29th
Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 22, 2017
I
–I have grasped the right hand of Cyrus to subdue the nations before him.
R
–Give the Lord glory and honor.
II
– Calling to mind faith, love, and hope.
A
– Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life.
G –Repay
to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
+ The gospel acclamation summarizes our thought for the day: “shine
like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life.” It is
our privilege and our joy to be co-partners with God in illuminating the
darkness of the world in which we find ourselves living. Some times in human
history are darker than others – the workings of the baser self-seeking,
self-satisfying nature of man are more predominating than at other times. It
seems however that the present time, for a variety of reasons may just be the
darkest, while at the same time potentially the brightest in history. The
digital, instantaneous method and means of global anything and everything is
now possible: more people can be affected by both good and evil in the blink of an eye: with the click
of a mouse!
It was for this very reason
that Jesus came to us 2000 years ago – and remains today in the Church – to be
the very Light of lights to dispel
every shadow of evil deeds done in secret and in the open, whether in dark
rooms or on the internet; and he enlists us to be his coworkers in the cause:
giving us the brightness of his word and his love to share with others: so to
make a real difference in the world.
As we heard in the first
reading from the Prophet Isaiah, sometimes God moves people, like he did Cyrus,
to initiate good will and change without letting anyone know it was him, not
even the one doing the work. But, at other times, as with the witness of the
Apostles and early members of the Church – and any members thereafter who are
called to stand up for righteousness, God is more visible and his power working
through mere humans is very much manifest. It
is the Spirit – St. Paul tells the Thessalonians in the second reading
today that is the source of power and
conviction for us: we must rely on him and call for his help constantly!
In many ways, small and
greater we, working with Christ the Lord, can shatter the darkness of wrong
thinking in our world, reestablish right priorities “giving to Caesar what is
Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” – and thus effect a change for good
behavior – peaceful relations with one another - as we are formed slowly but
surely into God’s Kingdom.
Shine
like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life – as
you hold onto and keep your focus always on JESUS – and him Crucified!
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