Fourth Sunday of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 4:8-12
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: "Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29
R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
Reading 2 1 Jn 3:1-2
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Alleluia
Gospel Jn 10:11-18
Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."
Commentary on Acts 4:8-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday because, in each year of the liturgical cycle (on this 4th Sunday), the Gospel is always taken from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of himself as the “good shepherd”.
In today’s passage Jesus emphasises the self-sacrificing element in his own life:
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
First, he contrasts the good shepherd who owns the sheep to someone who is simply hired to look after them:
The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away…because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
The hired man thinks primarily of his own welfare and, Jesus, on the other hand, will not be like a hired person because:
…I lay down my life for the sheep.
Perhaps he contrasts himself with those mercenary religious leaders among his own people – and to be found in every religious group – who do just what is expected of them but have no real commitment or sense of responsibility to those in their charge.
He knows his sheep
Second, Jesus says:
I am the good shepherd. I know my own…
There is a mutual bond of love and intimacy. That love is compared to the deep mutual relationship that exists between Jesus and his Father:
…my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.
Again the hired man or the self-interested leader will not have such a relationship with his charges. The Second Reading speaks in similar terms when the author says:
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.
One shepherd and one flock
Third, the good shepherd deeply desires that many other sheep should come to identify themselves with him:
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
And that is the ultimate goal, that the whole world will be united together with its God and Lord. This is the meaning of the Kingdom which is at the heart of the Gospel message.
This is a goal which preoccupies us still today. There are still so many millions of people who have not yet heard the message of a loving God, a God who sent his only Son to die for them. They seek meaning and happiness in their lives by pursuing all kinds of other goals which inevitably turn to ashes: material abundance, status in the eyes of others, power over others, mistaking pleasure and hedonism for happiness…
In so doing, they reject Jesus the Good Shepherd:
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
This is something we must learn to accept as a fact, even if it is hard to understand and even harder to take.
No matter how closely we follow in the footsteps of our Shepherd, in fact, the more closely we follow him, the more likely it is that we will be rejected and even attacked. More tragic still, however, there are so many people who claim Christ as Lord, many of them very good and sincere people, who are often divided, even bitterly divided among themselves. Here, more than anywhere is there a need for all to follow one Shepherd and form one flock. Otherwise how can we give witness to the love of Christ if that love is lacking among the servants of Jesus?
As well, there are those who, though incorporated through baptism into the Body of Christ, consistently behave in a way which totally distorts people’s understanding of Christ and his call to discipleship, fulfilment and happiness. Probably, most of us have at one time or another failed in our call to give witness to the truth and love that is to be found in Christ.
Giving life willingly
Jesus emphasises that, in giving his life for his sheep, he is doing so of his own will. It is not just by force of circumstances. His death is to be the living proof that:
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)
This is the proof that Jesus truly is a Good Shepherd.
On the face of it, and looked at with purely secular eyes, the life and mission of Jesus seemed an utter failure. Even Jesus’ friends and admirers must have shaken their heads in sorrow as they saw him die on the cross. Jesus himself said “It is finished.” But, for him, the words had a completely different meaning.
As Peter, quoting from Psalm 118, tells the assembled Jews in the Temple in today’s First Reading:
This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.
As Jesus himself says in the Gospel today:
…I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.
And so it was. The Second Reading contains part of an address Peter gave in the Temple after he and John had cured a “crippled beggar” at the Temple’s Beautiful Gate. The healing of the man in the name of the crucified Jesus through the agency of Peter and John is the proof that Jesus is risen and working among us.
Vocation
Lastly, all of this is intimately linked with a second theme of this Sunday. Not only is it Good Shepherd Sunday, it is also “Vocations Sunday”. On this day we are especially asked first of all to pray that the Church may be provided with the leaders needed to do its work of spreading the Gospel.
We know that at the present time there is a critical shortage of such leaders, at least in the traditional sense – priests and religious. But, while we may earnestly pray that our Church be supplied with the leaders it needs, there can be a tendency among us to pray that ‘others’ may answer that call. We do not see ourselves as included. We may pray earnestly for more young people to offer themselves as priests and religious, but clearly exclude our own children.
But the problem is a wider one. We have for too long given a much too narrow meaning to the word ‘vocation’. We tend to limit it to a calling to be a priest or a member of a religious community. But, in fact, every single one of us has a vocation. For most of us, probably, it is what we are now doing, be it as spouses, parents, teachers, doctors, civil servants, running a business, salespersons, and myriad other identities.
Nevertheless, each one of us should be asking ourselves today:
Is what I am spending my energies on every day my real vocation?
Is this what God wants me to be doing with my life?
How is what I am doing giving witness to my Christian faith?
What contribution am I offering to making this world a better place for people to live in?
To what extent am I a spreader of truth, of love, of justice, of freedom, of tolerance and acceptance?
And, if I am in a position which would be difficult to change (as a spouse or parent or holding a particular job):
How, within that situation, is God calling me to greater service of my Church and my community?
Am I giving something through my life or am I just using society (and even the Church) to get what I want?
God is calling every single one of us to work for the Gospel. For a small number it may be as a priest or religious – and that call can come at any time in one’s life. But there are hundreds of other ways of serving the Church and helping to build up the Christian community.
Where is God calling me to make my own unique contribution based on the particular talents God has given me? If every single one us were to answer that question sincerely and to act upon it, it is likely that that our Church would have all the leadership it needs.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus. The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts live forever!"
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
Reading 2 1 Jn 3:18-24
Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.
Gospel Jn 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
Commentary on Acts 9:26-31; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8
Now that Jesus is risen, it means that he is now in his people. Of course, Jesus is present in every person in some way:
…just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
But he is present in a special way in his own disciples, that is, those who accept him as their Lord.
Today’s Gospel says that our relationship to him is similar to a tree and its branches. The branch cannot be separated from the parent tree and continue to live. Is that why many, with the name of Christian, fall away? They have never really been part of the vine?
At the same time, it is not enough to be a branch on the tree. There must also be fruit produced. It is not enough to be a Christian and ‘fulfil one’s religious duties’.
What is that fruit of which Jesus speaks? We get an indication in the Second Reading, which is from the First Letter of John:
Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
Love cannot just be in words and talk, not even in the most lovely-sounding prayers.
Love in deed
Love, he says, is shown in action and in deeds. Only when we are loving in our deeds can we know that Jesus lives in us. An example from the behaviour of electricity may help us to understand. If a person makes an electrical contact with his body while wearing thick-soled rubber boots, the electricity will not enter his body because it cannot go through the boots. On the other hand, if one were to stand bare-footed in several inches of water, then the electricity romps through the body (with rather disastrous results).
In other words, if electricity cannot go through me, it cannot go into me. And God’s love is similar. If the love he communicates to me does not pass on to others, then it does not come to me either. For me to experience God’s love, others have to experience mine. And I cannot make an exception of even one person, because God doesn’t.
And that is how we become ‘good’. We are good because God’s love and goodness is acting in and through us. We usually put it the other way: if I am first good, then God will love me. But God always loves me, whether my actions are good or bad. When I act for the good, it is because I allow his love to act in me; when I act badly, it is because I have blocked off his love.
We must abandon entirely the idea that we “earn” God’s love by our ‘good deeds’. God does not love me because I am good; I am good because God’s love is working in and through me to others.
Love in words
We might also add that loving in deeds sometimes includes words. Often many of us find it easier to express our love by doing something than by speaking directly to a person. Parents, for instance, often feel they show their love by providing the best education they can afford for their children, by showering them with gifts and pocket money. Yet, those same children may seldom hear real words of love and affection spoken by their parents. In that and similar cases, loving by one’s deeds becomes an escape for the more direct love expressed in sincerely meant words.
We have an excellent example of what we have been talking about in the experience of St Paul in today’s First Reading.
Paul, by his words, said that he was now a disciple of Jesus and no longer a persecutor of Christians. They just did not believe him; they felt he was an infiltrator. They felt that the leopard does not change his spots and his words were not enough to convince them.
Only later, when he really proved his love of Jesus by his total service of the community were they ready to accept him. When he spoke out so strongly for Jesus that his life was threatened and his fellow-Christians had to send him away to a safer place, then they knew he was for real. When his new-found Christian faith bore fruit, when his love was shown in action, then they knew that Jesus was his Lord. And subsequently, of course, Paul was the instrument by which very many people became Jesus’ disciples. Truly, his was a fruitful life.
Am I dead or alive?
So, finally we have to ask ourselves:
Am I really a living branch on the vine that is Jesus – a Christian that bears fruit?
Am I living my life creatively so that others also benefit?
Can other people see the influence that Jesus has on my life – in my words, my actions, my general behaviour and lifestyle?
Am I unmistakably a follower of Jesus?
How many people have come to know and believe in Jesus because of me?
How many people have asked to be baptised because of my example?
It is only through the way that we live that people will be inspired to follow our footsteps and discover what we have discovered: the joy of knowing God’s love that comes to us through Jesus and his Church.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, "Get up. I myself am also a human being." Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him." While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter responded, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?" He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
R. (cf. 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
Reading 2 1 Jn 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Gospel Jn 15:9-17 Jesus said to his disciples: "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another."
Seventh Sunday of Easter Reading 1 Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26 Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers —there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place —. He said, “My brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry. “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: May another take his office. “Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.” So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20
R. (19a) The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all you his angels,
you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.
Reading 2 1 Jn 4:11-16 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
Gospel Jn 17:11b-19 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
Commentary on Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17
The theme of today’s Mass is clearly love. When we see a film or television programme, when we hear people singing on the radio, the subject is very often about love. Even in the church, we speak frequently about love. What is love?
According to today’s Second Reading the centre of all living is love. It is not only the centre of Christian living, but needs to be at the centre of any kind of life.
Our Christian faith should not be just seen as a religion, something tacked on to an otherwise secular life, which in most respects is the same as everyone else’s. Our Christian faith is a vision of how a human life should be lived in fullness. It teaches us how to be a real person. St Irenaeus said a very long time ago, “The glory of God is a person fully alive” (Gloria Deo homo vivens). And a person is only fully alive when full of love. Because such a person then reflects best the God who is love.
What is love?
It would be well at this point to say what we mean here by the term ‘love’. The Greek word that John uses in his Gospel and in the three letters attributed to him is agape (Greek, pronounced ‘ag -ah-pay’). The Christian writer CS Lewis wrote a small book called The Four Loves in which he discusses four different ways of loving. The first of these is eros, which is physical love, the love of young lovers, the love of Romeo and Juliet. The second is philia,, which in a way is the highest form of love. It is the love of friendship, is essentially mutual and shared, and touches every aspect of a person’s being expressing itself in a total transparency through intimacy and affection. It covers marriage and all other genuinely close relationships. To experience such a relationship is one of the great blessings of life. The third love mentioned by Lewis is prautés, sometimes translated as ‘gentleness’ or as ‘meekness’ (as in “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”, Matt 5:5). It suggests someone who is unassuming, undemanding and totally submissive to what God wants, but also warm and caring.
Finally, agape describes a love which reaches out to others without expecting anything in return. Such is the love of God for his creation. God’s loves is poured out in abundance on every single creature and it continues to flow out whether there is a response or not. This is the love which the father in the story of the Prodigal Son shows to the wayward son who has gone far away and wasted all his father’s gifts on a debauched life. It may come as a shock to some to be told that the love of God for the Mother of Jesus and for the most immoral person you can think of is exactly the same! God is love; it is his very nature; he cannot not love. What then is the difference between Mary and some depraved person? It is in the response. Mary listened to Jesus. He once said, referring to his mother:
Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it! (Luke 11:28)
Mary said an unconditional ‘Yes’ to God at her annunciation. She opened her heart to the agape of God.
It is that love of agape which we, too, are supposed to have. It is this love that enables us to love our enemies and want to be reconciled with them. We are not asked to love them with eros or philia. That would not make sense. To love them with agape is to want the very best for them, to want them to reform, to be changed, to be healed of hate and negativity.
Where there is God, there is love
St Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Terasa) once said:
Where there is love, there is God.
She did not say, “Wherever there are Christians, there is God” or “Wherever there is a Christian church, there is God”. But, wherever there is a person filled with real agape-love for others, God is there. That is the meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan. He was called “good” not because he was a religious person, but because he reached out in compassionate love for someone who was supposed to be his enemy. So we can find agape, and therefore God at work, in a Protestant, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim. Maybe that person has no religious faith at all. He or she may be an agnostic or even an atheist. Wherever in the world there is truth, compassion, justice, true freedom and peace, God is certainly there.
What gives value to my life?
Perhaps I have been baptised, perhaps my family has been Catholic for a long time, perhaps I fervently go to Mass every Sunday, perhaps I carefully keep all the Ten Commandments, yet if I do not really love and reach out in solidarity to brothers and sisters, whoever they are and wherever they are, I do not have God’s life in me. Paul put it well when writing to the Christians of Corinth:
If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor 13:1-3)
God loves me unconditionally but that love is not in me if I am not passing it on to others.
One commandment
In today’s Gospel, Jesus does not say, “Love Jesus or love God as I have loved you”. No, he says:
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
If we really love our brothers and sisters, including strangers and even enemies, we do not have to worry if we love God. But, if we do not love everyone unconditionally, then there is no other way I can claim to love Jesus. I need to love those God loves (with agape) and God loves every single person without exception, even the most wicked.
So I do not really have to worry and ask, “Is it a sin to do, say or think such a thing?” Or, “Does the Church allow me to do this?” Rather, let me ask this way: “When I do, say or think such and such, am I really a loving person?” In one way, to be a Christian is terribly simple. I do not need to study in a university or an institute of theology. If I really love people as Jesus loves me, I will definitely graduate – with honours!
In practice, of course, it is not always so easy. We need to learn slowly how to love people unconditionally. Our lower instincts and the prevailing culture around us think differently. Yet, we need to learn that the way of Jesus is in fact more in tune with our deeper nature. It is more human to be loving than hating (yet we often excuse our outbursts or anger or hatred as being ‘only human’). Deep down, we all want to love people. We do not like to hate people, and hating does terrible things to our minds and our bodies. We like people to be our friends and do not like them to be our enemies.
Yet, because of our past experiences, the influence of family and other people around us, the pressures of our society and our traditions, we often do not know how to love, do not know how to forgive, do not know how to be reconciled.
Love and commandments
The love that Jesus speaks about is very different from the love sung about in songs in music videos, or much (most?) of the love on TV and the movies. Sometimes when we love, we will be very happy. But sometimes loving the poor, the sick, the criminal will not be very easy. If we have to look after a relative who is close to dying, it can be a very painful experience, especially if that person is difficult or unresponsive to our attentions. But that is love.
Love is not a question of keeping rules and commandments. Love is a way of life. It is an internal attitude which influences every single thing we do and say and think.
The love of a Christian needs to be unconditional. Sometimes people will love us back; sometimes they will not. Sometimes, even though we want to love people, they may reject us. If they do reject us, we need not necessarily think that we have done wrong. When people cannot return genuine love, it is they who have the problem. Sad to say, not everyone is capable of loving. All the more reason why we need to reach out to them. People often learn to love by being loved.
The most important thing is not that I am very clever, very successful, very rich, very famous… The most important thing is that I am someone who really loves. When I genuinely love others, there will always be some who cannot love me back, but there will be others who will really respond in love. And it may be that my love has empowered them to be loving too. To be able to reach out in love and to experience being loved is God’s greatest grace.
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26
Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers —there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place —. He said, “My brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry. “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: May another take his office. “Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.” So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20
R. (19a) The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all you his angels,
you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.
Reading 2 1 Jn 4:11-16
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
Gospel Jn 17:11b-19
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me— she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it." The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (7bc) With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
Reading 2 2 Cor 4:13—5:1
Brothers and sisters: Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we too believe and therefore we speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
Gospel Mk 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder the house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you." But he said to them in reply, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Ez 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain; on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
Reading 2 2 Cor 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Gospel Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Jb 38:1, 8-11 The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said: Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!
Responsorial Psalm 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
R. (1b) Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
They who sailed the sea in ships,
trading on the deep waters,
These saw the works of the LORD
and his wonders in the abyss.
His command raised up a storm wind
which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
their hearts melted away in their plight.
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
and the billows of the sea were stilled.
They rejoiced that they were calmed,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.
Reading II 2 Cor 5:14-17
Brothers and sisters: The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Gospel Mk 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24
God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
Reading 2 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15
Brothers and sisters: As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also. For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.
Gospel Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to Jesus, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat. or When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Ez 2:2-5
As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking say to me: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day. Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD GOD! And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house— they shall know that a prophet has been among them.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4
R. (2cd) Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven --
As the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.
Reading 2 2 Cor 12:7-10
Brothers and sisters: That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Gospel Mk 6:1-6
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Am 7:12-15 Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD —for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
Reading II Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. OR: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of God’s grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
Gospel Mk 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Jer 23:1-6
Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: "The LORD our justice."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
Reading 2 Eph 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Gospel Mk 6:30-34
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 2 Kgs 4:42-44
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat." But his servant objected, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" Elisha insisted, "Give it to the people to eat." "For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'" And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
Reading 2 Eph 4:1-6
Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Gospel Jn 6:1-15 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!" Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not. "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God." In the evening quail came up and covered the camp. In the morning a dew lay all about the camp, and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?" for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, "This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
R. (24b) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
We will declare to the generation to come
the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he wrought.
He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountains his right hand had won.
Reading 2 Eph 4:17, 20-24
Brothers and sisters: I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Gospel Jn 6:24-35 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:4-8
Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death saying: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
Reading 2 Eph 4:30—5:2
Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Gospel Jn 6:41-51 The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven, " and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Prv 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: "Let whoever is simple turn in here; To the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
Reading 2 Eph 5:15-20
Brothers and sisters: Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
Jn 6:51-58 Jesus said to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: "If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;
he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
Reading 2 Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32
Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. or Brothers and sisters: Live in love, as Christ loved us. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.
Gospel Jn 6:60-69 Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Dt 4:1-2, 6-8
Moses said to the people: "Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.' For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?"
Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5
R. (1a) The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.
Reading 2 Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
Dearest brothers and sisters: All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Gospel Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. —For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. — So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. "From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Is 35:4-7a
Thus says the LORD: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
Alleluia.
Reading 2 Jas 2:1-5
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please, ” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
Gospel Mk 7:31-37
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Is 50:5-9a
The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let that man confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?
Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
R. (9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I love the LORD because he has heard
my voice in supplication,
because he has inclined his ear to me
the day I called.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
and I called upon the name of the LORD,
"O LORD, save my life!"
Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.
For he has freed my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
Reading 2 Jas 2:14-18
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, " but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
Gospel Mk 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Christ." Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it."
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Wis 2:12, 17-20
The wicked say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8
R. (6b) The Lord upholds my life.
O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
For the haughty men have risen up against me,
the ruthless seek my life;
they set not God before their eyes.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
Reading 2 Jas 3:16—4:3
Beloved: Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace. Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Gospel Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Nm 11:25-29
The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp. So, when a young man quickly told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, " Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said, "Moses, my lord, stop them." But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"
Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin.
Reading 2 Jas 5:1-6
Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.
Gospel Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
At that time, John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Gn 2:18-24
The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man’ this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
R. (cf. 5) May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Reading II Heb 2:9-11
Brothers and sisters: He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, " that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”
Gospel Mk 10:2-16 or 10:2-12
The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. OR: The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Wis 7:7-11
I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
Reading II Heb 4:12-13
Brothers and sisters: Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
Gospel Mk 10:17-30 or 10:17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come." OR: As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Is 53:10-11
The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
Reading II Heb 4:14-16
Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
Gospel Mk 10:35-45 or 10:42-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." OR: Jesus summoned the twelve and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Jer 31:7-9
Thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
Reading II Heb 5:1-6
Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son: this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Gospel Mk 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Dt 6:2-6
Moses spoke to the people, saying: "Fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
Reading II Heb 7:23-28
Brothers and sisters: The levitical priests were many because they were prevented by death from remaining in office, but Jesus, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
Gospel Mk 12:28b-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I 1 Kgs 17:10-16
In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
Reading II Heb 9:24-28
Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
Gospel Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." OR: Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Dn 12:1-3
In those days, I Daniel, heard this word of the Lord: "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. “But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) You are my inheritance, O Lord!
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
Reading II Heb 10:11-14, 18
Brothers and sisters: Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.
Gospel Mk 13:24-32
Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Reading I Dn 7:13-14
As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
Rv 1:5-8
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
Gospel Jn 18:33b-37
Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
First Sunday of Advent
Reading 1 IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7
You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.
Responsorial Psalm PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
Reading II 1 COR 1:3-9
Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
MK 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
Commentary
With the First Sunday in Advent, we begin a new Church year. So we can wish each other: Happy New Year! As usual, we begin the year with the four Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas.
‘Advent’ is a word we use in ordinary English and it comes from a Latin word which simply means ‘coming’. So we speak of the ‘advent of winter’ or the ‘advent of the holiday season’.
In our case, what coming are we talking about? Obviously, it is the coming of Jesus at Christmas. And that is true, but it is a little more than that. The readings of today’s Mass actually speak of three comings of Jesus. All three are inseparably connected with each other.
First coming
The first coming is the one we will celebrate at Christmas, the coming of the Son of God into the world as a human being, born of Mary in a stable at Bethlehem. It is this coming that the First Reading from Isaiah looks forward to with anticipation:
Cries the prophet:
Turn back for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your heritage…
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down…
Why does he make this call? Because we desperately need our God:
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
We need our God to come visibly among us so that he can help us to straighten out our lives, so that we may see more clearly in what direction our lives should go, so that we can restore our relationship with our God and with all his children around us.
We need our God, for by ourselves there is very little we can do:
O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Make us, mould us, heal us – that is the cry of Advent. And it will be answered in the stable at Bethlehem.
Another coming
But there is another coming of which we must be deeply aware. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was an event in the past, a historical event. But there is the coming of Jesus each and every day into our lives. This is an ongoing presence which reflects the eternal presence of our Creator since the first moments our universe took its beginnings billions of years ago. He comes in every person, in every experience, in every happening. Let us not be so busy looking back at the Christmas event that we fail to be aware of his presence here and now.
So, St Paul tells the Christians of Corinth in today’s Second Reading, rejoicing that Jesus has already come and what it means for our daily lives:
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him…
We too can thank God for all that Jesus has brought and continues to bring into our lives, the countless helps he gives us to lead a good life. We do that best by constantly being aware of his presence and action in the people around us. We are helped by so many people, most of whom we do not know, have never seen.
For instance, just think of all the people who, by their labours, make available the food and drink we will have this day. How often do we thank God for all that he does through so many unknown brothers and sisters? Every time we peel an orange or drink a cup of coffee, think of the huge number of people, many of them working under oppressive conditions, who have brought that lovely taste and lovely aroma into my life. How often do I thank God? How often do I thank them? For through them God’s love and care come into my life.
And that goes on day in and day out; it is so easy to take it all for granted. Today, count your blessings. They are all the signs of Jesus living and active among us, of Jesus coming into my life.
Still another coming
Paul goes on:
…the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you — so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That brings us to the third coming, when Jesus, at the end of time, will come to take all creation to himself.
We need the help of Jesus now so that we can be fully ready to meet him when he comes to call us:
He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So too, the Gospel today reminds us of the need to be ready, to be alert, to be awake, not asleep. We have no idea when the Lord will come to call us. Every day in the papers we read of people being snatched away by accidents, car crashes, sudden illnesses, to name but a few.
Jesus is like a householder who has gone abroad. He has left his servants – that is, you and me – in charge of his affairs, each one with his own task. What is my task, my role in this world?
Keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly…Keep awake.
How do we do that? Very simply, we keep in touch with those around us by each day doing our best to live lives of love, of compassion, of forgiveness, of honesty and integrity. We keep in touch with our God through lives of prayer. And the simplest and deepest prayer is to be aware of the active presence of God and Jesus permeating every single moment of every single day:
O Lord, help me to recognise you and respond to you in love through every person and every experience of this day.
If we live constantly in this way, there will be nothing whatever to fear. We will be ready for the Lord whenever and however he comes, and will run forward to meet him as a friend to a friend.
Second Sunday of Advent
Reading 1 IS 40:1-5, 9-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
Responsorial Psalm PS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
Reading 2 2 PT 3:8-14
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
Gospel: MK 1:1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Commentary on Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8
We continue our preparations for the coming of Jesus. That is, we are preparing to celebrate his coming among us as a new-born baby in Bethlehem. Therefore, it is a special time for us to remember with deep gratitude God’s great love for us. As it is written in John’s Gospel:
And the Word became flesh and lived among us (i.e. took on our weak and fragile human nature, John 1:14)…For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…(John 3:16)
Today’s Gospel tells us to prepare for that coming, that remembering, that celebrating. It does so by speaking about John the Baptist preparing people to welcome the coming of Jesus as his public life and mission begin.
John the Baptist
John had already become a famous person in his own right. That is clear from the number of people who came out to see him, and his attracting the attention of King Herod and of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He led a very austere life in the desert, dressed in rough clothes made from the skins of camel…no designer clothes for him. He fed on locusts and wild honey and fasted as well (the Gospel tells us this in contrast to Jesus). No fancy food for him either.
John was clearly a man of God, and the people admired and trusted him as a person of holiness and integrity. He taught them, bluntly made them aware of their sinfulness, and called on them to “repent”. “Repent” (Greek, metanoia) here does not mean just being sorry for the past. It is a call for them to do much more than that, to change their ways. To “repent” in the Gospel involves a radical transformation in our way of living. It means a conversion, a real turning around, a re-directing of one’s whole life.
Two things to remember
There are two things we can learn here which are relevant to our Christmas preparation. First, we ourselves need to prepare for the coming of Jesus. And not just by a pre-Christmas confession to tidy ourselves up and get rid of some of the things we regret having done in recent months.
Peter, in today’s Second Reading, tells us that a “day” with the Lord can be a 1,000 years. This is probably directed at those who thought (and perhaps feared) that the Lord was coming soon:
The Lord is not slow about his promise [to come again], as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
In other words, if the end of the world seems so slow in coming, it is to give people time to mend their ways, to redirect their lives.
At the same time, he also warns that the coming can be very sudden, as we all know is very true. We all know people who have been taken away from us very suddenly, without warning:
Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish…
Notice he prays that you will “be found by him at peace”. The coming of the Lord does not fill his friends with fear and anxiety, but rather with a kind of joyful anticipation of one friend to another. The fruit of our every day living the Way of Jesus is a real interior peace that makes us ready to meet him at any time.
Let us reflect then at this time on what changes we should make in our own lives, not just now but in the year that is to come. What kind of person would I like to be? What kind of person should I be? What kind of person could I be? What kind of person do I think God would like me to be?
Second, John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus to come into our lives. The First Reading speaks about filling in valleys, smoothing out mountains and hills, transforming cliffs into plains, and ridges into valleys. In other words, removing all the obstacles that get in the way of our meeting with Jesus, because:
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
That is also our role as Christians. It is only through what we say and do that others can come to know Jesus. So many people we know face many obstacles in getting to know the real Jesus (and, to be honest, sometimes we ourselves are those obstacles).
Why do so many young people stop going to church and give up the practice of their faith? Where did they get the ideas of Christianity which they have – or don’t have? Who is responsible?
I don’t think we have to look very far to answer these questions. It is a fact that the negligence of Christians undermines faith in Christ far more effectively than the most savage persecution of the sworn enemies of Christ. The Church never thrives so vigorously as under persecution from outsiders. It is the betrayal of those who are inside which does the real damage.
Telling the good news
In the First Reading, Isaiah says:
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, do not fear, lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
Yes, that is what each of us should be doing – perhaps beginning with members of our own families! Tell people about Him who:
…will feed his flock like a shepherd;
[and] will gather the lambs in his arms
and carry them in his bosom…
Each of us can reach people that no one else can reach – our family members, relatives, work colleagues and other people who may come into our life.
So, there are two wonderful ways to prepare for Christmas:
Personal conversion: What better present could I give myself?
Leading someone else to know and experience the love of Jesus: What better present could I give to another person?
Third Sunday of Advent
Reading 1 Is 61:1-2A, 10-11
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God. I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.
Responsorial Psalm Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54
R. (Is 61:10b) My soul rejoices in my God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
Reading 2 1 Thes 5:16-24
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
Gospel Jn 1:6-8, 19-28
A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’” as Isaiah the prophet said.” Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Commentary
On this Third Sunday of the Advent season, the theme is traditionally one of joy. The first word of the entrance hymn today is “Rejoice!” This is a tradition coming down from the old pre-Vatican II Latin Mass when the first word of the Introit or entrance antiphon was Gaudete (rejoice, be glad). And so this Sunday has come to be known as “Gaudete Sunday”.
In the past, Advent was a penitential season – there were four fast days during this period – and the celebrant of the liturgy wears vestments with the penitential colour of purple or violet. The atmosphere was deliberately sombre and penitential.
So, in the middle of it all, people needed to be reminded of what they were preparing for – the very joyful occasion of the birth of Jesus. In the midst of all the penance and fasting, this Sunday was conceived as a window of joy and brightness in anticipation of what was to come. On this day, too, the violet vestments in many churches give way to a less penitential colour, a pinkish red, a toned-down violet usually described as “rose”. As a reminder, there is a similar break, “Laetare Sunday”, during the Lenten season.
Why rejoice?
And why should we be rejoicing? Because we are soon to remember that the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, came to live among us as a human being and be one of us:
And the Word [who has the nature of God] became flesh and lived [literally ‘pitched his tent’] among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
And further, we rejoice because he the Lord brings such good news. The First Reading quotes, from the prophet Isaiah, a text which Jesus, in Luke’s Gospel, will apply to himself:
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me…
In so speaking, Jesus clearly identifies himself with the anointed king who is the Messiah and Saviour of God’s people. And why has he come?
…he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…
The Scriptures, written at a time when poverty and suffering were the lot of the majority, certainly speak of those who are materially poor, of those who are really rotting (often unjustly) in prisons, those who are physically afflicted – the blind, the disabled and those suffering with diseases like leprosy (with its concomitant alienation and marginalisation from ordinary society). And there are still all too many places in our high-tech world where the situation of hundreds of millions has not yet changed in this regard.
Other forms of poverty
But even for those of us who live on islands of abundance and prosperity, there are other forms of poverty (social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual); other forms of captivity (compulsions, obsessions, addictions, consumerism…); the blindness and deafness of those who can see no real life meaning in all of the plenty they pursue; the muteness of those who have nothing constructive or creative to say; the disability of those who are socially and emotionally crippled, who play at sex but do not know love; and the leprosy of isolation and loneliness in the midst of the crowds.
If the Lord has really come to liberate us from all of this, then we surely have cause to rejoice:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
…for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…
The coming of Jesus is a promise to all of us of salvation, that is, a real wholeness and integrity in our lives, which is the complete opposite of lives fragmented by fear and the never-satisfied desire to possess.
And it is this wholeness and integrity that is salvation and not just getting a last-minute passport on our deathbed to play a harp forever in the clouds. Salvation is a real experience which we are all being called to share in our lives here and now. If we have not yet had that experience, then we can say that Christmas has never really come into our lives. We have not really met Jesus yet, the Jesus who makes us whole, who frees us from our forms of captivity.
Be happy always
The Second Reading continues the theme of joy that comes to us through Jesus. “Rejoice always” may seem a rather unreasonable demand. Yet, for the true Christian, happiness is the underlying experience of daily living, even if, now and then, there are painful problems to be deal with. Fr Tony de Mello used to say that each one of us has right now all we need to be happy. For, if I am not happy now>/U>, I never will be. The reading says:
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies…
A key to our enduring happiness is an unconditional openness to where God leads us and a readiness to speak out and act boldly in his name.
In this we have the example of John the Baptist, who is the focus of the Gospel passage from the Prologue of John’s Gospel:
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
We have here a clear assertion of the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus is the light and John is a witness to the light. It might be helpful for us to re-read those opening verses of today’s Gospel and replace the name of John with our own name. What it says should be just as true of every baptised person as it is of John.
For each one of us, by our baptism and our membership in Christ’s family, has been sent not, obviously, to be the original Light but to give witness to the Light. The Sermon on the Mount speaks of us as “the light of the world”. We are to be the light in the same way as the moon is in its reflection of the sun.
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas and the coming of God into our lives through Jesus, we need also to remind ourselves that we have been called to be the means to bring Jesus into other people’s lives.
Light in darkness
At Christmas time, our cities and towns are bathed in light. But so many have no idea that this light symbolises our Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, born among us at this time. And we may ask ourselves: Into the lives of how many people this Christmas will we bring the Light of Jesus? How many will experience Jesus being reborn within them through our witnessing?
There are so many people out there who live in darkness. There are so many who are poor in so many ways, even though they may be financially well-off. So many who lack real freedom, the freedom to choose truth and love in all they do and say. So many who are deafened by the consumerist din around them. So many, in the midst of all the superficial jollity, who feel lonely, unwanted, rejected, marginalised. So many broken hearts amid all the party-going. There are people who simply hate Christmas because it only increases their inner pain and deep sadness.
So many out there are waiting. Waiting for us to shine the light of Christ on them and to help them turn their lives into experiences of joy, of wholeness and integrity. The joy of Jesus, the joy of Christmas can only be ours to the extent that we work with Jesus to bring that joy into the lives of others too.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Reading 1 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: "Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in?' "It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations."
"He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm."
Reading 2 Rom 16:25-27
Brothers and sisters: To him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Lk 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. The Epiphany of the Lord
Commentary
We come to the last Sunday before Christmas and today’s Mass readings speak about the preparations that God made for Jesus to be born among us and as one of us. As the story is told by Luke, Mary must have been truly alarmed at the words of her unexpected visitor. In the whole passage (as in the rest of Luke’s infancy narrative), we are getting an indication of what can be expected in the Gospel which follows.
First, the incident is taking place in Nazareth, not exactly the centre of the earth, or even of Palestine. A future disciple of Jesus will be heard to say with not a little cynicism:
Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46)
Truly in the eyes of the more sophisticated it was something of a backwater. Yet this is the place God chooses to enter our world – not Rome, not Athens, nor any of the other great centres of power, culture and learning in the world of the time.
A strange salutation
Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.
How did Mary react to such an extraordinary salutation from an angel? The Gospel says that she was “greatly troubled” and well she might be. As a young and probably illiterate girl in an obscure little town what could the words possibly mean?
“Favored one” means that she is being showered with God’s special graces. It is more something that is happening to her than something she already has. The nature of that favour is expressed in what follows – she is to become the mother of a son whom she will call Jesus (a word which means ‘Saviour’) and who will be a King who:
…will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
What an extraordinary thing to be told!
What really disturbs Mary is that, although she is already betrothed to Joseph, she is not yet fully married to him. In other words, she is not having intimate relations with him as his wife and so how, in the normal course of events, can she possibly become a mother?
It will happen because the conception will be the work of God:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…
The child who is to born will be, in a very special sense, the Son of God. He will also, of course, be fully the son of Mary. In this way we have the deep theological mystery of the Incarnation expressed in the language of a story that even the simplest can follow (though in all of the Gospel, and especially in this infancy part, we have to be careful about being too literal in our reading).
Jesus will be at the same time someone who is fully divine and fully human. Jesus will be the unique bridge between God and his creation. He will be a human person “like us in all things but sin”. He will also, through his whole life, his words and actions, be the “splendour of the Father”.
Paradoxically, the divine in Jesus will appear in the finest moments of his humanity – healing the sick and bringing sinners back to reconciliation with God. But it is through Mary that this becomes possible and it is this which makes her unique among women.
An earthly dwelling place for God
The First Reading from the Second Book of Samuel speaks of God asking David to make him a dwelling place worthy of him. As king, David was concerned that he lived in a palace of fine cedar wood while God only had a tent, the tent where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. Eventually a magnificent temple would be built, not by David, but by his son Solomon. It would be rebuilt even more magnificently by Herod the Great and, in fact, the construction was not yet finished in the lifetime of Jesus. However, the house that David was being asked to build was a different kind of house – it was the house of David, consisting of all his descendants and their subjects:
…the Lord will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
The implication of this passage for us in today’s Mass is that Mary, who, with Joseph, was of the house of David, is the new temple where God lives. A fitting place, a place of perfection without any trace of sin or evil. And, indeed, one of the titles we give to Mary in the Litany of Our Lady is ‘Ark of the Covenant’.
Later on, Paul will remind Christians that each one of them is now a temple of God, of the Spirit of Jesus. In the New Covenant there is no longer any temple building but, in the words of Paul, “you are God’s temple”, a temple of which each one is a constitutive part. The House of David continues in the Church, the Body of Christ.
As a reassurance that what seems impossible can take place, Mary is reminded that her elderly cousin, well past the age of bearing children, is going to be a mother also. She is already six months pregnant:
For nothing will be impossible with God.
True to her word
In a great leap of faith and trust in the angel’s message, Mary gives an unequivocal, an unconditional ‘Yes’:
Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.
She had yet to learn what that ‘Yes’ would involve, but it was made unconditionally and it was never withdrawn.
Through a life of trials and tribulations, of which we know surely only a fraction, right up to those terrible moments as she stood beneath the Cross and saw her only Son die in agony and shame as a public criminal, she never once withdrew that ‘Yes’.
There is clearly a message in this for us. We too have been called in our own special way to give birth to Jesus in our lives and in our environment. We too have been called to say ‘Yes’, an unconditional ‘Yes’ to following Jesus. Now, as we approach the celebration of Christmas, is the time for us to renew that pledge with Mary’s help and example.
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Reading I Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and, when he prays, is heard. Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother. My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins —a house raised in justice to you.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.
R. (cf. 1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
Reading II Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged. OR: Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Gospel LK 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, They took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Commentary
It is customary to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday immediately following our celebrations of the birth of Jesus at Christmas. It is a time when we can reflect on the quality of our own family life in the light of the Church’s (if not the world’s) ‘First Family’.
For a large part of his life, Jesus was part of a family. We always imagine that this must have been an extremely happy family. Yet, like every other family, it must have had from time to time its ups and downs, its joys and sorrows, its problems and difficulties.
There may have been problems about supplying the family’s needs on occasion. Surely someone fell sick at one time or another and was a source of anxiety for the rest of the family. And this was in an age when medical resources were few, and relatively little was known about health and hygiene.
During Jesus’ public life, Mary appears a number of times and she witnessed his death on the cross. But we do not know anything about Joseph. Had he already died by the beginning of Jesus’ public life (although his name is mentioned during Jesus’ visit to Nazareth; see Luke 4:22)? Given the short life expectancy of those days, it is very possible that, by the time Jesus was in his 30s, Joseph had already died. If so, it must have been a painful experience for mother and son. There is no reason to think that the Holy Family was spared any of the pains or denied any of the joys of ordinary families.
Leaving the family
It must have been a painful time – as it can be for any family – when Jesus, already about 30 years old, left his family for the work his Father had given him to do. We remember, when he was only 12, how distressed Mary and Joseph were when he “disappeared” for only three days. From now on, he would belong to a new family, the family of the world and especially of those who were committed to follow his Way. His mother, brothers and sisters would from now on be those who became his disciples, those who heard the Word of God and kept it. Of course, no one would have heard and kept God’s Word better than Mary his mother.
Most people, in one way or another, leave their family environment. While the family must always have top priority in our concerns, it is not an absolute priority. All of us, and especially Christians, are called to follow the example of Jesus and align ourselves with the family of the world. For, with one Father, we are all brothers and sisters to each other and are called to care for each other. One of the problems with some modern families is that they see the surrounding society as being there simply to satisfy their wants and ambitions. It is this attitude which can put unbearable pressures on young people.
Offered to God
The roots of this caring attitude are recorded in today’s Gospel, which describes what we normally refer to as the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Jesus, as the first-born* child of his parents, has to be offered up specially to the Lord. This was an acknowledgment that all life is a gift from God and that God is the Lord of all life. The child belonged to God and had ritually to be bought back for a small sum of money.
But Jesus is no ordinary child and his arrival in the Temple is welcomed by two very holy people – Simeon and Anna. Simeon, filled with the Spirit of God, had been promised he would not die before seeing the Messiah, Israel’s long-awaited Saviour-King. With deep spiritual insight he recognises his Lord in the infant he holds in his arms and says:
Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace…
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.
A stumbling block
But all is not light, for:
This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel…
Jesus will be the source of life and liberation for many, but he will also be a fatal stumbling block for those who, in their culpable blindness, reject his way of truth and love. To those who recognise him, he will say:
Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world… (Matt 25:34)
But to those who refuse to recognise him, he will also say:
Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… (Matt 25:41)
For, as Simeon foretells, Jesus will be “a sign that will be opposed”, i.e. rejected by many of his own people and rejected by many others since.
And the shadow of the Cross looms when he warns Mary that:
…a sword will pierce your own soul, too.
This was part of the package when she said, ‘Yes’ to the angel:
Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)
Yes, this family will not be spared its problems either. But these things are fully accepted as part of the family’s mission to bring light and life to the world.
Silent witness
The old woman Anna, too, on seeing the child, breaks into praise of God. And she spoke of him to all who looked forward to the “redemption of Jerusalem”. She gives her silent witness to the world’s longing for salvation, for wholeness. In placing Anna standing side by side with Simeon, one writer has said that Luke:
“expresses by this arrangement that man and woman stand together and side by side before God. They are equal in honour and grace, they are endowed with the same gift and have the same responsibilities”.
In this environment of love and hope, Jesus’ parents return to Nazareth with their son. There he continues to grow and mature full of God’s wisdom and God’s grace-filled love. Here the solid foundation is built for his future work. All that Jesus, the grown man, means to us can surely be traced back to the formative years in the bosom of his two loving parents.
Good family life
And what is true of Jesus is true of all of us. A happy, nurturing family environment is so important. One gets the impression that in many parts of the world and especially in the so-called “developed” world, family life is in deep trouble. Anyone who has regular contact with young people will be aware of how disillusioned many of them are in themselves, in their family situation and, in particular, in their relationship with their parents.
The problem is that many parents expect respect and obedience from their children without actually behaving in a way which deserves it. Parents cannot set double standards by which they feel entitled to do what their children are forbidden from doing. Parents can hardly earn respect if they are constantly fighting with each other, if they are too busy making money to spend time with their children, if they think they can buy off their children with money, but have neither the ability nor the willingness to listen to what they have to say.
One father had the experience (not at all unknown) that, as soon as he walked into the room, his son would walk out. When a friend encouraged trying to understand the son rather than insisting the son do what he was told, the father replied:
“I already understand him. What he needs is to learn respect for his parents and to show appreciation for all we’re trying to do for him.”
The friend suggested another approach:
“If you want your son really to open up, you must work on the assumption that you don’t understand him and perhaps never fully will, but that you want to and will try.”
The father did try, he did listen unconditionally, and both father and son learnt much they had not been aware of before.
Ultimately, a Christian family’s agenda has to be set in the light of the Gospel’s vision of life. In these days, too much of it is being set by a highly pressurised society and sometimes by clinging irrationally to out-dated cultural traditions. Perhaps only the Church as a whole, and not individual families, can deal with this problem – not only for its own members, but for society as a whole.
There is no question that the quality of any society depends on the quality of its family life. Society exists for the family, but the family also exists for society and, unless these two interdependent relationships are recognised, the vision of God’s Kingdom will be thwarted.
______________
*First-born does not necessarily imply that there were other children. It simply means what it says: the first child to be born into a family.
The Epiphany of the Lord
Reading I Is 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
Reading II Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Gospel Mt 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
Commentary
Today we celebrate the second of four great manifestations of God in our midst. The word epiphany comes from Greek and it means a ‘showing’ or ‘manifestation’. We call today’s feast the Epiphany of the Lord, but the term could equally well be applied to the other three.
The first of these four manifestations we already celebrated on December 25, when God revealed himself to us, manifested in the form of a helpless, newly born infant. He is presented as born homeless and in poverty and surrounded by the poor and outcasts (that is what the shepherds represented). This manifestation fits in very well with the theme of Luke’s Gospel, and it is he who tells this story.
In today’s feast, we see the same recently born baby in similar circumstances, but the material and social surroundings are hardly touched on. The emphasis here, as we shall see, is different. Here are strangers, foreigners, total outsiders coming to give royal homage to this tiny child. This will be the theme of Matthew’s Gospel. “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations.”
The third manifestation we will celebrate next Sunday, and it closes the Christmas celebration of the Incarnation. Jesus, now an adult of 30 years or so, is seen standing in a river together with a multitude of penitents. He is solemnly endorsed by the voice of God as the Son of God. “This is my dear Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This event is recorded by all the evangelists.
The fourth manifestation is found only in John’s gospel. It is not part of the Christmas liturgy but we read it on the Second Sunday during the liturgical Year C, immediately after the Christmas season. This revelation occurs during a wedding banquet (symbolising the Kingdom of love, justice and peace which is to be established through Jesus). Water (symbolising the Old Covenant) is changed into new wine (symbolising the New Covenant to be signed and sealed on the cross of Calvary). Mary (representing the Church, God’s people) is seen as the intermediary through whose request this is brought about. It is the first of seven ‘signs’ by which Jesus reveals his true identity in John’s gospel.
Story or history?
Coming back to today’s feast, we may ask is the story of the “wise men” a factual report or is it just that – a story? Primarily, it is a story. A report is concerned with hard facts – the temperature dropped to 10 degrees last night or there were 10 mm of rain yesterday. But a story, especially a biblical story, is concerned much more with meaning. In reading any Scripture story, including Gospel stories, we should not be asking, “Did it really happen like that?” Instead, we should be asking, “What does it mean? What is it saying to us?” The truth of the story is in its meaning and not in the related facts.
Epiphany
Certainly in this story the facts are extremely vague and not at all sufficient for a news report. The standard questions a reporter is expected to be able to answer are: Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? In this story it is difficult to give satisfactory answers to these questions.
Although Jesus is still an infant and still in Bethlehem, we do not know how long after his birth this incident is supposed to have taken place. We are not told because it does not matter. It is not relevant to the meaning of the story (also, compared to Mark, Matthew tends to be notoriously short on details).
Magi
Who were these “wise men” and where did they come from? In the Greek text they are called magoi, which is usually rendered in English as “Magi”. Magi were a group or caste of scholars who were associated with the interpretation of dreams, Zoroastrianism, astrology and magic (hence the name ‘Magi’). In later Christian tradition they were called kings (We three kings of Orient are…) under the influence of Psalm 72:10 (May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!), Isaiah 49:7 (Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves) and Isaiah 60:10 (Their kings shall minister to you).
We are not told what their names were or how many of them there were. Tradition settled on three, presumably because there were three kinds of gifts. And they were also given names – Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. Caspar was represented as black and thus Magi were understood to represent the whole non-Jewish, Gentile world which came to Christ.
We are told, too, that they came “from the east”. This could be Persia, Eastern Syria or Arabia – or indeed any distant place. The Asian theologian, Fr Aloysius Pieris, points out the significance for Asians that it was wise men from the East, and not the local wise men, who recognised the light that led to Jesus.
A star in the east
There is talk of following a star. Was there indeed at this time a comet or supernova or some significant conjunction of planets which would be particularly meaningful to these men? As well, how does one follow a star – have you ever tried? How do you know when a star is “over the place” you are looking for? You could travel several hundred miles and the star would still be “over” you. Probably, we are wasting our time looking for some significant stellar happening. The star is rather to be seen as a symbol – a light representing Jesus as the Light of the whole world.
There really is not much to be gained in trying to pinpoint facts here. We are dealing instead with meaning, and the meaning is very clear from the general context of Matthew’s Gospel. God, in the person of Jesus, is reaching out to the whole world. More than that, the religious leaders of his own people – the chief priests and experts in the scriptures, although clearly aware of where the Messiah would be born, made no effort whatever to investigate. Yet Bethlehem was “just down the road”, so to speak, from Jerusalem.
King Herod, an ambitious and ruthless man (and that is a fact of history), was prepared to travel there, but only to wipe out even the remotest threat to his own position. These pagan foreigners, on the other hand, went to great lengths to find the “King of the Jews” and “do him homage”.
As part of that homage they offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts seem inspired by Isaiah 60:6 quoted in today’s First Reading, “They shall bring gold and frankincense”. In later tradition, the gold came to symbolise the kingship of Christ, the incense his divine nature, and the myrrh his redemptive suffering and death. They also came to signify virtue, prayer and suffering.
No outsiders
All in all, today’s feast is telling us that for God there are no foreigners, no outsiders. From his point of view, all are equally his beloved children. We all, whatever external physical or cultural differences there may be between us, belong to one single family which has one Father, “our” Father. It means that every one of us is a brother and sister to everyone else. There is no room for discrimination of any kind based on nationality, race, religion, class or occupation. There cannot be a single exception to this position.
The facts of today’s story may be vague, but the message is loud and clear. We thank God today that there is no “Chosen People”, whether they be Jews or Christians (or even Catholics). Let us try to understand more deeply God’s closeness to us, which is also a reason for us to be close to each other. There are no outsiders. All are called – be it the Mother of Jesus, the rich and the poor, the privileged and the lonely, the healthy and the sick, the saints and the sinners.
Yet, we can become outsiders. We do that every time we make someone else an outsider, whether we do that individually, as a family, a community, or an ethnic grouping. To make even a single other person an outsider, that is, to deny them the love and respect which belongs equally to all, is to make an outsider of oneself. It is to join the ranks of the Pharisees, the chief priests and every other practitioner of bigotry.
Where are the stars?
Finally, we might ask ourselves, What are the stars in my life? The wise men saw the star and followed it. The people in Jerusalem did not. How, and to what is God calling me at this time? Where does he want me to find him, to serve and follow him? Some have their priorities already fixed, and so have stopped or have never even started to look for the real priorities, the God-sent stars in their lives. That is like first making a right turn at a crossroads, and then wondering where you should be going. Saint Ignatius Loyola, in his Spiritual Exercises, speaks of people who get married first and then ask, “What does God want me to do?
This very day, let us stop in our tracks. Obviously, at this stage there are many things which, for better or worse, we cannot change, some decisions, right or wrong, which cannot now be undone. But it is not too late to look for our star and begin following it from where we are now.
The wise men did not know where the star would lead them. They just followed it until it brought them to Bethlehem – and to Jesus. They never, I am sure, regretted their decision. If we can only have the courage and the trust to follow their example, I doubt if we will
have regrets either. If we have not already done so, today is the day to make that start.
The Baptism of the Lord-B
Reading I Is 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Responsorial PsalmPs 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
R. (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
Gospel Mk 1:7-11
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time-b
Reading 1 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am." Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. "Here I am, " he said. "You called me." But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep." At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
Reading II 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
Gospel Jn 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —, "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
Commentary
TODAY’S MASS is about vocation, about God’s call. Vocation is not just for a few chosen people. And to say, “There are no vocations now” is simply not true. Everyone is called by God to be something, to do something for others with their life and with their unique gifts.
The First Reading is about a young man who did not recognise God’s call at first. God called Samuel and he thought it was his master Eli. Twice God called, twice Samuel went to Eli, twice Eli told him to go back to sleep. The third time God called, Eli realised what was happening and told Samuel, “The next time you hear the call, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’. When the Lord called the fourth time, Samuel was ready, ready to listen to God.
And “Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him and let no word of his fall to the ground”. That is, he continued to listen carefully to what God was saying, to listen to God’s call. And, in turn, he passed on what he had heard to others. God’s Word is never to be kept just for ourselves. That would be like the man who kept the talent he had been given wrapped up in a cloth and buried it in the ground.
God is calling me now, today. What is he saying to me? Am I really listening?
“What are you looking for?”
The gospel is also about calling, in fact, about a second calling. It is about two men who are already disciples of John the Baptist. John points Jesus out to them, “Look! there is the Lamb of God!” John knows that his role of leadership is temporary, that he is to yield to the leadership of Jesus.
The disciples begin – out of curiosity? – to go after Jesus. Jesus turns round and asks them: “What do you want?” Hear Jesus ask you that question today. Generally we tend to think that we should be asking, What does God want? But no, he also wants to know what we want. The answer to that question is less for his benefit than for ours. Our answer will tell us what our real priorities are with regard both to God and the people and the world around us.
What do we really want from life, from God? It is not such an easy question to answer – it is easy to be superficial or flippant – but it tells us where we really are. And it is a question we will have to answer at different stages in our life as circumstances change.
Come and see
And what is the disciples’ response? Another question but also an answer to Jesus’ query: “Teacher (source of wisdom), where do you stay?” (in Greek menein, ‘to remain’, a favourite Johannine word). In other words they are asking, “Jesus, where are you to be found? Where are we to go to find you, to be with you? Where in our lives do we encounter you?” If that were to be OUR answer to Jesus’ question, “What do you want?”, we would be doing very well.
Now Jesus answers their question: “Come and see.” Knowing Jesus and where he stays is not primarily a matter of intellectual knowledge. It is not a matter of information. It is not a question of knowing all theology, dogmatic and moral, nor is it a question of being an expert in all the teaching and the rules of the Church: Pharisees of all times are good at that.
Knowing Jesus is a matter of experience. One could know the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, all 700 pages of it, by heart and still not know Jesus. To know him in the Gospel sense is to seek, find and respond to his loving presence in the fabric of our daily lives.
It comes from taking a plunge, trying out the teaching of Jesus even when it seems to go against what most people think:
to love unconditionally, to forgive, to turn the other cheek,
to carry one’s cross after Jesus, to suffer abuse and persecution for being follower…
Come and see that that is the Way to follow, that there is no other way.
Sharing one’s experience of Christ
The two disciples accept the invitation. They do go and stay where Jesus stays and do so for the rest of that day. And what was the result of staying with Jesus? One of the two, Andrew, became not only a committed follower but an evangeliser – the two cannot be separated. He immediately went in great excitement and found his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” And thus Simon became Peter and also a follower, an apostle and the leader of the new community.
It is important to note that Peter, in spite of his future important role, was not called directly by Jesus but through his brother. And that happens again and again. Everyone, including the greatest saints, were called by another, often lesser, person and brought to Christ. Each one of us here was led to Jesus by other people.
So, in conclusion, we ask ourselves:
a. What is God calling me to do, to be – NOW, today?
And am I in a truly listening mode to hear what he wants to say to me?
b. Who is waiting for me to bring them to Jesus?
Who is waiting for the invitation, “Come, and see”?
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time -a
Reading 1 Jon 3:1-5, 10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying: "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you." So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, " when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
Reading 2 1 Cor 7:29-31
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
Gospel Mk 1:14-20
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
Commentary
LAST SUNDAY we saw the call of two disciples and we considered the nature of God’s call and how he calls each one of us. In today’s Mass we again look at Jesus calling disciples and see how they responded to that call.
Today’s Gospel is in two parts:
a. the call and the challenge
b. responses to the call
The setting of today’s gospel is immediately after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, when he received the endorsement of his Father and was filled with the Spirit of God. John the Baptist has been recently arrested, literally “handed over”. As Jesus himself will be and his followers after him. We are reminded of this in the consecration of every Mass: “This is my Body which will be handed over (tradetur) for you.”
The Kingdom is near
So now Jesus, in Galilee, begins his public life and mission. He begins to proclaim the Good News, the Gospel. It is summed up very simply in two lines:
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near,
and
Repent and believe in the good news.
The expected time has come i.e. the arrival of the Messiah, the Saviour King. And so the kingdom of God is close at hand, the kingship, the reign of God. This ‘kingdom’ is not a place but rather a web of relationships. Those belonging to the kingdom are those who accept the life vision that Jesus gave to us and whose lives are based on that vision of life. It does not matter who they are or where they are and it exists here and now. The Kingdom extends far wider than the Church, which is called to be the sign pointing to the Kingdom’s presence among us.
The key to the Kingdom
How are we to enter that kingdom? “Repent and believe in the Good News.” In the First Reading we see Jonah, the reluctant prophet, preaching repentance to the great city of Niniveh. Contrary to his expectations, the pagan peoples of the city “believed in God” and “renounced their evil behaviour”.
‘Repent’ here is more than just being sorry for the past; it involves a radical conversion (metanoia), a change of direction and priorities in my life. It is a turning from but much more a turning to.
This consists in believing IN the Good News. It is not just to accept as true what Jesus or the Church teaches. To believe IN involves a total commitment, a throwing in of one’s lot with Jesus without any guarantees or preconditions. It is to invest one’s whole self (as people do in a good marriage, for better or for worse, in good times and in bad…).
Responding to the call
The second part of today’s Gospel shows the first responses to this call. Four fishermen are called: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” At once, we are told, Peter and Andrew left their nets (the means of their livelihood) and followed after Jesus. At once, leaving their father Zebedee and his hired men, James and John also went after him.
It was a complete act of trust and a total surrender of themselves. To what? Actually, they had no idea where they were going. They had no idea of what the future held. This was the extent of their great trust in this man who came out of the blue into their lives and challenged them to leave behind their security and throw in their lot with him. They would, in fact, go through many unexpected experiences, some of them joyful, some of them full of pain.
They would indeed become “fishers of people (anthropon, ‘anqropwn, men and women)”, continuing a great movement begun by their Master Jesus to bring people to a new way of living in truth, love, freedom and justice. But they never regretted that day they walked away from their security. They found experiences that transcended all their dreams.
Our response
The call is still going out to each one of us. Am I ready to answer? to follow? What are my nets, limiting my freedom to follow? What personal relationships are blocking my way? What anxieties? What self-centred ambitions?
Paul in today’s Second Reading tells the Corinthians to live in total freedom and detachment. Nothing we have, whether things or personal attachments, are permanent and can disappear at a moment’s notice. Whether life is very good or very bad: nothing lasts except the fundamental values of truth and love, of freedom and justice. It is what we are, not what we have that counts.
So ask today to hear the call. Ask to have the freedom to follow the call and to be ready to go wherever Jesus is asking us to go.
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Dt 18:15-20
Moses spoke to all the people, saying: "A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen. This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.' And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"
Responsorial Psalm Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
Reading 2 1 Cor 7:32-35
Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
Gospel Mk 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him." His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28
ON THE PAST TWO SUNDAYS we have seen Jesus baptised, he has announced the meaning and purpose of his work and he has called his first disciples. In today’s Mass we see him beginning that work.
The words of Deuteronomy (First Reading) are being fulfilled. “Yahweh your God will raise up a prophet… from among yourselves, from your own brothers; to him you must listen.” Jesus has appeared, a Jew of Palestine like all those around him. And he is a prophet. Not in the current sense of someone who can foretell the future but rather as one who speaks the word of God. For that reason, he should be listened to.
A day in the life…
Today’s passage from Mark is really the beginning of a busy day (and night) for Jesus in which are contained, one might say, all the main characteristics of his public life. He joins in public worship, he teaches, he heals, he drives out evil spirits – and he prays privately. There is also the astounded reaction of the ordinary people.
(In Mark’s gospel we find three kinds of people, all of whom react differently to Jesus – his own disciples, the religious leaders, and the ordinary people. Usually, it is only the ordinary people who come off with any credit and insight.)
This first reported day in Jesus’ public life is a Sabbath day. And we find Jesus with his fellow townsmen in the synagogue. It is important for us to realise that Jesus was a practising Jew and he normally observed the requirements of the Jewish faith, as did his disciples even after the resurrection. He never criticised that faith. What he did criticise were what he saw as distortions, hypocrisies and other corrupting elements. Jesus’ message is, as he says himself in Matthew, not an abrogation of the Jewish faith but carrying it to its logical fulfilment (Matthew 5:17).
In the synagogue
The synagogue service was basically a Scripture and prayer service. There was no sacrifice; that was confined to one place, the Temple in Jerusalem. Most Jews very seldom went to the Temple for the simple reason that, for most of them, it was too far away. We see Jesus apparently going there about once a year or, like his compatriots, for some of the major feasts.
However, on every Sabbath (Saturday to us) they went to their local synagogue for common worship and prayer. The service was simple: some prayers, reading from the Scripture (the Hebrew or Old Testament, of course) and someone preached. There were no formal clergy or priests in the synagogue. (Again, these were confined to the Temple; John the Baptist’s father was one of them. It is only when Jesus goes to Jerusalem that he comes in confrontation with them. They are not to be confused with either the Pharisees or the Scribes.)
In the synagogue, then, anyone could be invited to get up and preach. On this particular Sabbath day, Jesus was invited. Perhaps he already had a name as a speaker. In any case, as soon as he opens his mouth the people feel immediately that here is someone who is different.
When the Scribes, the experts in the Law, preached, they were primarily explaining the given meaning of the Jewish Law in the sacred books. But when Jesus spoke it was with ‘authority.’ Somehow the people realised that he was not giving out someone else’s teaching. He was giving out his own. As we hear it in Matthew’s gospel: “You have heard it said … but I say…”
A man possessed
But Jesus not only spoke with authority. He also acted with authority. Right there as he spoke there was a man with an ‘evil spirit.’ What exactly does that mean? Have you ever encountered a person with an ‘evil spirit’? Have you ever met a so-called ‘possessed’ person? We need to remember that in the time of Jesus, people believed that the world was full of spirits – some good, some bad. They were everywhere and could attack people in all kinds of ways. You could even ask that evil spirits attack other people, for instance, people you wanted to take revenge on.
This is by no means a thing of the past. Such beliefs are still very much alive in many parts of the world, not least in parts of Southeast Asia e.g. Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines. Even in sophisticated ‘developed’ societies it is often difficult to find someone who will walk calmly through a cemetery in the dark. Amid the glass and steel skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Singapore, how careful people are in choosing a wedding date or how anxious they are about the fung shui, the propitious orientation of their house or office.
In the time of Jesus, if any person was sick, or acted in an ‘abnormal’ way, they were said to have an evil spirit. It was natural to think that people such as epileptics, spastics, mentally disturbed people were the victims of some force that had invaded their bodies. Because of the spirit, people seemed to lose control of their speech and movements. The spirit had taken over. Were these evil spirits real? It is difficult to say. Obviously, some would have a simple medical diagnosis today. But one does meet people in some parts of the world who are convinced that there are forms of possession. The point is that they were healed, made whole again, by Jesus and liberated from their affliction.
The evil spirits of our own day
That there are evil forces in our world today is difficult to deny. Some of the appalling sufferings that people are made to endure by the inhuman behaviour of individuals and groups are hard to explain otherwise. And, while we often look on helpless, somehow we are part of it ourselves.
What is important is that, in the time of Jesus, people really believed in the existence of all kinds of forces. These forces were the source of great and even paralysing fears. What Jesus does is to liberate people from their fears. It was not the evil spirit that was the problem so much as the victim’s fear of that spirit. It is not objective reality that limits our freedom and effectiveness but the way it is seen by us. (Have you ever tried the trick of putting a rubber snake in a friend’s bed and waited for the reaction? What made them scream? The piece of rubber? Or their fear?)
Jesus shows no fear in the face of the spirit in the synagogue. “Be quiet! Come out of him!” The man is thrown into convulsions but he is free. And what is really important is that he feels free.
What are our fears? What spirits are we afraid of? What are the things, the persons, the places which prevent us from doing what we really want to do, from being the person we really want to be? It is important that we identify our fears and that we see them within ourselves and not simply blame others for them. Once we recognise them within ourselves, we can ask Jesus to help us drop them. Let us put ourselves under his authority and he will liberate us.
The people in the synagogue are simply astounded. “Here is teaching that is new and with authority behind it. He gives orders even to unclean spirits – and they obey him.” No wonder his name rapidly becomes known all over the countryside. (The rural grapevine works faster than any fax machine!)
Jesus, a man of authority
We can see here how powerfully Mark presents the impact that Jesus makes. His work of salvation has begun. The Kingdom of God is near when he acts like this. People experience the power. But what kind of power is it?
It is the power of authority. The word authority comes from a Latin verb augere, which means to make something increase. Its root can be found in words like ‘authority,’ ‘author.’ Its root is also found in the English verb ‘to wax’ (as the moon ‘waxes’ and wanes).
So real authority is not just, as we often interpret it, having power over people so that we can make them do what we want them to do. Genuine authority is the ability to en-able people, to em-power them. To enable them to transcend themselves, to grow as persons, to be more effective in the development and use of their innate gifts.
Authority as service
This is the kind of authority which Jesus wields. Jesus did not come to rule and control people. He came, he said, not to be served but to serve. He came, above all, to make people free. So that in their freedom, they could generate all the productive and growth energies within them and be alive with the life of God within them. He freed them from all the ‘evil spirits’ of fear, compulsions, narrow self-centredness, anger, resentment, hostility and violence which prevent people from truly enjoying the experience of being alive. “I have come that they may have life, life in abundance.”
How sad it is then that so many people see being faithful to the Christian faith as a burden to be sloughed off so that they can be “free” of oppression and limitation. To what extent is the Church responsible for giving this image which is such a contradiction of the Gospel message?
So, let us all pray today that Jesus, with his growth-inducing authority will be a real source of liberation for us. May he free us from all those spirits which make us deaf, dumb, blind and lame in life – and paralysed by fear.
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
Job spoke, saying: Is not man's life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages. So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?" then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (cf. 3a) Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
Reading 2 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
Brothers and sisters: If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
Gospel Mk 1:29-39
On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
Commentary
THERE IS A HUGE CONTRAST between the First Reading and the Gospel in today’s Mass. The Book of Job was written a very long time ago, between 500 and 700 years before Christ but today’s passage could have appeared in an agony column in one of our tabloid newspapers.
It is the voice of someone who is terribly depressed and can find no meaning whatever in life. “Is not man’s life on earth nothing more than pressed service, his time no better than hired drudgery?” How often have we heard people speak like that? Perhaps we have felt like that ourselves sometimes. Fed up with life, bored with our work.
Such a person is “like the slave, sighing for the shade, or the workman with no thought but his wages”. How many people do we know who get no enjoyment or satisfaction whatever out of their work? “I just do it for the money.” How sad! At the same time, in the modern industrial world, so much of the work really is tedious and repetitive; one is just a cog in a huge machine. This was so well described in Charlie Chaplin’s film “Modern Times”. We should be grateful that the computer is now taking over so much of this dreary production line work.
How slow evening comes!
Job goes on: “Months of delusion I have assigned to me, nothing for my own but nights of grief. Lying in bed I wonder, ‘When will it be day?’ Risen, I think, ‘How slowly evening comes!’ Restlessly I fret till twilight falls.”
Day after day, night after night drags on. The days crawl by. I become just a clockwatcher, waiting for the lunch break or the end of the day when I can escape to some place (like a pub) and forget about life. The nights are worse when sleep is broken by anxiety and tension.
What kind of a life is that? Where is it going? Where is the value? Where is the meaning? At the same time, “Swifter than a weaver’s shuttle my days have passed, and vanished, leaving no hope behind.” Individual days drag by but, before I realise it, my whole life has gone by. And what have I to show for it?
Before I know it, it is too late. “Remember that my life is but a breath, and that my eyes will never again see joy.” Is that a picture of my life? If not, do you know people who live(?) like that? My life can never be lived over again. I have just got one chance. Maybe today is the time for us to get our act together. As they say, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.”
A day – and night – in the life of Jesus
Let us now look at the Gospel where there is a very different picture altogether. It is a description of part of a typical day in the life of Jesus. The day had begun by Jesus going into the synagogue of Capernaum because it was a Sabbath day. (This is not included in today’s passage.) There he made a tremendous impression by his teaching which had a unique air of authority missing from most teachers of the Law. (We spoke about that last Sunday.) While still in the synagogue, a possessed man burst in and made a great scene. Jesus overpowered the evil spirit and cured the man. (And we also spoke about that last week.)
Then Jesus left the synagogue (where today’s Gospel begins) and, because it was still the Sabbath, when work and travel were forbidden, Jesus and his disciples went to Simon Peter’s house, where Peter’s mother-in-law was confined to bed with a fever.
Jesus immediately healed her and lifted her to her feet. What did the good lady do? Did she slump into a chair and wait for sympathy to be poured out on her? No, she immediately began to serve the needs of those in the house with her. She did this not because that was the duty of a woman but because it is the duty of every Christian to serve. The restoration of her health meant that she could once more take care, according to her gifts, of the community.
No moaning or groaning
Then, after sunset, when the Sabbath was over, the people brought along those who were sick and in the power of evil spirits (some of these may have been just psychologically ill) and he healed them all.
What a difference here from the Book of Job! No moaning or groaning here. No feeling sorry for oneself. Jesus is totally occupied in putting himself at the service of people and bring healing and wholeness back into their lives.
And this is what gives meaning, fulfilment, satisfaction and happiness into people’s lives – when I am making my unique contribution to the well-being of those around me and of my society. I am not watching the clock for the next chance to escape. I am not just thinking of the pay packet.
The life of Jesus is telling us that life is for service, for giving, for sharing. And, if we all did that, how enriched we all would be! The more we all give, the more we all get.
But we live in a very individualistic, me-me-me society. If we cannot grab things for ourselves, then we think we will be losers. It’s everyone for himself or herself. Some make it and some don’t. And if you can’t make it, don’t expect anyone to help you. There is no such thing as society, as Margaret Thatcher is quoted as saying. Be like her. If you can’t make it on your own, forget it.
This is a pure recipe for us to end up like the man in the First Reading. And we see many doing so. Just walk around the streets of our city and you can see for yourself. People who have fallen through the cracks. We pity them, perhaps despise them but feel no responsibility for their being like that or doing something to integrate them into an actively mutually serving community (because that hardly exists?). It is their own fault, their own choice for being unemployed and unemployable, for being alcoholics, drug addicts, wastrels, a burden on the hard-working taxpayer.
Recharging batteries
And then at the end of the day, what does Jesus do? Put his feet up, slump in front of the tv with a beer in his hand? Go down to the pub for some craic? No, he goes off to a lonely place to pray. He needed this. He had given away so much of himself that day that he now needed to be by himself, to recharge his batteries and, above all, to get in touch with his Father, the source of all his energy, and to restore wholeness and peace. He will come away from this experience truly energised and ready to share and serve.
There is a need of all of us for rest but rest that refreshes and rebuilds, as opposed to pure escapist or dissipating activity. We rest in order to come back to a life of service not in order to get away from it. Ideally, as sculptor Eric Gill once said, our work should be our hobby, something we really enjoy doing.
On the other hand, while many are escapists, others are compulsive helpers; they need to be needed. What they do looks like service but it is really satisfying an inner fear of being passed over unnoticed. Such people need to learn how to say No without feeling guilty, as Jesus does in today’s gospel. Otherwise they face burnout and breakdown.
As in all things, balance is the secret, a balance between the needs of others and our own.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I Lv 13:1-2, 44-46
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants. If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11
R. (7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
Reading II 1 Cor 10:31—11:1
Brothers and sisters, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Gospel Mk 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Commentary
LEPERS WERE AMONG THE MOST PITEOUS of people in ancient (and in even not-so-ancient) times. Although little was known then of the origin of the sickness, it was clearly known to be contagious and therefore greatly feared. The only solution was to isolate the victim and not allow him/her to approach other people.
Apart from the appalling physical disintegration of body and limbs, there was the social ostracism, the contempt and the fear which the victim engendered. The real pain and suffering were here. It seems the disease itself was, for the most part, not particularly painful.
What was probably even more tragic was that many who were branded as lepers were suffering from some other ailment, which may not have been contagious at all – such as ulcers, cancer, eczema or other skin diseases (some of them perhaps purely psychosomatic).
Permanent exile
The signs for diagnosis are given in First Reading from the book of Leviticus, one of the books of the Jewish Law. To our ears they sound primitive indeed: “If a swelling or scab or shiny spot appears on a man’s skin, a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected.” This was clearly a very crude and arbitrary diagnosis but, such was the fear of the disease, it was a case of being safe rather than sorry. It was very hard, however, on a victim who in fact did not have leprosy at all.
Whether the person really had leprosy or not, the judgement was severe: “A man [or woman] infected with leprosy [real or feared] must wear his clothing torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, ‘Unclean, unclean’. As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he must live apart: he must live outside the camp.” It was a sentence of indefinite exile from society.
Approaching Jesus in desperation
The scene in today’s gospel occurs during a longer passage which describes a Sabbath day in the public life of Jesus. It involves Jesus going to the synagogue, healing the sick and driving out evil spirits.
Then this leper approaches Jesus. He is desperate. He falls on his knees before Jesus, his last resort. There is marvellous faith in his heart-rending appeal: “If you want to, you can cure me.” This is not to say that Jesus only heals those he wants to heal but that Jesus has only to wish for his healing to be brought about. It expresses the man’s faith in the power of Jesus. He has already seen it at work in the other people who were healed that day. It is this faith which again and again in the Gospel is the necessary and sufficient condition for being made whole again.
Touched by Jesus
Jesus is filled with a deep sense of compassion for the man’s plight. (Notice how Mark, unlike Matthew, frequently highlights the feelings of Jesus.) Jesus then does something very significant: he physically touches the leper to indicate his compassion.
In doing so he rendered himself ritually unclean, opened himself to the risk of contagion but also expressed solidarity with the sick man. It reminds one of Francis of Assisi overcoming his own fear and loathing by embracing a leper he met on the road or of Princess Diana shaking hands with victims of full-blown AIDS or taking an AIDS-stricken baby in her arms.
In none of these cases was such touching actually dangerous (leprosy is only contagious after prolonged physical contact and AIDS can only be communicated by ingesting the blood or semen of a victim) but it sent a very strong message of affirmation to the sick person – and to the rest of us. “I do want it,” says Jesus to the man, “Be healed!” The man is immediately healed, made whole.
Re-entering society
But that is not the end of the story because the physical healing alone does not solve the man’s problem. He has still to be reintegrated into the community – this is the second part of the whole-making process. Leviticus had said: “As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he must live apart: he must live outside the camp.” He now had to get an official endorsement of his being healed. He is told to go to the priests who will examine him and then pronounce him fit to re-enter society.
At the same time, he is strongly warned by Jesus not to say anything to anyone about it. Jesus wanted no sensationalism. The healing was for the man’s sake; it was not a publicity stunt to enhance Jesus’ public image. Jesus’ mission was to bring wholeness into people’s lives but he did not want to be seen as just a wonderworker. Jesus’ healing work cannot be understood apart from his teaching about how we should lead our lives. Even today there are people who rush to this and that shrine to see wonders while having little awareness of what really constitutes the life of the Christian.
A secret that could not be kept
“The man went away but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town but had to stay outside in the places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.”
Indeed, how could the man refrain from telling everybody about his wonderful experience of coming in contact with the whole-making power of Jesus? He becomes an ardent evangeliser, a spreader of good news – something we are all called to be. It was no wonder that people went out into the deserted places looking for Jesus. But what were they looking for?
And we can ask ourselves today, what has our experience of knowing Jesus been like? How come we do not have the enthusiasm of this man? So much of our religious living is focused just on ourselves. It is perhaps worth noting that the man’s experience was the result of having first been the victim of a terrible cross. It is often in our crosses that grace appears.
Jesus was forced to go out into the desert to avoid the enthusiastic crowds. He was not interested in having “fans”, only genuine followers. He would not be ready until his full identity was recognised. That would only happen as he hung dying on the cross (Mark 15:39).
First Sunday of Lent
Reading 1 Gn 9:8-15
God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth." God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9.
R. (cf. 10) Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
Reading 2 1 Pt 3:18-22
Beloved: Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
Gospel Mk 1:12-15
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
Commentary
Commentary on Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15
We are now into the great season of Lent, when we spend six weeks preparing to celebrate the high point of our faith, the Paschal Mystery: the suffering, death and resurrection of the Incarnate God. Formerly it was a time of severe penance as a way of purifying ourselves from our sinful habits and getting ready to celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ with a renewed commitment to follow him.
Even though we are no longer asked by the Church to observe the severe penances of former times, it is surely fitting that we make some form of preparation. It should be a time for personal reflection on where we stand as Christians. Only a little reflection will convince us that, there are many ways in which we fail through word and action, through our thoughts and through our failure to be the kind of people that the Gospel challenges us to be.
But our reflections should not only focus on the negative. What are the positive things which should be part and parcel of my daily life? What kind of a person am I in relation to my family, friends, working colleagues and other people with whom I come in contact? How active am I as a member of my Christian community, e.g. my parish? What difference do I make to other people’s lives? What do I do, within my limitations, to help eradicate the abuses which are part of our society? These are just some of the questions I can ask myself during these six weeks. And it is never too late to get started. Let us not rigidly think that, because Ash Wednesday has already come and gone, that I cannot start today. Remember that even those who came to the vineyard at the eleventh hour were paid the same amount. But the earlier I start the better.
Some of the things I can do are:
Celebrating the Eucharist each day or at least on a few days in the week.
Setting aside some part of my day for personal prayer.
Reflecting on some Scripture, alone or, better still, with others. The Scripture readings for each day in Lent provide excellent material.
Setting aside some money that I might spend on myself for a meal, entertainment or clothes and giving it to an organisation which takes care of the less fortunate in our society.
Deciding to abstain from some activity that I personally enjoy to spend more time with my family, or limiting my indulgence in a favorite food or beverage.
Jesus’ Lent
After his baptism, Jesus goes to the desert for forty days. And, during that time, he is tested by the Evil One. Mark does not say how – but Matthew and Luke do.
These tests are really examples of the kind of tests that Jesus was to face in the course of his public life. The meaning and symbolism of the passage is to be focused on, rather than its historical accuracy. Its purpose is to help us to understand the conflicts that were in Jesus’ own life – conflicts that will also be found in our own.
Second Sunday of Lent
Reading 1 Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am!" he replied. Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you." When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered. "Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger. "Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son." As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son. Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing— all this because you obeyed my command."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Reading 2 Rom 8:31b-34
Brothers and sisters: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who acquits us, who will condemn? Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised— who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.
Gospel Mk 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Commentary
THE STRANGE EXPERIENCE of the Transfiguration described in the Gospel took place very soon after Jesus had been recognised by his disciples as the Messiah. This acknowledgment on their part was a wonderful breakthrough and discovery in their relation with their Teacher and Master.
This had been immediately followed by Jesus telling them he would be rejected by their political and religious leaders and made to suffer and die before rising the third day. It is clear that this came as a terrible shock to the disciples. Their vision of the Messiah was of a glorious, victorious king defeating all the enemies of Israel.
The idea that Messiah would be rejected, made to suffer and die at the hands of his own people was simply unthinkable. It was a total contradiction of the whole concept of the Messiah as Saviour King.
Now it seems that this special experience is being given to balance out the picture. Only a small inner circle is chosen for the experience. It seems that these three disciples, including the leader Peter, are given a glimpse of the “real” Jesus to help them through the dark days ahead.
Full of biblical images
It is a scene full of biblical images. The disciples are brought by Jesus up a solitary mountain. Tradition identifies the mountain as Tabor but it does not really matter. Mountains are traditionally places where God is to be found. Moses delivered God’s Law from the summit of Mount Sinai. Jesus, the new Moses, delivered the New Law (the Sermon on the Mount) from a mountain. There was also Mount Carmel linked with the prophet Elijah and the mountain in today’s First Reading where Abraham took his son Isaac to be sacrificed.
Jesus is transformed with the dazzling light of God’s glory. We remember how Moses on Mount Sinai could not look on the face of God. With Jesus appear Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Law and Elijah the prophets. Together they represent the whole tradition of God’s people. In being seen talking with Jesus, it is understood that they are endorsing fully all that Jesus says and does as being a continuation of the tradition they represent.
Peter’s reaction
We now have Peter’s impetuous reaction. He is totally overcome by what he realises is a uniquely privileged experience, “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here!” He suggests that three shrines be set up in honour of Jesus, Moses and Elijah to commemorate the vision. The Gospel comments that he did not know what he was talking about. There never would be a shrine to Jesus except in the hearts of his followers.
Third Sunday of Lent Year B
Reading I Ex 20:1-17
In those days, God delivered all these commandments: “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished the one who takes his name in vain. “Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.”
Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
Reading II
1 Cor 1:22-25 Brothers and sisters: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Gospel Jn 2:13-25
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.
Commentary
THE GOSPEL PRESENTS a dramatic scene where Jesus shows himself as Lord of the Temple. It does not seem in character to see Jesus with a small whip of cords physically driving out the traders in cattle, sheep and pigeons – animals to be used in sacrifices. And the moneychangers. They were needed because only Jewish money could be offered in the Temple. Roman coins had the image of Divus Augustus (the ‘divine Augustus’) and so were regarded as idolatrous; they had to be exchanged for Jewish coinage.
Jesus objected not to the trade as such which was quite legitimate but to its being done in the temple precincts, “my Father’s house”. “Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.” Such business should have been carried on just outside the temple precincts but we know that in our own time hawkers try to get as close to the action as possible, especially if they have competition. It is also not at all impossible that the temple authorities connived at the practice and may have even benefited if the traders had to “rent” spaces in the Temple to do their business.
This would explain the priests’ anger at what Jesus was doing. “What’s going on here? What sign can you show to justify what you are doing?” Jesus replies: “Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.” They come back: “It has taken 46 years to build this temple and you can raise it in only three days?” This was indeed true and, in fact, the building had not yet been fully completed at this time.
But Jesus was speaking about another sanctuary, another temple where God lived – his own body. Through this event we are reminded during Lent of what we are preparing to remember and celebrate – the death and resurrection of Jesus.
A hard saying
It is the very heart of our faith. But, as Paul explains, writing to the Christians of Corinth, Jesus’ death to the Jews was (and is?) a stumbling block, a scandal, an insurmountable obstacle. It was impossible for them to accept that the Messiah, their Saviour and King, could suffer such an ignominious death at the hands not only of Israel’s enemies but even more of his own people. That just could not be; God could not allow it.
To the Gentiles, the pagans, it was meaningless. Power and domination and influence were what counted in their world. The idea that someone executed like and with common criminals should be worshipped as Lord was nonsense, it was something to be ignored and laughed at and rubbished – as it still is by many in our own society today.
God’s wisdom
But to those who have been called and who answer the call – be they Jews or Gentiles, men or women, slave or free – it is the power and wisdom of God. The death of Jesus to any objective observer seems like utter failure, to believe in such a Lord seems stupid but those with the eyes of faith can see the power of love in that death.
Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B
Reading I 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23
In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy. Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the kingdom of the Persians came to power. All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.” In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!”
Responsorial Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
Reading II Eph 2:4-10
Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Gospel Jn 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
Commentary
AT FIRST SIGHT one might wonder at the choice of the First Reading and what its relevance might be to Lent, let alone the Gospel. (There is usually some link between the First Reading and the Gospel.)
Because of the sins of the Jewish people, from the priests down, because of idolatry and other shameful and sacrilegious practices and after God sent them messenger after messenger who were not listened to, a terrible punishment fell on the whole people. This is how the sacred writer understands the destruction of the Temple and the whole city of Jerusalem and the survivors being carried off to Babylon and exile by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia.
Many years later, Cyrus, the king of Persia, became the agent of God by which God’s people were once more able to return to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild their traditions and a new Temple.
Jesus, an agent of God
The Gospel has a parallel theme but on a much higher level. Jesus, the Son of God, becomes the agent of God’s salvation, not just for one sinful people but for the sinfulness of the whole world. On this Fourth Sunday of Lent we are coming closer to the celebration of how that salvation was brought about.
The gospel makes a comparison with Moses, who was also an agent of God and a saviour of God’s people. The Israelites in the desert had been complaining bitterly about their conditions
so they were punished by a plague of serpents and many died (Numbers 21:4-9).
At God’s instructions, Moses raised up a bronze serpent on a pole “and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered”. John sees here a foretype of Jesus being lifted up. For John Jesus’ being “lifted up” includes both his being raised up on a cross and being raised up to be with his Father in glory. In the process we were saved, healed and made whole. All those who look up to Jesus in faith will be saved, will be given “eternal life”, a life that never can be taken away.
And all of this is a sign of God’s own love. God sacrificed his only Son so that we might have that eternal life. He emphasises that God sent his Son to save and not to judge or condemn. In fact, no one who puts their whole self in God’s hands through faith can be condemned. And it is never too late to make that step of faith.
Darkness of chosen evil
On the other hand, whoever refuses to believe is already condemned. This is not at all directed at those who sincerely follow another faith, another religion, another vision of life. Judgment and condemnation happen where people prefer darkness to light, as indicated by lives of evil and immoral behaviour: hate instead of love; vengeance instead of forgiveness; greed instead of sharing; taking instead of giving life…
It is not a loving God who condemns; rather people choose to alienate themselves from his love. John says that all those who do wrong deliberately hate the light and choose darkness. A person who lives by truth and integrity is not afraid of the light. Such a person has nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of.
Such persons are like the salt of the earth, like a city on a hill, like a candle on a lamp stand. People can see their goodness and so be led by them to Jesus and to God.
Fear of being judged
However, there is another kind of darkness in which people live. It is the darkness of shame when there is something in their lives which they would like to share but are not able to bring out into the open. The reason is their fear of judgment, rejection or ridicule by others. One thinks of the young girl who finds herself pregnant but has no one to turn to, least of all members of her own family, or sometimes even members of the Church. One thinks of the young person who discovers he/she is homosexual and is condemned to live in the darkness of the “closet”, terrified to “come out” even to, or especially to family and friends.
These are just two examples. In these cases the agents of darkness are those who sit in judgment. They themselves are living in the darkness of prejudice and hate, usually the symptoms of an inner fear and insecurity.
But as the Second Reading reminds us today, all our goodness is God’s gift to us and is nothing for us to boast about. Our goodness, such as it is, is his goodness shining through us.
Let us then look at Jesus lifted up on the cross and in glory. Let us see the colossal love of God for us shown there. Let us open our hearts to that love and let it flow right through us to bring life and hope to others.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Commentaries on the Readings: Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56AFTER FIVE WEEKS of preparation we now enter the climax of the Lenten season and what we call Holy Week. In a way, the whole week from today until Easter Sunday should be seen as one unit – the presentation of what we call the Paschal Mystery. This Paschal Mystery includes the sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus into glory and the sending of the Spirit on the disciples of Jesus to continue the work he began. Although it is, for liturgical and catechetical reasons, spread over a period of seven weeks, it should also be seen as an indivisible single experience.
This week sees the climax of the mission of Jesus Christ in which the deepest meaning of his life is unfolded and in which his teaching becomes incarnated in his own words and actions.
Today’s celebration (for, strange to say, the terrible happenings we are about to listen to are truly a cause for celebration on our part) is divided into two distinct parts: the procession with palms and the Mass proper. (The particular Mass you attend may not include both parts as many parishes will only do the first part at one of the day’s Masses.)
Joy and triumph
In the first part the prevailing atmosphere is one of joy and the vestments in today’s liturgy are a triumphant red and not the violet which has prevailed during the other days of Lent. For the reading from the Gospel in this first part recalls the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as King. He gets a rapturous reception from the crowd who acclaim him with words we still use in the “Holy, holy, holy…” of the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer. This scene is important for, in a few days’ time, the same triumphant Jesus will be reduced to a battered wreck of humanity, calling forth the words of Pilate: “Look, it is a human being!” (Ecce homo)
As we process through our church, with our palms (or their equivalent) in our hands, we too sing with enthusiasm: “Christ conquers, Christ is king, Christ is our ruler” (Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat). There is a difference in our case for we know the end of the story and what is to come. Because of that, we sing with even greater conviction about the greatness of Jesus and a realisation of just why he is our King.
But even here there is shadow. For not all are spreading their clothes on the ground for Jesus to walk over or waving their branches. His enemies are watching and what they see only gives greater urgency to their desire to see the end of Jesus. In one way, they will succeed with a frightening ruthlessness to destroy Jesus but, of course, they will also fail utterly. Our presence here today is proof enough of that.
The mind of Christ
In a way the real key to Holy Week is given in today’s Second Reading, which seems to be a hymn, incorporated by Paul in his letter to the Christians at Philippi, in northern Greece. It expresses the “mind,” the thinking of Jesus, a “mind” which Paul urges us to have also if we want to identify fully with Jesus as disciples. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” The key word in the passage is “emptied.” This kenosis (), or emptying, is at the heart of Jesus’ experience during his Passion.
In spite of Jesus’ identity with the nature of God, he did not insist on his status. He first of all took on himself in the fullest sense our human nature – “like us in all things, but sin”. But, even more, he reached down to the lowest level, the lowest class of human beings – the servant, the slave. That was still not the end. He let go of all human dignity, all human rights, let go of life itself to die, not any “respectable” form of death, but the death of a convicted criminal in shame and nakedness and total abandonment.
To understand the sufferings, death and resurrection of Jesus one must fully grasp what Paul is saying here and, not only grasp it, but totally appropriate it into one’s own thinking so that one would be prepared, with God’s help, to go exactly the same way. Our normal sensitivities even over trifling hurts just show us how far we have to go to have the “mind of Jesus.”
We are now – hopefully ¬¬– prepared for listening to Luke’s version of the Passion of Jesus, up to but excluding the climax of resurrection.
So much to reflect on
Although efforts are now made to make the listening of the Passion less of an endurance test, there really is too much to be fully digested as we stand listening to one or three readers. Perhaps we should set aside a short period later in the day to go through the dramatic telling more at our leisure. Or perhaps we could focus on a particular passage which speaks to us more at this time.
There is:
– the last meal of Jesus with his disciples, a bitter-sweet experience for all
– Jesus’ struggle with fear (even terror) and loneliness in the garden, ending in a sense of peace and acceptance
– Peter’s denial of ever having known Jesus, the same Jesus with whom he had just eaten and who had invited him into the garden
– the kiss of Judas, another disciple, sealing the fate of Jesus, and leading to bitter remorse and suicide
– the rigged trial before the religious leaders and again before the contemptuous, cynical Pilate, the brief appearance before the superstitious and fearful Herod
– the torture, humiliation and degradation of Jesus
– the way of Calvary – the weeping women, the reluctant Simon of Cyrene
– the crowds, so supportive on Sunday, who now laugh and mock
– the murderous gangster promised eternal happiness that very day
– the last words of forgiveness and total surrender (emptying) to the Father.
The drama is truly overpowering and needs really to be absorbed one incident at a time. It would be worth reflecting in which of these scenes I can see myself, with which characters I can identify as reacting in the way I probably would.
Jesus – the focal point
Through it all there is Jesus. His enemies humiliate him, strike him, scourge him. Soldiers make a crown with thorns, a crown for the “King of the Jews” (an element of contemptuous racism here?), Herod mocks him. Pilate, Roman-trained, makes a half-hearted attempt at justice but fear for his career prevails.
Jesus, for his part, does not strike back, he does not scold, he does not accuse or blame. He begs his Father to forgive those who “do not know what they are doing.”Jesus seems to be the victim but all through he is, in fact, the master. He is master of the situation because he is master of himself.
So, as we go through this day and this week, let us look very carefully at Jesus our Saviour. We watch, not just to admire, but also to learn, to penetrate the mind, the thinking, the attitudes and the values of Jesus so that we, in the very different circumstances of our own lives, may walk in his footsteps.
If we are to be his disciples, he invites us to walk his way, to share his sufferings, to imitate his attitudes, to “empty” ourselves, to live in service of others – in short, to love others as he loves us. This is not at all a call to a life of pain and misery. Quite the contrary, it is an invitation to a life of deep freedom, peace and happiness. If it were anything else, it would not be worth considering.Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord The Mass of Easter Day
Reading I Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Peter proceeded to speak and said: “You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.
R (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
Reading II
Col 3:1-4 Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.
Gospel Jn 20:1-9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
Second Sunday of Easter Sunday of Divine Mercy
Reading 1 Acts 4:32-35
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
Reading 2 1 Jn 5:1-6
Beloved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth.
Gospel Jn 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
Commentary on Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31
Today’s Gospel begins in an atmosphere of fear. It is Easter Sunday, two days after the death of Jesus. The disciples are inside the house, with the doors firmly locked, because they are terrified that, as companions of Jesus, they too will be liable to arrest and punishment. The words of assurance they had been given earlier are all forgotten.
Suddenly, there is Jesus standing in their midst. The very fact that he can be present in spite of the locked doors indicates that he is not the same as before, that he is present in a new way.
Peace with you!
His greeting is the normal Jewish greeting of Shalom, but, coming from Jesus – the Prince of Peace – to this group of frightened people, it has special meaning. And, in the Greek, there is no verb so it can be taken either as a wish or a statement of fact – where Jesus is truly present to us, there is peace.
He shows them his hands and side. He is not just a disembodied ghost but the same Jesus who died on the cross – and yet there are differences. The disciples’ fear is gradually transformed into an unspeakable joy at the return of their Master. He continues to speak to them. Repeating his greeting of peace, he proceeds to give them their mission. There is no critical word of their failure to stand by him in his final moments.
As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.
Then he breathed on them. The breath of life, reminiscent of God breathing on the dust of the earth and creating human life in the first man. It is also the breath of the Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
A new mission
Then comes their mission:
For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.
Is that all he gave them to do? It does not seem much. What about all the other things the Gospel talks about? And yet, it is all there in those words.
There is no full forgiveness of sin without reconciliation. The disciples’ task is to bring about the reconciliation of all with their God, with their brothers and sisters and with the whole of creation. That is their primary mission, to which all their other efforts and teaching will be subordinated. To restore right relationships between God and his people, among the people themselves, and with the rest of creation. That is a pretty big programme.
In practice, it involves a lot more than just saying words of forgiveness. It involves much more than “going to confession” and being absolved by a priest. It involves working to create a whole society based on these right relationships. It is the making of the Kingdom of God. And, of course, their mission is also ours. The words of Jesus spoken to them are also spoken to us.
An ideal community
This is very well expressed in the description of the ideal Christian community we find in the First Reading.
The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul.
This is the unity of community and fellowship.
No one claimed for their own use anything they had, as everything they owned was held in common.
None of that individualistic greed and competitiveness that so marks our societies today.
As a result,
…no one of their members was ever in want, as those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them…it was then distributed to any members who might be in need.
Can we find that today anywhere in the Church? Actually yes. It is present in communities of religious life, where it is properly lived. But it needs to be lived more widely among all Christians. The Basic Christian Community and other forms of lay community living are moving in that direction.
The Second Reading speaks of keeping God’s commandments. And, the writer tells us, those commandments are not difficult. That may not be our experience, and yet, it is true because those commandments are only a call to be totally true to our human nature. They are not asking us to do things which are not in accord with our nature or transcending our nature. And, of course, in the New Covenant, the commandments in question are those telling us to love each other as Jesus loves us – to be agents of peace and reconciliation and justice, which ties in with the Gospel and the First Reading.
The doubter
On that Easter, there was one apostle missing – Thomas. When he was told that his companions had “seen the Lord”, he said he would not believe unless he saw with his own eyes the marks of the wounds and put his hand in the wound in Jesus’ side.
And then, one week later – today, in fact – they were all, including Thomas, gathered together in the room. Although the doors were locked, Jesus was suddenly there among them. After the usual greeting of peace, he invited Thomas not just to look, but to touch the wounds in his hands and side.
Do not doubt any longer but believe.
Thomas yields completely to the experience saying, My Lord and my God!
It is one of the most powerful acknowledgements of Jesus’ real identity in the whole Gospel and the only time anyone directly calls him God. Ironically, too, it is an act of faith. Thomas could not see directly that Jesus was God. No one can see God directly. But the experience convinced Thomas that he was in the presence of God himself.
The following words of Jesus are meant to encourage us, all those who have not had Thomas’ experience:
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.
We, too, need to be always open to experiences where God’s unmistakable presence can be recognised.
Finally, we are reminded that everything that is in the Gospel is to help us to come to that stage of faith by which we believe:
…that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing this…[we] may find life through his name.
Untold numbers of people have tried this and found that it is altogether true. They have found in following Christ, a meaning, a direction and a very special quality to their lives which cannot be found anywhere else. May that be our experience too.
Third Sunday of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Peter said to the people: "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence when he had decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9
R. (7a) Lord, let your face shine on us.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart.
As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep,
for you alone, O LORD,
bring security to my dwelling.
Reading 2 1 Jn 2:1-5a
My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Those who say, "I know him," but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
Gospel Lk 24:35-48
The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."
Commentary
TODAY WE HAVE ANOTHER ACCOUNT of Jesus appearing to his disciples on Easter Sunday. This time it is from Luke. We should not be disturbed that these various accounts do not tally,
nor should we try artificially to put them into a coherent account as used to be done by “harmonies” of the gospels in the past.
In Luke, Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into glory take place on Easter Sunday. This is all the more striking since, in the Acts of the Apostles – also written by Luke – the ascension is clearly described as taking place 40 days later. This indicates that, in dealing with these post-resurrection stories, we are dealing with something more than history.
As today’s Gospel opens, the disciples, gathered in the room, are hearing the account of the two disciples who have just returned from Emmaus after a powerful experience of meeting the Risen Jesus.
All of a sudden there is Jesus among them. He gives them the conventional greeting, “Peace to you!” (Shalom!). As was pointed out when discussing last week’s Gospel, this phrase in Greek has no verb and can be taken as a greeting wish or a statement of fact. And indeed, as we see here and in other instances in the Gospel, the presence of Jesus does bring peace and joy. It is something for us to take note of.
The disciples’ first reaction, however, is one of fear and alarm. As any normal person of the day would have reasoned, Jesus is dead and so this must be his ghost. But Jesus reassures them: he points out to the solidity of his body. He invites them to touch his hands and feet. Ghosts do not have flesh and bones. In one sense, this is not the Jesus who died on the cross (he can appear through closed doors and in widely scattered locations) but it is still fully the same person they had always known.
Now their feelings turn to inexpressible joy. As they look on him with a mixture of happiness and wonder, he pushes them a bit further and asks for food to eat. Ghosts don’t eat. Jesus is truly risen; he is still fully in our world and part of it although in a very different way from before Good Friday.
Why he suffered
He now, as he did with the disciples going to Emmaus, explained how what had happened to him was all foretold clearly in the Scriptures. His suffering and death were no tragedies; his resurrection was no surprise. It was all part of God’s plan.
But it does not stop there. In the name of that Jesus who suffered, died and rose, forgiveness of sin, that is, total reconciliation with God, was to be proclaimed to the whole world.
This is put in other words in the First Letter of John today: “Jesus is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s.”
And then comes their mission and mandate: “You are witnesses to this.” We see this mission being carried out as Peter speaks to the people in today’s First Reading. He explains the real meaning of what happened to Jesus and how they are to respond to the message.
Our mission too
Obviously, this mission and mandate is also for us. We also, through our baptism and incorporation in the Church as the Body of Christ, have received the same mission. Without our co-operating with Jesus, the message of reconciliation and forgiveness will not be heard. It is not enough for us just to hear the message and implement it in our own lives, as we sometimes seem to think is all that is required of us.
Again from the Second Reading: “We can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments. Anyone who says, ‘I know him’, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, refusing to admit the truth.”
It is clear that by “keeping the commandments” he means above all the need to follow the commandment of unconditional love, to love others as Jesus has loved us. It is for each one of us today to ask how, given the circumstances of our own lives, we can most effectively get that message across to the people around us. It means proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom among us.
All round us there are people who have never heard the message at all. Others have never heard it in all its clarity and power. Many others have heard it only in a distorted form (and that can include many Christians).
Yet the constant pursuit of money and goods, of power and status, the constant escape into drugs, nicotine, alcohol and the high incident of suicides, especially among young people, all point to people who are looking for meaning, peace and happiness in their lives.
They all need to hear that greeting: “Peace with you” and to experience the peace that only Jesus can give.Will I be the one to carry that message today to even one other person? If we all did just that, we would reach a very large number of people.