June 12, 2016 — Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Sm 12: 7-10, 13; Ps 32: 1-2, 5, 7, 11; Gal 2: 16, 19-21; Lk 7: 36–8:3
At the close of today’s Gospel reading from Luke are a telling statement. After describing Jesus’ journey with His Apostles and others, including some women, one of whom was Mary Magdalene, the women are portrayed as “many…who provided for them out of their resources.” This is an indication that Jesus and His Apostles were reliant upon others for support and sustenance.
This is Jesus, Who could have easily provided for Himself in many ways because of His Divinity. However, He chose to need others to survive and to accomplish what He needed to accomplish. Sometimes we may feel independent, and we may even suffer from the desire to not be dependent upon anyone. Nevertheless, we are.
We need other people; we need their prayers; we need their love. The Lord understood this, and He tries to make it clear to us that we are no different. First of all, we are dependent upon the Lord. We need His love, His support, and His strength. We also need others. That is in part what stewardship is all about. We share our gifts, and when they are combined with the gifts of others, our community, our church, our parish is so much more effective. We need one another; however, we must also remember that they need us as well.
