Thursday of the 28th week in ordinary time year A
Romans 3: 21-30 Luke 11: 47-54
Theme: Pray for them …
In the gospel reading of today from St. Luke, we see the anger of Jesus as he addresses his audience. He reminds them about the evil their fathers committed against the prophets sent to them by God and how they are continuing from where their fathers stopped through their actions. God sent these prophets at the time to help the people to live a good life, come out of their wrong doings and follow the path that will lead them to God. Instead of accepting this message sent by the prophets and change their way of lives, they attacked the prophets and killed some of them. Today’s gospel reading presents us the opportunity to reflect on how we respond to the message we get from men and women of God in our own time. Is there really a difference between how we respond, and the way the people of Jesus’ time did, your guess is as good as mine.
If for nothing, one of the things we must strive to put into practice in our personal lives, is to try to practice the word of God that we hear, read, and preach to others. It is not enough to condemn the ministers of God, what are we doing to make them better ministers, instead of gossiping about them and talking them down? We are all encouraged to pray for them, so that the God who have sent them to his people will intervene and grant them a change of heart, if they are on the wrong path. With prayers, any bad situation can be turned into a good situation. Like it is said, what God cannot do does not exist. He is still in control of the happenings in our lives and in the world.
That is why the emphasis on faith by St. Paul in todays 1st reading, in his letter to the Romans is very important. When we have a sincere faith in God, it opens our eyes to the things that is expected of us as children of God. With faith we get a broader understanding of the word of God, and it will inspire us to live a life that is good and pleasing to God. However, this does not mean that with faith alone, all is well. Rather, faith is the foundation on which we can build our journey to heaven. For instance, we also must put our faith into practice by working to make it complete for us. As we continue to pray for one another, may almighty God bless you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.