Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year A. June 15, 2017.
1st Reading: 2nd Corinthians 3:15–4:1, 3-6
Brothers and sisters:To this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over the hearts of the children of Israel,but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit. Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged. And even though our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.The word of the Lord.
Respo.Ps: 85:9AB AND 10, 11-12, 13-14
R./ The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Holy Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.”You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny. The gospel of the Lord.
THURSDAY REFLECTIONS:
The key here is that Jesus wants us reconciled to Him and to one another. Specifically, He wants all anger, bitterness and resentment removed from our souls. That’s why He says to “Settle with your opponent quickly on the way to court with him.” In other words, apologize and be reconciled before we find ourselves before the judgment seat of divine justice. God’s justice is completely satisfied when we humble ourselves, apologize for our faults, and sincerely seek to make amends. With that, every “penny” is already paid. But what God does not accept is obstinacy. Obstinacy is a serious sin and one that cannot be forgiven unless the obstinacy is let go of. Obstinacy in refusing to admit our fault in a grievance is of the greatest concern. Obstinacy in our refusal to change our ways is also of great concern.
The penalty is that God will exercise His justice upon us until we finally repent. And this is an act of love and mercy on God’s part because His judgment is focused especially upon our sin which is the only thing standing in the way of our love of God and others. Paying back the last penny can also be seen as an image of Purgatory. Jesus is telling us to change our lives now, to forgive and repent now. If we do not, we will still have to deal with those sins after death, but it’s much better to do so now. Who is our opponent? Who is the one we have grievance with today? Pray that God will show us the way to being freed of that burden so that we can enjoy true freedom!
Together we pray: Lord, help me to forgive and to forget. Help me to seek anything that keeps me from fully loving You and all my neighbors. Purify my heart, oh Lord.
Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.