Psalm 134 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Alleluia! Praise the Name of the Lord. O servants of the Lord, praise Him, you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for He is good, praise His Name, for It is beautiful; for the Lord has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His possession.
I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does – in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in their depths.
2 Samuel 12 : 7-10, 13
Nathan said to David, “You are this man! It is YHVH, God of Israel, who speaks : ‘I anointed you king over Israel and saved you from Saul’s hands; I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives; I also gave you the nations of Israel and Judah. But if these were not enough, I would have given you even more.'”
“‘Why did you despise YHVH by doing what displeases Him? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife for yourself. Yes, you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised Me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself.'”
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHVH.” Nathan answered him, “YHVH has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.”
Luke 2 : 41-51
Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast.
After the festival was over, they returned, but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it. They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends.
As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.”
Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.
Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them. As for His mother, she kept all these things in her heart.
Mark 12 : 28b-34
A teacher of the Law came up to Jesus and asked Him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is : ‘Hear Israel! The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ And after this comes a second commandment : ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these two.”
The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”
Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, God wants us, Christ wants all of us, God’s children, to be truly His own. He wants us to give of ourselves, fully and entirely to God, in love. He wants us to follow Him, and follow His teachings of love, the commandments of love He had given to all of us, through His apostles, whom He first called to follow Him and became His disciples.
God loves all of us, and God wants our love to Him too. That was why, in the Book of the prophet Sirach, we were told that the best offerings are the offering of our hearts, and our full dedication of ourselves to God, in love. This offering of pure love from our hearts is what the Lord truly wants from all of us. Not the animal burnt offerings and fragrant offerings of fats and meat that had been offered by the people of Israel in the past.
God asked the people of Israel to offer animals and their fats to Him, with all the various regulations and types of sacrifice, because He wanted to teach them the need to offer thanksgiving and praise to Him who created all things and who made all life possible. But His true intention is not the offering itself, because an offering given to God, out of ignorance and indifference will not be accepted by God. Rather, it is the love that accompanies the offerings, the true and pure love for God that God desires from all His children.
Remember the earliest record of sacrifice ever made by mankind, in the sacrifice of Cain and Abel to God. Cain and Abel offered their products of the world to God, the fruits of their labour. Cain, a farmer, offered the first fruits of his harvest from his farm, and Abel, who was a shepherd, offered the offering of his best lamb. The offering of Abel was accepted while the offering of Cain was rejected by God. Why? It is because Abel simply offered the very best to the Lord, and was sincere in his offering to God, while Cain did not offer his very best, and kept the best to himself, showing that he is insincere in his love for God.
That shows that God desires exactly not what is being offered by man, but the hearts of the people who offer those gifts themselves, their love for Him, is what He truly desires. That we love Him just as He has loved us, ever since He created us, and saw the perfection that was in us, but was lost because of our rebellion.
But He did not give us up to damnation with Satan in hell. He gave us His salvation, through Christ His own Son, whom He sent into the world to be our Saviour. Through His death on the cross, He redeemed all mankind and brought us into a new hope for salvation, if we accept the ultimate love He had offered us from that cross in Calvary.
Just as Christ had offered Himself in love, and out of His pure and perfect love for all of us, even the greatest of sinners among us, so then we too should love Him who loves us, and who gave up even His life for us that all of us may be saved, and be reunited with Him in the bliss of eternal life with Him. Offer our hearts and our pure, unadulterated love for Him, and show our love for God who has given so much for us, our lives, and our hope.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not hesitate, and do not be afraid! Bare ourselves and our heart and let God see within us, the love that we have for Him. Even if we have nothing of value to give to Him, our love for Him is good enough for Him, and in fact is priceless. Strive to always love God with all our hearts, and our whole beings. Do not forget to also love our brothers and sisters, those who are least among us, because by doing that, we also show our love for God. God bless us all. Amen.
Psalm 49 : 5-6, 7-8, 14 and 23
Gather before Me, My faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. The heavens will proclaim His sentence, for God Himself is the judge.
Hear, o My people, for I am speaking. I will accuse you, o Israel, I am God, your God! Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me.
Yet offer to God a sacrifice of thanks, and fulfill your vows to the Most High. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.
Psalm 67 : 29-30, 33-35a, 35b-36c
Summon Your power, o God, with the strength You have wielded for us. To Your Temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts.
Sing to God, o kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, to Him who rides the ancient heavens and speaks in the voice of thunder. Proclaim the might of God.
He is great in Israel, powerful in heavens. Awesome in His sanctuary is the God of Israel. He gives His people power and strength. Blessed be God!
Acts 3 : 11-26
While the beggar clung to Peter and John, all the people, struck with astonishment, came running to them in Solomon’s Porch, as it was called. When Peter saw the people, he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us as if it was by some power or holiness of our own that we made this man walk? The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified His servant Jesus whom you handed over to death and denied before Pilate, when even Pilate had decided to release Him.”
“You rejected the Holy and Just One, and you insisted that a murderer be released to you. You killed the Master of life, but God raised Him from the dead and we are witnesses to this. It is His Name, and faith in His Name, that has healed this man whom you see and recognise. The faith that comes through Jesus has given him wholeness in the presence of all of you.”
“Yet I know that you acted out of ignorance, as did your leaders. God has fulfilled in this way what He had foretold through all the prophets, that His Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out and the time of refreshment may come by the mercy of God, when He sends the Messiah appointed for you, Jesus. For He must remain in heaven until the time of the universal restoration which God spoke of long ago through His holy prophets.”
“Moses foretold this when he said : ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall listen to Him in all that He says to you. Whoever does not listen to that prophet is to be cut off from among His people.’ In fact, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel onward, have announced the events of these days. You are the children of the prophets and heirs of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors when He said to Abraham : ‘All the families of the earth will be blessed through your descendant.'”
“It is to you first that God sends His Servant; He raised Him to life to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Daniel 3 : 52, 53, 54, 55, 56
Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, be praised and exalted forever. Blessed is Your holy and glorious Name, celebrated and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the temple of Your sacred glory, Your praises are sung forever.
Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom, honoured and glorified forever.
Blessed are You who fathom the depths, who are enthroned on the cherubim, praised and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, praised and glorified forever.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 