Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

We learn from the parable in Luke’s gospel that we have been given new life by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; he has made it possible for us to bear fruit by “cultivating the ground” and “fertilizing” (Lk 13:8). Yet, we must respond, as Paul exhorts the Ephesians, by living according to the gift that Christ has given us (Eph 4:8). Such living can be difficult, however, as we are constantly encouraged to live in fear. At every turn we hear endless warnings. Hurricanes, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorists, thieves, car accidents, airbags, drunk drivers, airplanes, guns, o-zone depletion, global warming, cigarette smoke, air pollutants, heart attacks, AIDS, cancer, immigrants, the housing crisis, Iran, and Pakistan we are told, will all kill or harm us. Lock the doors, be afraid!

If we listen to this message instead of the message of Christ died and risen, it can be all too easy to become paralyzed, to be concerned with the protection of our own skin over bearing fruit and living in Christ’s life-giving Spirit. Thankfully, Christ does not leave us alone in this endeavor to be courageous witnesses to the gift of His life. As Paul explains in the first reading, He has given us the Church, in which we are all members with different tasks – all oriented toward “living the truth in love” (Eph 4:14), so that we might become like Christ.

It is as Church, not as individuals, that we proclaim life and not fear and death. Together we go rejoicing to God’s house “no longer… tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery” (Eph 4:12-13). Let us reflect today about our role in the Church. Do we primarily understand ourselves as members of the Body of Christ or as individuals fighting our way along in this scary world? We learn from these readings that it is only in the framework of the former that we can truly proclaim the life of Christ.

- Tim Gabrielli