11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)
Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
1st Reading: Ez 17:22-24
Thus says Yahweh: “At the top of the cedar, I will take one of its uppermost branches, a tender twig, and plant it. On a lofty, massive mountain, on a high mountain of Israel I will plant it. It will produce branches and bear fruit and become a magnificent cedar. Birds of all kinds will nest in it and find shelter in its branches. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am Yahweh; I, who bring down the lofty tree and make the lowly tree tall. I will make the tree that is full of sap, wither, and the dry tree, bloom. I, Yahweh, have spoken and this will I do.”.
2nd Reading: 2 Cor 5:6-10
So we feel confident always. We know, that, while living in the body, we are exiled from the Lord, living by faith, without seeing; but we dare to think, that we would rather be away from the body, to go and live with the Lord. So, whether we have to keep this house or lose it, we only wish to please the Lord. Anyway, we all have to appear before the tribunal of Christ, for each one to receive what he deserves, for his good or evil deeds in the present life.
Gospel: Mk 4:26-34
Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this: a man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The soil produces of itself; first, the blade; then, the ear; then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting, they take the sickle for the cutting: the time for the harvest has come.”
Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden; and even grows branches so big, that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.”
Jesus used many such stories, in order to proclaim the word to them in a way that they would be able to understand. He would not teach them without parables; but privately, to his disciples, he explained everything.
Lectio Divina
Read: Ezekiel prophesies how God will raise up the weak and the insignificant and make them fruitful. Our mission is to do what pleases God and God alone. The Kingdom of God works mysteriously and incrementally only to become the anchor for the entire life on earth.
Reflect: The Kingdom is not the result of human enterprise; it is God’s handiwork. None of our efforts can actually produce the Kingdom; rather, it is the invisible, mysterious unfolding of God’s plan in His time, which will incrementally and eventually grow into its promised fullness. Our task is to be grateful witnesses and let the Kingdom unfold in and through us, though not necessarily by us.
Pray: God, may your Kingdom come!
Act: Recite the Lord’s Prayer meditatively.
Daily Reflection 2018
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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
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