Thursday - October 05, 2017
"Mary, give me your Heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your Heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as you love Him and serve Him in the distressing guise of the poor."
--Blessed Mother Teresa
TODAY'S READINGS
October 5, 2017
Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 458
Reading 1NEH 8:1-4A, 5-6, 7B-12
The whole people gathered as one in the open space before the Water Gate,and they called upon Ezra the scribe
to bring forth the book of the law of Moses
which the LORD prescribed for Israel.
On the first day of the seventh month, therefore,
Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,
which consisted of men, women,
and those children old enough to understand.
Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak until midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.
Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform
that had been made for the occasion.
He opened the scroll
so that all the people might see it
(for he was standing higher up than any of the people);
and, as he opened it, all the people rose.
Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,
and all the people, their hands raised high, answered,
"Amen, amen!"
Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD,
their faces to the ground.
As the people remained in their places,
Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God,
interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.
Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe
and the Levites who were instructing the people
said to all the people:
"Today is holy to the LORD your God.
Do not be sad, and do not weep"–
for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.
He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks,
and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared;
for today is holy to our LORD.
Do not be saddened this day,
for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!"
And the Levites quieted all the people, saying,
"Hush, for today is holy, and you must not be saddened."
Then all the people went to eat and drink,
to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy,
for they understood the words that had been expounded to them.
Responsorial PsalmPS 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (9ab) 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.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye;
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
AlleluiaMK 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 10:1-12
Jesus appointed seventy-two other discipleswhom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."
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Evangelizing as lambs of God
Jesus wants us all to be workers in the Lord's harvest. In today's Gospel reading, he's commissioning 72 disciples and sending them forth on evangelization missions. Notice that he's not limiting this important work to just the Top Twelve Disciples. He sent forth a large contingent of followers, and then he went on to say that there weren't enough of them.
Today he's still doing this at the end of every Mass. When the priest gives us the final blessing to send us forth, it's not really him doing it -- it's Jesus himself!
Is he still saying that there aren't enough of us working this harvest?
Saint Francis of Assisi is famous for teaching that all Christians should preach the Gospel at all times, "and sometimes use words." Our lives -- how we respond to crises, how we treat others, how we rely on faith when there are reasons to doubt, how we deal with suffering, how much we care about the future of our planet and protecting God's creations, and what we do about injustices within and outside our churches -- are the harvesting tools that evangelize.
We are all commissioned for this mission by virtue of our baptisms. Our everyday lives either witness or fail to witness about God's true nature.
Furthermore, Jesus emphasized that we should evangelize as lambs among wolves. What is a lamb? Remember that in Christian symbolism, Jesus is the Lamb that was slain for our sins, and yes, sometimes we too have to make difficult sacrifices in order to convey God's love. But not all of the time! Jesus was the Lamb of God before he went to the cross. He was the Lamb throughout his ministry, and he is still the Lamb.
Being a lamb means being like Jesus in every moment of every day in ordinary ways. The opposite is to be a wolf, one who devours the weak. We become wolves if we attack others for their weak or non-existent faith. We are wolves disguised as lambs if we try to guilt people into going to Mass or force them to obey Church laws or beat the love of God into them by nagging and harping on what is wrong about them.
Wolves tear others down. Lambs inspire faith, and faith inspires a personal relationship with Jesus, and this relationship inspires a desire to spread God's love, and this desire inspires the straying sheep to return to Mass and become active in the faith community.
Jesus also explained that when we reach out to others, we should evangelize them without carrying our personal baggage into the encounter. The baggage that we might be tempted to bring into a conversation about faith includes feelings of inferiority ("God cannot use me, I can't make a difference") and feelings of superiority ("They're bigger sinners than I am").
Before going out into the world, we need to ask: "What do I tend to bring to others that is not Christ-like?" Ask Jesus to help you unload this baggage at the door.
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God Bless You.....
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