Daily Reflection for Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112619.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Daniel 2:31-45
Responsorial: Daniel 3:57-61
Gospel: Luke 21:5-11
Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:
“While some were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here – the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” (Luke 21:5-6)
Three millennia ago, King David said, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent” (2 Samuel 7:2). So, he designed a magnificent temple, and it was built by King Solomon. But the temple was later destroyed by the Babylonians, and it had to be replaced.
When the replacement temple was built, it was “adorned with costly stones and votive offerings” (Luke 21:6). But Jesus said, “. . . the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down” (Luke 21:6). In 71 A.D., the Romans destroyed it.
When God chose to walk among us, He arrived as an infant, naked, and a member of a carpenter’s family. He grew up in a simple village, not a palace with jeweled adornment. He led a simple and humble life in how he lived and in the friends he chose.
The “noise” of today’s world tells us we need power and wealth . . . and all that they provide. The current attention on the movement to “tiny houses” – living more with less – echoes the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Live simply that others may simply live.”
The time of Advent pulls us toward conversions . . . and away from the “noise” of the marketplace. We are pulled to empathize with those who are suffering or in great need. We are reminded to share what we have and to overcome urges to covet what is lavish and useless. It’s a time to hear our heart’s guidance to be a blessing to others . . . to reach out in welcome, in forgiveness, and with compassion.
Our Advent journey brings us a new opportunity to grow in faith ourselves and to be generous in sharing the unconditional love that God introduced into the world through the infant Jesus.
Lord, help me experience the joy of being embraced by a loving God, and the goodness of growing in humility.
Peace, my friends,
Bill Bradbury