Bible Diary

Daily Reading

St Josaphat

LECTIONARY
494

FIRST READING

Phlm 7-20

For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you— I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother— especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it— to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

PSALM

PS 146:7, 8-9A, 9BC-10

Response: Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.

The LORD secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.

The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.

The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Lk 17:20-25

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this.”

Daily Reflection

Have you ever attended a magic show? The larger than life settings, opulence and sound effects all add to the ‘Ahhh!’ moment when the magic trick reaches its conclusion. They also serve to distract and mislead the mind to make us believe that the illusion is real. And we fall into the trap.

Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God as being neither mythical nor illusionary. Though we cannot see it, it is real and exists among us. It is the seed of love which God sows in each heart, which we must nurture to fruition with His help. Jesus warns that we should not be distracted by impostors who, like magicians, will misdirect us (‘look here, look there’). If we are to know the real signs that accompany the coming of the kingdom, we must look within. Then, we will realise that, with God’s help, we contribute to bringing about this kingdom!

In the first reading, Paul invites Philemon to look within and find in himself the potential to love a former slave, Onesimus, who Paul now returns to him, asking Philemon to treat Onesimus as a brother and equal. This is how the Kingdom of God becomes a reality in the here and now – a kingdom of love.