Lectionary: 391
Reading 1
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
Thus says the LORD:
Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,
my staff in wrath.
Against an impious nation I send him,
and against a people under my wrath I order him
To seize plunder, carry off loot,
and tread them down like the mud of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,
to make an end of nations not a few.
For he says:
“By my own power I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.
I have moved the boundaries of peoples,
their treasures I have pillaged,
and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned.
My hand has seized like a nest
the riches of nations;
As one takes eggs left alone,
so I took in all the earth;
No one fluttered a wing,
or opened a mouth, or chirped!”
Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?
Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?
As if a rod could sway him who lifts it,
or a staff him who is not wood!
Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
will send among his fat ones leanness,
And instead of his glory there will be kindling
like the kindling of fire.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15
R. (14a) The Lord will not abandon his people.
Your people, O LORD, they trample down,
your inheritance they afflict.
Widow and stranger they slay,
the fatherless they murder.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
And they say, “The LORD sees not;
the God of Jacob perceives not.”
Understand, you senseless ones among the people;
and, you fools, when will you be wise?
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
or he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,
he who teaches men knowledge?
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Gospel
Matthew 11:25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: THANKS-LIVING
"By my own power I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd." –Isaiah 10:13
The Lord let Assyria do a little work for Him. He let Assyria be His rod, staff (Is 10:5), axe, and saw (Is 10:15). However, the Assyrians claimed that they were doing their own thing by their own power rather than being used by God. It was like a rod or staff claiming to wield the person who holds it (Is 10:15).
We too fall into the "Assyrian heresy." We say such things as: "I made this money," "I worked hard to become a success," "I'm a self-made man," "God helped me because I helped myself," or "I'm in control of the situation." The truth is that, without Jesus, we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). If not for Jesus, we wouldn't even exist or remain in existence. Of ourselves, we have no right to exist, hear, see, walk, think, or breathe. We owe everything to the Lord.
St. Paul challenges us: "Name something you have that you have not received. If, then, you have received it, why are you boasting as if it were your own?" (1 Cor 4:7) The writer of James also challenges us: "Instead of saying, 'If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that,' all you can do is make arrogant and pretentious claims. All such boasting is reprehensible" (Jas 4:15-16). We must say to the Lord: "It is You Who have accomplished all we have done" (Is 26:12).
Our lives should be dedicated to thanksgiving (Col 3:15). We have the awesome privilege to live and move, even to suffer and die. Let us thank the Lord forever for using us for anything. We owe Him everything.
PRAYER: "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to You I offer praise; for what You have hidden from the learned and the clever You have revealed to the merest children" (Mt 11:25).
PROMISE: "No one knows the Father but the Son – and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him." –Mt 11:27
PRAISE: Mary, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, has made disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). This is the meaning of the scapular.
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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