DAILY- HOMILY

OCTOBER 31, 2010
31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C

WISDOM 11:22--12:1
The whole world, for you, can no more than tip a balance, like a drop
of morning dew falling on the ground. Yet you are merciful to all,
because you are almighty, you overlook people's sins, so that they can
repent. Yes, you love everything that exists, and nothing that you
have made disgusts you, since, if you had hated something, you would
not have made it. And how could a thing subsist, had you not willed
it? Or how be preserved, if not called forth by you? No, you spare
all, since all is yours, Lord, lover of life! For your imperishable
spirit is in everything!

SECOND THESSALONIANS 1:11--2:2
In view of this we also pray continually that our God will make you
worthy of his call, and by his power fulfil all your desires for
goodness, and complete all that you have been doing through faith; so
that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you
in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. About the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers, and our being gathered to
him: please do not be too easily thrown into confusion or alarmed by
any manifestation of the Spirit or any statement or any letter
claiming to come from us, suggesting that the Day of the Lord has
already arrived.

LUKE 19:1-10
He entered Jericho and was going through the town and suddenly a man
whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior
tax collectors and a wealthy man. He kept trying to see which Jesus
was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he
ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who
was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and
spoke to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at
your house today.' And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They
all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay
at a sinner's house,' they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and
said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to
the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times
the amount.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this
house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man
has come to seek out and save what was lost.'

REFLECTION
There are three times when Jesus knocks at the door of hearts in a
special way. He knocks when the scriptures are read and explained to
us at Mass, for he said: "He who listens to you, listens to me." He
knocks in the liturgy on the Eucharist for he said: "Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood, remains in me and I in him." He knocks when
we encounter people in need for he said: "Whatever you do to these
little ones, you do it to me."

Do we open our hearts to Jesus when he knocks? Why is it that Jesus
seeks us out knowing that we are sinners? It is because each one of us
is still basically good, good enough to let God in.

In today's first reading, we have these words: "O God, you love all
that exists. You hate nothing of what you have created, because if you
hated it, you would not have created it." It is this goodness that
will last as long as human life lasts. It is this goodness that Jesus
wants to provoke, call up and stimulate in us.

Jesus came to find it for us and to reveal the goodness in us. Jesus
enters a human heart not only to reveal the goodness in it, but also
to help it to blossom, so that as today's second reading says, "God
may make you worthy of his call and fulfill by his power every honest
intention and work of faith."

At times, the touch of Jesus will be so revealing and healing, that
you can sing only in the words of the poet Emily Dickinson: "We never
know how high we are, till we are called to rise; and then, if we are
true to plan, our statures touch the sky." Shall we then readily
respond to Jesus' knock, when the word of the Lord is read to us, when
the bread of the Lord is broken for us, and when a member of the Lord
in his brokenness comes to us for help?

For Jesus to make a real impact on our lives when he enters into our
hearts, we have to respond the way Zacchaeus did. We have to face our
sinfulness and start changing our ways. How can Jesus justify us if we
won't repent and reform? We have to be willing to let go of certain
things in order to follow the Lord more closely.

How can Jesus find a place in our hearts, if it is full of love for
money, pleasure and power? We have to realize that without Jesus, we
will be blind people, lost and groping in the darkness of sin. How can
we stand our ground except by the grace of God? We must have faith to
see Jesus in our midst. How can we expect to recognize Jesus in the
breaking of the Word, in the breaking of the Bread and in broken
hearts unless we have faith?

Jesus is the one who has come to search out and save what was lost.
Then, now and for all time, Jesus does not look at what we have been
in the past, but at what, deep down in our hearts, we would still like
to be. He is the one who has come to search out and to save people
without hope, the most abandoned, those most deeply entangled, like
Zacchaeus, in the webs of selfishness, self-indulgence and greed.

Jesus told Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house." Jesus
is saying the same thing to us right now. This is our great "today".
This is our hour of salvation. Jesus is here, calling us, inviting us
to his holy table. He is reaching out to us in active, accepting love,
though perhaps we have done little or nothing at all to merit such
love. He is here for no other purpose than to seek out and to save
people who, without him, are drowning in the ocean of sin, without
hope and lost.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Mila
- Dan Camandero
- Jo Marcelo, Jun Lee, Mon Torres, Fleur Torres, Peping Torres
- Ferdie
- Araceli Miguel
- Esther Carandang
- Dodie dela Cruz
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Margie Ponce De Leon
- Josheil Dapo
- Pauline
- Veronica Yap
- Luis Torres
- Doris Laxamana
- Edwin T. Eufemio
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Anthony Yang
- Natalia O. Abella, Telesforo Ritumalta, Vicenta Ritumalta, Alberto
F. Atrero, Noemi Porcadillo
- Anne Chan
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Roy Amores
- Birthday: Lucilla Tan
- In Memoriam (+): Mamerto Fainsan
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only.
Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends,
colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the
following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2010 Daily-Homily