Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time

August 26, 2008 · Filed Under Homilies, Ordinary Time 

Today’s readings

Today we have readings urging us to pay attention. Paul tells the Thessalonians in our first reading today not to freak out if they hear about the second coming of Christ. Rather, they should be in the moment and live as they have been taught and formed in the Gospel which Paul preached to them. They need to pay attention to what is going on in front of them, to be attentive to what the Gospel calls them to do, and trust that if the Lord comes in glory, he will find them doing his will and gather them to himself. No need to scramble around in fear of what is to come.

Jesus today scolds the scribes and Pharisees, as he often does, about paying more attention to the minute bits of the law than they do to really doing God’s will. They are so caught up in the ritual cleansing of bowls and cups that they cannot attend to the purification of their own hearts. And that, Jesus tells them, is a complete disaster. Their blindness will eventually leave them out of salvation’s reach.

And so we too are called today to pay attention. We need to be attentive to the needs of those around us, to reach out to the oppressed and forgotten, to always be mindful of the poor – in short, we are to live the Gospel faithfully. We shouldn’t be caught up in details, nor should we be overly concerned about the Lord’s return. We can’t have our head in the clouds nor in the sand. We must be attentive to what’s in front of us, the opportunity to live the Gospel faithfully.

Sphere: Related Content

Tags: , ,

Comments

Viewing 1 Comment

    • ^
    • v
    Good homily again.

    My thoughts are probably consistent with yours.

    The first reading (2 Thes 2) seems to be saying that we must judge what we hear from people who claim to be speaking in the name of the Lord in the context of what we have previously been taught by the law and tradition. We must watch out for people preaching falsehoods.
    The second reading (Mt 23) condemns people who follow just part of the law. Without getting too political, it is like those politicians who get reelected by being anti-abortion, while ignoring “judgment and mercy and fidelity”. Jesus said we need to be clean on the inside as well as the outside. That is definitely a lesson for us all.
 
close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus