Monday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 6:6–11

Meditatio

“But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.”

   This Gospel selection is a microcosm of Luke’s message in his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. A man with a withered hand needs healing. The Pharisees are watching Jesus closely, seeking a reason to report him to the authorities. For Luke, to be full of grace, to be favored with the gracious acts of God’s kindness, requires listening, trust, and obedience.

   Mary, the first to be addressed as “full of grace,” is the fullest example of listening and trusting obedience. She bows before a mystery that she could not have completely comprehended, but to which she gives her whole life. Zechariah is punished for not trusting. Simeon and Anna are praised for their trusting prayers. The poor, the sick, the sinners who have nothing of their own in which to trust and who entirely depend on God’s mercy are called blessed. But woe is spoken to those who are popular, praised, and wealthy, those who trust in their own ideas, self-sufficiency, and righteousness.

   In these six verses of Luke we see a poor man with a withered hand simply sitting in the assembly in the synagogue. He is probably minding his own business, possibly wondering if he has the courage to ask Jesus to heal him. The Pharisees, however, have closed their minds and hearts to Jesus well before this meeting in the synagogue. They cannot hear him because his message contradicts everything they have felt to be true about how their lives should be lived. They cannot trust this dangerous young rabbi because the threat of the occupying power destroying their nation is too much for them. They cannot obey him because they have made up their minds to stop him from preaching and healing. In this passage we must face ourselves: what inspirations or invitations are we shutting out of our lives because of fear of what that change would mean? What we defend ourselves against could very well be the remedy offered to us for our salvation.

Oratio

   Father, so often I’ve discovered that precisely what I feared the most and fought against turned out to be just what I needed. Eventually I came to my senses. Every day you speak to me and invite me to change, to move from reacting, to deeply intentional ways of living and being. Help me to hear the hard word, to trust you, and to obey.

Contemplatio

   Father, I am listening.

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ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)