Friday, October 21, 2022

 Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ephesians 4:1-6; Luke 12:54-59)

Any number of proverbs tell us that the time to act is now.  “A stitch in time, saves nine.”  “Now is the beginning of the rest of your life.”  “The longest journey begins with a single step.”  Jesus gives us a similar message in today’s gospel parable. 

It is a parable because Jesus is comparing the people to hypocrites who say one thing and do something contrary.  He tells the people that the time is here for them to stop deceiving themselves.  They must decide now how they are going to live their lives.  The time is ripe because Jesus has come from God with the offer of salvation.  If they turn from sinful ways, they will be saved because his sacrifice on the cross will win the forgiveness of their sins.  The reading from Ephesians today carries a similar message.  The Pauline disciple-writer urges the people to live not in competition but in solidarity as God’s daughters and sons.

We should not live for ourselves but for the Lord.  This means turning away from the perennial concern of doing what gives us the greatest comfort.  We are to ask first what God would have us do and then do it.  In this way we will know eternal life. 


No comments: