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| Hapag ng Pag-asa (Joey Velasco) |
“When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be.” – Luke 14:13-14
1ST READING
God
is the source of all goodness. Whatever goodness we may experience from
someone here on earth will be nothing compared to what we will
experience in our relationship with God. It does not matter how deep we
have plumbed the depths of God’s goodness; we can go deeper still. At
the same time, all glory belongs to Him as well, meaning that any good
we do is part of His grace at work in our lives.
Romans 11:29-36
29 Brothers and sisters: The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? 35 Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To God be glory forever. Amen.
P S A L M
Psalm 69:30-31, 33-34, 36-37
R: Lord, in your great love, answer me.
29 [30] But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me. 30 [31] I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. (R) 32 [33] “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revived! 33 [34] For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” (R) 35 [36] For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. They shall dwell in the land and own it, 36 [37] and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall inhabit it. (R)
GOSPEL
Good
works are not done by seeking pleasure for ourselves. Good works are
directed towards the benefit of others. Our motivations indicate the
level of selfishness of our action. Sin causes us to naturally incline
our actions towards self-seeking pleasure. As people trying to grow in
imitation of the selflessness of God, we have to work against that
inclination.
Luke 14:12-14
12 On
a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading
Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch
or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or
your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you
back and you have repayment. 13 Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 14 blessed
indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you
will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
REFLECTION
DO SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
In
today’s Gospel reading, Christ insists that we do something for those
who have no means of repaying us. It’s actually more than just doing the
so-called “random acts of kindness.” It’s doing something for nothing,
with no publicity or hidden agenda or strings attached, and taking a
stand against exploiting the lowly.
However, if all this sounds difficult (or naïve, or idealistic), it goes to show how far this world of ours has gone in putting a price tag on everything — to the point of manipulating the poor for selfish ends. This exactly is what Jesus came to disturb or upset. And so beginning with ourselves, He shakes us up and turns us topsy-turvy.
The life of today’s saint can perhaps be a good illustration. Charles
Borromeo (1538-1584) seemed to be an antithesis of those poor beggars
and persons with disabilities mentioned in the Gospel parable. As a
young man of 20, he had it all going for him: particularly, a bright
career, with a doctorate in both civil and canon law. And then just a
year after that, he was made a cardinal and appointed Archbishop of
Milan by his uncle, Pope Pius IV. (By today’s standards, we would
probably protest: “Nepotism!”)
And yet, with God’s yardstick, any circumstance will always still fall
in place in the greater scheme of things. Even the most negative or
incorrect of situations can still be used by God for His plans. Charles
Borromeo went on to become one of the chief agents in the success of the
Council of Trent and the drafting of the Catechism. In Milan, he
zealously applied the spirit of the Council, establishing schools,
orphanages and seminaries.
And what about us? We might not have brilliant careers, influential backers
or friends in high places. We just might as well count ourselves among
those beggars, the crippled, the lame and the blind, whom Jesus would invite first to His own banquet. But then, even that is more than good enough. Having been chosen by the Lord, we in turn choose to serve the lowliest and the least. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
"Father, thank You for all the blessings that we receive from You. Teach us to be generous like You."
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