James Tisssot, Pharisee and the Publican, 1871
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB
The last few weeks both our Sunday and weekday readings have highlighted widows, orphans and lepers and tax collectors. All of these people were held in less esteem in society because it was thought that they somehow deserved their lot in life for the sins they or their parents committed. Those who were privileged in life owed it to God’s favor and their own virtue. Once again Jesus turns that false logic on its head. The sinful tax collector went home justified in the eyes of God, while the “virtuous” Pharisee did not.
If we are honest with ourselves we will admit that we are drawn to the rich, the powerful, the successful, and the “beautiful” people. We envy their apparent success in life. We want to get close to them hoping some of it will rub off. We attribute their success to the idea that they must be doing something right in life.
On
the other hand we shun the “losers” in life, the poor, the deadbeats, the
homeless, the ones who just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. But these were
the very people that Jesus went out of his way to be near. He wasn’t worried
that their apparent “misfortune” would rub off on him. He was there to pick
them up, dust them off, and send them out to a better life, a life that he was
a part of.
How
often do we judge by appearances and not by love, trying to be someone we’re
not and looking down on someone we don’t want to be like?
How
often do we admit that by the grace given to us in Baptism, Confirmation and
Holy Communion, that we have a share in the life and mission of Christ in this
world, here and now? We are called to lift up the lowly, to shelter the
homeless and seek justice for those whom it has been denied to hear the cry of
the poor.
Saint
Theresa of Avila, whose feast was on October 15, had a beautiful way of saying
how we are part of the body of Christ:
“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet
on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on
this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the
hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are
the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth
but yours.”
A Reflection for
The Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist, By James Martin, S.J.
“The Kingdom of God
is at hand for you.” -Lk 10:9
"This week we celebrated the Feast of St.
Luke, the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Luke’s Gospel
includes some of the most memorable narratives in the entire New Testament: The
Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep. Luke’s also focuses on
marginalized people and highlights the role of women. So this week it might be
good to read the Gospel of Luke all the way through and see what it might have
to say to you. In fact, one of the most surprising things for Catholics, and
other Christians, is the experience of reading through the Gospel straight
through.
Many of us get our Gospel narratives
piecemeal, from the readings at Sunday Mass, or, for some of us, at Daily Mass.
And so our knowledge of the full story of Jesus, as contained in Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, remains incomplete. When you read a Gospel all the way through,
start to finish, you can get a better sense not only of Jesus’s life, but also
of who Jesus was for the writer of this particular Gospel, and the community
he’s writing for. So this month, why not try to read Luke’s Gospel, or at least
as much as you can, and see where it leads you in prayer. After all, the Gospel
of Luke is often called The Gospel of Prayer, because of all the
many times it portrays Jesus at prayer. Take that as your text, and
inspiration, for this week."
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