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First Reading: Dt 10:12-22
Moses said to the people:
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good?
Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God,
as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done.
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him.
So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The LORD, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the LORD, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Gospel Reading: Mt 17:22-27
While Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, he said to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into human hands, and they will kill him. But he will rise on the third day." The Twelve were deeply grieved.
When they returned to Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, "Does your master pay the temple tax?" He answered, "Certainly."
Peter then entered the house, but immediately Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tributes to the kings of the earth: their sons or the other people?" Peter replied, "The others."
And Jesus told him, "The sons, then, are tax-free. But so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it, take it and let it pay for you and for me."
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you are present among us in secret, incognito,
with the everyday appearance
of an ordinary person.
God, give us eyes of faith
to see that you are among us
in the person of Jesus your Son
in this eucharist,
in the joys and sorrows of life,
in the people we meet in the street.
Make us attentive to your presence
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
A mixed assortment of slaves had been made into a people, obtained freedom, and was on its way to a land of its own. People without hope had been given dreams of a great future. All this because there was a God "foolish" enough to attach himself to these people and to love them without any merit on their part. This love was a call, waiting for a response of life-long fidelity to God's ways.
Gospel Introduction
The gospel gives us the image of God-in-civilian Jesus, God's Son, a man who pays his taxes even when he is not obliged to. It may be a hint for us not to ask for privileges because we are Christians and to act and live as free people, who at times - or often - choose to do what we are not obliged to do, especially in the form of help.
General Intercessions
- For the Church, that it may not be ashamed of preaching the crucified Christ and of being self-effacing with him, we pray:
- For all of us, that we may never put the law above people but practice first the great commandment of loving one another, we pray:
- For our Christian communities, that we may welcome strangers and foreigners and make them our friends in the name of God who has befriended us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, our Father,
you are our God of glory,
and yet you let your Son come among us
in the simple signs of bread and wine.
Stay among us
and make us also reflect your presence
in all simplicity
by making you available to people
in our goodness and compassion,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you know how complicated we can be,
and yet, your glory is among us
in all that is simple and commonplace:
in water and oil, bread and wine,
a gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation.
God, we thank you for your goodness.
And may our hearts and gestures
be as simple as your presence,
that in a tear or a smile
we may reveal your Son in our midst,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We are free sons and daughters of God and we cherish this freedom. Yet we do not want to be a clan separate from others or people seeking privileges. We want to be united with all and to serve them. May almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
