Daily Liturgy
Monday September 6
TWENTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
PREACHING CHRIST
Introduction
In the first reading of today we hear Paul speak with conviction and enthusiasm about his mission of preaching the gospel. It is a glorious task. We can feel how the gospel fills him and has become the sole meaning of his life. Let Christ also be the meaning of our lives. If so, we cannot but preach him by our words and our way of life.
It is strange how, as we read in the gospel, faithful, practicing religious people, like the scribes and Pharisees – the regular churchgoers of their day – were a big obstacle to the work of Jesus. They are upset and angry because Jesus cures a man with a withered hand on the day of the Lord. Jesus came to do good and to preserve life, as he said, to carry out a mission of love and life, and these cannot be adequately expressed in laws and commands. We may and should do good also on Sundays!
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have revealed to us
your treasures of wisdom and love.
His life and his gospel are so full and rich
that we can never exhaust their wisdom.
Let it be a life and a wisdom
in which we grow day after day.
Make us complete in Christ,
that we may hasten
the coming of his kingdom
in ourselves and among people far and near.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: Col 1:24–2:3
Brothers and sisters:
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his Body, which is the Church,
of which I am a minister
in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me
to bring to completion for you the word of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,
to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles;
it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.
It is he whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
For this I labor and struggle,
in accord with the exercise of his power working within me.
For I want you to know how great a struggle I am having for you
and for those in Laodicea
and all who have not seen me face to face,
that their hearts may be encouraged
as they are brought together in love,
to have all the richness of assured understanding,
for the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 62:6-7, 9
(8) In God is my safety and my glory.
Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. In God is my safety and my glory.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
R. In God is my safety and my glory.
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 6:6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely
to see if he would cure on the sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up and stand before us.”
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
“I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
Looking around at them all, he then said to him,
“Stretch out your hand.”
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
Intercessions
– Lord Jesus, open our minds and hearts to understand your gospel in all its riches, that we may live it and communicate it to others, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, may our sick and suffering people understand that they follow and complete the suffering of Christ and may this realization strengthen them, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, may our communities understand and love you and be united in you, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
accept these gifts as a sign
of our faith in your Son Jesus Christ.
Let us become smaller
and Christ grow greater in us,
that you may recognize and love in us
your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have spoken to us
your living Word Jesus Christ
and given us his body to eat.
Give to this word an ever-new resonance,
that we may never get tired of it
or think we have exhausted it.
And what we have heard and understood,
help us to speak it in our own words
and in the language of our lives.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Blessing
In Christ are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It is him we have to proclaim with our lives and to become mature in him. May God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
How can anything be lacking in the sufferings of Christ? His work of redemption was complete in itself and was effected once and for all. But the application of Christ’s work is ongoing and will not be complete until the end of time, when Christ presents the church to the Father. Therefore, in the sufferings of his ministry, Paul helps to bring to completion the work of the Lord and therefore, in that sense, fills up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.
When his opponents object to Christ healing on the Sabbath, Jesus raises a fundamental question. Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than do evil? There is no response. Hence, Jesus proceeds to heal the man with the withered hand. “Io exclude the performance of a good deed on the Sabbath flies in the face of divine teaching.
We can apply the teaching of Colossians here as well. When through our efforts within the church, the lot of other human beings is bettered, the saving work of Christ is enhanced. When we grow weary in the service of the Lord, the work of redemption is carried forward. Christ healed on the Sabbath. We also may do his work on the Sabbath and thus carry forth the suffering of Christ for the sake of his body, the church.
Points to Ponder
The lack in the afflictions of Christ
To do good on the Sabbath
Our apostolic efforts and the sufferings of Christ.