Daily Reflection for Monday, November 4, 2019
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Monday’s readings at this link:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110419.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Romans 11:29-36
Responsorial: Psalm 69:30-31, 33-34, 36
Gospel: Luke 14:12-14
Our reflection on Monday’s readings:
“For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?” Roman 11:34-35
“… Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:14
Deep in my memory is a childhood image of God as an old man on a throne, holding a giant book in which he keeps track of the good and bad each of us has done. The common thread woven through today’s readings is that God does not keep score and neither should we.
The fastest way to forget that God doesn’t want us to keep score is to live in a family. How often do I come home from work to find dirty dishes scattered over countertops, clothes, work, and school debris trailing from one end of the house to the other? (This is mostly a rhetorical question, but if you’re curious, the answer is Every. Single. Day.)
The mental tally of small wrongs done to me by my family clouds my ability to see them as unique, loving beings with whom I’ve experienced my greatest joys and most profound feelings of pride. They will never be able to repay the debt that has accumulated during thousands of hours of maternal labor, and it is ridiculous to think they should.
When I consider how deeply I love my own messy, imperfect family, I am humbled and comforted by the infinite, forgiving love God showers upon me. Recently, my internal, spiritual “house” has been a wreck. In the same way I feel slighted by my loved ones, I am guilty of taking advantage of God. I drop in on Him irregularly, bark out a need or a complaint, and then hurry along to hang out with someone or something that brings instant (but unfulfilling) gratification. In the giving and receiving of God’s mercy, I pray that I will allow myself to be a more gracious giver and receiver of love and forgiveness in each moment of my day.
Is there some area of your life where you keep score of the rights and wrongs of others? Let us pray together that we may begin ripping out the pages of our mental scorebooks so we can move toward the infinite loving and forgiving embrace of God.
May God’s Peace Be With You,
Trina Wurst