Universal Utterings®
for June 10, 2023
06-10-2023 Matthew Ch 23 v-2326 Fidelity mercy and judgement you lack to obey
Gospel of Matthew Ch 23 v- 23 thru 26
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.
We learn today from the footnotes of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that “The Mosaic law ordered tithing of the produce of the land (Lv 27:30; Dt 14:22–23), and the scribal tradition is said here to have extended this law to even the smallest herbs. The practice is criticized not in itself but because it shows the Pharisees’ preoccupation with matters of less importance while they neglect the weightier things of the law.”
Again, we learn in the footnotes of the USCCB that Leviticus 11:41–45 “forbids the eating of any “swarming creature.” The Pharisees’ scrupulosity about minor matters and neglect of greater ones is further brought out by this contrast between straining liquids that might contain a tiny “swarming creature” and yet swallowing the camel. The latter was one of the unclean animals forbidden by the law in Leviticus 11:4, but it is hardly possible that the scribes and Pharisees are being denounced as guilty of so gross a violation of the food laws. To swallow the camel is only a hyperbolic way of speaking of their neglect of what is important by overstating the truth.”
Let’s listen to what God says in Leviticus 11:41–45. “All the creatures that swarm on the ground are loathsome and shall not be eaten. Whether it crawls on its belly, goes on all fours, or has many legs—any creature that swarms on the earth—you shall not eat them; they are loathsome. Do not make yourselves loathsome by any swarming creature nor defile yourselves with them and so become unclean by them. For I, the LORD, am your God. You shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean, then, by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.”
It’s hard to be holy but that’s what God expects from you and from me. Someone willing to go the extra mile when needed to share His Truth of love, faith and hope of His grace given through you to share Redemption. God wants our holiness to forgive so as to free ourselves from any shame by living for Him First in all things. In Him we are seeking the Eternal where Life is called to submit to Charity in every aspect life has to offer. Difficult for most necessary for all to live and experience holiness. Amen.
The SEVEN CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY are Feeding the Hungry, Giving Drink to the Thirsty, Clothing the Naked, Sheltering the Homeless, Visiting the Imprisoned, Comforting the Sick and Burying the Dead. The SEVEN SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY are Teaching the Ignorant, Praying for the Living and the Dead, Correcting Sinners, Counseling Those in Doubt, Consoling the Sorrowful, Bearing Wrongs Patiently and Forgiving Wrongs Willingly.
Join me as we pray our daily prayer of forgiveness. I am sorry Lord. I believe You died and rose for me. Please forgive me as I forgive others. I share You as my Lord and Savior seeking to live your Will in all things. Prayers for wife Toni and my mother Betty pray for our children especially our two oldest Alexandra & Allen; Julian, Gabriel and Jeffrey and our grandchildren Oliver, Julian and Elliott. We pray for those we’ve said we’d pray for and those who’ve asked us to pray for them. We pray for the dying as we do each day Lord give them peace in their last breath. Silence for the prayers of others dealing with the war in Ukraine. In the Holy Spirit we pray our brothers in Kairos especially a prayer for our men in blue. We pray for Holy Mother Church. We pray for the intersession of our Holy Mother for the sister of Jackie her name is Loreen. Daily prayers for our neighbor Thelma. Prayers for a friend and his wife for a baby to be born. In Jesus Precious Blood by His Name we pray. Amen.
I am a poet obedient to Christ,
Catholic Evangelist Thomas Cruz†Wiggins
Practice. Pray. Proclaim. ®
†Spirit led God inspired Christ fed†®
Ephesians 6:17-20
06-10-2023 Matthew Gospel Ch 23 v-2326
**Fidelity mercy and judgement you lack to obey**
Hypocrites you Pharisees and scribes woe
Cumin dill and mint tithes pay
Things weightier neglected you obviously know
Fidelity mercy and judgement you lack to obey
Done all of these
Others neglecting not
Guides blind conceived
Camel swallow gnat strain spot
Cup outside cleansed hypocrites you
Pharisees and scribes true
You all a woe of blue
Self-indulgence plundering you do
Pharisee blind does prove
Cups inside first clean
Clean also outside grove
Mercy and fidelity pristine
© Thomas Joe Cruz†Wiggins
June 10, 2023 @ 04:48 AM EST
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