First
Reading: First Kings 19:16-21
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. If
anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword
of Jehu, Elisha will kill him. Yet I will leave seven thousand men in
Israel--all those who have not knelt to Baal or kissed him." Elijah set
out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke
of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his
cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please,
let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you."
"Go back!" Elijah answered. "Have I done anything to you?"
Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the
plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to
eat. Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Second
Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-18
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit
again to the yoke of slavery.n For you were called for freedom, brothers. But
do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one
another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you go on biting
and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. I
say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the
flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Gospel: Luke
9:51-62
When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he
resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of
him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception
there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey
was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
"Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?"
Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes
have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to
rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he
replied, "(Lord,) let me go first and bury my father. But he answered him,
"Let the dead bury their dead. But
you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will
follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." (To
him) Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was
left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
Reflection
By Fidji
Rivera-Sarmiento
For this last Sunday, lets lighten up a little bit. The whole
month of June with St. Luke the evangelist has been really serious :)
Growing up and reading and hearing this Gospel made me cringe a
lot. I mean, how can the Lord Jesus be so harsh? The guy just wanted to bid
goodbye to his family, and the other one merely wanted to bury the dead (which
is actually part of the seven Corporal Works of Mercy, by the way; so I was
confused). Then maturity dawned, and I realized Jesus was talking about all the
distractions that derail us along the road to heaven. Let me itemize mine;
these are the trivial ones:
a. The laundry. Let me tell you. With or without helpers, I do
our laundry. I want our clothes real clean and smelling good. (Who doesn’t?) I
hate the smell of “lumlom” and that puts me in such a bad mood. I use two
different brands of fabric conditioner, one for rainy days, the other for sunny
weather. And since I have three kiddies, the youngest on toilet training, you
can assume that yes, I have a Mt. Apo over the weekends. So I try my best to
divide them into three days over the week, but still there will be laundry on a
Sunday. That sometimes becomes my excuse to stay at home the whooooole day and
not go to Mass. Yes I feel sorry as I type this, and sure I have done this not
once, not twice, but quite a few times. I’d convince myself that the Lord will
understand since doing the laundry is for my family anyway. But truth is, I am
guilty of just being lazy and being such a control freak, when I know I can
delegate the job. Or maybe I could’ve managed my time more appropriately. See,
instead of blocking off my Sundays for the Holy Mass and other family
gatherings, I’d rather do the laundry. What a distraction. What a stumbling
block.
b. Senseless anxiety. I tend to worry a lot. I predict endings a
lot. I can brag that I am 80-90% correct anyway because I think this is a gift.
Plus my degree in psychology has taught me ways to predict a person’s next
behavior especially if it follows a pattern. But to my detriment, I am quick to
jump to conclusions. I prevent situations from unfolding naturally. This has
halted me many times to trust God fully. I turn into a brat, whining and
complaining to God why such and such had to happen, or why does it have to be
me. I have read that worrying is like sitting on a rocking chair, or cycling on
a stationary bike. It wears you down, but it takes you nowhere. And yes, that
is the exact feeling I get when I am anxious – a long walk in empty road taking
me nowhere. Another distraction instead of looking up to my big God who’s got a
big hand with complete trust.
c. My digital gadgets and social media. I don’t have a lot like
some would have. We have already given up the iPad as part of our kids’ digital
diet. So I am left with the iPhone, the laptop, and alright, the TV qualifies.
I am active in the social media too. There’s Facebook of course, then there’s
Instagram, then Twitter. I also blog my nanay adventures and then chat with
friends online. I also shop online. And yes let me tell you how it eats up your
“free time.” You’ll think it’s free time till your child screams at your face
or pulls your arm towards dislocation. It’s not free time when your prayer hour
has been consumed as well. It is never free time because simply you’re a mom,
and free time is not included in the package. I am sure you’ve felt drained
after an hour of mindless surfing. You may have seen a dress and now you want
it. You’ve read a status and you know who it is about. You may have also been
building a following over your Instagram and then you become upset because no
one likes a photo. These and a lot more are merely disruptions to what your day
should have been. Productivity is slowed down, the essentials forgotten.
Excessive digital distraction is not only physically unhealthy, but a way to
escape.
I have some more really personal ones, but these are the top 3
distractions I have. These are what the Lord was referring to when He said, “No
one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of
God." I am not ashamed to admit these things, because I know Jesus is with
me and I ask Him to curb my senseless preoccupations. So get some quality
check-up. What’s on your list? What has been derailing you towards holiness?
What stops you from being the person the Lord wills you to become?
Prayer
Lord, I have been distracted many times over. Help me to always
focus on the prize. That when the time comes that You will judge my earthly
life, You’d say, “My daughter, you’ve truly followed Me and carried your
cross.” Teach me to persevere more, to be patient in pruning my hedonistic
ways. Always pull me back into the path to holiness each time I stumble, so I
too, may inspire others to keep their focus on You. Thank you. You never fail
to wake me up from worldly daydreaming. Amen.
