Reading and meditation on the Word of God, Tuesday of the 33rd week of ordinary time, November 19, 2019. 2 Maccabees 6, 18-31; Luke 19, 1-10. Voice: Sr Ernestina fma (reading) and Sr Ana Maria SPC (meditation)
Our meditation today has the theme: God Comes to Our Hearts and Houses. Many people acknowledge that phone calls to personal cell phones that only appear in numbers but have no photo identity and name, are simply ignored. A common reason given is that the caller is a stranger. There are various prejudices that are imposed on strangers, for example callers who have no identity, guests who suddenly arrive without prior notice, and people who get lost and come to us.
Let us imagine for a moment, if the stranger happens to be the Lord Jesus. Our reaction might be the same as we do with other strangers. But because the Lord Jesus wants to bring good news to us, He certainly gives His special signs, so that we can know Him. As happened with Zacchaeus, the Lord was the first to give the signal. The sign began with news of him entering the city and walking through the city. Furthermore, through all His movements, greetings and words, people became interested and began to come to Him.
He told Zacchaeus in the city of Jericho that He would come to the house of that rich tax collector and great sinner. Once he came there, both the person of the sinner and his home were sanctified. There was salvation happening in the life of Zacchaeus. Mary was visited by the Holy Spirit and made her Mother of God. We are also visited by divine grace through our birth on earth, towards a new birth in faith when we were baptized in the house of God, the Church. It is the family, culture and society all together offer a human child to God.
Through that baptism, we ourselves become the legitimate house of God. Our families from every house that each of us belong to, come together to make the house of God. Every person and families are then bound to the Church which is a communion of one body with Jesus Christ as the head. Every time we gather and worship God in the Church, it is a moment of communion of a whole, one, and universal house of God. After that worshiping moment, we return to our respective houses with all daily routines always in that sense of the community of believers.
If we fall into sins for a variety of reasons, both grave and venial, many or few, the communion of the Church becomes disrupted and even injured. Jesus must have pity on us and put His power to improve this by visiting both ourselves and our families. The important thing is we are open and accept Him coming into ourselves and our families.
Let’s pray. In the name of the Father … Lord Jesus, come and stay in me, and fill me with your peace, your presence and all goodness. Glory to the Father … In the name of the Father …