Saturday 16 August 2008
My Thoughts on Today's Readings
The readings of the day speak for themselves- the one from Ezekiel on how wrong it is to say 'the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the sons' and the gospel one on the fact that the kingdom of heaven belong to those who have child-like faith (or something like that). I find it hard to write about these two readings due to extreme self-correction and thus this is all for today. Thanks for reading.
Memorial of St. Stephen the First of Hungary
Now who is this saint? Let's look to Wikipedia:
- Grand Prince of the Magyars (997 A.D.-1000/1001 A.D.) and the first King of Hungary (1000 A.D./1001-1038 A.D.)
- generally considered as the founder of Hungary
- born under the pagan name "Vajk", but was baptized a Christian and given the name "Stephen" (István in Hungarian)
- claimed to rule the Magyars by the principle of Christian divine right, not by the traditional right of seniority
- discouraged pagan customs and strengthened Christianity with various laws
- intended to retire to a life of holy contemplation and hand the kingdom over to his son Emeric, but Emeric was wounded in a hunting accident and died in 1031
- died on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15) in the year 1038 at Székesfehérvár
- was canonized by Pope Gregory VII as Saint Stephen of Hungary in 1083
- Grand Prince of the Magyars (997 A.D.-1000/1001 A.D.) and the first King of Hungary (1000 A.D./1001-1038 A.D.)
- generally considered as the founder of Hungary
- born under the pagan name "Vajk", but was baptized a Christian and given the name "Stephen" (István in Hungarian)
- claimed to rule the Magyars by the principle of Christian divine right, not by the traditional right of seniority
- discouraged pagan customs and strengthened Christianity with various laws
- intended to retire to a life of holy contemplation and hand the kingdom over to his son Emeric, but Emeric was wounded in a hunting accident and died in 1031
- died on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15) in the year 1038 at Székesfehérvár
- was canonized by Pope Gregory VII as Saint Stephen of Hungary in 1083
Bible Readings of the day (Memorial of Saint Stephen I of Hungary)
Here are the readings for today Sat 16 Aug:
Ezekiel 18: 1-10, 13, 30-32
The word of the Lord came to me: "What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
‘The fathers eat sour grapes
And the children’s teeth become numb?’"
"As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one who sins will die."
"Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains or pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a woman during her period, does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, does not engage in usury or charge interest, but refrains from wrongdoing, promotes true justice between men, and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. That man is righteous; he will certainly live," declares the sovereign Lord.
"Suppose such a man has a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things mentioned previously. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. He will bear the responsibility for his own death."
"Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, O house of Israel," declares the sovereign Lord. "Repent and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I take no delight in the death of anyone," declares the sovereign Lord. "Repent and live!"
Matthew 19: 13-15
Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And he placed his hands on them and went on his way.
Ezekiel 18: 1-10, 13, 30-32
The word of the Lord came to me: "What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
‘The fathers eat sour grapes
And the children’s teeth become numb?’"
"As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one who sins will die."
"Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains or pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a woman during her period, does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, does not engage in usury or charge interest, but refrains from wrongdoing, promotes true justice between men, and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. That man is righteous; he will certainly live," declares the sovereign Lord.
"Suppose such a man has a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things mentioned previously. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. He will bear the responsibility for his own death."
"Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, O house of Israel," declares the sovereign Lord. "Repent and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I take no delight in the death of anyone," declares the sovereign Lord. "Repent and live!"
Matthew 19: 13-15
Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And he placed his hands on them and went on his way.
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