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17 September 2011
Not even in Israel have I found faith like this Extracted from Luke, Chapter 7:
1 When Jesus had come to the end of all he wanted the people to hear, he went into Capernaum.
2 A centurion there had a servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death.
3 Having heard about Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant.
4 When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him saying, 'He deserves this of you,
5 because he is well disposed towards our people; he built us our synagogue himself.'
6 So Jesus went with them, and was not very far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some friends to say to him, 'Sir, do not put yourself to any trouble because I am not worthy to have you under my roof;
7 and that is why I did not presume to come to you myself; let my boy be cured by your giving the word.
8 For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man, "Go," and he goes; to another, "Come here," and he comes; to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.'
9 When Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to the crowd following him, 'I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith as great as this.'
10 And when the messengers got back to the house they found the servant in perfect health.
There should be prayers offered for everyone to God, who wants everyone to be saved Extracted from 1st Letter of St. Paul to Timothy, Chapter 2:
1 I urge then, first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be offered for everyone,
2 for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives with all devotion and propriety.
3 To do this is right, and acceptable to God our Saviour:
4 he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus,
6 who offered himself as a ransom for all. This was the witness given at the appointed time,
7 of which I was appointed herald and apostle and - I am telling the truth and no lie - a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth.
8 In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.
Young man, I tell you to get up Extracted from Luke, chapter 7:
11 It happened that soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.
12 Now when he was near the gate of the town there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, 'Don't cry.'
14 Then he went up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, 'Young man, I tell you: get up.'
15 And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16 Everyone was filled with awe and glorified God saying, 'A great prophet has risen up among us; God has visited his people.'
17 And this view of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
John the Baptist is more than a prophet Extracted from Luke, Chapter 7:
18 The disciples of John gave him all this news, and John, summoning two of his disciples,
19 sent them to the Lord to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?'
20 When the men reached Jesus they said, 'John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, "Are you the one who is to come or are we to expect someone else?" '
21 At that very time he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind.
22 Then he gave the messengers their answer, 'Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the good news is proclaimed to the poor;
23 and blessed is anyone who does not find me a cause of falling.'
24 When John's messengers had gone he began to talk to the people about John,
25 'What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No! Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who go in magnificent clothes and live luxuriously are to be found at royal courts!
26 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet:
27 he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you.
28 'I tell you, of all the children born to women, there is no one greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.'
29 All the people who heard him, and the tax collectors too, acknowledged God's saving justice by accepting baptism from John;
30 but by refusing baptism from him the Pharisees and the lawyers thwarted God's plan for them.
Jesus condemns his contemporaries Extracted from Luke, Chapter 7:
31 'What comparison, then, can I find for the people of this generation? What are they like?
32 They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market place: We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn't dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn't cry.
33 'For John the Baptist has come, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, "He is possessed."
34 The Son of man has come, eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."
35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.' 17 September 2011
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24 September 2011
Why be envious because I am generous Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 20:
Jesus said to his disciples:
1 'Now the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard.
3 Going out at about the third hour (9 am) he saw others standing idle in the market place
4 and said to them, "You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage."
5 So they went. At about the sixth hour (12 noon) and again at about the ninth hour (3 pm), he went out and did the same.
6 Then at about the eleventh hour (5 pm) he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?"
7 "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You go into my vineyard too."
8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first."
9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each.
10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each.
11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying,
12 "The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day's work in all the heat."
13 He answered one of them and said, "My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?
14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last-comer as much as I pay you.
15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?"
16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.' 24 September 2011
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