My reflections for Feb. 16, 2006 - Thursday

February 16, 2006

Reading I
James 2:1-9

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person with shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please,”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
But you dishonored the poor.
Are not the rich oppressing you?
And do they themselves not haul you off to court?
Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?
However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin,
and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

(Jesus does not permit us to make distinctions as to various classes of people. It is irrelevant to the dignity of the individual if they are rich or poor. The critical point is that he or she is a person and, as such, demands the same respect as the next one. Jesus associated with the religious leaders, the tax collectors, the sinners and the saints. We should do the same! If we do not, how will the Gospel go out to all men and women?)

Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

Gospel
Mark 8:27-33

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.

(Who do you say that Jesus is? Perhaps it might be instructive to look at your answer to this question from two different vantage points. The first answer that you will give is the one that comes from your intellect. This is well and good. However, you may also give an answer based on the focus of your life. If the world and worldly things are the focal point of our actions then we might have a long way to go before we are fully converted to the answer that our minds will present.)

God's special verse/thought for me today.

my reflections
think: Jesus associated with the religous leaders, the tax collectors, the sinners and the saints. We should do the same!

thank You Lord for: