Wednesday - October 04, 2017
“When people love and recite the Rosary
they find it makes them better.”
– St. Anthony Mary Claret
TODAY'S READINGS
October 4, 2017
Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lectionary: 457
Reading 1NEH 2:1-8
In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, "Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart."
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
"May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?"
The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?"
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
"If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves,
to rebuild it."
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.
I asked the king further: "If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy."
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.
Responsorial PsalmPS 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
AlleluiaPHIL 3:8-9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceedingon their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
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When prioritizing means change
We all have good reasons for not following Jesus all the way all the time. The man in the Gospel reading today, who wanted to first bury his dad, seems to have his priorities right. After all, he was obeying the commandment to honor his parents. However, we don't know if his father was even dead yet.
Jesus knew that the man was just making excuses. He was procrastinating on his personal decision to change his life and become a follower of Christ.
The guy who wanted to go back home to say goodbye seems to be someone who had a strong sense of responsibility. He knew it was wrong to abandon his family. After all, he couldn't call them on the phone to let them know that he was safe and that he was not forgetting about their needs. But Jesus knew that this man felt torn between the life he had left behind and his life as a disciple; having a divided mind would make him an ineffective Christian.
The past can be a powerful master of the heart, but only God should be the master we serve.
All of our reasons for not fully committing to a direction or a service that Jesus is asking of us could be very good reasons. They can seem very logical and even holy. But if they are excuses instead of blind trust in following Christ, and if they are rationalizations for taking an easier path or remaining in a lifestyle that's comfortable and familiar, we are choosing death over life. We are the dead burying the dead.
The people in this Gospel story had excellent excuses. We can even say that until Jesus called them to follow him, they were doing exactly what God wanted them to do. Why would he change his almighty mind? Their "yes, but wait" seemed legitimate.
Following Christ is never a static position. It's an adventure that changes as soon as we get comfortable. God calls us away from doing one good thing to do a different good thing. The hard part is recognizing when it's time to let go of the old to start something new, especially when it makes perfect sense to keep on doing what we've been doing, and even more especially when no one else can do it quite as well as we can.
Should we answer the pastor's call for more liturgical readers, even though it means switching our schedule to a different Mass? Should we reach out to that person who could become a new friend, even though we'd have to sacrifice time that we'd normally spend with old friends? Should we turn our ministries over to someone else so that we can fill a need elsewhere?
You and I really do want to do what Jesus asks of us. If we truly trust him, we truly want to follow him wherever he leads. Choosing the right priorities is not our problem; our struggle is with recognizing the surprise changes in God's plans.
After that, it's a matter of moving forward in the new direction while trusting that if we've misinterpreted God's plans, he will make sure we don't go far in the wrong direction.
Instead of wishing that life could be predictable, we need to focus on what Jesus wants us to do today. How does he want you to follow him right now? Be content with whatever you're doing but be ready for God to design another curve in your path.
Prayer
Give me, Lord, strength, courage and detachment to follow Your paths in every circumstance. I give You my past, what I am and what I have. Thank You for calling me to a new life. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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