Friday Sept. 4, 2009

Friday September 4, 2009 of the 22nd week in ordinary time
Readings: Colossians 1: 15-20 Psalm 100:1-5 Luke 5: 33-39
Psalm response: " Come with joy into the present of the Lord:"

We may wonder, "Why would God, take the body of any of His creation, come into our existence, live a normal youth and then put himself in jeopardy, be manhandled and crucified?"
As strange as it might seem and so far from our thinking, we might rightfully deem Him weird!
However, He created us with free will, so His first creation lost the perfection He had deigned for them and sinned against Him. We were lost with no champion to rescue us. He loved us so much, He wanted to have us regain the perfection. The only way it could have been done was the way He did it. He became the second perfect man, remained perfect, to allow us by His direction and Church to become perfect whenever our troubled humanity wavered from His desire for us.
His first choice, the Jewish nation only abided in His way when it suited them. He came to earth as a baby, grew into manhood for the express purpose of being the method of our salvation by the forgiveness of our sins.
When He established His Church, He had selected a bunch of country bumpkins, innocent men who would learn and bring His message, first to the Hebrew people. Failing in their task, they were then instructed to take His teaching as He had presented it to them to the rest of the world. We are the recipients of His way through the Catholic Church unwavering in its presentation and presenting His Faith truthfully and fully.

That is why the Psalmist urges us to praise and adore Him always. He has the option to keep us under His control but He allows us to falter while at the same time pouring out His grace to allow us to return to Him. As He told the Apostles. He and they were to offer forgiveness, not 7 times but 70 x 7. In other words infinitely.

The Gospel of Luke tells the same story as Matthew and mark but with different emphasis. Using the metaphor of a wedding progression, Jesus advises the Scribes and the Pharisees they wouldn't break the tradition of celebrating while the bridegroom(Himself) was still with them.
In other words, there will be plenty of occasions when they will exercise their practice of fasting and praying when He is no longer with them.
We are the inheritors of the tradition; whereby, daily we can celebrate His unbloody sacrifice in the Eucharistic tradition.
Be like Him. Do His Father's will!