Reflection on Today’s Daily Readings by Fr. Bertrand Buby, SM

Today’s Readings


Scripture # 487 November 3, 2010.  Philippians 2:12-18. Psalm 27:1.4.13-14,
Luke 14:25-33:

Jesus' words to us today are strong and difficult. Detachment from others
and from our possessions is no easy task and yet that is what Jesus calls
us to in our discipleship.  We are helped to understand this challenge of
following the Lord by first listening to Paul, the apostle of the
Resurrected Lord Jesus. He encoourages us, consoles us, and helps us to
assimilate even the "hard sayings" of Jesus.  The cost of discipleship
seems impossible and too demanding.  We need the grace of God and the
inspiriing Holy Spirit to help us discern the harshness of Jesus in this
selection from Luke.  Paul as an apostle and agent of the Lord bring us his
good news especially in this Letter to the Philippians.

The joy, the hope, and the love that Paul preaches and writes about is
bound up with our following Jesus. The first step is obedience to God, that
is, doing God's will.  Jesus has always had this as his top priority and we
too must place God first in our calling whatever that may be.  We can start
by praying with Jesus and saying, "Father, not my will but thine be done."
We are moved by Paul telling us, "to work with anxious concern about our
salvation."  We are to be the light and salt for others or as Paul puts it,
"We are to be like the stars in the sky holding fast to the word of life."
In our relationship to Jesus we strive to experience him and to be one with
him in his mind and his heart. We learn from him how to relate then to our
parents, our loved ones, and those who are our friends. He helps us to
extend this even to those who do not like or love us.

Our detachment from family and friends is how we learn to see how we fit
into God's plan of salvation history. We are all a part of it and are
members of the Body of Christ.  Jesus never leads us in wrong or negative
ways of thinking; he is always with us as our brother and friend.  We are
to continue to  hold fast to Jesus the Lord who is the Word of life that
Paul is talking about.  (John 14:6). We are to rejoice in Christ and with
Paul who lives only for Christ. "For me to live is Christ."  Amen.

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