1st Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-8)
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 1:1-2.3.4 and 6 (R. Psalm 40:4ab)*
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12. 16-20
Gospel Acclamation: Luke 6:23ab
Gospel Reading: Luke 6: l 7.20-26
Edward Okhumoya
Today's readings remind us to put our trust in God, not in human strength. Jeremiah warns that those who rely only on people will struggle, but those who trust in the Lord will flourish like a tree by the river. The Psalm echoes this, assuring that the righteous prosper while the wicked fade away. St. Paul in Corinthians emphasizes the resurrection of Christ as the foundation of our faith—without it, our hope is meaningless. In the Gospel, Jesus proclaims blessings on the poor, hungry, and sorrowful, promising them God’s kingdom, while warning the rich and self-satisfied of their fleeting rewards.
Message: Stay rooted in faith, trust in God’s plan, and live with eternal hope in Christ.
Angela Ocheme
The first reading from the book of Jeremiah 17:5-8 says any man who trust in a fellow man is a cursed man himself, because we are not meant to trust in man but in God, who is the creator of man.
Because when we trust in God we are like a tree that is planted by the river side, and does not fear when the heat comes, it always remains strong, green and fresh even in harsh season. That's how God wants us to be to trust on Him...
Also the Psalms 1:1-6 says, he is like a tree that is planted besides the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fades.
Trust is all God wants us to do for as His creatures, to trust in Him at all times and season*
That creature or man will always prosper and flourish.
TRUST IS WHAT GOD WANTS FROM IS HIS CREATURES.
Paddy Kevwe
Reflection
TRUST or RUST
One hallmark for any firm relationship and friendship is TRUST. Any Trust that is not built on Truth will turn Rust at the end. And in many relationships and friendships nowadays are based on False assumptions and misconceptions. I do say, the reason why there are break ups in most relationship and friendship is the lack of sincerity. Once the T-Truth of Trust is revealed, most Trusts loose their T and such relationship or friendship is left to Rust. So where is your relationship or friendship now? Is it still on Trust or Rust?
A boss who had plans to sack his worker but for his personality did not want to do so because this worker of his has been so good and hardworking but for a minor issue that came up, the boss wants to fire him and take him out of the way. But then, he is not so confident of what to do, so he asked his fellow brother in the line of operation who is a very close paddy on what to do, if his action is OK or not. Instead of being emphatic, the brother friend told to go ahead, by giving the boss reasons why he should do that, because without that, he would be seen as weak (because ordinarily the boss suffers from inferiority complex due to his size), and that was how he sacked this promising guy. But the good news is that, when one door closes, many others open. Opportunities were offered to this guy, that he now had to choose which is best for him. My advice to him was to seek the face of God and discern what is right. The relationship and friendship between that boss and his worker turned from trust to rust and the boss feels so bad for what has happened. As the psalmist says Not so are the wicked, not so! For they, like winnowed chaff, shall be driven away by the wind... Lord, have mercy.
The trust we place in men turn rust because it is cursed to put trust in men. No doubt that God helps men through men. He uses men to help other men. In fact, for God to save man, He sent his only Son to come to us as a man to die for you and I. But the error comes when we place our trust in men forgetting or neglecting God who has brought them to us. Indeed, men will fail you to your greatest imaginations.
On a personal experience, I have heard some who promised to pay for my waec, look for job for me but till today never heard from them. Imagine I placed my trust in them, where would I have been today? God is the greatest. My dear brothers and sisters, put no trust in man but in God. Jesus who is the Truth would always remain true to you any day, anytime.
As such, our liturgy today ushers us to the reflection of what it means to put our trust in God so that it would not turn to rust.
The first reading vividly makes this point of a trust very clear, that we should never put our trust in man and make our flesh an arm to handle things. God always shows up whenever we call on him, and if we feel his answered is delayed because you trust in him, you should be patient enough to wait upon him and at the end it will be to the glory of his name. For the plans God has for us are for good and not evil and those who wait upon the Lord, He shall renew their strength. So do not take your waiting to be a waste. Just keep on pushing and doing that which will advance your course to your desired destination, and the Lord will bless you in it.
If God ever failed one who trusted in him and at the end it was not for God's glory then our believing is in vain. That is what St. Paul draws our attention to today in the second reading. That, our Faith will be futile that is, in vain if we just hope that all we have and will have only ends here on this earth.
Yes, Paul is right, because many of us think and believe that all that we pray and ask for ends here. In fact, you will hardly find a Christian praying that God should grant him or her the grace to make it to eternal life with Him but rather you would hear prayer points like destroy my enemy, give me job, Visa to Jakpa from the country, give me a life partner for marriage, promotion, long life and prosperity and many others. And many a time because of our human cravings never ends, we even tend to forget this God of ours who has done or made all these things possible for us. We see that our job we prayed for takes our time from being committed as we were before in the work of God. We feel that we have better responsibility which may be above God's work. While all these are good, if we think that they are END in themselves and not a MEANS to an END with God, then we have missed it all together.
Your Job, work, Career, Vocation, wealth, fame, position, promotion, marriage, and any state you are in life, even if you are sick, if you cannot glorify God through them, and they are not means to end with God then you have missed it. You have missed it because you have placed your trust in them and they will all turn to rust. Remember Jesus say, store up treasures in heaven where there is no worm, thief or rust.
It is to this end that Jesus admonishes us to be mindful of what we are and become in life. So that we do not place too much trust in them and at the end we loose the truth in such trust to become rust before God. The beatitudes are wonderful virtue to have and practice no matter how odd they may sound or look like.
Imagine it is blessed to be poor because theirs is the kingdom of heaven and Jesus says Woe to the rich for they always have their reward and consolation here on earth because men praise them for it.
Among other things, the wealth issue is really a serious one. Because we tend to belittle the one who is not wealthy as us or the person is poor. We then make ourselves a demigod because of what we have acquired. And sometimes, we become jealous and envious of the one who is more wealthier and richer than us. What a world!
When some of us see the poor or someone below us in our acquisition of wealth, we look down on them most times and even to the extent that we ask, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GIVE ME ANYTHING or that DO YOU THINK I NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU? and so on and so forth. My dear brothers and sisters, all these that we brag about with will only diminish us before God if we are in this thinking sense and pattern of life. Let your wealth or position, fame not make Jesus say WOE TO YOU, because you who is smiling and laughing now would cry at last, so who loose? The TRUST you place in them would now make you look RUST as the end because them too are rust in their own nature.
Following Jesus is not an easy one. People must talk bad about you, but Jesus says Blessed are you if men hate you, exclude you, revile you, call you names for Christ's sake. For your reward is great in heaven. If we practice these beatitudes for the sake of Christ, it means we firmly trust in him and that even though we do not get much of the rewards here on earth, be hopeful that your reward is great in heaven. Because your TRUST in God would not turn RUST in heaven at last.
Believe and have Faith in God that everything you desire and according to God's Will will surely come to pass. Those who laughed at you will see the glory and manifestation of God in your life and will rejoice with you. Be hopeful because your Faith is not in vain or futile.
As we continue in the celebration of the Jubilee year of Hope, let our Hope be anchored on the faith we have in God and we would never be disappointed at the end. Let us do what will make Christ say we are BLESSED rather than what will bring WOE to us. May the good Lord help us. And may our TRUST never turn RUST through Christ our Lord. Amen
Lord Jesus, as we put our TRUST in you, may what we have and are never take away your truth in our trust in you, so we do not become RUST at the end especially in all ramifications of our lives through Christ our Lord. Amen
Shalom
Nneoma Udeh
My reflection will be from this reading.
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord".
Sometimes, the challenges we face as humans will compel us to seek solution from those around us. But the Bible in Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
As humans, we tend to always look for immediate and fast solutions to most of the challenges we face forgetting that there is a God up there who is waiting for us to seek him out.
You might say "But I believe and trust in God". However, deep down there is a flick of doubt!
Why will you say you trust God but still doubt?
You may pray to God once or twice concerning an issue, then you quickly turn to Man for a solution and you will probably disturb such a person with calls and text messages for as long as it takes especially when it concerns MONEY "Bros abeg no forget me oooo, I still dey wait" ☺️
Why not disturb God! He is never tired!!!!
I leave you with this quote, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God".
Oboisoye Chigbue
My reflection
What does it mean to place my trust in the Lord?
The second reading says that if it is for this life alone that I have hoped in the Lord then I am to be pitied. Is my Faith a shallow faith? Then shame on me because I would have wasted my time. Is my faith tied to only miracles and wonder? Is my trust in God conditional.
If I can correctly relate it with the gospel I wouldn't say that if i have craved only comfort on earth and thus attached my trust to the consolation that has been given me, without recourse for the suffering that accompanies it then woe is me. My Faith should be tied to Christ in times of consolation and desolation, in the hope of everlasting Joy and happiness with Him in Heaven
Emmanuel John Uko
Jesus stood at a level place
It is significant to note that Jesus chose different contexts and platforms at different times when he wanted to address the crowd. For today, he chose to stand at a level place to communicate himself, the Living Word of God.
Using a level place becomes significant because he opted not to demonstrate his superiority as God but to stand at our level so that we can understand him, the Living Word.
This goes in line with the reality of incarnation where he took flesh and dwelt among us. He came to our level through a natural birth. Throughout the scripture, Jesus consistently practices the principle of leading people from what they know to what they do not know, using the familiar to teach us the divine. Didn't he once use our understanding of a house or mansion to teach us what heaven looks like? He uses a level place to teach us so we can understand him, the Living Word.
Genuine mentorship comes with humility. He stoops to our level to teach us the things of God. And this is what he calls us to emulate today. To truly guide those who are placed as our responsibility, it is important to place ourselves in their shoes and stand at a level place with them to lead them towards what they need to know, and towards the Divine Person they need to encounter daily.
For the spirit of humble guidance, we pray.
