Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Luke 17:26-37
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. So it was in the days of Lot: people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, if you are on the rooftop, don’t go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever gives his life will be born again.
I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding meal together, one might be taken and the other left.”
Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?” And he answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”

Reflections
“But whoever gives his life will be born again.”
A couple went to Church with their 10 year-old son. During the homily, the priest delivered a fiery sermon, “Remember, on the day of the return of the Lord, we will witness horrendous occurrences: there will be frightening movements of nature, great destructions, fire as if rain will fall from the sky, the world will be destroyed, and everything will be made new!” In the midst of these words, the young boy asked his mother, “Will there be classes?”
The end of time is not only about devastation, it is more about salvation. Thus, these occurrences should be welcomed with joy because they signal that the deliverance of the just is right around the corner. Our dream of living with God in his kingdom is about to be fulfilled. Our reward for living righteous lives as disciples of Christ is about to be received. This is indeed a time of rejoicing. But if we have merely been going with the flow of the world, our gospel text today cautions us; we could end up destroyed instead of being saved.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 17:20-25
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”
And Jesus said to his disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.

Reflections
“The kingdom of God is within you.”
We all heard of the term new evangelization. Although this concept was coined only by John Paul II, this idea started with Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi and picked up by Benedict XVI. Even Pope Francis joins his predecessors by tackling the challenge of New Evangelization in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. New evangelization primarily looks into de-Christianized and secularized societies. As Pope Benedict XVI puts it, this is bringing the gos- pel "to those regions awaiting the first evangelization and to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization."
The call of the new evangelization is our shared call. Pope John Paul II in Redemptoris Missio affirmed that “Those who are incorporated in the Catholic Church ought to sense their privilege and for that very rea- son their greater obligation of bearing witness to the faith and to the Christian life as a service to their brothers and sisters and as a fitting response to God (11). But the call to this mission re- quires that our own faith should be deep and that the Kingdom of God has taken its roots profoundly in our lives.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered a village, ten lepers came to meet him. Keeping their distance, they called to him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus said to them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” Then, as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”

Reflections
“Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?”
According to one story, a priest passionately delivered a sermon on gratitude. He told the congregation in attendance that it is necessary to develop a habit of thanking God for everything in life. He used a passage from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians (5:18): in all circumstance, give thanks. He wanted to show an example during the offertory, so he waited for the collection bag to reach him. To his surprise, the bag contained none. Not one dropped a coin into the collection. By this time, all eyes were on him and he found himself in a dilemma. But then an inspiration came. He looked up and said, “Lord, thank you, we still have the bag!”
From a practical perspective, the gospel story shows to us God’s goodness and the tendency of many of us to overlook it. The challenge of course to all of us is not to forget God. We may have many problems in life but there are still many things to thank God for. We are still blessed and God still deserves our gratitude. We should not only recognize the gift, we should thank the giver.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 17:7-10
Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner’? No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterward.’ Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I don’t think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Reflections
“We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.”
I remember that while in grade school, whenever I scored 100% in examinations and assignments, I would always go to my grandma to collect my “reward”. This might sound self-centered but I was my grandma’s favorite grandchild out of about 15 then and it was her way of encouraging me to excel in my studies. But come to think of it, do I need to be rewarded for doing well? The culture of reward and punishment would say yes.
The Christian perspective sees otherwise, however. There is nothing wrong in striving at excellence or making every effort to succeed in performing tasks. We are in fact encouraged not to be mediocre but always aiming for perfection (cf. Mt. 5:48). But if I accomplish good things and deeds, I cannot boast of them before God and claim my reward. I simply did what I was expected to do. I should be content that I have proven to him that I am his child, good, faithful, and obedient. I do good works not to get paid, but for the Father who created me to get praised.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019