Ordinary Time: Thursday, August 2, 2007

Old Testament Lesson

2 Samuel 4:1-12

Once again we see in the life of David this notion of fairness and doing what is right. Even though his life was being sought, he still not to believe it was right have him killed. He saw that even while he was David's enemy and they weren't friends; he was still a person. And no one should be killed or treated like that.

What a powerful message in today's world where everything is personalized. Today when you watch TV or the news or read the paper, everything seems to be a personal attack. David shows us in this polarized world that we live in today that you don't have agree with everyone, but just because you disagree with someone, that does not make them (or you) a bad person.

New Testament Lesson

Acts 16:25-40

Why was this jailer converted? Was it because Paul preached a great sermon? What caused it to happen? It was because why Paul and Silas had the chance to escape, they stayed put. Why? Because it was the right thing to do, and in doing what was right, it was a witness to this man.

He wanted to know what would cause someone to stay in jail when they could have escaped. Thee is something different about that. So should there be about our faith. There should be something different about us that would cause others to question, why are they like that? That is what happened to Paul. May we life a life so full of grace that it happens to us as well.

Gospel Lesson

Mark 7:1-23

We see Jesus tell the teachers that they had become so focused on keeping the letter of the law they had missed the spirit of the Law. What matters in life is not keeping a bunch of rules; what matters is a heart close to God. If you have a heart close to God you will do what is right. Why did David do what was right? He had a heart close to God. What did Paul and Silas do what was right? They had a heart close to God.

Today, don't focus on following the rules. Focus on making sure you heart is close to God. If you do that, everything else will fall into place.