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Do What the Religious Teachers Preach, Not What They Do (Matthew 23:1-12)

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. 5 All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, 7 greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ 8 As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. 10 Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted...

Mercy Is the Measure of the Christian Life: Forgive, Do Not Judge, and Give Generously (Luke 6:36-38)

Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful. 37 “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. 38 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” As we journey through the second week of Lent the Church invites us to reflect on God's boundless mercy amid our human frailty. In this passage, Jesus teaches us to show mercy like our Father. Lent helps us grow by turning from judgment and selfishness to generous love. Jesus proclaims, " Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful " (v. 36). This is the heart of His teaching on the plain. It builds on the Old Testament call to be holy (Lv. 19:2). But Jesus adds mercy—God's kind help to even ungrateful people (Lk 6:35). In Matthew's version, Jesus says " Be perfect ...

The Law, Prophets, and Apostles Witness Jesus’ Glory (Matthew 17:1-9)

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 8 And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man h...

Love Your Enemies and Be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father Is Perfect (Matthew 5:43-48)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. In the first week of Lent, the Church calls us to a deliberate return to God through repentance, prayer, and a truer way of living. This passage fits that purpose because it presses beyond outward religion and into the inner conversion Lent is meant to form. It asks whether our love is shaped by God’s own goodness or by the limits of ordinary human reciprocity. Jesus continues his teaching by recalling what his...

A Righteousness That Seeks Reconciliation Before Worship (Matthew 5:20-26)

I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last p...

Do Good to Others as Your Father Does Good to You (Matthew 7:7-12)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, 10 or a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. 12 “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets. Jesus’ words come near the close of the Sermon on the Mount. He has described the kind of righteousness that belongs to the kingdom of heaven. Now he turns to prayer and to the way we treat others, and he shows that the two belong together. “ Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you .” The three commands describe one reality: prayer marked by trust and perse...

Jesus Refuses a Sign to an Evil Generation (Luke 11:29-32)

While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. 30 Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. 32 At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here. More people keep gathering, and Jesus said to the crowd, “ This generation ” wants a sign. In Luke’s setting, that demand has already been voiced: some have just tested him by seeking “ a sign from heaven ” (Lk. 11:16). Jesus does not treat the request as neutral. He calls it “ an evil generation ” because i...

The Lord’s Prayer Orders Our Desires Toward God (Matthew 6:7-15)

In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. The Lord’s Prayer. 9 “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; 13 and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. Matthew places this teaching in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is correcting distorted religious practice and forming his disciples into a new way of living before the Father. Just before giving the prayer itself, he warns, “ In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will ...

The Son of Man Judges the Nations by Mercy (Matthew 25:31-46)

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you...

Jesus Is Tested in the Desert and Will Not Trade Worship for Power (Matthew 4:1-11)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. 3 The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” 4 He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” 8 Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, 9 and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you wil...

Jesus Calls Levi Who Leaves Everything and Follows Him (Luke 5:27-32)

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. 29 Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” At the beginning of Lent, the Church gives this reading because Lent is a season of conversion, and Levi’s response shows what conversion looks like: he leaves what he must leave behind and follows Jesus. Jesus sees “ a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post ” and says, “ Follow me ” (v. 27). Tax collectors were widely despised, because they worked within the system of Roman rule...

There Is a Time for Joy, and a Time for Fasting (Matthew 9:14-15)

Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Jesus is speaking in a setting that already carries the theme of joy. He has just called Matthew and shared a meal with “ tax collectors and sinners ” (Mt 9:9-13). Into that setting, the disciples of John raise a question about fasting, and they include the Pharisees as a point of comparison (v. 14). In Israel, fasting was often connected to mourning and sorrow, and it could also be practiced as a voluntary discipline beyond what the law required. In that religious world, a serious teacher and his followers might be expected to fast frequently. Jesus answers by putting their question into the image of a wedding (v. 15). Wedding guests do not act as mourners while the bridegroom is ...

The Cost of Following Jesus Is the Cross (Luke 9:22-25)

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” 23 Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Jesus begins by telling his disciples what must happen to him. He calls himself “ the Son of Man ” and says that he “ must suffer greatly ” and be rejected by Israel’s recognized leaders: “ the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes ” (Lk. 9:22). The word “ must ” signals that this is not an accident or a tragic turn of events. Jesus is describing the road his mission will take. Rejection and death are not the end of the sentence. He adds, “ and on the third day be raised ” (Lk. 9:22). Luke places suffering, dea...

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