TUESDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Sir 2: 1-11; Ps 37:3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40; Mk 9: 30-37
COMPASSIONATE AND MERCIFUL IS THE LORD
We may summarize today’s reading as a teaching of what to do when things are going against us. Sirach opens with the address, ‘My child’ and clearly wishes to convey that :
- Serving God is not without its trials. This service must be given with sincerity, fidelity and perseverance. Our hearts must be focused on God’s will.
- When things go badly wrong, it must be a time for reflection and discernment. God will give us strength to face the unavoidable realities of life, if and only when we remain close to Him.
- By staying close to God, our last days will be materially prosperous, and genuinely spiritually enriched.
- We must positively face challenges without being fatalistic. Painful and destructive experiences can be a source of strength and maturity, if accepted with the right attitude.
- When we put our trust in God‘s care and help, we must live upright lives and put our hope in Him. Fear of the Lord does not mean ‘being afraid ‘but rather submitting ourselves in deep reverence to God who is far beyond anything we can imagine. Those who ‘fear the Lord’ have many qualities: they are patience, trust and hope.
- God is the source of compassion and the ultimate source of joy and happiness. For those who are close to God and accept his truth, humiliation by people is an external experience.
One who has had a direct experience with God can testify that from the lives of saints and other servants of God, no one who has trusted in the Lord has been disappointed, forsaken or neglected. The Lord’s compassion and His saving grace in times of trouble is seen in the Psalms and the prophets. The life, passion and death of Jesus is the greatest act of love that anyone could do for His people.
Response: Commit your way to the Lord, and he will act.
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