29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)
Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
1st Reading: Eph 4:1-6
Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep, among you the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.
Gospel: Lk 12:54-59
Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when the wind blows from the south, you say, ‘It will be hot’; and so it is. You superficial people! You understand the signs of the earth and the sky, but you don’t understand the present times. And why do you not judge for yourselves what is fit? When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle the case on the way, lest he drag you before the judge, and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jailer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Reflections
Jesus challenges his audience, if they are so good at reading the weather signs why are they not equally good at reading the signs that are taking place before their very eyes? Jesus has been performing one sign after another through the power of his teaching and the authority that he brings, through the healing of the sick, the feeding of the hungry, the calming of storms, the liberating of people from their fears and from being possessed by demons. Still they are unable to see the clear hand of God in what he does. They follow him with curiosity to see what they may be able to get for themselves but very few commit themselves to following him as disciples.
Secondly, he asks them why they do not judge for themselves what is right? He urges them to reconcile instead of dragging their opponents to court only to find they lose the case and end up in jail. Priority should be given to having inner peace and establishing right relations.
The invitation is always to read the clear signs of God‘s call coming through Jesus and to respond by by metanoia - a radical shift of mind and heart. We need to develop a real sense of abundance in our lives - seeing God‘s Providence in our daily life and having a sense of the common good in the sense of wanting the best for all concerned. Forgiveness and reconciliation should be a high priority for us. There should be no place in our lives for sheer vindictiveness or, perhaps worse, simply centering our lives in the accumulation of goods and possessions.
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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