Daily Liturgy
Wednesday September 1
TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM
Introduction
Paul thanks God and the Colossians that the good news of Jesus Christ has taken root among the Colossians and is spreading all over the Roman world.
Jesus has preached his message of hope in the lake town of Capernaum and confirmed it by liberating the poor and the sick from the powers of evil. He has to bring the same good news to other places. The gospel of hope in a new world is destined for all. With the people healed by Jesus, let us in this eucharist thank the Lord for his good news.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we thank you today for Jesus, your Son.
He came to heal our wounds
and to set us going on the way
to you and to one another.
Help us in our fumbling, stumbling attempts
to continue looking for him
and to make his gospel of hope and love
come true among us as the good news
that your Son is alive among us
and that he is our Lord for ever.
Reading 1: Col 1:1-8
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Timothy our brother,
to the holy ones and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
grace to you and peace from God our Father.
We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you,
for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and the love that you have for all the holy ones
because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.
Of this you have already heard
through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.
Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing,
so also among you,
from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth,
as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave,
who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf
and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 52:10, 11
(10) I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God
forever and ever.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
Alleluia: Lk 4:18
Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 4:38-44
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Intercessions
– That the Church may continue with compassion the task of healing of our Lord Jesus, that the sick may be comforted, the downtrodden set free, and the poor and the weak be protected, we pray:
– That the faith and the hope of the sick and the dying may be firmly anchored in our Lord Jesus who is the resurrection and the life, we pray:
– That we may learn more to heal one another by forgiving each other and by uplifting the sad and the discouraged, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we need your Son Jesus Christ
to be with us today.
Give him to us in this bread and wine,
that, weak and fallible as we are,
we may not give up the hope
that your kingdom of justice and peace
can take shape among us.
Let it become the humble sign
of your goodness and justice
and of your joy that lasts for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
in your power you care for the weak,
and so Jesus preferred the poor and the helpless.
Give us his Spirit of compassion and strength,
that we too may commit ourselves
to bring hope and justice
to the dispossessed and the lonely.
And take away our pride, Lord,
for we are perhaps weaker and poorer
than those we presume to uplift.
Count us among those in need of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior for ever.
Blessing
Jesus cured the many who came to him with all sorts of diseases. Are we aware that we too can bring healing to others, by showing them affection, compassion, forgiveness? May the Lord make you attentive to the healing powers in you and may God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
It is easy to read about the illness of Peter’s mother-in-law without realizing it has something to teach us. It follows the very succinct pattern of the miracle story form: a description of the illness, the action of Jesus, and the result of his action. The woman in the story suffers from a high fever. Jesus rebukes the fever, and the woman gets up to serve them. But it also reminds us of our responsibility in response to God’s goodness to us. We are called to serve.
In many modem parishes, volunteerism is a way of life. It flows from that sense of love about which Paul speaks today to the Colossians. Service, or diakonia, was a hallmark of the church from its inception. It is the clearest and simplest way for love to be manifest. It may take many different forms: parish outreach to the poor, communion calls for the sick, coaching athletics, presence to the bereaved at a time of grief. In addition, for the liturgy, we need servers, lectors, and eucharistic ministers.
To see church as only a place where we are served falls far short of the mark. We have been healed of our fever at various times. But have we gotten up to serve? That is the critical question. If I have not done so, let me look at the ministries of my parish to determine how my own willingness to serve might best be realized.
Points to Ponder
Jesus’ response to need
Our call to serve
Matching our talents and church needs.