NO BIG OR SMALL ROLES

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly. – Romans 12:6

I once had a wound in my right big toe. It wasn’t a big wound but the cut was deep. It bled for some minutes before I was able to stop it. But my worries didn’t end there because the pain stayed on. The discomfort was too much that I had to make a few adjustments. I stopped wearing closed shoes for a couple of days. I avoided activities that required long walks and I was more cautious about the things around me so that I wouldn’t accidently bump my wounded toe. The wound bothered me for a number of days. It was amazing how a small wound located in a trivial part of my body could create a big impact on my daily routine.

       This is similar to our individual roles in the church or community. We may think that our role is insignificant. We may think that we don’t create any impact. If we don’t hold any leadership position or aren’t part of any ministry, we assume that our absence won’t matter.

       But each one of us has a role to fulfill in the church. There are no big or small roles. Like the wound on my toe, the whole body is affected if one “small” part is not working properly. Be involved in your church so that the Body of Christ may function like a well-oiled machine. Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Are you doing your part in building up the Church of Jesus and are you doing it well?

Jesus, use me to help build up Your Body here on earth.

Paul tells the Roman community that we should never allow love to become a pretense. We must ensure that all that we do is done with true love. There is little worse than being on the wrong end of a hypocritical action. It does not feel good and it is easy to recognize. Jesus had no time at all for hypocrisy during His ministry.

5 Brothers and sisters: We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; 7 if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; 8 if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. 11 Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

1 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. (R) 2 Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me. (R) 3 O Israel, hope in the Lord, both now and forever. (R)

Jesus is telling us that we have to put the Kingdom of God first in our lives. If the president, king or prime minister of your country invited you to a party, I think you would move heaven and earth to go to it. When the King of the Universe invites us to dinner, there is nothing more important for us to do at that time. We have to learn how to prioritize the various things we need to do each day.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

15 One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” 16 He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. 17 When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ 18 But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ 23 The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. 24 For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

think:  We should never allow love to become a pretense.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Psalm 11-15

INVITATIONS AND R.S.V.P.’s

In continuation of yesterday’s Gospel passage, here now is Jesus’ Parable of the Banquet. Consistent with what He recommended previously, Jesus now narrates this story. It contains a stunning reversal in the invitees to the dinner: those who were privileged to be invited excused themselves, and so other poor and marginalized people were called in instead.

       Let’s look at it from our common experience. We don’t get invitations to a hospitalization, a funeral, or the like — we are notified of such unfortunate events. Instead we are invited to a wedding, a birthday celebration, a dinner, and the like. These are friendly and pleasurable events in life, the refusal of which might well be considered a breach of etiquette or a neglect of friendship.

       Our Gospel parable gives a sad and sorry picture. Even the alibis and excuses of those who refused the invitation sounded lame.

       Let us now look at ourselves and ask a few hard questions. What is our response to the Lord’s invitation to the Eucharistic Banquet? Or to the Ultimate Banquet of the Heavenly Kingdom? We don’t quite look at these in the same way, do we? But they are no less as real. We need not dream of being invited to a royal wedding, or a state dinner, or a meet-and-greet opportunity with a visiting concert performer. We have the precious privilege of joining the Lord’s feast every day — just go to your nearest parish church.

       A lot of party planners and event organizers lament that we Filipinos hardly pay attention and heed the R.S.V.P. etiquette. But whether we actually notify our hosts and their organizers or not, we must reply when it comes to the Eucharistic celebration. We reply with our feet — we actually go and attend and participate — and benefit from it.

       May we never shy away from the greatest form of worship and adoration we can offer God, the sacrifice of the Holy Mass. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you consider going to Mass as a feast to be celebrated?

Lord, may I treasure every second I am at Mass, as it is a foretaste of the ultimate feast in heaven