＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Acts 11:21b -26; 13:1-3

 The hand of the Lord

was with them so that a great number believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to An­tioch.

When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favor, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

 Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – proph­ets and teachers: Bar­nabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul.  

On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Bar­nabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.”  So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

 

Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 5:20-26

 I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. 

But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell.

 So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God. 

 Don’t forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The people of Jesus’ time, most especially the leaders and teachers of the Law, had become so hung up on the minute details of the commandments, often spending countless hours and so much energy on their smallest details.

Jesus doesn’t say that to do so is wrong. But at the same time he cautions his followers to learn to see beyond the mere obedience to these details to the actual spirit and meaning that are deeply embedded in them.

And at the heart of the Law and the Prophets is something so simple yet so profound: a true and meaningful relationship with God who has given us the Law and who has sent us the prophets.

Apart from that relationship the Law and the prophets mean precious little. It is that relationship that anchors both of them, that gives them meaning, that gives them life, and that allows them to become true guides on the path of life.