Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Brothers and sisters:
It is widely reported that there is immorality among you,
and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–
a man living with his father’s wife.
And you are inflated with pride.
Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.
I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit,
have already, as if present,
pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,
in the name of our Lord Jesus:
when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit
with the power of the Lord Jesus,
you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh,
so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not appropriate.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 5:5-6, 7, 12
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
You hate all evildoers.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
But let all who take refuge in you
be glad and exult forever.
Protect them, that you may be the joy
of those who love your name.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
Alleluia: John 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 6:6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely
to see if he would cure on the sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered hand,
« Come up and stand before us. »
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
« I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it? »
Looking around at them all, he then said to him,
« Stretch out your hand. »
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
Meditation
Beloved brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to the Thrice-Holy God for all the wonders He accomplishes in our lives.
In the Gospel passage that the Church offers us for our meditation, the Pharisees and the scribes were watching Jesus to see whether He would heal a sick on the Sabbath. In this way, they wanted to find a reason to accuse Him of failing to respect the law. According to their tradition, the Sabbath was a day of rest.
Jesus, however, although He knew their intentions, did not refrain from doing good. He healed the man whose hand was withered. In doing so, He established a new order of things: good must be done in season and out of season. There is not a single day on which a Christian, whose model is Christ, should refrain from doing good. Doing good is right at all times.
Beloved, there are times when we limit the good we can do. Sometimes we tell ourselves that the other person does not deserve it, especially when that person is persecuting us. We also very often postpone until tomorrow the good that we can do today. We say that we do not have the time or the means.
The Word of God invites us today to break down all the barriers that prevent us from doing good and to imitate Christ, who did not allow malicious looks or intentions to stop Him from acting. He cared about only one thing: bringing relief to the one who was suffering. We therefore understand that nothing should prevent or delay our acts of kindness—not time, not money, not the opinions of others, and certainly not the other person’s bad behaviour.
What should matter to us is the happiness and well-being of our brothers and sisters.
Let us do good eagerly and with the means available to us today. Let us no longer postpone until tomorrow what we can do today, because tomorrow may be too late. We do not have all the time in the world. Whatever we have to do, let us simply do it without procrastinating. Jesus could have waited until the following day to heal the sick, but He chose not to postpone it.
Let us do good promptly and without fear.
Let us pray
God our Father, forgive us for all the times we could have done good but failed to do so. Grant us the grace to act promptly, so that we may know how to love our brothers and sisters at all times and show them this love by doing good to them, in season and out of season.
Intercession
Lord Jesus, we pray for all those who need assistance during this back-to-school season. Raise up around them caring and compassionate people who, through their charity, will help them rediscover the sweetness of Your love and Your constant presence by their side.
Mother Mary, pray for us.
Spiritual Exercise
Make a donation to support someone’s school needs if they are in need, or make a commitment to do so sometime this month.
Praised be Jesus Christ forever!
Minette MIAFO
Community of the Disciples of the Living Christ
