Thoroughly Reform

Thoroughly Reform

July 28, 2012

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place, in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.  Jeremiah 7:5-7

He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.  Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"  Matthew 13:29-30

Piety

O Lord, I do not know what to ask you.  You alone know my real needs, and you love me more than I even know how to love.  Enable me to discern my true needs which are hidden from me.  I ask for neither cross nor consolation; I wait in patience for you.  My heart is open to you.  For your great mercy's sake, come to me and help me.  Put your mark on me and heal me, cast me down and raise me up.  Silently I adore your holy will
and your inscrutable ways.  I offer myself in sacrifice to you and put all my trust in you.  I desire only to do your will.  Teach me how to pray and pray in me, yourself.  
--Vasily Drosdov Philaret, c. 1780 - 1867
 http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/discern.html

Study

We've been making the temple of den of thieves since long before Jesus railed at the moneylenders.  We keep testing the Lord's patience and he continues to welcome back his prodigal children with open arms and tender eyes.  Jeremiah could be addressing us:   Do you think you can steal and murder, slack off at work, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to the Gods of Wall Street, Hollywood, K Street and your favorite sports team, follow other Facebook friends and Twitter feeds that you do not know, and then come and stand in my presence in this house?

Instead of doing all this, Jesus offers us a solution on how to sow good seed in our lifetime.  Despite all the outside temptations and influences, we co-exist with them in this world.  We cannot extract evil from life -- -be it the Colorado shooter or the crooked bankers fixing interest rates or the racy Hollywood movie producers.  What we need to do is making the right choices and cultivate the right relationships so that when the weeds are tied up in a bundle to be burned, we will not be wrapped up with them and face the same fate.

Action

The Lord freely offers us reconciliation and will give us his love before we even ask for it.  Yet we are a people who hold a grudge and seek revenge from that truck that cut us off (actually from the driver) or from the merchant who cheated us.  

We seek justice for ourselves whether we deserve it or not.  Let us also seek justice for all those who are undeserving victims of the evils and temptations in this world especially those killed in the Aurora Century theater.

• Jonathon Blunk
• Alexander "AJ" Boik, 18
• Jessie Childress, 29
• Gordon Cowden, 51
• Jessica Ghawi, 24
• John Larimer, 27
• Matt McQuinn
• Micayla Medek, 23
• Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6
• Alex Sullivan, 27
• Alexander Teves, 24
• Rebecca Wingo

Here is some advice for supporting charities that will help the victims of this crime. http://blog.charitynavigator.org/2012/07/careful-when-supporting-victims-of.html