FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
FRIDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME A
ST MARTIN DE PORRES Religious (MEMORIAL)
Romans 9:1-5
Luke 14:1-6
EXPERIENCING AND IMITATING THE LOVING MERCIES OF OUR GOD
Again Jesus is confronted by the people who came to test him. This time , it was a trap to catch him for breaking the sabbath laws. So the man who was suffering from dropsy was the bait. All they wanted was to hold him and find some accusations against him in order to kill him.
And the irony is that Jesus was not even perturbed by the antics of these people. His dinner turned into a miracle centre because he noticed and observed this man who was suffering from dropsy or edema, a condition or sickness in which ones’ body tissues stores a lot of fluid and appears big and swollen.
The reaction of Jesus was that of compassion, and healing of the man and not the trap set for him. He was not going to accuse them of setting trap for him either. But he went ahead to set this man free. Because he observed a creature of God who was in need, who was suffering and needing help. Jesus saw a man trapped and enslaved in sickness. He saw a creature of God who needed freedom from a situation that has enslaved him. And Jesus attended to the situation. He never considered the initial intentions of the people which was to trap him and which he would have known their intentions
Our God is full of compassion and loving kindness. He hates when our condition becomes helpless and inimical to our well-being. He never ceases to come to our help. And he never allows any obstacle to deter him from attending to our needs and aspirations. He is always there to help, to heal, to restore and to enliven our lives.
We need to be conscious of this care and the saving love of our God. We need to be concerned about the love our God shows us. Saint Paul in the letter to the Romans laments the unconcerned attitude of the Jews to the loving mercies of our God. Paul reminds the people of Israel that to them belongs, “the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the laws, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarch, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.” But do they care? Are they concerned? Does it actually perturb or make them to want to live it out?
Jesus expects us his followers to be more concerned with our duties, our responsibilities, our position as his people and our task of loving and showing love to others. Jesus is full of loving concern over his people and we must live according to our nature also. We must be concerned with whom we are and whom God has made us to be. We must then strive to exemplify the loving kindness of our God. Showing it in our lives and being ever concerned for the well-being of others.
God our Father, grant us greater knowledge of your love for us. May we learn to imitate, live and share same love to the world. May we value what you have made and given to us in Christ and preserve and proclaim such to the world. Help us to show compassion, be sensitive to the plight of others and help them regain health, happiness and eternal life through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
