Friday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
First Reading
1 Corinthians 9:16–19,22–27
I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.
So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.
All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air. I treat my body hard and make it obey me, for, having been an announcer myself, I should not want to be disqualified.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 83(84):3–6,12
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;
he will give us his favour and glory.
The Lord will not refuse any good
to those who walk without blame.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word, O Lord, is truth:
make us holy in the truth.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Luke 6:39–42
Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’
Reflection
Saint Paul speaks of preaching the Gospel not as a personal achievement but as a responsibility entrusted to him. He does not congratulate himself for proclaiming Christ. The Gospel is not his possession, and its proclamation is not a platform upon which he can build his own reputation. He is a steward of something received.
That distinction matters because Christian service can easily become entangled with the desire to be noticed, praised or proven right. Paul refuses to make himself the centre. Although free, he makes himself the servant of everyone so that others may encounter Christ. The Church exists to evangelise, but her mission must always reflect the humility and self-giving love of the Lord she proclaims (CCC 849–856).
When Paul says that he became “all things to all men”, he is not describing dishonesty or the abandonment of truth. He adapts himself to the person before him without altering the Gospel. He listens, enters another person’s situation and removes unnecessary obstacles. His flexibility serves salvation rather than popularity.
Paul then compares discipleship to an athlete running for a prize. An athlete accepts discipline because the goal matters more than immediate comfort. Christian self-denial has the same purpose. It is not hostility towards the body, which is created by God and destined for resurrection. It is the patient ordering of desire so that our appetites serve love rather than rule us.
The spiritual life therefore requires training. Prayer, fasting, restraint, honest examination and works of mercy form habits that make us more available to God. The way of perfection passes through self-denial and spiritual struggle, but every genuine effort depends upon grace (CCC 2015). We run seriously, yet never as though salvation were a trophy earned without Christ.
The psalm reveals the true prize towards which Paul is running. “My soul is longing and yearning” for the courts of the Lord. The Christian goal is not merely moral improvement or victory over personal weakness. It is communion with the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home near God’s altar. This gentle image gives warmth to Paul’s demanding language. Discipline is not an anxious attempt to prove our worth. It is the clearing away of whatever prevents us from resting in the home God prepares for us. The heart undertakes the journey because it longs for the One waiting at its end.
The psalm also blesses those “in whose hearts are the roads to Zion”. Growth usually comes through small acts of fidelity rather than dramatic spiritual victories. One prayer offered when distracted, one temptation resisted, one apology made sincerely and one duty completed with love can each become a step towards God.
Jesus then warns that zeal without clear sight can lead both guide and follower into a pit. Before correcting another person, the disciple must submit to the teaching of Christ. “The disciple is not superior to his teacher.” We do not stand over the Gospel as its judges; we place ourselves beneath it and allow it to judge and form us.
The plank and the splinter expose our tendency to inspect another person’s faults while remaining curiously blind to our own. Jesus does not say that wrongdoing must never be addressed. He says that correction requires prior conversion. Only someone who has faced personal weakness honestly can help another without cruelty, superiority or self-deception.
This is why examination of conscience is essential. Deep within us, conscience calls us to love what is good and reject what is evil, but it must be formed and repeatedly brought into the light of God’s truth (CCC 1776; 1783–1785). Without that humility, we may mistake irritation for moral clarity or use another person’s failure to avoid confronting our own.
The first reading and Gospel belong together. Paul disciplines himself lest he preach to others and then fail to live what he announces. Jesus tells the would-be guide to remove the plank from his own eye before reaching for another’s splinter. Neither passage permits a comfortable division between the truth we proclaim and the life we lead.
The psalm keeps this examination from becoming harsh or despairing. We are not journeying towards a merciless examiner but towards the house of the living God, who gives favour and glory. He reveals our blindness because he desires to heal it. He trains us because he intends us to finish the race.
Today’s readings invite us to ask three honest questions: What am I pursuing? What discipline would help me pursue it faithfully? Where am I trying to correct someone else while avoiding the work God wishes to do in me?
The Christian race is not won by outrunning other people. It is run by keeping our eyes upon Christ, becoming servants of those around us and allowing the Teacher to make our lives resemble his own.
One line to carry today:
Before guiding another person, let Christ correct your sight and direct your steps.
No comments:
Post a Comment