Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 23(24):7-10 ©
Second
Reading – Hebrews 2:14-18 ©
Gospel
Acclamation – Luke 2:32
The
Gospel According to Luke - 2:22 – 40 ©
(NJB)
The Fourth Sunday of
Ordinary Time (Year A), The Presentation of the Lord
Remember
this; when you study the myths that fill the scriptures:
God,
the creator of the universe; God is not a lord, God is not a king. God does not
come into the world at the head of an army.
The
temple of God is not a building, it is the human heart.
God
does not speak to us through intermediaries and priests, God speaks from the
seat of conscience, and there is no other place to listen to God, the
conscience of another man or woman, shared with you, cannot replace your own.
Have
hope, both for yourself and for all people, God is working within each one of
us, God intends to bring us all through the fire. God’s fire does not destroy,
it refines, and there is not a single one of God’s children who is exempt from
God’s plan.
We
will all pass through the fire.
Know
this!
All
things and person have their being in God. God is the foundation of all that
is. Without God there is nothing, and in nothing there is not even the
possibility of something.
If
you wish to climb the mountain to find God, that is fine, God is there.
God
is in all places at all times and there is no place where God is not.
You
will find God on the mountain, or turn to your neighbor and see God reflected
in their eyes.
Look
in the face of the stranger, see it, see them and behold the face of God, in
that holy presence give thanks.
Do
not worry about your own holiness, or the holiness of any other person, we all
run hot and cold.
Be
mindful!
God
loved you before creation, when there was only the possibility of you drifting
in the latent currents of potentialities, God loved you then before all that
you are existed, just as God loves all things and everyone; we are loved by
God, and God has made us holy.
There
is no vanity in emulating the love that God bears for all God’s children,
rather we are command to do it, to approximate that love as best we can.
Look
for God’s blessing in the service you provide to your neighbor, to your mother
and father, to your sister and brother, find your justification in the quality
and extent of the your mercy.
If
you look for the God of Jacob, if you do not see God in Jacob you are only looking
at an idol.
Listen!
God
is not confined to the pages of a book or by the ink on a scroll, neither is
God bounded by the history and mythology of a people. Look to those things for
glimpses of God, and remembrances of past encounters, but if you seek the living
God, you will have to look into the heart of living beings.
Remember
this, return to the origins of our myths!
The
first time we saw God, when the first parent walked with the creator, the world
was a garden and that was paradise. In that place there was no talk of kings, or
the glory of battle.
Let
us return to that.
Listen!
Shun
the false narratives and the irrational arguments.
Know
that the spirit of God is the spirit of truth, and nothing false has a place in
God’s house.
Consider
the reading from Paul’s letter for today, it is replete with error.
This
is not to say that Paul was dishonest when he wrote this missive, I do not
believe that is the case, but you must understand that his view of the world,
of the nature of reality, his understanding of that was fundamentally wrong.
Understand
this, there is no devil!
There
is no power I the universe other than God’s. We are not at war with the forces
of darkness, everything is as God wills it.
Pau
is telling the truth when he says that Jesus came to set us free from the fear
of death, that is the good news in the resurrection, but this was not
accomplished by magic or alchemy, such as Paul describes here, it did not
happen on the cross.
Jesus
was not a priest, and we were not saved by his blood, blood offerings have
never accomplished anything for anyone, Jesus was not slaughtered like a sheep
on the altar.
He
did not atone for our sins through his death, we are accountable for ourselves.
The
good news is this:
God loves us, God has always loved us, and we
were forgiven even before we sinned.
Jesus
did not effectuate the atonement, either with his life or with his death, he
came to announce that God had made us as one, we have been one with God since
the beginning, Jesus came to instill that faith in us, the understanding that
no power can tear us apart.
Consider
the Gospel for today, read the narrative carefully.
It
is mythology and propaganda, as such it is a deviation from the way, for the way is always found in the service of truth.
The
gospel writers gave us narratives concerning the early life of Jesus that are
works of fiction, and while their intention was to help spread the Good News,
and while they were not acting with malice. Nevertheless, they subverted the
real teaching of Jesus, and left the burgeoning movement exposed to human corruption.
The
authors of Luke’s gospel ask us to believe this narrative concerning Jesus: that
he obeyed the “law,” following the forms of ritual and blood sacrifice that
were proscribed in the books of his ancestors, ostensibly lending credibility
to claims of Jesus’ holiness.
Jesus
did not need this, he did not need these stories told about him to boost his
image in the eyes of the people, these lies were a disservice to them and only
helped to deliver the church into the hands of priests.
Jesus
rejected the traditions that were not helpful to the people, to the poor, the
marginalized and disenfranchised, he adhered to the prophetic tradition which
insisted that God preferred acts of mercy over animal sacrifices.
Jesus
taught us that the way was to be found in service; both in service God, the
creator of the universe, and more importantly through the service we provide to
one another, not in the fulfillment of corrupt rituals, blood-magic, and paying
duties to the temple.
Jesus
was not a magician, Jesus was not a supernatural being. Jesus was an ordinary
man, who led an extraordinary life, and was killed for ordinary reasons: greed,
jealousy and fear.
Jesus
only merited the status of Christ insofar as Jesus led a life of service, which
he did, serving his people to the bitter end.
We
are all Christ, baptized or not, insofar as we follow the way of his example,
we are anointed in our service, through our mercy, and by the pursuit of
justice.
The
mythologization of Jesus was a subversion of the way because it suggested that the ordinary service Jesus called
us to, the service he exemplified, came from a place of supernatural power, it didn’t
it came through the ordinary compassion of a human being.
First Reading – Malachi 3:1-4
©
The Lord You Are Seeking Will
Suddenly Enter His Temple
The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger
to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter
his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is
coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his
coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s
fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he
will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then
they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of
Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in
the years of old.
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the
king of glory.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher,
ancient doors.
Let him
enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the
king of glory.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord,
the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord,
the valiant in war.
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the
king of glory.
O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher,
ancient doors.
Let him
enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the
king of glory.
Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord
of armies,
he is the
king of glory.
Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the
king of glory.
Second Reading – Hebrews 2:14-18
©
He Took to Himself Descent
from Abraham
Since all the children share the same blood and
flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away
all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those
who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was
not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from
Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his
brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s
religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been
through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.
Alleluia, alleluia!
The light to enlighten the Gentiles
and give glory to Israel, your people.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to
Luke - 2:22 – 40 ©
My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation
When the day came for them to be purified as laid
down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to
present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the
Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer
in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of
turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He
was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the
Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that
he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.
Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in
the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms
and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just
as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have
prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the
glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s father and mother stood there
wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and
said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and
for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and
a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may
be laid bare.’
There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood
over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now
eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with
fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God;
and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of
Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord
required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile
the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was
with him.
The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary
Time (Year A), The Presentation of the Lord
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