SCRIPTURE LUKE 12:1-10
be faithful even under threat of persecution.
There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna;, yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
WHOEVER ACKNOWLEDGES ME WILL BE SAVED
REFLECTION
Jesus tells us that all will be revealed, nothing hidden. That sends a few shivers up my spine. I don’t know about you but I have done things I am not very proud of but I am more careful now after Jesus’ warning. I am encouraged to seek the good in everything I do henceforth. Jesus pray for me! I acknowledge you Jesus as Lord and Savior!
God’s judgment is just! I plead for mercy. . Let my actions be fitting in good times and bad times so that you will acknowledge me on the last day and welcome me into your kingdom.
Choose Life eternal over death the world may threaten you with. The world may persecute me even kill my body but only I can kill my soul by abandoning God who is all good and wishes to share his Divine Life with me for all eternity
SCRIPTURE LUKE 12:16-21
parable of the rich fool.
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!
God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong? Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.
STORE UP YOUR TREASURE IN HEAVEN
REFLECTION
Oh, foolish man, how we strive for possessions. We all have stuff, too much stuff, do we need any more stuff. How much stuff will they stuff in our coffin? Does our stuff make us happy, sometimes, for a time, but because they are stuff, dissembling into dust, they are so elusive, and don’t have the meaning they once had.
What is permanent? God is! Always faithful, always present, and eternal. Why replace God with stuff that decays, becomes obsolete, and subject to theft of the evil one. Do we have full control over anything? Did you go down the list? The answer is no. God is in control. God created us for himself that we would share for all eternity in His Divine Life, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
SCRIPTURE
LUKE 12:22-34
dependence on god.
He said to [his] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest?
Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides.
Do not be afraid any longer…Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
REFLECTION
We all worry too much about this and that, not that worrying ever solved a problem. But it is who we are, worriers. Jesus in His humanity knows that, has experienced with His disciples and those he meets along the way. Today’s scripture reading is a cautionary tale told to us by Jesus himself.
Jesus reminds us that the Father who is all good, and provides us with all the good things in our life, knows what we need even before we ask. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t like hearing from us because we can enter into dialogue with Him and maybe even get new insights into what we are asking for and maybe alternatives for achieving the good.
Jesus reminds us that the smallest things are not in our control for example, temperature, traffic, whether drive thru is only accepting cash today, and the mood of our boss. Jesus has us covered though thru grace and trust.
Seek first the kingdom of heaven! Is there anything better? I think not. Keep your eyes on the prize. Where your treasure is so will your heart be! Where is your heart? I hope with Jesus!
SCRIPTURE 12:49-53
a cause of division.*
I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! there is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
I HAVE COME TO SET THE WORLD ABLAZE
REFLECTION
Jesus knows the anguish in this world He must face, prior to His Passion and Death. While in this world Jesus is not of this world. The world does not know him or accept him. Jesus does not go along to get along. Jesus knows preaching His Father’s will is contrary to what the world thrives on. He has come to cause division.
At first reading, it may seem harsh even unloving to predict family members will be made to choose sides but isn’t that what we have today, some family members divorce and remarry in irregular marriages, cohabiting, not attending Mass on Sundays, support abortion, support same sex marriages, etc.
Families are our foundational support group but sometimes they are messy. Sometimes as faithful, practicing Catholics we must express the truth to family members as Jesus taught us.
This does not mean doing more harm than good like kicking someone out of the family, but it does mean not enabling them or supporting them in their way over God’s way.
We are not moral relativists, whatever seems right to me. We have the Commandments, the teachings of Jesus, the Church and the Holy Spirit to guide us. Above all, be kind, be compassionate, in the midst of the family God has given to us.