Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 10, 2015 - Thursday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 3:12-17 and Luke 6:27-38]"Do to others has you would have them do to you." [Luke]
The Gospel of Luke has its own version of the "Sermon on the Mount." In Luke, however, it is the "Sermon on the Plain." His version of the "beatitudes" is different, but the content is much the same as that in Matthew. I recommend reading the whole thing so that the pieces being given in the daily liturgy make more sense: 6:20-49. The second scripture today from Colossians might be called St. Paul's version because it also shows the challenges of fundamental Christian living in community.
We know the quotation above as "the Golden Rule." Jesus was not the first person to quote it. It appears in the Old Testament as well as in literature contemporary to the Old Testament. In a very few words it sums up the practical code of conduct in any community but certainly in a community which claims to love Christ. (I remember as a grade school student that we were given a new twelve inch ruler at the beginning of the school year with the words of the Golden Rule printed on it. I suppose that was meant to prevent us from hitting one another with that ruler although it didn't stop the teacher from occasionally rapping us with one!) Jesus' sermon and St. Paul's exhortation are the stuff of conscience. After reading these, can we take a few moments to think seriously about them? AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
119 ms
4
