Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 17 October 2014

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 17 October 2014
Meditation: Luke 12: Can’t Hide Behind a Religious Mask
1-3 By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other’s toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.
4-5 “I’m speaking to you as dear friends. Don’t be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.
6-7 “What’s the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
Many people were crowding together. (Luke 12:1)
At one point or another, we have all schemed and pushed to get something we want: an afternoon off during the workweek, an extra discount at the market, or a favor from a friend. So we can all understand the work involved in taking matters into our own hands and making situations work out to our satisfaction. Sometimes such determination is a good and necessary thing. But often, we end up grieving others or vexing ourselves as we strive—even in matters of faith.
As he made his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had been telling his listeners to love one another (Luke 10:29-37) and assuring them of God’s love and concern for each of them (11:9-13). He had healed the sick (8:43-48), raised the dead (8:49-55), and cast out demons (11:14). As a result, thousands were drawn to him, even to the point of “trampling one another” in their efforts to get near to him (12:1). They were desperate to witness a miracle or to be healed themselves.
So how did Jesus respond to this “pushy” mass of people who were trying to get what they wanted? Not by reproaching them but by telling them that they all had great worth in God’s eyes (Luke 12:7). Greater than fear, greater than desperation, is the knowledge that God loves and cares about us. It’s the confidence that he wants to take care of us and that he has the power to do so. But greater still is his desire to lift our attention above those things, to break into our neediness and turn our eyes to him.
Believe today that God will give you what you need. It’s not all up to you to push forward and take it for yourself. God wants to work with you. He loves you just as you are, even as he sees all that you can become. If your faith needs to be deepened, he will help you. If you need healing, he will provide it. If he has somewhere else for you to serve him, he will lead you. Concern yourself above all else with knowing the Father’s love, and the rest will surely follow.
“Father, I want to know you and your love for me. Clear my mind of the things that keep me from you. Lord, I want to be yours.” Amen!
Ephesians 1:11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
Psalm 33:1-3 Good people, cheer God!
    Right-living people sound best when praising.
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
    Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
    give him a trumpet fanfare.
4-5 For God’s Word is solid to the core;
    everything he makes is sound inside and out.
He loves it when everything fits,
    when his world is in plumb-line true.
Earth is drenched
    in God’s affectionate satisfaction.
10-12 God takes the wind out of Babel pretense,
    he shoots down the world’s power-schemes.
God’s plan for the world stands up,
    all his designs are made to last.
Blessed is the country with God for God;
    blessed are the people he’s put in his will.
13-15 From high in the skies God looks around,
    he sees all Adam’s brood.
From where he sits
    he overlooks all us earth-dwellers.
He has shaped each person in turn;
    now he watches everything we do.
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