19 October 2020 Monday of week 29 in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 2:1-10
You were dead through the crimes and the sins in which you used to live when you were following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governs the air, the spirit who is at work in the rebellious. We all were among them too in the past, living sensual lives, ruled entirely by our own physical desires and our own ideas; so that by nature we were as much under God’s anger as the rest of the world. But God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus. This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.
Psalm 99(100) He made us, we belong to him.
Luke 12:13-21
A man in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
Reflection:
At the end of the SEDOS Seminar on Saturday the moderator said, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans”. Let’s face it our life is in God’s hands. This COVID time has reminded us that we have little control, and that our belief that we do, is built on very feeble ground. We had to be reminded by a virus, to align our lives and plans with what emerging from the mind, heart and will of God. This further reminds us that a whole lot of listening if we are to hear what God is calling into existence. We thank God for each day and each moment offered to us. Let us build into every daily activity a time of deep listening that precedes our decisions and actions. Job 12 says, “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Acts 17 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’”
Riflessione (italiano):
Alla fine del Seminario SEDOS di sabato il moderatore ha detto: “Se vuoi far ridere Dio, digli i tuoi progetti”. Ammettiamolo, la nostra vita è nelle mani di Dio. Questo tempo di COVID ci ha ricordato che abbiamo poco controllo, e che la nostra convinzione di averlo, è costruita su un terreno molto debole. Abbiamo dovuto essere ricordati da un virus, per allineare le nostre vite e i nostri piani con ciò che emerge dalla mente, dal cuore e dalla volontà di Dio. Questo ci ricorda inoltre che, se vogliamo sentire ciò che Dio chiama all’esistenza, dobbiamo ascoltare molto. Ringraziamo Dio per ogni giorno e per ogni momento che ci viene offerto. Costruiamo in ogni attività quotidiana un tempo di ascolto profondo che precede le nostre decisioni e azioni. Giobbe 12 dice: “Nella sua mano c’è la vita di ogni creatura e il respiro di tutta l’umanità”. Atti 17 dice: “Perché in Lui viviamo, ci muoviamo e abbiamo il nostro essere”. Come alcuni dei vostri poeti hanno detto: “Noi siamo i suoi figli”.