Gospel Reflection Luke 18:35-43

In today’s Gospel passage, we read about Jesus giving sight to a blind man. As the healer par excellence, Jesus fulfills what was said about Him by the prophet Isaiah. It hearkens to the time when Jesus says to the disciples of John the Baptist “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” (Luke 7:22)

This account has two notable polarities that we should not overlook. On the one side, we read about the crowd rebuking the blind man as he calls out for mercy. Imagine being in this group of people. Surely, you would take the high road and silence those seeking to shut down the blind man, right? Or, would you encourage the blind man, just like the friends of the paralytic who opened a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was? How strong is our faith? Our sensibilities and dignity may get the better of us. We worry too much about what other people think, thus we may not want to trouble the Good Teacher. Yet, in so doing, we would risk missing the very mission of the Teacher! 

On the other side, after the man is healed the crowd rejoices and rightly praises God. This is the proper response to any work of the Lord. Yet, in many cases, it is difficult to suppress our befuddlement. Why did God choose to heal him and not me? These are often reasonable questions that point to a deep mystery, allowing us to journey further into God. However, in other cases, our petty jealousies rear their ugly heads. When God heals someone or blesses them with a gift, like a promotion at work, we tend not to be genuinely happy for the other person. To share in the joy of others in Christ, to not be focused on ourselves and what we perceive not having, is a mark of growth in our faith. It is only possible by participating more deeply in the grace and love given to us by the Lord Jesus. We should rejoice openly whenever we see God at work, which will be more often the more attentive we are. 

Gospel Reflection Luke 17:26-37

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues His discourse on the coming of the Kingdom of God. He identifies this Kingdom in important ways with the day of the Son of Man. This was Jesus' most frequent self-attribution, indicating a radical self-understanding of divinity. 

Reading ‘the signs of the times’ is a key theme in all these verses. Jesus exhorts His followers to not be preoccupied with the wrong things. The focus must always be on the things of God, being attuned to His Spirit, His Way, and His promptings.

Despite the prophetic warnings of Noah, and the very presence of the ark being a harbinger, his contemporaries were completely caught up in wickedness. Likewise, the city of Sodom was enraptured in rebellion. For both of these places, it was not too late until it was too late. The chains of sin are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. When we orient ourselves in the wrong direction for too long, it starts to feel normal and right. So, we must be vigilant, taking every thought captive (2 Cor 10:5). 

The things of the world, most of them good in their proper order, are fleeting and transient. The right move is to leave these things behind for what is worth far more. The vultures gather at the carrion. Losing our life and forsaking all for the Kingdom is how we gain it. This is deeply counterintuitive, showing how far our thoughts and ways are from those of God. Following the Words of the Lord is the only way we will remain in the grace of God on the day of the Son of Man.