FRIDAY, FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 38: 1-8, 21-22 Is 38: 10-12, 16 Mt 12: 1-8
SETTING OUR HOUSES IN ORDER
We all desire to keep our homes clean, organized, and beautiful so that our surroundings become peaceful and welcoming. The liturgy of today invites us to look beyond our physical homes and examine the “house” of our own lives. God desires that our hearts, minds, and relationships be set in order according to His will. In the first reading we hear about King Hezekiah, a faithful and obedient ruler of Judah during the time of Prophet Isaiah. When he fell sick, prophet Isaiah brought the word of God to him. He was asked to set his house in order as he was to die. The king turned to God with sincere praying and weeping. God heard his prayer and saw his tears. God added fifteen years to his life. He and his city were delivered from the King of Assyria.
In the Gospel, Jesus challenges the Pharisees to set their houses in order. Jesus and His disciples were going through the grain fields on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears of grain and eat. The Pharisees who saw this judged and condemned the disciples that they were doing something unlawful on the day of Sabbath. The hearts of Pharisees were not filled with love and charity; they found fault in others and condemned them. Jesus cites the examples of David and the priests in the temple to show how rules were broken. Jesus reminds them the importance of mercy and that He is the lord of Sabbath. The ritualistic and condemnatory attitude of the Pharisees has to be changed to set their houses in order.
Today, God’s Word invites us to examine our own lives. Are there areas that need to be reordered? Have work, worries, or personal ambitions taken the place of God? Are there relationships that need healing, forgiveness, or reconciliation? Setting our house in order means giving first place to God, nurturing a life of prayer, and treating others with kindness and understanding. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to renew our hearts each day.
Response: You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
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