SATURDAY, TWENTY SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Bar 4: 5-12, 27-29 Ps 69: 33-37 Lk 10: 17-24
RELENTLESS COMPASSION AMIDST SUFFERING
Love and Discipline go together. If love has to grow it has to pass through intense personal discipline. That is how the parents bring up their children in order to be the virtuous citizens of a healthy society. They love their children intensely but their love is manifested in the making of a great people of the future. Hence, they correct us, discipline us even though that discipline apparently feels painful, but in the longer run it paves way for transforming the young generation into a great people.
The first reading of today speaks of God’s ways of disciplining His people. When the people of Israel abandoned their God and went after other Gods, He had to discipline them in order to bring them back unto Himself. He is a jealous God! This passage could sound like Divine punishment for the sins of the people. But we know that God does not punish. Hence the passage should be taken as a natural outcome of the evil deeds of the people. We know that if we pour water on our head, it automatically flows to our feet. Similarly, if we go against the eternal laws enshrined by God in our nature, the outcome would be disastrous for our life.
However, the passage does not speak merely about divine retribution but rather about divine mercy and compassion. God calls his people as His memorial, the ones who are closest to His heart. He longs for them; calls them back unto Himself. The expression “return with tenfold zeal to seek Him” speaks volumes of the loving and compassionate heart of God. If they transform their hearts and return to the Lord with ever renewed zeal, he will fill their hearts with everlasting joy. Joy is the result of being at home with God in love. Can that everlasting joy, which is the result of His gratuitous gift of grace be the ultimate reward of His relentless compassion to us all?
Response: The Lord listens to the needy.
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