Daily Liturgy
Wednesday September 22
TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SENT IN POVERTY
Introduction
In his prayer of penance Ezra focuses his attention more on the goodness of God and his constant forgiveness notwithstanding the infidelities of his people, rather than on people’s sinfulness. Sin should make us turn to God in humility rather than make us withdraw within ourselves. We are what we are by what the Bible calls God’s mercy, this is, not only compassion and forgiveness, but also tenderness, pity, clemency, goodness, fidelity. It also demands that people must have that attitude towards others that God shows towards them.
Luke, more than the other evangelists, stresses the poverty of the apostle and thus spiritualizes the mission of the herald of the gospel. Still, he has to take people in the concrete. They are to be healed from illness, which expresses the power of evil over sinful humanity; for the Bible considers sickness a consequence of sin through this link: that the spiritual illness of sin leads to physical illness. The apostle, then, must go to the whole person in a spirit of poverty. All he has to offer is the good news, and nothing may obscure it.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your mercy extends to everyone.
Let your missionary Church go out to all
without any self-imposed, useless baggage
that obscures the pure message of the gospel
but with great humility before the good will
and the hospitality of people.
May thus our receptivity to people
make them in turn receptive to the good news
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: Ezr 9:5-9
At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.
I said: “My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today.
“And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”
Responsorial Psalm: Tobit 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8
(1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
for though he has scattered you among them,
he has shown you his greatness even there.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Alleluia: Mk 1:15
Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 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.
Intercessions
– Lord, they were only fishers cleaning their nets, but you called the apostles to spread your good news. Make us fearless to speak your word, we pray:
– Lord, he was only a tax collector behind his desk, but you called Matthew to ho heal people and cast out devils. Wounded as we are, make us healers too, we pray:
– Lord, they are only plain, unpretentious people, but you call your faithful in our communities to tolerate no injustice, and to defend the poor. Speak through all of us what is right and good, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Creator of the whole world
and lover of all, our God,
we join your Son Jesus Christ in his sacrifice
whereby he redeemed the world.
Through the Spirit of your Son,
enlighten and guide us
to bring his good news as a light
to shine on all nations
and as the healing power
that reconciles all humanity with you,
our God for ever and ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your Son has again given us his command
to bring his message of hope and salvation
to all who are willing to listen.
We pray you now for those
whom you call especially for this task.
Let them be so much in the grip of the gospel
that they go out and place themselves
without fear or hesitation in the hands of people,
trusting in you and in the power of the gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
The whole Church is mission. Missionaries must leave behind their luggage of their culture and big means, but go in all simplicity with the good news of Jesus and must be ready also to be rejected like their Master. May almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Two features of God’s concern with humanity appear in today’s readings. The first is his forgiveness of Israel as seen in Ezra’s powerful prayer of gratitude. The second is the Lucan account of Jesus’ commission of the Twelve to proclaim God’s kingdom and to cure disease everywhere.
The prayer of Ezra is divided into two parts. The first deals with the punishment visited upon God’s people because of their wicked deeds. This has meant defeat and destruction at the hands of foreigners over many years: “to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame.” But finally, mercy was attained. The remnant has returned home and the temple restored. The good will of the kings of Persia has rested upon them. When Jerusalem and the temple are restored, hope for the future is restored. Through it all, God has remained faithful to his people.
The fidelity of God as evidenced in Jesus is even more pronounced. Jesus shares his power over demons and diseases with the Twelve. He sends them forth to proclaim the good news everywhere. They are to travel fight, unencumbered by nonessentials. In any given town, they are to remain in the house where they are offered hospitality. If they are rejected, they are to shake the dust from their feet and move on. The narrative is in line with a clear Lucan theme: God’s concern for all people.
The Jewish people have a long history of God’s concern about their sin. In their repentance, they recognize their guilt and God’s abiding fidelity. This love and concern, as seen in Jesus, now goes out, in very concrete terms, to embrace all people. This universal love reminds us of God’s inclusiveness and the need to avoid attitudes that exclude any group of people from that love.
Points to Ponder
Ezra’s recognition of Israel’s guilt
The freedom of few possessions
The urgency of God’s call.