God Loves, Man Kills
Jun 15: Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Sorry this is so late! Kirrily is out of town and I fell a little behind. Here’s a funny meme to make up for it—
Reading 1
2 Cor 3:15—4:1, 3-6
Brothers and sisters: To this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over the hearts of the children of Israel, but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged. And even though our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.
After Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments (a second time), his face was so radiant with God’s glory that it hurt just to look at him. So, he wore a veil to protect their eyes.1
Paul takes this as a metaphor for the Israelites not being able to quite see God directly. Thanks to Jesus, we’re now able to; the veil has been lifted for anyone who believes.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
God promises more than we imagine, even things that sometimes seem contradictory, like kindness and truth. But that’s because, although Paul says the veil has been lifted for Christians, it’s not completely lifted.
We shine God’s light as best we can, but we’re limited in a way God is not. And so, we have to have hope he’ll fulfill promises we can’t understand.
Alleluia
Jn 13:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This sounds like hippie, feel-good saying, until you remember how Jesus defines love: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”2 Then you realize it’s a very serious command.
Gospel
Mt 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
As we heard yesterday, Jesus isn’t getting rid of the law, He’s making it stricter. But it’s not because He wants to make our lives more difficult, but in fact run more smoothly.
If we simply try to follow the letter of the law, we become lawyers, looking for loopholes and exceptions. If, however, we love our neighbors as ourselves, we’ll find the best and fairest resolution to a dispute. We’ll see the world as God sees it, not as humans do.
Or, as the X-Men taught us:
