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To: All
The Word Among Us


Saturday, August 25, 2007

Meditation
Matthew 23:1-12



What a sad but apt commentary Jesus made about the Pharisees who opposed him: “Their works are performed to be seen” (Matthew 23:5). Earlier in Matthew, Jesus warned against doing good deeds in order to win praise, because those who do so “have already received their reward” (6:1-3). By contrast, those whose deeds are hidden will gain the only reward that matters—the approval of our heavenly Father.

This principle is wonderfully illustrated in the hidden life of Ruth, the Gentile who was King David’s great-grandmother, and thus a direct ancestress of Jesus. Ruth was very loyal to her widowed mother-in-law Naomi, but she did not flaunt this virtue. To help Naomi, she did the lowly work of a poor woman, gleaning grain after the official reapers had finished.

Expecting nothing but daily sustenance, Ruth was grateful when Boaz noticed her. He explained that her generosity in caring for Naomi had caught his attention. Boaz—whose own prayer was fulfilled when he married Ruth—prayed, “May you receive a full reward from the Lord . . . under whose wings you have come for refuge” (Ruth 2:12).

So whom do I more resemble—Ruth or the Pharisees in today’s Gospel? Am I looking to Jesus for direction? Or am I always looking over my shoulder to see what kind of impression I’m making, with the inevitable result that my plow veers away from the straight path set before me? Am I seeking the fleeting acceptance of human beings? Or am I content to let God reward me?

Entrusting my life and its outcome to God is very freeing. Instead of being anxious about keeping up with fickle fashions, I can let the Master clothe me in the garment most suited to the work he’s assigned to me. Sometimes he will even give me gracious glimpses of the fruit borne through my obedience.

Paul once told the Christians in Colossae: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. . . . When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1,4). May this become our motto as well.

 “Lord, my true life is hidden with you. Teach me to be concerned with pleasing you above all else!”

Ruth 2:1-3,8-11; 4:13-17; Psalm 128:1-5



22 posted on 08/25/2007 7:53:19 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body


<< Saturday, August 25, 2007 >> St. Louis
St. Joseph Calasanz
 
Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17 Psalm 128 Matthew 23:1-12
View Readings  
 
REDEEMING QUALITIES
 
"The field she entered to glean after the harvesters happened to be the section belonging to Boaz." —Ruth 2:3
 

Boaz was a redeemer. He redeemed Ruth from a present with only poverty and a future with only destitution and loneliness. "Boaz took Ruth" (Ru 4:13), entered into a contract to personally pay the price of her "redemption" (Ru 4:7), and brought her into "a future full of hope" (Jer 29:11). Finally, Boaz didn't simply redeem Ruth and then walk away from her. In redeeming Ruth, Boaz raised her to an intimate relationship with himself (Ru 4:13) and gave her a royal heritage (Ru 4:22; Mt 1:5).

Jesus is our Redeemer. He "sacrificed Himself for us, to redeem us from all unrighteousness and to cleanse for Himself a people of His own" (Ti 2:14). Like Boaz, Jesus personally paid the price to redeem us (1 Cor 6:20) and offers us an eternal future and royal heritage with Him (see 2 Pt 1:4). In redeeming us, He didn't walk away from us, but instead has raised us to offer us such a level of intimacy with Him that we might live in Him and He in us (Jn 6:56; 17:23).

Boaz the redeemer asked Ruth to stay with him (Ru 2:8). Ruth could have turned him down and headed elsewhere. But she abandoned herself into his care. Jesus our Redeemer likewise asks us to stay with Him (see Mt 26:38), and let Him be our Head (Eph 1:22). Be like Ruth. Stay with your Redeemer. Abandon your life into the hands of Jesus.

 
Prayer: Jesus, "my Redeemer" (Ps 19:15), "my lips shall shout for joy as I sing Your praises; my soul also, which You have redeemed" (Ps 71:23).
Promise: "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." —Mt 23:12
Praise: St. Louis, himself a king, served the King of kings by his impartiality in ministering to the poor as well as the rich.
 

23 posted on 08/25/2007 7:57:19 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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