Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22
It was then, that a young man approached him and asked, “Master, what good work must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One, only, is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.” The young man said, “Which commandments?” Jesus replied, “Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him, “I have kept all these commandments. What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all that you possess, and give the money to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.”
On hearing this, the young man went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

Reflections
“If you wish to be perfect.”
In the gospel episode Jesus outlined once again what it means to follow him. Further­more, he made clear what it means, in the radical sense of the word, to be a Christian. It is straightforward that doing the commandments and loving one’s neighbor as oneself do not yet constitute genuine dis­cipleship. The following of Jesus also entails ridding one’s self of anything that might be taken as providing false sense of security and anything we might take for ourselves to provide stability. Here, Jesus is asking that he be­ comes our security, the only one we depend on, and the source of stability in life. This means Jesus takes on the first place, before anything else, or the center, around which everything else revolves. Noticeably, see­mingly secure state(s) obtained from things we have/possess is shaky. These things appear dependable and, at times, present themselves as attractive and full of stability. However, the real measure of security and stability is found only in a deep sense of peace and joy that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 12:49-53
I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what anguish I feel until it is finished!
Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided: three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-­in-­law against her daughter-­in­-law, and daughter-­in­-law against her mother-­in-­law.”

Lectio Divina
READ: The first reading relates how Jeremiah was wrongly accused, lowered to the cistern to die, and was drawn out from the cistern. The Letter to the Hebrew invites us to look at Jesus who endured the cross and to think of his suffering so that we will not be discou­raged. Luke speaks of Jesus to have undergone suffering and to have come to bring fire, the Holy Spirit.
REFLECT: Human life must have been ordered to include the elements of struggle, hard­ship, endurance, failure, success, and the like. The same is true with the Christian life, which comprises the dynamics pain, suffering, joy, and glory. Having assumed a human form, Jesus will have to experience all these to accomplish his saving mission. He will have to put up with the disbelief and rejection of many. He will have to suffer and endure the pain of the cross before he ascends back to the Father in glory, and finally, to give the Holy Spirit. Jesus assures us of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is why there is no point to be weary and disheartened in doing good, in working for justice and peace, in helping the poor, and in caring for God’s creation. We may encounter resistance, and we may have to give up comfort in sharing with Christ’s mission. But, as he promised, we will also have to share with his glory.
PRAY: Lord, may we be steadfast in working for your kingdom, even when faced with strong and violent opposition.
ACT: Seek guidance/help when confronted with challenging situations.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 19:13-15
Then little children were brought to Jesus, that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. Jesus then said, “Let the children be! Don’t hinder them from coming to me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are humble, like these children.” Jesus laid his hands on them and went away.

Reflections
“The kingdom of heaven belongs . . . to these children.”
A number of things might be learned from children: (1) Children are experts in living in the present moment, in the “now”. The cares of the world do not distract them; they are not caught up in them; they are able to capture and enjoy, without difficulty, the beauty and goodness a moment brings be­fore them. They are simply there. In contrast, we adults have the tendency to be overwhelmed by the daily conduct of human affairs. We are held back in/by worries, disappointments, frustrations, and fear. As a result we miss out the joy and “life” that each day carries. We forget that the “now”, the present, is a gift; and, it offers us a world of many (sometimes endless) possi­bilities. (2) In children, humility is always at work. They are humble in the sense that they do not have to arm themselves with preten­tions. “I am/have more . . .”, “I am greater . . .”, and “You are less . . .”, are not in their consciousness. He is simply her/he to herself/himself, and you are simply you to her/him. It does not worry them about our impression of them. (3) It is easy for children to let go. To us adults, worries, disappointments, frustra­tions and fear are strongest.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached him. They wanted to test him and asked, “Is a man allowed to divorce his wife for any reason he wants?”
Jesus replied, “Have you not read, that, in the beginning, the Creator made them male and female? And the Creator said: Therefore, a man shall leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So, they are no longer two, but one body. Let no one separate what God has joined.”
They asked him, “Then why did Moses command us to write a bill of dismissal in order to divorce?” Jesus replied, “Moses knew the hardness of your hearts, so he allowed you to divorce your wives; but it was not so in the beginning. Therefore, I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, unless it be for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
The disciples said, “If that is the condition of a married man, it is better not to marry.” Jesus said to them, “Not everybody can accept what you have just said, but only those who have received this gift. There are eunuchs born so, from their mother’s womb. Some have been made that way by others. But there are some who have given up the possibility of marriage, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept it, accept it.”

Reflections
“The two shall become one body.”
There are two essential ele­ments of life­-long faithfulness in marriage, without which mar­riage is an impossibility, without which marriage cannot endure, namely: the offering of one’s self and sacrifice. They are both an expression and assurance of the love of a woman and a man for each other. The love that reigns in their marital relationship is always ready to give and to sacrifice. Mi­nus this self­-giving and sacrificial love, marriage collapses.
Was it not through offering/ giving and sacrifice that God’s saving plan in Jesus proceeded? Jesus, as an embodiment of the love of God, taught and showed us how this giving and sacrifice, in concrete form, might be imi­tated. From his ministry of giving and sacrifice, we know how he impacted the lives of people he had come across with, and what he won for us. That is why in mar­ried life we have an idea how giving and sacrifice might affect the relationship of a couple. It is said: “Life­long faithfulness in mar­riage is a sign and manifestation of the kingdom” (Brendan Byrne). That is only so when marriage is marked, among other things, by self­-offering and self­ sacrifice.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019