DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

WEDNESDAY - MEMORIAL OF SAINT JEROME, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

FIRST READING

JOB 9:1-12, 14-16 (ALTERNATE READING: 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17)

1 Then Job answered: 2 "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be just before God? 3 If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. 4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded? 5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger; 6 who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; 7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; 8 who alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea; 9 who made the Bear and Orion, the Plei'ades and the chambers of the south; 10 who does great things beyond understanding, and marvelous things without number. 11 Lo, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him. 12 Behold, he snatches away; who can hinder him? Who will say to him, `What doest thou'? 14 How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him? 15 Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. 16 If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

The Word of the Lord
_

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 87 (88):10-15 (ALTERNATE PSALMS 119:9-14)

Response: Let my prayer come before thee, O Lord.

My eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon thee, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to thee.
Dost thou work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise thee?

R: Let my prayer come before thee, O Lord.

Is thy steadfast love declared in the grave,
or thy faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are thy wonders known in the darkness,
or thy saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

R: Let my prayer come before thee, O Lord.

But I, O LORD, cry to thee;
in the morning my prayer comes before thee.
O LORD, why dost thou cast me off?
Why dost thou hide thy face from me?

R: Let my prayer come before thee, O Lord.
_

GOSPEL

Fit for the kingdom of God

LUKE 9:57-62 (ALTERNATE GOSPEL: MATTHEW 13:47-52)

57 As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

The Gospel of the Lord
_

REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Put to death what is earthly in you, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"The statement 'Let the dead bury their dead' implies spiritually: Waste no more time on dead things. You are to 'put to death therefore what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry' (Colossians 3:5). These things therefore are dead. Cast them away from you. Cut them off as you would cut off gangrenous flesh to prevent the contamination of the whole body, so that you may not hear it said, 'Leave the dead [spiritually dead] to bury their dead' (Matthew 8:22). But to some it seems abnormal and contradictory that the Savior does not allow the disciple to bury his father. It seems inhumane. But Jesus does not in fact forbid people from burying the dead, but rather he puts before this the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, which makes people alive (Luke 9:60). As for burying the body, there were many people who could have done this."

(excerpt from Fragment 161)
_

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.