This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church
Reading 1, Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13
1 Disaster to the rebellious, the befouled, the tyrannical city!
2 She has not listened to the call, she has not bowed to correction, she has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God.
9 Yes, then I shall purge the lips of the peoples, so that all may invoke the name of Yahweh and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants will bring me tribute.
11 When that Day comes you will never again be ashamed of all the deeds with which you once rebelled against me, for I shall rid you of those who exult in your pride; never again will you strut on my holy mountain.
12 But in you I shall leave surviving a humble and lowly people, 13 and those who are left in Israel will take refuge in the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong, will tell no lies; nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. But they will be able to graze and rest with no one to alarm them.
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“Near Golgotha strolls many a priest
And in their faces there is pride
That they are flesh-marked by the Beast
By whom the gentle Christ’s denied.”

mmn...shouldn't we have Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot in the last box?

Wilfred Owen’s harsh words for religious leaders who urged patriotism to those who manned the trenches of the First World War can stand for the arrogance of all who according to Zephaniah, “strut on the holy mountain.” The prophet identifies religious pride and complacency as the sin of the city of Jerusalem. In the day of God’s restoration of Israel, (the return of the exiles from Babylon?) a humble people will live by trust in God. I listened yesterday to a debate between Christopher Hitchens and Tony Blair on the value of religion. I was struck how both speakers took the complacent position of those who could do good to others; their disagreement was only about whether religion (any religion!) assisted this do-gooding. There was no recognition of the dangers of human arrogance, or conversely, of the trials of human suffering. The place of faith in bringing down the proud and sustaining the life of the humble did not feature.
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Gospel, Matthew 21:28-32
28 ‘What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, “My boy, go and work in the vineyard today.”
29 He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went.30 The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, Certainly, sir,” but did not go.
31 Which of the two did the father’s will?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘In truth I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.
Those whose sinful lives meant that they did not give an automatic yes to the prophet of repentance were nevertheless touched by his ministry to change their lives, whereas the righteous who offered lip-service felt no need to change. The whole ministry of Jesus is a terrible warning against religion. A dose of superficial religion, such as that offered by Mr. Blair, successfully inoculates a person against genuine faith, just as a dose of superficial morality, such as that eloquently peddled by Mr Hitchens, protects them from goodness.
Jesus’ sober insights into human behaviour are full of what the bible calls “saving justice.”