Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Sincerest deeds of mercy towards those who have least in life embrace heaven


February 15, 2016

Monday of the First Week of Lent

Reading 1

1The LORD said to Moses, 2“Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. 

11“You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. 12You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the LORD. 

13“You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. 14You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

15“You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. 16You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the LORD.

17“You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove him, do not incur sin because of him. 18Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD.”[1]

Responsorial Psalm

R. (John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

8The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

9The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

10The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

15Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. 

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Verse Before The Gospel 2 Corinthians 6:2b

Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Gospel

31Jesus said to His disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon His glorious throne,[2] 32and all the nations will be assembled before Him. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.[3] 

33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. 34Then the king will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was  hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

37Then the righteous will answer Him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?[4] 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You ill or in prison, and visit You?’ 40And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for Me.’

41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.[5] 42For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, 43a stranger and you gave Me no welcome, naked and you gave Me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for Me.’

44Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to Your needs?’[6] 45He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for Me.’ 46And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 


Notes on readings:

[1] Leviticus 19:18 - You shall love your neighbor as yourself: cited by our Lord as the second of the two most important commandments of God. Compare with Matthew 22:39 Mark 12:31. Although in the present context the word "neighbor" is restricted to "fellow countrymen," in Luke 10:29-37 Christ extends its meaning to embrace all men, even enemies. Compare also with Matthew 43-45.

[2] Matthew 25:31-46 - The conclusion of the discourse, which is peculiar to Matthew, portrays the final judgment that will accompany the parousia. Although often called a "parable," it is not really such, for the only parabolic elements are the depiction of the Son of Man as a shepherd and of the righteous and the wicked as sheep and goats respectively (Matthew 25:32-33. The criterion of judgment will be the deeds of mercy that have been done for the least of Jesus' brothers (Matthew 25:40) A difficult and important question is the identification of these least brothers. Are they all people who have suffered hunger, thirst, etc. (Matthew 25:35, 36) or a particular group of such sufferers? Scholars are divided in their response and arguments can be made for either side. But leaving aside the problem of what the traditional material that Matthew edited may have meant, it seems that a stronger case can be made for the view that in the evangelist's sense the sufferers are Christians, probably Christian missionaries whose sufferings were brought upon them by their preaching of the gospel. The criterion of judgment for all the nations is their treatment of those who have borne to the world the message of Jesus, and this means ultimately their acceptance or rejection of Jesus himself; compare with Matthew 10:40, "Whoever receives you, receives me."

See the footnote on Matthew 16:27.

[3] Matthew 25:32 - All the nations: before the end the gospel will have been preached throughout the world Matthew 24:14; thus the Gentiles will be judged on their response to it. But the phrase all the nations includes the Jews also, for at the judgment "the Son of Man . . . will repay everyone according to his conduct" (Matthew 16:27).

[4] Matthew 25:37-40 - The righteous will be astonished that in caring for the needs of the sufferers they were ministering to the Lord himself. One of these least brothers of mine: compare with Matthew 10:42.

[5] Matthew 25:41 - Fire prepared . . . his angels: compare with 1 Enoch 10, 13 where it is said of the evil angels and Semyaza, their leader, "In those days they will lead them into the bottom of the fire - and in torment - in the prison (where) they will be locked up forever."

[6] Matthew 25:44-45 - The accursed (Matthew 25:41) will be likewise astonished that their neglect of the sufferers was neglect of the Lord and will receive from him a similar answer.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Dear Humanity,

I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.

And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.

Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.