First reading Ezra 1:1-6
Cyrus king of Persia frees the Jews to return to Jerusalem
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfil the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom: ‘Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, wherever he lives, be helped by the people of that place with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, as well as voluntary offerings for the Temple of God which is in Jerusalem.”’
Then the heads of families of Judah and of Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, in fact all whose spirit had been roused by God, prepared to go and rebuild the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem; and all their neighbours gave them every assistance with silver, gold, goods, cattle, quantities of costly gifts and with voluntary offerings of every kind.
Responsorial Psalm 125(126)
R. (3) The Lord has done marvels for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
Gospel Luke 8:16-18
Anyone who has will be given more
Jesus said to the crowds:
‘No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light. So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.’
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Listener and doer of the Word
“So take care how you listen…”. In life, we tend not to listen attentively to others. Often, we passively hear sounds and words but fail to listen intentionally to the message transmitted by the speaker. In the same way we fail to listen to others, we also fail to listen to God. God does speak clearly to us. However, we sometimes do not take the time to listen and end up not doing what He wants.
We must listen intentionally to God’s Word. It is a mistake when we think we are listening as long as we attend mass or listen to online talks. Listening involves giving space for His Word to transform us- from self-centredness to other-centredness, from pride to humility, and from anger to forgiveness. Listening also opens our hearts to the desire to live the Word out in our daily lives and to go out and share it with others. Today, let us allow God’s Word to make a difference in our lives so that, through our deeds and words, we can become lights guiding people to God.
Reflective question:
Do I intentionally listen to God in prayer, live it out, and share it with others?
Do I intentionally listen to God in prayer, live it out, and share it with others?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
