The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to thanksgiving for our gifts and exhort us to be ready to use them in service of God.
The Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians proclaims our Diversity of Gifts.
* [4:1–16] A general plea for unity in the church. Christians have been fashioned through the Spirit into a single harmonious religious community (one body, Eph 4:4, 12; cf. Eph 4:16), belonging to a single Lord (in contrast to the many gods of the pagan world), and by one way of salvation through faith, brought out especially by the significance of baptism (Eph 4:1–6; cf. Rom 6:1–11). But Christian unity is more than adherence to a common belief. It is manifested in the exalted Christ’s gifts to individuals to serve so as to make the community more Christlike (Eph 4:11–16).
* [4:8–10] While the emphasis is on an ascension and gift-giving by Christ, there is also a reference in taking prisoners captive to the aeons and powers mentioned at Eph 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12.
* [4:11] Concerning this list of ministers, cf. 1 Cor 12:28 and Rom 12:6–8. Evangelists: missionary preachers (cf. Acts 21:8; 2 Tm 4:5), not those who wrote gospels. Pastors and teachers: a single group in the Greek, shepherding congregations.
* [4:12] The ministerial leaders in Eph 4:11 are to equip the whole people of God for their work of ministry.
* [4:13] Mature manhood: literally, “a perfect man” (cf. Col 1:28), possibly the “one new person” of Eph 2:15, though there anthrōpos suggests humanity, while here anēr is the term for male. This personage becomes visible in the church’s growing to its fullness in the unity of those who believe in Christ.
* [4:15–16] The head, Christ: cf. Col 1:18 and contrast 1 Cor 12:12–27 and Rom 12:4–5 where Christ is identified with the whole body, including the head. The imagery may derive from ancient views in medicine, the head coordinating and caring for the body, each ligament (perhaps the ministers of Eph 4:11) supporting the whole. But as at Eph 2:19–22, where the temple is depicted as a growing organism, there may also be the idea here of growing toward the capstone, Christ. (Ephesians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 122 celebrates pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem where the people praise God.
* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)!
* [122:3] Walled round about: lit., “which is joined to it,” probably referring both to the density of the buildings and to the dense population. (Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke presents A Call to Repentance and The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.
* [13:1–5] The death of the Galileans at the hands of Pilate (Lk 13:1) and the accidental death of those on whom the tower fell (Lk 13:4) are presented by the Lucan Jesus as timely reminders of the need for all to repent, for the victims of these tragedies should not be considered outstanding sinners who were singled out for punishment.
* [13:1] The slaughter of the Galileans by Pilate is unknown outside Luke; but from what is known about Pilate from the Jewish historian Josephus, such a slaughter would be in keeping with the character of Pilate. Josephus reports that Pilate had disrupted a religious gathering of the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim with a slaughter of the participants (Antiquities 18:86–87), and that on another occasion Pilate had killed many Jews who had opposed him when he appropriated money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem (Jewish War 2:175–77; Antiquities 18:60–62).
* [13:4] Like the incident mentioned in Lk 13:1 nothing of this accident in Jerusalem is known outside Luke and the New Testament.
* [13:6–9] Following on the call to repentance in Lk 13:1–5, the parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Lk 3:8). The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of the age because the delay will not be permanent (Lk 13:8–9). (Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)
David Crawford asks “How often do we feel joy or satisfaction when someone we don’t like – a criminal, a political figure, a rival sports team, perhaps someone who has a bumper sticker espousing an opinion we find offensive – suffers misfortune?”
Jesus challenges these ways of thinking when He calls on the crowd (and us) to repent because we are no less guilty than the individuals who were killed by Pilate or the tower at Siloam. Our Alleluia verse reminds us that God “takes no delight in the death of the wicked,” nor should we delight when bad happens to others. It helps me to remember that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) relying on God’s mercy, not our own goodness, for salvation (Titus 3:5) (Crawford, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Lord's three visits through the Patriarchs, Prophets, and the Gospel”, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The Lord also has something very fitting to say about a fruitless tree, 'Look, it is now three years that I have been coming to it. Finding no fruit on it, I will cut it down, to stop it blocking up my field.' The gardener intercedes... This tree is the human race. The Lord visited this tree in the time of the patriarchs, as if for the first year. He visited it in the time of the law and the prophets, as if for the second year. Here we are now; with the gospel the third year has dawned. Now it is as though it should have been cut down, but the merciful one intercedes with the merciful one. He wanted to show how merciful he was, and so he stood up to himself with a plea for mercy. 'Let us leave it,' he says, 'this year too. Let us dig a ditch around it.' Manure is a sign of humility. 'Let us apply a load of manure; perhaps it may bear fruit.' Since it does bear fruit in one part, and in another part does not bear fruit, its Lord will come and divide it. What does that mean, 'divide it'? There are good people and bad people now in one company, as though constituting one body." (excerpt from Sermon 254.3) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today.
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 4:7-16 asks us to notice that in the examples above, your gifts are not just for yourself. Paul says that they are “for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:12-13). That means the Lord has a role for you to play, and he has given you specific talents to help you do it. It also means that the body of Christ wouldn’t be the same without you!
God has called you and enabled you to make a real contribution to his Church. He has poured out grace and equipped you for a mission that will build up your brothers and sisters in Christ. You are a gift to the Church, and God delights in seeing you exercise the abilities he’s given you.
“Thank you, Lord, for the gifts you have given me.” (Meditation on Ephesians 4:7-16, 2026)
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, emphasizes how Jesus modeled a path of descent and woundedness in radical opposition to the religion of empires.
We who follow Jesus have been liberated from that! Let’s not waste another second of our lives deciding who’s up and who’s down, who’s a winner and who’s a loser. Jesus made the losers into the winners, and it turned the history of religion on its head. That is not an overstatement. That’s the meaning of the cross. He was the ultimate loser, shamed by church and state—and he is the one God raises up. This is the icon of transformation for all of history.
We don’t come to God by denying our shadow or by projecting our fears onto other races, religions, classes, or genders. We come to healing and salvation by owning our shadows and our wounds as our own greatest honor and glory. This is, for me, the only thing worthy of being called the gospel, and it still has the power to save the world. (Rohr, n.d.)
We invoke the Spirit to reveal the giftedness we have and inspire our action to use our gifts in service of our siblings in Christ.
References
Crawford, D. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton On Line Ministries. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-october-24-2026
Ephesians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/4?7
Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/13?
Meditation on Ephesians 4:7-16. (2026, October 24). The Word Among Us. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/10/24/1700685/
Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/122?
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Empire and Christianity: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/empire-and-christianity-weekly-summary/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Unless You Repent - You Will Perish. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
