Lectionary: 436
Reading 1
1 cor 4:6b-15
Brothers and sisters:
Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written,
so that none of you will be inflated with pride
in favor of one person over against another.
Who confers distinction upon you?
What do you possess that you have not received?
But if you have received it,
why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?
You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich;
you have become kings without us!
Indeed, I wish that you had become kings,
so that we also might become kings with you.
For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all,
like people sentenced to death,
since we have become a spectacle to the world,
to angels and men alike.
We are fools on Christ’s account, but you are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but you are strong;
you are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,
we are poorly clad and roughly treated,
we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.
When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we respond gently.
We have become like the world’s rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment.
I am writing you this not to shame you,
but to admonish you as my beloved children.
Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers,
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Responsorial Psalm
ps 145:17-18, 19-20, 21
R. (18) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD keeps all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Gospel
lk 6:1-5
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: "I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION"
"At the moment you are completely satisfied." –1 Corinthians 4:8
In the USA, it has been legal for decades to murder millions of babies each year. Our country is struggling to protect the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The Catholic Church has been publicly racked by scandal and is suffering a serious shortage of priests. The body of Christ has been fractured by centuries of disunity. The name of God is routinely taken in vain on the airwaves. Sexual sin is flaunted. "That is the present state of affairs" (1 Cor 4:13).
Why do we tolerate this? Don't we know who we are? We are disciples of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Him we have immeasurable power (Eph 1:19). In Jesus we can conquer evil (Rm 8:37; 1 Jn 5:5) and attack the gates of hell, which cannot withstand us (Mt 16:18).
Are you "satisfied"? (1 Cor 4:8) Are you fighting hard for the faith or hardly fighting? (Jude 3) Are you a spiritual sluggard or a spiritual slugger? Repent deeply. Put out into the deep (Lk 5:4) in your discipleship. Fast more intensely. Pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17) and without losing heart (Lk 18:1). Throw yourself into your marriage and parenting. Teach your children the faith (Prv 22:6). Have more children and raise them to be committed disciples of Jesus. Reach new levels in forgiveness. Bear insults patiently (1 Cor 4:12); refuse to tolerate evil (Rm 12:9). Do not grow lazy and satisfied, for you serve Almighty God (Rm 12:11). "I am writing you in this way not to shame you but to admonish you" (1 Cor 4:14).
PRAYER: Jesus, why do I settle for defeat when You are my Captain? Replace my lethargy with zeal and fervor for You.
PROMISE: "The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath." –Lk 6:5
PRAISE: Roger prays daily for those who have continually caused him distress at his job.
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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