FIRST READING
Ephesians 5:21-33
Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the Body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; Your children like olive plants around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
ALLELUIA
See Matthew 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Luke 13:18-21
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
REFLECTIONS:
What can mustard seeds and leaven teach us about
the kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which
attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed
it produced. God's kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the
smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to
God's word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within.
Leaven is another powerful agent of change. A lump of dough left to itself
remains just what it is, a lump of dough. But when the leaven is added
to it a transformation takes place which produces rich and wholesome bread
when heated the staple of life for humans. The kingdom of God produces
a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers.
When we yield to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of
the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Paul the Apostle says,
"we have this
treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs
to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming
power of the Holy Spirit?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the
Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and
instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory."
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