Friday

34th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord invites the disciples to read the signs of the seasons, not just the signs of the times, to know that the Kingdom of God is near. In describing the signs of summer drawing near he is directing our attention to spring: a period after a long season of cold and apparent death followed by new life starting to bloom. In this contrast between spring and summer Our Lord is teaching us about one of the characteristics of the end times, described by some theologians as “now and not yet.”

The Kingdom of God is established “now”: it was near, and those who believed in Jesus and his preaching became the first signs in the world of that Kingdom, and he entrusted his disciples with the mission of continuing to announce that it was near. All disciples of Jesus are signs and members of the Kingdom of God. The springtime of new life starting to bloom has come with our baptism and Christian life. Saint John Paul II expressed the desire that the third millennium be a “new springtime” for Christianity. The time of the Church, until Our Lord’s return in glory, is that springtime.

At the same time, the Kingdom of God is “not yet” complete. It cannot be until every person throughout history has had an opportunity to welcome it or reject it, and that won’t happen until the end of time. The Kingdom of God is “not yet” a complete conquest and exile of all the evil influences in the world; that will come at the end of time with the Last Judgment. The Kingdom is “now” and “not yet”: let’s live our faith as a spring with an eager anticipation of the beautiful summer to come for those who welcome it.

Readings: Daniel 7:2–14; Daniel 3:75–81; Luke 21:29–33.

33rd Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel Luke describes the crowds as hanging on Our Lord’s words so much that the authorities are afraid of doing anything to him for fear of the crowds. Those crowds, knowingly or unknowingly, are already starting to imitate Christ. As Our Lord is driving the vendors out of the Temple he is acting because of God’s past word: in mentioning a “house of prayer” and a “den of thieves” he is sizing up the way the temple should be, how it is, and the need to do something about it. He is taking two separate teachings in Sacred Scripture and connecting the dots to translate the word of God into action.

Society today doesn’t hang on Our Lord’s every word, even in societies founded by Christians. Our Lord is often mocked and ridiculed, and, by extension, so are “Christians”. Governments, whether considered democratic or despotic, don’t value the Christian outlook, or even contradict it. That’s why we need to continue to “hang” onto Our Lord’s words and teachings and translate them into action and goodexample, not just for Christians, but for society. God’s Word wants to inspire us and transform us, and we have to let it in. If society, especially its leaders, sees many people “hanging” on Our Lord’s words they’ll be just as afraid to mistreat him as those Temple officials were afraid of political backlash.

Let’s resolve today to “hang” on Our Lord’s words again. Repeating them to others may not make much of an impact, but if society sees kindness and compassion (even if they don’t realize it’s driven by charity), confidence and optimism (even if they don’t realize it’s powered by hope), and an insight and wisdom into life and the meaning of life (even if they don’t realize it’s illuminated by faith), they too will start to examine their lives and go to the source of that will teach them and instill in them a faith, hope, and charity that will transform society for the better.

Readings: 1 Maccabees 4:36–37, 52–59; 1 Chronicles 29:10b–d, 11–12d; Luke 19:45–48. See also 8th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year I.

31st Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel we see the first part of Our Lord’s teaching on the need to be faithful and honest even in small things. He begins with the negative example of a steward squandering his employer’s property and being put on notice that he’s to be dismissed. The steward doesn’t want to abandon the good life he’s had, and he doesn’t want to become a beggar, so he starts making deals with the very people he and his former employer had been cheating in order to win their favor. When he adjusts the billing for each person it’s because he’s been helping his employer to deceive them all along. Now that the employer is firing him, he’s using that fact to his advantage: his former employer can’t do anything about it without revealing that he too was part of the deception, and by giving his employer’s clients these “discounts” he is winning favor for himself. The soon-to-be former employer can’t help but admire his cunning (probably because the steward learned it from him).

Perhaps a better translation for Jesus’ evaluation of this could be that the children of this world are cleverer in dealing with those of their own kind that those who are not of this kind. He’s not giving us an example to follow, but an example to be on guard against and avoid. The children of the light don’t act this way and shouldn’t.

We’ll consider how they should act in tomorrow’s reflection. For now, let’s examine our dealings with others and see whether we’re more a child of this age (bad) or a child of the light (good).

Readings: Romans 15:14–21; Psalm 98:1–4; Luke 16:1–8.

30th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord knows what’s on everyone’s mind, and he doesn’t duck the issue: is this Rabbi going to start breaking the rules again? The Pharisees are watching him and judging him. A dropsical man is sitting there, not even asking Jesus to heal him, maybe because it is the Sabbath. Dropsy is a painful swelling, an edema, and not something you’d want to put off healing. When Our Lord takes the Pharisees to task for possibly having a problem with healing someone suffering in that condition when they’d have no problem rescuing their son or cattle from falling into a well, he is driving home that God did not intend the Sabbath as a moment to rest from helping someone suffering or in need, and common sense proves that.

The Pharisees had no response. At least this time they didn’t decide to try and trip him up as on past occasions when he contradicted their teaching, because it was hard to refute his logic. In today’s society there are many things considered as givens because no one has the courage, upon examination, to question them. They remain with the status quo because it is more comfortable, but sometimes we need to go out beyond our comfort zone and embrace greater and uncomfortable truths that are the path to greater fulfillment. That doesn’t mean inventing new truths, but discovering the enduring ones behind everything we think and do.

If you feel scrutinized today because of your beliefs, don’t be afraid to turn that into an opportunity to share the Truth that will set those people free.

Readings: Romans 9:1–5; Psalm 147:12–15, 19–20; Luke 14:1–6.

29th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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Our Lord invites us in today’s Gospel to seek the deeper signs of our world, good and bad, and act on them. When he uses the example of rain or hot weather he is chiding us for focusing on things that are often fleeting and superficial–a weather report is almost obsolete as soon as it’s presented–but he is also encouraging us to see that we can perceive greater and more important trends in our lives and in our culture, good trends (like rain for good crops) and bad (like hot weather that withers and dries up crops), and do something about them.

In the First Reading St. Paul describes signs of a battle being waged in each of us: a battle between doing what we know to be right and overcoming that tendency in us to do what is evil, even when we know it to be wrong. Paul invokes Our Lord as the only force able to help break this interior stalemate. We can feel stormy moments and we can feel the heat of our actions, but we know Our Lord will help us to overcome them. At the same time Our Lord in today’s Gospel reminds us that we have to be proactive: we can’t put off reconciling with him or with others unless we want to face justice after squandering many opportunities to come to terms.

Our Lord tells us today that the signs are there if we want to look. Let’s ask him to help us recognize them and act on them for the good.

Readings: Romans 7:18–25a; Psalm 119:66, 68, 76–77, 93–94; Luke 12:54–59.