Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Scripture

In this 30th week of Ordinary time, we continue our daily walk with Jesus, counting and celebrating the weeks of our commitment. As we do so, we continue to hear from the gospel according to St. Luke. Today’s story strikes a familiar theme: Jesus heals on the Sabbath to the dismay of the leader of the synagogue. Jesus then defends himself, humiliating his adversaries. But certainly Jesus’ intent was not to hurt his adversaries. Instead, Jesus wanted to help them see the world as God sees it. He wanted them to understand Sabbath worship as a gift for their good, rather than as a restriction. When he drives out Satan from this woman, Jesus is reclaiming her for God. He is allowing her to live in freedom, and to worship God out of that freedom.

Jesus refers to this woman as a “daughter of Abraham,” (Lk 13:16) which drives this point home. As a daughter of Abraham, the woman is numbered among the Jewish people, who are called to honor God by resting and worshiping on the Sabbath. And when she is healed, she immediately stands up straight and glorifies God (Lk 13:13). She becomes, once more, a child of God, who can participate in Sabbath worship with true gratefulness to her Creator who made her and her Redeemer who healed her.

 Meanwhile, in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of what has become a traditional theme of Christianity, namely that Christians are called to live by the spirit and not by the flesh. In saying this, Paul does not mean to condemn our bodies but to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. God has not only given us the call to live spiritually; he has also given us the grace in order to do this. God does not ask the impossible of us. God does not ask us to ignore our bodies. Rather, he asks us to let our bodies glorify Him. By suffering with Christ, we become heirs of God to be glorified with Christ. In other words, we let our end of eternal life guide the actions of our daily life on earth. And in offering ourselves in this way, we become children of God and heirs.

We ought not underestimate the significance of being a child of God and a joint heir with Christ. Those of us who are parents know the great love we have for our children, yet God’s fatherly love for us far surpasses our weak human imitation of His love. Some of us may have had the experience of receiving inheritance from a deceased relative, but the inheritance we receive from God far surpasses any kind of material or financial award. To be a child and an heir is to know freedom and security. Like the grateful child and thankful heir, we respond to God by worshiping him, and glorifying him, as did the woman that Jesus healed in the gospel.

Today, let us reflect on ourselves as children and heirs of God. Let us pray that we might receive the grace, the gift of the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit and to offer our suffering that we may be glorified with Christ and live with the Holy Trinity for eternity in heaven.

- Maria Morrow