Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: September 11, 2024

Date: Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture Text:  Luke 6:20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for the Kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping,

for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,

and when they exclude and insult you,

and denounce your name as evil

on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!

Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.

For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

But woe to you who are filled now,

for you will be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

for you will grieve and weep.

Woe to you when all speak well of you,

for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The gospel for today is Luke’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain which includes both a list of “beatitudes” as well as a list of “woes.”

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Am I willing to suffer now for good and for life in the LORD in abundance in the future?

Praying:

LORD, You are the source of our being, Father, Son, and Spirit. You call us to live our love for You and for one another every day, every moment, even when it means suffering in this time. You promise us life with You in abundance for all time. Be with us, LORD, strengthen our resolve and our willingness to become wholly and truly the ones You created us to be and the disciples You call us to be as we journey home to life in You. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.