Lectionary 160: Receiving and Delivering God’s Great Mercies

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

What these passages tell us not to do

Commentary/observations

Reading 1 EZ 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.  I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.  The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.

Responsorial Psalm PS 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths for his name's sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2 1 COR 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

Alleluia MK 11:9, 10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.  And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.  Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'

Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'

And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?'

He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

1.    God is aware of and cares about each of us (first reading, psalm, gospel). He knows what condition we are in (first reading, psalm), what we need (first reading, psalm), and what we can do to meet the needs of others (gospel).

2.   He cares for us even when we wander off from where He wants us to be. He affirmatively goes looking for those who have wondered off in order to bring them back (first and second readings)

3.   God remedies our problems, including those we cause by wondering off from Him.  We simply must respond to His shepherding to receive those remedial blessings (first reading, psalm).

4.   God expects us to help in his efforts to care for our fellow man; He rewards those who do so, and punishes those that do not (gospel). This principle is noted over and over and over again in scripture.

5.    God will judge us on how we respond to His caring desires—both as recipients of and as potential instruments of his mercy—and very potent consequences will follow from our responses (first reading, psalm, gospel).

6.   Those who respond well, both in receiving and helping God deliver His goodness, will be richly blessed, both now and in eternity (first reading, psalm, gospel).

7.    Those who are indifferent to God’s benevolent efforts/desires (the “sleek and the strong the sleek and the strong” in the first reading and those who did not help others in the gospel) will be expelled from the kingdom of God.

Lectionary 501: God Wants Unimpeded Fellowship With Us

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

What these passages tell us not to do

Commentary/observations

Reading 1 1 MC 4:36-37, 52-59

Judas and his brothers said, "Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it." So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made.  On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.

For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests' chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.

Responsorial Psalm 1 CHR 29:10BCD, 11ABC, 11D-12A, 12BCD

R. (13b) We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD, God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor are from you."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"You have dominion over all, In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.

Alleluia JN 10:27

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

Gospel LK 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, "It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

1.    God wants unimpeded fellowship with His people (first reading, the alleluia verse, and the gospel).

2.   That fellowship can be restored even if it has been impeded/interfered with by grievous sin (first reading, gospel).

3.   God calls us to clean away, remove, those things that impede/interfere with that fellowship (first reading, gospel).

4.   We can do that through confession/reconciliation, avoiding secular things that distract us from God, and refusing to engage in intra-church politics/controversies that distract our focus from God.

5.    It can be hard to do these things. The Maccabees had to overcome foreign interference and, once the foreign foes were vanquished, do a lot of work to do to get things back in order. Jesus had to take on corrupt powers within what was then the church, powers that were willing to go to extremes to keep things the way they were. We have to overcome pervasive secular distractions and forces who would corrupt the Church by seeking to use it to further their earthly purposes if we are to have the pure, unimpeded, fellowship with God that He wants.

6.   It is worth the effort though. God gives us great joy (first reading) and causes us to be thoroughly engaged (gospel) when that occurs.

7.    Further, God has the power to accomplish those things. That is described in the psalm and demonstrated by the events recounted in the first reading and gospel. We must trust Him, seek His help in prayer, and seek Him. The result will be good; as Jesus tells us that “In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world.” John 16:33.