My Monday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you,
talking to you.................
Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)
*First Reading: Amos 2:6-10, 13-16
For three crimes of Israel, and for four,
I will not revoke my word;
Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals.
They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way.
Son and father go to the same prostitute, profaning my holy name.
Upon garments taken in pledge they recline beside any altar;
And the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their god.
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were as tall as the cedars, and as strong as the oak trees.
I destroyed their fruit above, and their roots beneath.
It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and who led you through the desert for forty years, to occupy the land of the Amorites.
Beware, I will crush you into the ground as a wagon crushes when laden with sheaves.
Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong man shall not retain his strength;
The warrior shall not save his life, nor the bowman stand his ground;
The swift of foot shall not escape, nor the horseman save his life.
And the most stouthearted of warriors shall flee naked on that day, says the LORD.
*Responsorial Psalm: Ps 50:16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23
"Remember this, you who who never think of God."
*Gospel Reading: Mt 8:18-22
A scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."
**Reflection:
Have you ever been drafted for a special service assignment away from home? Duty to country, kin, or church may call some of us to leave our familiar surroundings in order to serve elsewhere. When the Lord Jesus announced that the coming of God's kingdom was imminent, he urged his listeners to not only heed his teaching but to follow in his footsteps as well. Jesus had a mission to accomplish and he wanted disciples who would join with him in proclaiming the coming of God's kingdom.
One prospective follower, a scribe who was an expert in the law of God, paid Jesus the highest compliment he knew. He called Jesus “teacher”. Jesus advised this would-be follower: Before you follow me, think what you are doing and count the cost. A disciple must be willing to part with anything that might stand in the way of following Jesus as Teacher and Master. Another would-be disciple responded by saying that he must first bury his father, that is go back home and take care of his father until he died. This disciple was not yet ready to count the cost of following Jesus. Jesus appealed to the man’s heart to choose for God's kingdom first and to detach himself from anything that might keep him from following Christ.
The Lord Jesus calls each of us personally to follow him as our Lord, Teacher, and Master. He invites us into a personal relationship of love and friendship, trust and commitment. The love of God frees us from attachments to other things so we can give ourselves freely to God for his glory and for his kingdom. It was love that compelled the Lord Jesus to lay down his life for us. And he calls us in love to give our all for him.
What can keep us from giving our all to God? Fear, self-concern, pre-occupation and attachment to other things. Even spiritual things can get in the way of having God alone as our Treasure if we put them first. Detachment is a necessary step if we want to make the Lord our Treasure and Joy. It frees us to give ourselves without reserve to the Lord and to his service. There is nothing greater we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord and Master of the universe. We cannot outgive God in generosity. Jesus promises that those who are willing to part with what is most dear to them for his sake “will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). Is there anything holding you back from giving your all to the Lord?
**Prayer:
Amen.
Sources:
*Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
**Don Schwager
Author and Writer
Sword of the Spirit and
The Word Among Us
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