cuales oirán todos estos estatutos, y dirán: Ciertamente
pueblo sabio y
entendido, gente grande es ésta. Porque ¿qué gente
grande hay que tenga los dioses cercanos á sí, como lo
está Yahweh nuestro Dios en todo cuanto le pedimos?
Y ¿qué gente grande hay que tenga estatutos y derechos
justos, como es toda esta ley que yo pongo hoy delante de vosotros?
Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 15: (Ps 15:2-3,
3-4, 4-5):
R One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the Lord.
R One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
El Salmo Responsorial se toma del
Salmo 15: (Ps 15:2-3,
3-4, 4-5):
R.- SEÑOR, ¿QUIÉN
PUEDE HOSPEDARSE EN TU TIENDA?
El que procede honradamente
y practica la justicia,
el que tiene intenciones legales
y no calumnia con su lengua.
R.- SEÑOR, ¿QUIÉN
PUEDE HOSPEDARSE EN TU TIENDA?
El que no hace mal a su prójimo
ni difama al vecino,
el que considera despreciable al impío
y honra a los que temen al Señor.
R.- SEÑOR, ¿QUIÉN
PUEDE HOSPEDARSE EN TU TIENDA?
El que no retracta lo que juró
aun en daño propio,
el que no presta dinero a usura
ni acepta soborno contra el inocente.
El que así obra nunca fallará.
R.- SEÑOR, ¿QUIÉN
PUEDE HOSPEDARSE EN TU TIENDA?
Today's Epistle is from the Letter of James, beginning at the 1st
Chapter, and the 17th Verse (Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father
of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He
chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a
kind of first fruits of all he created. Humbly
accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely
listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Religion
that God our Father accepts as
pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Epistolo del libro de Santiago, empezando en el Capitulo Primero, y
el Verso 17mo (Santiago
1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)
Toda buena dádiva y todo don perfecto
es de lo alto,
que desciende del Padre de las luces, en el cual no hay mudanza, ni
sombra de variación. El, de su voluntad nos ha engendrado
por la palabra de verdad, para que seamos primicias de sus criaturas.
Recibid con mansedumbre la palabra ingerida, la cual puede hacer
salvas vuestras almas.
Mas sed hacedores de la palabra, y no tan solamente
oidores, engañándoos á vosotros mismos. La
religión pura y sin mácula delante de Dios y Padre es
esta: Visitar
los huérfanos y las viudas en sus tribulaciones, y guardarse sin
mancha
de este mundo.
+A Reading from the Gospel of Mark, beginning at the 7th Chapter, and
the 1st Verse (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
The Pharisees and some of the
teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus
and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were
"unclean," that is, unwashed.
(The
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a
ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When
they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And
they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups,
pitchers and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked
Jesus, "Why
don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders
instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" He replied,
"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is
written:
'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from
me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules
taught by men.'
You have let go of the commands of God
and are holding on to the
traditions of men."
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said,
"Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing
outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is
what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "
For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil
thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice,
deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these
evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "
+Lectura de Santo Evangelio
según San Marcos, empezando en el 6mo Capitulo, y el 60mo
Verso (Marcos 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
Y se juntaron á él los
Fariseos, y algunos de
los escribas, que habían venido de Jerusalem; Los cuales, viendo
á algunos de sus discípulos comer pan con manos comunes,
es á saber, no lavadas, los condenaban.
(Porque los Fariseos y todos los Judíos,
teniendo la
tradición de los ancianos, si muchas veces no se lavan las
manos, no
comen. Y volviendo de la plaza, si no se lavaren, no comen. Y
otras muchas cosas hay, que tomaron para guardar, como las lavaduras de
los vasos de beber, y de los jarros, y de los vasos de metal, y de los
lechos.)
Y le preguntaron los Fariseos y los escribas:
¿Por qué
tus discípulos no andan conforme á la tradición de
los ancianos, sino
que comen pan con manos comunes? Y respondiendo él, les dijo:
Hipócritas, bien profetizó
de vosotros Isaías, como está escrito:
"Este pueblo con los labios me
honra,
Mas su corazón lejos
está de mí.
Y en vano me honra,
Enseñando como doctrinas
mandamientos de hombres.
Porque dejando el mandamiento de Dios,
tenéis la
tradición de los hombres;"
Y llamando á toda la multitud, les dijo:
Oidme todos, y entended: Nada hay fuera del hombre que entre en
él, que le
pueda contaminar: mas lo que sale de él, aquello es lo que
contamina al
hombre.
Porque de dentro, del corazón de los hombres,
salen los malos pensamientos, los adulterios, las fornicaciones, los
homicidios, Los hurtos, las avaricias, las maldades, el engaño,
las desvergüenzas, el ojo maligno, las injurias, la soberbia, la
insensatez. Todas estas maldades de dentro salen, y contaminan al
hombre.
Sermon
for
31 August 2003
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Today's readings are about Righteousness -- doing
the right thing.
In modern English, "righteousness" has got a lot of
Calvinist baggage hung on it -- It goes along with the words
"priggish", and "superiority". To say someone is "self-righteous"
is to describe him or her as snottily unpleasant.
The basic meaning of the word, however, is what the
Apostle James describes in today's Epistle: "Religion
that God our Father accepts as
pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
In other words, doing the work of the Lord --
the Corporal Spiritual Works of Mercy:
The traditional enumeration of the corporal works of
mercy is as follows:
To feed the hungry;
To give drink to the thirsty;
To clothe the naked;
To harbour the harbourless;
To visit the sick;
To ransom the captive;
To bury the dead.
The spiritual works of mercy are:
To instruct the ignorant;
To counsel the doubtful;
To admonish sinners;
To bear wrongs patiently;
To forgive offences willingly;
To comfort the afflicted;
To pray for the living and the dead.
As James says: "He
chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a
kind of first fruits of all he created." We are to: "Humbly
accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely
listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
DO what it says, notice -- not just "...cry 'Lord,
Lord'..", but DO the will of the Father in Heaven. We do not gain
salvation by merely accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but by
going out in love, to DO as he commanded.
The self-righteous also look down on others who do
not meet their standards -- are unclean and of inferior moral
character. Jesus has a bit to say about that:
"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you
hypocrites; as it is
written:
'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from
me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules
taught by men.'
You have let go of the commands of God
and are holding on to the
traditions of men."
The traditions of men that have been forged since
1500 say that you don't have to do anything -- just believe, and that
once having said "I believe" you are saved and sure of heaven, whatever
you do. This is not what Jesus taught, not what Peter taught, not
what James taught. Paul did not even teach it, despite what some
would have you believe.
To a Catholic, "salvation" means being in the
Presence of the Father in Heaven -- until we stand before the Lord of
Hosts in all of His Glory, we are still on the road -- "the Way", as
Paul says: "Working out our salvation with fear and trembling."
In the words of the Psalmist, let us strive to be
those who:
"...walk blamelessly and do justice; who think the
truth in their hearts; who harm not their fellow man, nor take up a
reproach against a neighbor; while honoring those who fear the Lord."
In the Name of
the Father +
And of the Son
+
And of the
Holy Spirit +
Amen.
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