Sweetening The Sour

November 21: Friday of Week 33 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

Revelation 10:8-11; Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131; Luke 19:45-48

Click here for the complete text of today’s readings.

Thoughts to help us take responsibility as stewards of the kingship of Christ.

(To support  Reaching Jesus: 5 Steps to a Fuller Life ... Step Five )

Sweetening The Sour

“My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27).

Sometimes, when we hear God’s words, we feel like singing the Responsorial: “How sweet to my taste is your promise!” But when we see how they are actually lived out, it makes us sick to our stomach. The angel warned us: “In your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey, but it will turn your stomach sour.”

God’s words are true; we just have false expectations. Like seeds, God’s words need good ground to grow in (see Matthew 13:3). And providing the good ground is our job. As “stewards of the kingship of Christ,” we are responsible for creating the conditions that help people live what they learn.

We have Christ’s example. When he entered the temple and found people selling things, he drove them out, quoting Scripture: “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”

By Jewish rules, Jesus had no more authority over the Temple than any other layman. But by relationship with the Father, he had the right of a son.

So do we. When anything is not right in our Father’s house, our baptismal consecration as “kings” authorizes us to intervene, providing we respect the rights of others. It even obliges us, unless countermanded by prudence or charity. Laziness and cowardice are common, but sinful, excuses.

PRAY: “Lord, give me zeal for your house.” (John 2:17).

PRACTICE: Exercise the rights that come with your responsibility.