16th Week in Ordinary Time
25th July 2023 (Tuesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Brethren: We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Psalm 126:1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6 (R. see 5)
R/. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, says the Lord.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 20:20-28
At that time: The mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Jesus with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the chalice that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my chalice, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Powerful, full of God’s power!
Guidlines: Left to ourselves, we may be weak and our life may be bleak. But if we offer ourselves in docility to God and remain close to him, then He will take over our life to make it a memorable record{alertSuccess}
1. The feast of St James the apostle that we celebrate today once again discloses to us the secret and seedbed of true discipleship. Our human fragility and imperfection is no matter at all. As we hear in Paul’s words to the Corinthians, though we are unworthy and ordinary as a clay vessel, God pours into us the precious treasure of His grace.
2. Therefore, what matters is not our weakness but God’s power. It is enough that we entrust our fragility to the sanctity and solidity of God. This is what Saint James did. Willingly and joyfully, he submitted himself to the formation by the Lord. It is all a matter of a journey, a transition, an evolution from self to Jesus.
3. It leads to a transformation from self-centred interests to Christ-centred mission, from domination to submission, from gratification to martyrdom, from possession to detachment, from recognition to humiliation, from exaltation to persecution, from self-demarcated kingdom to expanded kingdom of God. James lived with the Lord in intimate bonding and loved him with such an intensity as to be the first martyr for the Lord.
4. This is the life of a disciple: love the Lord, live with him, live for him and die for him. Discipleship is not a matter of privilege or prestige but is an act of obedience and service. Service is not a favour done at one’s will but an obligation fulfilled at God’s will.
Practice: Lord, continue to mould us as true disciples, teaching us at your feet, purifying us from our self-vested interests, and perfecting us in humility and benevolence.{alertSuccess}