(Chapter 66:10-14c)
This passage occurs in a section in which the Lord, through the prophet, has been distinguishing between strictly external signs of worship and true devotion, exhibited by lives lived in keeping with God’s will. Here, God promises those who are faithful to him that their holy city, once emptied and ravaged during the Babylonian captivity, will flourish again and nurture them both materially and spiritually. The distinction between empty gestures and true worship is as critical for us as it was for ancient Israel. Jesus told us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven’ (Matthew 7:21)—meaning the one who acts with humility, generosity, compassion, and justice.
Responsorial Psalm
(Psalm 66)
“Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name.” Ron Reagan, son of the former president, appears in a television spot announcement declaring himself “an unabashed atheist” who is “not afraid of burning in hell.” May we who know God as Creator and Redeemer be as unabashed in declaring our faith in the spirit of this psalm.
A reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians
(Chapter 6:14-18)
In this letter to Christian communities in what is now Turkey, Saint Paul has been addressing an issue somewhat parallel to the prophesy we read today. Paul condemns those who have been insisting that Christians adhere to Jewish religious law, including circumcision of men. These are empty gestures, Paul writes, that count for nothing. All that counts is “faith working through love” (Galatians 6:6b)—the “whole law” that Jesus himself declared.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
(Chapter 10:1-12, 17-20)
Luke writes that Jesus sent 72 disciples out to the towns he planned to visit. He was commissioning witnesses to him and to his ministry. “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals,” he tells these emissaries. In other words, forget about material things: focus on the Gospel. We are called in baptism to undertake this same mission. The opportunities to witness for Christ through acts of love are inexhaustible in any community. As in Jesus’ time, as he says in this passage, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” How do we fit into that equation?
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Fresco: Image of Isaiah (1508-1512) by Michelangelo Bounarotti, Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
Excerpts from the English translation of the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved.
Charles Paolino is managing editor at RENEW International. He is a permanent deacon of the Diocese of Metuchen.