Friday, 14 August 2020
Thursday, 13 August 2020
Friday, August 14, 2020 - Homily for today
No matter what state of life one chooses, one must remain faithful to one’s commitment in that state of life. The grass seems greener on the other side, but only till we go to the other side.
Do you usually take the “easy way” or the “right way”?
Friday, August 14, 2020 - Do you usually take the “easy way” or the “right way”?
To read the texts click on the texts:Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63; Mt 19:3-1
The context of
today’s reading is immediately after Jesus has finished instructing his
disciples (19,1-2) in the “Community Discourse” (18, 1-35). The text is found
also in Mark 10, 1-12, but Matthew has made some changes to suit his purpose.
In Matthew, Jesus begins his response to the Pharisees question about the
legality of divorce by going back to Genesis 1,27 and 2,24 (in Mark the
quotations from Genesis come later). In Matthew, the Pharisees respond to
Jesus’ quotation by citing Deut. 24,1, which allowed divorce, and this prompts
Jesus to move to the situational application. The union of husband and wife is
the creation of God and must be regarded as such (in Mark, they respond in this
manner after a question from Jesus about what Moses commanded them). Matthew
omits 10,12 of Mark, which reflects the Gentile provision for a woman’s
initiating a divorce, since this is not applicable from his Jewish perspective.
Matthew adds an exception clause; “except for unchastity” as he did earlier
in 5,32, and in doing so makes the teaching of Jesus, a situational application
rather than a legalistic code.
19,10-12 is
exclusive to Matthew, and in them Jesus responds to the comment of the
disciples that it is better not to marry. Those “who are made eunuchs by men”
seems to refer to the pagan practice of literal castration as a religious
practice, and this is rejected by Jesus. Those “who have made themselves
eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom” seems to refer to those who choose to
remain celibate in order to concentrate more fully on the kingdom, rather than
get weighed down by family cares.
No matter what
state of life one chooses, one must remain faithful to one’s commitment in that
state of life. The grass seems greener on the other side, but only till we go
to the other side. 2
Wednesday, 12 August 2020
Thursday, August 13, 2020 - Homily for today
We expect to be forgiven by other when we do them harm after we have said sorry, and sometimes if they do not forgive us, we get upset with them even more. We need to apply the same yardstick to ourselves when others ask for forgiveness from us.
Thursday, August 13, 2020 - What would be your position if God kept a grudge against you for every sin you committed? Will you give up all your un-forgiveness today?
To read the texts click on the texts:Ezekiel 12:1-12; Mt 18:21 – 19:1
The text of
today is the conclusion to Matthew’s “Community Discourse” (18,1-35). It begins
with a question from Peter about the number of times one is expected to
forgive. While Peter proposes seven times, Jesus’ response far exceeds that
proposal. The number seventy-seven can be understood in this way or
even as four hundred ninety (seventy times seven). The point is not so much
about numbers but about forgiveness from the heart. If one has to count the
number of times one is forgiving, it means that one is not really forgiving at
all. The story that follows in 18,23-35 about the king who forgave his
servant a debt of ten thousand talents (a talent was more than fifteen years
wages of a labourer) and that same servant who would not forgive another
servant who owed him a mere hundred denarii (a denarius was the usual day’s
wage for a labourer) makes the same point.
We expect to be forgiven by other when we do them harm after we have said sorry, and sometimes if they do not forgive us, we get upset with them even more. We need to apply the same yardstick to ourselves when others ask for forgiveness from us.
Tuesday, 11 August 2020
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - There is no such thing as “individual sin”. All sin is both individual and communitarian.
To read the texts click on the texts: Ezek 9:1-7,10,18-22; Mt 18:15-20
Though Matthew means that the one who sins against another is a member of the Church, he also means that that person is a brother or sister. One needs to avoid scandal or embarrassment as far as possible and so the matter must first be sought to be settled between the offended and the offending party with the offended taking the initiative. If this does not work, then two or three must be taken to the offending party to work for the reconciliation. If this too does not work, then the local church will have to intervene to set things right. If the offending party will not listen even to the members of the Church who might be the leaders or some members of the congregation, then the person concerned must be expelled. Though this may sound harsh and does not seem to fit in with Jesus’ command to forgive innumerable times (18,22), the point seems to be that it is possible that at times the best way to make a person see sense is to resort to harsh measures. Also, the good of the entire community is in view.
Jesus himself
will ratify the decision of the community and assures them of his presence when
they are gathered together in his name. He also gives them an assurance of
their prayers being answered when there is a unity of minds and hearts in the
community.
There are some
people who are incorrigible. Even with these, however, every attempt must be
made to win them over and regard them as part of the community. After
everything possible has been done and they still refuse, then they can be left
to their own designs.
Monday, 10 August 2020
Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - Homily for today
There are some people who are incorrigible. Even with these, however, every attempt must be made to win them over and regard them as part of the community. After everything possible has been done and they still refuse, then they can be left to their own designs.
There is no such thing as “individual sin”. All sin is both individual and communitarian.
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