RELIGION AND ART

"Come, let us return to the Lord, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgement shines forth like the light of the day! He will come to us like rain, like spring rain that waters the earth." What can I do with you, Ephraim? What ca I do with you Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. For this reason I smote them through the prophets, I slew them by the words of my mouth; for it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Readings Psalm 51

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is 'Hear , O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. 'The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." .... Readings

But this command I gave them, "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, you shall be my people; walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you." Yet they did not or incline their ear, but, stubbornness of evil will, walked on their own counsels, looked backward rather than forward. From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did. So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. You shall say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished it is cut off from their lips. Readings Psalm 51

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show us marvelous things. Who is like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old. Readings

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.  The he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When the vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one thy beat, another the killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, "They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance. Readings Psalm 13

Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the desert, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse - who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. Jeremiah 17:5-10

Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say. Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them. Reading s