The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to assess the prompting of the Spirit concerning the life giving impact of the actions and priorities of our day.
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians expresses the generosity of God’s Plan for us from death to Life.
* [2:1–10] The recipients of Paul’s letter have experienced, in their redemption from transgressions and sins, the effect of Christ’s supremacy over the power of the devil (Eph 2:1–2; cf. Eph 6:11–12), who rules not from the netherworld but from the air between God in heaven and human beings on earth. Both Jew and Gentile have experienced, through Christ, God’s free gift of salvation that already marks them for a future heavenly destiny (Eph 2:3–7). The language dead, raised us up, and seated us…in the heavens closely parallels Jesus’ own passion and Easter experience. The terms in Eph 2:8–9 describe salvation in the way Paul elsewhere speaks of justification: by grace, through faith, the gift of God, not from works; cf. Gal 2:16–21; Rom 3:24–28. Christians are a newly created people in Christ, fashioned by God for a life of goodness (Eph 2:10). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
In Psalm 100, all lands are summoned to praise God.
* [Psalm 100] A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them.
* [100:3] Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God. (Psalms, PSALM 100, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, we hear Jesus saying against greed and the Parable of the Rich Fool.
* [12:13–34] Luke has joined together sayings contrasting those whose focus and trust in life is on material possessions, symbolized here by the rich fool of the parable (Lk 12:16–21), with those who recognize their complete dependence on God (Lk 12:21), those whose radical detachment from material possessions symbolizes their heavenly treasure (Lk 12:33–34).
* [12:21] Rich in what matters to God: literally, “rich for God.” (Luke, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)
The Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries was unavailable at time of publication.
Don Schwager quotes “Surrounded by wealth, blind to charity,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"'What does the rich man do, surrounded by a great supply of many blessings beyond all numbering? In distress and anxiety, he speaks the words of poverty. He says, 'What should I do?' ... He does not look to the future. He does not raise his eyes to God. He does not count it worth his while to gain for the mind those treasures that are above in heaven. He does not cherish love for the poor or desire the esteem it gains. He does not sympathize with suffering. It gives him no pain nor awakens his pity. Still more irrational, he settles for himself the length of his life, as if he would also reap this from the ground. He says, 'I will say to myself, "Self, you have goods laid up for many years. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself." 'O rich man,' one may say, "You have storehouses for your fruits, but where will you receive your many years? By the decree of God, your life is shortened." 'God,' it tells us, 'said to him, "You fool, this night they will require of you your soul. Whose will these things be that you have prepared?" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 89) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 2:1-10 comments that sometimes God is glorified when our experience of his mercy leads us to be merciful to the people around us. Other times it’s when we have the confidence to reach outside of ourselves to help someone in need. But God can also be glorified in something as simple as our joyful attitude or our ability to stay at peace during a stressful time.
So today, if you feel God is calling you to accomplish something impressive for his kingdom, go right ahead. But know that God is also glorified in you when his mercy is active in your life. So seek it out. Let it change the way you think, speak, and act. That just might be the way the people who know you best will see God’s glory at its brightest.
“Lord, by your mercy, rescue me and help me display the greatness of your glory!” (Meditation on Ephesians 2:1-10, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the state of Jews and Christians in Ephesus who were living according to the flesh and the invitation of Christ to be transformed in an act of trust in God. Luke presents Jesus' refusal to arbitrate a conflict over inheritance. Friar Jude reminds us to be as clever in spiritual matters as we can be in material concerns.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, writes that justice is an essential part of God’s nature. It does not manifest as vengeance or “getting even” but as a method of restoration and healing. God’s power for justice is precisely God’s power to restore people when they are broken or hurt. God uses their mistakes to liberate them, to soften them, to enlighten them, to transform them, and to heal them. No text in the Hebrew Scriptures equates God’s justice with vengeance on the sinner. It might look like that on the surface, but if we read the whole passage and understand the context, chastisement is always meant to bring us back to love and union.
True contemplatives have changed sides from inside—from the power position to the position of vulnerability and solidarity, which gradually changes everything. Once we are freed from our paranoia, from the narcissism that thinks we are the center of the world, or from our belief that our rights and dignity have to be defended before those of others, we can finally live and act with justice and truth. Once these blockages are removed—and that is what contemplative prayer does—then we just have to offer a few guiding statements of social analysis to name what is really going on beneath the surface of a system, and people get it for themselves. They start being drawn by God and by love instead of being driven by anger and retaliation. (Rohr, 2022)
The Spirit enlightens us to the grace of God that calls us to restoration of relationships through trust in Providence.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/2?1
Luke, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?13
Meditation on Ephesians 2:1-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/10/17/513869/
Psalms, PSALM 100. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/100?1
Rohr, R. (2022, October 17). God's Loving Justice — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/gods-loving-justice-2022-10-17/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Storing up True Riches. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=oct17
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