Celebración de la palabra

Friday July 17

Friday of 15th Week in Ordinary Time

THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB THE SABBATH IS FOR PEOPLE

Introduction

In response to the insistent prayer of King Hezekiah God heals the king and postpones his death so that he can finish what he intended to do in the service of his people.
Laws are not above the service to people, for the service of God does not contradict the love and mercy to be shown to people. Laws, commandments are based on the freedom God has brought to us in Christ.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you want us to seek security
not in observing the letter of the law
but to seek the insecurity
of committing ourselves to you and to people
in mercy and service.
Give us the courage to take the risk
and, like Jesus, to make the sacrifice
of giving ourselves to you
in our neighbor in need,
of sharing in their joys and sorrows,
their problems and their protests,
that we may know and serve them
as you know and serve us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reading 1 IS 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."

Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"

Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.

Responsorial Psalm ISAIAH 38:10, 11, 12ABCD, 16

R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

Alleluia JN 10:27

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the Sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Commentary

Law is necessary for life in any well-ordered society. But laws are not all of equal value; at times they can even be bypassed for good reason. They may be divine or human, social or ritual, some having greater value than others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ opponents object that his disciples are violating the Sabbath by plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath.
Jesus objects. The law of necessity has greater value than a law of abstinence. There are other exceptions to the abstinence law that are found even in the scriptures. Moreover, the overriding issue is rooted in the person of Jesus. The Son of Man as God’s personal emissary has authority over the Sabbath laws.
It is well to keep the lesson in mind. We at times feel a certain conflict in the law. But the overriding law is that of love. If the urgent needs of my neighbor require that I miss Sunday Mass, there is certainly no sin involved.
This may seem quite clear, but many Catholics fail to see the difference. How often people confess that they missed Mass because they were ill. This is not and cannot be a sin.
Hezekiah, repenting of his sins, is told that in three days he shall go up to the temple. But he wants even further assurance. We trust in the word of our God. “Say but the word and my soul shall be healed.” That word has been said; we must have confidence in it.

Points to Ponder

Distinguishing types of law
The supreme law of love
Christ as lord of the Sabbath

Intercessions

– That people everywhere be given the time to rest, to recover from the pressure of their work, and have the opportunity to worship God, we pray:
– That the faithful who go to Mass on Sundays will behave as Christians also on weekdays, we pray:
– That Sunday may be to all of us a special occasion to grow in love for those who are dear to us, to visit the sick and to serve the needy, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
this bread and this wine will become
the Lamb of God, Jesus, your Son.
We remember that he shed his blood
that our sins may be forgiven.
Let him be our food and drink today
that we may pass with him from death to life
and that we may truly be your people,
born to be free
and to make one another free
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, God of the living,
we have eaten the Passover meal
of your people of the new covenant.
Let Jesus help us to live
the great commandment of love
not so much as an order to be obeyed
but as a free gift to people
of our time, our attention and our very selves,
by the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Of course, there are commandments. But the Lord himself tells us that they may never stand in the way of mercy and of the loving service of people. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.