November 3, 2014
Monday
31st Week in
Ordinary Time
ST. MARTIN
DE PORRES
1st Reading: Phil 2:1–4
Gospel: Luke 14:12-14
Jesus addressed the man who had invited him and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives and wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they can’t repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in
the Assimilated Life
Experience)
A mother takes her infant to a doctor. After the treatment the mother hands over to the doctor a handmade wallet, thanking him for his generous services. “There are some things we cannot pay”, the mother told the doctor, “and I hope you will accept this wallet that I made just for you”. “Madam, I did not practice medicine for sentimental reasons,” the doctor said angrily. “Pay me 2,000 dollars and keep that hand-made wallet for yourself”. The mother opened the wallet she wanted to give to the doctor. Lo and behold it contained 5,000 dollars. She took the 2,000 dollars and gave it to the doctor. (End of the story).
Of the four evangelists Luke takes interest in Jesus’ attitude towards the poor. Lucan accounts on the subject matter include the following:
Jesus’ pro-poor teachings in the Beatitudes (Luke 6:20-24), the parable of the rich man having problems with the storage of his bountiful harvest (12:16-21), the story of the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-26), Zacchaeus’ promise to give half of his belongings to the poor (19:8), the parable of the unscrupulous judge and the importunate widow (Luke 18:6), the story of the rich young man who went away sad because his possessions were many (Luke 18: 20-22), Jesus’ instruction to the disciples of John to report to him that the poor was proclaimed the Good News (Luke7:22) and today’s Gospel reading on choosing the poor as guests to be invited (Luke 14:12-14).
Today’s Gospel teaches us that while it is human to treat people favorably in exchange for favors obtained in the past or for some favors to be obtained in the future, we should look beyond material gain and look forward to a heavenly reward. When the mother gave a hand-made wallet to the doctor, she saw in the services of the doctor a value that cannot be equated with money.
Unfortunately, the doctor was not even aware of the spiritual dimension of his services. He demanded two thousand dollars and he got it. With that he was already repaid. But how far can two thousand dollars go?- Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website:www.frdan.org.
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