October 2, 2016 –Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Lectionary: 141
Reading 1 – Habakkuk 1: 2-3; 2:2-4
How long, O LORD? I cry for help
but you do not listen!
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not intervene.
Why do you let me see ruin;
why must I look at misery?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and clamorous discord.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash one has no integrity;
but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
- If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him. - If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. - If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.” - If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2 – 2 Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14
Beloved:
I remind you, to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit
that dwells within us.
Gospel – Luke 17: 5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied,
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?
Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, ‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'”
Listen to the Scriptures: Click on the link below:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/16_10_02.mp3
27th Sunday of the Year – C – 2nd October 2016
Theme: The Problem of Evil. The greatest religious problem for the average person is to understand how a good God can permit the evil, tragic, heart-breaking events which he experiences or merely witnesses. An abstract reference to the direct and permissive will of God is only a partial answer and small comfort to one who must endure such evil. Suffering and evil can be understood only as mysteries which we must somehow relate to Jesus. To endure suffering as Jesus did, to accept the Father’s will, no matter how cruel or senseless it may seem at the time, is to identify with those suffering servants from Job to Jesus who realized that the Father has a reason for everything.
The presence of evil in the world has been a stumbling block for all religions. Dualism is the most ancient solution, even older than Judaism: a good god and an evil god struggling to dominate the world. Even revealed religion did not at first provide the answer. God was content to guide and channel human research in this field, not attempting too soon to reveal a mystery which could not be understood without Christ.
Point 1: Moral evil. Since man has free will, moral evil (sin) will continue to exist even though innocent people may suffer from someone else’s misuse of his free will. Since God chose to make us free rather than controlled robots, some evil will inevitably follow. The two are intertwined until the day when all men choose only what is good. Since this is unlikely, our response to moral evil must be our own good example, sound teaching, and the ability to accept evil as something permitted by God so as not to interfere with our freedom.
Point 2: Physical evil. Physical, natural evils – death, accidents, plagues, and droughts – are a more profound problem. If God is good, how can he permit such evils? We know that God has built into the world certain laws of nature which sometimes lead to a crisis such as a tornado or a hurricane or an earthquake etc. We know too that speed kills, that even momentary inattention while driving or flying can cause death or injury, that genetic factors can cripple or kill. But the question to be answered is, “Why does God allow such things?” We know that God does not directly will evil, although he does permit it. But why? God has always responded that he sees things from a higher plane, and often things that seem evil are in fact not so. A dead child might have grown up to be another Hitler. A dying mother may draw a family together and give them an example of Christian courage that will last their lifetime. God does draw good out of evil. This doesn’t make enduring evil or suffering any easier, but it does help us if we recall times in the past when we have seen such things happen.
Point 3: The conquest of evil. If this world were all we had to count on, the evils we endure would make life a great, sad, intolerable joke. But we have faith in God’s promises. We have the example of Jesus taking the evils of betrayal, suffering, and death – accepting them, and thereby turning them into something good: the price of our redemption. When we face life’s bitterest moments, our consolation is that in this God is calling us to be “other Christs.”
Conclusion: Even though we may ask “Why?” when we experience evil, we have to remember we are not seeing with the vision of God. Christ has shown us that evil can be endured, can actually be the cause of good – but only if we fall back on our faith and try to accept God’s will even when we don’t understand it.
QUESTIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO OTHER THOUGHTS / REFLECTION / DISCUSSION / WRITTEN
- In explaining death to children, is it wiser to speak of God’s Will or of the growth and death of all natural things?
- What are the positive effects of suffering? Can you give an example?
- What are the areas of your own life in which you find it most difficult to see meaning and purpose? What is the role of faith in all of this?
- When have you (give an example) experienced such faith that enabled you to do something that you could not do or accomplish by your own strength?
A Reflection: Jesus said that it was impossible to construct a world with no temptations; but woe to that person who taught another to sin or who took away another’s innocence.
Everyone must be given his first invitation to sin, his first push along the wrong way. Kennedy Williamson tells of an old man who was dying. Something was obviously worrying him. He told them at last what it was. “When I was a lad,” he said, “I often played on a wide common. Near its centre two roads met and crossed, and, standing at the cross-roads, was an old rickety sign-post. I remember one day twisting it round in its socket, thus altering the arms and making them point in the wrong direction; and I’ve been wondering ever since how many travellers I sent on the wrong road.”
God will not hold the man guiltless, who, on the road of life, sends a younger or a weaker brother or sister on the wrong way.
In verses 5-6 we are told that faith is the greatest force in the world. We must again remember that it was the eastern custom to use language in the most vivid possible way. This saying means that even that which looks completely impossible becomes possible, if it is approached with faith. We have only to think of the number of scientific marvels, of the number of surgical operations, of the feats of endurance which today have been achieved and which less than fifty years ago would have been regarded as utterly impossible. If we approach a thing saying, “It can’t be done,” it will not; if we approach it saying, “It must be done,” the chances are that it will. We must always remember that we approach no task alone, but that with us there is God and all his power.
We are reminded in the last three verses of the Gospel that we can never put God in our debt and can never have any claim on him. When we have done our best, we have done only our duty; and a man who has done his duty has done only what, in any event, he could be compelled to do.
Meditation: What is the greatest force in the world? Jesus tells us that with faith we can do far more than we could accomplish by our own strength; faith can even move mountains and trees (see Matthew17:20; Mark 11:23)! What kind of faith did Jesus have in mind here? By faith Jesus meant more than just belief in God and in his power. Jesus spoke of faith as something dynamic, active, and very alive. Expectant faith is a gift God gives us for overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of doing God’s will. It enables us to cooperate with God’s grace and power for accomplishing whatever God wants us to do. To illustrate the powerful force of faith, Jesus used the image of an uprooted tree. Have you ever seen an uprooted tree caused by a sudden wind storm or flash flood? On another occasion Jesus illustrated the force of faith with the incredible image of a mountain transplanted: “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17:20) The term “mountain remover” was used in Jesus’ time for describing someone who could solve great problems and difficulties. Don’t we often encounter challenges and difficulties which seem beyond our power to handle? What appears impossible to human power is possible to those who believe in God’s power.
Faith is a gift freely given by God to help us know God personally, to understand his truth, and to live in the power of his love. God expects more from us than we can do by ourselves. Faith in God is the key for removing obstacles and difficulties which keep us from doing his will. We are his servants, and he is ever ready to work through us and in us for his glory. For faith to be effective it must be linked with trust and obedience — an active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever he commands. Do you trust in God’s grace and power to resist temptation and to overcome obstacles in doing his will?
Jesus’ parable of the dutiful laborers seems to suggest that we ought to always give our best, regardless of what we can expect in return. But, aren’t we like the laborer in Jesus’ parable who expected fair compensation for his day’s work? How unfair for the master to compel him to give more than what was expected! Don’t we love to assert our rights: “I will give only what is required and no more!” But who can satisfy the claims of love? Jesus used this parable of the dutiful servant to explain that we can never put God in our debt or make the claim that God owes us something. We must regard ourselves as God’s servants, just as Jesus came “not to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). Service of God and of neighbor is both a voluntary or free act which springs from a generous and merciful heart and a sacred duty which we owe to an all-merciful and gracious God. One can volunteer for public service or be compelled to do service for one’s country. Likewise, God expects us to give him the worship and praise which is his due. And he gladly accepts the free-will offering of our lives to him and his service. What makes our offering pleasing to God is the love we express in the gift of self-giving. True love is sacrificial, generous, and selfless.
How can we love others selflessly and unconditionally? God himself is Love (1 John 4:16) and he fills our hearts with the boundless love that gives what is good for the sake of others. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us (1 John 4:12). God honors the faithful servant who loves mercifully and gives generously. He wants to bless us richly with his gifts and graces and to work through and in us for his glory. We must remember, however, that God can never be indebted to us. We have no claim on him. His love compels us to give him our best! And when we have done our best, we have simply done our duty. We can never outmatch God in generous giving and loving service. Does the love of God compel you to give your best?
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time C – 2nd October 2016
For the Church: that God will stir up the Spirit who has been given to each us and embolden us to love without expectation and to forgive without condition. Let us pray to the Lord.
For a greater recognition of our discipleship: that as disciples, we may recognize God as the center of lives and be open to following wherever God will lead us. Let us pray to the Lord.
For the flowering of Faith: that we may grow in our reliance upon and loyalty to God in every area of our lives and relationships. Let us pray to the Lord.
For a vision of hope: that all who face violence, destruction, and chaos may be renewed by the Spirit of God and become a source of light and promise to others who are struggling. Let us pray to the Lord.
For a growth in patience: that God will sustain and strengthen us as we await the fulfillment of God’s promises and plans. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are searching for meaning and value in their life: that they may experience God’s gentle invitations and recognize the goodness which God has in mind for them. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all who have been ordained: that Spirit of God will shine brightly through them and embolden them with wisdom and love to serve God’s people. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all who suffer for their faith, especially those imprisoned for the Gospel: that they may know God’s presence in their suffering and be renewed in spirit. Let us pray to the Lord.
For those who work for social justice: that they may continue to name the vision of God’s reign where all will be sisters and brothers who care for and seek the good of one another. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all victims of discrimination and social injustice: that God will give them hope and courage to pursue new ways of relating to others. Let us pray to the Lord.
For greater respect for human life: that the hearts of all may appreciate God’s gift of life from conception to natural death. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all who have been wounded by abuse: that God will heal their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wounds and renew them. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are ill: that the healing love of God will strengthen their bodies, minds, and spirits. Let us pray to the Lord.
For peace: the God will touch the hearts of all to end violence and seek new ways to defeat the evils that confront the human community. Let us pray to the Lord.