19 Sept 2022 – Monday of Week 25

19 Sept 2022 – Monday of Week 25

Optional Memorial: St Januarius, martyred in Naples in 305 with six companions.

1st Reading: Proverbs (3:27-34

Practical guidelines for dealing justly with one’s neighbour

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbour, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.
Do not plan harm against your neighbour who lives trustingly beside you.
Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.
Do not envy the violent and do not choose any of their ways;
for the perverse are an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.
The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favour.

Responsorial: from Psalm 15

R./: Whoever does justice shall live on the Lord’s holy mountain

Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue. (R./)

Whoever does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord. ( R./)

Whoever keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever. (R./)

Gospel: Luke 8:16-18

A lamp must shine, to brighten the house. Listen well!

Jesus said, “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.”

Cryptic sayings to unpack

It’s not easy to unpack this cryptic, paradoxical statement, “The one who has, will be given more; the one who has not, will lose even that little.” From the start, it must be descriptive of fact rather than prescriptive. It says how things are done in the business world, rather than how they ought to be done in a more just world.

It may perhaps be spiritually applied in various ways. The one who takes time to pray and reflect will gain more insight, whereas, one who never takes time to turn to God and friends for advice will lose even the little serenity that he or she has. The sapiential books in particular remind us that the Bible is for adult reflection throughout life.

Mature reflection helps us properly assess our relationship with others. This is the topic of today’s short essay from Proverbs,. Each line is as down to earth as eating or drinking. Do not tell your neighbour, Go away and come back again, when you can help them at once. Do not quarrel with a person without cause. Do not envy the lawless person. Typical of the sapiential literature, the responses are moderate and possible. For these writers, the cardinal sins are extremism and radicalism. The sage even seems to permit “quarrels” or “envy”, but not without cause nor with the lawless person.

“There is nothing hidden that will not be exposed.” Sometimes Jesus does not seem to share the moderation of the sapiential literature. Evidently we need both spontaneity and reflection in our life. There is a time to muse over things quietly in the sapiential style; there is another time to be shaken into action, when the Lord calls for more fire in our lives.

Should our faith be visible to others?

Today we’ve heard a difficult gospel image for spiritual dynamism in our life: Let your light shine. When the lamp of faith is lit in a person’s life, it is not meant to be hidden away but to shine out and be visible for all to see. “No one lights a lamp to put it under a bed.” Jesus wants us to let the light of our faith be visible to others. That sounds like a tall order, even for regular church-goers. Within a social and media culture not very supportive of faith, as it is today, there’s a strong temptation regard our faith as a very private matter, a closely guarded secret.

Of course, we can offer a good justification for keeping our faith to ourselves. Didn’t Jesus also say, “Pray to your Father in secret”? and “When you give alms, don’t let anybody know about it?

It’s a hard balance to find and to maintain, between the private and the public face of faith. Yet, we need to somehow let our faith be seen in an environment that is hostile to it, in order to encourage the faith of others. When I let the light of my faith shine, especially through compassionate action, I make it easier for other people of faith to do the same.