DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth week in Ordinary Time (October 3)
"Fit for the kingdom of God"
GOSPEL
Luke 9:57-62
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
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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)
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FIRST READING
Job 9:1-12, 14-16
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.
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALM 87(88):10-11, 12-13, 14-15
Response: Let my prayer come before you, O Lord.
Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
R. Let my prayer come before you, O Lord.
Do they declare your mercy in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are your wonders made known in the darkness,
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
R. Let my prayer come before you, O Lord.
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
R. Let my prayer come before you, O Lord.
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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.