|
|
 |
|
 June 08, 2008 - Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)
|
|
Sacrifice of Praise
Readings:
Hosea 6:3-6
Psalm 50:1,8,12-15
Romans 4:18-25
Matthew 9:9-13
Today's Liturgy is a kind of identity check, reminding us of the virtues the Lord requires of His disciples - faith, hope and love.
In the First Reading and Gospel, Israel's rulers are indicted for failing to grasp the essence of worship, the "inner logic" and purpose of their sacrifices, burnt offerings, and other religious observances.
God desires mercy not sacrifice, Jesus tells us in the Gospel, quoting Hosea, whom we hear in the First Reading. Today's Psalm is equally blunt - God, who created the world in all its fullness, has no need for the flesh of bulls or the blood of goats.
Today's Epistle and Gospel give us two role models to follow - Abraham and Matthew.
Though Abraham was nearly one hundred years old and his wife was barren, he didn't doubt God's promise that he would become the father of many nations (see Genesis 15:5). Matthew likewise responds to the Lord's call with obedience and trust.
Like Matthew, we are called to follow wherever the Lord asks us to go. Like Abraham, in all things we should be empowered by faith and give glory to God - hoping against hope, fully convinced that what He has promised, He will deliver. This is what the Lord requires: that we love Him and strive to know His will.
Today's readings should cause us to examine our conscience. Is our piety like that of Israel's leaders - like a morning dew that disappears in the heat of the day? Do we perform our religious duties while neglecting the weightier matters of bringing God's justice, love and mercy to sinners (see Matthew 23:23)?
It's not that we are to abandon our prayers and pious devotions. But our vows to the Most High must be animated by an inner spirit of self-offering, expressed in outward signs of mercy and love toward our neighbor.
Let us come to this Mass, then, to offer praise as our sacrifice, glorifying God who, in raising Jesus from the dead, rescued us in our time of distress. |
|
