Catholic Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Sunday, 28 September 2014Meditations: Philippians 2: He Took on the Status of a Slave
1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Regard others as more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
We live in a world that urges us to think in modules. We have a module for church and prayer. We have a module for work and a module for family. There is a financial module, a justice module, a crisis module, and a recreation module—and so many more!
Most of us can identify when our Mass module is at work. But it can be a little more challenging, shortly after Mass, when something rubs us the wrong way, how we slip into an irritated module or an angry module. Or perhaps we are in family mode when we kiss our kids good-bye after breakfast and head to work. But then we slip into work mode when we become curt, unbending, or demanding at our job.
Contrast this “module model” with today’s second reading. Here Paul calls us to be united and to care for each other all the time, not just when we are in “compassion mode.” And to illustrate his point, he spoke of how Jesus’ whole life was one consistent yes to the Father, and that yes dictated how he would act in every situation.
Clearly, we shouldn’t let all of the modules in our lives control us. Taking our cue from Jesus, we should let one module control all of the others: the “life in the Spirit” module. Jesus was exalted at the right hand of God because he followed his Father in all things. Likewise, we will be exalted when we obey God’s commands and try our best to live in love.
So when the recreation module begins to draw you away from the Lord, stop and regroup. When the work module causes you to become agitated and upset, stop and make an adjustment. Let Jesus and his love become your overriding module, and you’ll find yourself living a more peaceful life.
“Lord, help me to think and act like you. Teach me how to be your disciple.” Amen!
Ezekiel 18:25-28 “Do I hear you saying, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair!’?
“Listen, Israel. I’m not fair? You’re the ones who aren’t fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he’ll die for it. He’ll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he’s committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won’t die.
Psalms 25:4 Show me how you work, God;
School me in your ways.
5 Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?
8 God is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.
9 He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.
10 From now on every road you travel
Will take you to God.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.
14 God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
Matthew 21: The Story of Two Sons
28 “Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.’
29 “The son answered, ‘I don’t want to.’ Later on he thought better of it and went.
30 “The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, ‘Sure, glad to.’ But he never went.
31-32 “Which of the two sons did what the father asked?”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said, “Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God’s kingdom. John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn’t care enough to change and believe him.
Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion:
(Ezekiel 18:25-28 “Do I hear you saying, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair!’?
“Listen, Israel. I’m not fair? You’re the ones who aren’t fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he’ll die for it. He’ll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he’s committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won’t die.
Psalms 25:4 Show me how you work, God;
School me in your ways.
5 Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?
8 God is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.
9 He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.
10 From now on every road you travel
Will take you to God.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.
14 God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
Philippians 2: He Took on the Status of a Slave
1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
Matthew 21: The Story of Two Sons
28 “Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.’
29 “The son answered, ‘I don’t want to.’ Later on he thought better of it and went.
30 “The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, ‘Sure, glad to.’ But he never went.
31-32 “Which of the two sons did what the father asked?”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said, “Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God’s kingdom. John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn’t care enough to change and believe him.)
1. In the first reading today, God cautions us against accusing him of being unfair, without first examining our own lives. How often do you do an examination of conscience and repent of (and turn away from) your sins? Are there times in your life when you are prone to blame God for your difficulties, rather than your own behavior? What can you do to be more accountable for the consequences of your decisions?
2. In the responsorial psalm, we ask God to “guide” and “teach” us. How often do you turn to God during the day to ask for guidance? What steps can you take to be more alert to and open to God’s presence, guidance, and teaching during the day?
3. In the second reading, St. Paul urges us to be of one “mind” and “heart” and with the “same love.” What can you do this week to restore bonds of love and unity between individuals who have become estranged to you or to others?
4. St. Paul goes further and also says an astonishing and very challenging thing. We are told to regard others as more important than ourselves! What do you think this means? How do you honestly regard others relative to yourself? What specifically do you need to do to begin adopting the attitude described by St. Paul?
5. In the Gospel, Christ admonishes the chief priests and elders for giving lip service to their faith, but not really living it. They claim to follow God, but actually do nothing. What can you do to make your faith have a greater impact on how you live out your life (i.e., be not just a hearer of the Word, but a “doer”)?
6. The meditation speaks of how easy it is to “think in modules” and then to base our life on them. These modules include church, prayer, work, family, and financial modules. The meditation goes on to say that “we should let one module control all of the others: the ‘life in the Spirit’ module.” It then ends with these challenging words: “Let Jesus and his love become your overriding module, and you’ll find yourself living a more peaceful life.” How can you make these words a greater reality in your life?
7. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord to transform you so you that you can be more like him and that you can grow as his disciple. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.
“Lord, help me to think and act like you. Teach me how to be your disciple.” Amen!
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