Bible Readings For Today (Memorial of Saint Martha)

Here are the readings as of Tue 29 July:

Jeremiah 14: 17-22
Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.
If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city, look! those consumed by hunger.
Even the prophet and the priest forage in a land they know not.
Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness, the guilt of our fathers;
that we have sinned against you.
For your name’s sake spurn us not, disgrace not the throne of your glory;
remember your covenant with us, and break it not.
Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain?
Or can the mere heavens send showers?
Is it not you alone, O LORD, our God, to whom we look?
You alone have done all these things.

John 11: 19-27
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

Luke 10: 38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

How much are we saved by Jesus?

A few nights ago I shared with a group of friends that God (the Trinitarian one) has done most of the saving work and the rest is up to us. One of the friends had a problem with the word most. You see, I used that word because I believed that the rest of the work I mentioned above involved things like obeying God's laws, opening oneself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, etc., which if not done invalidates God's saving plan on the individual basis. The above friend, however, saw it differently. He saw God's saving work as 100% complete, and all we had to do is to be a part of it.

As I reflected on what my friend said, I saw that he was right. Why?

1) God's plan does not work on fear, but love. You see, society 'saves' the individual by imposing on him / her a set of laws (expectations may be more accurate) and enforced them by causing aforementioned individual to fear the punishments resulting in breaking the laws. After all, society is an institution and thus (not being human) isn't capable of love or mercy, just affirmation and justice. I felt that this instilled in me a fear of punishments, as in to be punished means you have done something TERRIBLY WRONG. But God doesn't work that way. God gave us a set of laws (or expectations) to guide us, to show us where the boundaries are. And the punishments we receive fro breaking the boundaries are just consequences, nothing more- something to make us aware of something wrong (much like pain makes us aware of something wrong with our body). We won't be unsaved if we break God's laws- we just are in danger of going away from Him. Furthermore, God is merciful- in fact so merciful that you can commit the most heinous of crimes and yet be put right with Him by saying sorry (through prayer and/or Confession). That's all.

2) To say that we have to complete God's salvation for ourselves is to limit His power and to put the burden of salvation on ourselves. Think about it. How can we know what is necessary for us to be saved? We only know what it means to be saved, how to be saved, etc. because God reveals it to us. Not through our logic and knowledge of God, but through Jesus who told us about God's salvation. So if we had to complete God's work we would be lost. We would simply have no idea how to do so. We may have this idea or that idea, but how can we be 100% sure those ideas are correct? Besides, if God is all powerful, then He wouldn't let us spoil His plan to save us. He would instead have the plan prepared, do all the work, and tweak our circumstances so we are more willing to listen to Him, and, when we do, guide us into the plan through the spirit He put in us. Sure sounds like something only an all-powerful being can do, right? Sitting in the clouds somewhere and waiting for us to respond before doing anything (like Superman having to hear a cry for help before actually saving anyone) definitely isn't all-powerful.

So, the answer to the above question IMHO is 100%! Actually even more! God not only saves us but ensures we stay that way! And all we have to do is trust Him!

Today's Readings

Today (Mon 31 March) Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, where the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus by the archangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God is celebrated. Here are the day's readings:

Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.
“And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! For nothing will be impossible with God.” So Mary said, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Hebrew 10: 4-10
For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. So when he came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.
“Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’”
When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law), then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first to establish the second. By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8: 10
The Lord again spoke to Ahaz: “Ask for a confirming sign from the Lord your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.” But Ahaz responded, “I don’t want to ask; I don’t want to put the Lord to a test.” So Isaiah replied, “Pay attention, family of David. Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.
Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted! Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! For God is with us!