Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
“In you, Lord, I have found my peace.”
All of today’s readings focus on ministers of the Gospel, the examples they give, and God’s response to those that speak on His behalf. We hear of God’s intense interest in his ministers because of their role in caring for God’s people. If God’s ministers are not agents of purification for the people, because of their own sins and weaknesses, God will purify them and the office they hold for the good of God’s flock.
What is the great sin of these ministers? “If you do not give glory to my name” and “have caused others to falter because of your teaching.” In the New Testament, Jesus gives the leaders the same challenge, but this time He challenges the showy religious ways that seek to give glory to the self and not to God.
This challenge to the minister is also a point of reflection for all Christians: where am I tempted to give glory to myself and not to God? Or, where can my religious practices, life, or acts of service, lead others to give me more glory than the Lord?
This week, let us pray that the Lord purify all of us of the desire for praise of self and direct all that we say, think, and do to the greater glory of God!