TUESDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo
Rom 12: 5-16 Ps 131: 1-3 Lk 14: 15-24
LIVING AT THE FOUNTAIN OF LOVE
Christianity is not a religion in the traditional sense of the term; rather it is a relationship, an encounter of love with the person of Jesus Christ. It is a process through which God’s desire to encounter human person in and through a covenantal love is fully realized. This encounter of love began in the creation of man and woman in the likeness of God, continued through Noah, Abraham, the chosen people of God and finally realized in the new covenant with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, believers are invited to participate in this covenantal relationship so that they grow in the likeness of God.
If Christianity is a relationship of love, then the only way it has to manifest itself is through a loving relationship with one another. Therefore, the first reading of today lays down to the Corinthian community, ethical rules and regulations, in order to realize in them the communion of love. St. Paul writes that the source of this love relationship is Holy Spirit himself. Hence this love relationship cannot be equated to human tendency of mutual fascination or friendship; rather it emanates from the very heart of man who is filled with the spirit of God. Such a relationship therefore should be modeled on the relationship of God himself in the person of Jesus who gave Himself for humanity so that they could still be called children of God. Therefore, to live faithfully in this “divine model of love,” Paul entrusts the Corinthians in the hands of God and his grace.
The gospel of today equates this relationship of love to a divine banquet. The gospel narrates the sad story of people who are invited to this banquet giving lame excuses and remaining out of this banquet. May be a moment of introspection for all of us who call ourselves Christians and disciples of Jesus. Is our love relationship with each other guided by the Holy Spirit? Has self giving been a pattern of our life? Let us pray that the Lord may fill us with His love so that we may be able to love one another as He Has loved us.
Response: Keep my soul in peace at your side, O Lord.
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