Category: Uncategorized

***

Gospel: Luke 13: 10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Why must Jesus break the Law?

***

It was forbidden to do any work on the Sabbath. Even healing a woman bound by Satan for 18 years was considered “work.”

If she’d been hunched over for that long, then why couldn’t Jesus just wait a day and keep the peace?

***

His heart burned with compassion. There was an urgency in him; when the Lord saw how much this woman suffered, he simply had to act.

But Jesus also wanted to stand in contrast to the religious authorities, whose hearts were chilled by legalism. They cared more about following man-made rules than caring for a neighbor in need. So, Jesus teaches them a foundational lesson in faith.

Faith without works is dead.

We cannot please God while ignoring those who suffer.

***

I’m sure we all know someone who’s hunched over like this woman.

Their backs are nearly breaking because of loneliness; stress; isolation; fear; or some other burden.

Do our hearts burn with compassion for them like the Lord’s does?

Even a simple phone call; a kind word of encouragement; or a generous tip at dinner can lighten another person’s burden.

***

Today’s Gospel reminds us: love for God frequently expresses itself through love of neighbor.

So, how might I put my faith into action today? 

***

***

Image credits: (1) Faith Magazine (2) Pinterest (3) Pixels

***

Gospel: Matthew 22: 34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

How do we please God? 

If you asked a first-century Jew, then they would tell you simply, “Follow the Law.” 

That, of course, could mean many things.

***

In Jesus’ day, there were two major schools of thought regarding the Law.

Some Jews wanted to expand it as much as possible. They were meticulous and exceptionally detailed, so much so they created 613 rules to follow, involving everything from honoring one’s parents to the treatment of birds.

Others treated the Law like an accordion, wanting to condense it down to its very essence. Such is the case in today’s Gospel.

A Pharisee asks Jesus, “Which commandment in the Law is the greatest?”

Jesus responds with not one – but two – commandments; they must go together. You cannot please God if you follow one, but not the other.

Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul, and your neighbor as yourself. 

This is THE new insight of Christianity. We cannot mistreat other people while believing that we’re living in a rightful relationship with God. 

As John writes in his Gospel, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his neighbor, he is a liar. One who does not love the neighbor whom he has seen, cannot love the God whom he has not seen.”

Pleasing God boils down to a single action: love.

***

But what exactly is love?

***

Love’s a bit like humility. It’s hard to define. But you know it when you see it in action. You know it when feel it. And you know it when you don’t.

Throughout the centuries, poets like Dante have tried defining “love” with varying degrees of success. For example, in The Divine Comedy, Dante writes, “Love is what moves the sun and the other stars.” 

Nice, but a bit too abstract to me. 

Shakespeare, on the other hand, got it right.

***

In one of the most famous scenes from Romeo and Juliet, a young Juliet gazes down upon Romeo from her balcony and says to him:

“Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”

The happier Romeo was, the happier Juliet became. That’s the very essence of love: the more we give, the more we have. 

Love opens our eyes to a world of “we,” not just “me.”

***

Parents know this well. Think of how delighted you are when you see your children succeed. You’ll sacrifice almost anything to make their futures brighter. 

The more you love them, the happier you become.

Or the delight teachers experience when they teach their students how to read. Watching a child speak the story as they turn the pages of a book will warm any heart.

Or the sense of meaning we find when volunteering to help the most vulnerable among us. Knowing we made a difference in someone else’s day brightens our own.

If Juliet is right, then the more we give to anyone, the happier we become. 

This must be true, above all, when we love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul. The more we give ourselves to Him, the happier we become.

This is why love fulfills the Law; it’s the force that moves the sun and the other stars. It motivates us to live in a world of “we,” not just “me.”

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never fails.

***

Who do I love? How do I live in a world of “we,” not “me”? 

Is there anyone I can love a little more?

***

Love your God. Love your neighbor. 

This not only fulfills the Law; it also satisfies the human heart.

Because the more you give to anyone, the happier you become.

***

***

Image credits: (1) The Tack Online (2) World History Encyclopedia (3) Think and Let Think

***

Gospel: Luke 12: 54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Technology is amazing. You can Google almost any question and find out the answer immediately.

For example, “Can dogs eat bananas?” … “Why do cats purr?” …  “How many gallons of water are in the Atlantic Ocean?”

***

But there are other questions – deeper, more existential questions – that Google cannot answer. Questions, which even the people in Jesus’ time should’ve asked.

“What’s the meaning of life?” … “Why am I here?” … “Who is this Jesus? Is he really who he says he is?” … “What difference does God make in my life?”

***

God gives each of us a mind to think, a heart to feel, and a conscience to discern his will for our lives. But sometimes we rise to the surface – and not in a good sense. We can be content with just material things or going through the motions.

It’s this type of shallowness which Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel. The crowds think of simple things like weather patterns, but they never wonder what – or Who – is beyond the skies. 

“You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky,” he says. “Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” 

Jesus was calling them into discipleship and they had no idea.

***

I’m sure our minds will be filled with dozens – if not hundreds – of questions today, like, 
“Where are my keys?” … Or even, “Why do cats purr?” 

But take the time to contemplate the bigger questions, too, like, “Why does my faith matter to me?”

Then do something about it.

***

***

Image credits: (1) HubPages (2) Google Search (3) Mark Shaefer