Daily Gospel Reflection

Don’t React. Respond!

Welcome back. I'm Matthew Kelly. Every day, we're looking at the gospel of the day and learning just how radical it was 2,000 years ago, just how radical it still is today, and as a result of that, how relevant it is to our lives. In the gospel, God is constantly looking to turn our lives upside down, which, as it turns out, will be right side up. And often, we are resisting that. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 7, verses 11 through 17. "Soon afterward, Jesus went to a city called Nain and His disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother. And she was a widow, and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.' And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.' And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, 'A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people.' And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country."

What jumps out at you today? Was there a word, a phrase, or an idea? For me, it's the compassion of Jesus. It's like he's humanity. I think we fixate a lot on his divinity, but his humanity is so often on display in these gospel readings. You got a mother, her only son is dead, and Jesus has this overwhelming compassion for her. And I think that compassion is beautiful. And also, he got the reaction of the people. Fear sees them all. But then they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen among us." And so very often we see this with people, and we see it with ourselves. We react and then we respond. Okay. So Jesus comes into town. They're at the funeral. The young man is dead. Jesus raises him from the dead. And the people's reaction, which is reflex, right? They react. They're seized with fear. But then they respond. And their response is to give glory to God, saying a great prophet has risen among us. To go through your day-to-day, encourage you to pay attention. When are you reacting, and when are you responding? Sometimes if you feel yourself about to react, it does make sense to take a hold of ourselves, take a beat, take a moment, don't react, take a moment, and then respond. Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.