Wed (1-6) Mass readings (Love one another / Jesus walks on water [strange psg about hardened hearts??])

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**January 6, 2010 **

Christmas Weekday
Lectionary: 214

Reading I
1 Jn 4:11-18

***Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us. ***

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
***Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God. ***
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

Responsorial Psalm
72:1-2, 10, 12-13


R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on Earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;

He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on Earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
R. Lord, every nation on Earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Gospel
Mk 6:45-52


After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray
.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
***But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded. ***
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.

On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

.

***the first psg is a little odd to me because sometimes it seems that (speaking for myself) i can easily love God but not always my “neighbor.” At least – i can’t from my heart as i am supposed to… (Love your neighbor as yourself)… its not that i don’t love everyone, because i do… i just don’t love people’s sinfulnesss (mine included)… Sometimes it seems that in order to avoid evil, we have to avoid evil-doers… but oh well…There is one evil-doer we can never avoid: self. 😦

i cannot for the life of me, figure out that last line!!! Why would their hearts be hardened after the loaves & fishes thing??? Hmmm… *:confused:
 
This episode, and the other episode where they awakened Him to rescue them from the storm, must have brought to their minds Psalm 107:23-32
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded, and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men, and were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 29 he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! 32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
 
the first psg is a little odd to me because sometimes it seems that (speaking for myself) i can easily love God but not always my “neighbor.” At least – i can’t from my heart as i am supposed to… (Love your neighbor as yourself)… its not that i don’t love everyone, because i do… i just don’t love people’s sinfulnesss (mine included)… Sometimes it seems that in order to avoid evil, we have to avoid evil-doers… but oh well…There is one evil-doer we can never avoid: self.
i cannot for the life of me, figure out that last line!!! Why would their hearts be hardened after the loaves & fishes thing??? Hmmm…
It’s easy to love God when loving God is easy…how about when it’s hard? A challenge? Even unto death.

How do we love others?
One way to look at it is to remember that quite often we are our own worst critics…and our own worst enemies…and sometimes people find themselves unlovable for the wrong that they do. So we love others as we love ourselves…imperfectly.

On the other hand…I simply try to remember that regardless of the fault I see in an individual…God loves them…so there is something loveable there…and try to love that part of them.

How does this translate? By reminding myself to pray for people like the guy who shot up the Holocaust Museum in DC who recently died, rather than rejoicing in his death. Trying to pray for terrorists…trying to pray for those in my life that are difficult…that’s pray FOR them not about them.
 
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