The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today proclaim our relationship with Christ in the Spirit through which we are children of the Father.
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians declares our inheritance through the Spirit.
A triadic structure is discernible in Eph 1:3–14: God the Father (Eph 1:3–6, 8, 11), Christ (Eph 1:3, 5, 7–10, 12), and the Spirit (Eph 1:13–14). The spiritual blessings Christians have received through Christ (Eph 1:3) are gratefully enumerated: the call to holiness (Eph 1:4; cf. Col 1:22); the gift of divine adoption establishing a unique spiritual relationship with God the Father through Christ (Eph 1:5; cf. Gal 4:5); liberation from sin through Christ’s sacrificial death (Eph 1:7); revelation of God’s plan of salvation in Christ (Eph 1:9; cf. Eph 3:3–4; Rom 16:25); the gift of election and faith in Christ bestowed upon Jewish Christians (see note on Eph 1:12, we who first hoped in Christ); and finally, the same gift granted to Gentiles (Eph 1:13, you also). In the Christ-centered faith and existence of the Christian communities the apostle sees the predetermined plan of God to bring all creation under the final rule of Christ (Eph 1:4–5, 9–10) being made known (Eph 1:9) and carried through, to God’s glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
Psalm 33 praises the Greatness and Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 33, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke urges courage under persecution, a warning against hypocrisy, and an exhortation to fearless confession.
* [12:2–9] Luke presents a collection of sayings of Jesus exhorting his followers to acknowledge him and his mission fearlessly and assuring them of God’s protection even in times of persecution. They are paralleled in Mt 10:26–33. (Luke, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)
Technical difficulties prevented receiving the comments from The Online Ministries of Creighton University today.
Don Schwager quotes “Comfort for those who doubt God's providence in Christ,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"To bestow yet another means of comfort on our minds, he forcibly added that five sparrows are scarcely perhaps worth a penny, and yet God does not forget even one of them. He also said that the separate hairs of your head are all numbered. Consider how great care he takes of those that love him. The Preserver of the universe extends his aid to things so worthless and descends to the smallest animals. How can he forget those who love him, especially when he takes so great care of them? He condescends to visit them, to know exactly each particular of their state, and even how many are the hairs of their heads... Let us not doubt that with a rich hand he will give his grace to those who love him. He will not permit us to fall into temptation. If, by his wise purpose he permits us to be taken in the snare in order that we may gain glory by suffering, he will most assuredly grant us the power to bear it." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 87) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 12:1-7 asks how do we make sense of this progression from a warning to fear God to a warm assurance of God’s tender love?
So should we be afraid of God? Not if we understand what Jesus has done for us through his death and resurrection. Because we are fallen human beings, we will sin, and perhaps even act hypocritically at times as some of the Pharisees did (Luke 12:1). But through Jesus, our Father has offered us the gift of salvation. When we recognize our sin and turn to him in repentance, he floods us with his mercy. This is how much God loves us and longs to be close to us—both now and forever!...
God doesn’t want to lose you—or anyone else, for that matter. He treasures you too much. With such a loving Father, you have nothing to fear!
“Thank you, Jesus, for showing me how precious I am to my Father in heaven.” (Meditation on Luke 12:1-7, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler shares how we hear about being chosen by Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit as a first down payment. We already experience heaven when we live in God’s Love. Friar Jude reminds us of our gift of sensing anger or goodness in the people around us.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the True Self is who you are because of divine indwelling, the Holy Spirit within you (Romans 8:9). We are all tabernacles of God, says Paul (1 Corinthians 3:16). True religion leads us to an experience of our True Self and undermines our false self.
Putting the human and the divine together is what it means to be “the Christ” (Colossians 1:17–20), and what it means for us to be “the new Adam and Eve” (1 Corinthians 15:45–49). Ephesians could not make it much clearer: “You too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit that was promised—this is the pledge of your inheritance” (1:13–14). Few Christians have ever been seriously taught about their inherent union with God and will find all kinds of self-hating reasons to deny it. Only the True Self can dare to believe the gospel’s Good News.
The false self, or smaller self, is characterized by separateness. Jewish and Christian traditions call this state of disconnectedness “sin.” When we’re separated from our deepest Being, we are in the state of sin. When we are disconnected from our True Self in God, we look for various false and addictive ways to fill our emptiness. The small or false self is who we think we are, but our thinking does not make it so. It is our identity created through culture, education, class, race, friends, gender, clothes, and money. (Rohr, n.d.)
We journey in the tension between cultural values and the Way that seeks truth, love, and fullness of life.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/1?
Luke, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?1
Meditation on Luke 12:1-7. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/10/14/511815/
Psalms, PSALM 33. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/33?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/true-religion-and-the-true-self-2022-10-14/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Fear Those Who Kill the Body. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=oct14
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