Readings for Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Rom 12:5-16ab
St. Paul speaks to a community that is one in faith in Christ. He tells the community that in their union the gifts of each must serve the needs of all and these gifts need to be exercised. In the second part of the selection the Evangelist gives a litany of exhortations to live the love of Christ, following his command to love one another sincerely and to forgive those who persecute them.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Linking into St. Paul’s idea of using the gifts God has given; the singer proclaims trust in the Lord and peace, like a child’s contented peace, in that trust.
Gospel Lk 14:15-24
This story from St. Luke’s Gospel is an analogy for those of the Jewish faith who reject Jesus as the Messiah. He tells them that those to whom faith in God first was given have rejected the very prophecy the hold sacred and others will enjoy the fulfillment of those prophecies.
Reflection:
St. Luke’s Gospel was most likely written for a gentile audience and as such stories like the one related in the selection for today would have been received as reinforcement to the call to faith. They see the Lord speaking with the Pharisees, one of the most religious groups within the Jewish community. He is telling them that they have been invited to follow him and it is up to them to accept the invitation. He goes further though, telling these leaders of the Jewish faith that while the invitation has been given to them, Jesus knows they will make excuses not to accept and in the end, the Gentiles will be the ones celebrating the Banquet of God.
The gentiles would have rejoiced at this description, reassured that their faith was not in vein. They would have taken the words of St. Paul to heart and lived as the Lord envisioned and instructed, unified as one body in faith; each member using his or her own gifts for the benefit of all and as a group, caring for the poor and the marginalized.
That same invitation flows down through the millennia to us. We are invited to that banquet and like those Pharisees who dined with Christ; he looks at us and sees our hearts. His attitude, as it must have been with those Jewish leaders, would not be condescending or judgmental. It would be one of love and compassion. He knows we are torn between following our human desires and his difficult path. But he knows that we may not be constant in our acceptance of that invitation he makes it clear that the door is open and his hand is out to us.
That, as always, is our daily quest. How will we respond to that invitation today? Will we dress up in our “play cloths” and go out and get dirty? Or, will we bath in prayer and put on our very best cloths (clothing ourselves in Christ himself) and get ready for that wondrous party. The guest of honor is waiting. The feast of the Lamb is prepared; his body real food; his blood real drink. What is our response today?
Pax
Pray for Dave
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture today is Banquet at the House of Simon, Bernardo Strozzi, 1630
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Rom 12:5-16ab
St. Paul speaks to a community that is one in faith in Christ. He tells the community that in their union the gifts of each must serve the needs of all and these gifts need to be exercised. In the second part of the selection the Evangelist gives a litany of exhortations to live the love of Christ, following his command to love one another sincerely and to forgive those who persecute them.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Linking into St. Paul’s idea of using the gifts God has given; the singer proclaims trust in the Lord and peace, like a child’s contented peace, in that trust.
Gospel Lk 14:15-24
This story from St. Luke’s Gospel is an analogy for those of the Jewish faith who reject Jesus as the Messiah. He tells them that those to whom faith in God first was given have rejected the very prophecy the hold sacred and others will enjoy the fulfillment of those prophecies.
Reflection:
St. Luke’s Gospel was most likely written for a gentile audience and as such stories like the one related in the selection for today would have been received as reinforcement to the call to faith. They see the Lord speaking with the Pharisees, one of the most religious groups within the Jewish community. He is telling them that they have been invited to follow him and it is up to them to accept the invitation. He goes further though, telling these leaders of the Jewish faith that while the invitation has been given to them, Jesus knows they will make excuses not to accept and in the end, the Gentiles will be the ones celebrating the Banquet of God.
The gentiles would have rejoiced at this description, reassured that their faith was not in vein. They would have taken the words of St. Paul to heart and lived as the Lord envisioned and instructed, unified as one body in faith; each member using his or her own gifts for the benefit of all and as a group, caring for the poor and the marginalized.
That same invitation flows down through the millennia to us. We are invited to that banquet and like those Pharisees who dined with Christ; he looks at us and sees our hearts. His attitude, as it must have been with those Jewish leaders, would not be condescending or judgmental. It would be one of love and compassion. He knows we are torn between following our human desires and his difficult path. But he knows that we may not be constant in our acceptance of that invitation he makes it clear that the door is open and his hand is out to us.
That, as always, is our daily quest. How will we respond to that invitation today? Will we dress up in our “play cloths” and go out and get dirty? Or, will we bath in prayer and put on our very best cloths (clothing ourselves in Christ himself) and get ready for that wondrous party. The guest of honor is waiting. The feast of the Lamb is prepared; his body real food; his blood real drink. What is our response today?
Pax
Pray for Dave
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture today is Banquet at the House of Simon, Bernardo Strozzi, 1630
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