Sunday
July 13^th

15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1^st Reading: Dt 30:10-14:
For you shall turn to Yahweh, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and observe his commandments and norms, in a word, everything written in this book of the law. These commandments that I give you today are neither too high nor too remote for you. They are not in heaven that you should say: “Who will go up to heaven to get these commandments that we may hear them and put them into practice.”

Neither are they at the other side of the sea for you to say: “Who will cross to the other side and bring them to us, that we may hear them and put them into practice.”

On the contrary, my word is very near you; it is already in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can put it into practice.

2^nd Reading: Col 1:15-20:
He is the image of the unseen God, and for all creation, he is the firstborn, for, in him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible: thrones, rulers, authorities, powers… All was made through him and for him. He is before all and all things hold together, in him.

And he is the head of the body, that is the Church, for he is the first, the first raised from the dead, that he may be the first in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in him. Through him, God willed to reconcile all things to himself, and through him, through his blood shed on the cross, God establishes peace, on earth as in heaven.

Gospel: Lk 10:25-37:
Then a teacher of the law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”

The man answered, “It is written: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.”

The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead. It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side.

“Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.

“The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.’”

Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The teacher of the law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.”

And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

Reflection:
The time of Jesus the Pharisees and the Essenes considered that only the one belonging to their sect was a “neighbor”. The more liberal-minded Jews would extend the concept of “neighbor” to proselytes (converted Gentiles) or even to “God-fearers” (Gentile sympathizers of Judaism).

In this way of thinking, a Jew, taking himself as the center, would look around to see who is nearer to him in terms of nationality, religion, social background, etc. This allowed him to draw concentric circles increasingly distant from him, with a progressively weakened concept of the “neighbor.”

But in the parable told by Jesus in today’s gospel reading, after mentioning the Samaritan’s compassion, the text adds: “He went over to him…” This move is capital.

It is because the Samaritan drew near to the unfortunate that he showed himself a neighbor. (The word neighbor comes from the old English nigh, which means “near,” and bur, which means “dweller”). Hence Jesus’ question: “Which of these three… made himself neighbor…?”

I can never say that unfortunate persons are too far to be my neighbors. They are no longer far if I draw near to them. Let us ask the Lord to give us a compassionate heart. Today we will draw near to a person in need of compassion and we will help him or her.

Monday
July 14^th

1^st Reading: Ex 1:8-14, 22
A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his subjects, “Look how numerous and powerful the people of the children of Israel are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country.”

Accordingly, taskmasters were set over the children of Israel to oppress them with forced labor. Thus they had to build for Pharaoh the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses. Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel and reduced them to cruel slavery, making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick and all kinds of field work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.

Pharaoh then commanded all his subjects, “Throw into the river every boy that is born to the Hebrews, but you may let all the girls live.”

Gospel: Mt 10:34–11:1:
Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for my sake, will find it. Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes him who sent me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

When Jesus had finished giving his twelve disciples these instructions, he went on from there, to teach and to proclaim his message in their towns.

Reflection:
More things are piled up on the shoulders of those who choose to follow Jesus. It is as if pressures are calibrated to keep pace with our growing strengths. There seems to be no end in sight to all possible discomfort and pain one must be willing to take in order to be a disciple of Jesus.

These probably are told in advance so that there will be no blaming afterwards when the going gets rough on the road to discipleship. Jesus wants His disciples to be wise-eyed with what they are signing into. He does not promise a life on a bed of roses. What He promises is a victorious glorious life in the end. He or she who desires that life must be ready to pay for what will happen in between.

Tuesday
July 15^th

1^st Reading: Ex 2:1-15a:
A certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, who conceived and bore a son. Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank. His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her maids walked along the river bank. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

“Yes, do so,” she answered. So the maiden went and called the child’s own mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will repay you.” The woman therefore took the child and nursed it. When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

On one occasion, after Moses had grown up, when he visited his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. Looking about and seeing no one, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, “Why are you striking your fellow Hebrew?”

But the culprit replied, “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid and thought, “The affair must certainly be known.”

Pharaoh, too, heard of the affair and sought to put Moses to death. But Moses fled from him and stayed in the land of Midian.

Gospel: Mt 11:20-24:
Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which he had performed most of his miracles, because the people there did not change their ways. “Alas for you Chorazin and Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I assure you, for Tyre and Sidon; it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead! For if the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would still be there today! But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Reflection:
In the gospel the relationship between faith and miracles, miracles and faith is a complex one. Maybe we could say two things in this connection. The first thing is that, ideally speaking, a strong faith produces miracles. That is why we often see Jesus asking people before he performs a miracle, “Do you believe that I can do this?” (Mt 9:28) or “as you have believed, let this be done to you” (Mt 8:13; 9:29) or affirming “your faith saved you” (Mt 19:22; Lk 17:19).

The second thing to be said is that, after a miracle has been performed, the person of good will should believe on the strength of the miracle itself. This idea is often found in John’s gospel. For example, Jesus says to his skeptical critics, referring to his miracles as “works”: “If you do not believe me, (at least) believe the works” (Jn 10:18).

And in today’s gospel reading we hear Jesus using the same reasoning: since he performed so many miracles in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, they should have believed in him, at least because of those miracles. How strong is our own faith in Jesus? Could our faith produce a miracle? Do we need miracles to believe in him?

Wednesday
July 16^th

1^st Reading: Ex 3:1-6, 9-12
Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

He answered, “I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain.”

Gospel: Mt 11:25-27:
On that occasion, Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you; because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this was your gracious will. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Reflection:
The great French Christian philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) claimed that reality is divided into three “orders” graded in ascending value.

First is the Order of Bodies, to which belong physical strength and beauty, military power, political power, wealth, fame, etc. Second is the Order of the Mind, to which belong intelligence, knowledge, artistic achievements, scientific discoveries, etc.

This second Order is infinitely above the first and in complete discontinuity with it. The third is the Order of Charity, to which belong virtue, holiness, love of God and neighbor. It surpasses infinitely the first two order and is in complete discontinuity with them.

In today’s gospel reading Jesus seems to speak in a similar vein, for he clearly opposes “the wise and learned” (Pascal’s Order of the Mind) to “the simple people” to whom God reveals his secrets (Pascal’s Order of Charity).

Common observation seems to confirm all this. We all know people who have Ph.D.s and an I.Q. of 170, but who are monsters of conceit and selfishness. And we all know simple, ignorant people, who live only for God, family and neighbor. We can guess who are God’s favorites.

Thursday
July 17^th

1^st Reading: Ex 3:13-20:
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”

God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.”

God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name forever; this my title for all generations.

“Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

“Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days’ journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.

“Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced. I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.”

Gospel: Mt 11:28-30:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy; and my burden is light.”

Reflection:
Progressing Christians are those Christians who, after many struggles (against their laziness, pride, sensuality, selfishness, etc.), have finally shaken off their youthful weaknesses and have resolutely opted for Christ once and for all. What they want with their whole heart is to please God in everything. Sin has lost all attraction in their eyes. They do sin occasionally, of course, but out of tiredness, surprise, weakness.

Because sin does not interest these good Christians any more, the Evil Spirit will have to tempt them with good and virtuous actions, but which are not suited to their circumstances: fasts, volunteer work, hospital visits, pilgrimages, etc.

Now, since these inner temptations are all about good things, the inexperienced Christians will think that they are divine inspiration and will try their best to implement them— only to discover after a while that they are exhausted, irritable, neglecting more important duties, and thoroughly miserable.

This is why what Jesus tells us in today’s gospel reading is such a priceless principle of the spiritual life: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Any pious inspiration which does not make my life easy and light does not come from him but comes from the Evil Spirit.

Friday
July 18^th

1^st Reading: Is 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8:
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”

He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?

“I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

Gospel: Mt 12:1-8:
It happened that, Jesus was walking through the wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry; and they began to pick some heads of wheat, to crush and to eat the grain. When the Pharisees noticed this, they said to Jesus, “Look at your disciples! They are doing what is prohibited on the Sabbath!”

Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did, when he and his men were hungry? He went into the House of God, and they ate the bread offered to God, though neither he nor his men had the right to eat it, but only the priests. And have you not read in the law, how, on the Sabbath, the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath, yet they are not guilty? I tell you, there is greater than the temple here. If you really knew the meaning of the words: It is mercy I want, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. Besides, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Reflection:
A hundred times a day, parents are bombarded by requests from their children. Some of these requests are entirely reasonable, and parents are glad to grant them. Some of these requests are clearly unreasonable, and parents have no problem refusing them. But some of these requests are border-line cases: half-reasonable, half-unreasonable. If their child has been quite naughty of late, they might refuse such requests—which in normal circumstances they would grant. Now, if their child starts crying with heartrending sobs, some parents might relent when their child’s weeping hits a particularly tender chord in their hearts…

In today’s first reading we witness how God first decrees the death of King Hezekiah (a very good king) and how, upon hearing Hezekiah weeping with heart-rending sobs, God relents and grants him another 15 years of life. And he even guarantees his favorable response by a miracle!

We call God “our Father in heaven.” And he is really our Father. So he can change his mind about what he plans to give us, when we fervently ask him to do so. Like any parent, some things we do can hit a tender chord in his heart.

Saturday
July 19^th

1^st Reading: Ex 12:37-42:
The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones. A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds. Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into unleavened loaves. They had rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the journey. The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date. This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the children of Israel must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.

Gospel: Mt 12:14-21:
Then the Pharisees went out, and made plans to get rid of Jesus. As Jesus was aware of their plans, he left that place. Many people followed him, and he cured all who were sick. But he gave them strict orders not to make him known.

In this way, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled: Here is my servant, whom I have chosen; the one I love, and with whom I am pleased. I will put my spirit upon him; and he will announce my judgment to the nations. He will not argue or shout, nor will his voice be heard in the streets. The bruised reed he will not crush, nor snuff out the smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory, and in him, all the nations will put their hope.

Reflection:
Today’s gospel reading contains two striking images, that of the bruised reed and that of the smoldering wick.

In both cases we are dealing with something which either has suffered abuse (reeds do not bruise themselves but are bruised by some outside force) or for some reason or other is not working properly, is malfunctioning. And the text says that the promised still-to-come Servant of God, will treat kindly and gently the bruised reed and the smoldering wick. In this context it is clear that the reed and the wick are metaphors representing people.

Consequently, in a very consoling poem considered the first of the four Suffering Servant songs (all found in the anonymous prophet called Second-Isaiah), we are promised that the future Messiah would be a kind Messiah, a Messiah who will gently handle the half-broken people we all are. And that is exactly what Jesus proved to be.

“Come to me,” he tells us, “and I will give you rest…for I am gentle and humble of heart.” Many, if not all of us, are bruised reeds or smoldering wicks. Let us not fear to go to Jesus. We will never regret it.