Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 12:1–7

Meditatio

“… whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light.…”

   So often in the Gospels, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of some of the religious leaders. In fact, sometimes we can become so used to it that we become deaf to the concern Jesus has for us. Let’s take the word “hypocrisy” and translate it into a term often used today: “transparency.” Companies and parishes must have financial transparency. Leaders have to be transparent and put into full view their motivations and the information that has led to their decisions. We want our elected officials to be transparent. Transparency as honesty is valued as a virtue in children, and also in adults.

   Those who demand the most transparency in others are often the least transparent about their own activities and decisions. Their demand for transparency may just be a politically correct term for expressing their feelings of being marginalized and not included. Or perhaps they are rebellious against authority. Such persons act hypocritically, demanding transparency of others but refusing to be honest themselves.

   Yet other people are honest and transparent. How do we reverence transparency in others when they make themselves vulnerable by revealing motivations, desires, weaknesses, dreams, or decisions? Their transparency must be respected by those who are entrusted with valuable and sensitive information. This takes maturity, which sometimes others lack. Then the person being open and honest may be betrayed and hurt because others cannot be transparent themselves. In situations like this, some of Jesus’ sayings can bring comfort to us: “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed … do not be afraid of those who kill the body.… Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

Oratio

   Jesus, so many misunderstandings have made my life complex. But you know the truth. You know I’ve tried. You know my weaknesses, and you are here in the mess. You are making me holy in the pain of betrayal. I hear you repeat over and over, “Do not be afraid.” I open my heart completely to your gaze, and hide nothing from you. Amen.

Contemplatio

   Light in the darkness, shine in my soul.

__

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