Catholic lectionary for 4 June 2020

King James Version (en)

King James Version (en)

2 Timothy, Chapter 2, verses 8-15

¹ He is exhorted again to constancy and perseverance, and to do the duty of a faithful servant of the Lord in dividing the word aright, and staying profane and vain babblings

⁸Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

⁹Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

¹¹It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:

¹²If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

¹³If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

¹⁴Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Read more:2 Timothy, Chapter 2

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2

2:8 Of the seed of David - This one genealogy attend to.

2:9 Is not bound - Not hindered in its course.

2:10 Therefore - Encouraged by this, that "the word of God be not bound." I endure all things - See the spirit of a real Christian? Who would not wish to be likeminded? Salvation is deliverance from all evil; glory, the enjoyment of all good.

2:11 Dead with him - Dead to sin, and ready to die for him.

2:12 If we deny him - To escape suffering for him.

2:13 If we believe not - That is, though some believe not, God will make good all his promises to them that do believe.He cannot deny himself - His word cannot fail.

2:14 Remind them - Who are under thy charge. O how many unnecessary things are thus unprofitably, nay hurtfully, contended for.

2:15 A workman that needeth not to be ashamed - Either of unfaithfulness or unskilfulness. Rightly dividing the word of truth - Duly explaining and applying the whole scripture, so as to give each hearer his due portion. But they that give one part of the gospel to all (the promises and comforts to unawakened, hardened, scoffing men) have real need to be ashamed.

Mark, Chapter 12, verses 28-34

²⁸ resolveth the scribe who questioned of the first commandment

²⁸And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

²⁹And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

³⁰And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

³¹And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

³²And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

³³And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Read more:Mark, Chapter 12

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12:28 Which is the first commandment? - The principal, and most necessary to be observed. Mat 22:34; Luk 10:25.

12:29 The Lord our God is one Lord - This is the foundation of the first commandment, yea, of all the commandments. The Lord our God, the Lord, the God of all men, is one God, essentially, though three persons. From this unity of God it follows, that we owe all our love to him alone. Deu 6:4.

12:30 With all thy strength - That is, the whole strength and capacity of thy understanding, will, and affections.

12:31 The second is like unto it - Of a like comprehensive nature: comprising our whole duty to man. There is no other moral, much less ceremonial commandment, greater than these. Lev 19:18.

12:33 To love him with all the heart - To love and serve him, with all the united powers of the soul in their utmost vigour; and to love his neighbour as himself - To maintain the same equitable and charitable temper and behaviour toward all men, as we, in like circumstances, would wish for from them toward ourselves, is a more necessary and important duty, than the offering the most noble and costly sacrifices.

12:34 Jesus said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God - Reader, art not thou? then go on: be a real Christian: else ithad been better for thee to have been afar off.

Topics:

Ten Commandments

NOTES

This is a rare Gospel passage in which a scribe is shown in a favorable light. He asks his question without any trick, genuinely wishing to receive an answer. After hearing it, this man keeps what was said in his heart and draws so profound a conclusion that...

In spiritual life, reason often does not occupy the most honored place. We take care to act well, to follow the commandments, and not to harm either our neighbor or ourselves - and that is wonderful, for this is exactly what the parable of the Judgment speaks about...

In spiritual life, reason often does not occupy the most honored place. We take care to act well, to follow the commandments, and not to harm either our neighbor or ourselves - and that is wonderful, for this is exactly what the parable of the Judgment speaks about (Matt 25:31-46).

We are attentive to the movements of the heart, to feelings: we strive to have compassion, to rejoice with others, to love God and neighbor. Most often we turn to our reason when we read Scripture: here too, of course, it is important to measure our life against the Word of God, important to listen and hear it, as Mary listened by the manger, 'keeping all these words and pondering them in her heart' (Luke 2:19), but it is no less important still to strive to understand, to read deeply into the meaning.

And we really do this. But how often do we pay attention to how exactly we think? Do we consider this important? Yes, of course, at every service we proclaim our faith, listing the dogmas on which it is built. But how often at that moment do we ponder every word, trying to understand why the fathers of this or that Ecumenical Council established exactly these words as the foundation of our Church?

Sometimes we say: all this can be left to theologians, while I believe as my heart tells me, for the foundation of faith is prayer, the Encounter with God, the reading of the Word of God. Of course, all this is true. But from Jesus' conversation with the scribe it is clear that our Lord values reason no less than feelings, the will directed toward good, or deeds performed out of love.

The scribe says to Him: 'You have spoken the truth.' Truth belongs to reason, to how we think and what we agree with. These words already bring the scribe nearer to God, for he and God have one common truth. The scribe pronounces words that affirm his faith. We know nothing about his deeds, about how he prayed, or how sincerely he conversed with God. We do not even know how attentive he was in studying Scripture, although his membership among the scribes shows that he devoted much time to interpretation. We know exactly one thing: he understood the essence of Scripture in the same way as Jesus and agreed with His words in his mind. And Jesus, 'seeing that he answered wisely, said to him: You are not far from the Kingdom of God.' It follows that not only prayer, not only good deeds, but also precision of thought brings us nearer to the Kingdom.

Jesus does not break the familiar world, but He radically changes it from within, filling settled ideas with true understanding. Out of the many commandments, so familiar, He singles out two, and...

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