Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Lk 12:1-7
October 14, 2022 | Friday
Meanwhile, such a numerous crowd had gathered that they crushed one another. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples in this way, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered that will not be uncovered; or hidden, that will not be made known. Whatever you have said in darkness will be heard in daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places, will be proclaimed from housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who put to death the body and, after that, can do no more. But I will tell you whom to fear: Fear the one who, after killing you, is able to throw you into hell. This one you must fear. Don’t you buy five sparrows for two pennies? Yet not one of them has been forgotten by God. Even the hairs of your head have been numbered. Don’t be afraid! Are you less worthy in the eyes of God than many sparrows?
Today’s Reflection:
The way of Jesus is totally the exact opposite of the way of the Pharisees. Whereas the latter lived in corruption, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness, Jesus’s call for discipleship requires one to fear God (v. 5) and to depend only in Him (v. 7). Although many see fear of God in a negative sense, it is in reality an awareness that one’s actions are in conformity with the divine will. In effect, a disciple is sanctified or rendered holy by God. Being awed by God’s presence in one’s life, a true disciple withdraws himself or herself from corruption, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness, which is quite contrary to the ways of the Pharisees that lead them to judgment. The Pharisaic way makes salvation or justification dependent on one’s personal sense of righteousness, while the Lord teaches us to seek it in God alone. /Vulnerasti, 2022
