“Do to others what you would have them do to you.” – Matthew 7:12, NIV

The Golden Rule. We always hear it. The question is: “How do we keep it?” My parents are almost 80 years old. I recently observed how they take their meals. My father would line their ceramic plates with wax paper. He said it’s their way to lighten the chore of dishwashing.

I told Dad, “How ridiculous! Why not just wash the dishes? Plain and simple, right?” He felt disrespected by my words.

A few days later, I injured my right pinky finger. Any slight pressure caused pain to shoot up my hand. And things so plain and simple were suddenly difficult . . . like washing dishes. Through my pain, I imagined myself having my father’s arthritic hands. I started to feel Dad’s sacrifices as his body continues to age. He’s no longer the strong man who used to carry my full weight when I was a kid.

Friend, get out of yourself and step into the shoes of your loved ones. Imagine seeing from their eyes, hearing from their ears, and working with their hands.

Pause. Close your eyes now and imagine that for a moment.

What is it like “stepping into the hands” of your loved ones? Edwin S. Soriano (edwin@winningcooaching.net)

Reflect: Who among your loved ones need understanding the most? If you stepped into his or her shoes, how would it feel like?

Lord, as I listen to Your voice, soften my heart for the person who needs my love the most.

St. Joseph Cafasso, pray for us.

The God of Israel protects Jerusalem from the marauding armies of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. However, the Assyrians prevail in the war against the Jews. God will fight with His people who have faith in Him. When we lose faith, we think God will not act. He cannot act because we do not believe He will.

2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-35, 36

9 Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah with this message: 10 “Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all other countries: they doomed them! Will you, then, be saved?’” 14 Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the temple of the Lord, and spreading it out before him, 15 he prayed in the Lord’s presence: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and cast their gods into the fire; they destroyed them because they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone. 19 Therefore, O Lord, our God, save us from the power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” 20 Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria: I have listened! 21 This is the word the Lord has spoken concerning him: “She despises you, laughs you to scorn, the virgin daughter Zion! Behind you she wags her head, daughter Jerusalem. 31 “‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.’ 32 “Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up siege-works against it. 33 He shall return by the same way he came, without entering the city, says the Lord. 34 I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.’” 35 That night the angel of the Lord went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. 36 So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp, and went back home to Nineveh. 

Psalm 48:2-3, 3-4, 10-11

R: God upholds his city forever.

2 Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, 3 fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth. (R) Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,” is the city of the great King. 4 God is with her castles; renowned is he as a stronghold. (R) 10 O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple. 11 As your name, O God, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Of justice your right hand is full. (R)

It is not easy to follow Jesus. Sometimes, we think it is easy to surrender our lives into the hands of a loving God. But we live in a world influenced by the devil who fights us every step of the way.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.

Matthew 7:6, 12-14

6 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces. 12 “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets. 13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. 14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”

Reflect: “you, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” – Romans 2:1

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Read the Bible in one year - 1 Chronicles 7-9

ON DOGS AND PIGS

Many street dwellers, despite their lack of food and shelter for themselves, would still care and raise dogs as loyal companions through life. Pigs serve as a valuable livestock. Daily food and delicacies make use of pork. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where pork is not allowed as meat at table, I would crave for one-hundred-percent pork adobo (that is, adobo with fatlings).

Culture and social norms in the time of Jesus—and until now—look down on dogs and pigs. They are both considered unclean. Pig meat is non-kosher and not allowed for consumption. Street dogs are considered unhealthy scavengers and could spread sickness. These things enable us to comprehend the opening statement of Jesus in our Gospel today. His statement on dogs and pigs has a deeper significance. He refers to the need for spiritual preparedness and maturity to receive instructions and teachings. The Gospel truths and the instructions about the Kingdom of God are precious as pearls. While gold, silver, and precious metals are mined from terrestrial deposits, pearls are precious because they have to be discovered and recovered from the depths of the sea.

So valuable are the Gospel truths about the Kingdom of God. We have to be well-prepared so we can appreciate the values and virtues of God, such as those expressed in the Eight Beatitudes. A certain level of spiritual hunger and thirst is needed. Openness to grace is important. Egoism and consumeristic ways, superficial ways, and materialistic reasoning will make one reject everything.

As we share the Gospel, we should not be naive. We have to plan well and listen to realities around us. We have to prepare not just ourselves, but we also have to ask what human-psychological-emotional and social needs of people do we need to address first before we open the treasures of spiritual life for them. Even in the matter of the Gospel and spirituality, the saying is true: “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION -----------

In your neighborhood, what human and basic needs should be addressed first or simultaneously as you try to bring the treasures of the Gospel to the people?

May I learn from Your example, Lord, to address first the needs of the people I minister to before I bring the Gospel to them. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________