Today in Jeremiah 30, we see the old “bad news good news” scenario. God tells Jeremiah to write down a summation of the past, present and future. The bad news is what has recently happened to His people. The good news is that God has not forgotten His ancient covenant. “You shall be my people, and I will by your God.” In the Gospel from Matthew 15, Jesus talks about what defiles a person.
“It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” For starters, Jesus declares all foods clean. We don’t defile ourselves by the things we eat. We defile ourselves by spewing hatred, gossip, lies and slander from our mouths. Today’s Gospel passage ends at verse 14. But I encourage you to read through verse 20 to hear Jesus’ explanation. I promise it will be worth your time.
Back when I was in the very early days of my conversion process, this passage had a profound effect on me. See, I grew up in a house where cussing and lying were a part of everyday life. Nasty stuff popped out of my mouth without a second thought. Then I really got a hold of Jesus’ teaching on this and Wow! Blew my mind! Now, nasty stuff still comes out of my mouth, but I am working on catching it a bit earlier…before I defile myself.
Father, you know how often we defile ourselves by the things that come out of our mouths. Help us to be more charitable in our hearts, which will reflect in our speech. Amen.
Teaching the faith is easy and inexpensive with A Minute in the Church, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
Gus,
I recently found your show and now listen every day. Your insights and encouragement are a true blessing to us all. The journey towards putting God first in my life has become much easier for me over the past few months for a lot of reasons, but I would be remiss if I did not mention that you and your listeners have played a significant role in that transformation. Thank you for all you do and God Bless!
Thank you for your “tip” to read through to verse 20!
You share so many wonderful insights, so I thought I would try to repay you by sharing this one from a homily by Fr. Andiy (correct spelling) from Our Lady of Lourdes (Massapequa Park, NY):
“The things I do today have eternal consequences!”
Hi Gus! Just wanted to say that you are a true blessing! Your simplicity/wisdom are surely straight from the grace of God. I appreciate your work and thank you! May God bless you and yours always.
Julie