November 5, 2026
Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 488
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the
more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3b) Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to
listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110526.cfm
Commentary on
Philippians 3:3-8
Paul has already mentioned divisions and arguing among the
Philippian community. Today he indicates one source of the problem, namely, the
agitation of the Judaisers (those who believed that Levitical Law should be
binding on Christians). We already saw this problem when reading the Letter to
the Galatians. Clearly it was a fairly widespread phenomenon. Perhaps it was
less expected in Philippi, where there were not many Jews and apparently, not
even a synagogue (see Acts 16:13).
The first Christians were all Jews and in the beginning they
naturally followed many of their traditional customs. But once non-Jews began
to be accepted as full members of the Christian community, many of these
traditions and the place of the Mosaic Law were seen in a different light. It
gradually became clear that the teaching of Jesus transcended this Law. It was
not that the Law was abolished, but rather that the demands of the gospel
included and went far beyond the Law. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is
quoted as saying:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. (Matt 5:17)
One of the most basic marks of identity for the Jews was
circumcision. The Jews were not the only people to practise it (Muslims did
also), but for them it had a very special religious significance as God’s
people. Soon after non-Jews—’pagans’—began to be admitted to baptism, it became
clear that the custom of circumcision should not be extended to them. (It would
have been a very painful operation for adults to undergo, and they formed the
bulk of converts.)
However, in many places, especially in more outlying areas
of the Jewish diaspora*,
there were Jewish converts who felt that traditional Jewish customs should be
preserved, in particular, the custom of male circumcision. As we saw, Paul has
much to say about this in his letter to the Galatians (5:1-12).
But in Philippi, too, he was faced with this problem. After
attacking his critics and referring to them contemptuously as “dogs” and “evil
workers”, he claims that the Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, were the real
people of the circumcision. ‘Dogs’ was a highly insulting term, often applied
to Gentiles, because of their ritual uncleanness. As scavengers that would eat
anything, dogs were regarded as very unclean. Even Jesus used the term about
Gentiles, indicating their ‘uncleanness’ (Matt 15:26). Paul is suggesting that
the Judaisers are also, in a sense, unclean.
Paul sees circumcision in a spiritual sense. The truly
‘circumcised’ are those who are inwardly united with God through his Spirit,
not those who have had a physical operation on a part of their body. The
cutting of the body by itself is no guarantee of true allegiance to God. (We
might say the same of the purely external observance of a sacramental ritual,
e.g. pouring water and saying some words in Baptism.)
In some translations of the Bible, Paul contemptuously calls
his critics ‘cutters’. Paul is using a term (Greek, katatome, literally
‘cutting down’) as a contemptuous pun on ‘circumcision’ (peritome,
literally ‘cutting around’). By doing so, he is implying a comparison between
physical circumcision and the self-inflicted gashes in pagan cults, as
described in the famous ‘competition’ between Elijah and the priests of Baal,
who slashed themselves in their frenzy (see 1 Kings 18:28).
Instead, it is the Christians who “are the circumcision”.
They are the ones who worship through the Spirit of God and whose boast is in
Christ Jesus, and who do not put their confidence in the flesh—that is, merely
outward observances of the Old Law, or weak human nature.
And Paul does not speak as a gentile ‘outsider’. On the
contrary, Paul claims he is more qualified than most other Jews, especially
those in the Greek-speaking diaspora. He then proceeds to present his
Jewish credentials, credentials that probably none of his Judaising opponents
could match:
- Even
though born in Tarsus, Paul is a true Hebrew, belonging to the tribe of
Benjamin. His Jewish roots are deep and unambiguous. Jerusalem, the Holy
City, lay on the border of the tribal territory of Benjamin.
- Both
his parents were Hebrew (unlike some of the diaspora Jews or those
converted to Judaism) and Pharisees too, as he says elsewhere. We know
also that, unlike Hellenist Jews who would have spoken Greek, Paul knew
Aramaic (Acts 21:40).
- He
was physically circumcised at eight days after his birth, as laid down by
the Law (Gen 17:12).
When it came to observing the Mosaic Law, Paul was a
Pharisee. Nothing more needed to be said about his orthodoxy. As we know from
the Gospels, the Pharisees made a point of observing the Law in its tiniest
details. As for working for his religion, Paul was one of the most zealous in
persecuting the infant Church. If observing the Law could make a person
perfect, then Paul was absolutely without fault.
But that all changed when Christ came into his life. All
those things he formerly believed brought him closer to God, he saw now as
barriers. The former advantages were seen now as grave disadvantages; the
former profits seen now as losses. For him now, everything is outweighed by the
knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. And this is not knowledge about Christ, but
a personal, intimate, and mutual knowing which colours every facet of his life.
It is not that the Law is wrong; it is just not needed—it
has been superseded. Union with God is now seen not as the external and perfect
observation of laws, regulations and traditions, but the establishment of a
close, personal relationship with God through Jesus. This relationship allows
God to work in a person and bring about a complete transformation in one’s
thinking and behaviour.
Unfortunately, there are still Christians today who measure
the quality of Christian life by strictness in keeping rules and regulations,
and these tend also to be very critical of those they see as less observant
than themselves. Obviously, for the sake of good order, the Church, like any
other society, needs a certain number of laws and regulations.
But we must never forget that, ultimately, we will be
measured not by our keeping of these regulations, but by the depth of our
relationship with God in Christ, and our living out of the gospel in relationship
with others. It is the level of our loving that will be the criterion:
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another. (John 13:35)
___________________________________
*It is not unusual for ethnic or religious groups living
overseas and surrounded by “outsiders” to be more conservative and more
concerned with preserving traditional marks of identity than those who are at
the centre.
Commentary on Luke
15:1-10
The previous Gospel passage seemed to show Jesus at his most
radical:
Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be
my disciple.
Today we see Jesus’ compassionate and understanding side.
These two views are not contradictory.
The Gospel says that tax collectors and sinners were
gathering round to listen to Jesus. To some of the Pharisees and scribes this
was quite scandalous. They say:
This fellow [Greek, houtos; and one can hear
the contempt in the phrase] welcomes sinners and eats with them.
As far as they were concerned, any God-fearing person, not
to mention a rabbi (teacher), would have absolutely nothing to do with such
people.
It was bad enough socialising with them, but to share their
food was unthinkable. They were unclean, and one became unclean by sitting at
the same table with them. To eat with people was a sign of recognition and
acceptance. As far as the Pharisees were concerned, these were contemptible, unclean
sinners. It only confirmed the opinion of the Pharisees and scribes that Jesus
was a person to be removed.
In reply, Luke gives us three separate parables, each
touching on the same theme. We have two of them today. The third and most
famous—the Prodigal Son—appears elsewhere in the liturgical readings (Sunday of
Week 24 of Year C). Each one is a picture of God’s attitude towards the sinner,
and it is very different from that of the Pharisee.
The first is of a shepherd who has lost one of 100 sheep entrusted
to his care. The theme of the sheep and the shepherd is common in the Old
Testament. We think of the famous Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd…)
and a beautiful passage in Ezekiel (34:11-16). Without hesitation, the good
shepherd leaves the 99 ‘good’ sheep and goes off looking for the stray. When he
finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and comes back in jubilation, inviting
all his friends and neighbours to celebrate:
Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.
Similarly, concludes Jesus, there will be more rejoicing in
heaven over one sinner who sincerely repents and comes back to God than over
many (self-) ‘righteous’ people who have no need to repent, or who think they
have no need to repent. There seems to be an ironic and sarcastic tone here.
Who does not need to repent of something at some time? Jesus presents a totally
different attitude to the repentant sinner, and he gives it as God’s own
attitude.
The second parable is similar. A housewife who has “10
silver coins” (drachmas)—probably the sum total of her wealth—has lost one of
them. Will she not turn the whole house upside down looking for it? A house
like this would typically have no windows and rough earthen floors (and, of
course, no electricity!), making a search quite difficult. But when she does
eventually find it, she will call in all her friends and neighbours to share
her joy:
Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had
lost.
Jesus concludes:
…there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner who repents.
Of course, “In the presence of angels” means ‘with God’.
We need to remember that these stories were told as Jesus’
response to the criticism of some scribes and Pharisees. He had absolutely no
reason to apologise for his mixing with tax collectors, sinners and other
social and religious outcasts. He was like the shepherd or the housewife in the
parables. He was looking for people who were lost so that he could bring them
back.
He spent time in their company, not because he did not mind
what they did; on the contrary, his whole purpose was to change them. But he
could not do that at a distance.
The mind of the Pharisee was different. These people with
whom Jesus was associating were sinful and unclean, and the ‘good’ person had
to have no contact with them of any kind or they too would become unclean.
Notice the different motivation. The Pharisee was only
thinking of his own spiritual and ritual purity. Jesus was thinking of the
person who was lost and needed to be brought back to a world of truth and love.
And so he reached out. He went to where the sinner was. A Pharisee thought he
was spiritually and morally strong, yet his avoiding the sinner showed he was
afraid of contamination. Jesus was not afraid of such contamination—he was the
really strong one. He could be with the sinners without becoming one of them.
Much of this is highly relevant for our Christian life
today. There is probably a lot more of the Pharisee in our Christian hearts
than we are prepared to admit. ‘Good’ Catholics tend to keep away from
‘immoral’ situations and the people who are there. ‘Good’ Catholics do not like
to be seen in certain places which do not have a ‘good’ reputation. They even
call them “occasions of sin”.
We tend to live in enclosed enclaves (we may hardly be able
to call them ‘communities’), taking care of our own spiritual welfare. But that
is not the Church that Christ founded. We are called to proclaim the gospel. We
are called to reach out to the sinner. To do so, we have to welcome them and
eat with them. Instead of living in sanitised suburbs, we should be down in the
poor sections of our cities, in our pubs and clubs, in our ‘red light’
districts reaching out and listening and, where possible, bringing back a sheep
that is lost and does not know where it is going.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary
Thursday,
November 5, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God of power and mercy, only with your help can we offer you
fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess and
trust your promise of eternal life. 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.
Gospel Reading - Luke 15: 1-10
The tax collectors and sinners, however, were
all crowding round to listen to Jesus, and the Pharisees and scribes complained
saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So, he told them this parable: “Which one of
you with a hundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail to leave the ninety-nine
in the desert and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found
it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home,
call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, I
have found my sheep that was lost.”
In the same way, I tell you, there will be
more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine
upright people who have no need of repentance.”
Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would
not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search
thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together
her friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found
the drachma I lost."
In the same way, I tell you,
there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.
Reflection
The Gospel today presents the first one of
three parables united among themselves by one same word. It is a question of
three things which were lost: the lost sheep (Lk 15: 3-7), the lost drachma (Lk
15: 8-10), and the lost son (Lk 15: 1132). The three parables are addressed to
the Pharisees and to the Doctors of the Law who criticized Jesus (Lk 15: 1-3).
That is, they are addressed to the Pharisee and to the Scribe or doctor of the
Law which is in each one of us.
•
Luke 15: 1-3: Those to whom the parables are
addressed. The first three verses describe the context in which the three
parables were pronounced: “At that time, the tax collectors and sinners were
all crowding round to listen to him. The Pharisees and Scribes complained.” On
one side there were the tax collectors and the sinners; on the other the
Pharisees and the Doctors of the Law. Luke speaks exaggerating somewhat: “The
tax collectors and the sinners were all crowding round to listen to Jesus.” There
was something in Jesus which attracted them. It is the word of Jesus which
attracts them (cf. Is 50: 4). They want to listen to him. This is a sign that
they do not feel condemned, but rather they feel accepted by him. The criticism
of the Pharisees and the Scribes is the following: "This man welcomes
sinners and eats with them!” When sending out the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10:
1-9), Jesus had ordered them to accept the excluded, the sick, the possessed
(Mt 10: 8; Lk 10: 9) and to gather them for the banquet (Lk 10: 8).”
•
Luke 15: 4: The Parable of the lost sheep. The
parable of the lost sheep begins with a question: “Which one of you with a
hundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail to leave the ninety-nine in the
desert and go after the missing one till he found it?” Before giving a
response, Jesus must have looked around to see who was listening to him to see
how they would have answered. The question is formulated in such a way that the
response can only be a positive one: “Yes, he will go after the lost sheep!”
And you, how would you answer? Would you leave the ninety-nine in the field to
go and look for the only one which got lost? Who would do this? Probably, the
majority would have answered: “Jesus, who among us? Nobody would do such an
absurd thing. The proverb says:
“Better one bird in the hand than one hundred flying
around!”
•
Luke 15: 5-7: Jesus interprets the parable of
the lost sheep. Now, in the parable the shepherd does that which nobody would
do: to leave everything and to go and look for the lost sheep. God alone can
assume such an attitude! Jesus wants that we become aware, conscious of the
Pharisee or the Scribe which is in each one of us, The Pharisees and the
Scribes abandoned the sinners and excluded them. They would have never gone to
look for the lost sheep. They would have allowed it to get lost in the desert.
They preferred the ninety-nine. But Jesus places himself in the place of the
sheep which got lost and, which in that context of the official religion, would
fall into despair, without the hope of being accepted. Jesus makes them and us
know: “If you feel that you are a lost sinner, remember that for God you are
worth more than the other ninetynine sheep. And in case that you are converted,
know that there will be “greater joy in heaven for a sinner who is converted,
than for ninety-nine just who do not need conversion.
•
Luke 15: 8-10: Parable of the lost drachma. The
second Parable: Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost
one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found
it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbors
saying to them, “Rejoice with me, I have found the drachma I lost. In the same
way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant
sinner.” God rejoices with us. The angels rejoice with us. The parable serves
to communicate hope to those who were threatened with despair because of the
official religion. This message recalls what God tells us in the Book of the
Prophet Isaiah: "Look, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands!” (Is
49: 16). “Since I regard you as precious, since you are honored and I love
you!” (Is 43: 4).
Personal Questions
•
Would you go out to look for the lost sheep?
•
Do you think that today the Church is faithful
to this parable of Jesus?
Concluding Prayer
Seek Yahweh and his strength,
tirelessly seek his presence! Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders,
the judgements he has spoken. (Ps 105: 4-5)
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