17th Week in Ordinary Time
01st August 2023 (Tuesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28
In those days: Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. And Moses proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head towards the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favour in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” So he was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Psalm 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13 (R. 8a)
R/. The Lord is compassionate and gracious.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live forever.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 13:36-43
At that time: Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: God’s mercy, not in haste
Guidlines: Those who seek the Lord, and remain intimate and faithful to Him, are truly the sons of the kingdom and they make it grow and become fruitful{alertSuccess}
1. In the gospel of the day from Matthew 13. 36-43, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds and seeds, mentioned in Matthew 13. 24-30. Jesus explains the parable at the request of his disciples.
2. From this immediately we can pick up a simple cue for our life. This can indicate to us the depth and the vastness of the word of God. Mere human intelligence and capacity cannot grasp it fully. It always needs “explanation” by the Lord through his Spirit.
3. Our attitude should always be that of the disciples: Lord, explain to us. Those who feel that they are masters over the word of God, that the bible verses are at their fingertips, and that they are the expert interpreters need to halt for a while. They must remember that ultimately it is God’s word and we must always seek explanation and inspiration from him.
4. The parable presents to us the actual reality of life. Jesus is very realistic. It is very true that there are weeds among the seeds. And their growth is very wild and widespread. There are certainly children of the kingdom and children of the evil. We must take note of this.
5. Otherwise, it can make us idealists who live in a dreamland; or it can make us intolerant and annoyed toward anything negative. Both are wrong because both categories do not accept reality. Both are also useless because they do not contribute anything to better things.
6. Realistically speaking, it may not always be possible to uproot the weeds totally. Because reality depends not exclusively on us alone but on various other factors. However, at least we are bound to restrain the spread of the weeds.
7. For this, we need not always be on battle lines. It is much better and wiser to increase the growth and strength of the seeds. It is enough that we nurture good seeds and plants. The more the positive flourishes, the negative can diminish.
8. Moses in the first reading from Exodus was truly one such son of the kingdom. He was intimate and faithful to God. He also transmitted the same grace, radiance, and benevolence to others.
Practice: In a world that tries to tone down the dominance of evil and sin because it is disturbing and challenging, we need to be the voices and messages for virtue and value by word and life{alertSuccess}