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Today, 6th of December, we celebrate
Saint Nicholas
First Reading: Jer 26:1-9
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this message came from the LORD: Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the house of the LORD and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD; whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing. Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them for their evil deeds. Say to them: Thus says the LORD: If you disobey me, not living according to the law I placed before you and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them, I will treat this house like Shiloh, and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth shall refer when cursing another.
Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD. When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people, the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying, “You must be put to death! Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD: ‘This house shall be like Shiloh,’ and ‘This city shall be desolate and deserted’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 69:5,8-10,14
R./ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
R./ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R./ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
R./ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, "Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't Mary his mother and aren't James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers? Aren't all his sisters living here? How did he get all this?" And so they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, "The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family." And he did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
The Scandal of the Incarnation
Today, the Gospel presents Jesus in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, where he is rejected by the people who know him well. The people of Nazareth viewed his popularity and acceptance in the nearby villages with suspicion and jealousy. Because they were unwilling to embrace his new teaching, they missed out on the opportunity to receive healing through his compassion.
We run the same risk when we take the gospel for granted. Pope Francis beautifully reflects on the attitude of the villagers of Nazareth: Jesus’s fellow villagers knew him for thirty years, and they thought they knew everything! They remained at the exterior level and refused to know what was new about Jesus.
When we permit the comfort of routine and preconceived notions to prevail, it becomes challenging to embrace new experiences. If we are not open to the unexpected revelations from God, our faith can become a monotonous cycle that slowly loses its meaning and becomes a dull, everyday habit.
Why didn’t Jesus’s fellow villagers recognize and believe in Him? They couldn’t accept that the vastness of God would be manifested in the insignificance of our human bodies, or that the Son of God would be the son of a carpenter, or that the divine would be concealed within the human form, or that God would dwell in the face, words, and actions of an ordinary man. This is the scandal: the incarnation of God, His tangibility, His ‘everyday life’.
Pope Francis quoted St. Augustine, who said, “I am afraid of God, the Lord when he passes by… I am afraid of not recognizing the Lord when he passes by.” Let us not miss the opportunity to recognize the Lord in the ordinariness of our lives.
bibleclaret.orgOpening Prayer
Lord our God,
we are but timid people,
and yet you expect of us
to speak the word of your Son
by the witnessing of our lives.
We pray you for the courage
to live the kind of life
that your Son lived
and to follow him wherever he leads us
without the luggage of our securities.
Grant us this conviction
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
Introduction to the First Reading
Today the prophet Jeremiah warns the people that their trust in the temple as God's presence among them is of no value unless they make God present in their lives by living their religion, and the temple will be destroyed as once the Philistines destroyed the sanctuary of Shiloh. The priests and the people threaten to kill Jeremiah.
Introduction to Gospel Reading
Jesus is not welcome either among his people, in his town, his home country, for he is disturbing people's consciences. He confronts them with the challenging reality of God and his ways. Christ shakes his people from their security in laws and outward practices. How dare he, one from their own town and street? Who does he think he is? Dare we to be the prophet's voice needed today? Dare we to be unconventional?
General Intercessions
- That the Spirit of Christ may inspire our leaders of the Church with prophetic zeal to lead our people to true Christian freedom, we pray:
- That there may be prophets also among us today, however annoying we may find them, to remind us of what God expects of us, we pray:
- That the world of today may not turn a deaf ear to the voices of prophets who plead for peace and justice for all, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we want this bread and wine to signify
that as we share your Son's table
we also accept to be with him
signs of contradiction.
Let him change us
from weak and faint-hearted people
into people with the courage
to live as we believe
and to speak out boldly
for all that is right and good,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and with us for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus has spoken among us
prophetic words and deeds
of courage and self-giving.
Make us bold enough
to go with him his way to people,
even if the best of our intentions
are misunderstood.
We say so in fear and trembling,
but we want to be humble disciples
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We should learn to listen to prophets, people who have something to say that is perhaps not pleasing but to the point. And we too should have the courage to speak up when needed, especially when we see injustice done to people. May almighty God give you this courage and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
