Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

"The Four Church Fathers
and the Virgin of Seven Sorrows with Saints"
by Francesco Guardi, c.1770's

Readings for Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Romans 12:5-16ab
 
Brothers and sisters:
We, though many, are one Body in Christ
and individually parts of one another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us exercise them:
if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;
if ministry, in ministering;
if one is a teacher, in teaching;
if one exhorts, in exhortation;
if one contributes, in generosity;
if one is over others, with diligence;
if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
 
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.
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Commentary on Rom 12:5-16ab
 
St. Paul speaks to a community that is one in faith in Christ. He tells the community that, in their union, the gifts of each must serve the needs of all, and these gifts need to be exercised. "No virtue worthy of its name can foster selfishness.  Every virtue necessarily works for the good of our own soul and to the good of those around us [...]. Ties of solidarity should bind us all and, besides, in the order of grace we are united by the supernatural likes of the Communion of Saints" (St. Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God, 76). [4]   The Apostle to the Gentiles gives a litany of exhortations to live the love of Christ, following his command to love one another sincerely and to forgive those who persecute them.
 
CCC: Rom 12-15 1454, 1971; Rom 12:5 1372; Rom 12:6-8 2004; Rom 12:6 114; Rom 12:8 2039; Rom 12:9-13 1971; Rom 12:11 2039; Rom 12:12 1820; Rom 12:14 1669, 2636
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 131:1bcde, 2, 3
 
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
 
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
 
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
 
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
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Commentary on Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3
 
Psalm 131 is an individual lament praying for harmony and humility among the members of the community. The singer proclaims trust in the Lord and peace, like children's contented peace, secure in the knowledge of the love and protection of their parents.
 
CCC: Ps 131:2 239; Ps 131:2-3 370
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Gospel: Luke 14:15-24
 
One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled,
the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
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Commentary on Lk 14:15-24
 
This story about the dinner and the invited guests from St. Luke’s Gospel (a continuation of the meal he shares with the Pharisees) is an analogy for those of the Jewish faith who reject Jesus as the Messiah. In the parable, the invitees (representing the Hebrew peoples) give all manner of excuses for not attending the dinner (representing the heavenly banquet in the kingdom of God).   As a moral to the story, he tells them that those to whom faith in God was first given (the Hebrews) have rejected the Law and the Prophets they hold sacred, so others (the Gentiles portrayed in the story as those in "the highways and hedgerows”) will enjoy the fulfillment of God's promise.
 
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Reflection:
 
St. Luke’s Gospel was most likely written for a Gentile audience and stories like the one proclaimed today would have been received as a reinforcement to the call to faith. The reader sees the Lord speaking with the Pharisees, one of the most religious groups within the Jewish community. He is telling them that they have been invited to follow him and it is up to them to accept the invitation. He goes further though, telling these leaders of the Jewish faith that while the invitation has been given to them, Jesus knows they will make excuses not to accept it and, in the end, the Gentiles will be the ones celebrating the banquet of God.
 
The Gentiles would have rejoiced at this description, reassured that their faith was not in vain. They would have taken the words of St. Paul to heart and lived as the Lord envisioned and instructed, unified as one body in faith, each member using their own gifts for the benefit of all, and as a group, caring for the poor and the marginalized.
 
That same invitation flows down through the millennia to us. We are invited to that banquet and, like those Pharisees who dined with Christ, he looks at us and sees our hearts. His attitude, as it must have been with those Jewish leaders, would not be condescending or judgmental. It would be one of love and compassion. He knows we are torn between following our human desires and his difficult path. But since he knows that we may not be constant in our acceptance of that invitation, he makes it clear that the door is open and his hand is out to us.
 
That, as always, is our daily quest. How will we respond to that invitation today? Will we dress up in our “play clothes” and go out and get dirty? Or will we wash ourselves in prayer and put on our very best clothes (clothing ourselves in Christ himself) and get ready for that wondrous party? The guest of honor is waiting. The feast of the Lamb is prepared; his body real food; his blood real drink. What is our response today?
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is "The Four Church Fathers and the Virgin of Seven Sorrows with Saints" by Francesco Guardi, c.1770's.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Letters of St. Paul, The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press, 2003 p. 122.