Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from the area, came and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So his disciples approached him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.”
Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”
But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!” Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.” The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even puppies eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Reflections
“Woman, how great is your faith!“
We have here in the gospel passage an extraordinary demon­stration of faith in Jesus. Although the point of the reading is the inclusion of other nations in the saving plan of God, the unwave­ring faith and persistence of the woman take on special attention. Three time she was ignored and rebuffed, but she persisted.
Daily human affairs are re­plete with the interplay of rejec­tion, persistence, and belief.
Experience would tell us that it is quite impossible for a person to achieve or get something sig­nificant done if she/he does not believe he can do it. Extra effort and motivation is needed if this were the case. One, who does not believe she/he can do it, will not make it; he will not even at­tempt to do it because of lack of faith. Strong faith keeps one on the move in spite of obstacles and difficulties. It gives her/him the resolve to persist. Faith is the fuel of persistence so to speak.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 9:28b-36
About eight days after Jesus had said all this, he took Peter, John and James, and went up the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. Two men were talking with Jesus: Moses and Elijah. Appearing in the glory of heaven, Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus about his departure from this life, which was to take place in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had fallen asleep; but they awoke suddenly, and they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter—not knowing what to say— said to Jesus, “Master, how good it is for us to be here! Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” And no sooner had he spoken, than a cloud appeared and covered them; and the disciples were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then these words came from the cloud, “This is my Son, my Beloved, listen to him.” And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was there alone.
The disciples kept this to themselves at the time, telling no one of anything they had seen.

Reflections
“He went up the mountain to pray.”
Many things have already been said about prayer; and still, one could add more descrip­tions of it because experiences of prayer vary from one person to another. However, what is common to these experiences is that it opens up the mind and heart to a realm where one en­counters the divine. Prayer puts us in touch with the power be­yond us. It touches and engages our deepest concerns, freeing us from their grip and connec­ting us to the true source of joy and consolation. It sets a condi­tion and prepares an individual to undergo transformation. In prayer we are given hope, shown direction, and gain courage and strength. Prayer not only help us connect to the joy, suffering and pain of our fellow humans; but it also allows us to feel, in a profound way, the “pain” and “suffering” of other forms of life on Earth, the voiceless creatures, that are subjected to destructive human behavior.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
When Jesus hears of it, he set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, he saw the crowd gathered there, and he had compassion on them. And he healed their sick.
Late in the afternoon, his disciples came to him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to me.”
Then he made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised his eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

Reflections
“You give them something to eat.”
The material poverty being experienced by the poor sector of our society, particularly lack of food, water, and a decent place to live in, is an indication of the continuing work of the Church to realize the reign of God on Earth. Jesus’ command to the disci­ples to “give them something to eat” extends to the contempo­rary Church, which claims to be a “church of the poor”. This com­mand originates from his compassionate and loving heart, and it is well received by the Church which acts in the same love and compassion to care for the Body of Christ. In like manner, we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers, individually sharing in this com­mand of Jesus.
Being true to the command would mean, in our time, rea­ching out to others in times of need to alleviate their suffering and to lift them up from inhu­mane condition, and to help give back their dignity as a human per­ son, as daughters and sons of the living God. The command could also be extended to the care, pro­tection and preservation of natu­ral resources that aid in the pro­duction of food, water and other things that meet basic needs, and their means of livelihood that are dependent on natural sources.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”
And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do: I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself: My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”

Lectio Divina
READ: Ecclesiastes declares all things as meaningless. Saint Paul writes that the Christian community in Colossae should seek and set their mind on things that are above. Jesus, in the gospel, issues an extraordi­narily blunt warning regarding the accumulation of posses­sions, illustrated in the parable.
REFLECT: Jesus cautions against abundant possessions. To him, they cannot be the source of life and security. Thus, they are not able to give or inspire life in the human person. The unrestricted accumulation of possessions at the expense of others arises from greed—the inclination to want more and to have more. Whereas, greed comes from insecurity - the feeling that there is something lacking or missing, creating instability and emptiness. Greed is never satisfied to have this much or that much. It always wants some more and some more because more is not enough. Greed is a sign of insecurity and fear. (And many possessions project themselves to provide security.) Greed and insecurity corrupt the human mind and spirit. They take us away from (the) God and prevent us from becoming instruments of God’s goodness and generosity. That is why Jesus warns of every form of greed. What, then, gives us life if not many possessions? Jesus himself says he is the life and that he has come to give us life to its fullness.
PRAY: Lord Jesus, we pray that you become our true source of security, courage, strength, and inspiration. And take away our fears of the uncertainties of life.
ACT: Determine what is truly needed and give.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019