Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (September 3, 2018): Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

Chúa Nhật, 02-09-2018 | 15:00:28

Today’s Readings:

1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Ps 119:97-102
Luke 4:16-30
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090318.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_09_03.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Good News Reflection: How to bring others to conversion

All of us are called to be evangelizers. You are a missionary right now, where God has already placed you, touching the lives of everyone who encounters you. You are called to be the presence of Christ wherever you are and in everything you do.

Don’t be discouraged when you fail at convincing someone to go to church or to trust in Jesus. The question is: Have you allowed yourself to get caught up in an argument? St. Paul tells us, in today’s first reading, to rely instead on “the convincing power of the Spirit”. No one is inspired into conversion when debates feel more like arguments than friendly explorations of the truth. People get defensive, because they feel pressured into changing their point of view. Defensiveness closes the ears of their hearts, and then they cannot listen with understanding.

Only the Holy Spirit grants understanding — it’s a gift — and the Spirit works not in arguments and pushy persuasions, but in love and compassion.

Paul preached nothing but Jesus Christ crucified: with his words and in how he served. However, the crucifixion is not a pleasant topic. And yet, Christ’s sacrifice is a far more persuasive reason to believe in God’s love than anything we could ever say in a debate.

When unbelievers are ready to see what Jesus did for them on Good Friday, their resistance melts. When they understand why he did it, they experience conversion. But how can we help them see and understand without getting into arguments?

We preach Jesus most effectively by the sacrifices that we make in his name. By serving the needs of others (especially when they’ve not been kind to us) and imitating Jesus who went to the cross for those who sinned against him, we give a powerful testimony of God’s love.

Since there are no quick journeys to faithfulness, we’ll probably have lots of time and plenty of opportunities to show that we really care — repeatedly — before they are ready to understand the connection between our sacrificial love and Christ’s. Then we must be ready to use words to explain God’s love. This is much more effective than making them feel guilty about not going to church.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus begins the synagogue lesson — and his public ministry — with: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” It was the Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus and sent him into the world to preach. Likewise, it’s the Holy Spirit who anoints you and me and sends us out from Mass to take Christ into the world. And it’s the Holy Spirit (not us) who changes the hearts of those we evangelize.

Not everyone will pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is doing and saying through us. Some will reject the truth no matter how greatly we love them. But when people do experience conversion and spiritual growth, their new faith will be founded not on our wisdom, but on the power of God.

Today’s Prayer:

Father, I am sorry for the times I have underestimated the gifts You have given me. You anointed me to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth. Please shepherd me with Your love so that I never wander from You, and show me Your will in each of my steps. Amen.

Tags: Good News Reflection, Holy Gospel according to Luke., Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time