Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 479
Lectionary: 479
Brothers and
sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.
Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6
R. (see Eph. 5:1) Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Gospel LK 13:10-17
Jesus was teaching
in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
Meditation: "Freedom from bondage for eighteen years"
Is there anything that
keeps you bound up or oppressed? Infirmity, whether physical, emotional, or
spiritual, can befall us for a variety of reasons and God can use it for some
purpose that we do not understand. When Jesus encountered an elderly woman who
was spent of her strength and unable to stand upright, he gave her words of
faith and freedom and he restored her to health. She must have suffered much,
both physically and spiritually for eighteen years, since Jesus remarked that
Satan had bound her. How can Satan do this? The Scriptures indicate that Satan
can act in the world with malice and can cause injuries of a spiritual nature,
and indirectly even of a physical nature. Satan's power, however, is not
infinite. He cannot prevent the building up of God's kingdom or reign in our
lives.
Jesus wants to
set free us from oppression
Jesus demonstrates the power and authority of God's kingdom in releasing people who are oppressed by physical and emotional sickness, by personal weakness and sin, and by the harassment of the evil one in their lives. It took only one word from Jesus to release this woman instantly of her infirmity. Do you believe in the power of Jesus to release you from affliction and oppression?
Jesus demonstrates the power and authority of God's kingdom in releasing people who are oppressed by physical and emotional sickness, by personal weakness and sin, and by the harassment of the evil one in their lives. It took only one word from Jesus to release this woman instantly of her infirmity. Do you believe in the power of Jesus to release you from affliction and oppression?
The Jewish leaders
were indignant that Jesus would perform such a miraculous work on the Sabbath,
the holy day of rest. They were so caught up in their ritual observance of the
Sabbath that they lost sight of God's mercy and goodness. Jesus healed on the
Sabbath because God does not rest from showing his mercy and love, ever. God's
word has power to change us, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Is there
anything that keeps you bound up or that weighs you down? Let the Lord speak
his word to you and give you freedom.
"Lord Jesus, you
grant freedom to those who seek you. Give me freedom to walk in your way of
love and to praise and worship you always. Show me how I can bring your mercy
and healing love to those in need around me."
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Jesus Blows me Out of my Comfort Zone – Again! |
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October 27, 2014.
Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
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Luke 13:10-17
Jesus was teaching
in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of
standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman,
you are set free of your infirmity." He laid his hands on her, and she
at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply,
"There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be
cured, not on the sabbath day." The Lord said to him in reply,
"Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his
ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set
free on the sabbath day from this bondage?" When he said this, all his
adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid
deeds done by him.
Introductory
Prayer: Lord, I believe in you
with a faith that never seeks to test you. I trust in you, hoping to learn to
accept and follow your will, even when it does not make sense to the way that
I see things. May my love for you and those around me be similar to the love
you have shown to me.
Petition: Lord, protect me from spiritual old age.
1. Jesus Is Showing his Messiah Credentials
Again: Jesus’ opponents were desperate. They didn’t want to believe
that he was the Messiah, and they especially didn’t want anyone else to think
he was the Messiah. But there was the pesky problem of his miracles. They
knew that when God sent someone to speak for him, he usually performed signs
through the person so that people would believe in him. The sign was proof
that the person (Jesus in this case) was sent by God. Jesus was doing plenty
of miracles, which most people were taking as the sign that he was sent by
God. What could Jesus’ opponents do? They could only try to discredit the
miracles any way possible.
2. You Can Do a Lot More than You Think on the
Sabbath: This miracle was done on the Sabbath. The head of the
synagogue had a problem with that. Didn’t God himself rest on the sixth day?
Oughtn’t we to do the same? How does this Jesus heal on the Sabbath if he is
truly from God? In fact, there were many exceptions to the rules about the
Sabbath. In another place, Jesus himself says that the Sabbath is made for
man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). Certainly, the observance of the
Sabbath was always subject to the practice of charity, that it was always
permissible to break the Sabbath rest in the case when needed to do some
necessary act of charity for another. Jesus mentions situations when for
practical reasons (necessary farm chores, like watering animals) work can be
done without breaking the Sabbath rest.
3. Lord, Please Let me Keep my Mediocrity: And
so, there is really nothing to the objection. The head of the synagogue does
not want to believe because what Jesus says and does seems threatening to
him. If Jesus is the Messiah, he foresees having to change his life, and he
does not want to do that. He may not even realize that this is his real
objection, but it is. We can be this way, too. We don’t want to accept
something Jesus teaches us through his Church because it would mean that we
have to change our lives, and we don’t want to. We are comfortable the way we
are. If we had to do what Jesus asks, it would take us out of our comfort zone.
Sometimes it is mere fear of something different. Jesus always is offering us
something different, but we don’t want it. We want to stay in our rut. We
have surrounded ourselves with limited horizons and are afraid to stretch
them.
Conversation with
Christ: Dear Jesus, help me to
accept you fully. If I am rejecting you or your teaching without realizing
it, show me. Help me to overcome my attempt to construct my own little
universe in which I am God. If I have grown old spiritually, renew my youth
and help me break through my restricted, shrunken horizons that exclude you.
Resolution: Where in my life have I settled into spiritual routine
and old age? Do I habitually skip some prayer I should be saying, telling
myself it isn’t that important? I will make an extra effort to pray it today.
Is there some other aspect of my spiritual or moral life that I have removed
to make life “more comfortable” for me? Time to start doing it again!
By Father James
Swanson, LC
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, LUKE 13:10-17
(Ephesians 4:32--5:8; Psalm 1)
(Ephesians 4:32--5:8; Psalm 1)
KEY VERSE: "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity" (v 12).
READING: This is the last time in Luke's gospel that we hear of Jesus teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus' opponents were watching his every move to see if he was guilty of violating the Law of Moses, especially the Sabbath law. When Jesus noticed a crippled woman who was unable to stand upright, he healed her. This woman was a symbol of God's people who labored under the heavy burden of the law while the religious leaders did nothing to lighten their load (Lk 11:46). When Jesus cured the woman, setting her free from the bonds that constrained her, she stood erect and glorified God. But his opponents were outraged. Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and healing was considered work. The indignant synagogue leader told Jesus that there were six other days on which "work should be done" (v 14), and he ought to heal then. Jesus' answered that they were hypocrites since the law allowed them to care for their animals on the Sabbath. He asked them if they had as much concern for this "daughter of Abraham" (v 16).
REFLECTING: Is there someone I can assist who is bowed low with problems?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to use your Sabbath to lift the burdens other people carry.
Monday 27 October 2014
Ephesians 4:32—5:8. Behave
like God as his very dear children—Ps 1:1-4, 6. Luke 13:10-17.
We are God’s children whom
he loves.
We become God’s children by
taking him as our pattern and following him in his love for us, knowing that
the kindness, openness and understanding we give to others will keep us close
to him and reflect his love. ‘Such a one is like a tree planted near streams;
it bears fruit in season.’
Loving Father, in our
hearts we so often respond to the goals you set before us, but in our fragility
and weakness we can so easily slip behind and forget your word, ‘just like
chaff blown around by the wind’.
Grant us the gifts of
perseverance and prayer, so that we may become children of the light.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Discern God’s Will
The way isn’t always clear. Sometimes, we think God is calling us
to do something when it turns out our ego or personality or fears, not God, are
pushing us in that direction. Piety’s example reminds us to take time out to
and not to rush into things.
October
27
Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza
(c. 1200-1271)
Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza
(c. 1200-1271)
Dominicans honor one of their own today, Blessed Bartholomew of
Vicenza. This was a man who used his skills as a preacher to challenge the
heresies of his day.
Bartholomew
was born in Vicenza around 1200. At 20 he entered the Dominicans. Following his
ordination he served in various leadership positions. As a young priest he
founded a military order whose purpose was to keep civil peace in towns
throughout Italy.
In 1248,
Bartholomew was appointed a bishop. For most men, such an appointment is an
honor and a tribute to their holiness and their demonstrated leadership skills.
But for Bartholomew, it was a form of exile that had been urged by an antipapal
group that was only too happy to see him leave for Cyprus. Not many years
later, however, Bartholomew was transferred back to Vicenza. Despite the
antipapal feelings that were still evident, he worked diligently—especially
through his preaching—to rebuild his diocese and strengthen the people’s
loyalty to Rome.
During
his years as bishop in Cyprus, Bartholomew befriended King Louis the Ninth of
France, who is said to have given the holy bishop a relic of Christ’s Crown of
Thorns.
Bartholomew
died in 1271. He was beatified in 1793.
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 13,10-17
Lectio:
Monday, October 27, 2014
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
strengthen our faith, hope and love.
May we do with loving hearts
what you ask of us
and come to share the life you promise.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 13,10-17
One Sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of
the synagogues, and there before him was a woman who for eighteen years had
been possessed by a spirit that crippled her; she was bent double and quite
unable to stand upright.
When Jesus saw her he called her over and
said, 'Woman, you are freed from your disability,' and he laid his hands on
her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God.
But the president of the synagogue was
indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and he addressed all those
present saying, 'There are six days when work is to be done. Come and be healed
on one of those days and not on the Sabbath.'
But the Lord answered him and said,
'Hypocrites! Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from
the manger on the Sabbath and take it out for watering? And this woman, a
daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years -- was it
not right to untie this bond on the Sabbath day?'
When he said this, all his adversaries were
covered with confusion, and all the people were overjoyed at all the wonders he
worked.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today describes the cure of a
woman who was crippled. It is a question of one of the many episodes which Luke
narrates, without too much order, in describing the long journey of Jesus
toward Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 to 1928).
• Luke 13, 10-11: The situation which brings
about the action of Jesus. Jesus is in the synagogue on a day of rest. He keeps
the Law respecting Saturday and participating in the celebration together with
his people. Luke tells us that Jesus was teaching. In the Synagogue there was a
crippled woman. Luke says that she had a spirit which crippled her and
prevented her from straightening up. This was a way in which the people of that
time explained sicknesses. It was already eighteen years that she was in that
situation. The woman does not speak, does not have a name, she does not ask to
be cured, she takes no initiative. One is struck by her passivity.
• Luke 13, 12-13: Jesus cures the woman.
Seeing the woman, Jesus calls her and says to her: Woman, you are freed from
your disability!” The action of freeing is done by the word, addressed directly
to the woman, and through the imposition of the hands. Immediately, she stands
up and begins to praise the Lord. There is relation between standing up and
praising the Lord. Jesus does things in such a way that the woman stands up, in
such a way that she can praise God in the midst of the people meeting in the
assembly. Peter’s mother-in-law, once she was cured, she stands up and serves
(Mk 1, 31). To praise God is to serve the brothers!
• Luke 13, 14: The reaction of the president
of the Synagogue. The President of the Synagogue became indignant seeing Jesus’
action, because he had cured on Saturday: “There are six days when work is to
be done. Come and be healed in one of those days and not on the Sabbath”. In
the criticism of the President of the Synagogue, people remember the word of
the Law of God which said: “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six
days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath
for Yahweh your God. You shall do no work that day”, (Ex 20, 8-10). In this
reaction is the reason why the woman could not participate at that time. The
dominion of conscience through the manipulation of the law of God was quite
strong. And this was the way of keeping the people submitted and bent down,
crippled.
• Luke 13, 15-16: The response of Jesus to the
President of the Synagogue. The President condemned persons because he wanted
them to observe the Law of God. What for the President of the Synagogue is
observance of the Law, for Jesus is hypocrisy: "Hypocrites, is there one
of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath
and take it down for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan
has held bound these eighteen years – was it not right to untie this bond on
the Sabbath day?” With this example drawn from every day life, Jesus indicates
the incoherence of this type of observance of the Law of God. If it is
permitted to untie an ox or a donkey on Saturday to give it water, much more
will it be permitted to untie a daughter of Abraham to free her from the power
of evil. The true sense of the observance of the Law which pleases God is this:
to liberate persons from the power of evil and to make them stand up, in order
that they can render glory to God and praise him. Jesus imitates God who
sustains those who are unsteady or weak and lifts those who fall (Ps 145, 14;
146, 8).
• Luke 13, 17: The reaction of the people
before the action of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus confuses his enemies, but the
crowds are filled with joy because of the wonderful things that Jesus is doing:
“All the people were overjoyed at all the wonders he worked”. In Palestine, at
the time of Jesus, women lived crippled, bent, and submitted to the husband, to
the parents and to the religious heads of her people. This situation of
submission was justified by the religion. But Jesus does not want her to
continue to be crippled, bent. To choose and to liberate persons does not
depend on a determinate date. It can be done every day, even on Saturday!
4) Personal questions
• The situation of women has changed very much
since that time, or not? Which is the situation of women in society and in the
Church? Is there any relation between religion and oppression of women?
• Did the crowds exult before the action of
Jesus? What liberation is taking place today and is leading the crowd to exult
and to give thanks to God?
5) Concluding prayer
How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice
of the wicked
and does not take a stand in the path that
sinners tread,
nor a seat in company with cynics,
but who delights in the law of Yahweh
and murmurs his law day and night. (Ps 1,1-2)
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