Sept. 22, 2015 Tuesday: 25th Week in Ordinary Time
Sept. 22, 2015 Tuesday: 25th Week in Ordinary Time
But [Jesus] said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” LUKE 8:21
Reflection: Jesus can’t make it any clearer: If we claim kinship to him, then we must hear the word of God and do it. Hearing the word of God involves more than going to church and listening to the proclamation of sacred Scripture. Hearing the word of God means seeking to know God through Scripture and through the example of Jesus. Hearing the word of God means opening our hearts to meditate on the truth about life revealed in the works ourselves, becoming more and more like God in goodness, compassion, and mercy.
Doing the word of God means that we make a commitment to imitate Jesus in our daily lives. We intentionally seek ways to help those in need. We intentionally find opportunities to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. We intentionally visit the ill, the imprisoned, the neglected, and the dying. We intentionally seek peaceful solutions to conflict. We intentionally choose generosity over covetousness, welcome over indifference, forgiveness over resentment, respect over contempt, gentleness over aggression, love over fear. Hearing and doing the word of God is our twofold mission in the world. We cannot truly hear the word of God if we do not practice it. We must become what we hear if we want to claim Jesus as our brother.
Ponder: How does hearing God’s word change my life?
Rev. Warren J. Savage & Mary Ann McSweeny
But [Jesus] said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” LUKE 8:21
Reflection: Jesus can’t make it any clearer: If we claim kinship to him, then we must hear the word of God and do it. Hearing the word of God involves more than going to church and listening to the proclamation of sacred Scripture. Hearing the word of God means seeking to know God through Scripture and through the example of Jesus. Hearing the word of God means opening our hearts to meditate on the truth about life revealed in the works ourselves, becoming more and more like God in goodness, compassion, and mercy.
Doing the word of God means that we make a commitment to imitate Jesus in our daily lives. We intentionally seek ways to help those in need. We intentionally find opportunities to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. We intentionally visit the ill, the imprisoned, the neglected, and the dying. We intentionally seek peaceful solutions to conflict. We intentionally choose generosity over covetousness, welcome over indifference, forgiveness over resentment, respect over contempt, gentleness over aggression, love over fear. Hearing and doing the word of God is our twofold mission in the world. We cannot truly hear the word of God if we do not practice it. We must become what we hear if we want to claim Jesus as our brother.
Ponder: How does hearing God’s word change my life?
Rev. Warren J. Savage & Mary Ann McSweeny
