OXYGEN

11 Sep - Thursday in the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

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1 Cor 8:1-7. 11-13

Now about food sacrificed to idols. ‘We all have knowledge’; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance – it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.

Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother’s downfall.

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Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said: ‘But I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

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But anyone who loves God is known by him.

My character is one that enjoys absorbing information and acquiring knowledge. I like to know as much as I can about something before becoming more involved with it. In my relationship with my fiancée, sometimes this can pose an obstacle for me, especially when I have knowledge about how to handle a situation, but do not use that knowledge lovingly and I often end up emotionally hurting the both of us more that I would if I had placed love before knowledge.

In today’s readings, love is placed before knowledge, but the readings do not say that knowledge is not important. What is more important is love. In both readings, we see Paul and Jesus sharing their knowledge with their audience. They first say ‘love’, and then they share their knowledge. When we live our Christian life, we do it out of love for God. However, this love also compels us to acquire more knowledge, so that we might be able to increase our capacity for love.

Applying it to the case of my relationship with my fiancée, we would first need to love each other, and then together acquire knowledge on how we can love each other more. It is great to be able to love each other using all the relationship skills that we learn, but above all that, there must first be love. And only after that does our love compel us to learn more in the ways of love. 

(Today’s sharing by Daniel Tay)

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Prayer: We pray for all engaged couples who might be going through difficulties in their relationships. May we all remember to love first, and then do what we will.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for giving us opportunities to learn how to love others in better ways.

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Upcoming readings:

Friday, 12 Sep – 1 Cor 9:16-19. 22b-27, Luke 6:39-42; Holy Name of Mary
Saturday, 13 Sep – 1 Cor 10:14-22, Luke 6:43-49; St John Chrysostom, Bishop, doctor of the Church
Sunday, 14 Sep – Numbers 21: 4-9; Philippians 2:6-11, John 3:13-17; Exaltation of the Holy Cross

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