Gospel Reflection - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time


 

Today’s Gospel is powerfully applicable to our present day lives and serves as a call to reflect on our relationship with Christ and His Church.  From the very beginning, we can see a universal temptation to separate our faith from the rest of our lives.  It’s much easier to isolate religion from work, family, and personal life.  It’s easier to give God our surplus.  Do I have an hour to spare this Sunday?  I guess I can go to church…I’ll say a rosary, but first I want to finish this show…Confession?  Maybe next time.

If we dig a little deeper, we also spy the temptation to desire control.  We feel the need to have a backup plan, just in case God doesn’t come through, right?  I might not get that promotion, so I can’t donate money right now. I need to save what I have…I’d like to volunteer, but it’s just not the right time…God hasn’t given me an answer, so I’ll do something else

The tables are completely turned.  It’s the world that should be getting what’s leftover, not God.  And if He isn’t giving directions or answering prayers, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we’ve been trusting Him to do so.

The Surrender Novena offers food for thought, in the form of Jesus’ words: “In pain you pray for Me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to Me; instead, you want Me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to.”  To truly surrender is to give from our poverty, like the poor widow, and it is through such giving that we imitate the self-sacrificing love of God. 


What are some areas of your life where you can give God a little more?

  

Giving doesn’t necessarily imply material goods, but encompasses our talents, attention, prayers, etc.  What are some other ways you can give to God and neighbor?

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