So let's talk about today's readings 2/10/09

[cheeto1]

usccb.org/nab/readings/021009.shtml

So God created great sea monsters. Like in Job 40:25 through
41:26? It sounds just like a dragon. The note at the bottom
says it’s a crocodile, but can a crocodile breathe fire?

The gospel says that the Pharisees noticed the disciples ate
with unwashed hands. It doesn’t say they noticed that they
didn’t wash their hands before they ate, it says they noticed
the hands were unclean. I think that they were dirty, maybe even up to the elbows. They were probably “double dipping” too.
It’s a reminder to us that though a person may look “unclean” from the outside, they may be a true follower of Christ on the inside.

Today is the day of St. Scholastica. How did her parents think
of that name? Anyway, I like her and her twin brother. One
of the readings for her mass today is from Song of Songs. It
says, “were a man to offer all the wealth of his house to buy
love, contempt is all he would purchase.” God can’t even make
us love Him, after He gave us the whole earth, and each other.
Even when Jesus gave up His life, some still do not love Him.

So what struck you about today’s readings?:bible1:

 

[Strategery]

(Working heavily from Barclay today)

The scribes were a class of legal experts who took the moral laws of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and expanded and amplified them into literally thousands of rules and regulations governing most aspects of life. One set of regulations addressed the need for purification prior to eating.

Barclay describes the cleaning laws in detail. The hands first had to be completely clean (no dirt, sand, whatever). Special water was used from a special clean jar, used only for purification purposes. The hands were held with the fingers pointing up. Water had to roll down to the wrists, and a minimum amount was required. While hands were wet, each hand had to be cleaned with the fist of the other. Now the water was unclean, because it had been touched by unclean hands. So the hands then had to be held with fingers pointing downwards, and water had to be poured from the wrists and the water flowed down over the fingertips. Now the hands were clean, but they had to repeat between courses of the same meal.

Per the Scribes and Pharisees, this was religion. To break these rules was to sin against God. This is what Christ had to deal with. Christ’s answer to this challenge is severe. As Christ says, they are hypocrites – they nullify the word of God in favor of the tradition that they have handed on.

I can’t leave this point without addressing the fact that many believe the Catholic Church is much like the Pharisees, putting laws of man above laws of God. Truthfully, at one point in time I felt that way. The problem wasn’t with the Church, it was with me. I hadn’t invested the time to understand what the Church truly taught vs. what I was perceiving and what others were whispering in my ear. The description of how that happened and how God revealed truth to me requires more space than I have here.

I mention this because we all need to remember that we cannot put the cart before the horse. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us that we are to be ready to explain to anyone who asks the reason for the hope we have. We as individuals need to be able to clearly state our faith to anyone who asks.

 

[cheeto1]

many believe the Catholic Church is much like the Pharisees

I mention this because we all need to remember that we cannot put the cart before the horse. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us that we are to be ready to explain to anyone who asks the reason for the hope we have. We as individuals need to be able to clearly state our faith to anyone who asks.

Thank you Strategery. I am interested to know what laws of the
Catholic Church you felt were human laws, being elevated above
the law of God. And if you please, what law of God were they
being elevated above?

Do you find it easy to clearly state our faith to anyone who asks?
Sometimes you can lose a person in a “sea of words”. In fact,
I think that happens most of the time. Even the apostle Paul
was up all night talking until someone finally fell asleep and fell
out a window! Even then he kept talking!! Despite his wordiness though, I think the people understood.