Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. Habakkuk 2:3-4
When you have done all you have been commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” Luke 17:10
PietyFather, what do you want your servants to do today? In whatever You command, give us the strength to bear our share of hardships in Your Holy Name. Amen.
http://www.usccb.org/nab/100707.shtml
Faith is the gift of love. Because God has first loved us, we can love God and the people of our world. Love takes its beginning in the gift of God. People who try to find a reason for love are trying to take the mystery out of God and out of love. Love can not be deserved. It can only be accepted. The only limit on God’s love begins in the gift of freedom that God graces us with the opportunity to choose. We do not have to accept God’s love in the sense that he does not force it on us. Love is forever begetting us and surrounds us with the glory of God’s creation. We are as much a part of life as our love makes us.
Not to love is the limit we put on God’s love. Wherever there is love, God is there. Because of our faith, we live in God’s love. Our piety begins in our listening to the voice of God’s love and our not hardening our hearts to his presence. In seeing the works of God around us, our hearts are opened to the presence of God in our lives. The responses we make by our faith and our love is the piety of our lives.
Our piety has its beginnings in our faith.
Study stirs the flame of the gift of God, (our faith is gift). We give witness to our faith by stirring up the desire to serve the Lord by the close looks we take at the models of our faith. We all have examples of faith in the good people of our lives who show their bravery by how they serve the needs of the people of God. Little happens in our lives by accident. There are just times when God is anonymous in our lives because we did not look for him. He never forces his presence on us.
Study is how we look for the sound norm of Christ in our brothers and sisters. The saints of our lives are updates of Christ. Study is not just a looking to see where Christ was present in our lives. It is also a looking for how to make his presence more real to those around us.
ActionAction is where the mustard seeds of our faith bring an uprooting of the status quo. We work for the Lord. The commandments are the basic job description for all of us. All too often when we have done all that we are supposed to do, we want to rest on our laurels.
Our gospel of Luke 17:5-16 finishes up with a body blow. “When we have done all that we are supposed to do, we are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” Our actions become gifts of love when we have done more than what was expected of us. Love calls us to be creative in how we respond to what is needed.
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