23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)
Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
Praise the Lord, my soul!
1st Reading: Is 35:4-7a
Say to those who are afraid: “Have courage, do not fear.
See, your God comes, demanding justice.
He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you.”
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed.
Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout.
For water will break out in the wilderness and streams gush forth from the desert.
The thirsty ground will become a pool, the arid land springs of water.
In the haunts where once reptiles lay, grass will grow with reeds and rushes.
2nd Reading: Jas 2:1-5
My brothers and sisters, if you truly believe in our glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, you will not discriminate between persons. Suppose a person enters the synagogue where you are assembled, dressed magnificently and wearing a gold ring; at the same time, a poor person enters dressed in rags. If you focus your attention on the well-dressed and say, “Come and sit in the best seat,” while, to the poor one you say, “Stay standing, or else sit down at my feet,” have you not, in fact, made a distinction between the two? Have you not judged, using a double standard?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters, did God not choose the poor of this world to receive the riches of faith, and to inherit the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
Gospel: Mk 7:31-37
Again, Jesus set out: from the country of Tyre he passed through Sidon and, skirting the sea of Galilee, he came to the territory of Decapolis. There, a deaf man, who also had difficulty in speaking, was brought to him. They asked Jesus to lay his hand upon him.
Jesus took him apart from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears, and touched his tongue with spittle. Then, looking up to heaven, he said with a deep sigh, “Ephphata!” that is, “Be opened!”
And immediately, his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about it; but the more he insisted, the more they proclaimed it. The people were completely astonished and said, “He has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
Lectio Divina
Read: The advent of God into our midst is marked by events of healing, redemption, and joy – it is not an event to be scared of. Jesus proves the same by curing the deaf person and other miracles that bring relief to the suffering. We are invited to share in this healing of the world by caring for the inner substance of human beings, and not to be distracted by the external differences among them.
Reflect: The letter of James is a “how to” manual of the Gospel message: he translates the dynamics of the Kingdom into everyday living. Our ordinary tendency is to treat people based on their social standing and external achievements. How we sometimes bend over backwards to please folks with high social standing! The invitation of the Kingdom is to see beyond the peripherals and relate to the essence of everyone, an essence that is endowed with dignity and God’s own image.
Pray: Lord, help me relate to people not with the worldly standards, but with the Gospel standard.
Act: Converse with someone below your social rank, treating him/her with respect, dignity and equality.
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
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