Thursday, 12 November 2026
Friday, November 13, 2026 - How would you fare if the Son of Man were to judge you at this moment?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Jn 1:4-9; Lk 17:26-37
This
section starts with the examples of the days of Noah and Lot (17,26-29). Just
as in the days of Noah and Lot the life of the people at that time proceeded
normally and people were going about their daily business until all of a sudden
the flood and brimstone and fire respectively destroyed the people, so it will
be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. This means that decisive action
is absolutely necessary. There will be no turning back. Lot’s wife who turned
into a pillar of salt when she looked back (Genesis 19, 26) is given as an
example of the dangers of looking back. When the Son of Man does indeed come,
then the choice of those who will be taken and those who will be left will be
made.
In
answer to the disciples’ question, “Where, Lord?” (17,37), Jesus answers with
an enigmatic proverb, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather”
(17,37). The point of this proverb here seems to be that just as it is sure
that vultures will gather where a corpse is found, as surely will the judgement
of the Son of Man fall upon on the wicked.
Decisive
action does not mean desperate action. It means steady and regular action. If
one is at any given moment in time doing what one is supposed to do, it may be
regarded as decisive action. A person engaged in such an activity is always
ready.
Wednesday, 11 November 2026
Thursday, November 12, 2026 - Instead of focussing too much on the afterlife, will you focus on life here and now?
To read the texts click on the texts: Philemon 1:7-20; Lk 17:20-25
The
first two verses of this section (17,20-21) are exclusive to Luke though
Matthew 24,23 and Mark 13,21 contain part of Luke 17,21. In Luke the Pharisees
pose the question about the future coming of the kingdom. In his response,
Jesus speaks not of the time when the kingdom will come, but about the very
nature of the kingdom. Since the pronoun “you” is plural, Jesus’ saying that
the kingdom is “among you” is unlikely to mean that the kingdom is within a
group of individuals. Rather it seems to mean that the kingdom is in Jesus who
is among them at that time.
The
next verse (17,22) begins the discourse of the coming of the Son of Man. There
will be a long period when the disciples long to see even a glimpse of their
deliverance (one of the days of the Son of Man). Though some will point here
and others there, the disciples must not be taken in. When the Son of Man does
appear he will be visible to all everywhere. However, before he comes, he will
have to endure suffering. The Son of Man who comes will be the Son of Man who
has suffered and been rejected.
Obsession
with the afterlife does not help us to live fully the life we have here and
now. Too many questions about death and what will happen after death result in
life passing us by. While as Christians we do believe in the life to come, we
are also instructed in many places in the Gospels that the life to come will
not be a totally different kind of life, but a life which will continue in a
fuller way the present one we have. Our focus therefore ought to be on living
this life fully at every moment of every day.
Tuesday, 10 November 2026
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 - How often have you thanked God for the wonder of your life? Will you do that today? How?
To read the texts click on the texts: Titus 3:1-7; Lk 17:11-19
The
miracle of the healing of ten lepers is found only in the Gospel of Luke. The
mention of Samaria at the beginning of this miracle story prepares us for the
Samaritan who gave thanks at the end.
Lepers
were not allowed to live within the city limits and had to live outside
(Numbers 5:2-3). They also had to cry out that they were unclean when anyone
approached them (Leviticus 13:45-46). This is why Luke has the lepers in this
story stand at a distance (17:12) and call out in unison addressing Jesus as
Master, which only disciples do in the Gospel of Luke. Their cry for mercy
would ordinarily have been a cry for alms, but in this case, it seems to be for
much more. When Jesus sees them, he issues a command that they go and show
themselves to the priests and as they obeyed this command, they were made
clean.
It
is interesting to note that the healing here, takes place after they obey
Jesus’ command. One of the ten on realising that he was healed began to praise
God and his action of falling prostrate at Jesus’ feet is an indication that he
recognised God as acting in and through Jesus. Though ten were made clean, only
one of them and that too a Samaritan who was despised by the Jews and regarded
as an outcast and foreigner has returned to thank God. The faith of the man
here, is shown not before but after his healing. This results in the man
receiving not just healing, but salvation.
Gratitude
does not come naturally to many of us. Before the favour can be done for us, we
are willing to do anything for the person who can do us that favour. However,
often once the favour has been done, we forget to thank. While the person
concerned might not expect any thanks from us, it is our responsibility to
acknowledge our gratitude by our thanks.
Monday, 9 November 2026
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 - Do you constantly expect thanks and praise for all the good that you do? Will you perform one act today without any expectation whatever?
To read the texts click on the texts: Titus 2:1-8,11-14; Lk 17:7-10
These
verses are exclusive to Luke and contain a parable. In the first part of the
parable the disciples are cast in the role of the master through Jesus’ question,
“Will any of you who has a servant…” (17,7). No one would expect a master to
ask a servant to sit at table and serve him, rather the servant would be
expected even after he has come from the field, to get the master’s supper
ready and serve the master. Moreover, the servant will not be thanked simply
because he has done what was required of him. At the end of the parable and in
the relationship with God, the disciples are cast in the roles of servants.
They must realise that like the servant of the parable they will also have to
do all that is required of them and not expect any thanks because they have
only done what was expected of them.
Very
few of us regard that we have been given the thanks due to us already in the
service that we have been allowed to provide. We wait for further thanks and
commendations. It is not only spiritual but also prudent and practical to do
what we are doing and expect no thanks at all. If it does come we accept it in
all humility, whereas if it does not come we are not disappointed.
Sunday, 8 November 2026
Monday, November 9, 2026 - Dedication of the Lateran Basilica - We are each and as a whole part of CHURCH
To read the texts click on the texts: Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12; 1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17;Jn2:13-22
The
Basilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome, the cathedra, or Chair,
at which the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, presides. In order to express devotion
and unity of all Catholics to the successor of Peter, the Church commemorates
the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Since the Pope presides in charity over
the universal Church, the Lateran Basilica is affectionately called the
"mother and head of all the churches of Rome and the world".
When
the Cathedral in Milan was finished, in the vast throng of people assembled for
the dedication, a little girl cried out in childish glee, as she pointed to it:
I helped build that. One of the guards challenged her: “What? Show me what you
did.” The girl replied, “I carried the lunch box for my father, while he worked
there.” The cathedral, the Church the Basilica is not primarily a building but
the people of God. Each of us and all of us help build up the Church.
It
is interesting but mainly revealing that the gospel reading chosen for this
feast in which we celebrate the Lateran Basilica would be Jesus cleansing the
Temple. Much like the Temple was a significant and symbolic building for the
Jewish people the Lateran Basilica serves in this capacity for us.
The
first Christians gathered to pray in private homes. To be a Christian was for
the first three hundred years after the Resurrection of Christ a crime of
treason against the Roman state. Therefore, believers would meet secretly to
hear the Gospel and break the bread. Today's feast commemorates the end of
those many long years of terrible persecutions and martyrdom and the dedication
of the Christians' first public place of worship.
While
this was a welcome change for the first Christian community, it also began to
soon struggle with a dilemma. The source of Jesus' power is found in weakness
and poverty. While being an underground church this was easy to accept. Now,
being accepted by the state, Christianity's power began to be aligned with fame
and fortune, buildings and property, prestige and status. The church began to
take on the political structure of the Roman state. Officials began to be
identified by secular titles such as “prince of the church" (Cardinal) and
"lord" (Bishop).While it is advantageous to have a place to worship
and also advantageous to have a structure to maintain a sense of order, both,
however, can also prevent us from encountering God by presenting an image of
God that is quite different from the one that Jesus presented and revealed.
Writing
during the period of Exile, the prophet Ezekiel dreamed of returning to his
home in Israel and especially to the Temple. The vision narrated in the first
reading of today is of water flowing from the Temple giving abundant life to
the valley below, even to the arid, lifeless region around the Dead Sea.
However, at the time of Jesus, this life-giving water had dried up and the
temple was no longer what it ought to have been.
The
cleansing of the Temple is an incident that is narrated by all four evangelists.
However, there are significant differences in the manner in which John narrates
it when compared with the Synoptic Gospels. In John, the incident appears at
the beginning of the Gospel and immediately after the Cana miracle of turning
water into wine, and so sets the stage for the kind of revelation of God that
Jesus makes in this Gospel. The temple in Jerusalem was considered the dwelling
place of God on earth and a place where people expected to encounter God in
prayer and sacrifice. However, as is evident in the actions of Jesus, the
Temple had become instead a market place. When one considers that some trade
and exchange of Tyrian coins for Roman or Greek coins was absolutely necessary
for worship to proceed smoothly, one realizes that this action of Jesus is
extremely radical and goes to the root of the meaning of worship and
encountering God.
All
religious institutional rootedness whether in the form of worship, unjust
social systems or repressive religious practices are challenged by this action
of Jesus. Zeal for his Father’s house
did indeed consume him when it led to his passion and death at the hands of
religious authorities. While he was aware that this would be one of the main
actions that would lead to his death, Jesus went even further when he pointed
to himself as the new Temple, the new place of worship. In him a person
encounters God as never before.
Thus,
Christians, being identified with Christ in Baptism, are also temples of God,
living temples of the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds the early Christians of the
community at Corinth that they are themselves God’s Temple. God, in Christ,
dwells in each one. Moreover, the whole community of Christians forms a temple,
in which each Christian is a living stone, with Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
It
is in the context of these readings that we must ask ourselves what we are
really celebrating today. While it is true that the very orderly, stable and
universal structure is surely to be celebrated in this feast and we need the
certainty and conviction that comes from something that is consistent and
bigger than ourselves, we also need to accept the fact that this is not all
that the Church is. We also celebrate weakness in today’s feast. First, the
weakness and numerous failures of each of us individuals who make up the
Church, and also the failures and shortcomings of the Church as a whole. Both
are in constant need of cleansing by the head of the Church Jesus Christ who
continues to make all things whole.
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