Reading 1 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27
If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.
Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.
Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,
but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way.
They do it to win a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly;
I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
For a sun and a shield is the LORD God;
grace and glory he bestows;
The LORD withholds no good thing
from those who walk in sincerity.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Alleluia See Jn 17:17b, 17a
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 6:39-42
Jesus told his disciples a parable:“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
SPECK-TACULAR
"You will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye." –Luke 6:42
Jesus has commissioned us to remove the specks from other people's eyes. The sins of other people are our concern because we love these people enough to try to keep them from destroying themselves through sin.
However, we are not ready to work on others' eyes until we have first let the Lord deal with our own spiritual blindness due to sin (Lk 6:42). Blind eye surgeons do much more harm than good.
When we repent and confess our sins, we humble ourselves. This is a necessary preparation for dealing with the pride of sin in someone else. Proud preachers turn people off when they call others to humility.
When we repent, we learn several things. We realize the horror of sin, its addictive and paralyzing effects, and most of all the mercy and compassion of our heavenly Father. Without understanding these things, we are not effective in helping others repent. Teachers who don't understand are not very understandable.
Repentance and Confession are essential not only to our relationship with the Lord, but also to our preparation for speck-removal. If you haven't had a plank removed, you're not ready to remove a speck. "Walk the plank" of repentance.
| PRAYER: | Father, make me a prophet and minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). |
| PROMISE: | "I do not run like a man who loses sight of the finish line. I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. What I do is discipline my own body and master it." –1 Cor 9:26-27 |
| PRAISE: | St. Peter Claver not only evangelized countless slaves, he shepherded them and encouraged them as they embraced this new way of life. |
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