This is the reflection on todays gospel from FaithND: Reflection - October 14, 2014 Imagine that you invite Jesus over for dinner, and he accepts! Wanting to show him how well-versed you are in the Scriptures, you study up and memorize what might come up in the conversation. Everything goes well until your guest arrives. It doesn’t take long for Jesus to recognize that you’ve put much more effort into memorizing the words of Scripture than shaping your life around the truth of Scripture. Just when you are feeling comfortable, Jesus suddenly interjects: “You fool!” Like the Pharisee, you might be disappointed to receive criticism when you least expect it. For a second you might wonder if Jesus is coming over tomorrow, and tonight’s dinner guest is some harsh stranger. Nonetheless, the speaker in today’s Gospel is definitely Jesus, and he is trying to point out the futility in presenting an orderly façade when our interior life is full of chaos. His response might seem to lack love, but Jesus, who is truth itself, confronts the Pharisee when he is in the wrong precisely because it is the loving response. Jesus loves the Pharisee and wants him to come to share in the eternal reward. If we claim to follow the Jesus of today’s Gospel, we also must hold together truth and love. Sometimes the most effective way to love a person is to speak the truth to them. We are not doing any good by turning a blind eye to wayward thinking. We are not helping our brothers and sisters advance towards heaven by politely allowing them to continue to stray from goodness. When I lose sight of what is good and true and holy, I hope that a friend will point it out to me, even (and especially!) when I might receive their input ungraciously. Let us support one another in reforming ourselves, inside and out, lest we still be the fool on the judgment day. Olivia Balmert ‘15
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 09:13:23 +0000