Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Meditation: Luke 12: When the Master Shows Up
35-38 “Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!
29th Week in Ordinary Time
He will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. (Luke 12:37)
Picture a state dinner in a nation’s capital: a lavish dining hall, silver and crystal lining the table, waiters lined up ready to serve the guests. A military band strikes up a fanfare, and the head of state enters. But instead of sitting down, he removes his dinner jacket, dons an apron, and asks the waiters to be seated at the table. Then, slowly and carefully, he proceeds to serve them the meal. Crazy, right?
Amazingly, the reality at the center of our faith transcends even this illustration. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, gave up his very life to save us from sin. What’s more, we learn that this wasn’t an exceptional act; it’s part of who he is. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples that when he returns, he will once again serve those whom he finds waiting for him.
But how does this truth about God affect our lives now? Certainly, it fills us with awe and gratitude. But how about our relationships with other people? Do we say, “Hey, God serves me, so should you!” Of course not! God’s heart of service is meant to humble us and move us to imitate him. His servant love should inspire us to serve as well.
Jesus tells us that love is expressed most fully in laying down our lives for each other. When we allow servant love to be the center of our relationships with our friends and family, rather than selfish interests, it changes everything. We find that we are able to connect more deeply with our spouses and children, with our friends and co-workers. At the same time, we see our own self-serving motivations begin to weaken. In short, we are giving God’s love a foothold in our lives.
How can you lay down your life today? Take a look at the next twenty-four hours, and anticipate the opportunities that the Lord will give you to imitate his servant heart. Then, when these opportunities arise, accept them eagerly. Know that as you get out of your comfort zone, something holy is happening: you are becoming Christ to another person.
“Lord, teach me how to serve as selflessly and humbly as you do.” Amen!
Ephesians 2:11-13 But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
14-15 The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
16-18 Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Psalm 85:8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
    God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
    so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
    Our country is home base for Glory!
10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
    Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
    Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
    our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
    and clears a path for his passage.
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