Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18
Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid him.”
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; and as she wept, she bent down to look inside. She saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answered, “Because they have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have put him.”
As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and answered him, “Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and take him away.”
Jesus said to her,“Mary!” She turned, andsaidtohim,“Rabboni!”— which means Master. Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father, who is your Father, to my God, who is your God.” So Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and this is what he said to me.”

Reflections
“I have seen the Lord.”
Like the disciples and the people whose lives have been touched by Jesus’ redeeming love, Mary grieves the loss of Jesus after his death on the cross. Now she is also losing the body of her Lord (which makes her grieving even stronger); the tomb is empty. But not for long that her intense sorrow and sense of loss is turned into overwhelming joy at the sight of Jesus. Seeing Jesus answers why the tomb is empty: Jesus is resurrected.
The resurrection of Jesus shows that death does not have the final say; it is God’s love. The pure and unrestricted love of God brought Jesus back to life. It brings back that which death has taken away life. If death terminates life, God’s love restores it. Jesus’ resurrection pronounces the ultimate defeat of death; it renders death powerless. It serves as an assurance of our hope for new life with God. And it also provides us a foretaste of the promise of new creation in the book of Revelation.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”
But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Lectio Divina
READ: This episode in the book of Genesis shows Sarah secretly listening to the conversation of the three men and Abraham. Saint Paul writes to the Colossians of the ministry that was entrusted to him, that is “to make the word of God fully known.” The gospel reading narrates that Mary sat down listening to the words of Jesus.
REFLECT: In his visit to the house of Mary and Martha, Jesus is not very particular about the details of hospitality; he is more concern with the more important form of hospitality, a spiritual hospitality, namely: the listening to his words. We may also call it: the “hospitality of loving attention and listening” (Brendan Byrne). It is a deeper kind of hospitality, which Mary ac- corded to Jesus. It is the “only one thing” that Jesus has com- mended as something needed. Another thing that differentiates Mary from Martha is that she has recognized God’s visit through Jesus. This recognition prompted her to offer Jesus an open heart. For the poor and the vulnerable of our society, this is also the kind of hospitality that they can offer when the word of God is heard. It is spiritually the most necessary (R. T. France). With the hospitality of attention and listening comes also the hospitality of trust.
PRAY.:Lord, help us open our hearts to your word; may it bring life to our ailing spirit.
ACT: Ask God for the grace so that we can truly listen to his word and transform our lives.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 12:14-21
Then the Pharisees went out, and made plans to get rid of Jesus. As Jesus was aware of their plans, he left that place. Many people followed him, and he cured all who were sick. But he gave them strict orders not to make him known.
In this way, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled: Here is my servant, whom I have chosen; the one I love, and with whom I am pleased. I will put my spirit upon him; and he will announce my judgment to the nations.
He will not argue or shout, nor will his voice be heard in the streets. The bruised reed he will not crush, nor snuff out the smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory, and in him, all the nations will put their hope.

Reflections
“My Spirit upon my servant.”
The task/ministry we assume in the Church is the work of the Spirit. It is good to see our work/apostolate/ministry - whatever we call it - as an extension of the saving activities of Jesus. We are instruments of the Spirit. We are its co-workers. And it is the Spirit that direct us and strengthens us. It is not our work. When we conceive it this way, we do it tirelessly and with more enthusiasm. We tend to be more caring.
It is not difficult to know if the Spirit is operative in the task that we perform.
St. Paul identifies for us the fruits of the Spirit’s presence in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, fruitfulness, and selfcontrol (Gal 5:22). They all go together - a package deal. One cannot be missing and the others present. Where the Spirit is, we will find them all. We will always have them no matter how difficult, or challenging, the task is. These fruits of the Spirit are signs, or indicators, that the Spirit dwells in us, that the kingdom of God is settled in our heart.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8
It happened that, Jesus was walking through the wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry; and they began to pick some heads of wheat, to crush and to eat the grain. When the Pharisees noticed this, they said to Jesus, “Look at your disciples! They are doing what is prohibited on the Sabbath!”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did, when he and his men were hungry? He went into the House of God, and they ate the bread offered to God, though neither he nor his men had the right to eat it, but only the priests. And have you not read in the law, how, on the Sabbath, the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath, yet they are not guilty?
I tell you, there is greater than the temple here. If you really knew the meaning of the words: It is mercy I want, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
Besides, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Reflections
“It is mercy I want, not sacrifice.”
Just as Jesus is the historical face of God on Earth, so is he the embodiment of God’s mercy in visible action among humans. Mercy and compassion are central to Jesus’ saving ministry. All his activities are motivated by his merciful love. Mercy is directed toward the good and well being of all creation, humans and non humans alike. The absence of mercy leads to different forms of abuse and exploitation of our fellow humans and the natural world. Without it, people will find life burdensome and the world of human affairs re- plete with injustices.
We are familiar with the seven works of mercy, and we are able to perform them—at times with no difficulty. However, there is another work of mercy that was not explicitly articulated as a work of mercy; and, that we might not be aware of (or if we are, we might not have realized that it is a work of mercy), namely the “care of creation.” In 2016 during the celebration of the“Jubilee of Mercy,” Pope Francis added the care of creation as a modern work of mercy, as the eighth work of mercy.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019