Friday - November 06, 2020
The sinner who is sorry for his sins
is closer to God than the just man
who boasts of his good works.
~~ St. Padre Pio
TODAY'S READINGS
November 6, 2020
Friday of the Thirty-first Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 489
Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified Body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.
Responsorial Psalm PS 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5
R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to
me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Alleluia 1 JOHN 2:5
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly
perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 16:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light.”
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Can Dishonesty be Good?
Being meek does not mean being wimpy. Jesus was "meek and humble of heart" the scriptures tell us. Was Jesus wimpy? Was he meek when he stood up to the Pharisees and corrected them?
Christ-like meekness means taking a firm approach in doing God's will. It means standing strong in the face of opposition but without belittling others, without casting stones at them, and without wishing for their demise.
Jesus' parable conveys that we should be assertive and strong in handling problems. We're supposed to find a clever way around the obstacles that interfere with doing God's will. It's better to be devious than to quit. God wants us to be enterprising. To be like Jesus is to attack problems with gusto.
Where should we draw the line between clever deviousness and sinful dishonesty? Love. There's the boundary.
If we can speak up for what is right with love and compassion, without condemnation and without feeling superior, then we must speak up! When someone swings at our proverbial cheeks, we must stand firmly in place and use that position to block further damage while forgiving the one who is hurting us. When a door of opportunity to serve the Lord is slammed shut in our face, with love for those who are working against God's desires, we choose not to fight them, but we don't stand still. We look for a different door that will lead to a new opportunity.
Without love, deviousness is ugly.
Perhaps an example will help. My husband and I used to have a friend who was alcoholic and lustful. In his sickness, he caused great harm, often behaving, like it says in our first reading today, as an enemy of the cross of Christ, even though he was a Christian leader. For a while, God wanted us to walk the extra mile with him to point the way to repentance and recovery. But he continued to choose the path of destruction. He rejected our firm stand on the truth.
It became clear that the greatest act of love we could offer him was to report him to the authorities - a "devious" decision - with the same tears that Paul shed for those whose minds are occupied with earthly things.
Love is sometimes a very devious boundary. Blessed are the meek who assert healthy boundaries, even when they stir up trouble.
Today's Prayer
Beloved Lord, give me the
grace and strength I need to cancel the debts of those who have hurt me,
because You have cancelled mine before. Amen.
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