Sunday August 14, 2022

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

I Have Come to Bring Fire

No Easy Peace

Greeting (See Second Reading)

We must run with perseverance
the race we have entered,
with our eyes fixed on Jesus.
May the Lord Jesus give you that strength you need
and be always with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

I Have Come to Bring Fire

Today the Lord confronts us with the question: How fiery is your love? How fervent is your faith? Can our faith accept contradiction and ridicule without reducing us to silence? Perhaps we are resigned to the evil in us and in the world and do not stand up for what is right and good. If we love the Lord, and people, enough we do not tolerate an easy peace that puts our conscience to sleep. In this Eucharist we pray to the Lord for the fire of his Spirit.

No Easy Peace

Is there anyone of sound mind who doesn’t want peace? Jesus promised: “I leave you peace; my peace I give you,” and he meant it. Yet today we hear him say: “I am here to bring you not peace but rather division.” Is there not a contradiction here? No, for he simply wants to say: My peace and your peace must not be a guilty peace of compromises with evil. It is a peace that allows itself to be disturbed by injustice and wrongdoing that contradicts our faith. We are here together with the Lord who gave up his own peace to accept even death so that we might be free and happy.

Penitential Act

I Have Come to Bring Fire

Where is the fire of our love and our faith?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
                        (pause)
Lord Jesus, you came to bring us your fire:
Kindle in us the fire of a courageous faith.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, you came to bring us your fire:
Kindle in us the power of a love
that commits itself to you and to people.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you came to bring us your fire:
let it wake us up from our indifference and fears.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Forgive us, Lord, for we have been lukewarm.
Give us the quiet courage to live our faith deeply
and to love without hesitation.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

No Easy Peace

The responsibilities of faith and love
at times disturb our easy peace.
We ask forgiveness from the Lord
that we have not allowed ourselves to be disturbed when needed.
                        (pause)
“Do not disturb,” we say,
and we silence our conscience.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

“Do not disturb,” we say,

and we close our eyes to the needs of our neighbor.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

“Do not disturb,” we say,
and we tolerate injustice and discrimination.

Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us our cowardice.
Light in us the fire of your Spirit
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray that we may follow Jesus
without fear or guilty compromise
                        (pause)
God our Father,
by his life and death your Son showed us
the stony road that leads us to life and love.
Let the fire of his Spirit burn in us,
that we may reject easy compromises with evil,
with guilty, uncommitted peace,
and silent complicity in iniquity.
Make us honest and straightforward like Jesus,
so that with him we may put your will and love
above everything else.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

First Reading (Jer 38:4-6,8-10): A Prophet Not to Be Silenced

It would have been easy for Jeremiah the prophet to keep silent. But the Spirit made him speak up to the leaders and tell them that they were wrong and that they made him suffer for it.

Reading 1: Jer 38:4-6, 8-10

In those days, the princes said to the king:
"Jeremiah ought to be put to death;
he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city,
and all the people, by speaking such things to them;
he is not interested in the welfare of our people,
but in their ruin."
King Zedekiah answered: "He is in your power";
for the king could do nothing with them.
And so they took Jeremiah
and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah,
which was in the quarters of the guard,
letting him down with ropes.
There was no water in the cistern, only mud,
and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Ebed-melech, a court official,
went there from the palace and said to him:
"My lord king,
these men have been at fault
in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah,
casting him into the cistern.
He will die of famine on the spot,
for there is no more food in the city."
Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite
to take three men along with him,
and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before
he should die.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18

(14b)  Lord, come to my aid!
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
The LORD heard my cry.
He drew me out of the pit of destruction,
out of the mud of the swamp;
he set my feet upon a crag;
he made firm my steps.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
And he put a new song into my mouth,
 a hymn to our God.
Many shall look on in awe
 and trust in the LORD.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
Though I am afflicted and poor,
 yet the LORD thinks of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
 O my God, hold not back!
R. Lord, come to my aid!

Second Reading (Heb 12:1-4): Jesus Brings Our Faith to Perfection

Our faith should be strong enough to make us follow Jesus even when the road of life is difficult and our faith is tested.

Reading: 2 Heb 12:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
he endured the cross, despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

Alleluia: Jn 10:27

Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel (Lk 12:49-53): I Have Come to Bring Fire

Faith brings to the disciple of Jesus not an easy peace, but struggle, tension and contradiction, for the disciple has to follow the master on the way of the cross.

Gospel: Lk 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Intercessions

Let us ask the Lord Jesus that he may fill his Church and the world with the fire of his love and life. Let us say: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

–          Jesus, set your Church afire with the flame of a deep concern to bring your Good News to all. May the Good News dialogue with the world, and with its aspirations and needs. We pray you: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

–          Jesus, inflame all Christian Churches with a passion to work untiringly toward unity in you. We pray you: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

–          Jesus, inflame the leaders of nations with the fire of seeking justice and peace for our world, and respect for the human dignity of all. We pray you: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

–          Jesus, give the fire of your strength to all who have to pass through the fire of suffering, failure and discrimination, and keep them from discouragement. We pray you: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

–          Jesus, light your fire again in those whose faith has become lukewarm or who have lost the way to you. We pray you: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

–          Lord, inflame our hearts with the fire of your love. Make us recognize and serve you in our neighbor, especially in the poorest. We pray you: R/ Lord, put our hearts afire.

Lord Jesus, make our hearts burn with your love as we hear your word and eat from your table, now and for ever. R/ Amen

Prayer over the Gifts

Our God and Father,
we bring before you bread and wine,
gifts of peace and joy.
In our struggles and tensions,
may we never buy an easy peace
by sacrificing for the sake of our own comfort,
the truth and justice demanded by the gospel.
May we not fail in the service we owe our neighbor.
Nourish our hesitant faith
with the body and blood of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

By his death Jesus paid the price for his fidelity to people and to goodness and truth. Let us offer ourselves with him and ask for his strength, that we may give all praise to the Father.

Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer

In faith and hope
we pray to our Father in heaven
in the words of Jesus our Lord: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
Let it not be the easy peace
that comes from self-contentment
or the lack of involvement,
but an interior peace
which accepts the struggles of faith
and which dares to opt
for the challenging way of the loving service
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is Jesus our Lord,
who accepted the cross
and disregarded its shame
to lead us in our faith.
He invites us to his table
to inflame us with faith and love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
your Son has spoken to us
his stirring, challenging Word
and shared his own strength with us.
Send us out to live our faith
in all its consequences,
and even to be, if necessary,
a sign of contradiction, like your Son.
But sustain us in faith
and give us endurance,
that with Jesus your Son
we may live in your joy and peace
for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

Jesus brought fire on earth
to burn with a bright flame.
May our living faith be
such a fire and such a flame,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go in peace and live our faith.

R/ Thanks be to God.

Commentary

Fiery Peace

Read:

Prophet Jeremiah is persecuted for being faithful to his mission as a prophet. Witnessing the Gospel is never easy; persecutions follow. But the model of Jesus must comfort and encourage us. Jesus forewarns the disciples that his Gospel will not be pacific, but will cause violent divisions among people.

Reflect:

How can the “Prince of Peace” say that he has come to bring division? Perhaps the key is in John 14:27, where he says that the peace he offers is not the kind the world gives. It is not a peace that is all about having no troubles or suffering or enemies. His peace is a “fiery peace” that turns our world upside down. When one definitively opts for Christ, it often goes against the grain of the world, causing rupture of relations. Stories abound of martyrdom that accompanied those who chose Christ over worldly values and relationships. Yet, in the midst of all these, there was an undefinable, indescribable, unearthly peace that reigned their hearts. Christ offers such peace which can survive violence and death; not the ephemeral, empty worldly peace.

Pray:

Pray for the fire of Christ to illumine our hearts to find peace only in him.

Act:

Read a book/watch a movie about a martyr saint.

Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF

Coffee With God: Fire, baptism and division