13TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green)
Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19
Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
1st Reading: 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a
One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a rich woman invited him to eat. Afterward, whenever he went to that town, he would go to her house to eat.
The woman said to her husband, “See, this man who constantly passes by our house is a holy man of God. If you want, we can make a small upper room for him, and place a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp in it. So when he comes, he may stay and rest.“
One day when Elisha came, he went to the upper room and lay down.
So Elisha said to Gehazi, “What can we do for her?“ The young man answered, “She has no children and her husband is now old.“
And so Elisha said to him, “Call her.“ The young man called her; and as the woman stood by the door, Elisha said, “By this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.“ She answered, “No, my lord, O man of God, you are deceiving your maid servant.“
2nd Reading: Rom 6:3-4, 8-11
Don’t you know, that in baptism, which unites us to Christ, we are all baptized and plunged into his death? By this baptism in his death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, we begin walking in a new life.
But, if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know, that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again, and death has no more dominion over him. For, by dying, he is dead to sin, once and for all, and, now, the life that he lives, is life with God.
So you, too, must consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God, in Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Mt 10:37-42
Whoever loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for my sake, will find it.
“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes him who sent me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.“
REFLECTION:
Read: Jesus assures reward for generous giving in the name of God. Elisha’s experience is a case in point. Dying with Christ results in sharing in his resurrection as well.
Reflect: The worldly wisdom tells us to be cautious about giving and giving up: “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush,“ it advices. But the Gospel invitation goes against the worldly grain. For the Gospel encourages us to give up what we have now to find what God has in store for us. It requires courage and faith. Do I dare?
Pray: Lord, give me the courage to love you beyond everything and to give up everything for the sheer gift of having you.
Act: Share some of your resource with someone in need, in the name of God.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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