Wednesday October 4, 2017
Introduction
In the Old Testament, we find enthusiastic, dedicated leaders, giving the best of themselves to God and country. Nehemiah has a good, secure function at the court of Artaxerxes as butler – often a confidential job. Hearing alarming reports about the disorganized Jews in Palestine after the exile, he does not want to keep his administrative competency to himself or to serve at a pagan court. He asks the king for permission to give the best of himself to his people and country. He goes to Jerusalem, rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem and the Jewish community, works for social justice, and gets the city and country of God’s people going again.
Jesus gave himself totally to his mission. He asks the same radical commitment to the kingdom of God of justice and love not only of his apostles but also of all who “follow” him – of us. A “radical” commitment is asked, that is, going to the roots in the depths of our being; it must be consistent, it is a commitment that does not look back but that has its eyes on both the present and the future.
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
we have accepted your invitation
to follow your Son as his disciples.
Let your Spirit give us the wisdom and the strength
to take our faith seriously
and to accept our task in life
with all its consequences.
Let the Spirit help us to go your Son’s way
without fear or discouragement,
for we are certain that Jesus will lead us to you,
our loving God, for ever and ever.
Reading: NEH 2:1-8
In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, "Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart."
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
"May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?"
The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?"
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
"If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves,
to rebuild it."
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.
I asked the king further: "If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy."
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.
Responsorial Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Alleluia PHIL 3:8-9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: LK 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
Intercessions
– For the Church, that Christ may become more visible in its will to serve God and people in its loving concern for the poor and its continuous conversion to the Gospel, we pray:
– For all Christians, who claim to follow Christ, that they may live up without fear to the demands of the Gospel: and bear witness to the crucified Lord, we pray:
– For those who suffer in their bodies and their hearts, for those who work for justice in the world and for peace among people, that they may find strength in their unity with Christ in his passion and his death, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in these gifts of bread and wine,
we bring ourselves before you
and you let your Son give himself to us.
May we learn from him
to make ourselves free and available
to people and to you
and to seek your will in all we do.
Help us to follow your Son
in his trials and in his glory,
now and for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
in this Eucharist, you have enlightened us
with the word of wisdom of your Son
and given us the bread that gives us the strength
to follow him without hesitation.
Keep breathing on us
the wisdom and strength of your Spirit,
that we can go with Jesus
through the desert of pain and the cross,
for the sake of bringing life and joy
to our brothers and sisters in need
and for giving glory to you,
our God, for ever and ever.
Blessing
Jesus tells us today: “Follow me.” We have accepted his invitation. Then, we have also to accept the consequences. We have to learn to love without end, to forgive without delay, to give ourselves also when not pleasant. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.