June 10

June 10, 2015:  Wednesday, 10th week, Ordinary Time

• 'J' tie bar (10th letter, like י):  "not the smallest letter will pass from the law..."; Jesus is fulfillment of Law and Prophets (gospel); the 'letter' brings death,... (1st reading)

• 'Holy Spirit' chain:  ...but the Spirit gives life (1st reading)

• 'Stone' tie pin:  The ministry of the Spirit will be more glorious than the ministry of death carved on stone  (1st reading)

• 'Phone' tie bar:  They called on the Lord, and he answered (psalm)

• Tie with 'clouds':  The Lord spoke from the pillar of cloud (psalm)

• 'Tablet' pin:  I came to fulfill, not abolish, the law...  (gospel) ['clouds' tie trumped 'commandments' tie]

Listen

• Our God is holy/ Moore (psalm)

Pope Francis audience

Illness affects everyone, and when someone in our family is sick, we feel it even more deeply.  And often the family must take the lead in caring for one another.  Jesus healed people many times in the gospel, always close to them; he put healing first, taking priority over the law.  Later, he sent his disciples to do the same, giving them power to heal:  the ability to be close to and care for the sick, touching their deepest wounds and bringing them peace.  It's our duty to help, console, lift up, be close to, and pray for the sick.

Though sickness gives rise to difficulties, it can be a moment of grace that makes family bonds grow stronger. Teach children to be close to the sick.  Without compassion and sympathy for others, we can become “anesthetized,” and unable to deal with our own suffering.  Christian families are never alone in times of sickness.  Thank God for beautiful experiences of fraternity in the Church that help families get through times of sorrow and suffering; they're God's caresses.

Read

Yodh (animate)

• 2 Cor 3:4-11  We have confidence through Christ toward God, who's qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, one of the spirit who gives life.  The ministry of the Spirit will be glorious....

• Ps 99:5-9  "Holy is the Lord our God."  Extol and worship the Lord.  Many called upon him, he answered, and they heard the law he gave.

• Mt 5:17-19  “I came to fulfill, not abolish, the law and prophets; not the smallest part will pass from the law.  If you break even a small commandment and teach others to do so, you'll be called least in the Kingdom, but if you obey and teach the commandments, you'll be called greatest.”

Reflect

• Yodh (Yud), the "smallest letter" of the Hebrew alphabet, is the first letter of God's Name; its top spur is "the smallest part of a letter" (Mt 5:18).  Not the smallest letter or part will disappear from the Word.  God uses the small to demonstrate his power.  More

• Creighton:  Both readings speak of justice and abounding in glory. I can only serve God and others by responding to God's truth and living love.  Only with God's grace and my response is it possible to “abound in righteousness and glory.”

• One Bread One Body:  "Teach the Old Testament" ("the Law and the Prophets"):  Peter preached from the OT on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 received the Spirit; "the ministry of the Spirit" began by the preaching of the ministry of the law.  Jesus' Transfiguration featured the Law (Moses) and Prophets (Elijah); when Jesus was transfigured, he fulfilled the old covenant.  Jesus changed the hearts of the disciples en route to Emmaus by opening the Scriptures (then just the OT) to them, beginning with Moses and the prophets, interpreting every passage that referred to him.  Jesus said the OT is more likely to change a hard heart than sight of a man risen from the dead.

Tetragrammaton (YHWH)
starting with Yodh
(remember Hebrew is right-to-left)

• Passionist:  Laws keep order and are necessary; they reflect our values, beliefs, relationships, and world; they uphold our moral code, promote dignity and respect, and command and deserve obedience.  But human-created laws are imperfect and need to be updated in light of new understandings.  Even laws from scripture are imperfect:  we don't obey all the laws from the Pentateuch, and women don't cover their heads in church.  Jesus broke laws regularly (eating with sinners, healing on the Sabbath...); he didn't demand blind obedience but critical examination, with the fulfillment of God’s laws of mercy and justice as primary considerations.  With Jesus as model, may we pray, cooperate, be attentive to the Spirit, engaged with those affected, and open-minded so we may discern carefully how and when to revise or make laws, especially now that many are calling for revisions.

• DailyScripture.net:  "The law" referred to the 10 commandments, the Pentateuch/Torah, and the whole teaching or way of life God gave his people; Jews also used it to describe oral or scribal law, to which scribes added more than God intended.  Jesus loved the law but condemned scribal law for its additional burdens.  God's law, flowing from his love and goodness, is of grace, love, and freedom.  Jesus taught us reverence and respect for God's law.  God gives us the grace, help, and strength to love, forgive, think, judge, and act as he does.  The Holy Spirit writes God's law on our hearts, helps us in our weakness, strengthens us in temptation, and transforms us into the likeness of Christ....

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