Tuesday – 28th Week – Ordinary Time [II]
Gal 5:1-16  +  Lk 11:37-41
October 11, 2016

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

At weekday Masses, we tend to hear a continuous reading from day to day of whichever book of the Bible is being read for the First Reading, as well as for the Gospel passage.  There are jumps from time to time, but generally there is a continuity from day to day.

However, what happens at the beginning of today’s First Reading is unusual.  The first verse of today’s reading was the last verse of yesterday’s First Reading.  This repetition underscores the significance of this verse’s message.  “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

Freedom, we might say, is the whole point of faith in Jesus Christ.  Without Christ, we are slaves:  to sin, and to our fallen selves.  In Christ, we are free to live eternally.  In Christ, we find the Love who is God Himself, and the love that strengthens us for service of God and neighbor.