Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress": July 28

'Clouds' tie: As Moses entered the meeting tent, the column of cloud would come down... (1st reading)

'Scales of justice' pin: "The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed." (psalm)

'Angel' pin (below top school bus): The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. (gospel)

Listen

Bless the Lord, from Godspell/ Schwartz: soundtrack (psalm)

Read

Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 Moses pitched the meeting tent outside the camp. When Moses went to it, the people rose and watched. While the Lord spoke with Moses, a column of cloud came down, and people rose to worship. The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, then returned to the camp, but his assistant Joshua stayed in the tent. Moses, bowing in worship: “If I find favor with you, come with us, pardon our wickedness, and receive us as your own.” Moses stayed 40 days and nights, without eating or drinking, and he wrote down the words of the commandments.

Ps 103:6-13 "The Lord is kind and merciful." The Lord secures justice. He made known his ways to Moses and the Israelites. He doesn't deal with us according to our sins, so surpassing his kindness. He has compassion as a father has on his children.

Mt 13:36-43 Disciples/Jesus: “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field.” / “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom, the weeds are the children of the Evil One, the enemy is the Devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As weeds are collected and burned, so at the end of the age the Son will send his angels to collect all who cause others to sin and all evildoers and throw them into the furnace. Then the just will shine in the Kingdom.”

Reflect

Creighton: The Exodus reading tells of the Moses/Lord conversations; curiously the people pray at their tents when Moses goes into the Tent, but during Moses' vigil they turned to an idol. The Gospel has the interpretation of the weeds parable: the forgiven are welcomed into loving arms, but the weeds are burned. Not all the weeds were ugly, just inappropriately placed, like “volunteers” from other flowers. Some seeds of the Evil One can be inviting and seemingly harmless; focus on the beauty of the garden and the seeds related to the rightful sower.

One Bread One Body: "The great communicator": Many would like to trade places with Moses and have direct communication with God, but likely he would have liked to trade places with us for our opportunities to communicate with God. "Before, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways through prophets; in this age, he's spoken through His Son." The Spirit inhabits us, God dwells within us, and we receive Jesus' body and blood. May I make my relationship with God my highest priority.

Passionist: In the 1st reading, God is teaching how to be his people as parents teach children. God led them, protected and cared for them, provided food and drink, drew them close, and set some rules. But they stayed unfaithful, and God got angry, as a parent seeing a child's self-destructiveness behavior would be. God called them stiff-necked, Moses begged him to pardon and receive them, and God says he'll be with them and forgive them. God is kind and merciful to his children even when we're stubborn....

DailyScripture.net: The weeds parable teaches us patience lest we judge before the time is right. Seeds of good and evil can be sown in us, and in time yield a harvest of good or bad fruit. We must stand guard lest evil take root and corrupt us. "Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny" (Reade?). On judgment day all will reap what they sowed.

St. Victor, pope

St. Sampson, abbot, bishop

Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress"