Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Someone asked Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”

Imagine the person who timidly asks Jesus this question. In the question itself is a longing to know the answer and trembling expectation. Not everyone will enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus himself says in today’s reading, “And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.” What is the difference between those who will not be saved and those who will? One word: strive. The English translation from the Greek term means to struggle. How do I struggle? Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Does God see me daily striving to enter?

God, help direct my gaze toward the narrow gate. Even if I keep it in sight, it doesn’t mean I will strive to enter. Give me the grace to fight the good fight and enter the narrow gate. Lord, will I be the one knocking at the locked door, saying, “Lord, open the door for us”? Twice you say to those at the door: “I do not know where you are from.” By my words and actions today, Lord, let it be that you recognize where I am from—that is, always falling short—and that I need you to lift me up.

God, thank you for the words of your Son. At first the words “strive to enter” seem harsh to me, and taste of rejection. But coming straight from the mouth of Jesus and intrinsic to the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, they call me to go on, to move forward in love of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the teachings of the Bride of Christ, the Church. Lord, open the door for us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Jesus compares the Kingdom of God in two ways: the mustard seed that is planted and the yeast that is mixed into a batch of dough. In both parables, Jesus describes what his Father’s kingdom is like; in both, he describes a man and a woman taking action: planting seed and adding yeast. Is this God’s way of inviting everybody to take part in growing and nurturing the Kingdom of God? Do a little; let God take that offering, bless it, and make it grow. It takes a bit of effort to cooperate with God’s Word. How the Word of God spreads, how his kingdom grows is a mystery—one that I would understand better with the mind of a child. As the Gospel acclamation says, “You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.”

God, help me understand my part in making your kingdom grow. On the grand scale, there is little I can do to broaden and deepen your kingdom. How can I help it grow? In my own family and among those around me on any given day, it seems enough to be mindful of the reality of your kingdom and trust in its existence. As Paul says in the first reading, “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. . . . This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Let me not look to myself or be concerned about the little I do; instead, out of reverence for Christ, let me be subordinate to your Divine Will. Give me the grace to know and do your will to grow your kingdom.

Dear God, be with me today. Stay with me in the fight of the day as I struggle to bring your kingdom into my limited sight and restless hands. By my words and actions, through your grace, show me where to plant and what to leaven for the sake of your glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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.

After Jesus had cured the woman, the leader of the synagogue approached him, indignant that Jesus cured on the sabbath. Jesus replied by calling the leader a hypocrite and saying how it was fitting that the woman be healed from bondage by Satan on the sabbath day, the day when God rested from all the work he had done in creation. In the many healing miracles Jesus performs, most of the time people approach Jesus to be healed; they raise their hand and call for help. In today’s Gospel reading, however, Jesus calls to the woman to come to him to be healed. There is great comfort in knowing that there may be times when I don’t know well enough to ask God for healing; instead, when I am crippled by a spirit, he comes to me out of love. As Jesus says of the woman, I could say of myself: “ought she have not been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?"

God, you know me better than I know myself. Wherever I am crippled by a spirit and have infirmity because of it, come heal me even if I am not fully aware of the kind of healing I need. Free me, so that as the woman stood erect and glorified you, I can cease from being stooped over and do the same. Whatever prevents me from living in your love, shatter the obstacles that bind; break through that darkness and bring healing so that the glory may be yours. As Paul says in the first reading: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

Lord, you bring me in your presence the foundation on which I long to build this day. You are the light that leads me out of confusion and darkness as I take on tasks and interact with others. How will I live in love, compassion, and forgiveness today, as Paul encourages? Teach me to please you in my words and actions, and teach me to desire this more and more today and every day.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus said, “But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus addresses a parable to those, as Luke says, convinced of their own righteousness and despising everybody. Two people went to the temple to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector. In his prayer, the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the rest of humanity. He was not greedy, dishonest, or adulterous and fasted twice a week and paid tithes. The tax collector stood off at a distance, did not even raise his eyes to heaven, beat his breast, and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” How often has the congregation at Mass been a place to observe all who are present and say of some of them, “Thank God I am not like them.”

God, help me take to heart interiorly the posture and demeanor of the tax collector. Jesus says the tax collector stood off at a distance, perhaps not to be noticed but also because he was aware that he was a sinner. Rather than looking around at Mass and positioning myself in relation to others’ status, let me look to you, Lord, and bring all of my sins before you to see. This is not an act born out of shame; it is acknowledgment of my own dysfunction—when I have failed to love you above all else.

Act in me today, God, through your Divine Will. Show me the ways I can put others’ needs ahead of my own, and give me the grace to do this with a joyful heart. As I recognize my shortcomings, let that give me greater certainty that I need to stay near you at all times for your protection from harm. Lord, let me put my faith in proclaiming your Divine Will, as Saint Paul did, saying: “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength. . . . The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://www.flickr.com/photos/frted/5445613926

Ted: Icon of The Publican (Tax Collector) and Pharisee. flickr.