31st Week in the Ordinary Time - Sunday (Year II)
30th October 2022 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
Dear Brothers and Sisters, we are on the Sunday of 31st week in the ordinary time. Today's gospel reflection is on the theme Roads meet!
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Lord, the whole world before you is like a speck that tips the scales and like a drop of morning dew that falls upon the ground. But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook people's sins, that they may repent. For you love all things that exist and loathe none of the things that you have made, for you would not have made anything if you had hated it. How would anything have endured if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord who loves the living. For your immortal spirit is in all things. Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass and remind and warn them of the things by which they sin that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord.
Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13cd-14 (R. see 1)
Response: I will bless your name forever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, my God and king,
and bless your name forever and ever.
I will bless you day after day,
and praise your name forever and ever. Response
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures. Response
All your works shall thank you, O Lord,
and all your faithful ones bless you
They shall speak of the glory of your reign,
and declare your mighty deeds. Response
The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and holy in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall,
and raises up all who are bowed down. Response
Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Brethren: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
Gospel : Luke 19. 1-10
At that time: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, For I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Roads meet!
Indicative: Small efforts count to encounter God’s grace. When there is an encounter between God’s grace and human reception, miracles happen{alertSuccess}
1. “God changes His route and schedule for our sake.” This is our dictum. This is what is so evident in the case of God, right from creation all through salvation history. He makes space and time for us to grace us and saves us. Salvation is about how God changes His route and schedule.
2. God’s mighty interventions in the OT in the life of Israel, and in the NT the incarnation of Christ itself are the greatest testimonies of this. And the purpose is very clear: He wants to meet us on our way in our own time. What an “accommodative” and condescending God He is! He adjusts His place and time according to our needs and convenience.
3. When people needed Him, He intervenes through His leaders and prophets. When people got infected by sin, He descended to earth in the person of Jesus. This Jesus, God-on-earth lives amidst us in our times of struggle.
4. The story of Zacchaeus is a vivid example of how God changes His route and schedule for our sake. For the sake of Zacchaeus, a sinner, he changes his route to Zacchaeus’ house. He changes his schedule to be his guest in his house. He stops on his way at Zacchaeus. He takes time to have a word with him. He goes to his house. He spends his valued time with him even amidst his busiest schedule.
5. Why all these? The reason is quite clear in the first reading. For He loves all things ---merciful to all, and overlooks people’s sins, that they may repent. Further, immense was his courage: he would not hesitate to meet Zacchaeus, speak with him and go to the house of a sinner. He would not mind risking his popularity and incurring a lot of criticism. He would not bother to risk his career and prospects as well. At the height of all this, he would dare to elevate a sinner to the status of a son of Abraham. How shocking and provoking it must have been to include a despised sinner into the prestigious fold of the chosen people of God!
6. All this loving mercy must make us repent so as to be “freed from wickedness and put our trust in God.” It must “make us worthy of our calling and may fulfil by his power every resolve for good and every work of faith.”
7. In Zacchaeus, we see the abundant effect and fruits of God’s intervention and encounter. Already there were seeds of faith and the working of grace. He nurtures a deep desire to see Jesus. He is not deterred by the two obstacles of his shortness and crowd. Immediately, he makes effort to overcome these obstacles. He runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree.
8. His trouble bears fruit. He encounters not only the individual Jesus but also the divine abundance. He is flooded by God’s mercy. The one who just wanted to catch a passing glimpse is granted the wonder of meeting the Saviour, speaking with him, and having the joy of celebrating his reassuring and transforming presence.
9. His perspectives change. His priorities change. His vision and mission change. Thus it is a total transformation. This shows itself in selfless generosity and a sense of justice. He distributes half of his property to the poor and repays fourfold to those cheated. Salvation enters his house!
Imperative: True conversion is not merely a matter of best intentions and words. It is concrete and manifest in a total transformation{alertSuccess}
Video Reflection
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