Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
As Catholic Christians we are called to live out our faith both in our personal life, and also in our life within our society. This can be a challenge at times particularly when we are faced with difficult issues such as immigration, affordable health care, and the death penalty. During this season of political campaigning this is brought even more to the forefront of our daily living. So as Disciples of Christ, how are we supposed to live out our call to follow Him on these issues?
In today’s first reading, the Jewish people were living under the persecution of the Greek empire. Some of the men from Israel “who were breakers of the law” suggested that the Israelites “make an alliance with the Gentiles.’ (1 Maccabees 1: 11) So the Israelites “abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing.” (1 Maccabees 1:15) But there were some in Israel who “were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.” (1 Maccabees 1:62) These Israelites chose to keep holy the covenant that God had established with them. They did not turn their backs on God or their faith, despite persecution and death.
In the gospel reading, a blind man calls out to Jesus as the “Son of David”. He recognizes Jesus’ divinity and asks him for the give of sight. Because of his faith, Jesus restores his vision and the man who was healed “followed him glorifying God” (Luke 18: 43) The blind man looks to Jesus, since he knows that only Jesus can give him what he desires.
We are like the blind man in many ways, since we lack the vision to see as Christ calls us to see the world around us. We must go to Jesus and ask Him, “Lord, please let me see” (Luke 18:18:41). Through prayer, scripture reading, and the guidance of the church authority, Jesus will give us insight to understand and live out our faith. He will not only guide us in our personal decision making, but also help us in making decisions regarding difficult political issues. We must be prepared to face persecution and criticism, just as the Israelites in the first reading did when they lived out their faith. If we call out to Jesus, He will give us all that we need to follow Him as His disciples. Then we can be “light for the world” around us, and give glory to God.
Today, let us pray for Jesus to give us vision to see clearly how He calls us to live in our families, parishes and in society. May He send us His Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom and courage that we need to live as His disciples in this challenging world around us.
- Marylynn Herchline