Thirtieth Week

30th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Paul continues to give advice to the Church at Ephesus on various categories of relationship, and today he focuses on the relationship between parents and children, as well as master and slave. It’s no surprise that Paul reminds children of the Commandment to honor their father and mother, but he adds that this is a source of blessing. This duty of honoring goes from the crib to eternity: as parents get older the roles often get reversed, and children should love and care for their parents with the same love and care that they received. This mutual love breaks down when the parents don’t treat their children as they should, which is why Paul also reminds parents not to lord their position over their children.

For slaves Paul encourages them to spiritually “transfer ownership” to Our Lord. Slavery is a great injustice, but in Paul’s time it was so prevalent that he didn’t see the need to question it. For Paul, we’re all slaves of the Lord anyway: he owns master and slave alike, and both answer to him, therefore neither is entitled to abuse the relationship they share. Slaves in Paul’s time could be freed as well, and even in then, as his other letter to Philemon shows, Paul’s hope was that believers would go from master and slave to brothers in the Lord, either spiritually or otherwise. Thankfully most of the world today doesn’t suffer the scourge of slavery, but we can follow Paul’s advice as employer or employee too.

Let’s ask Our Lord to help us today be a fair and loving parent, child, employer, or employee. Or all of the above.

Readings: Ephesians 6:1–9; Psalm 145:10–14; Luke 13:22–30. See also 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, and the 12th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday and Thursday.

 

30th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Paul uses the relationship between husband and wife to explain the relationship between Christ and the Church, and sheds light on Christian marriage as well. Paul once again describes the Church as the Body of Christ, and evokes the passage of Genesis where it’s explained that when man and woman come together in marriage they become one flesh (see Genesis 2:24). Each spouse should love the other as his or her very self: in that logic there’s no room for abuse. Whoever is at fault, both are affected.

Some may see a disparity in the language between how the husband should act toward the wife and vice versa in Paul’s teaching, but their radical unity doesn’t exempt one or the other from total self-giving and dedication, whether in making decisions or accepting them. In that way they imitate Christ and how he loved the Church as if she were his own Body. We refer to the Church as “she” because she is the Spouse of Christ. Our relationship with Christ and our fellow believers in the Church should be the same: whether we are exercising authority or heeding it, we are doing so out of love.

Let’s ask Our Lord to help us imitate him more closely today in his loving dedication to us, and pray for every married couple to love their spouse as they’d love themselves.

Readings: Ephesians 5:21–33; Psalm 128:1–5; Luke 13:18–21. See also 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday,  11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B and 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

30th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Paul brands the immoral, the impure, and the greedy as “idolaters.” Where’s the false god? When we idolize these things, we make them our gods, sometimes imperceptibly, because we become enslaved to pleasure, money, or power and serve them instead of making them serve us in a moral and healthy way. This is no passing teen crush or talent competition, but a real enthrallment to creatures that were meant to help us draw closer to God.

The path starts when we make light of the very things that could spiritually destroy us, because we stop taking them or the consequences of abusing them seriously. Today’s entertainment often portrays the “bad boy,” the black sheep, the shady character as something cool, funny, or simply normal. Examples of virtue seem boring or are the butt of jokes. There’s no easy solution to this problem, but we can turn that television off and concentrate on being loving toward one another and toward God, just as Paul encourages us to do today.

If we imitate Our Lord we have nothing to fear, because his love for our Father is perfect. Let’s live as children of the light and leave any past darkness behind.

Readings: Ephesians 4:32–5:8; Psalm 1:1–4, 6; Luke 13:10–17. See also 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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Today’s readings remind us that the Lord is a judge that we can trust. In the First Reading Sirach reminds us that the Lord is completely impartial and hears every “case” that is presented to him in prayer, even when earthly justice fails. When we pray, we stand before Our Lord and judge. In today’s Second Reading Paul faces earthly injustice alone, but he is not discouraged, because he knows that the just Judge is with him and that even if, at the end of his life, he suffers at the hands of injustice, the Lord will ultimately give him the justice he deserves.

In today’s Gospel the Pharisee decides to become the judge of himself and others and shows his flaws. He judges the Publican praying nearby, and he also judges himself just, even though Our Lord confirms that he is not, probably due to his selfishness, arrogance, and lack of charity. The Publican knows he faces a just Judge in his prayer, which is why he rightly laments his faults, but he also knows that he faces a merciful Judge and throws himself upon the mercy of the “court.” Whenever we pray we stand before the just Judge who has shown us mercy and continues to do so.

Let’s thank Our Lord today for being not only a just Judge, but a merciful one as well, and let’s show our gratitude by evaluating others with justice and mercy.

Readings: Sirach 35:12–14, 16–18; Psalm 34:2–3, 17–19, 23; 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 16–18; Luke 18:9–14. See also 3rd Week of Lent, Saturday.

 

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.