The daily Word of God
Thursday, November 7th, 2024
Thursday in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Lk 15:1-10 "I tell you, in the same way there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner."
First Reading: Philippians 3:3-8a
Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R./ Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. or: Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!
R./ Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. or: Alleluia.
Look to the Lord in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R./ Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. or: Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the Lord, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R./ Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. or: Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Lk 15:1-10
Tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering. "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So Jesus told them this parable:
"Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seek out the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together and say: 'Celebrate with me for I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, just so, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine upright who do not need to repent.
"What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp and sweep the house in a thorough search till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: 'Celebrate with me for I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner."
A word of Jesus full of hope for when we have lost our way and are in free fall, perhaps being dragged towards some existential abyss, or when we have ceased to be vigilant and walk without a taste for prayer, without a desire to love our neighbor, and without the strength or desire to return to the sheepfold. Distracted and disoriented, unable to find our way back, we behave like sheep of the flock. If only we would wake up and realize that it is precisely in these moments that we are God’s “favorites”!
This is how it is revealed to us in stories like that of the prodigal son or in expressions like “it is not the healthy who need doctors, but the sick” or “I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners”. The message is that God desperately wants to save the lost sheep, to lead us to a safe place like the heart of His Son, Jesus Christ. If we would wake up…
We are the favored ones. How can we be so foolish as to continue to choose the cold, the hunger, the distance? It is better to be in the Father’s house, and hopefully the nostalgia for lost goods will lead us to return to it. The Good Shepherd is always looking for us. He has given his blood for our salvation. His persistence is a loving call. Let us wake up. And let us face the truth of our lives and how empty and dark is the place where we wander when we turn away from God.
We are favored without knowing it, and without being surprised that when we are most lost, we are most lovingly sought. Jesus, friend of sinners, Jesus, physician of soul and body, Jesus, salvation of the oppressed, Jesus, rest of the abandoned, have mercy on us.
Virginia FernandezOpening Prayer
Lord our God,
we know that Jesus came for everybody,
yet he wanted to find back
the very one given up by people:
the tax collector, the sinner, the prodigal.
Do not allow us in our zeal for what is right and good
to lose sight of this one person
who was written off by people,
yet who merited the special concern of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
As a Jew, Paul could be proud of many things: born as a member of the chosen people and circumcised; as a Pharisee, secure in the strict observance of the Law... Yet all these had proven to be not advantages, but obstacles to encountering Christ: instead, they had made him a persecutor of Christ; the Law had made him a prisoner of the Law rather than a servant of God. And now, he is happy that by the grace of God, he has discovered the foolishness of the cross. God has found him; Christ has become his riches, and all the rest doesn’t matter.
Gospel Introduction
The whole chapter 15 of Luke deals with people who have lost something and find it back: a man finds a lost sheep, a woman a coin, and a father his son. All are extremely happy at the end, except the brother of the lost son. This joy expresses Jesus’ attention for all that is lost, rejected, devaluated in the eyes of people. Like Jesus, we have to keep looking for these people and to rejoice when they come back to God and to people.
Commentary
JESUS tells two stories, out of three in a row about a lost sheep, one out of a hundred and the shepherd leaving the one hundred to their own protection and going after the lost and wandering one. And another about a woman losing a coin off her dowry belt and searching high and low for it and calling a party with her neighbors to celebrate finding it (and keeping the belt from continuing to unravel). This is the way the angels rejoice and God delights in finding one who is brought home. The story is told at a party with sinners who have come back, while those who don't want to eat with 'them' overhear the story. Who are we? Self-righteous and indignant, not wanting to be reminded that we have all been lost and the invitation to eat at the table of Eucharist goes out to all, but in accepting forgiveness we must forgive one another-all of us and eat together. Jesus, forgive us our spitefulness, our arrogance and inflated images of ourselves. Draw us all into your company of sinners lost and found. Amen.
General Intercessions
– That leaders of the Church and of society may not lose themselves in chasing after power, prestige and wealth, we pray:
– That the Lord may give to his Church shepherds who care very much about people who go astray and try to bring them back to the Lord, we pray:
– That in our communities we support one another in trying to live the life of Christ, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
let your bread and wine remind us
of our solidarity even with all those
who live on the fringes of society.
You love them and they are part of us
May we speak to them the encouraging word
for which they are waiting
May we too look for them and love them
with our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your kingdom is not the private domain
of those you have given the grace
to find you and to believe in you.
May we care with you and search with you
for the weak, the embarrassed and the timid,
without any attitude of superiority or condescension
Help us to be a community
in which there is enough space for everyone
for human growth and dignity for all.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
God looked for us and found us because he loved us long before we were aware of it. We know he loves all and wants all to belong to his kingdom. May we help anyone to find the Lord, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
