10th Sunday in Ordinary Time1 Kings 17:17-24 Galatians 1:11-19 Luke 7:11-17 The gospel this weekend is this: Luke 7:11-17 Soon afterward he journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people." 17 This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region. The first reading is this: 1 Kings 17:17-24 Some time later the son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. 18 So she said to Elijah, "Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?" 19 "Give me your son," Elijah said to her. Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?" 21 Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child." 22 The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child's body and he revived. 23 Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "See!" Elijah said to her, "your son is alive." 24 "Now indeed I know that you are a man of God," the woman replied to Elijah. "The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth." The second reading is this: Galatians 1:11-19 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, 14 and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when (God), who from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did ot immediately consult flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. And bone 18 Then after three years I went up toJerusalem to confer with Kephas and remained with him for fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord. MEDITATION: Thanks be to God for the gift of life! Physical life of flesh and blood (and a little brain) came our way one day and it wasn’t by chance, so ‘thanks be to God’ for that (Eucharist), but it’s only a prologue for the Eternal Life that God is offering. The world often tempts us to give precedence to mundane riches, honours and pleasures over Love and we sometimes fall into that trap so the healing of the widow’s son is symbolic for us. As Woody Allen used say: 'I don't want to achieve immortality through my work ... I want to achieve it through not dying.'! Sin is fatal and conversion to a decent Christian life is like a ‘resurrection’. Paul (2nd reading) says that he felt healed by the gospel (he had been a haughty Jew) and he wanted to share that good-fortune with others. He thereafter went far and wide preaching. Aren’t we lucky that we have ‘the basic gift of life’… but it’s when we’re willing to put some effort into spreading the faith (as Paul did), then we ourselves receive the huge gift of Eternal Life. The giver receives. The switch from physical healing to the spreading of the Word obviously links well with this Dr Dara! I just wish I was more faithfull. People helped and healed me (evangelising me) so I hope to help heal others! Jesus says in the Gospel (in Jn 10:10) 'I have come so you may have Life and have it to the full'. I admire the work of the scientific world of recent history but it may fool men to look at their future with dark 'bookbound' glasses. I think of a phrase of Albert Einstein: 'Equations are more important to me than politics because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity.'. But God wants to give us much more than equations for eternity! The last book of the Bible (Apocalypse) proclaims the one important equation which people who studied algebra or latin will relate to: The voice says “I am the Alpha and the Omega” (Apoc 22:14)! Scientific man looks again and again for the solutions but saint Paul says it well to the 'Colosians' (Col 2:3): ‘In Christ all the secrets of creation are hidden’. Moses advises in Deuteronomy 30:19: 'Choose between death and life'. It's up to us! ‘If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory’ (Col 3:1-4). I think the image of a 'pilgrimidge' reflects our mortal lives well. People go through a journey that isn't easy and arrive at a special place of religious significance. If you're travelling far abroad you take good care of your passport and visa. Pablo Picasso once said 'One starts to get young at the age of 60 and then it's too late.'! Christ gives us the visa for the most important trip of all: the visa is to enter Eternal Life in heaven, so take good care of it! When the Gospel of John says that Jesus 'gave up his spirit' (Jn 19:30), that may seem to some like a fancy way of saying that he breathed his last and died, but the verb used for 'giving up' was used by the ancient Greeks for an action like presenting a gift. In other words it's not a referrence to the end of the Good News (Gospel), but to the beginning! In other words, to the fact that the Life and Love of God was fully given to mankind. From there a huge process was begun. Let’s keep it going! ……… Dara. En ESPAÑOL: 10º Domingo (del tiempo ordinario): 1º Reyes 17:17-24. Gal1:11-19. Lucas 7:11-17. ¡Demos gracias a Dios por el regalo de la vida! La vida física de carne y sangre (y un poco de cerebro) nos vino un día y eso no era por casualidad, entonces 'gracias sea a Dios' por eso (la Eucaristía), pero es sólo un prólogo para la Vida Eterna que Dios está ofreciéndonos. El mundo nos tienta a menudo a dar importancia a las riquezas, honores y placeres del mundo ando por encima del Amor y nosotros a veces entramos en esa trampa. Entonces la curación del hijo de la viuda es simbólica para nosotros. Como dijo el actor Woody Allen: '¡Yo no quiero lograr la inmortalidad a través de mi trabajo... yo quiero lograrlo a través de no morir!' El pecado es fatal y la conversión a una vida cristiana decente es como entrar un 'la resurrección'. Pablo (2º lectura) dice que él se sentía sanado por el evangelio (él había sido un judío orgulloso) y él quiso compartir ese bueno-fortuna con otros. Él fue predicando lejos y extensamente después de esto. Estamos afortunados porque tenemos 'el regalo básico de vida'… pero es cuando estamos deseosos poner algún esfuerzo en extender la fe (como hizo Pablo), entonces recibimos el regalo grande de Vida Eterna. El dador recibe. ¡El cambio de la curación física a la predicación de la Palabra se une bien con este Dr Dara! Apenas deseo que yo fuera más fiel. ¡Personas me ayudaron y me sanaron (evangelizandome) entonces espero ayudar en la curación de otros! Jesús dice en el Evangelio (Jn 10:10) “He venido para que tengan Vida y la tengan en abundancia”. Admiro el trabajo del mundo científico pero puede engañar a los hombres para mirar a su futuro con la oscuridad de ‘gafas encuadernadas’. Recurdo una frase de Alberto Einstein: '¡Las ecuaciones son más importantes a mí que la política porque la política es para el presente, pero una ecuación es algo para la eternidad.'. ¡Pero Dios quiere darnos mucho más que ecuaciones para la eternidad! El último libro de la Biblia (el Apocalipsis) proclama una ecuación importante a que las personas que estudiaron álgebra o latin relacionarán: La voz dice que "yo soy el Alfa y el Omega" (Apoc 22:14)! El hombre científico busca a las soluciones y esta bien pero san Pablo lo escribe bien al los 'Colosenses (Col 2:3): 'En Cristo están escondidos todos los secretos de creación.' ¡Moisés aconseja en Deuteronomio 30:19: 'Escoge entre la muerte y la vida'. ¡Depende de nosotros! 'Si entonces quieres subir con Cristo, busca lo que está delante, dónde Cristo se sienta a la mano derecha de Dios. 2 Piensan en lo que es de Dios, no de lo que está en la tierra. 3 Ustedes se han muerto, y su vida está oculta con Cristo en Dios. 4 Cuando su vida aparece, entonces usted también aparecerá con él en la gloria' (Col 3:1-4). Reo que la imagen de ‘un peregrinaje’ refleja bien nuestras vidas. Las personas pasan por una jornada que no es fácil y llegan a un lugar especial de importancia religiosa. Si uno está de viaje lejos en el extranjero, tiene cuidado bueno de su pasaporte y visa. Pablo Picaso dijo una vez esto: “¡A la edad de 60 uno empieza a ponerse joven y entonces es demasiado tarde!” Cristo nos da la visa para el viaje más importante de todos: ¡la visa para entrar en la Vida Eterna en el cielo. Tengamos cuidado bueno de él! Cuando el Evangelio de Juan dice que Jesús 'dejó su espíritu' (Jn 19:30), eso puede parecer a algunos como una manera elegante de decir que él respiró su último y se murió, pero el verbo usado para ‘rindiéndose’ significaba en Grecia antigua una acción generosa como presentar un regalo. En otros términos, ¡no es una referencia al fin de la Buena Nueva (el Evangelio) sino a su principio! En otros términos, la Vida y el Amor de Dios están totalmente dados a la humanidad. De allí un proceso grande se empezó. ¡Sigamos adelante!
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