Reading 1
1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior
and of Christ Jesus our hope,
to Timothy, my true child in faith:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 16:1b-2a And 5, 7-8, 11
R. (see 5) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Gospel
Lk 6:39-42
Jesus told his disciples a parable:
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
"Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,"
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
Meditation: Luke 6:39-42
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“No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40)
A rabbi in Jesus’ time was very selective about his disciples. All young boys memorized massive amounts of Mosaic law. Only those who did this flawlessly were invited to further studies, and the esteemed teacher chose only the most gifted among those advanced students. Such disciples strove to become like their master, not only thinking and speaking as he did but imitating his dress, his way of praying, even his mannerisms.
Jesus put a great deal of prayerful thought into choosing his disciples, but his criteria and his objectives were quite different. None of the twelve would have been a candidate for further study; some of them would have failed even the lowest-level theology test. They were also very different from one another— from Matthew the tax collector to the “sons of thunder,” James and John, to the impetuous Peter. Jesus’ purpose was to shape each disciple into his image and to set each one free to develop his own unique gifts and talents. Yes, the disciples would become like their teacher in the essentials of being permeated by God’s love, but each of them would also grow into what the Master saw and loved in them. And together, this motley group actually went out and built God’s kingdom!
St. Paul gives us a wonderful example of this. He admits that when Jesus called him, he was “a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,” but God saw him rather as “trustworthy” of being called to apostleship (1 Timothy 1:12,13). Because Jesus loved him, Paul was given grace to grow into his vocation.
Is it not the same with us? Jesus calls us not because we are already perfect but simply because he loves us. He smiles on us and beckons us not because of what we are in ourselves but because of what he sees in us—what he knows we can become as we unite ourselves with him. In that friendship, we become fully ourselves, the people the Father created us to be. At the same time, we also become like our Teacher, shining his love into the world through the prism of our uniqueness.
“Jesus, thank you for calling me to be your friend and disciple. Teach me to follow you freely and fearlessly along the way of love.”
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