DAILY GOSPEL

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Sunday, 26 August 2007

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today the Church celebrates : St. Martha

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Saint Cesarius of Arles : "Jesus passed through towns and villages teaching"

Book of Isaiah 66,18-21.

I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them; from them I will send fugitives to the nations: to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their offering to the house of the LORD in clean vessels. Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.

Letter to the Hebrews 12,5-7.11-13.

You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges." Endure your trials as "discipline"; God treats you as sons. For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13,22-30.

He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where (you) are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Saint Cesarius of Arles (470-543), Monk and Bishop
Sermons 7; CCL 103, 37f

"Jesus passed through towns and villages teaching"

Pay attention, dear brothers: the holy Scriptures were passed on to us so to speak as letters come from our homeland. Our homeland, indeed, is paradise; our forebears are the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles and the martyrs; our fellow countrymen, the angels; our king, Christ. When Adam sinned, we were thrown so to speak into the exile of this world. But because our king is faithful and merciful more than we imagine or express it, he deigned to send us, through the patriarchs and the prophets, the holy Scriptures, as the letters of invitation by which he invites us to our eternal and first homeland … Because of his unspeakable kindness, he has invited us to reign with him.

In these conditions, what idea do they have of themselves, these servants who do not deign to read the letters which invite us to the happiness of the Kingdom? … «If anyone does not acknowledge this, he is not acknowledged» (1Co 14:38). Certainly, the one who neglects to look for God in this world by reading the sacred texts, God in his turn will refuse to admit him to eternal happiness. He should fear that he may find the doors locked, leaving him outside with the foolish virgins (Mt 25:10) and that he might hear: « I don't know who you are ; I do not know you ; depart from me, all you evildoers »… Those who want to be favorably listened to by God must begin by listening to God. How could we have the effrontery to want God to listen to us favorably, if we attach so little importance to him that we neglect to read his precepts?

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