20260911 A DISCIPLE NEEDS A MENTOR AND A TEACHER
11 September 2026, Friday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 83(84):3-6,12 |
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;
he will give us his favour and glory.
The Lord will not refuse any good
to those who walk without blame.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps147:12,15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He sends out his word to the earth.
Alleluia!
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.’
A DISCIPLE NEEDS A MENTOR AND A TEACHER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 9:16-19,22-27; LUKE 6:39-42]
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.” Let us be clear right from the outset: there is only one Teacher. As the Lord said to us: “Call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father–the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah” (Mt 23:9-10). God is our Father, and Jesus is our Teacher.
Since we have only one Teacher, as disciples of Christ we are called to imitate Jesus in our thinking and doing. St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). Writing to the Philippians, he was even more specific: “Make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:2, 5). Putting on Christ means sharing His heart and mind.
Without the heart and mind of Christ formed within us, we cannot judge people or events rightly. We must see situations and individuals as God sees them, rather than as the world sees them. This is why we need to be formed in Christ: so that the blindness may be removed from our eyes when we view situations incorrectly. Without the heart of Jesus, we tend to make judgements based on our limited circumstances, our upbringing, and the prejudices we inherit along the way–always remaining self-referential. Consequently, our judgement is often partial, limited, and biased. Hence, the Lord asks us: “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.”
As good disciples, we are called to follow Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is our teacher of faith, love, mercy, and compassion–a model of authenticity and commitment in His love for His Father and for us. We are called to grow into the fullness of Jesus as the true man. As Gaudium et Spes teaches, the Christian is to be “conformed to the likeness of that Son who is the firstborn of many brothers,” receiving “‘the first-fruits of the Spirit’ (Rom 8:23) by which he becomes capable of discharging the new law of love. Through this Spirit, who is ‘the pledge of our inheritance’ (Eph 1:14), the whole man is renewed from within, even to the achievement of ‘the redemption of the body’ (Rom 8:23).” This is why discipleship is an ongoing process: we can never surpass our Teacher.
But we do not only have Jesus alone as our teacher to help us grow in discipleship; we also have many mentors within the Christian community. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:1-2). Among the many saints whose discipleship we can imitate is St. Paul, who taught us by word and example what it takes to be a true apostle and disciple of our Lord.
St. Paul speaks of his own perseverance in discipleship by comparing it to a race: “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.” This requires us to be disciplined and focused in our journey of discipleship. Many of us are happy simply to be converts, but few converts become true disciples.
Discipleship is a lifelong process that demands discipline, commitment, and sacrifice–without which we become complacent, lazy, and easily slip back into the world. As St. Paul notes: “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.” Our goal is eternal, not merely temporal. We must remember that we are preparing for the fullness of life in Christ and not take our Christian calling for granted. In the spiritual life, we are either growing to be more like Christ or regressing; it is never static. Thus, St. Paul says: “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.”
In many ways, St. Paul had put on Christ. He was completely focused on the mission entrusted to him, just as our Lord was. He wrote: “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.” St. Paul understood that his vocation and apostolic mission were a sacred calling. Out of gratitude to Jesus for saving him, he could not help but dedicate his entire life to the service of others. Jesus in the Gospel also speaks of His mission in terms of being sent by the Father: “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way” (Jn 14:31). At the end of His earthly life, He said: “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed” (Jn 17:4-5).
St. Paul preached the Gospel not just freely, but for free: “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.” This reflects what Jesus told the apostles when He sent them on mission: “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment” (Mt 10:7-8). St. Paul knew that what he had received must be passed on to others. The Lord does not bless us or grant us faith in Him merely for our own benefit, but so that it may be shared. When we share the Good News freely and without expecting anything in return, we truly share in the joy and happiness of Christ.
So it is important that we be generous in sharing Christ with others–not just talking about Him, but showing His love and mercy by the way we treat our brothers and sisters, especially in their weaknesses. We must remain humble and refrain from judging others in relation to ourselves; rather, our true standard of judgement is whether we are becoming more like Christ. It is Jesus who is our master and role model, and any comparison must be measured against our Lord. St. Paul showed extraordinary patience and understanding toward fellow Christians who were weak. He always exhorts us to be compassionate, reminding us: “We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbour for the good purpose of building up the neighbour. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me'” (Rom 15:1-3). We must be slow to judge the intentions of others. Being merciful means we do not give up on those who are struggling in their faith or in their lives.
Finally, the one who has truly put on Christ is like St. Paul: someone who becomes all things to all people. “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 blessing.” (1 Cor 9:19, 22-23). Let us be friends to all, showing sympathy and kindness to everyone alike, whether good or evil. Being humble, accommodating, and non-judgemental is what enables us to walk alongside all people in charity.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
