Friday, October 26, 2012
Since today's reading includes nothing but pearls (the Words of
Jesus), I was incapable of picking one or even a few things to reflect
on. Instead, I've pasted the whole reading below. In the Words of
Jesus:
THE BEATITUDES
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely
say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be
glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-12)
WOES
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:24-25)
SALT AND LIGHT
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be
hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in
the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:13-16)
THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I
tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter,
not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the
Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets
aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others
accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever
practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will
certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
MURDER
21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall
not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c]
will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or
sister, 'Raca,'[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says,
'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there
remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24
leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be
reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to
court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your
adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you
over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I
tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
(Matthew 5:21-26)
ADULTERY
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit
adultery.'[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If
your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to
stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose
one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
(Matthew 5:27-30)
DIVORCE
31 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a
certificate of divorce.'[f] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces
his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of
adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
(Matthew 5:31-32)
OATHS
33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do
not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.'
34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for
it is God's throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear
by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All
you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes
from the evil one.[g] (Matthew 5:33-37)
LOVE FOR ENEMIES
27 "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who
mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the
other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt
from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what
belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would
have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even
sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who
are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34
And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit
is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid
in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them
without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be
great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind
to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is
merciful. (Luke 6:27-36)
GIVING TO THE NEEDY
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to
be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father
in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as
the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored
by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then
your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
(Matthew 6:1-4)
PRAYER
5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen
by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to
your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling
like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many
words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]'
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive
others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew
6:5-15)
FASTING
16 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they
disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell
you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast,
put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be
obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who
is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18)
TREASURES IN HEAVEN
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and
vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your
whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are
unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the
light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and
love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:19-24)
DO NOT WORRY
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the
air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the
field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even
Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that
is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you
of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or
'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run
after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)
JUDGING OTHERS
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you
will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and
it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you."
39 He also told them this parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will
they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the
teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
41 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and
pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to
your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when
you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite,
first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Luke 6:37-42)
ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and
the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the
one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be
opened.
9 "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then,
though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask
him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:7-12)
THE NARROW AND WIDE GATES
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is
the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a
few find it. (Matthew 7:13,14)
TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit
you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or
figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but
a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and
a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their
fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-20)
TRUE AND FALSE DISCIPLES
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your
name perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I
never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23)
A TREE AND ITS FRUIT
43 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs
from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good
things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings
evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth
speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:43-45)
THE WISE AND FOOLISH BUILDERS
24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation
on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does
not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house
on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew
and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew
7:24-27)
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed
at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and
not as their teachers of the law. (Matthew 7:28,29)
God Bless,
Anthony
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