17th Week in Ordinary Time
31th July 2023 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34
In those days: Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”
Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23 (R. 1b)
R/. O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 13:31-35
At that time: Jesus put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Small is not despicable!
Guidlines: The greatness of something cannot be determined in reference to its origins or beginnings alone, but rather in reference to the potentialities and the prospects that are possible and the results it can produce{alertSuccess}
1. The perspective and the estimation of Jesus and his gospel are always in contrast to the perspective and the estimation of the world. The world looks down upon whatever is small and little and despises them as of no value. This is true whether it is with regard to things or persons.
2. It is in this context, Jesus presents before us a small seed like mustard and a small portion like yeast. Both are small and insignificant at their start, but they become big and great, by the measure of their action and function, their result and effect.
3. The small mustard seed grows into a big tree and provides shelter to birds, while a little yeast leavens the whole flour and bakes the bread. The message of Jesus can have some significant implications: Never despise anything or anyone just because they are small, or just because they have humble beginnings or low origins. Let you not get stuck by what is immediately at hand but see farther to what they are capable of.
4. Approach and treat every person and everything in life with respect and trust. Open wide your eyes beyond the layers of prejudice and discrimination to discover the hidden good in others. Let us not lose heart or get upset looking at our smallness.
5. Greatness depends on goodness, on the good we can do, and on the good effect we can bring forth. Let us not be upset when life lacks many big things which we see being or happening in some people’s life and so which we also wish.
6. Israel in the first reading did not realize this simple truth of their littleness in unfaithfulness in contrast to God’s greatness in faithfulness. They easily turn away from the true God and fall to the worship of the idol of a golden calf.
7. Moses was great in pleading for God’s mercy on people’s behalf and his magnanimity to be punished in their place. God too shows His greatness by not destroying them immediately but waiting patiently.
8. Saint Ignatius of Loyola whom we commemorate today discerned this true greatness and so he renounces all the shallow aspects of greatness in the sight of the world. He made a decisive journey from the service to the world to the service of God, from allegiance to the nation as a soldier to loyalty to heaven our homeland, from the earthly gains to the eternal reward. He made a total about-turn of his life and turned the lives of numberless as well.
Practice: Many can be tension-free and happy if only they learn to see and appreciate the “power of the little” and be satisfied. The quantity of happiness is not proportionate to the quantity of things but proportionate only to the quality of life{alertSuccess}