Reading 1
Phil 2:12-18
My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.
Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14
Responsorial PsalmR. (1a)
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Gospel
Lk 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
Meditation: Philippians 2:12-18
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who … works in you both to desire and to work.” (Philippians 2:12-13)
That’s quite a mouthful, isn’t it? And at first blush, it appears that Paul is saying two opposite things. Are we supposed to work out our salvation on our own? Or does God do all the work in us while we simply sit back and relax? As with so many other truths of the faith, the answer lies in the middle: Only through a combination of our hard work and God’s sovereign grace will we be able to grow up into Christ.
At the heart of the gospel message is the wonderful truth that Jesus has redeemed us from sin and death. Our redemption is an act of immense mercy on his part, something we could never achieve on our own. But now that we have been redeemed, God calls us to work with his grace so that we can continue to grow into the salvation he has won for us.
St. Augustine once wrote: “We also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us so that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God: for without him we can do nothing.”
Think of it as a kind of dance with the divine. Every dance starts with a first step, and as God offers us his outstretched hand, we—clumsily at first but then more fluidly—lean into his strength and follow his lead. As we take up the challenge of saying no to our fallen nature and saying yes to his will, he multiplies the fruit of our efforts. Our fear of falling out of step with him spurs us on in faith as we become more and more confident in him. So let’s joyfully cooperate with God every day, so that together with him we can create a beautiful work of art that glorifies him and his love.
“Jesus, take my hand and lead me today.”
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