28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green)
Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
1st Reading: Wis 7:7-11
I prayed and understanding was given to me; I asked earnestly and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepters and thrones and I considered wealth as nothing compared with her.
I preferred her to any jewel of inestimable value, since gold beside her is nothing but a few grains of sand, and silver but mud. I loved her more than wealth and beauty and even preferred her to light, because her radiance never dies.
She brought with her all other good things, untold riches in her hands.
2nd Reading: Heb 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword.
It pierces, to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart. All creation is transparent to him; everything is uncovered and laid bare, to the eyes of him, to whom we render account.
Gospel: Mk 10:17-30
Just as Jesus was setting out on his journey again, a man ran up, knelt before him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not cheat; honor your father and mother.” The man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”
Then Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him; and he said, “For you, one thing is lacking. Go, sell what you have, and give the money to the poor; and you will have riches in heaven. Then, come, and follow me.” On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful, for he was a man of great wealth.
How hard for the rich to discover the kingdom! Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus insisted, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were more astonished than ever and wondered, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God.”
Peter spoke up and said, “We have given up everything to follow you.” Jesus answered, “Truly, there is no one who has left house, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel, who will not receive his reward. I say to you: even in the midst of persecution, he will receive a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands in the present time; and, in the world to come, eternal life.
Lectio Divina
Read: The one gift we must ask God for is wisdom: the grace to understand. The good, young man who wanted to inherit eternal life, is asked to give up everything he has and follow Christ. The word of God, the two-edged sword, can pierce our inner selves and reveal the stuff we are made of.
Reflect: The rich young man started off poorly: His question to Jesus had an inherent contradiction: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” One does not do anything to inherit anything; one just needs to be, for meriting inheritance. My inheriting my parental property is not predicated on what I do, but who I am in relation to my parents. In other words, the only requirement for me to inherit my parental property is that I simply be their child. If the rich young man knew who he truly was, he didn’t have to worry about eternal life – he would know it is his for the taking. And once he knew his inheritance, it would have been easier for him to let go of everything and just be with Christ. However, he is not alone in this misunderstanding; many human beings lack the wisdom of inheritance.
Pray: Pray for the gift of wisdom to understand our true inheritance.
Act: Today act like a child of God [keeping in mind that others have the same inheritance as well.]
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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