Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Luke 4:38-44
Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever, and they asked him to do something for her. Bending over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately, she got up and waited on them.
At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Demons were driven out, howling as they departed from their victims, “You are the Son of God!” He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew he was the Messiah.
Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place. People went out in search of him, and finding him, they tried to dissuade him from leaving. But he said, “I have to go to other towns, to announce the good news of the kingdom of God. That is what I was sent to do.” And Jesus continued to preach in the synagogues of Galilee.

Reflections
“I have to go to other towns.”
Jesus knows exactly what he is up to, that is, the proclamation of the good news of God’s saving love and to launch the reign of God on Earth. This is the “divine priority” which must touch the lives of peoples. Zeal and undivided focus primarily characterized Jesus’ mission of liberating humanity from the grip of sin and the power of the devil. His missionary zeal cannot be contained; the good news of God’s love and mercy needs to reach the ends of the Earth. Jesus’ experience of the Father’s love, the “Abba experience,” is the driving force be- hind his commitment to the mission. And our personal experience of the same love, and of the love of Christ, drive us to be faithful to the task/mission assigned to us. It even urges us to go beyond “familiar shores.”
I met Fr. Manh Le, Vietnamese religious missionary, who recently arrived in Sydney from his mission assignment in the Amazon in Brazil. Of the thirteen years in Brazil, three years were spent in a poor parish and five years living in the Amazon, in the homes of the people because there is no accommodation. He does not stay permanently in one home and travels with his hammock and mosquito net.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and began teaching the people at the Sabbath meetings. They were astonished at the way he taught them, for his word was spoken with authority.
In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by an evil spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I recognize you: you are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus said to him sharply, “Be silent and leave this man!” The evil spirit then threw the man down in front of them, and came out of him without doing him harm.
Amazement seized all these people, and they said to one another, “What does this mean? He commands the evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!” And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area.

Reflections
“Possessed by an evil spirit.”
The desire for power and to accumulate possession, consumerist attitude and destructive behavior, chronic frustration, hatred and unforgiveness, hopelessness and defeatism, poor self-image, fear, jealousy, indifference, and the like all these are a concrete manifestation of an evil power that has gotten hold of the human person. They control, manipulate, oppress, mislead, and stunt the individual. They are damaging, and their effects lasting. They stifle personal growth and well- being. Jesus’ program of actions is precisely aimed at conquering the evil power that pulls one into these predicaments, and at the same time intended at liberating the human person from their grip. What can help break free from their grip? It is the love of God, made visible in Jesus, that flows through in life; and the conviction that his grace is sufficient for us and that his power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9). “The love of Jesus Christ... conquers sin and gives [us] the strength to rise and begin again (Pope Francis). It frees us from sin. We may add: the love and tenderness, the concern and care, and the generosity and understanding, we experience with others are helpful to be freed from sin and its effects. And we can call them experiences of hope.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 4:16-30
When Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me, to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives; and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed; and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”
Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he said to them, “Today, these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.”
All agreed with him, and were lost in wonder, while he spoke of the grace of God. Nevertheless they asked, “Who is this but Joseph’s Son?” So he said, “Doubtless you will quote me the saying: Doctor, heal yourself! Do here, in your town, what they say you did in Capernaum.”
Jesus added, “No prophet is honored in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”
On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their midst and went his way.

Reflections
“He has anointed me . . .”
The gospel narrative today contains the programmatic statement of Jesus’ mission: to bring good news to the poor; to pro- claim liberty to the captives; new sight to the blind; to free the oppress; and, to announce the Lord’s year of mercy. It defines what Jesus is all up to, that is, to defeat the power of sin and to liberate humanity and the natural world from its bondage. Jesus’ mission is striking sin and its attendant social, religious, economic, and political structures, to the core; and, it does it head on. The consequence is the cross.
The Church, whose mandate is to carry on Jesus’ saving mission, and Christians from all walks of life, who take the gospel message to heart, are at the forefront of the fight against social injustices, the destruction and plundering of the natural world. The struggle remains, and the end seems remote. But we are not wanting of women and men who committed their lives for the promotion, preservation and protection of human life and other forms of life. Furthermore, the Spirit continues to touch the human heart so that God’s creation might continue to flourish and find fulfilment.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14
One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.
Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!
Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus also addressed the man who had invited him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

Lectio Divina
READ: The reading from Sirach admonishes us to be humble so we find favor with God. The Letter to the Hebrew speaks of the heavenly feast in which we come, together with the firstborn of God. In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks of hum- bling oneself so that later on we will be exalted.
REFLECT: Being humble takes on a special place in the reign of God. The humble person recognizes what his status and who she/he is before God. She/he recognizes God as the source of all and her/his origin. She/ he does not place God aside, but instead acknowledges his power and love. She/he does not usurp that which belongs primarily to God. For instance, the cook/chef who is able to prepare delicious and nice looking dish acknowledges where the ingredients come from and how they are produced. She/he does not claim sole credit for the dish. (There are many other examples through which we can detect the presence or absence of humility in a person.) The humble person recognizes the goodness and giftedness of others. She/he does not look down on other people. She/he sees them also capable of doing something great and worthwhile. She/he is free to associate with the poor and marginalized of the society. It does not bother her/him to be with them.
PRAY: Lord, grant us the grace to free ourselves (with) of pride and arrogance. And may we learn the humility of Jesus.
ACT: Always be grateful for our giftedness. Develop the habit of seeing the good in others and of learning from them.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019