31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word:
Faithfulness, gratitude, perseverance, humility and repentance are marks of a true servant of Christ.
Theme:
We bear the mark of a true servant of Christ when we repent of our wrongdoing and make reparation.
Promise:
“The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.” (Ps 145:9)
Reflection:
God, by His infinite power, created heaven and earth and all things in it. He loves them and loathes nothing that He has made. He has spared all things because all are His works and His imperishable spirit is in them. He even overlooks the sins of men because “He is patient with them and does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance,” (2 Pet 3:9).
The Son of Man came to seek, find, and save the lost and the sinner. In Luke’s gospel of 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus demonstrates this in his encounter with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, a much-hated man who is treated as outcast for having accumulated great wealth at the expense of others. Eager to see Jesus but too short to see above the crowds, Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree. It is Jesus Himself who initiates the encounter – He stops, looks up and calls to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house,” (Lk 19:5). Not surprisingly, the uncomprehending crowd was resentful. On the other hand, a repentant Zacchaeus, aware of his sins, stands his ground, saying to Jesus, “Behold, half of my possession, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” Jesus said in return, ‘Today salvation has come to this house. The Son of Man has come to search out and save what was lost,’ ” (Lk 19:8). This scenario is a very striking illustration of repentance, forgiveness and salvation.
Psalm 95: 8 reminds us, “Harden not your heart”, as “it is in discovering the greatness of God’s love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and be separated from him,” (CCC 1432). Repentance entails conversion, an interior transformation of the heart and mind. Jesus continues to call us to conversion and penance, that we may cease committing the same sins over and over again. Or worse, numbing our conscience to the point we no longer have that sense of guilt for our sins. Our hearts become heavy and hardened. But God gives us a new heart (Ezk 36: 26-27), when we turn to Him with a contrite heart. We need that radical reorientation to have new life. We need to return, to convert to God with all our heart, to put an end to sin, turn away from evil, and feel repugnance for the sins we commit. At the same time, this conversion entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life through hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of His grace, (CCC 1431).
Conversion, repentance and reparation are marks of a true servant of Christ and are God’s work of grace and gifts to us. Unworthy sinners as we are, we can be transformed through our “gestures of reconciliation, admission of faults to one’s brothers or sisters, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness and justice, care for the poor and taking up one’s cross daily and following Jesus,” (CCC1435).
St. Paul encourages the Colossians thus: “Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men. Knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance,” (Col 3:23-24). God sees “all that we can see” as no larger than a grain of sand and He sees into the hearts of every creature. Let us imitate and learn from Zacchaeus that it was God who changed him and He can likewise change and transform us, for the promise in Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.”
Prayer:
Merciful Father, knowing that Your mercy endures forever, I pray for the grace to recognize my, shortcomings, especially in those areas where I have difficulty overcoming my sinfulness. In my weakness, give me the strength to truly repent and make reparations for the wrong I have done. I pray for true conversion and transformation of heart so that I may never offend You again through my selfishness and disobedience. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1.In what ways have you felt and come to realize that God truly and unconditionally loves you?
2.Think of the offense/s you have committed against yourself, others, and God, and how you are/were able to reconcile and make amends for the wrong you have done.
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
October 30, 2016 (Sun) – Wis 11:22-12:2/Ps 145:1,2,8,11,13,14/ 2 Thes 1:11- 2:2/ Lk 19:1-10
October 31, 2016 (Mon) – Phil 2:1-4/Ps 131:1-3/Lk 14:12-14
November 1, 2016 (Tue) – Rv 7:2-4,9-14/Ps 24:1-6/1Jn 3:1-3/Mt 5:1-12
November 2, 2016 (Wed) – 2Mc 12:43-46/Ps 103/ Rom 8:31-35/Jn 14:1-6
November 3, 2016 (Thu) – Phil 3:3-8/Ps 105:2-7/Lk 15:1-10
November 4, 2016 (Fri) – Phil 3:17-4:1/Ps 122:1-5/Lk 16:1-8
November 5, 2016 (Sat) – Phil 4:10-19/Ps 112:1,2,5,6,8,9/Lk 16:9-15
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
