Reflection for Saturday 29th Week in Ordinary

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Today's WORD of GOD

Luke 13: 5

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Today's Reflection

The Bible Proposes Interdependence as the Ideal State of the People of GOD. Individuals are Seldom Considered in Isolation, but as a Member of the Nation, & in the New Testament This View Reaches Out to all the Human Race. Paul Builds on this Insight when He Says that through One Man, Adam, Sin Entered the World & that on a Higher Level through One Man, JESUS, the Grace of GOD is Freely Available to All.

For Paul, all Share the Same Flesh & All should be Gifted by the Same HOLY SPIRIT. “Flesh” for him indicates weakness and moral instability, while “Spirit” Indicates Life, Purity & Permanence. The SPIRIT Gives Character, Quality, Dignity & Integrity.

In Practice, the Variety of Gifts & Roles can Provoke Envy, Antagonism, & Even an Ugly Form of Dominance. Each Gift must Function as a Genuine Service “to Build Up the Body of CHRIST,” & Therefore Depends on Others, even while Serving Them.

As We Live in Interaction, as Members of One Family with JESUS & with One Another, We Suffer Together & We Lift Each Other Up. Together We Grieve for Each Other’s Sins, so that Together We can Bear Fruit. If We Do Not Transmit Life Together, We are like the Persons whom JESUS Warned, “U will All Come to a Dreadful End.” Or again, “If the Tree Does Not Bear Good Fruit, It shall be Cut Down.”

The Parables Get Us Thinking & Reflecting, to Tease Out what They Might Mean. In Today’s Parable We have a Fig Tree in a Vineyard that Seems as Good as Dead. It has Failed to Bear Fruit for 3 Successive Years. The Reaction of the Owner of the Vineyard Seems Quite Reasonable; have the Fig Tree Cut Down because It is only Taking Up Space that could be Used for Vines. However, the Owner’s Worker had a Different Perspective. He Looked at the Apparently Useless Fig Tree & He Saw the Possibility that It could Still Bear Fruit. He had a More Generous Vision of the Fig Tree, a More Hopeful Vision.

In Truth All was Not Lost; there was Still Time for the Fig Tree to Come Good. The Parable may be Saying that this is how the LORD Looks Upon Us, for HE Sees Not just what We have Failed to Do in the Past but what We are Capable of Doing in the Future. HE Looks on Us with Generous & Hopeful Eyes. That is the Way We are to Look at Each Other &, Indeed, at Every Situation in Life. Like the Worker in the Vineyard, We Need to be Patient & Look Beneath the Surface for the Faint Signs of New Life that may be There.


Good Morning  

GOD Bless Us All

Have an amazing day and a fabulous weekend.