Curse those who set traps (Luke 17:1–6)
1 He said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
3 Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
6 The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
The Catechism teaches, "Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense. "Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized" (2284-85).
comments by Dr. Mary Healy, professor of Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit:
"f you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you"
These words on faith and prayer present a challenge to every believer. Did Jesus really mean what he said? If so, why have our fervent prayers sometimes apparently gone unanswered? The answer lies in understanding "believe" in the biblical sense in which Jesus used it. To believe is not to work up a subjective feeling of certitude that our prayers will be answered. Rather, it is to enter into a personal, trusting relationship with God so that our prayers become aligned with the true good that he desires for us.
Elsewhere this promise includes the qualification that our prayers must be in Jesus' name (John 14:13) or "according to his will" (1 John 5:14), and not with a divided heart (James 4:3-5). Jesus himself is the model for prayer that is always answered because of his total surrender to the Father's will (see John 8:29; 11:42). The more we are united with him the more his desires and priorities become our own, and the more we will see how God answers them. This 'is the kind of faith Jesus is referring to, not a "faith" that views God as a kind of cosmic vending machine ready to carry out our every request. "Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer".
comments by Edward Sri, professor of theology and Scripture:
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."
Similarly we read in Matthew 18:21-22
21 Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times".
Jesus calls his disciples to a very high standard of mercy. We cannot speak words of forgiveness while harboring resentment. The Catechism reminds us that true forgiveness entails “a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of our God” (Catechism 2842).
Admittedly, this is not always easy. Some injuries are so deep that it “is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense” (Catechism 2843). Nevertheless, if we remember how much God has forgiven us then we can avoid becoming like that unforgiving servant who, though he was forgiven much, failed to forgive others. We can also pray for the person who hurt us and try to see beyond their harmful acts and to consider their own sorrowful condition. Hence, “the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession” (Catechism 2843). In this way, the disciple can forgive his enemies interiorly, “from his heart” (18:35).
comments by Father Edward Hopkins, LC:
1. Causing Others to Sin
The negative effects of sin are many: offending God, damaging my conscience and soul, hardening my heart, forming bad habits, losing grace and will power, creating distance and difficulty in prayer, etc. But no result of sin is more damaging than that of scandal, where my sin leads others to sin. Why is this so serious? As a Christian I am called to live and teach Christ’s life to others. Scandal falsifies and contradicts my vocation and mission in life. We all have “little ones” entrusted to us: children, family members, those new to the faith, those searching, those who are especially weak…. If I am truly dedicated to lead them to Christ, then sin and scandal will have little room. How real and determined is my dedication?
2. Rebuke and Forgive
We must fight sin wherever we find it. How much more difficult does this become in a world where tolerance is ranked above virtue! Even in family life we are tempted to let things go and not create friction and uneasiness. But if sin is our greatest enemy, then we must always cast it out. The key is to do everything with the heart of Christ, a heart of love: ready to forgive the sinner, never judging their heart, but never minimizing an evil action. How well do I teach moral truth? Do I distinguish the sin from the sinner? Is Christ’s love always my motivation and dominant message?
3. Faith Uproots Sin
All of this -- fighting personal sin and helping others conquer it -- seemed a bit much for the apostles. They begged for an increase of faith. Faith of any size embraces God’s understanding of the evil of sin and seeks to live accordingly. Yet sin is not overcome easily, and mere understanding is not enough. We must uproot sin from our lives and reject it constantly in the lives of others. Only Christ’s love provides the strength we need, and often the perseverance in battling the same sins over time only comes through the strength that comes from Christ’s love. Only through Christ can our hearts be filled and not return to old habits of sin.
Let's ask the Lord the courage to fight sin in my life. Grant me your heart, Lord, so I can fight and suffer without cowardice, without taking time out and without discouragement, even if others do not understand or thank me. Help me to uproot sin from my life and put you first. I believe in you, Lord Jesus, as the only one who can fill my heart. I believe in the power of faith to change my life and the lives of others. I trust that you will grant me the light and strength to cast out sin from my life. I come to you in prayer so that I can love you even more with a firm but serene opposition to sin. I will fight to eradicate sins against charity in my family or work life. I will avoid it and call others to do so too in a gentle but firm manner.
The Master and Servant (Luke 17:7–10)
7
"Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from
plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and take
your place at table'?
8 Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
9 Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
10 So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
These sayings of Jesus, peculiar to Luke, which continue his response to the apostles' request to increase their faith (Luke 17:5-6), remind them that Christian disciples can make no claim on God's graciousness; in fulfilling the exacting demands of discipleship, they are only doing their duty.
comments by Tracy Tucciarone (https://www.fisheaters.com):
This parable stresses the importance of remembering that we can't work our way into Heaven, that God doesn't need our offerings, and that God owes us nothing. Our sharing in His Kingdom is solely by His grace, and we are to be grateful for whatever He gives us --- which will always be in accordance with His love and mercy.
comments by Fr. Charles Grondin:
Being "good people" is what we are expected to be. To a certain extent there isn't really any merit in doing the right thing, its what's expected of us. If two individuals get into a fist fight, do we give them credit because they didn't kill each other? Or do we recognize that while murder is a greater evil than fighting, neither is good behavior?
We all fall short of how we should live. Sin affects the great humanitarian as much as the "minimal service" person. Both fall short of the goodness expected of them in one area or another. The problem is that we want to be the judge of which areas of sin are more or less important. That judgment must be left to God. Human judgment can be corrupt, selfish, and unjust. We need to let go of our pride and recognize that God is the measure of all things and not man.
Cleansing ten lepers (17:11-19)
11 As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
12 As he was entering a village, ten lepers met (him). They stood at a distance from him
13 and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
14 And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
16 and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?
18 Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
19 Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
This incident recounting the thankfulness of the cleansed Samaritan leper is narrated only in Luke’s gospel and provides an instance of Jesus holding up a non-Jew as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf. Lk 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). Moreover, it is the faith in Jesus manifested by the foreigner that has brought him salvation the similar relationship between faith and salvation.
- Comments by Christian blog Streets of Gold (olivyaz.blogspot.com):
This would be a heartwarming story of healing if it ended just there. But something else happened to turn it into a lesson about the Christian life as well. There was one among these men whose thoughts went beyond the promise of a return to normalcy. This fellow returned to Jesus, worshipping God for his gift of healing. He reasoned that anyone with the power to heal such an infirmity must be sent from God. He must have a special link to God— something that demanded his attention. And so his focus moved from the healing to the Healer.
Such a humble, grateful response moved Jesus deeply, and he declared that this man had received “ salvation” in a way that the others had yet to experience. This one had entered into a new relationship with God, and as a result his inner life was changing to reflect the healing that he had received in his body.
This man’s story can shape our own prayer. Yes, we should all cry out: “Jesus, Master! Have pity on me” (Luke 17:13). But if we want to find the inner transformation, the “salvation” that this man experienced we should spend just as much time praising and worshipping the Lord for all that he has already done for us.
comments by Fr. James Farfaglia (Corpus Christi, TX):
Cicero, the famous Roman senator and orator once wrote, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others" This Sunday's Gospel reading (Luke 17:5-10) reminds us that gratitude is a rare virtue indeed. After the passage we hear proclaimed at Mass, Jesus told the story of the lepers who were all healed but only one came back to give thanks. (Luke 17:11 - 16)
The virtue of gratitude is the ability to express our thankful appreciation in word or deed, to the person whose words or actions have benefitted us in some way. The truly humble and noble person will always be grateful for the benefits received. He or she knows that everything and everyone is a gift. Ingratitude is ugly and displeasing to God. Gratitude brings joy to the heart of the Lord, and to our own lives. It sets us free.
How can the virtue of gratitude be acquired and cultivated? Fundamentally, cultivating the spirit of gratitude requires us to develop humility. We need to understand that everything that we have and everything that we are is a gift. We might begin by taking out a pad of paper and a pen and making a list of all of the wonderful gifts that we receive each day of our entire life; a gratitude inventory.
We could start with life. We have been given the gift of life. Consider the air that we breathe. We take such things as air, water and even good health all for granted. We need to consider our families, the houses that we live in, the food that we eat each day, our education, our jobs, and the fact that we live in a free country.
Once we consider the obvious gifts that we have received, we can go deeper. Take into consideration all that God has done for us. He loves us unconditionally. We have the Catholic Church, the Bible and the Sacraments. We can all remember how a Catholic priest inspired us in a homily, gave us an encouraging word in Confession, or came to visit us while we were sick.
We need to understand that we have received so much. Should we not always be grateful?
The Coming Kingdom of God (Luke 17:20–37)
20
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in
reply, "The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed,
21 and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you."
22 Then he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
23 There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' (or) 'Look, here he is.' Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
24 For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be (in his day).
25 But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.
26 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
27 they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
29 on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
30 So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind.
32 Remember the wife of Lot.
33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.
34 I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
35 And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left."
37 They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."
To the question of the Pharisees about the time of the coming of God's kingdom, Jesus replies that the kingdom is among you (Luke 17:20-21). The emphasis has thus been shifted from an imminent observable coming of the kingdom to something that is already present in Jesus' preaching and healing ministry. Luke has also appended further traditional sayings of Jesus about the unpredictable suddenness of the day of the Son of Man, and assures his readers that in spite of the delay of that day (Luke 12:45), it will bring judgment unexpectedly on those who do not continue to be vigilant.
Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI, explains Jesus’ words about the kingdom with the help of the early Church writer Origen: “The kingdom [basileia] of God cannot be observed, yet, unobserved, it is among those to whom he is speaking [Luke 17:20-21]. It stands among them—in his own person. ... In a splendid coinage of Origen’s, Jesus is [the] autobasileia" —that is, he is himself the kingdom: “Just as he is wisdom itself and righteousness itself and truth itself, so too is he also the kingdom itself (autobasileia)."
St. John Paul II similarly explains the kingdom: “Christ not only proclaimed the kingdom, but in him the kingdom itself became present and was fulfilled. . . The kingdom of God is not a concept, a doctrine, or a program subject to free interpretation, but it is before all else a person with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God. If the kingdom is separated from Jesus, it is no longer the kingdom of God which he revealed.”
Comment by Father Edward Hopkins, LC:
1. When? Since the Pharisees had the wrong notion of the Kingdom of God, they could hardly ask the proper questions concerning it. Their expected kingdom was a worldly kingdom that would cast off foreign domination and restore sovereignty to Israel. But Christ’s kingdom is concerned more about the state of the soul and the struggle between good and evil than external nations. The Pharisees’ misperception kept them from recognizing Christ and his kingdom. Thousands of years later we, too, can be susceptible to the errors of the Pharisees. For us, a lack of faith can keep us from seeing that the Kingdom of God comes only when we accept Jesus as king of our souls. Only when we allow him to rule and order our lives does his kingdom come. The “when” is now. Now is the moment for me to encounter Christ and make him my king.
2. Where? Christ’s disciples also struggled to understand the nature of the kingdom. They sought to see “the days of the Son of Man,” a powerful reign where Christ was supreme with the entire world subject to him. Yet, Christ comes first to reign in the heart of each person. In my own heart, do I believe in Christ and accept his will? Do I love him and sacrifice myself in order to respond to his will? Am I building the kingdom from my prayer and life of grace?
3. How? If the kingdom is here and now, then how do we enter? We enter the same way our King enters – through the door of suffering and perseverance. “First he must suffer greatly and be rejected.” Belief is not just a one-time acceptance. Faith must be lived throughout the great and little trials we encounter in life. In this way we make faith and the kingdom more our own. We need to remember that in the end, it is the kingdom -- and the King himself -- who comes to us, like lighting across the sky.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I believe in your presence in my life. You have called me to share in your faith and love. I trust that you will help me grow closer to you. I love you, Lord, here and now. I will live this day in prayer. Dear Jesus, help me to understand your kingdom. Build your kingdom within me, in my thoughts and desires. Become my life and my love. Cut away any distance between us. Make my life the light and salt to spread your kingdom effectively to those with whom I cross paths.
Petition: Lord, help me to understand your Kingdom better.
Resolution: I will dedicate a longer and calmer time to examine my conscience tonight, and look for progress as well as the struggles of the kingdom within me.
comments by Pope Benedict XVI (JN):
The phrase “Kingdom of God” occurs 122 times in the New Testament as a whole; 99 of these passages are found in the three Synoptic Gospels, and 90 of these 99 texts report words of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, and the rest of the New Testament writings, the term plays only a small role. One can say that whereas the axis of Jesus’ preaching before Easter is the Kingdom of God, Christology is the center of the preaching of the Apostles after Easter.
When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God, he is quite simply proclaiming God, and proclaiming him to be the living God, who is able to act concretely in the world and in history and is even now so acting. He is telling us: “God exists” and “God is really God,” which means that he holds in his hands the threads of the world. In this sense, Jesus’ message is very simple and thoroughly God-centered. The new and totally specific thing about his message is that he is telling us: God is acting now—this is the hour when God is showing himself in history as its Lord, as the living God, in a way that goes beyond anything seen before. “Kingdom of God” is therefore an inadequate translation. It would be better to speak of God’s being-Lord, of his lordship.
We can see clearly both that Jesus was a “true Israelite” (cf. Jn 1:47) and also that—in terms of the inner dynamic of the promises made to Israel—he transcended Judaism. Nothing of what we have just discovered is lost. And yet something new is here, something that finds expression above all in such statements as “the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15), it “has already come upon you” (Mt 12:28), it is “in the midst of you” (Lk 17:21). What these words express is a process of coming that has already begun and extends over the whole of history. It was these words that gave rise to the thesis of “imminent expectation” and made this appear as Jesus’ specific characteristic.
Luke 17:20–21 tells us that, “being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, ‘The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed [by neutral observers], nor will they say, “Lo, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’” As the interpreters go to work on this text, they reflect here, too, their different approaches to understanding the “Kingdom of God” in general—according to the prior decisions and the basic worldview that each interpreter brings with him.
There is the “idealistic” interpretation, which tells us that the Kingdom of God is not an exterior structure, but is located in the interiority of man—recall what we heard earlier from Origen. There is truth in this interpretation, but it is not sufficient, even from the linguistic point of view. Then there is the interpretation in the sense of imminent expectation. It explains that the Kingdom of God does not come gradually, so as to be open to observation, but it is suddenly there. This interpretation, however, has no basis in the actual formulation of the text. For this reason, there is a growing tendency to hold that Christ uses these words to refer to himself: He, who is in our midst, is the “Kingdom of God,” only we do not know him (cf. Jn 1:30). Another saying of Jesus points in the same direction, although with a somewhat different nuance: “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:20). Here (as in the preceding text, for that matter) it is not simply in Jesus’ physical presence that the “Kingdom” is located; rather, it is in his action, accomplished in the Holy Spirit. In this sense, it is in and through him that the Kingdom of God becomes present here and now, that it “is drawing near.”
The new proximity of the Kingdom of which Jesus speaks—the distinguishing feature of his message—is to be found in Jesus himself. Through Jesus’ presence and action, God has here and now entered actively into history in a wholly new way. The reason why now is the fullness of time (Mk 1:15), why now is in a unique sense the time of conversion and penance, as well as the time of joy, is that in Jesus it is God who draws near to us. In Jesus, God is now the one who acts and who rules as Lord—rules in a divine way, without worldly power, rules through the love that reaches “to the end” (Jn 13:1), to the Cross.
Jesus compares the Kingdom with a treasure that was buried in a field. The finder of the treasure buries it again and sells everything in order to buy the field, so to gain possession of the treasure that can fulfill every desire. Another parable tells of how the seed of the Kingdom grows, but an enemy comes and sows weeds in its midst, which for the present grow up with the seed, with the division coming only at the end (cf. Mt 13:24–30). There is a parallel to this in the parable of the pearl of great price, whose finder likewise gives away everything in order to attain this good of surpassing value (cf. Mt 13:44).
In this context we understand the fundamental image of the seed, which we will be considering again in various ways; in this context we also understand his invitation to follow him courageously, leaving everything else behind. He himself is the treasure; communion with him is the pearl of great price.
The “Kingdom of God” is a theme that runs through the whole of Jesus’ preaching. We can therefore understand it only in light of that preaching as a whole. In turning our attention now to one of the core elements of Jesus’ preaching—the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus always speaks as the Son, that the relation between Father and Son is always present as the background of his message. In this sense, God is always at the center of the discussion, yet precisely because Jesus himself is God—the Son—his entire preaching is a message about the mystery of his person, it is Christology, that is, discourse concerning God’s presence in his own action and being. This is the point that demands a decision from us, and consequently this is the point that leads to the Cross and the Resurrection.
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| Carlos de Haes - Windmills (1884) |
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
3 Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
6 The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
The Catechism teaches, "Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense. "Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized" (2284-85).
comments by Dr. Mary Healy, professor of Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit:
"f you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you"
These words on faith and prayer present a challenge to every believer. Did Jesus really mean what he said? If so, why have our fervent prayers sometimes apparently gone unanswered? The answer lies in understanding "believe" in the biblical sense in which Jesus used it. To believe is not to work up a subjective feeling of certitude that our prayers will be answered. Rather, it is to enter into a personal, trusting relationship with God so that our prayers become aligned with the true good that he desires for us.
Elsewhere this promise includes the qualification that our prayers must be in Jesus' name (John 14:13) or "according to his will" (1 John 5:14), and not with a divided heart (James 4:3-5). Jesus himself is the model for prayer that is always answered because of his total surrender to the Father's will (see John 8:29; 11:42). The more we are united with him the more his desires and priorities become our own, and the more we will see how God answers them. This 'is the kind of faith Jesus is referring to, not a "faith" that views God as a kind of cosmic vending machine ready to carry out our every request. "Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer".
comments by Edward Sri, professor of theology and Scripture:
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."
Similarly we read in Matthew 18:21-22
21 Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times".
Jesus calls his disciples to a very high standard of mercy. We cannot speak words of forgiveness while harboring resentment. The Catechism reminds us that true forgiveness entails “a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of our God” (Catechism 2842).
Admittedly, this is not always easy. Some injuries are so deep that it “is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense” (Catechism 2843). Nevertheless, if we remember how much God has forgiven us then we can avoid becoming like that unforgiving servant who, though he was forgiven much, failed to forgive others. We can also pray for the person who hurt us and try to see beyond their harmful acts and to consider their own sorrowful condition. Hence, “the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession” (Catechism 2843). In this way, the disciple can forgive his enemies interiorly, “from his heart” (18:35).
comments by Father Edward Hopkins, LC:
1. Causing Others to Sin
The negative effects of sin are many: offending God, damaging my conscience and soul, hardening my heart, forming bad habits, losing grace and will power, creating distance and difficulty in prayer, etc. But no result of sin is more damaging than that of scandal, where my sin leads others to sin. Why is this so serious? As a Christian I am called to live and teach Christ’s life to others. Scandal falsifies and contradicts my vocation and mission in life. We all have “little ones” entrusted to us: children, family members, those new to the faith, those searching, those who are especially weak…. If I am truly dedicated to lead them to Christ, then sin and scandal will have little room. How real and determined is my dedication?
2. Rebuke and Forgive
We must fight sin wherever we find it. How much more difficult does this become in a world where tolerance is ranked above virtue! Even in family life we are tempted to let things go and not create friction and uneasiness. But if sin is our greatest enemy, then we must always cast it out. The key is to do everything with the heart of Christ, a heart of love: ready to forgive the sinner, never judging their heart, but never minimizing an evil action. How well do I teach moral truth? Do I distinguish the sin from the sinner? Is Christ’s love always my motivation and dominant message?
3. Faith Uproots Sin
All of this -- fighting personal sin and helping others conquer it -- seemed a bit much for the apostles. They begged for an increase of faith. Faith of any size embraces God’s understanding of the evil of sin and seeks to live accordingly. Yet sin is not overcome easily, and mere understanding is not enough. We must uproot sin from our lives and reject it constantly in the lives of others. Only Christ’s love provides the strength we need, and often the perseverance in battling the same sins over time only comes through the strength that comes from Christ’s love. Only through Christ can our hearts be filled and not return to old habits of sin.
Let's ask the Lord the courage to fight sin in my life. Grant me your heart, Lord, so I can fight and suffer without cowardice, without taking time out and without discouragement, even if others do not understand or thank me. Help me to uproot sin from my life and put you first. I believe in you, Lord Jesus, as the only one who can fill my heart. I believe in the power of faith to change my life and the lives of others. I trust that you will grant me the light and strength to cast out sin from my life. I come to you in prayer so that I can love you even more with a firm but serene opposition to sin. I will fight to eradicate sins against charity in my family or work life. I will avoid it and call others to do so too in a gentle but firm manner.
The Master and Servant (Luke 17:7–10)
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| David Teniers the Younger - A Surgical Operation (1631) |
8 Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
9 Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
10 So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
These sayings of Jesus, peculiar to Luke, which continue his response to the apostles' request to increase their faith (Luke 17:5-6), remind them that Christian disciples can make no claim on God's graciousness; in fulfilling the exacting demands of discipleship, they are only doing their duty.
comments by Tracy Tucciarone (https://www.fisheaters.com):
This parable stresses the importance of remembering that we can't work our way into Heaven, that God doesn't need our offerings, and that God owes us nothing. Our sharing in His Kingdom is solely by His grace, and we are to be grateful for whatever He gives us --- which will always be in accordance with His love and mercy.
comments by Fr. Charles Grondin:
Being "good people" is what we are expected to be. To a certain extent there isn't really any merit in doing the right thing, its what's expected of us. If two individuals get into a fist fight, do we give them credit because they didn't kill each other? Or do we recognize that while murder is a greater evil than fighting, neither is good behavior?
We all fall short of how we should live. Sin affects the great humanitarian as much as the "minimal service" person. Both fall short of the goodness expected of them in one area or another. The problem is that we want to be the judge of which areas of sin are more or less important. That judgment must be left to God. Human judgment can be corrupt, selfish, and unjust. We need to let go of our pride and recognize that God is the measure of all things and not man.
Cleansing ten lepers (17:11-19)
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| Cleansing ten lepers illustrated in the Codex Aureus Epternacensis (Echternach), 1030–1050 |
12 As he was entering a village, ten lepers met (him). They stood at a distance from him
13 and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
14 And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
16 and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?
18 Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
19 Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
This incident recounting the thankfulness of the cleansed Samaritan leper is narrated only in Luke’s gospel and provides an instance of Jesus holding up a non-Jew as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf. Lk 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). Moreover, it is the faith in Jesus manifested by the foreigner that has brought him salvation the similar relationship between faith and salvation.
- Comments by Christian blog Streets of Gold (olivyaz.blogspot.com):
This would be a heartwarming story of healing if it ended just there. But something else happened to turn it into a lesson about the Christian life as well. There was one among these men whose thoughts went beyond the promise of a return to normalcy. This fellow returned to Jesus, worshipping God for his gift of healing. He reasoned that anyone with the power to heal such an infirmity must be sent from God. He must have a special link to God— something that demanded his attention. And so his focus moved from the healing to the Healer.
Such a humble, grateful response moved Jesus deeply, and he declared that this man had received “ salvation” in a way that the others had yet to experience. This one had entered into a new relationship with God, and as a result his inner life was changing to reflect the healing that he had received in his body.
This man’s story can shape our own prayer. Yes, we should all cry out: “Jesus, Master! Have pity on me” (Luke 17:13). But if we want to find the inner transformation, the “salvation” that this man experienced we should spend just as much time praising and worshipping the Lord for all that he has already done for us.
comments by Fr. James Farfaglia (Corpus Christi, TX):
Cicero, the famous Roman senator and orator once wrote, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others" This Sunday's Gospel reading (Luke 17:5-10) reminds us that gratitude is a rare virtue indeed. After the passage we hear proclaimed at Mass, Jesus told the story of the lepers who were all healed but only one came back to give thanks. (Luke 17:11 - 16)
The virtue of gratitude is the ability to express our thankful appreciation in word or deed, to the person whose words or actions have benefitted us in some way. The truly humble and noble person will always be grateful for the benefits received. He or she knows that everything and everyone is a gift. Ingratitude is ugly and displeasing to God. Gratitude brings joy to the heart of the Lord, and to our own lives. It sets us free.
How can the virtue of gratitude be acquired and cultivated? Fundamentally, cultivating the spirit of gratitude requires us to develop humility. We need to understand that everything that we have and everything that we are is a gift. We might begin by taking out a pad of paper and a pen and making a list of all of the wonderful gifts that we receive each day of our entire life; a gratitude inventory.
We could start with life. We have been given the gift of life. Consider the air that we breathe. We take such things as air, water and even good health all for granted. We need to consider our families, the houses that we live in, the food that we eat each day, our education, our jobs, and the fact that we live in a free country.
Once we consider the obvious gifts that we have received, we can go deeper. Take into consideration all that God has done for us. He loves us unconditionally. We have the Catholic Church, the Bible and the Sacraments. We can all remember how a Catholic priest inspired us in a homily, gave us an encouraging word in Confession, or came to visit us while we were sick.
We need to understand that we have received so much. Should we not always be grateful?
The Coming Kingdom of God (Luke 17:20–37)
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| Ladder of Divine Ascent (12th century AD - Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai) - The icon depicts monks ascending the ladder towards Jesus in Heaven, at the top right of the image with John Climacus at the top of the ladder, being welcomed by Jesus. The ladder has 30 rungs representing the 30 stages of ascetic life. The ascent of the monks is assisted by the prayers of angels, saints and the community, while demons attack and try to make monks fall from the ladder by pulling them down or striking them with arrows. |
21 and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you."
22 Then he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
23 There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' (or) 'Look, here he is.' Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
24 For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be (in his day).
25 But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.
26 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
27 they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
29 on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
30 So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind.
32 Remember the wife of Lot.
33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.
34 I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
35 And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left."
37 They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."
To the question of the Pharisees about the time of the coming of God's kingdom, Jesus replies that the kingdom is among you (Luke 17:20-21). The emphasis has thus been shifted from an imminent observable coming of the kingdom to something that is already present in Jesus' preaching and healing ministry. Luke has also appended further traditional sayings of Jesus about the unpredictable suddenness of the day of the Son of Man, and assures his readers that in spite of the delay of that day (Luke 12:45), it will bring judgment unexpectedly on those who do not continue to be vigilant.
Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI, explains Jesus’ words about the kingdom with the help of the early Church writer Origen: “The kingdom [basileia] of God cannot be observed, yet, unobserved, it is among those to whom he is speaking [Luke 17:20-21]. It stands among them—in his own person. ... In a splendid coinage of Origen’s, Jesus is [the] autobasileia" —that is, he is himself the kingdom: “Just as he is wisdom itself and righteousness itself and truth itself, so too is he also the kingdom itself (autobasileia)."
St. John Paul II similarly explains the kingdom: “Christ not only proclaimed the kingdom, but in him the kingdom itself became present and was fulfilled. . . The kingdom of God is not a concept, a doctrine, or a program subject to free interpretation, but it is before all else a person with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God. If the kingdom is separated from Jesus, it is no longer the kingdom of God which he revealed.”
Comment by Father Edward Hopkins, LC:
1. When? Since the Pharisees had the wrong notion of the Kingdom of God, they could hardly ask the proper questions concerning it. Their expected kingdom was a worldly kingdom that would cast off foreign domination and restore sovereignty to Israel. But Christ’s kingdom is concerned more about the state of the soul and the struggle between good and evil than external nations. The Pharisees’ misperception kept them from recognizing Christ and his kingdom. Thousands of years later we, too, can be susceptible to the errors of the Pharisees. For us, a lack of faith can keep us from seeing that the Kingdom of God comes only when we accept Jesus as king of our souls. Only when we allow him to rule and order our lives does his kingdom come. The “when” is now. Now is the moment for me to encounter Christ and make him my king.
2. Where? Christ’s disciples also struggled to understand the nature of the kingdom. They sought to see “the days of the Son of Man,” a powerful reign where Christ was supreme with the entire world subject to him. Yet, Christ comes first to reign in the heart of each person. In my own heart, do I believe in Christ and accept his will? Do I love him and sacrifice myself in order to respond to his will? Am I building the kingdom from my prayer and life of grace?
3. How? If the kingdom is here and now, then how do we enter? We enter the same way our King enters – through the door of suffering and perseverance. “First he must suffer greatly and be rejected.” Belief is not just a one-time acceptance. Faith must be lived throughout the great and little trials we encounter in life. In this way we make faith and the kingdom more our own. We need to remember that in the end, it is the kingdom -- and the King himself -- who comes to us, like lighting across the sky.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I believe in your presence in my life. You have called me to share in your faith and love. I trust that you will help me grow closer to you. I love you, Lord, here and now. I will live this day in prayer. Dear Jesus, help me to understand your kingdom. Build your kingdom within me, in my thoughts and desires. Become my life and my love. Cut away any distance between us. Make my life the light and salt to spread your kingdom effectively to those with whom I cross paths.
Petition: Lord, help me to understand your Kingdom better.
Resolution: I will dedicate a longer and calmer time to examine my conscience tonight, and look for progress as well as the struggles of the kingdom within me.
comments by Pope Benedict XVI (JN):
The phrase “Kingdom of God” occurs 122 times in the New Testament as a whole; 99 of these passages are found in the three Synoptic Gospels, and 90 of these 99 texts report words of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, and the rest of the New Testament writings, the term plays only a small role. One can say that whereas the axis of Jesus’ preaching before Easter is the Kingdom of God, Christology is the center of the preaching of the Apostles after Easter.
When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God, he is quite simply proclaiming God, and proclaiming him to be the living God, who is able to act concretely in the world and in history and is even now so acting. He is telling us: “God exists” and “God is really God,” which means that he holds in his hands the threads of the world. In this sense, Jesus’ message is very simple and thoroughly God-centered. The new and totally specific thing about his message is that he is telling us: God is acting now—this is the hour when God is showing himself in history as its Lord, as the living God, in a way that goes beyond anything seen before. “Kingdom of God” is therefore an inadequate translation. It would be better to speak of God’s being-Lord, of his lordship.
We can see clearly both that Jesus was a “true Israelite” (cf. Jn 1:47) and also that—in terms of the inner dynamic of the promises made to Israel—he transcended Judaism. Nothing of what we have just discovered is lost. And yet something new is here, something that finds expression above all in such statements as “the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15), it “has already come upon you” (Mt 12:28), it is “in the midst of you” (Lk 17:21). What these words express is a process of coming that has already begun and extends over the whole of history. It was these words that gave rise to the thesis of “imminent expectation” and made this appear as Jesus’ specific characteristic.
Luke 17:20–21 tells us that, “being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, ‘The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed [by neutral observers], nor will they say, “Lo, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’” As the interpreters go to work on this text, they reflect here, too, their different approaches to understanding the “Kingdom of God” in general—according to the prior decisions and the basic worldview that each interpreter brings with him.
There is the “idealistic” interpretation, which tells us that the Kingdom of God is not an exterior structure, but is located in the interiority of man—recall what we heard earlier from Origen. There is truth in this interpretation, but it is not sufficient, even from the linguistic point of view. Then there is the interpretation in the sense of imminent expectation. It explains that the Kingdom of God does not come gradually, so as to be open to observation, but it is suddenly there. This interpretation, however, has no basis in the actual formulation of the text. For this reason, there is a growing tendency to hold that Christ uses these words to refer to himself: He, who is in our midst, is the “Kingdom of God,” only we do not know him (cf. Jn 1:30). Another saying of Jesus points in the same direction, although with a somewhat different nuance: “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:20). Here (as in the preceding text, for that matter) it is not simply in Jesus’ physical presence that the “Kingdom” is located; rather, it is in his action, accomplished in the Holy Spirit. In this sense, it is in and through him that the Kingdom of God becomes present here and now, that it “is drawing near.”
The new proximity of the Kingdom of which Jesus speaks—the distinguishing feature of his message—is to be found in Jesus himself. Through Jesus’ presence and action, God has here and now entered actively into history in a wholly new way. The reason why now is the fullness of time (Mk 1:15), why now is in a unique sense the time of conversion and penance, as well as the time of joy, is that in Jesus it is God who draws near to us. In Jesus, God is now the one who acts and who rules as Lord—rules in a divine way, without worldly power, rules through the love that reaches “to the end” (Jn 13:1), to the Cross.
Jesus compares the Kingdom with a treasure that was buried in a field. The finder of the treasure buries it again and sells everything in order to buy the field, so to gain possession of the treasure that can fulfill every desire. Another parable tells of how the seed of the Kingdom grows, but an enemy comes and sows weeds in its midst, which for the present grow up with the seed, with the division coming only at the end (cf. Mt 13:24–30). There is a parallel to this in the parable of the pearl of great price, whose finder likewise gives away everything in order to attain this good of surpassing value (cf. Mt 13:44).
In this context we understand the fundamental image of the seed, which we will be considering again in various ways; in this context we also understand his invitation to follow him courageously, leaving everything else behind. He himself is the treasure; communion with him is the pearl of great price.
The “Kingdom of God” is a theme that runs through the whole of Jesus’ preaching. We can therefore understand it only in light of that preaching as a whole. In turning our attention now to one of the core elements of Jesus’ preaching—the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus always speaks as the Son, that the relation between Father and Son is always present as the background of his message. In this sense, God is always at the center of the discussion, yet precisely because Jesus himself is God—the Son—his entire preaching is a message about the mystery of his person, it is Christology, that is, discourse concerning God’s presence in his own action and being. This is the point that demands a decision from us, and consequently this is the point that leads to the Cross and the Resurrection.
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