DAILY MASS READINGS.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS (July 21, 2023) FRIDAY OF THE 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I, Green) 1ST READING (EXODUS 11:10—12:14) A reading from the Book of Exodus Although Moses and Aaron performed various wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs. None of it must be kept beyond the next morning; whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up. “This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.” – The word of the Lord. RESPONSORIAL PSALM (PSALM 116:12-13, 15 AND 16BC, 17-18) R. (13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord. 1.) How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord. 2.) Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord. 3.) To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people. R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord. ALLELUIA (JOHN 10:27) R. Alleluia, alleluia. My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord, I know them, and they follow me. R. Alleluia, alleluia. GOSPEL (MATTHEW 12:1-8) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” – The Gospel of the Lord. REFLECTION: One of the most important days is the Sabbath. The word “Sabbath” came from the Hebrew term ‘Shabbat,’ which means “to cease” or “to rest”. When God created the world, he blessed what he has done on the seventh day, and rested, setting us an example that we should also rest. That is why he instituted the Third Commandment: “Remember to keep holy the day of the Lord” (Exodus 20:8). But what does it meant to honor the day of the Lord? The Sabbath is not only for Jews, but it is also for us Christians. In the First Reading (Exodus 11:10—12:14), we hear how God decided to send the last plague upon Egypt, since Pharaoh Ramses II was stubborn of releasing the children of Abraham. He told Moses that his people should celebrate the Passover, for the angel of death will pass over every house, and will lay hands on the firstborns. So the Israelites were commanded to paint the doorsteps with the blood of lambs. This is a sign of the Lord’s faithfulness to them, which they shall celebrate every 14th of April. That is why the angel of death passed over their houses, and went inside the house of the Egyptians, and killed the firstborn, including the Pharaoh’s son. When Ramses heard this, he decided to grant Moses’ request of letting the Israelites go. That is why the Jews celebrated the Passover to commemorate their liberation from Egypt. They observe their Sabbath every Saturday. But for us Christians, our Sabbath is celebrated every Sunday. Just like the Jews slay lambs every Passover, one Lamb was slain for all, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered his life on the Cross for our salvation. Sunday is the day he rose from the dead. We commemorate this event by celebrating the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, the new Passover meal, which reenacts his saving sacrifice in a spiritual manner. He also renewed the Law of the Sabbath for Christians. In the Gospel (Matthew 12:1-8), we see how the Apostles were picking grains on the Sabbath, at which the Jewish leaders were angry. Jesus responded by reminding them of what King David and his men did when they were hungry (Cf. 1 Samuel 21:2-8). From this event, he concluded that the Son of Man is the Lord, even on the Sabbath. Jesus did not mean to abolish the Law, but that it might be fulfilled. He wanted to renew it by making it the Laws of grace, freedom, and love. We should not burden ourselves and others as well. The Sabbath must be observed in two ways. First, every Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation by attending the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. Second, in our everyday lives, including Sundays and Holy Days, by performing good works to others. As we journey down this road, let us observe the Sabbath of our souls by renewing our lives wholly to God.