14th Sunday in Ordinary TimeIsaiah 66:10-14 Galatians 6:14-18 Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 The Gospel this weekend is this: Lk 10:1-12, 17-20. After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. 3 Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 4 Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. 5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. 8 Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, 9 cure the sick in it and say to them, 'Thekingdom of God is at hand for you.' 10 Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 11 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of Godis at hand. 12 I tell you, it will be more tolerable forSodom on that day than for that town… 17 The seventy (-two) returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." 18 Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. 19 Behold, I have given you the power 'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The first reading is this: Is 66:10-14. "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 11 that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory." 12 For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will suck, you will be carried upon her hip, and dandled upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you will be comforted inJerusalem. 14 You will see, and your heart will rejoice; your bones will flourish like the grass; and it will be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies. The second reading is this: Gal 6:14-18. But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision, but only a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule and to the Israel of God. 17 From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. MEDITATION: This Sunday Christ calls us to help in reaping his harvest and in forming his kingdom of peace. Jesus recommends that we ask the Lord of the Harvest to send workers to do the harvesting, but that's a subtle way of asking us to offer ourselves to be sent! It's relevant that Jesus sends them two by two. There's a multitude of places to which to go, but he doesn't send each individual to a different place. Working in community is an inherent part of following Christ. The whole bunch of us Christians in the world should be united - like a family. Our Catholic ('universal') Church tries to achieve that. Do you? I'm glad to be in a community of missionaries, and it's a community within a community within a community which is the Church! It doesn't mean that we should imitate each other, but rather that we respect the nature of each person, and simply connect roles. Everyone has a part to play, but they're parts! Good complex machines are made up of simple parts joined well together. Maybe one has to be alone at times, but there's a communitarian nature that we can always have inside. It will 'blossom' at some stage. And anyway, we're never away from Jesus: 'He sent them to the places where he himself intended to go' (Lk 10:1+). In other words, us missionaries don't want people to listen to what we ourselves think, but rather to open the door of people's minds so that they'll listen to the Word of God. His Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. But do we listen? Prayer is about 'lisening' to God more than about rattling off prayers to Him. And it's not like reading a textbook or some cold list of instructions! It's a love story! Isaiah uses the image of a baby breast-feeding! The appointing of 72 messengers at the beginning of the Gospel today reflects the desire to get divine scripture preached. Part of the Old Testament used to be called the septuagint ('seventy') but it was actually written by 72! Seemingly the first 5 books of the Bible (Pentateuch) were written by the Jewish scholars called 'the Septuagint'. Also the oldest known Greek translation of the O.T. was referred to as the 'septuagint'. It was translated in Alexandriabetween 250 and 100 B.C.. In other words, the Word of God doesn't arrive down to us by chance or with a cheap postage stamp! Christ was willing to be condemned to the Cross in order to convince us. I'm convinced! And if He wants to appoint you today to prepare his welcome in the many hearts where he himself intends going, what will your response be? So let's give thanks ('Eucharist') for the Good News that has made its way down to us in a way that we can understand. And let's offer our lives to help get the message across to others. Jesus says that he's sending us like lambs among wolves, and that doesn't sound very enticing, but he's our Good Shepard who guides us with love, even if it means becoming one of us. With joy we'll receive in the communion (comulgate) the 'lamb of God' today. .......Dara. En ESPAÑOL:
14° Domingo: Is 66:10-14. Gal 6:14-18. Lc 10:1-12, 17-20. Este Domingo Cristo nos llama a ayudar en la cosecha de su mies y en formar su reino de paz. Jesús nos propone rogar al Dueño de la mies que envíe obreros para la cosecha ¡pero esto es una forma sutil de pedirnos ofrecernos a nosotros mismos para estar enviados! Es relevante que Jesús les envía de dos en dos. Hay una multitud de lugares a donde llegar, pero no envía a cada individuo a lugar distinto. Trabajar en comunidad es una parte intrínseca del seguimiento de Cristo. Debería estar unida la bola entera de Cristianos en el mundo - como familia. Nuestra Iglesia Católica ('universal') intenta conseguir esto. ¿Lo intentas tú? Me gusta estar en una comunidad misionera y ¡es una comunidad dentro de una comunidad dentro de una comunidad! No supone imitar uno al otro sino respetar como es cada uno y simplemente conjuntar papeles. Cada uno tiene algún papel, pero es una parte del todo. Las maquinas complejas que hacen mucho están formadas por partes sencillas bien conectadas entre si. Puede ser a veces que toca a uno estar solo, pero hay una naturaleza comunitaria que podemos tener por dentro siempre. 'Florecerá' en algún momento. De cualquier manera, no estamos solos nunca: 'Les envió a los lugares a los cuales él mismo iba a ir. (Lc 10:1+). Jesús puede llegar donde nosotros mismos llegamos. Por eso no queremos que la gente tome atención de lo que nosotros misioneros mismos pensamos, sino abrir la puerta en la mente de la gente para que escuchen a Dios. Su Palabra se hace hombre y habita entre nosotros. Pero ¿le prestamos atención? La oración trata de lo que Dios nos comunica a nosotros más que de rezar a Dios. Y no es como la lectura de un libro frío de ciencia o de una lista de instrucciones. ¡Es una historia de amor! ¡Isaías usa la imagen de un niño mamando! La elección de 72 mensajeros al principio del Evangelio de hoy refleja el deseo de poner en marcha la predicación de la Palabra. Una parte del Antiguo Testamento era llamada el Septuagint ('los setenta') ¡aunque era escrita de hecho por 72! Parece que los 5 primeros libros de la Biblia (el Pentateuco) fueron escritos por los escribas llamados 'el septuagint'. También la traducción Griega más antigua conocida era llamada el 'septuagint'. Fue escrita en Alejandría entre 250 y 100 antes de Cristo. Es decir, la Palabra de Dios no llega hasta nosotros por casualidad ¡o con un sello postal barato! Cristo estaba dispuesto a ser condenado a la crucifixión para convencernos. ¡Estoy convencido! Y si quiere asignarte para preparar su acogida en los corazones donde Él quiere llegar, ¿qué responderías? Entonces, demos gracias por la Buena Nueva que nos ha llegado en una forma que podemos entender. Te ofrecemos nuestras vidas para ayudar en la transmisión a otros. Jesús dice que nos envía como corderos entre lobos, y esto no parece muy atractivo, pero él es nuestro Buen Pastor que nos guía con amor (Lc 15), aunque supone encarnarse como uno más de nosotros. Gozosamente comulgaremos 'el cordero de Dios' hoy. ….….Dara. Comments are closed.
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