I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you - Daily Bible Readings August 31,2013

COMPANION

1ST READING   There will always come a time when we will be tempted to draw attention to something we have done or achieved for the Lord. Let the glory rest where it should rest (with the Lord) and allow yourself to save your reward for heaven. This is what the true disciple will do as he knows it is useless to gain the acclaim of men if it means losing that of God.   1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 9 Brothers and sisters: On the subject of fraternal charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. 10 Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, 11 and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.   P S A L M   Psalm 98:1, 7-8, 9 R: The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice. 1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 7 Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell in it; 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy. (R) 9 Before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to rule the earth; He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity. (R)   GOSPEL   Use your gifts to give glory to God. If we follow this principle we will never stray far from the road that leads to the Kingdom of God. People who fail to follow this principle very easily fall into the traps of the world and sin. Lives of excess in just about everything we can imagine are plentiful in today’s world — multiple spouses, excessive drinking, drugs and other vices, violence and sexual impropriety of all kinds, to name but a few. Is this the sort of life you want to live?   GOSPEL ACCLAMATION I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.   Matthew 25:14-30 14 Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one — to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately 16 the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. 17 Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 18 But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 22 Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25 so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ 26 His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 28 Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’” LIST think:  Use your gifts to give glory to God.   T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: __________________   ____________________________________   God’s special verse/thought for me today_ _____________________________________   READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Isaiah 64-66

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SABBATH

YOUR GIFT — A BLESSING OR A CURSE?   A Christian is expected to be productive. The parable of the talents tells us that when the time comes, the Lord will ask us to account for the gifts He has given us. It also reminds us that all of us were given gifts. The different circumstances of the receiver and what they did with their gifts distinguish God’s requirement.        First, we must acknowledge that God gave us gifts. There was nothing we generated on our own. Life itself is a gift. Anything coming out of living the life we were given should be attributed to God’s generosity. Do we recognize those gifts? No one can say that he has no gifts at all. If we look closely at ourselves, we will see that God has given us something that we can use to serve others: our time, talent or treasure. Even a poor person can be of service and, thus, become fruitful.        Merely recognizing our gifts is not enough — we must use them. We have a saying in Filipino,“Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?” (For what good is the fodder if the horse is already dead?) Some people know they have talents but do not use them for one reason or another. I always share the story of a friend who has a good singing voice. He elected not to join the choir because of “over-humility.” One day, he woke up with a very hoarse voice, making his singing voice disappear. A curse? Maybe, maybe not. But he realized how selfish he was. So, he vowed to make amends once he recovered. And he did!        But it is not enough to use our talents; we must use them for the good. It was God who gave them, so we should use them according to His will. We see women endowed with beautiful bodies who display them with abandon. And there are those who have propensity for numbers but they use their talent to cheat or shortchange others. A gift that is used against God’s will becomes a curse. Fr. Benny Tuazon REFLECTION QUESTION: How are you using the gifts God has blessed you with? Be careful not to use them against His will.   Lord, thank You for Your gifts. May I learn to use them to help build Your Kingdom on earth, not tear it down.

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