Image by Cerezo Barredo
Can you believe it's the end of August? I don't want to believe it's this late in the summer! But reading and praying over the scriptures before coming to worship on the Lord's Day is a good habit for any season of the year.
Coming up is the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. You'll find the scriptures for this Sunday and background material on them right here and if you're shepherding youngsters to church you might want to look here for help in preparing kids to hear the Word.
Last Sunday concluded our summer interlude of passages from the Bread of Life discourse in John's gospel. This week we're back to St. Mark and we find Jesus teaching about the contrast between interior and exterior purity of mind, heart and intention. The first lesson prepares us to hear the Lord's message through the words of Moses in Deuteronomy. Moses is instructing the Israelites on the gift of the law and the necessity of observing it carefully - that the people might live and not die.
The second lesson, from the letter of James, contains some very powerful words and ties to the other two texts here: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves..."
-ConcordPastor
The theme of this week's Sunday liturgy seems to be God's Law. Jesus reminds us that we cannot "earn" God's love by following the letter of the Law. His love is already freely given. We have nothing to "earn." The discipline of the Law opens us up to the possibility of loving God and others more deeply. For us in America, it would seem a contradiction. Following the Law gives us freedom. That is an interesting thought.
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