Reading 1 Rom 8:1-11
Brothers and sisters:
Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has freed you from the law of sin and death.
For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do,
this God has done:
by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
For those who live according to the flesh
are concerned with the things of the flesh,
but those who live according to the spirit
with the things of the spirit.
The concern of the flesh is death,
but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.
For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God;
it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1b-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Gospel Lk 13:1-9
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
"Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them?
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!"
And he told them this parable:
"There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
"For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?"
He said to him in reply,
"Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.'"
Meditation: Romans 8:1-11
“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also.” (Romans 8:11)
St. Irenaeus once said that the glory of God is men and women who are “fully alive.” And in a sense, this is exactly what St. Paul is telling us in today’s first reading. He tells us that the Holy Spirit wants to “give life” to our “mortal bodies”—that God wants us to enjoy life in this world, even as we live in hope for the next one. He doesn’t want us to think that we can please him through acts of harsh self-denial. We do need to live in moderation and not become enslaved to our appetites. But at the same time, God wants us to be as fully alive in our human bodies as Jesus was.
Remember: Jesus himself lived on earth in a body like ours, and he certainly experienced the limitations of his body. He knew hunger, fatigue, and pain. What’s more, he embraced this situation willingly, because it gave him more in common with his companions. It made him better equipped to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).
Remember, too, that it was in his human body that Jesus experienced the comfort of camaraderie, the joy of being able to liberate people from illness, and the inspiration of being given just the right thing to say at the right time. He must have laughed heartily and easily. He gladly shared meals with people— sometimes formal banquets, sometimes just bread and dried fish. He took care of his friends, cleaning off their dirty feet and urging them to take a much-needed break after a mission trip. The beloved disciple lay his head on Jesus’ breast, and Jesus wept human tears at the death of his close friend, Lazarus.
It may be a little tricky at times as we try to find the right balance between enjoying our lives and overdoing it. But that’s why we have the Spirit. With his guidance, we can learn how to live full lives here on earth: spirit, soul, and body.
“Jesus, thank you for your witness of a joy-filled life in the body. Teach me how to live like you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment