The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us into the Love that is the Body of Christ.
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians declares us to be One in Christ.
* [2:1–22] The gospel of salvation (Eph 1:13) that God worked in Christ (Eph 1:20) is reiterated in terms of what God’s great love (Eph 2:4), expressed in Christ, means for us. The passage sometimes addresses you, Gentiles (Eph 2:1–2, 8, 11–13, 19, 22), but other times speaks of all of us who believe (Eph 2:3–7, 10, 14, 18). In urging people to remember their grim past when they were dead in sins (Eph 2:1–3, 11–12) and what they are now in Christ (Eph 2:4–10, 13), the author sees both Jew and Gentile reconciled with God, now one new person, a new humanity, one body, the household of God, a temple and dwelling place of God’s Spirit (Eph 2:15–16, 19–22). The presentation falls into two parts, the second stressing more the meaning for the church. (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 85 is a Prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favour.
* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke calls us to be watchful, vigilant and Faithful Servants.
* [12:35–48] This collection of sayings relates to Luke’s understanding of the end time and the return of Jesus. Luke emphasizes for his readers the importance of being faithful to the instructions of Jesus in the period before the parousia. (Luke, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. Martha Slocombe comments, after reflecting on the Boy Scout motto, comments that when it comes to our faith, maybe we need to be thinking about preparation more in terms of adaptability and nimbleness instead of as a perfect mold we are trying to bend into.
In Luke 12, Jesus is saying that the servants have to be adaptable and nimble. They can’t just set food out with a note that says “serve yourself” and go to sleep; they are to be prepared to host a full meal at a moment’s notice, even in the middle of the night. Anyone who has prepared an elaborate meal for others knows that there are constant mental gymnastics to get everything ready, hot, and on the table at just the right time. The more often this is done, the easier it gets. The more often we practice being adaptable and nimble Christians, the easier it gets. The more often we prepare ourselves for being adaptable servants in doing God’s work, the more we understand what it means to follow Christ. (Slocombe, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The true meaning of 'loins girded and lamps burning',” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"The girding of our loins (Luke 12:25) signifies the readiness of the mind to work hard in every thing praiseworthy. Those who apply themselves to bodily labors and are engaged in strenuous toil have their loins girded. The lamp apparently represents the wakefulness of the mind and intellectual cheerfulness. We say that the human mind is awake when it repels any tendency to slumber off into that carelessness that often is the means of bringing it into subjection to every kind of wickedness. When sunk in stupor, the heavenly light within the mind is liable to be endangered, or even already is in danger from a violent and impetuous blast of wind. Christ commands us to be awake. To this, his disciple also arouses us by saying, 'Be awake. Be watchful' (1 Peter 5:8). Further on, the very wise Paul also says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall give you light' (Ephesians 5:14)." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 92) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 2:12-22 comments that God wants to make us into a family where he can be at home, a place where the love between us is so tangible that it makes people long to discover him by joining us. This “kingdom construction project” is more than God simply stacking us like individual stones next to each other. He is building an entirely new dwelling place, animated by love.
To this end, like the Gentiles and Jews, the Lord asks us to set aside our indifference and prejudices so that we can treasure each other. He asks us to put others above ourselves. Together we have the opportunity to express his overwhelming and many-faceted love to the world far more powerfully than we could ever do alone!
“Holy Spirit, help all believers—including me—set aside everything that separates us so that you can build us together into a dwelling place for your holy love.” (Meditation on Ephesians 2:12-22, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on how the author of Ephesians extends membership in the household of God to Gentiles, not part of Israel. Christ is portrayed as the capstone of the Body. Friar Jude reminds us of the themes of mercy and outreach in Luke that call us to give love.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton who shares how the Ignatian practice of discernment helps us to recognize God’s guidance in our lives. She writes that an authentic discernment process identifies love as our primary calling.
Why is it that we so rarely ask this question relative to the choices we face? What distracts us from love in various situations in which we are trying to discern God’s will? I don’t know your answers to this question, but I can tell you a few of mine. For one thing, love is a major inconvenience at times. It is rarely efficient…. Furthermore, love challenges my self-centeredness, and sometimes it requires me to give more of myself than I want to give. Sometimes love hurts, or at least it makes me vulnerable. All the time, love is risky, and there are no guarantees.
And yet love is the deepest calling of the Christian life, the standard by which everything about our lives is measured…. Any decision-making process that fails to ask the love question misses the point of the Christian practice of discernment. Discernment is intended to take us deeper and deeper into the heart of God’s will: that we would follow God passionately into love—even if it takes us all the way to the cross. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the guidance of the Spirit in our response to our call to be prepared to encounter Christ in our relationships with the people we meet on our journey.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/2?12
Luke, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?35
Meditation on Ephesians 2:12-22. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/10/22/1110409/
Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?9
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/called-to-love/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=oct22
Slocombe, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/102224.html
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