We are all on a pilgrim journey back to heaven, and this long and arduous journey is not a sprint but a marathon. We must train our body, mind, and spirits so that we are always aligned with Christ, our Lord and Savior.
We must hold fast to the gospels and renounce sin on a daily basis so that our hearts can remain pure, our eyes open wide, to lead others onto the narrow path—the right path. That is the way, the truth, and the life.
We shall lead them by integrity and steadfastness in faith so that no one will be scandalized or put off because we are truly living a Christ-centered life.
Let us be the light that leads others onto the path to the Lord, our God. Amen.
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First reading
1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-27
We go into strict training, like fighters at the games
I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.
So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.
All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air. I treat my body hard and make it obey me, for, having been an announcer myself, I should not want to be disqualified.
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Gospel
Luke 6:39-42
Can the blind lead the blind?
Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’
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