Be still,
quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you, talking to
you...............................................
Thursday of
the Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)
First
Reading: Gal 3:1-5
O stupid
Galatians!
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
Did you experience so many things in vain?--if indeed it was in vain.
Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard?
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
Did you experience so many things in vain?--if indeed it was in vain.
Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard?
Responsorial Psalm: Lk 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Israel; he has come to his people."
Gospel: Lk
11:5-13
Jesus said to his
disciples:
"Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
"Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
**
Reflection:
What can we expect from
God, especially when we recognize that he doesn't owe us anything and that we
don't deserve his grace and favor? Jesus used the illustration of a late-night
traveller to teach his listeners an important lesson about how God treats us in
contrast to the kind of treatment we might expect from good neighbors. The rule
of hospitality in biblical times required the cooperation of the entire
community in entertaining an unexpected or late-night guest. Whether the guest
was hungry or not, a meal would be served. In a small village it would be easy
to know who had baked bread that day. Bread was essential for a meal because it
served as a utensil for dipping and eating from the common dishes. Asking for
bread from one's neighbor was both a common occurrence and an expected favor. To
refuse to give bread would bring shame because it was a sign of inhospitality.
If a neighbor can be imposed upon and coerced into giving bread in the
middle of the night, how much more hospitable is God, who, no matter what the
circumstances, is generous and ready to give us what we need. Augustine of Hippo
reminds us that "God, who does not sleep and who awakens us from sleep that we
may ask, gives much more graciously." In conclusion Jesus makes a startling
claim: How much more will the heavenly Father give! The Lord is ever
ready to give us not only what we need, but more than we can expect. He gives
freely of his Holy Spirit that we may share in his life and joy. Do you approach
your heavenly Father with confidence in his mercy and kindness?
**
Prayer:
"Heavenly Father, you are merciful, gracious and kind. May I never doubt
your love nor hesitate to seek you with confidence in order to obtain the gifts,
graces, and daily provision I need to live as your disciple and child."
Amen.
|
Lectionary for Mass
for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright
© 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm
refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy,
Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be
reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including
electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright
owner.
**Don
Schwager
Author and
Writer
Sword of the
Spirit
and The Word Among
Us
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