Acknowledge our weaknesses, then ask for God’s mercy
Then, with God’s love and forgiveness, we ask that He attend to our pleadings
By Lou Occhi
Just because our opinions may vary from those of others does not mean that we should cut ourselves off from others. The most ridiculous example of this occurred in November of last year. Some people said if your family has opinions that are not in line with yours, you should not join them for Thanksgiving.
Sheesh.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Isaiah 58:9B-14
Luke 5:27-32
Today’s reflection is set up by reading the gospel acclamation taken from Ezekiel 33:11. It says. “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.”
The gospel reading from Luke 5 begins with Jesus telling Levi to follow Him. This particular story was important since it is recounted in the gospels of Luke, Matthew, and Mark. Levi immediately leaves his tolling booth and joins Jesus. Levi then hosts a large banquet for Jesus with his fellow tax collectors and others. The Pharisees are looking for things to criticize Jesus and disrupt the banquet. They ask the disciples how dare He eat and drink with sinners. Jesus overhears this and tells them that He did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. We face the same dilemma ourselves.
Christians are often accused of hating those who do not believe as they do. We supposedly hate those who have abortions, are LGBTQ+, unbelievers, etc. We do not. I am sure that others in this group have known and loved people in one or more of these groups. We may not agree with their life choices, but we still love them and pray for them. This gospel tells us exactly how we should love and treat all people.
Of course, this is merely one example of how we should live. There is much more for us to learn. In Psalm 86, we ask the Lord to teach us His ways that we may walk in His truth. That is our calling. We need to pray for our Lord’s guidance so that we can follow His ways. Prayer groups and discussions about our understanding of the bible further enhance our knowledge. The verses of the psalm give us three points to consider. First, we acknowledge our weaknesses. Then we ask for God’s mercy as we call on Him. Finally, we acknowledge God’s love and forgiveness and ask that He attend to our pleadings.
Today’s first reading from Isaiah provides a list of ways to walk in His truth. All of the ways Isaiah speaks of are just as valid today as when they were written.
Today’s reading from Isaiah is broken into three parts. The first two parts tell us how we should act. First, we are instructed to remove oppression, false accusations, and malicious speech from our midst. If you watch the news, you will be inundated with these things. I am always amazed to see one news station telling you a story from one point of view and another telling you the exact opposite point of view. Somewhere between one station’s proclamation and the other station’s is the truth. It seems to me that the object of media is to incite division. Remember the origin of the word demon comes from the word division.
Just because our opinions may vary from those of others does not mean that we should cut ourselves off from others. The most ridiculous example of this occurred in November of last year. Some people said if your family has opinions that are not in line with yours, you should not join them for Thanksgiving. We need to recall who Jesus was with at the banquet. If Jesus could dine with tax collectors and other sinners, we should be able to dine with our family regardless of personal opinions.
In the second part, Isaiah tells us to bestow bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted. This is not simply about feeding people. Remember when Jesus told Peter to “Feed my sheep”. Jesus’ sheep are all people, whether they are followers or not. The food to feed His sheep is love and the word of God. If you act in love, regardless of the circumstances, you will be called, “Repairer of the breach and restorer of the homestead”.
The third part of Isaiah’s reading tells us to hold back on our personal pursuits on the Sabbath. Instead, we should take delight and regard the Lord’s day as honorable. By foregoing your pursuits, you shall delight in the Lord. Again, we experience this every week. Many temptations confront us every Sunday. When I had children playing sports, there were always tournaments that began Saturday afternoon and ended Sunday afternoon.
Fortunately, we could usually find a 6 PM mass somewhere in the vicinity. Unless we are in the habit of saving Sunday as the Lord’s Day, there will always be something that will take us away from this devotion. We are creations of the Lord and we need to take the time to acknowledge His love for us. One day a week is not a lot to ask for.
As we start our journey through Lent, let us strive to love and pray for all people, to live as Christ lived, and to keep the Lord’s day holy
Great Reflection Lou, sorry I missed the discussion.