The Time When Jesus Dropped the Mic!

Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters:
Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something,
he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.

So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols:
we know that there is no idol in the world,
and that there is no God but one.
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth
(there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”),
yet for us there is one God, the Father,
from whom all things are and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are and through whom we exist.

But not all have this knowledge.
There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now
that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols,
their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.

Thus, through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction,
the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers
and wound their consciences, weak as they are,
you are sinning against Christ.
Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I may not cause my brother to sin.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 23-24

R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Probe me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my thoughts;
See if my way is crooked,
and lead me in the way of old.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

 

 

Alleluia 1 John 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another,
God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount. 
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The Time When Jesus Dropped the Mic!

September 11, 2026 // Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27 

Reflect on the Word // 

I hate running . . . I hate running . . . I hate running . . .

That’s what ran through my mind one February night of my sophomore year, as I made my way nowhere on the human hamster wheel (aka the treadmill). At the beginning of a new semester, I’d determined to start exercising more regularly, and I was hating every minute.

Then, I heard what I knew was our Lord, saying, Then why are you running away from My will?

I managed to hit the “off” button before tripping, unceremoniously, off the machine and beelining for the exit.

Until that moment I, unlike Saint Paul, had been running aimlessly, seeking my own will, what I thought would make me happy (see 1 Corinthians 9:26). I was not running the race to win the imperishable crown. I was running to win a crown of my own making, based on my own will, what I believed would make me truly happy (see 1 Corinthians 9:24).

From the time He formed me in my mother’s womb and the baptismal waters poured over me as He claimed me as His beloved daughter, He had a plan for me, how He’d created me to love.

But, from the time my will became my own, I had plans; I thought I knew my purpose and destiny, and that’s where I ran, time and again.

To this day I call it my “Jesus mic drop moment.” Why are you running away from My will for you? Those words pierced me to the depths and changed the course of my life. I slowly walked back to my dorm room that night and made a phone call that ultimately ended in my yes to give my all “for the sake of the Gospel, so that I too may have a share in it” (1 Corinthians 9:23).

We all do it in some way: We run from Him, deciding our plans are better until we run into a dead end, turn around, and find Him there ready to point us back to His path and guide us to that imperishable crown that awaits us in the glory of Heaven.

Relate to the Lord // Are you running from God’s will in some way? Take a step towards Him in obedience today.

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Before You Go…

Here are a few more posts you might love:

The Power of Our Thoughts
He is the God of Only Good
Quiet Moments: Where God Meets Us
Where I Am Withered
Mean Inner Critics Vs. Mother Teresa
The Motives of Our Hearts
The Wisdom of God