Who Are We?

September 8: Monday of Week 23 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

1 Corinthians 5:1-8; Psalm 5:6-7, 7, 12; Luke 6:6-11

Also: The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Micah 5:1-4 or Romans 8:28-30; Psalm 13:6; Matthew 1:1-16,18-23.

What is Jesus saying to us as stewards of his kingship? (To support Reaching Jesus... Step Five).

“Make of yourselves fresh dough” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Every birthday is a new beginning. But our real birthday was our Baptism, when all of us (except Mary, who was born “full of grace”) were reborn with divine life as the body of Christ and children of the Father. “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29).

Everything in Christianity is rooted in our Baptism, when we were incorporated into the body of Jesus on the cross, died in him, and rose with him as a “new creation” to live from then on for one purpose only: to let Jesus continue his life and mission on earth in our body—acting with us, in us and through us in everything we do.

In us, in Christ’s living presence in our bodies, the Gospel promise is fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

Baptism explicitly anointed us to share in Christ’s kingship as his stewards. We are responsible for bringing to completion what he announced: “The kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15). For this we have to go beyond a religion of mere law-observance and “stretch out our hearts” (see Luke 6:10).

PRAY ALL DAY: “Thy Kingdom come!”

PRACTICE: Form the habit of noticing what is needed.