ONE BREAD…

1 Corinthians 10:14-22 
14 Therefore, my beloved, shun the worship of idols.15 I speak as to sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say.16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
18 Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Luke 6:43-49 

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;
44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?47 Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.49 But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

MEDITATION

St PAUL denounce the prevailing disunity within the Corinth community emminating from their continued worship offerings to demons, whilst they also partake of the Sacrifice of the Mass—the Lords Supper. With this said, Paul caution the community of believers to not provoke the Lords wrath by serving two masters, because it could tare the church in two.

THE GOSPEL READING: Our Lord caution the disciples to not straddle the divide by attempting to satisfy; evil as well as good inclinations, because these two apposing appetites are at odds with mans desire to be saved on the last day. 

Christ makes the point that He will not listen to our prayers unless or untill our way of living, doing and worship accords with and rest on His doctrinal, moral and ethical foundations. Orthodox believers of the Christian faith cannot partner with those who have redefined their dogma such that it, minimize, contradict or exclude Sacred Traditions and Sacred Scripture. We are called to remain united, for when we sit at the “dining table” or the ‘trapeza”–to partake in the Holy Eucharist- breadof life—we are transformed into the image of the “Mighty one, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,” (Gen 49:24) Christ Jesus! 

LET US PRAY:Psalms 116:12-13,17-18

12 What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me?13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.18 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,

Commentary. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.