sept 9 2006

1 Cor 4:6b-15 Brothers and sisters :Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written, so that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over against another. Who confers distinction upon you? What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it? You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich; you have become kings without us! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we also might become kings with you. For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,we are poorly clad and roughly treated,we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands. When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like the world’s rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment. I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.

Ps 145:17-18, 19-20, 21
R. (18) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his waysand holy in all his works.The LORD is near to all who call upon him,to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,he hears their cry and saves them.The LORD keeps all who love him,but all the wicked he will destroy.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Lk 6:1-5 While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said,“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” Jesus said to them in reply,“Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,which only the priests could lawfully eat,ate of it, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

"The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." I imagine that this statement must have infuriated the jealous Pharisees. Jesus reminded them of King David feeding the hungry from the tabernacle. For me the reading today tells that people were not made for the sabbath but the sabbath was made for people. The call to serve our fellow human beings is stronger than to serve our created rites and customs that originally were to serve others also.

There are times which are not often but perhaps 2 or 3 a month when I am serving others and because of this must miss communal prayer at the monastery. I put a high priority on attending my monastery's communal prayer time and put every effort into scheduling activities so that I do not miss prayer with my community. The two or three times a month that I am not there, it is because I am serving others and performing acts as a part of my ministry. It is typically an activity as a nurse educator which I believe is ultimately serving many and a worthy ministry in many aspects. It would not be kind or Christian to serve those I minister in a less than full manner in order to attend more of my communal prayer. A balance that comes from the heart is what I use for these decisions.

Who am I? Why am I here? What is God calling me to now? These are questions that my spiritual mentor has put forth to me to apply to my daily prayer and actions. I will be allowing these questions to become a part of my daily lectio.