Weekly Mass Readings – October 28, 2007

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18
Ps 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18
Lk 18:9-14

Reflection:

In this Sunday's Gospel reading, we see what happens when our primary motivation in everything we do is not love but self-centeredness. "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled." Sooner or later, self-exalting people get humbled, whether they realize it or not. People who encounter them in daily life do not think very highly of them. And certainly, God doesn't either.

The alternative is to let our love for others be what humbles us.

Without love as our motivation, we believe in our own so-called "righteousness" in order to which we think we're okay when we're not, and we desire, like Satan, to be our own god instead of being like God. But when we do good deeds for others because we genuinely care about them, the pride of our self-righteousness is replaced by holy humility.

We are made righteous by our love for others. Self-righteousness motivates us to do good for others, but only for the selfish purpose of looking admirable, winning God's approval, or gaining some other personal benefit. If there's anyone whom we despise, anyone whom we believe is inferior to us and not worthy of our time and caring, we are like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable.

The cure for this is to get in touch with God's concern for the people we find difficult to love. Once we unite our hearts to God's love for them, we begin to care about them, too. And the most powerful and successful way to accomplish this is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which not only absolves us of self-righteousness, it also gives us a special grace from God that empowers us with a supernatural love for others.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
Think of those who are less spiritually advanced than you, e.g., family, friends, co-workers, and parishioners who cause you to think: "Thank God I am not like them!" Do you grieve for them because of their sins and blindness? Do you do anything to help them grow closer to Christ? Do they experience Jesus every time they encounter you?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:
What are some ways that you show love to those who are not as holy as you, or not as emotionally healthy as you, or not as intelligent as you? Describe a time when you were more self-righteous than righteous. How did you (or how will you) let Jesus turn your pride into humility?

From Good News Ministries