{"id":7508,"date":"2015-03-14T14:18:50","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T14:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/?p=7508"},"modified":"2015-03-14T14:18:57","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T14:18:57","slug":"3rd-sunday-of-lent-08-03-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/?p=7508","title":{"rendered":"3rd Sunday of Lent (08.03.15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday of Lent (08.03.15)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Today\u2019s scripture readings give us much food for thought.<\/p>\n

The portrait of Jesus in this Gospel is a world away from the storybook caricature of the meek and mild figure \u2013seemingly weak and harmless.\u00a0\u00a0 Neither is it meant to be a model of aggressive violence, supporting annihilation for selfish gains.<\/p>\n

A word about \u201caggression\u201d:\u00a0 It comes from the Latin root aggredi<\/em>, which means \u201cto go forward, to approach, to move against\u201d.\u00a0 Constructive aggression means taking the initiative to support what is important.\u00a0 It means working in a hostile environment against the power that devalues our beliefs.<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 aggression was at the service of his Father\u2019s house for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
\n\u201cMy house is a house of prayer\u201d.\u00a0 <\/strong>It is up to us to make this house truly a house of prayer.\u00a0 We come here each Sunday to pray, not just individually, but collectively as members of one family- the family of the followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Perhaps we could also learn from this episode to be more courageous in speaking out for our Christian beliefs, and when the opportunity arises, to bravely confront the powers that devalue them; because in drawing back, we continue to allow \u201cthe traders to occupy the Temple\u201d! <\/em><\/p>\n

Then, in the first reading from the book of Exodus we hear how God gave the rule of life to his followers through Moses in the ten commandments.\u00a0 Sometimes we might regard them merely as a list of \u201cdo\u2019s and don\u2019t s\u201d \u2013 to keep us from offending our Lord and Father.\u00a0 It might be helpful to delve a little deeper into each one to find a kinder and more positive approach!<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 I am the Lord, your God:<\/strong>\u00a0 I am your friend, guide and counsellor.\u00a0 All idols will eventually betray you.\u00a0 Money is the most common of all idols.<\/p>\n

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Call me \u201dFather \u201c.\u00a0\u00a0 Pronounce it in love not in fear.\u00a0 Invoke it in praise, thanks and intercession.\u00a0 Your names are written on the palm of my hand.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Keep holy the Sabbath day:\u00a0 <\/strong>All days belong to the Lord, but let Sunday be set apart to show that God has first place in your life.\u00a0 Assemble in prayer and worship -signifying that you are a people on pilgrimage to the Promised Land<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Honour thy father and thy mother:\u00a0 <\/strong>Love them.\u00a0 Take care of them when they get old and feeble, but not to the exclusion of others, remembering that all who listen to the word of God and try to live by it are also members of that wider family of God.<\/p>\n

5. Thou shalt not kill:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.\u00a0 Do not judge and you will not be judged.
\nDo not limit your love to your friends only.\u00a0 Love your enemies too.\u00a0 Do good to those who hate you.\u00a0 Bless those who curse you and pray for those who speak evil against you.<\/p>\n

6. Thou shalt not commit adultery:\u00a0 <\/strong>Love your marriage partner as you would yourself.\u00a0 Aim at fidelity of heart and soul.\u00a0 If there is no love, then even with physical fidelity, marriage is like s fireplace without a fire.<\/p>\n

7. Thou shalt not steal:\u00a0 <\/strong>There are various ways of stealing besides the obvious one.\u00a0 Hoarding up goods you do not need while another is in want is a form of stealing.\u00a0 Give to everyone who asks; share your bread with the hungry; clothe the naked; open your doors to the homeless and the lonely, and God\u2019s light will shine upon you.<\/p>\n

8. Thou shalt not bear false witness<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0 Aim at seeing the good in your neighbour.\u00a0 Let your words be affirming, encouraging, comforting, supportive, thus being a light rather than a source of darkness.\u00a0 In conversation, try to accentuate the positive, and if you cannot find anything good to say, then remain silent.<\/p>\n

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour\u2019s wife<\/strong>:\u00a0 Adultery can be committed in thought and desire as well as in deed. All our thoughts, words and deeds stem from what is in the heart, like water from a hidden spring.\u00a0 Try to keep your heart pure and unpolluted by evil, and then you can see God in all that is good, beautiful and desirable in the world.<\/p>\n

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour\u2019s goods<\/strong>:\u00a0 Do not covet any goods at all, nor lay up treasure here on earth.\u00a0 If you covet anything of your neighbour\u2019s let it be \u201ckindness of heart and gentleness of manner\u201d.<\/p>\n

In conclusion:\u00a0 Do not obey any of these commandments out of fear, but out of love; and if you find ten too many to
\nremember, then reduce them to two:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday of Lent (08.03.15) Today\u2019s scripture readings give us much food for thought. The portrait of Jesus in this Gospel is a world away from the storybook caricature of the meek and mild figure \u2013seemingly weak and harmless.\u00a0\u00a0 Neither … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archdiocese-of-liverpool"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7509,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7508\/revisions\/7509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stbedesclaytongreen.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}