Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
October 30, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103023.cfm

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Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with Psalm 68 which pictures a triumphant God, rising like the sun over the darkness of evil.

Arise, O God, and let your enemies be scattered;
let those who hate you flee.
Let them vanish like smoke when the wind drives it away; 
as the wax melts at the fire,
so let the wicked perish at your presence.

Psalm 68:1-3

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This psalm comforts us with a tender picture of God:

Protector of orphans, defender of widows,
the One who dwells in holiness,
who gives the solitary a home
and brings forth prisoners into freedom;
but the rebels shall live in dry places.

Psalm 68: 5-6

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It is the same tenderness Paul presents in our first reading:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a spirit of adoption,
through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:8-9

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And there we have the key line: 
we are to live a life aligned with 
the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ.

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And what will that kind of life look like? It will look like our merciful Jesus of today’s Gospel – who stepped out to see, comfort, and heal the suffering around him.

Jesus recognized the crippled woman as “an heir of God, and joint heir with him” to the fullness of life in God. We are called to recognize ourselves and all of our sisters and brothers in the same way.

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Poetry: WOMAN UN-BENT (LUKE 13:10–17) – by Irene Zimmerman, OSF

That Sabbath day as always 
she went to the synagogue 
and took the place assigned her 
right behind the grill where, 
the elders had concurred, 
she would block no one’s view, 
she could lean her heavy head, 
and (though this was not said) 
she’d give a good example to 
the ones who stood behind her. 
 
That day, intent as always 
on the Word (for eighteen years 
she’d listened thus), she heard 
Authority when Jesus spoke. 
 
Though long stripped 
of forwardness, she came forward, nonetheless, 
when Jesus summoned her. 
“Woman, you are free of your infirmity,” he said. 

The leader of the synagogue 
worked himself into a sweat 
as he tried to bend the Sabbath 
and the woman back in place. 

But she stood up straight and let 
God’s glory touch her face.

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Video: Jesus Heals the Bent-over Woman

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rpkVgHMY2_Y%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

If you’d still like a little music, this one seems to fit: Spirit Touch by Joseph Akins

https://youtube.com/watch?v=EpQhLagHYCw%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent