1) Opening prayer
Father,
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10,38-42
In the course of their journey Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking.
Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.'
But the Lord answered, 'Martha, Martha,' he said, 'you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.'
3) Reflection
● Today's Gospel presents the episode of Martha and Mary, the two sisters of Lazarus. Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus was listening to his word. Martha, in the kitchen was busy doing the domestic work. This family, friend of Jesus is frequently mentioned in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 10, 38-41) and of John (Jn 11, 1-39; 12, 2).
● Luke 10, 38: The friendly house in Bethany. At that time, Jesus came to a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house". Jesus was going toward Jerusalem, where he would die. He arrived to Martha's house and she welcomes him. Luke does not say that Martha's house was in Bethany. John tells us that Martha's house was in Bethany, near Jerusalem. The word Bethany means House of Poverty. It was a village on the Mount of Olives, close to Jerusalem. When he was in Jerusalem, Jesus usually went to the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus (Jn 12, 2)
●It is impressing to see how Jesus entered and lived in the houses of the people: in Peter's house (Mt 8, 14), of Matthew (Mt 9, 10), of Jarius (Mt 9, 23), of Simon the Pharisee (Lk 7, 36), of Simon the leper (Mk 14, 3), of Zacchaeus (Lk 19, 5). The official recognizes: "I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof" (Mt 8, 8). People looked for Jesus in his house (Mt 9, 28; Mk 1, 33; 2, 1; 3, 20). The four friends of the paralytic stripped the roof to lower the stretcher where the man was and put him before the place where Jesus was teaching the people (Mk 2, 4). When he went to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped in the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus (12, 2). In sending out the disciples, their mission was to enter in the houses of the people and take peace (Mt 10,12-14; Mk 6,10; Lk 10,1-9).
● Luke 10, 39-40: The attitude of the two sisters. "Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking; Martha was distracted with all the serving". Two important attitudes, always present in the life of Christians: to be attentive to the Word of God and to be attentive to the needs of persons. Each one of these attitudes demands total attention. For this reason, both live in continuous tension which is expressed in Martha's reaction: "Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me". This is also expressed in the reaction of the Apostles before the problem which arose in the community of Jerusalem. The service at the tables took up all their time and they could not dedicate themselves completely to the announcement of the Word. This is why the community met together and they said: "It would not be right for us to neglect the Word of God so as to give out food" (Ac 6, 2).
● Luke 10, 41-42: Jesus' answer. "Martha, Martha! You worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her". Martha wanted Mary to sacrifice her attention to the Word and to go and help her in the service of the table. But one attitude cannot be sacrificed in favour of another one. What is necessary is to attain a balance. It is not a question of choosing between contemplative and active life, as if the first one was better than the latter. It is a question of finding a just distribution of the apostolic tasks and the ministries in the community. Basing oneself on this word of Jesus, the Apostles asked the community to choose seven deacons (servants). The service at the tables was entrusted to the deacons and in this way the Apostles would be able to continue their pastoral activity: "to dedicate themselves completely to prayer and to the service of the Word" (Ac 6, 4). It is not a question of trying to find in this word of Jesus an argument to say that contemplative life in the monasteries is superior to the active life of those who do pastoral work. Both of these activities have something to do with the proclamation of the Word of God. Martha cannot oblige Mary to sacrifice the attention to the Word. The interpretation of the mystic of the Middle Ages is beautiful. The Dominican friar Mestre Eckart who said: Martha already knew how to work and serve at table without compromising or impairing in any way, her attention to the presence and the word of God. Mary, he says, was still learning at the feet of Jesus. This is why she could not be interrupted. Mary chooses that which for her was the better part. The description of the attitude of Mary before Jesus recalls the other Mary. Of whom Jesus said: "Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it" (Lk 11, 27).
4) Personal questions
● How do you try to find a balance in your life between the desire of Mary and the concern of Martha?
● In the light of the response of Jesus to Martha, the apostles knew how to find a solution to the problem of the community of Jerusalem. Does the meditation on the words of Jesus and his gestures help me to enlighten the problems of my life?
5) Concluding prayer
The works of his hands are fidelity and justice,
all his precepts are trustworthy,
established for ever and ever,
accomplished in fidelity and honesty. (Ps 111,7-8)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10:38-42
In the course of their journey He came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to Him speaking.
Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to Him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.'
But the Lord answered, 'Martha, Martha,' He said, 'you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.'
3) Reflection
• Context. The journey of Jesus, undertaken in 9, 51, is surrounded by particular encounters, among the doctors of the Law (10: 25-37), that precede the encounter with Martha and Mary (vv. 38-42). Above all, there is a doctor of the Law who asks Jesus a question and, for the reader, it becomes a convenient occasion to discover how eternal life is inherited or gained in intimacy with the Father. One can have access to eternal life by participating in the mission of Jesus, the first one sent who has shown us fully God’s mercy (v. 37). In Jesus, the Father has become close to men and has shown his paternity in a tangible way. At the end of the encounter, the expression that Jesus addresses to the Doctor of the Law and to every reader is crucial: “Go, and do the same yourself” (v. 37). To become a neighbor, to get close to others as Jesus did, makes us become instruments to show, in a living way, the merciful love of the Father. This is the secret key to enter into eternal life.
• Listening to the Word. After this encounter with an expert of the Law, while He is on the way, Jesus enters into a village and is welcomed by old friends: Martha and Mary. Jesus is not only the first one sent by the Father, but He is also the one who gathers together men, and in our case, the members of the house of Bethany in so far as He is the only Word of the Father. If it is true that there are many services to be carried out, in welcoming attention to the needs of others, then even more is it true that what is irreplaceable is listening to the Word. The account that Luke gives is a real episode and at the same time an ideal. It begins with the welcome of Martha (v. 38). Then it sketches Mary with an attitude typical of the disciple, sitting at the feet of Jesus and totally attentive to listening to his Word. This attitude of Mary is extraordinary because in Judaism at the time of Jesus it was not permitted for a woman to go to the school of a teacher, a master. Up until now we have a harmonious picture: the welcome of Martha, the listening of Mary. But soon the welcome of Martha will be transformed into super activism: the woman is “pulled”, divided by performing multiple services. She is so absorbed that she is unable to control the domestic services. The great amount of activities, understandable for such a guest, becomes so disproportionate as to prevent her living what is essential, precisely in the time that Jesus is present in her house. Her worry or concern is legitimate but then it becomes anguish, a state of mind that is not convenient when a friend is welcomed.
• Relate service to listening. Her service of acceptance, of welcome, is very positive but it is detrimental because of this state of anxiety with which she carries it out. The Evangelist makes the reader glimpse at this to show that there is no contradiction between the ‘diaconia’ of the table and that of the Word, but He wants to suggest that the service should be related to listening. Because she did not relate the spiritual attitude of service to that of listening, Martha feels that she has been abandoned by her sister. Instead, of dialoguing with Mary, she complains with the Master. Trapped in her solitude she goes against Jesus who seems to be indifferent to her problem (“Lord do you not care”...) and then with the sister, (“that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself?”). In his response, Jesus does not reproach her, nor criticize her, but He tries to help Martha to recover that which is essential at that moment: listening to the Master. He invites her to choose that part, unique and a priority, that Mary has spontaneously taken. The episode invites us to consider a danger which is always frequent in the life of Christians: anxiety, worry, super activism that can isolate us from communion with Christ and with the community. The danger is more underhanded because frequently the material concerns or worries carried out with anxiety are those we consider a form of service. What presses Luke is that in our communities the priority that should be given to the Word of God, and to listen to it, should not be neglected. Before serving the others, the relatives, and the ecclesial community, it is necessary to be served by Christ with His Word of grace. And thus immersed in the daily tasks like Martha, we forget that the Lord desires to take care of us... It is necessary, instead, to place in Jesus and in God all our concerns and worries.
4) Personal questions
• Do you know how to relate service to listening to the Word of Jesus? Or rather do you allow yourself to be taken up by anxiety because of the multiple things to be done?
• Have you understood that before serving you have to accept to be served by Christ? Are you aware that your service becomes divine only if previously you will have accepted Christ and his word?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, you examine me and know me,
you know when I sit, when I rise,
you understand my thoughts from afar.
You watch when I walk or lie down,
you know every detail of my conduct. (Ps 139:1-3)
1) Opening prayer
Father,
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Luke 10:25-37
A lawyer stood up and, to test Jesus, asked, 'Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?' He replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' Jesus said to him, 'You have answered right, do this and life is yours.' But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' In answer Jesus said, 'A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came on him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.
Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper and said, "Look after him, and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have."
Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the bandits' hands?'
He replied, 'The one who showed pity towards him.' Jesus said to him, 'Go, and do the same yourself.'
3) Reflection
● The Gospel today presents the parable of the Good Samaritan. To mediate on a parable is the same thing as to look deeper into our life to discover in it the call of God. In describing the long journey of Jesus to Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 to 19, 28), Luke helps the communities to better understand what the Good News of the Kingdom consists of. He does it by presenting persons who come to speak with Jesus and ask Him questions. These are real questions from the people of the time of Jesus and they are also real questions asked by the communities of the time of Luke. Thus, today in the Gospel, a doctor of the law asks: "What should I do to inherit eternal life?" The response, both of the doctor and that of Jesus, helps us to better understand the objective of the Law of God.
● Luke 10, 25-26: "What should I do to inherit eternal life?" A doctor, who knew the law wants to test Jesus and asks him: "What should I do to inherit eternal life?" The doctor thinks that he has to do something in order to be able to inherit. He wants to obtain the inheritance through his own personal effort. But an inheritance is not merited. We receive an inheritance by the simple fact of being son or daughter. "Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir by God's own act". (Ga 4, 7). As sons and daughters we can do nothing to merit the inheritance. We can lose it however!
● Luke 10, 27-28: The answer of the doctor. Jesus responds asking a new question: "What is written in the Law? The doctor responds correctly. Uniting two phrases of the Law, He says: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself". This phrase comes from Deuteronomy (Dt 6, 5) and from Leviticus (Lv 19,18). Jesus approves of the response and says: "Do this and life is yours!" What is important, the principal thing, is to love God! But God comes to me in my neighbor. The neighbor is the revelation of God for me. And because of this, I have to love my neighbor also with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind!
● Luke 10, 29: "And who is my neighbor?" Wanting to justify himself, the doctor asks: "And who is my neighbor?" He wants to know: "In which neighbor God comes to me?" That is, which is the person close to me who is the revelation of God for me? For the Jews the expression "neighbor" was linked to the clan, it was not a neighbor. Anyone who did not belong to the clan was not a neighbor. According to Deuteronomy, they could exploit the "foreigner", but not the "neighbor" (Dt 15, 1-3). Proximity was based on bonds of race and of blood. Jesus has a different way of seeing which He expresses in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
● Luke 10, 30-36: The parable.
a) Luke 10, 30: The attack along the road of Jerusalem toward Jericho. The Desert of Judah is between Jerusalem and Jericho, which is a refuge of rebels, marginalized, and where one could be attacked. Jesus tells a real fact which had happened many times. "A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead".
b) Luke 10, 31-32: A priest passed by travelling on the same road, then a Levite passed by. By chance a priest passed by, and immediately after, a Levite passed. They are officials of the Temple of the official religion. Both of them saw the man who had been attacked, but passed by and did nothing. Why did they do nothing? Jesus does not say. He allows one to guess with whom one identifies oneself. This must have happened many times, in the time of Jesus as well as in the time of Luke. This also happens today: a person from the Church goes by close to a poor person without helping him. It could also be that the priest and the Levite had a justification: "He is not my neighbor!" or, "he is impure and if I touch him, I will also be impure". And today: "If I help him, I will miss Sunday Mass and will commit a mortal sin!"
c) Luke 10, 33-35: A Samaritan passed by. Immediately after, a Samaritan who was travelling passed by. He saw the man and moved with compassion, he got close, bandaged his wounds, lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him during the night. The following day he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. That was the salary of ten days and he tells him: "Look after him and on my way back I will make good any extra expenses you have!" This is the concrete and effective action. It is the progressive action: to arrive, to see, to be moved with compassion, to get close and to act. The parable says "A Samaritan who was travelling". Jesus was also travelling up to Jerusalem. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. The communities should be the Good Samaritan.
● Luke 10, 36-37: Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the bandits' hands?" At the beginning the doctor had asked: "Who is my neighbor?" Behind the question was the concern for him. He wanted to know: God orders me to love whom, in a way to be able to have my conscience in peace and be able to say, “I have done everything that God has asked me to do". Jesus asks another question: "Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the bandits?" The condition of neighbor does not depend on the race, on the fact that they are relatives, on sympathy, on closeness or on religion. Humanity is not divided into neighbor and not neighbor. To know who is our neighbor depends on us: to arrive, to see, to be moved with compassion and to get close. If you get close, the other becomes your neighbor! It depends on you and not on the other! Jesus overturns everything and takes away from the doctor the security which could come to him from the Law.
● The Samaritans. The word Samaritan comes from Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel in the North. After the death of Solomon, in the year 1931 before Christ, the ten tribes of the North separated themselves from the kingdom of Judea in the South and formed an independent kingdom (1 K 12, 1-33). The Kingdom of the North survived approximately for 200 years. In 722, its territory was invaded by Assyria. A large part of its population was deported (2 K 17, 5-6) and people from other places went to Samaria (2 K 17, 24). There was a mixture of races and of religions (2 K 17, 25-33), and the Samaritans were born from these. The Jews of the South despised the Samaritans considering them unfaithful and adorers of false gods (2 K 17, 34-41). Many prejudices existed against the Samaritans. They were not well accepted. It was said of them that they had an erroneous doctrine and did not form part of the People of God. Some even went so far as to say that to be a Samaritan was something of the Devil (Jn 8, 48). Most likely, the cause of this hatred was not only a question of race and of religion, but also a political-economic problem, linked to the possession of the land. This rivalry even existed in the time of Jesus. But Jesus places the Samaritans as a model for others.
4) Personal questions
● The Samaritan of the parable was not of the Jewish people, but he did what Jesus asks. Does this happen today? Do you know people who do not go to Church but live what the Gospel asks? Today, who are the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan?
● The doctor asks: "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus asks: "Who was the neighbor of the man who was the victim of the bandits"? There are two different points of view: the doctor asks starting from himself. Jesus asks starting from the needs of the other. Which is my perspective or point of view?
5) Concluding prayer
I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart,
in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.
Great are the deeds of Yahweh,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
you show your almighty power
in your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life your promise
and come to share in the joys of your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18:1-5,10
At this time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?'
So He called a little child to Him whom He set among them. Then He said, 'In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. 'Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.
"See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven."
3) Reflection
• Today's Gospel presents a text taken from the Discourse of the Community (Mt 18,1-35), in which Matthew gathers together some phrases of Jesus to help the communities of the first century to overcome the two problems which they had to face at that moment: the leaving or going away of the little ones because of the scandal caused by some (Mt 18, 1-14) and the need for dialogue to overcome the internal conflicts (Mt 18, 15-35). The discourse of the Community treats several themes: the exercise of power in the community (Mt 18, 1-4), the scandal that excludes the little ones (Mt 18, 5-11), the obligation to struggle to bring back the little ones, for their return (Mt 18, 12-14), fraternal correction (Mt 18, 15-18), prayer (Mt 18, 19-20) and pardon (Mt 18, 21-35). The accent is placed on acceptance and on reconciliation, because the basis of fraternity is the gratuitous love of God which accepts us and forgives us. It is only in this way that the community will be a sign of the Kingdom.
• In today's Gospel we meditate on the part that speaks about the acceptance of the little ones. The expression, the little ones, or the least, does not only refer to children, but rather to persons who are not important in society, including children. Jesus asks that the little ones be at the center of the concern of the community, because "The Father does not want any of these little ones to be lost" (Mt 18, 14).
• Matthew 18, 1: The question of the disciples which results in the teaching of Jesus. The disciples want to know who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. The simple fact of asking this question indicates that they have not understood the message of Jesus well. The response of Jesus and the whole discourse of the community serves to make us understand that among the followers of Jesus the spirit of service, dedication to pardon, reconciliation and gratuitous love, without seeking one's own interest, has to be a priority.
• Matthew 18, 2-5: the fundamental criterion; the one who makes himself as little as this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. "Then Jesus called to himself a child and placed him in the middle"; the disciples want a reference point so as to be able to measure the importance of persons in the community. Jesus responds that it is the little ones! Children are not important in society; they do not belong to the world of the great. The disciples, instead of growing towards the heights and toward the center, should grow down and toward the periphery! In this way they will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven! And the reason for this is the following: "anyone who welcomes one little child like this, in my name, welcomes me!" The love of Jesus for the little ones cannot be explained. The children have no merit; they are loved by their parents because they are children, not because of their position or ability or power. This is a pure gratuitous love of God which is manifested here and which can be imitated in the community of those who believe in Jesus.
• Matthew 18, 6-9: Do not scandalize the little ones. The Gospel today omits verses 6 to 9 and continues in verse 10. We give a brief key for the reading of these verses from 6 to 9. To scandalize the little ones means to be a reason for the loss of their faith in God and abandonment from the community. The excessive insistence on the norms and observance, as some Pharisees did, caused the little ones to go away, because they no longer found the liberty that Jesus had brought. Before this, Matthew keeps very strong phrases from Jesus, such as the one of the mill stone put around the neck, and the other one, "Alas for those who cause scandal!" This is a sign that at that time the little ones no longer identified themselves with the community and looked for another refuge. And today? In Brazil alone, every year, approximately one million persons abandon the historical churches and go to the Pentecostal ones. And these are the poor who do this. They leave because the poor and the little ones do not feel at home in their house! What is the reason? To avoid this scandal, Jesus orders to cut off the foot or the hand and take out the eye. These affirmations of Jesus cannot be taken literally. They mean that it is necessary to be very demanding in the struggle against scandal which drives away the little ones. It means to remove those things in our actions and ways that drive the little ones away. The hand, foot and eye were the mechanisms for action then. Today we have many more ways to perform actions and to interact with each other. We cannot in any way allow that the little ones feel marginalized in our community because in this case, the community would not be a sign of the Kingdom of God. It would not belong to Jesus Christ. It would not be Christian.
• Matthew 18, 10: The angels of the little ones are always in the presence of the Father. "See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in Heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in Heaven". Today we sometimes hear the question, "But, do the angels exist or not? Perhaps they are an element of the Persian culture, where the Jews lived for long centuries during the Babylonian exile ?” It is possible. But this is not the important thing or the principal aspect. In the Bible the angel has a different significance. There are texts which speak about the Angel of Yahweh or of the Angel of God and then suddenly they speak of God. They exchange one for the other (Gen 18, 1-2. 9.10.13.16: cf. Gen 13, 3.18). In the Bible the angel is the face of Yahweh turned toward us. The face of God turned toward me and toward you! It is the expression of the most profound conviction of our faith, that God is with us and with me - always! It is a way of making God's love concrete in our life, even up to the smallest detail.
4) Personal questions
• Are the little ones accepted in our community? Do the poorest people participate in our community?
• The angels of God, our Guardian Angel, and many times the angel of God, is the person who helps another person. Are there many angels in your life?
5) Concluding prayer
Lord, you created my inmost self,
knit me together in my mother's womb.
For so many marvels I thank you;
a wonder am I,
and all your works are wonders. (Ps 139,13-14)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
you show your almighty power
in your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life your promise
and come to share in the joys of your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10,13-16
Jesus said: 'Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. And still, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the Judgement than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be raised high as heaven? You shall be flung down to hell.
'Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.'
3) Reflection
● The Gospel today continues speaking about the sending out of the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10,1-12). At the end, after sending them out, Jesus speaks about shaking off the dust from their shoes if the missionaries are not welcomed or accepted (Lk 10,10-12). Today's Gospel stresses and extends the threats upon those who refuse to receive the Good News.
● Luke 10, 13-14: Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! The place which Jesus travelled or covered in the three years of his missionary life was small. It measures only a few square kilometres along the Sea of Galilee around the cities of Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin. In precisely this very small space Jesus works the majority of his miracles and presents his discourses. He has come to save the whole of humanity, and He hardly went out of the limited space of his land. But, tragically, Jesus had to see that the people of those cities do not want to accept the message of the Kingdom and are not converted. The cities fixed themselves in the rigidity of their beliefs, traditions and customs and they do not accept the invitation of Jesus to change their life. Alas for you, Chorazin; Alas for you Bethsaida! For if the miracle done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes". Jesus compares the two cities with Tyre and Sidon which in the past were unyielding enemies of Israel, ill-treating the people of God. For this reason they were cursed by the Prophets: (Is 23, 1; Jr 25, 22; 47, 4; Ez 26, 3; 27, 2; 28, 2; Jl 4, 4; Am 1, 10). And now Jesus says that these same cities, symbols of all the evil done to the people in the past, would have already converted if so many miracles would have been worked in them as in Chorazin and in Bethsaida.
● Luke 10, 15: And you Capernaum. "Did you want to be raised high as Heaven? You shall be flung down to hell. Jesus recalls the condemnation which Isaiah, the Prophet launched against Babylonia. Proud and arrogant, Babylonia thought: "I shall scale the heavens; higher than the stars of God I shall set my throne. I shall sit on the Mount of the Assembly far away to the north. I shall climb high above the clouds, I shall rival the Most High" (Is 14, 13-14). That is what it thought! But it completely deceived itself! The contrary happened. The Prophet says: "Now you have been flung down to Sheol, into the depths of the abyss!" (Is 14, 15). Jesus compares Capernaum with that terrible Babylonia which destroyed the monarchy and the temple and took the people as slaves, from which it never recovered. Like Babylonia, Capernaum thought it was something important, but it fell into the most profound hell. The Gospel of Matthew compares Capernaum with the city of Sodom, the symbol of the worse perversion, which was destroyed by God's anger (Gen 18, 16 to 19, 29). Sodom would have converted if it had seen the miracles which Jesus worked in Capernaum (Mt 11, 23-24). Today, the same paradox continues to exist. Many of us, Catholics since we were children, have such consolidated convictions that nobody is capable of converting us. In some places, Christianity, instead of being a source of change and of conversion, has become the refuge of the most reactionary forces of politics of the country.
● Luke 10, 16: "Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me. And those who reject me reject the one who has sent me". This phrase places the accent on the identification of the disciples with Jesus, in so far as He is despised by the authorities. In Matthew the same phrase of Jesus, placed in another context, underlines the identification of the disciples with Jesus accepted by the people (Mt 10, 40). In both cases, the disciples identify themselves with Jesus as total gift, and through this gift realize their encounter with God, that God allows himself to be found by those who seek him.
4) Personal questions
● Does my city and my country deserve the warning of Jesus against Capernaum, Corazin and Bethsaida?
● How do I identify myself with Jesus?
5) Concluding prayer
Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge.
To Yahweh I say,
'You are my Lord, my happiness is in none.'
My birthright, my cup is Yahweh;
you, you alone, hold my lot secure. (Ps 16,1-2,5)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
guide us, as You guide creation
according to Your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents the second announcement of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The disciples do not understand the words about the cross, because they are not able to understand a Messiah who becomes the servant of his brothers. They continue to dream about a glorious Messiah.
• Luke 9:43b-44: The contrast. “Everyone was full of admiration for all He did”. Jesus said to His disciples “For your part you must have these words constantly in mind: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the power of men”. The contrast is very big. On one side, the vibration and admiration of the people for everything that Jesus said and did. Jesus seems to correspond to all that people dream, believe and expect. On the other side, the affirmation of Jesus that He will be put to death and delivered in the hands of men, that is, the opinion of the authority on Jesus is totally contrary to the opinion of the people.
• Luke 9:45: The announcement of the Cross. “But they did not understand what He said; for them it was so mysterious, that they did not understand the meaning and were afraid to ask questions concerning this argument”. The disciples listened to Him but they did not understand the words about the cross. But even in this way, they do not ask for any clarification. They are afraid to show their ignorance!
• The title Son of Man. This name appears quite frequently in the Gospels: 12 times in John, 13 in Mark, 28 in Luke, 30 in Matthew. In all, it appears 83 times in the four Gospels. This is the name which pleased Jesus the most. This title comes from the Old Testament. In the Book of Ezekiel, is indicated the very human condition of the prophet (Ezek 3:1,4,10, 17; 4:1 etc.). In the Book of Daniel, the same title appears in the apocalyptic vision (Dan 7:1-28) in which Daniel describes the empires of the Babylonians, of the Medes, of the Persians and of the Greeks. In the vision of the prophet, these four empires have the appearance of “monstrous animals” (cf. Dan 7: 3-8). They are animal empires which are brutal, inhuman, which persecute, dehumanize and kill (Dan 7:21,25). In the vision of the prophet, after the anti-human kingdoms, the Kingdom of God appears which has the appearance, not of an animal, but rather of a human person, a Son of Man. That is, a Kingdom with the appearance of people, a human kingdom, which promotes life, it humanizes (Dan 7:13-14). In the prophecy of Daniel the Son of Man represents, not an individual, but rather, as he himself says, the “people of the Saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:27; cf. Dan 7:18). It is the People of God who do not allow themselves to be dehumanized nor deceived or manipulated by the dominating ideology of the animal empires. The mission of the Son of Man, that is, of the People of God, consists in realizing the Kingdom of God as a human kingdom. That is, a Kingdom which promotes life, which humanizes persons.
Presenting Himself as Son of Man to the disciples, Jesus makes this mission His own which is the mission of all the People of God. It is as if He were to say to them and to all of us: “Come with Me! This mission is not only Mine, but it belongs to all of us! Let us go together to carry out the mission which God has entrusted to us, and thus realize the human and humanizing Kingdom of which He dreamt!” And He did this during all his life, especially during the last three years. Pope Leo the Great said, “Jesus was so human, but so human, like only God can be human”. The more human He was, the more divine He was. The more He is “Son of Man” the more He is “Son of God!” Everything which dehumanizes persons draws away from God. That was condemned by God, who has placed the good of the human person above all the laws, above the Sabbath or Saturday (Mk 2:27). At the moment when He was condemned to death by the religious tribunal of the Synedrium, Jesus assumes this title. When He was asked if He was “the Son of God” (Mk 14:61), He answered that He is the “Son of Man”: “I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty” (Mk 14: 62). Because of this affirmation He was declared, by the authorities, guilty, deserving death. He Himself knew it because He had said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10: 45).
4) Personal questions
• How do you combine suffering and faith in God in your life?
• In the time of Jesus there was contrast: people thought and expected or hoped in a certain way; the religious authority thought and expected or hoped in a different way. Today, this same contrast exists.
5) Concluding Prayer
For ever, Yahweh,
Your word is planted firm in heaven.
Your constancy endures from age to age;
You established the earth and it stands firm. (Ps 119:89-90)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
You show Your almighty power
in Your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with Your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life You promise
and come to share in the joys of Your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9:46-50
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." Then John said in reply, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company." Jesus said to him, "Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you."
3) Reflection
• The text enlightens us. If Luke had previously presented the convergence of the men around Jesus to recognize Him in faith, to pay attention to Him and to be present to His cures, now a new stage is opened in His public itinerary. The person of Jesus does not monopolize the attention of the crowds any more, but He is presented as the one who is slowly being drawn away from His own to go toward the Father. Such an itinerary foresees His journey to Jerusalem. And while He is about to undertake that journey, Jesus reveals to them the destiny that is awaiting Him (9:22). He is then transfigured before them to indicate the starting point of His “exodus” toward Jerusalem. Immediately after the light that He experiences in the transfiguration, Jesus once again announces His Passion, leaving the disciples uncertain and disturbed. Jesus’ words on the event of His Passion, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the power of men” (Lk 9:45), they did not understand and they were afraid to ask Him.
• Jesus takes a child. The enigma of Jesus being delivered caused a great dispute among the disciples, as they wondered to whom the first place would belong. Without being asked His opinion, Jesus, who, being God, knew how to read hearts, intervenes with a symbolic gesture. To begin, He takes a child and places him at His side. Such a gesture is an indication of election, of privilege, that is extended at the moment that one becomes a Christian (Lk 10:21-22). So that this gesture will be understood, and not baffling, Jesus gives a word of explanation: the “greatness” of the child is not stressed but is an inclination to “acceptance”. The Lord considers “great” anyone who, like a child, knows how to accept God and His messengers. Salvation presents two aspects: the election on the part of God, which is symbolized by Jesus’ gesture, who accepts the child, and the acceptance of the one who has sent Him, the Father of Jesus (who is the Son) and of every person. The child embodies Jesus, and both, in their smallness and suffering, realize God’s presence (Bovon). The two aspects of salvation are also indicative of faith: in the gift of election the passive element emerges; in service, the active one emerges; two pillars of Christian existence. To accept God or Christ in faith has the consequence of total acceptance of the little ones on the part of the believer or of the community. “To be great,” which the disciples were talking about, is not a reality of something beyond, but it refers to the present moment and is expressed in the “diaconia” of service. Lived love and faith fulfill two functions: we are accepted by Christ (takes the child); but also we have the particular gift of receiving Him (“anyone who accepts the child, accepts Him, the Father”, v. 48). A brief dialogue follows between Jesus and John (vv. 49-50). This last disciple is considered among Jesus’ intimates. The exorcist, who does not belong to those who are intimate with Jesus, is entrusted the same role that is given to the disciples. He is an exorcist who, on the one side is external to the group, but on the other, is inside the group because he has understood the Christological origin of divine force that guides him (“in Your name”). Jesus’ teaching is clear: a Christian group should not place obstacles to the missionary activity of other groups which are true to the teachings of Jesus. There are no Christians who are “greater” than others, but one is “great” in being and in becoming Christian. Then missionary activity has to be in the service of God and not to increase one’s own fame or renown, or to proclaim distorted beliefs and interpretations. That emphasis on the power of the name of Jesus is of crucial importance: it is a reference to the liberty of the Holy Spirit, whose presence is certainly within the Church, but it can extend beyond the instituted or official ministries.
4) Personal questions
• How do you, as a baptized believer, understand success and suffering?
• What type of “greatness” do you live in your service to life, to people? Are you able to change competition into cooperation?
• Do you recognize those in society today who use Christianity or missionary activity for personal fame or personal gain?
5) Concluding Prayer
I praise Your name Lord for Your faithful love and Your constancy;
for You have exalted Your word and Your name above everything.
You heard me on the day when I called,
and You gave new strength to my heart. (Ps 138:2-3)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
You show Your almighty power
in Your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with Your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life You promise
and come to share in the joys of Your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9:51-56
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today narrates and tells us how Jesus decides to go to Jerusalem. It also describes the first difficulties which He finds along this road. He presents us the beginning of the long and hard way along the periphery toward the capital city. Jesus leaves Galilee and goes toward Jerusalem. Not all can understand Him. Many abandon Him because the demands are enormous. Today, the same thing happens. Along the way in our community there are misunderstandings and abandonment.
• “Jesus decides to go to Jerusalem”. This decision marks the hard and long way of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, from the periphery to the capital city. This journey occupies more than one third part of the Gospel of Luke (Lk 9:51 to 19:28). This is a sign that the journey to Jerusalem was of great importance in the life of Jesus. The long walk is also the symbol of the journey that the community is making. They seek to go through a difficult passage from the Jewish world toward the world of the Greek culture. This also symbolizes the tension between the new and the ancient which was closing more and more in on itself. It also symbolizes the conversion which each one of us has to undergo in trying to follow Jesus. During the journey, the disciples try to follow Jesus, without returning back; but they do not always succeed. Jesus dedicates much time to instructing those who follow Him closely. We have a concrete example of this instruction in today’s Gospel. At the beginning of the journey, Jesus leaves Galilee and takes the disciples with Him to the territory of the Samaritans. He tries to form them so that they will be ready to understand the openness to the new, toward the other, toward what is different.
• Luke 9:51: Jesus decides to go to Jerusalem. The Greek text literally says “Now it happened that as the time drew near for Him to be taken up, He resolutely turned His face towards Jerusalem”. The expression “assumption” or “being snatched” recalls the prophet Elijah snatched to heaven (2 Kings 2:9-11). The expression “turned His face” recalls the Servant of Yahweh, who said, “I have set my face like flint and I know I shall not be put to shame” (Isa 50:7). It also recalls an order which the prophet Ezekiel received from God: “Turn your face toward Jerusalem!” (Ezek 21:7). To face something is to address it. One can meet someone face-to-face, which implies a gravity to the meeting. It is an expression that means there is seriousness, and not just a casual stroll. In using these expressions Luke suggests that while they were walking toward Jerusalem, the most open opposition to Jesus began with the official expectations and ideology of the Temple of Jerusalem. Those expectations wanted a glorious and nationalistic Messiah. Jesus wants to be a Servant Messiah. During the long journey, this opposition will increase and will finally end in the arrest of Jesus. The snatching of Jesus is His death on the cross, followed by His resurrection.
• Luke 9:52-53: The mission in Samaria failed. During the journey, the horizon of the mission is extended. After the beginning, Jesus goes beyond the frontiers of the territory and of race. He sends His disciples to go and prepare for His arrival in a town of Samaria, but the mission, together with the Samaritans, fails. Luke says that the Samaritans did not receive Jesus because He was going to Jerusalem. But if the disciples had said to the Samaritans, “Jesus is going to Jerusalem to criticize the project of the Temple and to demand a greater openness”, Jesus would have been accepted, because the Samaritans were of the same opinion. The failure of the mission is probably due to the disciples. They did not understand why Jesus “turned His face toward Jerusalem”. The official propaganda of the glorious and nationalistic Messiah prevented them from seeing this. The disciples did not understand the openness of Jesus and therefore the mission failed!
• Luke 9:54-55: Jesus does not accept the request of vengeance. James and John do not want to take home this defeat. They do not accept that someone is not in agreement with their ideas. They want to imitate Elijah and use fire for revenge (2 Kings 1:10). Jesus rejects the proposal. He does not want the fire. Some bibles add, “You do not know what spirit is moving you!” This means that the reaction of the disciples was not according to the Spirit of Jesus. When Peter suggests to Jesus not to follow the path of the Servant Messiah, Jesus turns to Peter calling him Satan (Mk 8: 33). Satan is the evil spirit who wants to change the course of Jesus’ mission. The message of Luke for the communities: those who want to hinder the mission among the pagans are moved by an evil spirit!
• In the ten chapters which describe the journey up to Jerusalem (Lk 9:51 to 19:28), Luke constantly reminds us that Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem (Lk 9:51,53,57; 10:1,38; 11:1; 13:22,33; 14:25; 17:11; 18:31; 18:37; 19:1,11,28). He rarely says where Jesus passed. Only at the beginning of the journey (Lk 9:51), in the middle (Lk 17: 11), and at the end (Lk 18:35; 19:1), is something known about the place where Jesus was passing. This refers to the communities of Luke and for all of us. The only thing that is sure is that we have to continue to walk. We cannot stop. The place where we have to pass by is not always clear and definite. What is sure is the objective: Jerusalem.
4) Personal questions
• What are the problems which you have to face in your life because of the decision which you have made to follow Jesus?
• What can we learn from the pedagogy of Jesus with His disciples who wanted to take revenge on the Samaritans?
• How often do we ask for revenge or “getting even” in prayer - in not so many words, but in intent, in an Old Testament way of viewing God, rather than always in a humble and forgiving way in response to challenge or adversity? We see this lack of understanding today from those that preach “pray and you will get your way (and your opponents will lose).”
5) Concluding Prayer
All the kings of the earth give thanks to You, Yahweh,
when they hear the promises You make;
they sing of Yahweh’s ways,
‘Great is the glory of Yahweh!’ (Ps 138:4-5)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
you show your almighty power
in your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life your promise
and come to share in the joys of your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10:1-12
In those days the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of Him in pairs to all the towns and places He himself would be visiting.
H He said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to do his harvesting. Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.
Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you."
But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, "We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near." I tell you, on the great Day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.’
3) Reflection
• Context: Chapter 10, which begins with this passage, presents a characteristic of revelation. In 9, 51 it is said that Jesus “resolutely turned his face toward Jerusalem”. This journey, an expression of his being Son, is characterized by a two-fold action: He is closely united “to the fact of being taken away” (v. 51), and his “coming” through the sending out of his disciples (v. 52). There is a bond of union in the double movement: “to be taken away from the world” to go toward the Father, and to be sent to men. In fact, it happens that sometimes the one sent is not accepted (9, 52 and, therefore, He has to learn how to be “delivered”, without allowing himself, because of this, to be modified by the rejection of men (9, 54-55). Three brief scenes make the reader understand the meaning of following Jesus who is going to Jerusalem to be taken out of the world. In the first one, a man is presented who desires to follow Jesus wherever He goes. Jesus invites him to abandon all that he has - all that gives him well-being and security. Those who want to follow Him have to share his destiny of a nomad life. In the second scene it is Jesus who takes the initiative and He calls a man whose father has just died. The man asks to delay in responding to the call in order to comply with the law and to his duty to bury the parents. The urgency of announcing the Kingdom exceeds this duty. The concern of burying the dead is useless because Jesus goes beyond the doors[1] of death and He fulfils this even for those who follow him. In the third scene, a man is presented who offers himself spontaneously to follow Jesus but He places a condition: to bid farewell to his parents. To enter into the Kingdom one does not delay. After this three-fold renunciation, the expression of Luke 9, 60, “Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God”, introduces the theme of chapter 10.
• The dynamic of the account. The passage which is the object of our meditation begins with somewhat dense expressions. The first one, “After these things, it sends us back to the prayer of Jesus and to his firm decision to go to Jerusalem. The second one concerns the verb “appointed”: He appointed seventy-two others and sent them out...” (10, 1). Where it is said concretely that He sent them ahead of him, it is the same resolute Jesus who is journeying to Jerusalem. The recommendations that He addresses to them before sending them are an invitation to be aware of the reality to which they are sent: abundant harvest in contrast to the few laborers. The Lord of the harvest arrives with all his force but the joy of that arrival is hindered by the reduced number of laborers. Therefore, the categorical invitation to prayer: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to do his harvesting” (v. 2). The initiative of sending out on mission is the competence of the Father but Jesus transmits the order: ”Start off now” and then He indicates the ways of following (vv. 4-11). He begins with the luggage: no purse, no sack nor sandals. These are elements that show the fragility of the one who is sent and his dependence on the help that they receive from the Lord and from the people of the city. The positive prescriptions are synthesized first in arriving to a house (vv. 5-7) and then in the success in the city (VV. 8-11). In both cases, the refusal is not excluded. The house is the first place where the missionaries have the first exchanges, the first relationships, valuing the human gestures of eating and drinking and of resting as simple and ordinary mediations to communicate the Gospel. “Peace” is the gift that precedes their mission, that is to say, fullness of life and of relationships; the true and real joy of the arrival of the Kingdom. It is not necessary to seek comfort and it is indispensable to be welcomed. Instead, the city becomes, the most extensive field of the mission. It is there that life, political activity, the possibility of conversion, acceptance, and rejection are developed. This last aspect is linked to the gesture of shaking off the dust (vv. 10-11). It is as if the disciples, in abandoning the city that has rejected them, would say to the people that they possess nothing as an expression of the end of the relationship. Finally, Jesus recalls the guilt of that city which will close itself to the proclamation of the Gospel (v. 12).
4) Personal questions
• You are invited every day by the Lord to announce the Gospel to those close to you (in the house) and to all persons (in the city). Do you assume a poor, essential style in witnessing your identity as a Christian?
• Are you aware that the success of your witness does not depend on your individual capacity but only on the Lord who orders and on your availability?
5) Concluding Prayer
Your face, Yahweh, I seek;
Do not turn away from me.
Do not thrust aside your servant in anger,
without you I am helpless.
Never leave me, never forsake me, God, my Savior. (Ps 27,8-9)
Ordinary Time
John 1,47-51
1) Opening prayer
Father,
You show Your almighty power
in Your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with Your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life Your promise
and come to share in the joys of Your kingdom.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - John 1:47-51
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the dialogue between Jesus and Nathanael in which the following phrase appears: “In all truth I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of Man“. This phrase helps to clarify something concerning the archangels.
• John 1:47-49: The conversation between Jesus and Nathanael. Philip took Nathanael to Jesus (Jn 1:45-46). Nathanael had exclaimed: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael was from Cana, which was close to Nazareth. Seeing Nathanael, Jesus said: “There, truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deception!” And He affirms that He knew him already when he was under the fig tree. How could Nathanael be an “authentic Israelite”, if he did not accept Jesus as Messiah? Nathanael “was under the fig tree”. The fig tree was the symbol of Israel (cf. Mq 4:4; Zc 3:10; 1K:5,5). “To be under the fig tree” was the same as being faithful to the project of the God of Israel. The authentic Israelite is the one who knows how to detach himself from his own ideas when he perceives that these are not in agreement with God’s project. The Israelite who is not ready to converse is neither authentic nor honest. Nathanael is authentic. He expected the Messiah according to the official teaching of that time, according to which the Messiah came from Bethlehem in Judea. The Messiah could not come from Nazareth in Galilee (Jn 7:41-42.52). This is why Nathanael resists accepting Jesus as Messiah. But the encounter with Jesus helps him to become aware that God’s project is not always as one imagines it or desires that it be. Nathanael recognizes his own deception, he changes his idea, accepts Jesus as Messiah and confesses: “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!”
• The diversity of the call. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke present the call of the first disciples in quite a brief way: Jesus walks along the seashore, and He calls Peter and Andrew. Then He calls John and James (Mk 1:16-20). The Gospel of John has a different way of describing the beginning of the first community which was formed around Jesus. John does it by narrating very concrete stories. One is struck by the variety of the calls and of the encounters of persons among themselves and with Jesus. Thus John teaches what is necessary to do to begin a community. It is by means of contacts and personal invitations, and it is like that even today! Jesus calls some directly (Jn 1:43). Others indirectly (Jn 1:41-42). One day He called two disciples of John the Baptist (Jn 1:39). The following day He called Philip who, in turn, called Nathanael (Jn 1:45). No call is repeated because every person is diverse. People will never forget the important calls which have marked their life. One even remembers the hour and the day (Jn 1:39).
• John 1:50-51: The angels of God who descend and ascend on the Son of Man. The confession of Nathanael is only at the beginning. Anyone who is faithful, will see heaven open and the angels who go up and descend on the Son of Man. They will experience that Jesus is the new bond of union between God and us, human beings. It is the realization of the dream of Jacob (Gn 28:10-22).
• The angels who go up and descend the ladder. The three Archangels: Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael. Gabriel explained to prophet Daniel the meaning of the vision (Dn 8:16; 9:21). The angel Gabriel also took God’s message to Elizabeth (Lk 1:19) and to Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Lk 1:26). His name means “God is strong”. Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit. He accompanies Tobias, the son of Tobit and of Anna, throughout the trip and protects him from all danger. He helps Tobias to liberate Sara from the evil spirit and to cure Tobit, his father, from his blindness. His name means “God heals”. Michael helped the prophet Daniel in his struggles and difficulties (Dn 10:13.21; 12:1). The letter of Jude says that Michael disputed with the devil over the body of Moses (Jude 1:9). It was Michael who obtained victory over Satan, throwing him out of Heaven and throwing him into hell (RV 12:7). His name means: “Who is like God!” The word ‘angel’ means messenger. He takes a message from God. In the bible, the entire nature could be the messenger of God Himself, when it turns its face on us and reveals God’s love for us (Ps 104:4). The angel can be God Himself, when He turns His face on us and reveals His loving presence to us.
4) Personal questions
• Have you already had some encounter which has marked your whole life? How have you discovered the call of God there?
• Have you been interested, some times, like Philip, to call another person to participate in the community?
5) Concluding Prayer
I thank You, Yahweh, with all my heart,
for You have listened to the cry I uttered.
In the presence of angels I sing to You,
I bow down before Your holy Temple. (Ps 138:1-2)
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Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
guide us, as You guide creation
according to Your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today follows the same theme as that of yesterday: the opinion of the people on Jesus. Yesterday, beginning with Herod, today it is Jesus who asks what do people think, and the Apostles respond giving the same opinion which was given yesterday. Immediately follows the first announcement of the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus.
• Luke 9:18: The question of Jesus after His prayer. “One day, while Jesus was praying alone, His disciples came to Him and He put this question to them: “Who do the crowds say I am?” In Luke’s Gospel, on several important and decisive occasions, Jesus is presented in prayer: in His Baptism when He assumes His mission (Lk 3:21); in the 40 days in the desert, when He overcame the temptations presented by the devil Lk 4:1-13); the night before choosing the twelve apostles (Lk 6:12); in the Transfiguration, when with Moses and Elijah, He spoke about His passion in Jerusalem (Lk 9:29); in the Garden when He suffers His agony (Lk 22:39-46); on the Cross, when He asks pardon for the soldiers (Lk 23:34) and when He commits His spirit to God (Lk 23:46).
• Luke 9:19: The people’s opinion of Jesus. “They answered, “For some, John the Baptist; others Elijah, but others think that You are one of the ancient prophets who has risen from the dead”. Like Herod, many thought that John the Baptist had risen in Jesus. It was a common belief that the prophet Elijah had to return (Mt 17:10-13; Mk 9:11-12; Mal 3:23-24; Sir 48:10-12). All nourished the hope of the coming of the prophet promised by Moses (Deut 18:15). This was an insufficient response.
• Luke 9:20: Jesus’ question to the disciples. After having heard the opinion of others, Jesus asks, “And you, who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “The Messiah of God!” Peter recognizes that Jesus is the one whom the people are waiting for and that He comes to fulfill the promise. Luke omits the reaction of Peter, who tries to dissuade Jesus to follow the way of the cross and omits also the harsh criticism of Jesus to Peter (Mk 8:32-33; Mt 16:22-23).
• Luke 9:21: The prohibition to reveal that Jesus is the Messiah of God. “Then Jesus gave them strict orders and charged them not to say this to anyone”. It was forbidden to them to reveal to the people that Jesus is the Messiah of God. Why does Jesus prohibit this? At that time, as we have already seen, everybody was expecting the coming of the Messiah, but, each one in his own way: some expected a king, others a priest, others a doctor, a warrior, a judge or a prophet! Nobody seemed to expect the Messiah Servant, announced by Isaiah (Isa 42:1-9). Anyone who insists in maintaining Peter’s idea, that is, of a glorious Messiah, without the cross, understands nothing and will never be able to assume the attitude of a true disciple. He will continue to be blind, exchanging people for trees (cf. Mk 8:24). Because without the cross it is impossible to understand who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus. Because of this, Jesus insists again on the Cross and makes the second announcement of His passion, death and resurrection.
• Luke 9:22: The second announcement of the Passion. Jesus adds, “The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day”. The full understanding of the following of Jesus is not obtained through theoretical instruction, but through practical commitment, walking together with Him along the road of service, from Galilee up to Jerusalem. The road of the following is the road of the gift of self, of abandonment, of service, of availability, of acceptance of conflict, knowing that there will be a resurrection. The cross is not an accident on the way; it forms part of our way. This because, in the organized world starting from egoism, love and service can exist only if they are crucified! Anyone who makes of his life a service to others disturbs those who live attached to privileges, and suffers.
4) Personal questions
• We all believe in Jesus. But there are some who understand Him in one way and others in another way. Today, what is the more common Jesus in the way people think?
• How does propaganda interfere in my way of seeing Jesus? What do I do so as not to allow myself to be drawn into the propaganda? What prevents us today from recognizing and assuming the plan of Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
Blessed be Yahweh, my rock,
who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,
my faithful love, my bastion, my citadel, my Savior;
I shelter behind Him. (Ps 144:1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
guide us, as You guide creation
according to Your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9:7-9
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, "John has been raised from the dead"; others were saying, "Elijah has appeared"; still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen." But Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents a reaction from Herod listening to the preaching of Jesus. Herod does not know how to place himself before Jesus. He had killed John the Baptist and now he wants to see Jesus close to him. It is always threatening.
• Luke 9:7-8: Who is Jesus? The text begins with the exposition of the opinion of the people and of Herod on Jesus. Some associated Jesus to John the Baptist and to Elijah. Others identified Him with a Prophet, that is, with a person who speaks in the name of God, who has the courage to denounce injustices of those in power and who knows how to give hope to the little ones. He is the Prophet announced in the Old Testament like a new Moses (Dt 18:15). These are the same opinions that Jesus received from the disciples when He asked them: “Who do people say I am?” (Lk 9:18). People tried to understand Jesus starting from things that they knew, thought and expected. They tried to set Him against the background of the familiar criteria of the Old Testament with its prophecies and hopes, and of the tradition of the ancients with their laws. But these were insufficient criteria; Jesus could not enter into them, He was much bigger!
• Luke 9:9: Herod wants to see Jesus. But Herod said: “John, I beheaded him; so who is this of whom I hear such things?” “And he was anxious to see him”. Herod, a superstitious man without scruples, recognizes that he was the murderer of John the Baptist. Now, he wants to see Jesus. Luke suggests thus that the threats begin to appear on the horizon of the preaching of Jesus. Herod had no fear to kill John. He will not be afraid to kill Jesus. On the other hand, Jesus does not fear Herod. When they tell Him that Herod wanted to take Him to kill Him, He sent someone to tell him: “You may go and give that fox this message: Look, today and tomorrow I drive out devils and heal, and on the third day I attain My end.” (Lk 13:32). Herod has no power over Jesus. When at the hour of the passion, Pilate sends Jesus to be judged by Herod, Jesus does not respond anything (Lk 23:9). Herod does not deserve a response.
• From father to son. Sometimes the three Herods, who lived during that time, are confused, then the three appear in the New Testament with the same name: a) Herod, called the Great, governed over the whole of Palestine from 37 before Christ. He appears at the birth of Jesus (Mt 2:1). He kills the new-born babies of Bethlehem (Mt 2:16). b) Herod, called Antipas, governed in Galilee from the year 4 to 39 after Christ. He appears at the death of Jesus (Lk 23:7). He killed John the Baptist (Mk 6:14-29). c) Herod, called Agrippa, governed all over Palestine from the year 41 to 44 after Christ. He appears in the Acts of the Apostles (Ac 12:1.20). He killed the Apostle James (Ac 12:2).
When Jesus was about four years old, King Herod, the one who killed the new-born babies of Bethlehem died (Mt 2:16). His territory was divided among his sons. Archelaus would govern Judea. He was less intelligent than his father, but more violent. When he assumed the power, approximately 3000 persons were massacred on the square of the Temple! The Gospel of Matthew says that Mary and Joseph, when they learned that Archelaus had taken over the government of Galilee, were afraid and returned on the road and went to Nazareth, in Galilee, which was governed by another son of Herod, called Herod Antipas (Lk 3:1). This Antipas governed over 40 years. During the thirty-three years of Jesus there was no change of government in Galilee.
Herod, the Great, the father of Herod Antipas, had constructed the city of Caesarea Maritime, inaugurated in the year 15 before Christ. It was the new port to get out the products of the region. They had to compete with the large port of Tyron in the North and, thus, help to develop trade and business in Samaria and in Galilee. Because of this, from the time of Herod the Great, the agricultural production in Galilee began to orientate itself no longer according to the needs of the families, as before, but according to the demands of the market. This process of change in the economy continued during all the time of the government of Herod Antipas, another forty years, and found in him an efficient organizer. All these governors were ‘servants of power’. In fact, the one who commanded in Palestine, from the year 63 before Christ, was Rome, the Empire.
4) Personal questions
• It is well always to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus for me?
• Herod wants to see Jesus. His was a superstitious and morbid curiosity. Others want to see Jesus because they seek a sense for their life. Others seek Him out of earthly wants. What motivation do I have which moves me to see and encounter Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
Each morning fill us with Your faithful love,
we shall sing and be happy all our days;
let our joy be as long as the time that You afflicted us,
the years when we experienced disaster. (Ps 90: 14-15)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
guide us, as You guide creation
according to Your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 9:1-6
Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them." Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel describes the mission which the twelve received from Jesus. Later, Luke speaks about the mission of the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10:1-12). The two Gospels complete one another and reveal the mission of the Church.
• Luke 9:1-2: The sending out of the twelve on mission. “Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal”. In calling the Twelve, Jesus intensifies the announcement of the Good News. The objective of the mission is simple and clear: they received the power and authority to cast out devils, to cure the sick and to announce the Kingdom of God. Just as people were admired, astonished seeing Jesus’ authority over the unclean spirits, and seeing His way of announcing the Good News (Lk 4:32.36), the same thing should happen with the preaching of the twelve apostles.
• Luke 9:3-5. The instructions for the mission. Jesus sends them out with the following recommendations: “Take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money and do not have a spare tunic”. Do not go from one house to another, but “Whatever house you enter stay there; and when you leave let your departure be from there”. “As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as evidence against them”. As you will see these recommendations, which seem strange to us, have a very important significance.
• Luke 9:6. The execution of the mission. They go. It is the beginning of a new stage. Now, not only Jesus, but the whole group goes to announce the Good News to the people. If the preaching of Jesus caused conflict, now, with the preaching of the whole group, there will be a greater conflict.
• The four fundamental points of the mission. At the time of Jesus, there were diverse movements of renewal: the Essenes, the Pharisees, and the Zealots. They also were seeking a new way to live in community and they had their own missionaries (cf. Mt 23:15). But when they went on mission, they were advised: to carry a staff, and a haversack to put in it their food. They did not trust the food which was literally not “pure”. Contrary to the other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus received diverse recommendations which help us to understand the fundamental points of the mission, to announce the Good News:
a) They should take nothing (Lk 9:3; 10:4). That means that Jesus obliges them to trust in the hospitality; because one who goes with nothing, goes because He trusts in the people and thinks that He will be welcomed, received. With this attitude they criticize the laws of exclusion taught by the official religion and they show, by means of a new practice, that they had other criteria in the community.
b) They should remain in the first house where they enter, until they leave the place (Lk 9:4; 10:7). That is, they should live together in a stable way and not go from one house to another. They should work with all and live from what they receive in exchange “because the laborer deserves his wages” (Lk 10:7). In other words, they should participate in the life and work of the people, and the people will receive them in their community and will share with them house and food. That means that they have to trust in sharing. This explains the severity of the criticism against those who reject the message: shake off the dust from the feet, as a protest against them (Lk 10:10-12), because they are not rejecting anything new but rather their past.
c) They should cure the sick and drive out the devils (Lk 9:1; 10:9; Mt 10:8). That is, they should carry out the function of “defenders” (goêl) and accept in the clan, in the community, the excluded. With this attitude they criticize the situation of disintegration of community life of the clan and they indicate concrete openings. The expulsion of the devils is a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Lk 11:20).
d) They should eat what the people give them (Lk 10:8). They could not live separated having their own food, but they should accept the communion with others, eat with others. That means that in the contact with the people, they should not be afraid of losing the purity as it had been taught to them. With this attitude they criticize the laws of purity which were in force and indicate, by means of the new practice, that they possess another access to purity, that is, intimacy with God.
These were the four fundamental points of community living which should characterize the attitude of the missionaries who announce the Good News in the name of Jesus: hospitality, sharing, communion and acceptance of the excluded (defender, goêl). If there is a response to these four requirements, then it is possible to cry out all over to the four corners of the world: “The Kingdom has arrived!” (cf. Lk 10:1-12; 9:1-6; Mk 6:7-13; Mt 10:6-16). And the Kingdom of God which Jesus has revealed to us is not a doctrine, nor a catechism, nor a law. The Kingdom of God comes and becomes present when persons, motivated by their faith in Jesus, decide to live together in community to give witness and to reveal, in this way, to all, that God is Father and Mother and that we, the human beings, are brothers and sisters. Jesus wanted the local community to be a new expression of the Covenant of the Kingdom, of the love of God the Father, who makes us all brothers and sisters.
4) Personal questions
• Has participation in the community helped you to accept and to trust persons, especially the simpler and poorer?
• Which is the point of the mission of the Apostles which for us today has greater importance? Why?
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord, set me free from taunts and contempt
since I observe Your instructions.
Though princes sit plotting against me,
Your servant keeps pondering Your will. (Ps 119:22-23)
St. Matthew, the Evangelist
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
You call Your children
to walk in the light of Christ.
Free us from darkness
and keep us in the radiance of Your truth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
3) Reflection
• The Sermon on the Mountain takes chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew. The purpose of the narrative part of chapters 8 and 9 is to show how Jesus put into practice what He had just taught. In the Sermon on the Mountain, He teaches acceptance (Mt 5:23-25. 38-42.43). Now He puts it into practice accepting the lepers (Mt 8:1-4), the foreigners (Mt 8:5-13), the women (Mt 8:14-15), the sick (Mt 8:16-17), the possessed (Mt 8:28-34), the paralytics (Mt 9:1-8), the tax collectors (Mt 9:9-13), the unclean persons (Mt 9:20-22), etc. Jesus breaks the norms and the customs which excluded and divided persons, that is with the fear and the lack of faith (Mt 8:23-27) the laws on purity (9:14-17), and He clearly says which are the requirements for those who want to follow Him. They should have the courage to abandon many things (Mt 8:18-22). In the same way in the attitudes and in the practice of Jesus we see in what the Kingdom and the perfect observance of the Law of God consists.
• Matthew 9:9: The call to follow Jesus. The first people called to follow Jesus are four fishermen, all Jewish (Mt 4:18-22). Now Jesus calls a tax collector, considered a sinner and treated as an unclean person by the community of the most observant of the Pharisees. In the other Gospels, this tax collector is called Levi. Here, his name is Matthew, which means gift of God or given by God. The communities, instead of excluding the tax collector and of considering him unclean, should consider him a Gift of God for the community, because his presence makes the community become a sign of salvation for all! Like the first four who were called, in the same way also Matthew, the tax collector, leaves everything that he has and follows Jesus. The following of Jesus requires breaking away from many things. Matthew leaves the tax office, his source of revenue and follows Jesus!
• Matthew 9:10: Jesus sits at table with sinners and tax collectors. At that time the Jews lived separated from the tax collectors and sinners and they did not eat with them at the same table. The Christian Jews should break away from this isolation and sit at table with the tax collectors and with the unclean, according to the teaching given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mountain, the expression of the universal love of God the Father (Mt 5:44-48). The mission of the communities was that of offering a place to those who did not have it. But this new law was not accepted by all. In some communities, persons coming from paganism, even if they were Christians, were not accepted around the same table (cf. Ac 10:28; 11:3; Ga 2:12). The text of today’s Gospel shows us Jesus who sits at table with tax collectors and sinners in the same house, around the same table.
• Matthew 9:11: The question of the Pharisees. Jews were forbidden to sit at table with the tax collectors and with sinners, but Jesus does not follow this prohibition. Rather He becomes a friend to them. The Pharisees seeing the attitude of Jesus, ask the disciples: “Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” This question may be interpreted as an expression of their desire to know why Jesus acts in that way. Others interpret the question like a criticism of Jesus’ behavior, because for over five hundred years, from the time of the slavery in Babylon until the time of Jesus, the Jews had observed the laws of purity. This secular observance became a strong sign of identity. At the same time it was a factor of their separation in the midst of other peoples. Thus, because of the laws on purity, they could not nor did they succeed to sit around the same table to eat with tax collectors. To eat with tax collectors meant to get contaminated, to become unclean. The precepts of legal purity were rigorously observed, in Palestine as well as in the Jewish communities of the Diaspora. At the time of Jesus, there were more than five hundred precepts to keep purity. In the years 70’s, at the time when Matthew wrote, this conflict was very actual.
• Matthew 9:12-13: “Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. Jesus hears the question of the Pharisees to the disciples and He answers with two clarifications: the first one is taken from common sense: “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick”. The second one is taken from the Bible: “Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases Me, not sacrifice”. Through these clarifications, Jesus makes explicit and clarifies His mission among the people: “I have not come to call the upright but sinners”. Jesus denies the criticism of the Pharisees; He does not accept their arguments, because they came from a false idea of the Law of God. He Himself invokes the Bible: “Mercy is what pleases Me, not sacrifice”. For Jesus, mercy is more important than legal purity. He refers to the prophetic tradition to say that mercy has greater value for God than all sacrifices (Ho 6:6; Is 1:10-17). God has profound mercy, and is moved before the failures of His people (Ho 11:8-9).
4) Personal questions
• Today, in our society, who is marginalized and excluded? Why? In our community, do we have preconceptions or prejudices? Which? Which is the challenge which the words of Jesus present to our community?
• Jesus asks the people to read and to understand the Old Testament which says: “Mercy is what pleases Me and not sacrifice”. What does Jesus want to tell us with this today?
5) Concluding Prayer
Blessed are those who observe His instructions,
Blessed are those who observe His instructions,
who seek Him with all their hearts,
and, doing no evil, who walk in His ways. (Ps 119:2-3)
