The readings of this day speak of the glory of His divine giving to His children and in His children and the glory of the Giving of God’s children. It also shows the difference between the real richness and the false one.
Job’s prophecy begins with his feeling at the time of the violence of the trial that God took everything and all his earthly glory from him, but at the end of the trial he became sure that he had received the greatest gift, which is the possibility and power of seeing Him in the midst of great pain and considered this the greatest gift from God to him.
“Know then that God has wronged me, And has surrounded me with His net.
He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head. He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone; My hope He has uprooted like a tree.
For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,” (Job 19)
Here Job’s richness is shown in his hope for God.
Isaiah’s prophecy warns of the absence of giving among people and the fatal lust for possessions, even at the expense of God’s justice and people’s rights.
” He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.
Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! (Isaiah 5)
Then,he warns of the natural result of the injustice and greed.
“In my hearing the Lord of hosts said, “Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.” (Isaiah 5)
In the Matins psalm, the soul fortifies itself from pride and injustice by constantly repenting and praising the Lord.”I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ” (Psalms 41)
In the Matins gospel, the Lord reassures our souls not to be too preoccupied with the needs of the flesh because if God gives His glory to the vegetable creation more than He did to Solomon the king in the glory of his glory, how much man has the crown of creation.
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? (Luke 12)
The Gospel gives the entrance to the divine glory prepared for us, which is to seek and wait for His kingdom, longing for Him and the importance of God’s reign over our lives.
” your Father knows that you need these things.
But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Luke 12)
Pauline Epistle praises the people of the church for their extraordinary gift and proclaims the richness of God’s blessings to them.
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
(2 Corinthians 9)
But Pauline Epistle also refers to the divine richness in His giving, grace and talents in His children.
“and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
(2 Corinthians 9)
Catholic Epistle declares the extent of divine generosity in giving.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1)
It is strange that Pauline Epistle and the Catholic Epistle speak of grass in its temporal glory compared to the eternal glory of God in man “ ” it exists today and will be revealed tomorrow in the Enlightenment “(Pauline Epistle)”
Or in the quick demise of his glory with no experience compared to the glory of permanent humility.
“Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,
but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.
For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.” (James 1)
As for Praxis, it proclaims the glory and richness of the testimony to Christ,glory be t Him, that He gives to the simple and ignorant according to the thought of the world.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4)
And also divine glory in miraculous healing.
“because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.
For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.” (Acts 4)
The psalm of the liturgy proclaims the glory of man’s giving to the poor and the glory of God’s salvation for him in time of need.
“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” (Psalms 41)
The Gospel of the liturgy closes with the glory of giving to the poor and subordination to the Lord.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 10)
The summary of the readings
Despite our feeling of losing all the glory at the time of trials, God intends for us another glory. Job’s prophecy
The oppression of others as a result of lust for possessions and greed leads to ruin and destruction. Isaiah’s prophecy
The permanent repentance and praise are immunity from the falsity of the glory of the world. The Matins Psalm
God pours His glory on plants, how much is man. The Matins gospel.
The glory of the church is in the richness of the spirit and the generosity of its members. Pauline Epistle.
The generosity of God is in His giving to us. Catholic Epistle
The glory of the followers of Christ and His healing of mankind surpasses the glory of the world and its pseudoscience. Praxis