Wednesday 25 October 2023

Today is Wednesday 25 October, in the 29th week of Ordinary time.

Leslie Jordan and Ike Ndolo sing, ‘Good To Me’. Can you make these words your own today?

I can taste the sweetness of your mercy
But I feel the sting of grief still in my chest
Not sure I’ve known the one without the other
So I will cling to the belief I know the best
You have been
You will be
You are so
Good to me
I reach out my hand in hopes you’ll hold on
I time and time again find empty space
I will keep them open though they’re shaking
And call to mind the times I’ve felt the grip of grace
You have been
You will be
You are still
Here with me
You have been
You will be
You are still
Here with me
You have been
You will be
You are still
Here with me
You have been
You will be
You are so
Good to me

Today’s reading is from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Romans 6:12-18

Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

St Paul invites those who hear his words in Rome to recognise that they sometimes act as “instruments of wickedness”. How far can you recognise that possibility, real or potential, in your own life?

Paul invites the Romans instead to act as “instruments of righteousness”. Recall a few times when you yourself have acted in this way.

In the second part of the passage Paul strengthens the images. We are no longer simply “instruments” of sin or of righteousness; but rather “slaves” of them. What’s your reaction to this change of tone?

Notice, as the passage is read again, how Paul sees the outcome of this battle between sin and righteousness.

As the prayer comes to an end, speak to God in your own words about your reaction to the invitation to become a “slave of righteousness”.

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.