Living the Word at Ascension Church

Living the Word at Ascension

September 4, 2011

Ascension Parish Living the Word

Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings for September 4, 2011

Ez 33: 7-9

Romans 13: 8-10

Mt. 18:15-20

"... whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' ... hence, love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:10).

"Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20).

Today's readings present two of the most powerful lines in scripture. They tell us how we are to treat others and that Jesus will never abandon us.

Ezekiel challenges on how we are to act toward others who are living badly. It comes from the behavior of the Israelites who were leading the people into exile. The behavior of the ones who should have known better was left unchallenged because in challenging things would get ugly. Ezekiel, in seeing where Israel is heading, tells us that silence of the faithful is responsible for the problem.

Matthew tells us as followers of Jesus we also have a responsibility for the actions of others. Jesus knows that we are all going to do things that are wrong. So how do we face each other in these situations. We have all been upset when problems got out of hand and we said, "Well if you had a problem with it why didn't you say anything?" From this scripture, the complaint should have been registered. However, in many cases the complaint does not want to be heard or is hard to give.

If we follow Paul's advice from Romans, we have to act with love toward the person who has offended us, but also we have to love ourselves. We must act for both of our sakes and if the offender does not respond, we bring in another. This other person is not to intimidate or coerce, but to help in reconciliation and forgiveness. If the offender still does not respond, we are not to let it go. We have to act with and for the larger community.

Many of the things we have to do are hard. There are things that we have to do alone, but there are also things we have to do with others. Jesus knew this and told us so ahead of time. He also told us that he would never abandon us and whenever we call upon him with another, he will be in our midst.

Jim Fogarty is a member of the parish council and president of Brothers and Sisters of Love.

Lectio Divina...

"Lectio divina is a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures. Time set aside in a special way for lectio divina enables us to discover in our daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm. Within this rhythm, we discover an increasing ability to offer more of ourselves and our relationships to the Father, and to accept the embrace that God is continuously extending to us in the person of his son, Jesus Christ."

Father Luke Dysinger, O.S.B

About Living the Word

LIVING THE WORD...opportunity, challenge, commitment

Opportunity: Living the Word is an opportunity for us to grow in our knowledge and love of God through the prayerful reading and study of the scriptures.

Challenge: Living the Word is a challenge to make more time for God in our daily lives. We challenge ourselves to come to Mass each week ready to hear God's Word proclaimed and to take that Word to the world!

Commitment: Living the Word invites us to commit ourselves to spending time with God's Word several times each week. As we read and reread these scriptures, think about the words we read, and bring these words to prayer, we encounter Christ, God's Living Word.

What is a Lectionary?

A lectionary is a list of scripture readings (also called "lections," from the Latin lectio) selected for reading at worship services; it is also the book containing the actual readings. The term is most commonly used in the Catholic Church for the Lectionary for Mass, which contains the readings prescribed for the Masses for Sundays, feast days, weekdays, sacramental celebrations, funerals, and Masses for special occasions or particular devotions-basically, any Mass.