Reading 1
WIS 9:13-18B
Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many
concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17
R. (1) In
every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In
every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In
every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In
every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In
every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Reading 2
PHMN 9-10, 12-17
I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would
me.
Gospel
LK 14:25-33
Great
crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and
mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to
finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
Theme for reflection: Human Weakness or Limitations
The first reading seems to start with a great
pessimism about the nature and quality of human’s with regards to his creator.
“Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?”
Here it is not just pessimism but also a deep
reality, which every human being needs to ponder on; it’s the reality of the
truth about our self.
St. Paul addressing the Roman community has this to
say: "For who has known the mind of the
Lord, or who has been his counselor?" Rom 11:34 (cfr. 1 Cor. 2:16)
The
Lord revealing to us, about this, is only part of the reality, but we believing
this and accepting this truth requires a constant humble action on our part. It is not easy for humans to accept this truth
about ourselves.
Yet it
is no ordinary revelation about ourselves, which we should neglect to reflect
on.
One
will be able to give full credence to what the Lord is saying by not just
acknowledging ones foolish and stupid state but by actually getting into the
exercise of seeing where and in which areas of our life it is true.
Sometimes
we may believe but in practice act contrary to belief and that is still more
serious because our mind makes us believe that knowledge or awareness is the
same as practice.
Let
me assure you: if you take God’s help then you will discover your poverty and
limitations as a mortal man, as in a mirror.
We
will then realize how miserable we are and our fruitless empty boasting, and that
the proud mind amounts to nothing and cannot do anything worthwhile by divine
standards.
It
may accomplish much by human standards but it will amount to nothing by God’s
standards. (Jn. 15:5; Ps. 127:1)
We
may be smarter than our neighbor and even smarter than the rest and yet may
never realize the self deception in which we may be totally embroiled in unless
we have the help of the Holy Spirit.
It is
the Holy Spirit who makes us wise in the ways of wisdom, truth and eternity.
How
do we receive the fullness of this great gift of the Holy Spirit?
Thus;
how can the work of our hands prosper? How can we exceed our weaknesses or
limitations? How can the oppressed slave receive back his dignity and the
marginalized the wealth of peace?
“So
therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my
disciple.” Luke 14:33
In
the second reading Onesimus the slave receives his dignity by virtue of his
faithfulness to Christ, which is manifest in service to the greatest follower
of Christ Jesus; Paul the Apostle. (vs.
16)
Similarly,
we who are slaves to sin and bondage receive our dignity in Christ Jesus and
made wise in the ways of the Kingdom that is everlasting.
One
could be partially receiving Christ or fully, but each according to the degree
to which one has renounced and embraced Christ is a disciple of Christ and
person having the life of the Holy Spirit.
He
who has Christ and his Holy Spirit has his life in all their weaknesses and
dead works and Jesus is able to make them alive in himself; for the Lord our
God is indeed our savior.
Some additional scripture verses for reflection and use:
"For
who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the
mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16
For
all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you
did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have
received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" Rom 8:14-15
"Truly,
truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does
not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. John 8:34-35
For
freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again
to a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1
"My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I
will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. 2 Cor 12:9
For
consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly
standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God
chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in
the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world,
even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 1 Cor 1:26-28
Mary as example: “For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who
is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Luke 1:48-49
