Monday, August 18, 2008

Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time


Saint Stephen of Hungry

Biographical Information about St. Stephen of Hungry[1]

Readings for Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Commentary:

Reading I
Ezekiel 18: 1-10, 13b, 30-32

Although it idea of individual responsibility for sins did not originate with Ezekiel (see 2 Kings 14:6, Jeremiah 31:29 and Deuteronomy 24:16), he gives the most detailed and explicit meaning to the concept. His statement refutes the interpretation of other parts of the Law of Moses (specifically Exodus 20:5, Leviticus 26:39-40, and Deuteronomy 5:9) that indicate that God would hold a son accountable for the father’s sins. The new hope of personal accountability is exhorted by the final call to conversion in verse 32 – “Return and live!”

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19

Psalm 51 is the fourth and most famous of the penitential psalms. The psalmist sings in these verses that only God can reverse the awful affects of sin. Through this action, taken by the Holy Spirit, God’s salvation is made manifest in the repentant and contrite heart.

Gospel
Matthew 19:13-15

Jesus continues to teach his disciples in this case using the reality and the metaphor of little children combined. This account is understood by some as intended to justify the practice of infant baptism. That interpretation is based principally on the command not to prevent the children from coming, since that word sometimes has a baptismal connotation in the New Testament; see Acts 8:36.

Reflection:

We see the common thread in scripture flowing from forgiveness to the need to ask God for that boon, promised through his Son. The Prophet Ezekiel makes it clear that each of us is responsible for our own actions. The slate is wiped clean in our own Baptism and we are given the opportunity to make of our lives what ever we want.

The struggle is constantly being waged within us. Our natural inclination is to follow the path of least resistance. Is it easier to give or to receive? Is it easier to love or to hate? Is it easier to respect the dignity of another or to take advantage of the other for our own benefit or to slake our own desires? The answer is clear enough. The easier course is always the one that leads away from the path the Lord wants us to follow. The constant call we must hear is the one the Lord uttered though his Prophet – “Return and live!”

As Christians we are given help from God. The Holy Spirit was left to guide us by God’s only Son. He gives it to each of us, a free gift of grace, in baptism. In that same holy bath another of God’s gifts is returned to us. When Eve succumbed to the Evil One and fell from grace, sin entered the world of man. From that time onward death followed. In one of the greatest acts of consolation known, Christ’s gift of forgiveness washed away the stain of our fallen nature conferred in that Original Sin. The Father, through the forgiveness provided by His Son call us to “
Return and live!”

Jesus told the disciples “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them”. In our own humble ways we find that path open to our own repentance and conversion. He calls to us to put aside the lure of worldly things and worldly pride and come to him. Not haughty or proud but as children we return to the Son who is with the Father. Today we thank God for that grace and opportunity and ask for the strength to answer his call; “Return and live.”

Pax

[1] The picture used us “St. Stephen of Hungry” Artist and date are UNKNOWN
[2] After Links To Readings Expire

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