Celebración de la palabra

Monday September 2

TODAY IS THE TIME OF GRACE

Introduction

In today’s first reading Paul calms the fears of the Christian community of Thessalonica. They are expecting the return of Christ soon, in their very lifetime. Now, what about the Christians who have died before the parousia, are they lost? No, says Paul, this makes no difference. As Christ died and rose from the dead, so those who have died will be raised up by Christ and reign with him. To them – and to us – Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our faith.
From now on until Advent begins, we shall read the gospel of Luke, the evangelist who pays special attention to the Holy Spirit, the mercy of God, Jesus’ special concern for the poor, the role of women in the life of Jesus, and the liturgy. Luke presents his gospel in the form of a journey from Nazareth in Galilee to Jerusalem. Today we hear about the beginning of the so-called public life of Jesus, his program set for him by the Spirit. He announces salvation as starting “today” with his teaching and working among the people. For us too, the time of grace is today, in our time, with the Lord working and living among us now.

Opening Prayer

God, Father of mercy and love,
you let your Son announce to us
that today is the time of grace.
Let his Spirit be upon us today,
that in the poverty of our own hearts
we may hear Jesus’ stirring message,
that blind as we are, he may give us eyes of faith,
and that he may set us free
from the captivity of our fears and selfishness.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Reading 1: 1 Thes 4:13-18

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13

R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Alleluia: See Lk 4:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Lk 4:16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, "Is this not the son of Joseph?"
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb,
'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"
And he said,
"Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Intercessions

– Lord, give eloquence and courage to our leaders and all teachers in the Church, that they may understand it and proclaim it as good news of liberation to all, we pray:
– Lord, open our eyes to the miseries of people; make us concerned about those imprisoned in their fears and the grip of injustice, we pray:
– Lord, make us receptive to your word. Free us from banality and fear, our self-security and certainties, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
it is perhaps easier for us
to accept your Son as our Savior and Lord
than the people who knew him
as the son of Joseph and Mary.
Help us to recognize him here in our midst
in these signs of bread and wine.
Accept this offering of our faith
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
through his words and his body
your Son Jesus Christ is alive among us.
Fill us with his Holy Spirit,
that we too, with him and in his name,
may bring his good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to captives,
open the eyes of the blind
and set the downtrodden free.
Let this be to all the time of the grace
of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Today, with Jesus alive among us in our community, we should also be ready to say with Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. He sends us to bring good news to the poor.” May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Commentary

There is a note of consternation in both readings today. The Thessalonians expected the imminent return of the Lord in glory. Not only did this not occur, but some of the faithful were dying before the return. The people of Nazareth, while impressed with Jesus’ insights, wanted him to perform the wonders there that he had performed elsewhere. In reply, Jesus cites two examples from the Old Testament in which the prophets’ wonders had been performed not for their fellow Israelites but for foreigners.
The passage from Isaiah that Jesus read in the synagogue speaks of Yahweh’s definitive action in the world as alleviating the pain of the unfortunate. Good news for the poor, freedom for captives, and sight for the blind. In fact, the miracles of Jesus are never done for display, but only in the interest of rendering assistance. But even at that, Jesus states that no prophet wins acceptance in his home town.
How true it is. When we want to make an important point or shed light on a major controversy, we look for a celebrated speaker from out of town. And, all too often, we recognize that the same point could have been made just as effectively by someone close at hand. In addition, when a prophetic voice is raised by someone close at hand, it is often not taken seriously.
The truth, when spoken honestly and candidly, does not have to be varnished. Let our conscience be our guide. If the speaker has the truth on his side, the speaker’s origins make no difference. Let the truth be our guide. And it is the truth that will set us free.

Points to Ponder

Jesus’ mission to the unfortunate
Listening for the truth from any quarter
The meaning of the Second Coming.