THIRTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Monday

Year I

Readings

First Reading
Rom 11:29-36

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:30-31, 33-34, 36

Gospel
Lk 14:12-14

Meditation on Today's Readings

In the social world of Luke's Jesus, like our own, generosity to others was governed by the law of reciprocity, that is, by others' ability to repay the gift or return the favor. In today's Gospel, Jesus challenges this conventional code of behavior. He says instead that we should invite precisely those who cannot reciprocate, those whom God would invite and is inviting to the banquet of the kingdom through the ministry of Jesus-the poor, the lame, the blind (cf. 7:22). Here again Jesus makes imitation of God the norm for Christian behavior. Paul does too in the letter to the Philippians, when he instructs them always to place the interests of others above their own self-interest.

Reciprocity also figures in today's selection from Romans. Paul marvels at God's generosity, the depth of God's riches, and he asks, “Who has given him anything that he may be repaid?”

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