Monday of the Third Week of Advent
Year A
Reading 1: Numbers 24: 2-7, 15-17
Responsorial Psalm: PS 25: 4-9
“Teach me your ways, O Lord”
Gospel: Matthew 21: 23-27
Matthew 21: 23 – “By what authority are you doing these things?”
Those who ask Jesus questions want to trap him, or impress him, or get something from him. And to every pointed question, Jesus offers an equally pointed answer, which reveals truth about the Kingdom of God.
The authorities at the time of Jesus considered themselves the masters of all and thought that nobody could do anything without their permission. This is why they persecuted Jesus and frequently tried to kill him.
Today, also, some who exercise power, whether in society or in the Church or the family, want to control everything as if they were the masters of all the aspects of the life of the people.
We must take heed of the learnings offered by Matthew’s Gospel today. After 2000 years, we are still making the same mistakes – still falling into the same traps. We don’t have to control everything. Yes – there will be practical things in our lives that demand us taking control, but we must also allow the people we interact with to sometimes find their own way – make their own mistakes and learn from them.
We don’t have to be “control freaks”. Let’s let God work in our lives and the lives of those we seek to control – it’s the natural way of things.
Pray for justice and peace for the world today.
With thanks to Holy Name of Mary Parish, Hunters Hill, who have supplied these daily Advent and Christmas 2019 reflections from their publication Daily Inspirations of Faith: A Season of Prayer – Advent to Epiphany 2019-20.
