June 26, 2023

June 26

June 26, 2023:  Monday, 12th week, Ordinary Time


Listen

For Psalm 33
  • Gn 12:1-9  Lord to Abram:  “Go to a land I'll show you.  I'll make of you a great nation and bless you; all shall find blessing in you.”  Abram went as the Lord directed him, with his wife, Sarai, his brother’s son, Lot, and their possessions, setting out for Canaan, where the Lord said, “To your descendants I'll give this land.” Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
    Animate
  • Ps 33:12-13, 18-20, 22  "Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own."  From heaven the Lord looks down and sees us all, to deliver and preserve us.  We wait for the Lord, our help and shield....
  • Mt 7:1-5  “Stop judging; you'll be judged as you judge.  Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye but not the beam in yours?  Hypocrite, remove the beam; then you'll see clearly to remove the splinter.”
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Reflect
    • Creighton:  God asked Abram to move away from the familiar, and to a place he didn’t know, a foreign land of uncertainty, fostering anxiety, discomfort, and fear.  You need to let go to move forward, to leave the certain and secure behind.  The gospel challenges us to recognize what keeps us from seeing.  As God challenges Abram to see clearly by leaving the familiar, Jesus says we can't see because we don't recognize what we try to protect.  We carry around a beam to hold on to the familiar, even if it causes harm and keeps us from seeing, instead of letting go.  May we let go of our small selves that don't allow us to see a different storyline.  We need to move, change, grow, not be complacent....
    • One Bread, One Body: "Abandonment":  When Abram was 75, the Lord told him to leave his homeland, and he did.  Would you?  The Lord told St. Joseph to flee to Egypt, and he did.  Would you?  The Lord told teen Mary to give up her plans and conceive God by the power of the Spirit.  Will you let the Lord do whatever he wants with you?  When I accept Jesus as Lord, I abandon myself to him.  I live for him, not myself.  “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
    • Passionist:  Abram and Sarai are called to a journey of uncertainty, and they go.  Today's migrants leave knowing the journey is dangerous, the destination uncertain.  Would I have had Abam's courage?  May I be attentive to those who embark on an arduous journey.  May God lead them safely.
    • DailyScripture.net:  "Take the log out of your eye":  Think the best of others to grow in love.  We can't see people's inner motives and intentions and don't have all the facts, we're swayed by instinct, and we react unreasonably.
    "'Hypocrite,' pretender, is aptly used here, since denouncing evil is best viewed as a matter only for the upright.  We must avoid pretenders who under the guise of seeking advice censure, often moved by malice.  When you must reprove, proceed with discernment and caution.  If the fault is one you had but overcame, remember our common frailty so the correction and admonition will be with mercy.  If you've never had the fault, remember you could have.  If you have the fault, don't correct or rebuke, but bemoan your fault and induce the other to the same concern." (Augustine, Sermon on the Mount, paraphrased)
    How we treat others will return to us.  The Lord sees everything, even imperfections and sins we don't see, draws us to his mercy seat, and removes the sin.  Lord, purify my heart so I may have room for charity and forbearance.  "Give us the humility that realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, and accepts rebuke.  Help us praise not criticize, sympathize not discourage, build not destroy, and think of people at their best not their worst." (Barclay)
    Dress legend
    • 'People' pin:  All communities of the earth shall find blessing in you (1st reading); blessed the people the Lord has chosen (psalm)
    • 'Alps' pin:  Abram moved to the hill country (1st reading)
    • 'Clock' tie bar:  Our soul waits for the Lord (psalm)
    • 'Scales of justice' tie:  Stop judging, lest you be judged (gospel)
    • 'Rulers' suspenders:  The measure you measure will be measured out to you (gospel)
    • '?' tie pin: Jesus' questions:  "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye but not the beam in yours?  How can you say, ‘Let me remove that splinter’ while the beam is in your eye?  Can a blind person guide a blind person?  Won't both fall into a pit?" (gospel)
    • 'Eyeball' pin:  The Lord's eyes are on those who fear him (psalm); remove the beam from your eye (gospel)
    • 'Wood block' tie pin:  Splinter in my brother’s eye vs. beam in mine (gospel)
    • 'Actor masks' tie bar:  You hypocrite (ὑποκριτής = 'actor') (gospel)
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