Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in my name, receives me.
See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.

Reflections
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
I have experienced many times being rescued from imminent dangers by no one. And when I tell people about them, their easy remark is that it was my guardian angel at work.
Each of us has a guardian angel. Psalm 91:11 states “For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” Although in today’s gospel Jesus speaks only of children who have them, it doesn’t mean that once a child becomes an adult his or her angel leaves with task accomplished. Our guardian angel is our lifetime companion. CCC 336 admits that “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.”
Having a guardian angel speaks of God’s caring presence in our life; he does not will that we are totally left on our own. Be it to rescue us from figuring in accidents, or to assist us in difficult times, or to simply protect us in any way. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. And for this we must be truly grateful.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 9:51-56
As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. He sent ahead of him some messengers, who entered a Samaritan village to prepare a lodging for him. But the people would not receive him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. Seeing this, James and John, his disciples, said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to reduce them to ashes?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village.

Reflections
“He made up his mind to go to Jerusalem.”
The Lord could very well be considered among the pioneer advocates of non-violence. In the world where discord and disconnect among people are common, the Lord does not see retaliation and revenge as solution; avoidance of conflicts is still the best option.
St. Therese of Lisieux learned this at a young age. In her Autobiography, she recounted her story with a fellow nun “who has the faculty of displeasing me in everything, in her ways, in her words, her character, everything seems very disagreeable to me”. She could have given in to what she called natural antipathy but she taught herself, with much struggle, to become nice to her by charity, service, and smile that the other nun became completely convinced that she was a pleasing character. For this young saint this is her way of showing her authentic desire to love God: by possessing a truly loving soul.
If we possess even just a bit of this saint’s paradigm of love, as our way of avoiding conflicts and violence, we have better chances of creating a world at peace.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 9:46-50
One day, the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he took a little child and stood him by his side. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. And listen: the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest.”
Then John spoke up, “Master, we saw someone who drives out demons by calling upon your name, and we tried to forbid him, because he doesn’t follow you with us.” But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him. He who is not against you is for you.”

Reflections
“Who is the greatest.”
Jesus sets for us the criterion for greatness, that is the welcoming of God into our lives, through the welcoming of Jesus, and ultimately the welcoming of the little ones of our day, namely: those who are put to the margin and those who are neglected. And they may include those ordinary people who walk into our lives. The welcoming of God may be construed as the acceptance and embracing of the good news of God’s saving love of all creation that is effected in Jesus and translated into works of justice, peace and integrity of creation. This welcoming entails acts of service to all that God loves. We are the greatest when we promote the interest of justice, peace, and mercy.
Given the above considerations, our simple, random acts of kindness and service to others, and our actions of caring for God’s creation and protecting it may be the measure of greatness in the reign of God. They do not really need recognition as being great because they are simply great before God.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From the netherworld where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.
He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire!’
Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.’
The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live. Let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Lectio Divina
READ: The prophet Amos boldly denounces the lifestyle of those who live in comfort and affluence. In his letter to Timothy, Paul counsels to strive to be holy, living in faith and love, and blameless. Luke narrates a contrasting lot of a rich man and Lazarus, here and in the afterlife.
REFLECT: The parable of the rich man and Lazarus showcases the outcome of the failure to undergo conversion to faith in Jesus and the Good News. Without conversion, the rich man continues to live in his comfortable life while ignoring and taking no action to relieve Lazarus from his situation. The consequence: he found himself in eternal fire. Conversion would include loving and caring for those that God loves. It involves taking concrete actions to care for and protect others, especially the poor. God, who takes notice of the suffering and pain of the poor, the needy, and the neglected, acts to liberate them from their situation. That is why conversion to the Good News would also include participating in or becoming an instrument of God’s liberating action. To a converted person, to live a life of comfort and affluence and to remain silent while a great number of peoples suffers injustices and abuse, and another numerous number of people languishes in misery and poverty, is unacceptable.
PRAY: Loving God, may we, in our simple or great ways, contribute in alleviating the suffering of your “little ones.”
ACT: Take part in social justice and eco-justice works.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019