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“Christ as Savior”
by El Greco, 1810-14 |
Readings for Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Romans 13:8-10
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
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Commentary on Rom 13:8-10
St. Paul, in this reading from his Letter to the Romans, restates the second half of the great commandment. The apostle says that following Christ’s commandment to love one another automatically fulfills any other commandment of the law governing Christian interaction. St. Paul essentially paraphrases Jesus' own teaching from St. Matthew’s Gospel as the Lord debated the Sadducees and Pharisees in Matthew 22:34ff.
"Those of you who are unlettered should not think that this means you cannot enter paradise. Study these two commandments, and when you have fulfilled them, realize that you have done everything laid down in the Law and the Prophets, and everything taught by the Gospel and by the apostles and whatever you are admonished to do by all the countless books that have been written, for the Lord has sent his word to us in (this) manifold form (cf. Rom 9:28)." [4]
CCC: Rom 12-15 1454, 1971; Rom 13:8-10 1824, 2196; Rom 13:8 2845; Rom 13:9-10 2055
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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9
R. ( 5a) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9
This hymn of David exalts the person who follows the law of God. A number of actions associated with this faithfulness are presented including acts of generosity, mercy, charity, and honesty. That person, we are told, will be held up by God.
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Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
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Commentary on Lk 14:25-33
The Lord, perhaps in an action intended to identify those who had the zeal to be true disciples, tells the crowd of the necessity of total dedication to the call to discipleship. They had seen his recent miracles of healing and were, no doubt, hoping to learn wisdom from him.
He tells them that they must place their love of God first, before family and even their own lives. He tells them, through two examples – the construction of the tower and the evaluation of the battle – that they must measure the sacrifice needed to be his follower. He punctuates his statement by telling them they must “renounce” all their possessions to follow him.
CCC: Lk 14:26 1618; Lk 14:33 2544
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Reflection:
There is within the call to discipleship a natural growth that takes place. We see clearly that God gives faith in different amounts at different times. Some of us are ready to take the call to holiness completely and let it dominate our lives, others of us grow toward that ideal gradually, growing in faith and understanding.
In St. Luke’s Gospel we hear the Lord explaining that full discipleship requires a singleness of purpose evident in his closest friends, the Twelve. As he walked through Galilee, great crowds followed him. Some were just curious, others malicious, and still others truly wished for the truth. Cognizant of this, the Lord explains what it will take for them to follow him. We can almost see the crowds melting away.
But even in that day some would have tried to follow the Lord, working toward the complete submission necessary for discipleship. It is what we do today. Few of us are free to commit completely to the literal ideal expressed in Scripture today. Most of us have worldly obligations that require us to work at a secular job and support ourselves and families.
This secular encumbrance, however, does not excuse us from the basic instruction given by Jesus: dedication to God and His Son must be first in our lives. Our love for the Lord must color everything we do. St. Paul has it absolutely correct in his Letter to the Romans. The filter through which all our actions must pass is the filter of love.
Love is more than an emotion, more than a feeling (excuse me Kansas), it is an attitude, a decision. Love directs us to do what is right for others and to others. It places a balance in our lives. If we love others and ourselves, we can find the balance between how much to give and what we need to keep. If love for one another drives our interaction with others, it must also be the source of our relationship with God. Indeed, the first part of the Lord’s Great Commandment tells us to love the Lord our God.
This is one of those topics that cannot be done justice in the short space we have here. Let us pledge today that we will really try, with God’s help, to so completely love those we meet that they will instantly know we are disciples of the one who was love personified, Jesus Christ.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Christ as Savior” by El Greco, 1810-14.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] St John of Avila "Sermons", Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost.
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