WORD 2day: Friday, 30th week in Ordinary time
November 3, 2023 - Romans 9: 1-5; Luke 14: 1-6
I would willingly be condemned if it helped my brother or sister, dares Paul. What if you criticise me for curing on the sabbath, I dont mind, as long as it liberates a son or a daughter of God, says Jesus in the Gospel. The message is loud and clear: doing good to the other cannot wait, much less, be stopped!
In fact, the passage of the first reading and the episode of the Gospel today, can lead us to reflect on one important question in our Christian living: what does stop me from doing good to my brother or sister? Let us reflect on top-three blocks that could be:
The first is mindless self-centredness - because of which I fail to think beyond myself, my whims and fancies, my petty comforts and my comfort zones. I am unable to look around, look out or look up to anyone, unable to learn anew or change my perspectives in order to reach out to the other. This is what St. Paul points out in the first reading today.
The second is infantile fearfulness - because of which, though I know what is right to be done, I fail to do it out of fear of criticism or fear of being ridiculed for the good I do. It may look too flimsy a reason, that is why it is infantile. But this is a very wide spread reason. Just imagine how many of us have this question before we do anything at all in our daily life: what will others think of me! Jesus challenges such a thinking in the episode we see in the Gospel today.
The third is obstinate wickedness - because of which, I choose deliberately what is against good; I choose to do harm, hurt, destroy, exploit, use or abuse, the other for reasons known only to me! What a wicked way of life it can be! Sadly, there are many in this mode of thinking and living, which causes so much evil in the world. Here is where a true Christian has to make a real difference today in the world.
Yes, the crucial question to me today is: what stops me from doing good to my brother or sister?