First reading 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-27
We go into strict training, like fighters at the games
I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.
So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.
All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air. I treat my body hard and make it obey me, for, having been an announcer myself, I should not want to be disqualified.
Responsorial Psalm 83(84):3-6,12
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;
he will give us his favour and glory.
The Lord will not refuse any good
to those who walk without blame.
Gospel Luke 6:39-42
Can the blind lead the blind?
Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’
Responsibility To Share The Gospel
In the first reading, St Paul tells us, “I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me…it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands.” For St Paul, preaching the Gospel is a responsibility entrusted to him by God, and as a result, he strives to lead others to encounter Christ, no matter the cost. Today, we have been entrusted by God with the responsibility to share the Gospel through our words, smiles, honesty, service and the way we relate with others. Let us not keep the Good News of God’s love to ourselves, but use our lives to bring others closer to Him.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us not to judge others while failing to recognise our own faults. He asks, “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own?” Jesus wants us to look at ourselves before we point out others’ shortcomings and mistakes. Let us take a moment in this time of prayer to examine our own hearts and make love our top priority so that our witness may become credible.
Reflective questions:
Does my life reflect the Gospel that I want others to know? Does it help them to encounter Christ?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
