 | Daily Bible Reflections
for February 8, 2011 |
|  Dear Lordie,
Reflect God?s love to every person you meet this Tuesday.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
| | CONTRA PASSO “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” – Mark 7:6 “They had their faces twisted toward their haunches and found it necessary to walk backward, because they could not see ahead of them.” These lines in “Inferno,” a part of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, refers to the belief that each sin’s punishment is a contrapasso, a symbolic instance of poetic justice. For example, fortune-tellers who end up in hell have to walk with their heads on backwards, unable to see what is ahead, because that was what they had tried to do in life. After reading The Divine Comedy, I was glad for the grace to obey the Catholic teaching that we should not believe in fortunetellers. Amid fears that removing the section on fortune-telling in the magazine that I edit would negatively affect sales, I went ahead and did it. To my relief, that did not happen. It’s not easy to stand firm for your principles. I admit that there have been times I’ve been tempted to compromise. That’s why I am glad to be reminded of Jesus’ promise in today’s Gospel. I pray I would obey God not out of fear of punishment in the afterlife, but simply out of loving Him here and now. I need this grace every single day in my job. Cynthia Santiago (boses2go@gmail.com) REFLECTION: Do I walk my talk? Lord, give me a humble, obedient heart. | |
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| | COMPANION | 1st READING God crowns the work of Creation by making man in His image and likeness. I do not think the author is referring to physical appearances but to the nature of the personhood of God. This means that we are created for relationship with others: the Supreme Other, God, and fellow human beings. Let us never lose sight of this fundamental aspect of our nature and always seek to respect and respond to its implication, namely learning how to live in community. Genesis 1:20-2:4 20 God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.” And so it happened: 21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, 22 and God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 Evening came, and morning followed — the fifth day. 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.” And so it happened: 25 God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was. 26 Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” 27 God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” 29 God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30 and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. 31 God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed — the sixth day. 2: 1 Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. 2 Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. 4 Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. P S A L M Psalms 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R: O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! 3 [4] When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place — 4 [5] what is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? (R) 5 [6] You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 [7] You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. (R) 7 [8] All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, 8 [9] the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas. (R) G O S P E L Jesus takes the opportunity to tell those gathered that it is not the Law that is all important but our relationship with God and others. Yes, these are guided by the law but this does not mean that the Law is the absolute infallible guardian of the way we relate to God or others. Something else has that role, namely love. ALLELUIA R: Alleluia, alleluia Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees; and favor me with your law. R: Alleluia, alleluia Mark 7:1-13 1 Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 6 He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ 8 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” 9 He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 11 Yet you say, “If a person says to father or mother, ‘Any support you might have had from me is qorban’ ” (meaning, dedicated to God), 12 you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. 13 You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” my reflections t h i n k : The Law is not the absolute infallible guardian of the way we relate to God or others. Something else has that role, namely love. God’s special verse/thought for me today________________ _________________________________________________________
T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________ READ THE BIBLE IN Leviticus 25-27 | |
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| | SABBATH | LAUGHTER FROM DEEP WITHIN The novel, The Fall, written by the renowned Albert Camus, is the story of Jean-Baptiste Clamence, a lawyer from Paris, who meets a nameless fellow French lawyer in a bar in Amsterdam. At first, Clamence appears to be friendly and helpful, acting as an interpreter between the stranger and the Dutch bartender. He then maneuvers the conversation to focus on his own story. He even walks the stranger to his hotel so he could continue his monologue of selfadulation before his captive listener. Clamence narrates the story of his own unprincipled life and ideas. He describes himself as a defense attorney in Paris, specializing in desperate cases, but he conceals his real reason for taking those cases, which is to acquire fame for himself. His turning point came one evening when he witnesses a young woman throw herself to death from a bridge. Paralyzed by fear, he fails to save the woman. This incident becomes the most significant human experience that dominates the rest of his story as he experiences another “bridge episode.” As he crosses another bridge one night, Clamence hears laughter behind him but sees no one. He realizes later that the laughter comes from deep within him — an echo of his own mind, laughing at him. He fights this realization until finally the laughter wins out. Clamence’s story closes with his confession that despite everything he has gained, he still hears the laughter now and again. Can we not hear the same laughter, too? Yes, we can, as the Pharisees and scribes in the Gospel today remind us. Like Clamence, the Pharisees and the scribes are experts of the Law. They boast about their strict observance of even the minutest legal requirement. But Jesus reprimands them for their hypocrisy and self-righteousness. We also cross the bridge where we encounter the living Word of God. If we just listen to God but not act on what we have heard, we are not any better than the Pharisees and the scribes. It will do us better if, as we cross the bridge, we also hear laughter coming from deep within. Can you hear it?Fr.Bobby Titco Reflection Question: Do I hear a laughter from deep within me? Let me not play deaf, O Lord, to the laughter from deep within me. Make me recognize my hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Help me cast them away and live not only more truthfully but also always humbly. Amen. St. Kigwe, pray for us. | |
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