Wednesday - August 30, 2017
You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy - the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud.
-- St. Vincent de Paul
TODAY'S READINGS
August 30, 2017
Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 427
Reading 11 THES 2:9-13
You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.
Responsorial PsalmPS 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12AB
R. (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light"–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Alleluia1 JN 2:5
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 23:27-32
Jesus said,"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
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True Christian Leadership
Our first reading today shows us what true Christian leadership is like. It means working "day and night" (i.e., endlessly and tirelessly) to serve, not burden, the Body of Christ. Truly Christian leaders (whether priests, bishops, superiors, CEOs, business managers, or lay people heading ministries) serve devoutly, justly and blamelessly, replacing the desire to control with the desire to empower. The preaching of Christ is made real by living what we exhort others to do.
Putting this into context with the bigger picture of the full Gospel, we know that Saint Paul was not implying that we must work every day and night, without rest. We become a burden to others when we work too fast and too long and become too tired to remain devout, just, and blameless. Even Jesus took time off to have his energy restored.
The Gospel reading today shows us what false (or tired) Christian leadership is like. What appears to be holy on the outside is merely a whitewashed wickedness. The light of Christ, which might actually be there, is blocked by wrong motives, pride, a desire to be superior and control others, and other vocation abuses. False Christian leaders mask the darkness within by painting themselves in white. It's an attempt to fake the light of Christ. Their own efforts will bear witness against them.
We are all called to be Christian leaders in one place or another, serving the kingdom of God in our homes, our workplaces, our community, and anyplace else where we have the opportunity to set a good example. In everything, we are all called to be God's instruments in this world, making a difference devoutly, justly and blamelessly, preaching not so much by what we say but more by the way we live the faith.
As St. Paul said, the word of God must be at work in us if we're true believers in Christ. Do we really believe in his way of living out the message of salvation? None of us are perfect. Although we desire to be holy, we sometimes fail because of wrong motives, pride, and other abuses of our Christian vocations. If we are not changed daily by the truth in the scriptures, if we are not transformed by the Eucharist, if we are not examining our consciences continually and seeking new ways to grow in holiness, then we slip into hypocrisy.
What will you do today to help others experience Jesus? We won't be successful unless we first humbly recognize the ways we have become hypocrites.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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