Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
147

FIRST READING

EX 17:8-13

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said to Joshua,
“Pick out certain men,
and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.
I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses’hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.

PSALM

PS 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Response: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.

The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.

SECOND READING

2 TM 3:14-4:2

Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed,
because you know from whom you learned it,
and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

GOSPEL

LK 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.’”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Daily Reflection

19th October 2019

Mission Sunday

The central theme of today’s reading is Prayer.
- Prayer is Real
- Prayer is Powerful
- Prayer Works

In the first reading we see Moses and the Israelites facing a major crisis, bigger than anything that they had faced before. It is through their prayerful response that they claimed the victory that God had for them. God demonstrated to the Israelites that He was the one in charge of their lives, history and circumstances.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus urges his disciples to pray and not lose heart, for God hears and answers prayers. The parable of the widow and the corrupt judge is unique to Luke. Luke places a greater emphasis on prayer than the other Gospels. Of course, having being a man of prayer Himself, Christ knew how important prayer was for His disciples. Prayer will be the key to their success in their mission.

If Jesus, the son of God needed to pray, how much more do we?

When we pray, things happen: people are healed, situations are altered, churches grow, grief is dealt with, spiritual battles are won.

Today as we observe Mission Sunday, let us renew our commitment to pray, and in a special way for the support and growth of the missions.