Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Here we are again, back to a place of fear and trembling. Second Thessalonians encourages the followers of Thessalonica not to “be shaken out of their minds” by deception or false messages that Jesus’ return was close. Christians are not to live full of fear and despair. We live in hope because we are “saved by hope.” St. Paul encourages the Thessalonians to “stand firm.” He preached the Gospel to them to have the “glory of Jesus Christ” who “has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement.”

There will be times, always for sure, when events in the World shake us. There will always be a bad event happening somewhere in the World, or a travesty that happens close to home. These events can weigh us down and bother us. That’s true. We stay committed in “good hope.” We know “that the Lord will come to judge the Earth.” He judges rightly in mercy and justice, and we need not fall to despair.

Jesus again chastises the Pharisees and scribes in today’s Gospel. He criticizes them for paying tithes on spices and goods and neglecting “the weightier things of the law, judgment and mercy and fidelity.” They only cared about and focused on the exterior elements, the non-essentials, of religion without acknowledging the important parts of faith. They cleaned the outside of the dish without cleaning the inside. How easy it is for us to fall into this trap! When we are afraid or angered in life, we can focus only on exterior practice and not on the fundamental aspects of faith. We are called to believe that Jesus will come regardless of what happens. We confront the brutal facts of life, and in any situation, we keep to the fundamental belief that Jesus can and will succeed. We are saved in Him, who gives us everlasting encouragement. Amen.

Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB