Monday of the
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Micah 6:1-4.6-8; Matthew 12:38-42)
In today’s first reading the person who asks if sacrifices
would please the Lord is actually defying Him.
Adding insult to injury, the person suggests that the Lord wants human
sacrifice. The gospel passage carries a
similar rebellious tone. The Pharisees
demand a sign from Jesus that he is God’s envoy. But Jesus has already worked numerous healings. What good would another mighty deed do? All need to recognize what God demands of humans:
that they repent of their sins and show mercy.
This has been Jesus’ teaching from the beginning.
In one family the children would ask their mother every
year what she wanted for Christmas. The
mother invariably replied, “Good kids.” The
children knew what she meant but were not eager to comply. Like the petitioners in today’s readings, they
tried to dodge what they know to be right.
It is not nearly as hard to consistently do the right
thing as we fear. It takes some effort,
but often we feel much better for doing it.
We should find satisfaction just in knowing that we please God who is
worthy of all our love.
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