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Today, 6th of December, we celebrate
Saint Nicholas
First Reading: Jer 18:1-6
This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
Rise up, be off to the potter's house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter's house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the Lord came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the Lord.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 146:1-2,3-4,5-6
R./ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R./ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R./ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R./ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:47-53
Jesus said to the disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
"Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old."
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
The value of faith in Jesus
The first disciples of Jesus were fishermen who used to fish in the sea / the lake of Galilee. However, the people of Jesus’ time also believed that the sea was the abode of evil forces,and they caused the tempests and turbulences in the sea. If you are trapped in the turbulence of the sea, you are certain to perish. When Jesus called on his disciples for the mission to «fish for people,» it meant to rescue those people who were trapped in the depths of the sea—from the clutches of evil. The Word of God is the net that rescues the people out of darkness and guides them towards salvation.
The Gospel assures us today that everyone is welcome into God’s embracing net and to the boat of the Christian community, regardless of their background or past actions. God, in his mercy, welcomes and accepts both good and bad people and does not reject anyone. The Gospel reveals the merciful face of God’s patience and urges everyone to the conversion of hearts.
However, Matthew uses the dramatic language of the preachers of his time, the rabbis, to talk about God’s judgment. This is not to threaten eternal punishment for sinners, but to underscore the importance of making the right choices for our salvation.
Despite the instances of sinful behaviour, God allows everyone to be in his net of merciful love. In the end, all the negativity within us will be annihilated by the fire of God’s love and the good will be accepted into heaven.
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Opening Prayer
Faithful God of tenderness and mercy,
you want us to be your people
on the march with Jesus your Son
toward the new future of justice and love
of your kingdom.
Do not allow us to suffocate in being contented
with old habits and sluggish ways.
Help us to accept the pain
of leaving the familiar behind us
and open us to today's challenge of the gospel
to become more like your Son
who guides our faltering steps,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
Introduction to the First Reading
Jeremiah looks at the work of a potter. If the potter sees his work is misshapen, he destroys it and tries anew. God's people are clay in God's hands. If they are not faithful, God will break them, but when they are converted he tries again with them and they become precious.
Introduction to Gospel Reading
The parable about the net full of fish, good and bad, is very close to the parable heard a few days ago about the wheat and the weeds. It ends with the statement that the scribe in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. Jesus came "not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them." Therefore the disciple, when he welcomes what is new, does not reject what is old. He treasures both.
General Intercessions
- For the Church, that it may be a voice and a force promoting justice and love among people and among nations, we pray:
- For the politicians and economists of our day, that they may reform national and international structures to give equitable access to all to the material and spiritual treasures of our world, we pray:
- For all of us, that we may live in the hands of God and let him mold us, even through trials, into better Christians, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
with bread and wine we celebrate
the covenant you renew with us
in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Make us indeed your new, faithful people
bound to you in an everlasting union of love.
Renew our hearts,
make us your new wine of joy and hope,
that we may rebuild this earth today
and march with your Son
toward your new heaven,
where you will be our God for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God of hope,
you have given us Jesus your Son
as our companion on the road
for understanding the old, familiar things
with a new and young heart
and for renewing ourselves and the world.
Let him prod us on
when we try to compromise
by merely patching up the old here and there;
let him curb our impatience
when we try to rush people
beyond their capacity for growth.
Lead us forward through our trusted guide,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We must make the Lord visible today in a way our times understand and make our world more and more God's world and kingdom. May you do so with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
