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| On this page you can read Brother Luke's Daily Reflections. A new one will be added every day and at the end of each month they will be moved to their own page. If you'd like to be added to Br Luke's Daily Reflection e-mail list please click here to send him a request. Please respect Br Luke's work, and ask for permission before copying these mediations. August 2010 Revised Common Lectionary : Liturgical Year "C" Monday 30th Scripture: Luke 4:16-30 Reflection: Are there times when the way your live your life has caused a furore? Have there been times when amazement became anger and then led to violence? When people are challenged in the place they feel most "religious" (perhaps smug or complacent in their worship space is a better phrase), then we can expect a rapid and unpleasant reaction. Yet this is no reason to stop living your life, or giving voice to your faith.
Sunday 29th Scripture: Luke 14:1-14 Reflection: Humility can be very hard to practice. We are conditioned to believe that we must strive to be first, to be famous, to be prominent and that anything less is failure. But this thinking is of the world, of the flesh, and is ultimately shallow and void of any lasting meaning. When we are humble, when we shun the spotlight, when we quietly work for others, we can accomplish far more than we can ever imagine.
Saturday 28th Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 Reflection: Each and every one of us, has gifts that we have been graced with. Some of us, use our gifts, enriching the lives of those around us, and ushering in the Kingdom. Others of us, abandon, bury and waste our gifts. There may be a variety of reasons why we choose to abandon our gifts: self-doubt, fear, resources, family pressure, etc. Perhaps consider, that when we fail to use our gifts, we are like the servant who buried his masters talents in the ground. Our gifts are for us to use, not to bury. So rejoice, use your gifts, enrich your life and the lives of those around you.
Friday 27th Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13 Reflection: We can clearly see the difference between the wise and the foolish bridesmaids. We can see why the lamps went out. We can empathise with the foolish bridesmaids in their dilemma. We can perhaps feel some angst with the wise bridesmaids, for what we may perceive as their uncharitable act. Remember, though, that both sets of bridesmaids made a decision. They chose their oil supply. Would you knowingly choose to be “foolish?
Thursday 26th Scripture: Matthew 24:42-51 Reflection: It seems to me that today there are a lot of "wicked" slaves who say, “My master is delayed”, and who then pursue their own desires and agendas. Yet we are told that the Son of Man will come at "an unexpected hour", so we do not know. Perhaps if the energy, time and money spent by the "wicked" slaves, was devoted to eradicating things like poverty, famine, and war, or simple things like giving all people access to clean drinking water, we would be "faithful and wise" slaves.
Wednesday 25th Scripture: Matthew 23:27-32 Reflection: We may think that hypocrisy is obvious, but it can be very subtle. It can masquerade in a variety of forms and in ways we least expect it to. When it is our leaders, both secular and spiritual, who have been hypocrites, we are left feeling cheated and angry. Yet we know that their actions are not hidden from God, so we raise our hurt and anger in prayer, knowing that our anguished cry will be heard.
Tuesday 24th Scripture: Matthew 23:23-26 Reflection: It is easy to appear to be caring, compassionate, and to display all the other traits expected of people who profess to be Christians. But God sees through the façade, God sees the truth of what lies within the heart and soul. One may fool the world, but one cannot fool the creator.
Monday 23rd Scripture: Matthew 23:13-22 Reflection: In the secular world, attention is given to the monetary value of an item, a service, the environment and/or people. These can only be seen as valuable, and hence worthy of obtaining, keeping or protecting, if there is a measurable material worth, or a profit to be gained. When we engage in this activity then we have fallen into the error of the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was talking to. We have negated the sanctity of the sacred by valuing the profane.
Sunday 22nd Scripture: Luke 13:22-30 Saturday 21st Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12 Friday 20th Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40 Reflection: When our minds work like the lawyers we try to fit God into our way of thinking. We vainly try to get God to accept our methods of classifying, justifying and rationalising our thoughts or actions - but this process is not one of loving God with our whole heart, soul and mind. Likewise, if, as Christ's asks us to, we are to love our neighbours as ourselves, we will find that we cannot force anyone to accept our methods or processes. Just as love accepts us as we are, so it will require us to accept them as they are. This is a hard lesson, and one that we often take a long time to learn.
Thursday 19th Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14 Reflection: It is not enough to simply respond to an invitation. Having accepted, one must take some action, be prepared to show our willingness to do what is expected of us, or to use the image from the parable, to dress in the “wedding clothes” needed for the celebration. Why? Perhaps, because without some action of acknowledgement, our faith journey would be half hearted, self centred and we would struggle to be of service to anyone.
Wednesday 18th Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16 Reflection: Perhaps there have been times in our lives when we may have felt like the early labourers in this parable. When maybe we believed that we have been dealt with unjustly, and/or that someone else got what we deserved. Can you recall an incident? What was it that caused those feelings? Envy, pride, or some other reason? How did you deal with the situation? Would you do the same again? Did you talk to God about it?
Tuesday 17th Scripture: Matthew 19:23-30 Reflection: In today's world, those who come last are at best ignored, at worst jeered and derided. The focus is on first place. Indeed how many people remember those who came second or third, not to mention last? Yet here Jesus tells us that "many who are first will be last and the last will be first". As he does time and time again, Jesus turns conventional practice on its head. Perhaps we should remind ourselves that God does not place the same importance on "who came first" that we do!
Monday 16th Scripture: Matthew 19:16-22 Reflection: The wealthy young man was unable to surrender his possessions. Could it be that he was more attached to them, than to the truth he was seeking? In a consumer driven world, (which seems to be increasingly bereft of a soul), we seem to have put material possessions, and the relentless, desperate desire to acquire them, before all else, including people. When our possessions are more important than anything else, then we lose more than we acquire. Perhaps it is only when we look beyond possessions, that we can truly see and understand the richness of life.
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