Reading 1
Ez 1:1-6
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
'All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah.
Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!
Let everyone who has survived, in whatever place he may have dwelt,
be assisted by the people of that place
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
together with free-will offerings
for the house of God in Jerusalem.'"
Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin
and the priests and Levites-
everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so-
prepared to go up to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
All their neighbors gave them help in every way,
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
and with many precious gifts
besides all their free-will offerings.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
R. (3) The Lord has done marvels for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Gospel
Lk 8:16-18
Jesus said to the crowd:
"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away."
Meditation: Luke 8:16-18
Take care, then, how you hear.” (Luke 8:18)
What matters most to Jesus is not how much we hear but what we do with the truths that we do hear. He doesn’t want his words to go in one ear and out the other. He wants to see us putting them into action in our daily lives!
Of course we hear many things from Scripture and the church that we do not fully comprehend. Like Mary, it is appropriate for us to store these away and pull them out from time to time, turning them over and asking the Holy Spirit to give us new insights and further understanding.
But much of what we hear is not all that difficult to understand. In many cases, we do know what God expects of us, but we find ourselves reluctant to do it. We know we should set aside time to pray and read Scripture daily. We know we should receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly. We know we should forgive that person who hurt us so long ago. We know we should intercede for our sick neighbor. We know that even the smallest task in our daily life can be done with love for the glory of God. Yet we can find these things very difficult to do.
In today’s first reading from the Book of Ezra, the pagan ruler Cyrus invites God’s people, who have been living in exile, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. Some accept this invitation, having kept alive the hope that they would someday be able to return home. But others are not interested. They have settled into a comfortable lifestyle where they are, and they don’t want to venture into the unknown with no guarantee of success.
Like them, we may find it easy to turn away from God’s invitation to hear his word and to put it into practice. However, our patient Father continues to invite us back. Let’s lean on his chest so that we can hear not only the words he speaks to us but also the beat of his heart. It is filled with love for us—and for everyone he sends our way.
“Father, your words are spirit and life. Bring to my mind the loving word you are longing to speak to me and through me today. Then give me the courage to act on what I hear.”
No comments:
Post a Comment