30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 31,
2018
Eph
6: 1-9Don Bosco Cristo Rey, Takoma Park, Md.
When we
hear St. Paul’s admonitions to members of the household, as did yesterday and
this morning, we may wonder what they have to do with us.
(Pixabay) |
We’re
not children, so what’s this about obedience?
But Paul also quotes the commandment, which says “honor” your
parents. If you’re fortunate enuf to
have one or both of your parents still, Paul strongly invites you to consider
how you, as an adult, are bound still to honor, respect, and care for
them. If our parents are deceased, as
most of ours are, we show our devotion to them thru prayer.
Paul
might have had adolescents in mind when he urged fathers not to provoke their
offspring to anger. As teachers, we may
take his words to remind us to be patient and flexible with our teens as we try
to carry out the rest of his words about training and instructing them in the
ways of the Lord.
Finally,
Paul addresses slaves. Unfortunately,
slaves were a significant population in the Roman Empire, as in most ancient
civilizations. If you’ve seen Spartacus, you know that. And they were a significant part of the early
Christian community too.
How
does that affect us? We might focus on
the word service. If we don’t have human masters, we are all
still called by Christ to serve one another “in sincerity of heart” (Eph
6:5). Moreover, all of us are also under
some human authority—religious superior, school administration, civil
government, diocesan officials—to whom various forms of obedience, collaboration,
respect, etc., are due.
May the
Holy Spirit of Jesus guide us with his wisdom in our relations with our
parents, our students, those placed over us, and all the sisters and brothers
whom we strive to serve in love.
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