I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
John 13:34

The Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

This Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, we hear Luke's account of the difference discipleship means in the real lives of Jesus' followers: loving your enemies, turning the other cheek, doing to others what we'd want them to do for us, being merciful as our Father is merciful, forgiving as we wish to be forgiven, measuring out our generosity as we would wish to receive it.

The first reading this week will be from the Book of Sirach. We are served some basic Wisdom about life..

We continue reading from Mark's gospel. Jesus heals a deaf and mute son of a man who humbly says "help my unbelief." Along the way to Jerusalem, the disciples miss Jesus' prediction of his passion and are arguing about who is the greatest. He tells us we must be servants of one another. Jesus doesn't reject good works from another - for anyone "who is not against us is for us." Jesus promises the rewards of discipleship but warns about anyone who scandalizes the innocent. When the Pharasees approach Jesus to trap him in a question about marriage, Jesus defends marriage. And, when they bring little children to Jesus, he welcomes the little children as he has welcomed all who are vulnerable.

For the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus talks about removing the log in our own eyes before worrying about the splinter in another's eye. He reminds us the common sense reality that "a good tree does not bear bad fruit."

Daily Prayer This Week

We may feel like we never have enough. Enough money, time, love, status or anything else that seems be the focus of our lives. We live lives that are packed with activities, meetings and obligations - keeping our hearts distracted away from our relationship with God, from our families and from others in our lives who need our love.

This week we have the treasures of the Book of Sirach to contemplate. Each day we can learn something about trusting in God, about learning discipline and where true happiness lies. We learn how God works with us and how we learn the ways of the Lord. There is even practical wisdom about friendship.

From the gospels this week, we have much fruit for our contemplation, for we see Jesus instructing his disciples about service about trusting God's working in others. We are warned about giving scandal. And, we see Jesus' unwillingness to be compromised by trick questions, and the way he speaks about marriage. Finally, we see his reverence for children. We can all draw much fruit from listening to him this week.

And every morning, we can begin by sitting at the side of our beds with our hands open on our laps, asking God to help us receive these gifts with open hearts. We can carry that focus with us throughout the day, remembering in the quiet moments what we are asking for. Always, we end our day simply thanking God for the love and gifts of the day.