Sunday Readings for October 4-5, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Jack Treloar, SJ | For On Mission
Embedded in the deep theological insights of Paul’s letters, we sometimes find a gem of Christian wisdom and faith that summarizes his complex reasoning. We have two such instances this week in the second reading from 2 Timothy.
First, Paul tells Timothy that “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” Later, he counsels: “Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us” (2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14). In our challenging cultural context, we must realize our need for courage as we live out the gospel message. That message is so alien to a culture driven by an inordinate desire for wealth and political dominance. Paul points out that those who follow Christ live in the power of love and self-control. This power of love and self-control exalts not only our individual interests and desires but also turns us outward toward those in need.
Power and political dominance are useless if they are merely egotistic traits and have nothing to do with the gospel-filled life. This gospel life will always see Christ in the homeless and the poor and do something to alleviate all pain and suffering.
Followers of Jesus Christ take as their norm and project for their lives the sound words of the Gospel that Paul preached. These words are best summarized in the two great commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”; and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:37-39). The Beatitudes provide us with explicit projects for a life of sound teaching. Paul’s counsel on love from 1 Corinthians 13 reveals the true power of love.
The conclusion of this reading from Paul points out that in our gospel faith, we have been given a rich trust. In the secular world, we have all heard stories of people who have been given huge inheritances and have lost the wonderful gift by squandering the wealth improperly. Paul looks at the gospel message as a comparable trust in the spiritual life. Our faith has been given to us as a free gift from God. Just as the prudent heir of material wealth guards his inheritance, so also the heir of the gift of Christ’s redemption must guard the rich trust bestowed by God. It is necessary to depend on the help of the Holy Spirit to maintain the gift given through Christ’s life, death and Resurrection.
Paul has delivered to us in these few words the nature of the gospel message. It is powerful, full of love, and rich in self-control. It is a way of leading a truly human and spiritual life in the faith and love with and of Jesus Christ. We have been granted this life as a rich inheritance, and the Holy Spirit will help us care for what has been entrusted to us.
The readings for Sunday, October 5, can be found at Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.