Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

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THE WORD

Tit 2,1-8.11-14 / Lk 17,7-10

Jesus said to his disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

IN OTHER WORDS

Business connotes profits. Its logic is not applicable to our relationship with God. When we do things well for God and for others, we should not expect anything in return: “Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” Preface IV for Masses on Weekdays perfectly puts it, “You have no need of our praise, yet our desire to thank you is itself your gift. Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to your greatness, but makes us grow in your grace.” In a word, the Lord can never be indebted or under any obligation to us. Thus, from the lens of today’s gospel, to relate with God is to connect with Him in gratitude and the realization that we have received more than we deserve. Our God is generous, with unlimited blessings continuously showered upon us – such as quality education, as one alumnus of Divine Word College once acknowledged.

Relating with God is not regulated by what we do and think deserve His recompense. Faith in the Lord is not about doing good things and expecting something in return from Him. It is not limited to praying - pilgrimages, novenas, indulgences - dictating on Him what we want to happen for our personal interest and upliftment. True faith is about giving unconditionally of ourselves, our services and all we have to God. It is even just giving back to him a small piece of what he has already given us. Are we grateful to the Lord? Do we relate with Him realizing He has saved us inspite of our weaknesses?

  • Fr. Roberto Ibay, SVD | DWC Vigan

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

THE WORD   

Tit 1,1-9 / Lk 17,1-6

Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.”

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

IN OTHER WORDS

Jesus is giving two important lessons to his disciples in the first part of today’s gospel text. One has something to do with sin-avoiding, and the other, forgiving. Looking closely, I see these as two imperatives in following Jesus; imperatives that, experience tells us, are difficult to follow and put into practice. Awareness of these imperatives provides us a background and context for the second part of the text, “Increase our faith.” The disciples realize the magnitude of the lessons. They need a strong faith in order to face the challenges that come with discipleship. They need a strong faith in order to succeed in doing what Jesus tells them to do.

It is one of my convictions that when faced with temptations or when burdened with a hardened heart that cannot forgive, one needs to turn to God in prayer. Turning to God in prayer is both a realization and a recognition; a realization that as human I am weak and a recognition that with God I become strong. Turning to God therefore is nothing less than praying, “Increase our faith.” It is faith that makes us hold on to God with whom nothing is impossible. It is through faith that God empowers us to do the impossible.

  • Fr. Dudz F. Lero, SVD | Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

THE WORD

FIRST READING: 2 Mac 7,1-2.9-14

It also happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: “What do you expect to learn by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” With his last breath he said: “You accursed fi end, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to live again forever, because we are dying for his laws.”

After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put forth his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely stretched out his hands, as he spoke these noble words: “It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disregard them; from him I hope to receive them again.” Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s spirit, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. When he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of mortals with the hope that God will restore me to life; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”

SECOND READING: 2Thes 2, 16-3, 5

Brothers and sisters:

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

GOSPEL: Lk 20,27-38

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”

Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.

That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

 

IN OTHER WORDS

The question posed in today’s Gospel sounds humorous. In trying to support their claim about the absurdity of the resurrection, the Sadducees quote the Scriptures “Moses wrote, if someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.” In response Jesus quotes the very Scripture that the Sadducees base their contention on: “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” God “is” the God of our forefathers in faith and remains so. As for the issue on marriage and bearing kids, though a legitimate concern in this life, they are not relevant for the next life – where there is no more death, and we become like angels, brothers and sisters in God’s family.

Going back to the “resurrection” it is paradoxical that the issue generated by a woman who fails to get pregnant, elicits an answer that is pregnant with implications. The reality of life after death calls us to live as people of the resurrection, and not lie buried in the tomb of our sins and evil habits.

We have to keep on trying to overcome our weaknesses, trusting in God’s love and mercy. We ought to learn from the example of the seven brothers in the First Reading: practicing our faith, not only when convenient, but especially in difficult situations. May we be able to witness to our faith in the things we say and do. As the Second Reading reminds us, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and

God our Father, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.” (2 Thes 2:16a, 17).

Allow me to end this reflection with an excerpt from one of my favorite songs, entitled “Anyway” by Martina Mcbride and it goes like this: “You can spend your whole life building, something from nothing, one storm can come and blow it all away. Build it anyway. You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach, and you know it might not ever come your way. Dream it anyway. God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good. When I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should, but I do it anyway. This world’s gone crazy and it’s hard to believe, that tomorrow will be better than today. Believe it anyway. You can love someone with all your heart, for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away. Love them anyway.”

  • Fr. Midas Tambot, SVD | Hongkong

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

 

THE WORD

Phil 4,10-19 / Lk 16,9-15

Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

IN OTHER WORDS

Japanese people are known for their honesty especially while on work duty. I have experienced this many times working as a missionary here in Japan. One time, I was in a hurry to buy some food and rushed out after paying at the counter. Then, to my surprise, a store keeper ran after me calling my attention. I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what had gone wrong. Did I accidentally get something from the shop without paying? Before he could speak, I tried to ask, in my limited

Japanese, what had been the matter. He kindly replied in English, “Sir, you forgot your change.”

Then, he turned over to me a tiny one yen coin with a receipt.

This simple experience reminds me of today’s Gospel passage, “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.” The store keeper gave me the change out of his sense of duty, yet for me, it was a great act of honesty. The value of honesty is part of our being Christians, yet often times we ignore doing small acts of honesty, like returning a borrowed ball pen, reporting lost objects, paying the right price, and others. We still thank God, however, of the many taxi drivers who return lost possessions, street vendors who give the right change, and other simple people who do similar honest acts.

I am always struck by the poster from the group Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and

Professionals that goes, “Be honest, even if others are not; even if others will not; and even if others cannot.”

  • Bro. Carl Milos R. Bulilan, SVD | Japan

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

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  5. October 31, 2016 Monday
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