Daily Liturgy
Wednesday, December 15
THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
Good News to the Poor
Introduction
People and events are agents of salvation: heaven and earth cooperate, but ultimately it is God who saves through people. In the first reading, through the prophet, God addresses Cyrus the Great, who let the Jews return from exile. He was an instrument of God to bring liberation to the Jews. Also pagans are called to salvation.
When he is asked by the disciples of John whether he was the expected Messiah or whether they had to wait for someone else, Jesus reminds them of what the prophets had foretold about the Messiah and to look at what Jesus was doing. He restored the sight of the blind, made the deaf hear, cured lepers and proclaimed the good news of the kingdom to those poor in any way. Was that not a sufficient answer?
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in your concern for people
you want all to be saved.
We pray you today
that we may be ready to receive you,
your justice and your peace,
and that in your hands
we may be eager instruments
to share your integrity and love
with all willing to listen.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: Is 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25
I am the LORD, there is no other;
I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make well-being and create woe;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the skies drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let justice also spring up!
I, the LORD, have created this.
For thus says the LORD,
The creator of the heavens,
who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
who established it,
Not creating it to be a waste,
but designing it be lived in:
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Who announced this from the beginning
and foretold it from of old?
Was it not I, the LORD,
besides whom there is no other God?
There is no just and saving God but me.
Turn to me and be safe,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
By myself I swear,
uttering my just decree
and my unalterable word:
To me every knee shall bend;
by me every tongue shall swear,
Saying, “Only in the LORD
are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
all who vent their anger against him.
In the LORD shall be the vindication and the glory
of all the descendants of Israel.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
(Isaiah 45:8) Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior
Alleluia: Is 40:9-10
Alleluia, alleluia.
Raise your voice and tell the Good News:
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with power.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 7:18b-23
At that time,
John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
When the men came to the Lord, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”
At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits;
he also granted sight to many who were blind.
And Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
Intercessions
– Lord Jesus, if you are the one who has come among us, why have we kept so many people blind and deaf to your message? Open their eyes and ears, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, if you are alive among us, why are so many among us unclean with sins of hatred and lame because we are slow in bringing justice? Heal us, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, if you are with us, why have we not shared with the poor and brought joy to them? Make us serving communities, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, this bread and this wine
are signs that your Son comes among us
in this Eucharistic celebration.
May he also be present among us in daily life,
as he was present among the people of his time,
when we help those who suffer
and when we bring justice and freedom
to the poor and the oppressed.
Give us the strength to do this
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you promise us salvation
and we know that your word is irrevocable.
To you a promise is the beginning of its fulfilment.
God, send Jesus among us now, today,
for he is the one to come
and we have not to wait for anyone else.
May people see that he is here
when there is faithfulness and justice among us
and when we speak words of peace.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Can we say that we are Christian communities in whom Christ lives if there are still many poor and neglected people among us, people who suffer, victims of injustice and discrimination? May God change you and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Today’s Gospel brings to mind the story of the parish in the American Southwest that had gone through three pastors in one year, much to the frustration of the parishioners. When Pastor Number Four arrived and, a bit nervously, greeted the congregation after Mass an elderly lady approached him and asked, “Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for someone else?”
On a more serious note, the scriptures today address two important features of our human existence. Jesus defines his messianic mission in terms of alleviating human need. Sight for the blind, mobility for the lame, sound for the deaf, and justice for the impoverished. These needs are met in our time by professionals in different sectors of society. They are present in emergency and operating rooms, in hospice care and medical relief programs. They work the halls of Congress. They bring hope to the medically disadvantaged. Yes, for many it is a livelihood, but one with a strong ingredient of human compassion. And how do we bring good news to the poor? Through shelters for battered women or homeless people. We think of the owner of a major corporation, one of the wealthiest persons in the world, who has channeled billions of dollars into fighting disease in impoverished Africa. Whether conscious or not, this is the work of the gospel.
But there is a second feature in today’s reading from Isaiah. The Lord speaks of his creating the earth not as some kind of wasteland, but as a place that will be lived in. Unfortunately, this well-designed universe, which is our home, is in our time on a track toward becoming a wasteland. Global warming, pollution of the atmosphere, environmental destruction—these are a number of the ways in which commercial interests and our own selfishness contribute to a gradual disintegration of the world we leave to our children as an inheritance.The word speaks to us of many things, and not things that are irrelevant. These are biblical issues that should concern us. We owe gratitude to those who work for the good of others. And there may be some way we can share their task.
Points to Ponder
A mission to the sick
Thinking of the disabled
Our concern for the poor
Environmental issues and the gospel
Jesus: a different type of messiah