Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk
30th Sunday of the Year, C/World Mission Sunday – October 23, 2022.
Readings: Sir 35:12c-14; Ps 34:2-3.17-18.19 & 23 (R.7a); 2 Tim 4:6-8; Gospel – Luke 18:9-14.
Theme: Humility as Doorway to Heaven
Sunday Synopsis
Our first reading reveals that the prayer of the humble, those who serve the Lord wholeheartedly, pierces the clouds as the Lord hears their plea. It maintains that He listens to the cries of the injured party especially orphans and widows who petition heaven by pouring out their supplication. In the second reading, St. Paul suggests that his life is poured out as a libation. In the Gospel, Jesus discloses that the Tax Collector who prayed in humility went home aright with God but the proud Pharisee did not. He surmises by saying: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 18:14).
Introduction
Beloved in Christ, the code that unlocks the mystery of today’s gospel is threefold: Sincerity, humility and simplicity. Titled “Humility as Doorway to Heaven,” our liturgy revovles around Jesus invitation to embrace repentence while seeking the face of God in humility.
Background & Summary of the Readings
Our first reading (Sir 35:12c-14) reveals that the prayer of the humble, those who serve the Lord wholeheartedly, pierces the clouds as the Lord hears their plea. Because they are resolute and inconsolable, God does not delay in answering them. It notes that the Lord is no respecter of persons especially those who discriminate against the poor. It instructs that He listens to the cries of the injured party especially orphans and widows who petition heaven by pouring out their supplication.
In the second reading (2 Tim 4:6-8), St. Paul maintains that his life is a libation. He narrates his ordeal stating that having borne all trials, what awaits him is the crown of eternal glory which the righteous judge would give him as well as to all those who await His appearing. He stressed that the God who delivered him from the lion’s mouth would indeed bring him safely to His kingdom.
In the Gospel (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus presents a parable to those who prided themselves as virtuous while despising others. He reveals that a Pharisee and a Tax Collector went to the temple to pray. While the former praised himself for not grasping, being unjust and adulterous like other human beings especially the Tax Collector, the latter stood at a distance and dared not look up to heaven said: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus disclosed that the Tax Collector went home aright with God but the Pharisee did not. He concluded that: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Pastoral Lessons
1. Serve Others: The message of the first reading (Sir 35:12c-14) that God is no respecter of person(s) should stink those in authority to consciousness to be humble to be of service to their brothers and sisters.
2. Make an Option for the Poor: Like St. John Paul II, Christians are called to enter into the world of the marginalized by making a concrete preferential option for the poor through ensuring justice and peace as well as showing them love.
3. Be Resilient: The resilience of vulnerable groups in terms of supplication and petition not only angers God but pierces the heavens.
4. Count on the Lord : Those who are persecuted or people in any kind of difficulty should be consoled by the message of St. Paul in the second reading that they would be delivered from “the lion’s mouth” and brought to safely if not here, in the world to come.
5. Embrace Humility: Jesus’ Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector teaches us to embrace humility in prayer and action knowing fully well that God always favours the humble.
Summary Lines
1. Our first reading reveals that the prayer of the humble, those who serve the Lord wholeheartedly, pierces the cloud as the Lord hears their plea.
2. He listens to the cries of the injured party especially orphans and widows who petition heaven by pouring out their supplication.
3. In the second reading, St. Paul maintains that his life is a libation.
4. Jesus disclosed that the Tax Collector went home aright with God but the Pharisee did not.
5. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as Christians we are challenged to embrace sincerity, humility and simplicity in our affairs before God and man while making a delibrate preferential option for the poor. In the mid-sixteenth century, in reference to a group of prisoners being led to execution, John Bradford said, “There goes I but for the grace of God.” Like the Tax Collector, may we always have the courage to go for sacramental confession saying in humility: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
On World Mission Sunday, the Holy Father invites us to support the evangelising mission of the Church bearing in mind the motto of the Missionary Society of St. Paul: “Some give to the mission by going, others by giving – Without both, there is no mission.” May God help us through Christ Our Lord. Amen!
