Good for the Community
Oct. 8: Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Some people think this first reading from the Letter to the Galatians contradicts Acts of the Apostles. Worse, this is taken as evidence that Luke wasn't actually a traveling companion of Paul's. Of course, neither of those things are true—
These are two of the most important texts in the New Testament. Christians have been reading them for millennia. Imagine the sheer amount of ego required to think you've "discovered" a contradiction that no one else has noticed in thousands of years.
Reading 1
Gal 1:13-24
Brothers and sisters: You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. But when he, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the Apostles, only James the brother of the Lord. (As to what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying.) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” So they glorified God because of me.
Paul tells us the story of his conversion to illustrate the importance of forgiveness. He was one of the worst persecutors of Christians. It would not be surprising if the Christians in Judea rejected him.
But when they saw he had seen the light (literally), the welcomed him. God forgave Paul, and so should they. Even the worst of us can be welcomed into the community with God's grace.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Have you ever sat stuck in traffic, and marveled at the huge mass of people around you?
They're not NPCs in a video game; each one of them has an inner life, loves, hates, dreams, fears, a soul. And God knows each and every one of them, just as he knows you and me. In fact, he knows us better than we know ourselves.
Alleluia
Lk 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Sometimes the connections between the Alleluia and the readings are obscure. Then there’s verses like this, which can easily be applied to Paul’s conversion.
Gospel
Lk 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
There’s always work to be done. Cooking, cleaning, making sure everyone is comfortable. Sometimes, these things are even necessary.
Yet, we can’t let that interfere with our relationship with God. Don’t forget, He’s the reason we have a house to clean, food to cook, friends to comfort. Always make time for Jesus.