First reading 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-27
We go into strict training, like fighters at the games
I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.
So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.
All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air. I treat my body hard and make it obey me, for, having been an announcer myself, I should not want to be disqualified.
Responsorial Psalm 83(84):3-6,12
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;
he will give us his favour and glory.
The Lord will not refuse any good
to those who walk without blame.
Gospel Luke 6:39-42
Can the blind lead the blind?
Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’
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Be merciful
Are we willing to show mercy? Too often, we are quick to focus on the flaws of others and slow to recognise our own faults. To be merciful implies taking the first step to having a healthy awareness that we are not perfect and have made mistakes in our lives. In one of his homilies, Pope Francis said, “…it means acknowledging ourselves to be sinners and not looking to what others have done. And from here, the basic question becomes: ‘Who am I to judge this? Who am I to gossip about this? Who am I, who have done the same things, or worse?'” (Homily, March 2014).
Today, Jesus invites us to put merciful love into practice by looking at others with eyes of love and hearts of compassion. We are sinners loved by God. May we strive to be merciful as God has been merciful to us.
Reflective question:
Am I quick to judge others and slow to recognise my own faults?
Am I quick to judge others and slow to recognise my own faults?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
