Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East Mar Mari of Yonkers, NY
ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ
ܥܘܡܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܡܐܪܝ ܫܠܝܚܐ
The third Sunday of the Apostles’ season
The Church put in front of us the following readings:
*The first reading from Isaiah (1:1-9)
Bitter suspicion because of cruel and bloody pain, whose cup is drunk from the heart of a tender, loving, caring father from an ungrateful, ungrateful son, devoid of reason, lost in his whims, and wallowing in his mistakes. This father is God, and his son are the chosen people. God cites the universe and the creatures on his claim, “Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth,” because the event is neither small nor simple until it is passed over by the undisputed. The rebel is neither a stranger nor an outsider to be neglected. The bad that happens touches the whole life. It pertains to the creation and its system. Humans still abuse their freedom and still search for their good in passions and desires: “Woe to the sinful nation, to the people burdened with iniquity, to the offspring of the wicked and corrupt children! They left the Lord, and they underestimated the Holy God. and to Him, they turned their back.” God is sorry for this unfortunate situation. Love burns God's heart on humanity, it is wounded, and yet it refuses to treat. God does not want society to suffer but instead wishes for comfort and contentment. He created it in paradise, not in the desert. He asks for her healing, not her punishment. This is how the Lord ends his complaint by calling man to repentance and conversion to the truth: “Then wash and purify yourself and remove the evil of your deeds and stop the abuse, learn kindness and seek justice.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)
*The second reading from 1 Corinthians( 7:1-7)
Marriage constitution. And the position of virginity in expression is superior to marriage. “It is better for a man not to touch a woman.” But how does humanity grow and multiply (Genesis 1:28)? For fear of adultery, let every man have his wife and every woman her husband. But marriage is not only a sexual encounter. Marriage is a joint life between a man and a woman, in which rights and duties prevail. The right to receive and the responsibility to give. This is how married life is a mutual give and take. However, sex does not enslave the partners nor dominate their lives. They must leave a space between them to miss each other, and their love is refreshed and renewed. And this space separating them is filled by the presence of God when the spouses allocate periods of spiritual life so that the soul is breathed and revived. The Apostle goes back to preferring celibacy over marriage, but he acknowledges that celibacy or marriage are two equal vocations. Even if they differ in the face, they do not contradict. He is the same God who first called man to marriage for the growth of humanity. Then he revealed his call to celibacy alongside marriage to balance the development of life, both physically and spiritually.
To also achieve a parallel of a second kind, namely, that man does not remain alive only for his earthly body but also completes the parallel line to him, his divine image. God created man as his friend to enjoy his bounties with his love and kindness. And in eternal life, there is no place for marriage and sex, but humans are “like angels, they do not marry” (Matthew 22:30).
*The third reading from Luke ( 10:23-37)
Luke mentions in these verses: One of the scholars of the law rose and asked Jesus, to embarrass him, not to learn, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Then, “Who is my neighbor?” As for the question about the neighbor, it is because Shariah linked the love of God with the love of the neighbor. The Jews, on the other hand, refused to acknowledge the kinship of anyone beyond those recognized by the teachers of the law. Jesus' answer came like a storm that shakes the doctrine of the world of law. He narrated the story of (The Good Samaritan), a story that we know well. Thieves attacked a Jew on the Jerusalem-Jericho road. They robbed him of everything after beating him and thickening his wounds until he was close to death. A Jewish priest and then a Levite passed by and saw him, but they did not pity him but neglected him and continued on their way. Then a Samaritan passed by, and the Samaritans and the Jews were like enemies who did not mix (John 4:9), and if the Jews wanted to insult any of them, they called him a Samaritan (John 8:48). This Samaritan, despised by the Jews, had compassion on the afflicted and bent over him, bandaging his wounds, trying to save him from death. He helped him and gave him as much treatment as possible, and then carried him to a hotel to complete his treatment. He paid him what he needed for treatment and indicated his willingness to spend more if necessary.
This Samaritan showed a truly human spirit and presented a sublime model of love and mercy. This applied God's law even though he did not abide by its teaching. This made aware that kinship is neither by blood nor by nationality. Kinship is with love. Love is not expressed in poems or kisses but rather in compassion and caring for those in need or distress. What did the chosen people do for their literal adherence to the Law while “neglecting the most important things in it: justice, mercy, and honesty”?.
Man sought and is still seeking glory and worldly bounties outside of faith in God, and he obtained more than his share of them. So he saw God’s works and attention, yet he did not recognize God, did not love him, and did not hear his words. And those who believe cling to the letter and manifestation of God’s law neglect its spirit and deny its power, so they have lost the confidence of their humanity and become savage in their selfishness. Even in their private social or family life, they sought lust and offspring at the expense of true love, so they did not reap anything in exchange for happiness except problems and hardships.