Saint Martha
Weekday liturgy (Year 1) — Red
1st Reading
Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28
Lectio (Reading)
The tent, which was called the meeting tent,
Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp.
Anyone who wished to consult the LORD
would go to this meeting tent outside the camp.
Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise
and stand at the entrance of their own tents,
watching Moses until he entered the tent.
As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down
and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.
On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent,
all the people would rise and worship
at the entrance of their own tents.
The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,
as one man speaks to another.
Moses would then return to the camp,
but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun,
would not move out of the tent.
Moses stood there with the LORD and proclaimed his name, “LORD.”
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
“The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,
continuing his kindness for a thousand generations,
and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin;
yet not declaring the guilty guiltless,
but punishing children and grandchildren
to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!”
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O LORD,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people;
yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own.”
So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights,
without eating any food or drinking any water,
and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant,
the ten commandments.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13
Lectio (Reading)
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
2nd Reading
Gospel Reading
John 11:19-27
Lectio (Reading)
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.”
Meditatio (Reflecting)
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.
Oratio (Responding)
Jesus tells us He is the resurrection. As a christian, it is clear that we believe that He was indeed resurrected on Easter Sunday, but what does it mean to “Be” the resurrection? For this we need to remember God’s promise that we too will be ressurection at the end of time. Those that love God will be given glorified bodies before being taken into heaven. We will not spend eternity like the angels in heaven, as spirits with no body. God made us as Body and soul composites, that is our nature, and that is how we will live for eternity, with a mind, a free will and a physical body.
The same goes for those that are headed to hell. They too will be given a new body at the end of time, but this body will only bring them suffering and pain at the hands of all of the other evil souls in hell. This is the consequence of choosing themselves and hell over an eternity with God. But in either place, heaven or hell, we will spend our eternity as a body and a soul forever.
The perfection of aligning our will with God’s will is the ultimate goal of heaven, and our glorified bodies, perfect in every way, are the reward for that choice. But before that time comes, we are tasked with the test of using our minds, to assert our will over our bodies, to the end that we live in the way in which God made us. The mastery of the mind over the body, is what makes us unique in God’s kingdom, and it is why we are so special to Him. And as such it is why we will not be deprived of that body after we die.
So Jesus is telling us today that He is the resurrection, and so that means that He is the gateway to this perfection and to the mastery of our mind and body. We must believe Him, so that we can find that glorious eternal life. This is why we were made, this is the task of our lives, And this is what we must never desist from working at it every day. If we are successful, then we will hear Him say on that last day, “well done, my good and faithful servant, come and enter into my glory.” Oh, that I long to hear those words, and to revel in the glory of God forever.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.
Resolutio (Resolving)
Please lord help me today to find a way to perfect a small part of my life, and have the courage and strength to pursue it with zeal and joy.