REFLECTIONS TODAY

First Reading • Sir 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested.

Responsorial Psalm • Ps 92 

“Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”

Second Reading • 1 Cor 15:54-58 

Brothers and sisters: When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Gospel • Luke 6:39-45 

Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. 

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! 

Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye. 

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

Let Jesus teach you! 
 

“Tulak ng bibig, kabig ng dibdib,” goes a Tagalog saying. This basically means that what is in the heart naturally overflows in words. And as we are human beings, our hearts can be taught. That is why we follow and imitate the person we believe in. And whatever our belief is, such is also the content of our words and actions. 

That is why it is important for a disciple to have an exemplar teacher. And if the disciples want to know the way to God, from whom should they learn? None other than Jesus! 
It is futile for a student, who is still learning, to be taught by his fellow students who also need to be taught. This is also the case when it comes to judging a person. You cannot judge your fellow sinner if you are both guilty of the same sin. If there is anyone who can judge, it is none other than the one who has not sinned—Jesus. 

Jesus is the only teacher whom everyone should approach because it is only through him that we can find salvation and the way back to the Father. 

Jesus is the only Teacher we should listen to and believe in. He is also the guide we should all follow. Why? Because he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). Jesus is the Teacher whose knowledge comes from the Father. 

We desire to be successful in life, to learn as many things to be someone in the world. Jesus teaches us the secret of a truly meaningful life. Let us strive to learn from him.

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.