November 25, 2015
Wednesday 34th Week in Ordinary Time
1st reading: Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Gospel: Lk 21:12–19
Jesus said to his disciples, “People will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the Jewish courts and put in prison, and for my sake you will be brought before kings and governors.
This will be your opportunity to bear witness.“So keep this in mind: do not worry in advance about what to answer, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. “You will be betrayed even by parents, and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. But even though you are hated by all for my name’s sake, not a hair of your head will perish. Through perseverance you will possess your own selves.
D@iGITALEXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
It is satisfying to draw joy from one’s relationships but frustrating to rely solely upon them. Jesus said: “You will be betrayed even by pa-rents…” We understand that we can never expect relationships with friends to last. Relationships with relatives too can eventually fail. But would we expect our own parents to betray us? Yet it can happen. Because the human heart is unpredictable, we can fall prey to mood swings, and loyalty shifts. We are not advocating the cold neutrality of the aloof. “No man is an island”, a famous line from Meditation XVII by the English poet John Donne, is reason enough to bond with others, especially family members. We are our brothers’ keepers (Gen. 4:9). We are also bound to love one another (John 13:34-35). But while it is of great value to nurture earthly relationships, we should not rely upon them as sources of joy. We love, cherish, and trust a person because it is our noble calling. This will keep us loving despite the hardheartedness of the other, forgiving despite the non-contrition of the other, persevering despite the disloyalty of the other, and above all, joyous despite the burden of the other. When we do this we are exercising selfless love – a love nearest to “agape”, the highest form of love.
So let us love parents, spouse, children, relatives, and neighbors. Let us cherish them in good times and in bad. But let us seek peace and joy only in the Lord. This way we won’t be at the mercy of mood swings, shifting loyalties and the unpredictability of the human heart. When the appointed time comes that the beloved betrays us, we will persevere in loving because we have that inexhaustible joy that comes from the Lord. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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