Daily Catholic Lectio. Sat, 19 October ’24. The Holy Spirit will teach!

Daily Catholic Lectio

Sat, 19 October ‘24

XXVIII Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

Ephesians 1:15-23. Luke 12:8-12

The Holy Spirit will teach!

“Obtaining the faith vision that nothing is impossible for God”

Jesus, after warning his disciples about the yeast of hypocrisy that might permeate the community, exhorts them ‘to fear God,’ and ‘not to fear men.’ In today’s gospel reading, he puts forward the advantages of believing in the Son of Man, and the disadvantages of not believing in him.

It is commonly agreed that Luke composed his gospel around 85 BCE. After about fifty years of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Luke wrote the gospel. The community of disciples suffered a lot after the death of Jesus, in the hands of the Jews and the Romans. They were either expelled from the synagogue or judged by the synagogue. Jesus foretold that these sufferings would fall on the disciples. Or Luke, on account of his witness in front of his eyes, puts these words in the mouth of Jesus. In this passage, Jesus also gives a teaching on the Holy Spirit.

The gospel of Luke is called the gospel of the Holy Spirit. Mary is conceived by the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35); Elizabeth, being filled with the Holy Spirit, greets Mary (cf. Lk 1:40). Simeon was accompanied by the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 2:25). John the Baptist foretells that Jesus would baptise with the fire of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 3:16). The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus when he was baptised (cf. Lk 3:22). Later, Jesus is led by the Spirit to the wilderness (cf. Lk 4:1). In his Nazareth manifesto, Jesus proclaims, ‘The spirit of the Lord is upon me (cf. Lk 4:18). Later, in the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the story.

In today’s text, we see the understanding of the Holy Spirit according to Luke. Jesus warns about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as unforgivable. And he further consoles us saying that the Holy Spirit will teach us.

How do we understand the expression ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit’? Often it is interpreted as the hardness of heart, indifference, or negating the mercy of God. Today we shall understand it in a different way. When the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary, he said, ‘You shall conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ Later he says, ‘Nothing is impossible for God.’ The Holy Spirit not only teaches that nothing is impossible for God but also makes sure that everything is accomplished in our lives by God.

When we say that it is impossible for God to act, we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit who accomplishes everything in us accompanies us.

Three lessons for us:

(a) How do we accept and witness Jesus? Is our acceptance of Jesus a mere nominal acceptance during our baptism or confirmation? How do we transfer this belief to a witnessing life?

(b) Let us be assured that the Holy Spirit, the power of God, will make everything possible for us.

(c) ‘Do not be anxious or worried.’ Since we are worth more than the sparrows, we need not be preoccupied with what we need to talk about. We need not be worried about our decision-making. Let us invoke the presence of the Holy Spirit at every moment of our lives.

In the first reading, Paul writes that Christ is the head of the Church. This word-picture brings Christ closer to the Church.

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The ‘pilgrims of hope’ walk with faith vision.  (Jubilee 2025 AD, bite 229)

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy