Readings & Reflections: Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time & Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Ha-sang & Companions, September 20,2019

Unique among the national churches, the Church in Korea arose not through the efforts of outside missionaries but rather through the determination of Korean laypersons. Yi Seung-hun was the first to be baptized, in 1784 A.D. in Beijing. Returning to Korea with rosaries, statues, and catechisms, he evangelized his brethren. The martyrs remembered today were among the second and third generation of Catholics. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” In 19^th century Korea, this adage of Tertullian was confirmed anew. Both of the saints for whom today’s feast is named were the sons of martyrs. Paul Chong Ha-sang spent his life in the perilous work of trying to bring missionaries into Korea. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first native priest of Korea, entered the country after his ordination in Shanghai, and brought the Eucharist, much longed-for, to his Korean brethren. He served but a year before he was arrested. “My eternal life is beginning now,” he proclaimed in his last sermon, just before he was beheaded. They and their 101 companion martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

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Opening Prayer

“Lord, set my heart on fire for you that I may give freely of the gifts, talents, and resources you blessed me with, for your sake and for the work of the gospel.”  In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.

Reading I
1 Tm 6:2c-12

Beloved:
Teach and urge these things.
Whoever teaches something different
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the religious teaching
is conceited, understanding nothing,
and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.
From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions,
and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds,
who are deprived of the truth,
supposing religion to be a means of gain.
Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world,
just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.
If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.
Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap
and into many foolish and harmful desires,
which plunge them into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all evils,
and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith
and have pierced themselves with many pains.

But you, man of God, avoid all this.
Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion,
faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life,
to which you were called when you made the noble confession
in the presence of many witnesses.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 49:6-7, 8-10, 17-18, 19-20
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Fear not when a man grows rich,
when the wealth of his house becomes great,
For when he dies, he shall take none of it;
his wealth shall not follow him down.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Though in his lifetime he counted himself blessed,
“They will praise you for doing well for yourself,”
He shall join the circle of his forebears
who shall never more see light.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Gospel
Lk 8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Jesus accompanied by his disciples

Jesus accompanied by His disciples traveled from town to town taking next to nothing with them except their hearts filled with love and concern. They did not equip themselves with provisions but depended on the goodness of people who provided for their needs. People fed them and gave them places to stay.

Today we have been asked by our Lord to do His work in bringing His gospel to the ends of the earth. He has encouraged us to be His living instruments of healing and mercy. He wants to do as He has done.

One may start thinking how each of us has pursued this calling. One ought to believe that nothing outside His grace and His Word will amount to anything valuable in ministry. Not even our intellect and experiences used in a very worldly can positively shape our work for the Lord. But from our nothingness, God can make His power to flow, His wisdom to guide, His love to prevail.

We can correlate our ministry to our life and spiritual journey. All we need in our work for the Lord is a heart that is open to His will, His Word and His grace. In our spiritual journey, it is the same. We do not need any of what the world would like us to amass and accumulate.

“For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.” We came with nothing, and we will leave with nothing. We may amass wealth in our lifetime but in the end that has no value to our Lord. What we need to accumulate is God’s grace, so that we are transformed in heart and mind to be authentic Christian disciples.

I know of someone who has lots of money, but he won’t do anything with it but be happy see it accumulate and increase. He won’t buy stuff. He will not even run his heater or air conditioner at comfortable levels. He buys the cheapest things and eats the cheapest foods. I often ask myself what he will do with all his accumulated savings, as he cannot take all his wealth to his grave. They don’t even assure him of entry into our Father’s kingdom. He loves keeping his money, power and material things, all for nothing. He does not realize that money is the root of all evils and will amount to nothing in our Father’s kingdom.

God calls man to Himself as our faith says, in God, life is changed and not ended. If we die with Christ, we are made and will have our everlasting dwelling place in heaven. To die is to live and to live is to die! If we have died with Christ, we will also live with Christ! If we have Christ in our lives, then we are sufficient. If we die with the world’s riches and don’t have Christ in us, what would that make us? Where will we find ourselves?

Direction

“But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.“

Prayer

Heavenly Father, blessed me with your grace and the indwelling presence of the Spirit and I will be made sufficient. In Jesus, I pray. Amen

Reflection 2 – Christ’s resurrection

“If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.” 1Cor 15:12-15

To most of us death has always been a sign of defeat. Whether it is the death of a mortal man, the death of a long existing institution, the death of a relationship, even of one’s true identity- they all point to loss and failure.

Death was something Jesus prepared His disciples for, and all those who shall come to believe in Him. During His public ministry, Jesus had tried in hundreds of different ways to prepare all men to face his death and not be afraid of what may come upon them. From the tomb he raised Lazarus (John 11:1-44), the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54), the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17). He silenced the storm at sea, fed the 5000 and healed countless lepers. Everything Jesus did should have made everyone confident that He was bigger than death and that death would have no final power over Him.

But it didn’t work that way. All of Jesus’ disciples felt lost and frightened when Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. They felt the defeat and considered everything a lost cause.

Times have passed but have not necessarily changed. Despite what Jesus revealed to all of us, death is something man cannot accept. It is something most men cannot discuss and think of. It is a cause for grief and depression to a big number, a loss and never a victory. But what does our faith teach us?

With Christ’s death, Peter and John were paralyzed with fear as they hid themselves in a locked and darkened room and did absolutely nothing. And so on Easter night, Jesus came to them in order to free them from their fears. “Here,” he said, “look at my wounds. Touch them. It is I: Jesus. I’m not a ghost. I’m alive. Luke 24:39.

Today, Jesus speaks to us the very same words. But have we heard Him in our hearts? Have we truly taken on the victory we have in Christ’s death and resurrection? How serene and trusting are we when our troubles inundate us? How much do we really believe in the Resurrection and victory we have in Christ?

Christ’s Resurrection is the culmination of our Father’s plan to establish His rule over all. It highlights our own victory when we will experience transformation from mortal to immortal, from sinfulness to sinlessness and from Adam-like to Christ-like. It will be our day with the Father, full of His glory and marked by endless joy and peace. As we travel to our final destination, the resurrection gives us hope, focus and meaning in our lives. We are able to live for God with complete trust that all the goodness we have done in His Name will never be in vain.

Jesus is risen and alive! He walks hand in hand with us until our journey is done and we are all back in our Father’s home.

Today let us entrust our whole being to Him so that every day of our journey can be full of joy and peace, no matter how rocky the road and how turbulent the storms! With the resurrection in our hearts, let us truly proclaim that in order to live one has to die, for a seed to grow one has to die and for one to live forever in resurrection glory, one has to die!

In death, God calls man to Himself as our faith says, in God life is changed and not ended as death with Christ brings us to our everlasting dwelling place in heaven. To die is to live and to live is to die! If we have died with Christ, we will also live with Christ!

Direction

Let us help our neighbor experience the victory of Christ’s Resurrection by humbly sharing our lives with everyone.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, as I struggle to live my life for you, I trust that when your glory appears, my joy will be full. In Jesus, I hope, trust and live. Amen.

Reflection 3 – With Jesus went the twelve and several women

Jesus continues to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the towns and villages of Galilee. Jesus is accompanied not only by the Twelve Apostles, but also several woman.

The Gospels tells us several things about these woman. First, they were cured by Jesus of both evil spirits and infirmities. The natural leader of the group, Mary Magdalene, was cured of seven demons. Second, they provided for Jesus and his Apostles out of their resources. The city of Magdala, for example, was an affluent city because of the fish trade there. Mary Magdalene gave not out of her excess money, but from her substance.

Third, the women followed Jesus and ministered to him. Like the Apostles, they responded to Jesus’ call: “Follow me”. They listened to Jesus’ teaching and put it into practice. They expressed their love through service. Fourth, they came up with Jesus to Jerusalem. Going up to Jerusalem means more than just a physical journey. It is a spiritual journey that leads to the Cross and to the Resurrection. It means preparing yourself to die with Jesus. It means walking alongside Jesus and walking in the light.

Fifth, the woman were brave enough to approach Jesus as he carried the Cross. They did not abandon Jesus in the hour of his Passion (Pope Benedict XVI, 14 February 2007). Jesus tells the women not to weep for him, but for themselves and for their children. He is making all things new through his passion and obedient sacrifice. This is not a cause for sadness, but joy (Saint Athanasius, Festal Letter 9). A cause for sadness are the unrepentant who remain in their sin and reject God’s mercy and grace.

Sixth, the women who followed Jesus contemplated the mystery of the Cross both from afar (Matthew 27:55) and at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25). Of the Apostles, only John we are told stood by the cross of Jesus. The women, on the other hand, are with Jesus at the Cross: Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Mary, the wife of Clopas; and Mary Magdalene.

Seventh, the women saw where Jesus was laid and prepared spices to anoint Jesus’ Body after the Sabbath rest. Several women hurried to the tomb on the morning of the third day. They are celebrated in the East as the “myrrhbears”: Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha of Bethany, Joanna, Salome, Susanna, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary the Mother of James and Joseph. They did not find Jesus’ Body but rather encountered the angel who announced the Good News that Jesus is risen! Mary Magdalene became an “Apostle to the Apostles” and announced the Lord’s Resurrection to the Apostles in the Upper Room. “Just as a woman announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life” (Thomas Aquinas).

The great mystery of the Resurrection is at the center of the passage we read from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. He had to correct the error of those who believed that Christ rose from the dead, but that there is no resurrection of the dead for anyone else. For Paul, the two truths go together. If Christ did not rise from the dead, not only would the apostolic witness be empty but the faith of Christians would be in vain. Furthermore, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then people would still be in their sin.

When we die, our soul separates from the body, the body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. “God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection” (CCC, 997). All of the dead will rise, “those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29).

How our bodies will rise on the last day exceeds our imagination and understanding. But our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ’s transfiguration of our bodies. As Saint Irenaeus writes, “Just as bread that comes down from the earth, after God’s blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of the resurrection” (Adv. haeres., 4, 18, 4-5; CCC, 1000). – Read the source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/daily-homily-with-jesus-went-the-twelve-and-several-women

Reflection 4 – The women supported Jesus

Are you ready to serve the Lord Jesus and to support the work of the Gospel with your personal resources? During his three years of public ministry Jesus traveled widely. The Gospel records that a band of women accompanied Jesus and the twelve apostles. This was a diverse group of women; some came from rich and prominent families; some had been prostitutes, and others had been afflicted with mental and physical infirmities.

The women who served Jesus out of their own resources
We know that Mary Magdalene had lived a very troubled life before Jesus freed her from seven demons. She was privileged to be the first to see Jesus as the risen Lord. As the wife of King Herod’s chief financial officer, Joanna was a wealthy lady of the court. It’s unlikely that these two would have ever met under other circumstances. What brought them together and united them in a bond of friendship, service, and loyalty to Jesus? Certainly Jesus and his message of the kingdom of God had transformed them. Unlike the apostles, who took great pride in being the chosen twelve, these women did not seek position or demand special privileges. Jesus had touched them so deeply that they were grateful to do anything for him, even menial service. They brought their gifts and resources to Jesus to use as he saw fit.

Whose concerns do you put first – yours or others?
Are you more like the status-conscious apostles who were concerned for their position, or like the women who were content to serve Jesus quietly and generously with their personal resources? In our fallen state, our natural tendency is to want to be served and placed first and to avoid giving too much of ourselves to the service of others. And besides, who really prefers to take the lowly place of a servant who puts the needs of others before their own needs? Jesus is our best example who “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom” for us (Matthew 20:28). The Gospel honors these women who imitated Jesus in his selfless sacrificial love and humble service.

Our privilege and joy is to serve the Lord Jesus
Our privilege as children of God and disciples of Jesus is to serve as Jesus served with humility, selfless love, generosity, joy, and a willingness to do whatever God asks of us. God, in his turn, gives us every good gift and grace we need to carry out our task and mission. God in his infinite power needs no one, but in his wisdom and love, he chooses to entrust his work through each one of us. His Holy Spirit equips us with all that we need to love and serve others. No one is unimportant or unnecessary in God’s economy. The least in his kingdom find a home and a mission at Jesus’ side. Do you know the joy of serving Jesus in company with others who love and serve him willingly?

“Lord Jesus, set my heart on fire for you that I may give freely of the gifts, talents, and resources you give me, for your sake and for the work of the Gospel.” – Read the source: https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/sep20.htm

Reflection 5 – Finding true contentment