Monday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Readings for Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[iii]

Reading 1: Ephesians 2:1-10

You were dead in your transgressions and sins
in which you once lived following the age of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,
following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,
and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.
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Commentary on Eph 2:1-10

In the first half of the second chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, the evangelist describes how the faithful are reconciled to God in Christ. He begins in the opening verses describing how, before they were chosen in Christ, the faithful readers were dead in their sins. There natural values followed the evil one (“following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient”). In this fallen state, the desires of the flesh drove them toward a life of “wrath” (anger – hatred) as it does even now to those who do not accept Christ’s law of love.

St. Paul continues, now showing how, through Christ’s sacrifice, God pours out his grace on his adopted sons and daughters, an unmerited gift from God. It is through this grace that that salvation, we cannot earn this gift (“…it is not from works, so no one may boast.”). He concludes reminding the reader that all are God’s “handiwork”, his creation in Christ Jesus, called to a life of good works.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4ab, 4c-5

R. (3b) The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
worship the LORD with cries of gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Know that the LORD is God,
our maker to whom we belong,
whose people we are,
God's well-tended flock.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Enter the temple gates with praise,
its courts with thanksgiving
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Give thanks to God, bless his name;
good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever,
whose faithfulness lasts through every age.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
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Commentary on Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4ab, 4c-5

Psalm 100 is a song of praise sung by the assembly. It affirms God’s saving grace given to His sons and daughters through all generations.

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Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him (Jesus),
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
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Commentary on Lk 12:13-21

Jesus uses the parable of the Rich Landowner to emphasize the need to focus on the spiritual gifts not just on material goods. He tells the one who wishes to have Jesus arbitrate a dispute with that person’s brother to take care against greed.

The parable has elements of other stories used by Jesus in which the unpredictability of the end of life is emphasized. Spoken to the crowd, the Lord tells them to focus on those spiritual attributes without delay.

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Reflection:

In the recent Olympics the world was transfixed as athletes from around the world competed in a myriad of events. As different as they all were, young and old, large and small, and men and women, they had one thing in common. They all had worked hard at their craft, mentally and physically, to get to that level of competition.

We wonder; how many of these elite athletes paused to consider how it was that they were able to achieve such prominence in their sport? Did the young Chinese girls who won their team gold medals for gymnastics ever marvel at who gave them the physical and mental attributes that allowed them to perform as they did? Did the Korean Archery Team give thanks to God for their success?

We do not pose these questions to be critical of other people from different cultural backgrounds; rather we see the Olympics as analogous to our own lives, the events as being like the challenges we face in work, school, or at home. Like those athletes, many of us have trained for a profession or avocation. We work hard at what ever we do. Yet, could we have accomplished anything if God in his infinite mercy had not given us the gifts of life, health, and ability?

And when we start the active parts of our lives, do we say; “I think I’ll start slowly in order to save my strength for when I am older?” Do we procrastinate in our physical activities, vowing to strive for physical excellence when we grow old? No, most of us worked very hard early in our lives to acquire the physical attributes and mental skills necessary to embark upon our chosen path. We realize that the earlier we start and the harder we work, the more likely our potential will be fully realized.

Holy Scripture tells us that the same must be true of our spiritual pursuits. We cannot store up our energy, hoping to make a sudden sprint for sainthood at the end of our days. Christ uses the story of the wealthy landowner to emphasize this point. He asks the crowd rhetorically; what good is saving God’s gifts to the end before using it if we do not know when that end will come?

In counter point or paradox, St. Paul tells the Ephesians in his letter that they cannot earn God’s grace – it is only through his mercy that grace is given. We cannot store up that grace, it is bound to us by God, a spiritual energy that infuses us and gives us strength.

Today we renew our pledge to build up our spiritual strength. We pledge once more to be faithful to our spiritual discipline of prayer, meditation, and works of charity. When we are called home to the Heavenly Father, may we take with us all the riches Christ gives us in a spirit worthy of him who created us all.

Pax
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture used today is “Barn Interior” by Egbert van der Poel, c. 1654
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Psalm Response is from Printed source United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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