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Gospel: Luke 10: 13-16
Jesus said to them,
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.’
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Someone once said to me, “Father, you may be the only bible a person ever reads.”
In many ways, this was true in first century Palestine. Jews were often poor and illiterate, learning about their faith through oral tradition and the teaching of the elders, the religious leaders of their day.
What the rabbi said, went.
This is why Jesus criticizes them so harshly in the Gospels. The religious leaders of his day made religion meticulous and difficult to follow. “Woe to you!” he says.
What the Lord commands of Christians is to teach others about our God by the way we speak, the way we live our lives, and the way we treat others in the process. We may be the only bible a person ever reads.
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, a man who lived his life by the bible he read.
Born into a wealthy Italian family in the 13th century, Francis left everything behind in order to follow Jesus.
Literally.
One sunny afternoon, in the middle of the public square, a teenage Francis stood before his bishop and declared his desire to spend his life in service of the Church. So, the bishop instructed Francis to renounce his father’s fortune and promise obedience to the Church.
On the spot, Francis removed his clothing and placed all of his money on top.
Naked, he professed his faith – and lived it out for the rest of his life.
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On his deathbed, Saint Francis said to his followers, the first Franciscans, “My brothers, I have done what was mine to do. Now you must do what is yours to do.”
While that looks differently for each of us, the call is the same: live out your faith, not only in word, but above all in action.
You may be the only bible a person ever reads.
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Image credits: (1) Beautiful in Jesus (2) Mondo Cattolico (3) More than Useless