August 11, 2010
Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19-20
Piety
Psalm 113
Hallelujah! Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting let the name of the LORD be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD; above the heavens God's glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God enthroned on high, looking down on heaven and earth?
The LORD raises the needy from the dust, lifts the poor from the ash heap,
Seats them with princes, the princes of the people, gives the childless wife a home, the joyful mother of children. Hallelujah!
Study
What is the relationship between our actions on earth and our place in the kingdom of God?
If we heed the message of Ezekiel, then we learn today that the God of the Hebrew Bible will dole out punishment right here on earth for our actions (or rather misdeeds and inaction). The instructions Ezekiel laid out call for the innocent inhabitants of Jerusalem to be spared while those who are idolatrous are punished. The angels of the Lord can tell them apart because the prophet places a cross on their foreheads in the form of the letter “tau,” formed with the cross.
Then in our Gospel, Jesus comes along and with the sign of the cross unites all of His followers with the literal sign of the crucifixion as well as with the symbolic sign that we use as a symbol and gesture of our piety to begin our formal prayers. Although in the Hebrew Bible, the Lord set forth a prescription for those who would be saved, in the Gospel, those who would be saved are marked not only with the sign of the cross but also with the prayers of the community who ask the Lord to save them.
Our salvation not only comes from above, but it also comes from the faith, hope and love expressed by our neighbors...an expression that brings the Lord into our midst.
Action
For what are you praying with your community? As we pray in community, the Lord will grant those wishes because through our prayers, the Lord is present in our community.
