Thursday, September 24, 2020

 Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Luke 9:7-9)

Nothing belies the first reading today more than the second.  The preacher Qoheleth says, “There is nothing new under the sun,” but Herod is startled by what he hears of Jesus.  Since Jesus, things have not been like they used to be nor can they ever be so again.  He has changed the world uniquely.

Once on Christmas Eve it started to snow.  The white flakes were falling gently to the earth in the dusk of the evening.  People were rightly worrying about traffic jams as they hurried home and then to services.  But the snow was a reminder of the wonder of the birth of Christ.  Heaven was coming to earth in beauty and peace.

Christ has renewed our hearts.  Because of him, we know – despite appearances to the contrary – that we have an eternal destiny.  We want to let his words and example form our lives.  We want them to root out the egotism that makes it seem like things will never change.