30th Sunday of the Year (C)

Sunday Readings for Your Reflection: Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Liturgical readings
Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-18
Psalm 34
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

The Lord humbles the exalted and exalts the humble.



Jesus spoke this parable


addressed to those who believed
in their own self-righteousness
while holding everyone else
in contempt:


"Two men
went up to the temple


to pray;


one was a Pharisee,


the other a tax collector.


The Pharisee
        with head unbowed
        prayed in this fashion:


'I give you thanks,
O God,
that I am not like
the rest of men


        - grasping,
        crooked,
        adulterous


        - or even
        like this tax collector.


I fast twice a week.
I pay tithes on all I possess.'


The other man,
however,


kept his distance,


not even daring
to raise his eyes to heaven.


All he did
was beat his breast
and say,


        'O God,
        be merciful to me,
        a sinner.'


Believe me,
this man went home
from the temple justified


but the other
did not.


For everyone
who exalts himself
shall be humbled


        while he
        who humbles himself
        shall be exalted."


Scripture verses from the Sunday readings:
"He who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens." (Ecclesiasticus 35)
"From all distress the Lord rescues the just." (Psalm 34)
"Paul fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith." (2 Timothy)
"O God, be merciful to me, a sinner." (Luke 18)