30th Week in Ordinary Time
03rd November 2023 (Friday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Romans 9:1-5
Brethren: I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.
Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 (R. 12a)
R/. O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord!
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; and I know them, and they follow me.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 14:1-6
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Doing good is the highest rule!
Guidlines: Rules and traditions are good and needed because they regulate the common life and put order into it. However, no law can go against doing good to those in need{alertSuccess}
1. Every society and religion has its own rules and traditions. All these are meant to contribute to order and well-being, both collective and personal. Very often the problem is that of extremes. Some fall to rigidity and legalism, sticking to the mere letter of the law and neglecting the good of the persons.
2. Some others fall into over-flexibility and compromise, leading to indulgence and lawlessness. Both are not healthy and not recommendable. There has to be a balance.
3. The ultimate purpose and objective of every rule and tradition must be the good of the society and its members. In fact, the supreme law is the larger and the higher good. No law should be subversive and destructive.
4. A law is good when it is constructive and beneficial. This was the problem that Jesus had to confront: a rigid legalism that led to insensitivity toward the good of the human person.
5. Jesus wanted to put things in the right perspective. Hence his apparent violation of the Sabbath law by healing on a Sabbath day a man who had dropsy. For him, doing good is the most important and nothing should stop it. Doing good has no particular seasons and occasions. Charity is beyond seasons and times. It must be always and everywhere.
6. In fact, it is not a question of following or not following the law. The more vital issue is whether we are doing good or not. Besides, it is not merely a physical healing. It is more a liberation, a saving, a restoration of what is lost.
7. That is why Jesus says, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
8. In the face of such a hardness of heart, the feelings of Jesus were the same as those of Paul in the first reading in his letter to Romans 9. 1-5: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart”.
Practice: Mere observance of the law is no good. Adherence to the good of others is the real observance of the law. Altruism is the supreme principle and norm of all religion and life{alertSuccess}