28th Week in Ordinary Time
19th October 2023 (Thursday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Romans 3:21-30
Brethren: The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6ab (R. 7bc)
R/. For with the Lord there is mercy, in him is plentiful redemption.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. I am the way, and the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 11:47-54
At that time: Jesus said, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: A perilous virus!
Guidlines: God is just and righteous. But this does not mean that He judges and condemns us heartlessly according to our sinfulness. His justice contains mercy!{alertSuccess}
1. Jesus is never at home with hypocrisy. In today’s gospel, he exposes two other layers of hypocrisy, in direct reference to the scribes and lawyers. One is the “diversion technique”. The other is the “deviation technique”. The diversion technique simply means that they try to cover up a serious wrong with some pleasing external act. Concretely, it refers to their building beautiful tombs of those prophets whom their ancestors killed.
2. It is not because they really honour those prophets or feel sorry for such murderous acts. It is also not because they want to do reparation for past sins. It is nothing but a diversion technique: they just want to divert the attention of the people from the gravity of the sin by the apparent honour.
3. Their intentions and motives are clearly hypocritical. If they really honour the prophets, then why did they allow the killing of John the Baptist? If they honour the prophets, then why do they not accept and believe Jesus?
4. The second trace of their hypocrisy is the deviation technique. Instead of using their knowledge to guide the people, they use it to twist the principles and misguide them. It is like closing the doors of the kingdom. They take away the key and thereby neither they enter nor they allow others to enter.
5. But all this honest critique of Jesus leads to a totally opposite reaction and consequence. It should create in them a spirit of self-critique and self-discovery and repentance and thus conversion. Instead, they would become more stubborn in their self-righteousness, and hostile and malicious to provoke him and catch him at some wrong.
Practice: Hypocrisy is a clever disguise for self-righteousness. Unless one tears off the garb of self-righteousness, and surrenders to God’s merciful righteousness in humility, one cannot receive God’s grace.{alertSuccess}