THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Saturday

Year I

Readings

First Reading
Rom 11:1–2a, 11–12, 25–29

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 94:12–13a, 14–15, 17–18

Gospel
Lk 14:1, 7–11

Meditation on Today’s Readings

Taken from the Vatican II Sunday and Weekday Missal
Written by Celia Sirois

The ancient world was as preoccupied as ours with social status. Conventional wisdom advised guests to seek the last places, “for it is better that you be told, ‘Come up closer!’ than that you be humbled before the prince” (Prv 25:7). In today’s Gospel, Jesus seems to say the same thing, until the punch line: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” The use of the passive voice here is a biblical way of indicating God’s action, that is, everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled by God, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted by God, who does not defer to our social arrangements.

In the letter to the Romans, Paul warns Christians not to make the mistake of exalting themselves over and against the Jews. For the Jews are God’s beloved, he says, the chosen people of God, whose gifts and whose call are irrevocable. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul, imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, trusts that he will never be put to shame for his hope, but that Christ will be exalted through him, and he with Christ.

The copyright for the Sunday Missal Introductions is:
Copyright (c) 2001, Daughters of St. Paul
The copyright for the Weekday Missal Introduction is:
Copyright (c) 2002, Daughters of St. Paul