Feb 3, Sundays' readings

Thom and Jack,
Good Morning, I love you
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This past Sunday our lesson for the Third Graders was Choose Love. Choose. Love. This is a humbling endeavor for anyone, especially me, a sinner. Then comes the implications of that choice – personified in one student’s reaction to Jesus’ admonition to Love your Enemy. The student took the oppositional stance that ‘not me, I hate my enemies. I’ll come back to that challenge for me; and for the student.

Do you remember the previous week’s (1/23) Gospel? Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John – all of whom responded immediately, at once. Jesus called them, calls us, to be fishers of men. And what does that mean? What does Jesus expect of us who Love him?

This week (1/30) our Gospel started us into several Mathew’s passages with the Beatitudes.
Poor in Spirit
Mourn
Meek
Hunger and thirst for Righteousness
Merciful
Peacemaker
Persecuted for our Righteousness
Insulted and persecuted because of our relationship with Jesus

The Law of Love: Ten Commandments + Beatitudes.
Summed up in John13:34: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

The Lesson emphasized choice. You can lead a horse to water and all that. Or you can be stubborn as a mule and not drink of the living water of life. God gives us His Love. God is Love. God loves us. So, choose to accept that love or not. Choose to return that love or not. Life is better when we choose to be loved and love in return. Choose the Gift!

Learning to Forgive. What does it take to Forgive? A necessary, though not sufficient, ingredient for forgiveness is Love. Love as God Loves us. We get the story of Joseph of the Multicolor Dreamcoat. After being sold into slavery, Joseph forgave his eleven brothers when they came to Egypt begging for food, unbeknownst to them, to Joseph himself. Is being dissed by my sons, ignored by them worse than being sold into slavery by them? I suppose not. Yes, love, the secret of a father’s love, is the only relevant, redeemable response. Ora pro nobis.

Living the Law of Love. How do people in our parish do this? It’s a four page list of ‘ministries.’ So, as third graders, what can we do too? There are about a dozen ways for third graders individually or us as a class to live the law of love. More importantly, how do we do that every day? With family, friends, school mates, neighbors, people we play soccer, gymnastics, piano, ballet et al with. How do we bring God, Jesus, into our every day? The range of examples that the children have is humbling. Letting them see how they, in their everyday going about their lives, live the Law of Love, seeing their eyes open with insight and their humble pride, was more than enough reward for being able to participate in their faith formation.

Love your Enemy. ‘Not me, I hate my enemy.’ So, now we get a half dozen third graders discuss the two options and the effect of their choice on themselves, on our relationship with God, in our sphere of influence.

I’m a lector for February 6th. After class this past Sunday, I looked ahead to my reading for next week. I imagined reading to my students – eight and nine year olds. And if I’m ‘preaching’ God’s word to the children then I must moreso live the Word.

2/5/11
Isaiah58:7-10
Share your bread with the hungry
Shelter the oppressed and the homeless
Clothe the naked
Do not turn your back on your own
Remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech
Satisfy the afflicted

Mt5:13-16
You are the salt of the earth
You are the light of the world
Your light must shine before others
That they may see your good deeds AND
Glorify your heavenly father.

Clear enough?

2/12/11
Sirach15:15-20
If you choose, you can keep the commandments
Choose:
Fire or water
Life or death
Good or evil
To none does God give license to sin

Mt 5:17-37
Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
I say to you whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
Whoever says to his brother, Raqa (Idiot!), will be answerable to the Sanhedrin.
Whoever says ‘you fool’, will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Whoever divorces his wife, unless the marriage is unlawful, causes her to commit adultery.
Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Do not swear at all. Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.

Take the time to read and reflect on the weekly readings….

I love you,
Dad
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