october 11 2006

Gal 2:1-2, 7-14
Brothers and sisters:
After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.
I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles–
but privately to those of repute– so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter to the circumcised, for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised
worked also in me for the Gentiles, and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me,
James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership,
that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,
which is the very thing I was eager to do.

And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself,
because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not on the right road
in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, “If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Ps 117:1bc, 2
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations, glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.

Lk 11:1-4
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”

The Lord's prayer is of forgiveness and reverence and thankfulness. I feel a call for divine protection within it also. It is a one day at a time pray give us this day our daily bread. It is a calling of the divine into the present moment. There are so many ways that this prayer has touched my heart. It is my earliest memory in my life as the first prayer I learned along with a blessing before meals and a night prayer as a child. I used to end every night prayer when I was little and kneeling beside my bed with intercessions for those I knew were in need. There is a strength in the Lord's prayer that it is interwoven in many of our lives from early childhood to old age. It is the one prayer that many people can recall who are Christians. I think it is only fair that I should forgive others what I ask God to forgive me. It is a minimum of what I should do for others.

There are many days that I see the abundance of food in my life and pray for those who do not have enought to eat. From a young age, I remember my mother and father teaching that it was a sin to waste food when people are starving. I remember both telling about sharing food with people who did not have enough. The table where food is shared is also a place and time for fellowship. I pray that this day I can be a light of life and love to others.