REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 19TH OCTOBER 2023

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 19TH OCTOBER 2023

Rom.3:21-30; Ps.130; Luke 11:47-54

God is God of all

Every action of God towards humanity retains its identity of a gift. This is the message of the first reading of today. The Jews were principally guided by the law and the prophets. However valid these were in relating the mind of God to the people, the people needed to also understand that they were not righteous on account of their observance of the law. If we want to evaluate our righteousness based on adherence to the law, we will not measure up, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The point here is not that human effort is not necessary in the struggle for salvation; No! We must struggle to keep the law; we must make effort to live holy lives; but we must always bear in mind that the fruits of our efforts is chiefly the outcome of Divine Grace. Therefore, we have no reason to boast or condemn others.

In the first reading also, St. Paul wants us to understand that God is not bound by any singular method in appropriating salvation. There are people who are not privileged to be Christians, Catholics or to have had good parenting where they would have learnt good ethics. Just as God is also God of the gentiles, so also, God is God of those who do not belong to our fold.

The Lord will judge us on account of our faith; what we believe in. We all believe in the principle of do good and avoid evil. The Lord will judge us on the basis of how we practiced this belief in our respective life contexts. It is on this note that the psalmist proclaims that the Lord is merciful and full of plentiful redemption. We too are called to consider the existential condition of life people live in, so that we can adopt appropriate methods in making Christ know to them.

Beloved, rather than boast of what the grace of God has achieved in and through you, consider how you can bring about the working of this grace in the lives of others. That is what it means to be truly merciful.