Celebración de la palabra

Tuesday July 21

Tuesday of 16th Week in Ordinary Time

JESUS’ REAL RELATIVES

Introduction

The Prophet Micah assures God’s people that God forgives them their infidelity. The people answer with a hymn of praise and trust.
Jesus assures us that what brings us close to God and makes us his relatives is doing the will of the Father. This is all that matters, more than ties of blood. This mission was the core and meaning of Jesus’ life and death. Let us pray that his faithfulness may also be ours.

Opening Prayer

God, Father of all,
you know and you love us;
whatever happens to us,
we are in your hands.
Wherever you lead us,
you know where you want us to go.
We ask you for faith and trust.
Make your will our will,
that you may lead us to your home
under the guidance of him
who did your will in everything,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reading 1 MI 7:14-15, 18-20

Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
That dwells apart in a woodland,
in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea
all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our fathers
from days of old.

Responsorial Psalm 85:2-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (8a) Lord, show us your mercy and love.
You have favored, O LORD, your land;
you have brought back the captives of Jacob.
You have forgiven the guilt of your people;
you have covered all their sins.
You have withdrawn all your wrath;
you have revoked your burning anger.
R. Lord, show us your mercy and love.
Restore us, O God our savior,
and abandon your displeasure against us.
Will you be ever angry with us,
prolonging your anger to all generations?
R. Lord, show us your mercy and love.
Will you not instead give us life;
and shall not your people rejoice in you?
Show us, O LORD, your kindness,
and grant us your salvation.
R. Lord, show us your mercy and love.

Alleluia JN 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 12:46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
asking to speak with you."
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Commentary

Today’s Gospel once again introduces the question of Jesus’ attitude toward human relationships. When it came to his own family, Jesus showed the respect and love that would be expected of a son. But it is not his father and mother whom he holds up for special recognition. When he is told that his family is present looking for him, he quickly addresses the question of his real family ties. His disciples, the ones who do the will of his heavenly father, are his true relatives. At another point in Luke’s Gospel, when a woman in the crowd raises her voice in praise of Jesus’ mother, Jesus again gives precedence to those who make God’s word their own.
All of this ties in closely with Jesus’ sense of his own mission as the unique emissary of his father with a very distinctive message. The acceptance of that message results in a very special relationship with Christ, one in which we become his family members.
This idea also appears in the Lucan story of Jesus being lost for three days in the temple as a boy. Jesus is separated from his mother and father so that he might identify with his true mission, bringing others to the family of God.
Are we as willing to give the concerns of God the priority that Christ gave them? Nothing can ever be of greater importance than God’s will in our life.

Points to Ponder

The true family of Christ
The bonds of Christian community
Micah: God’s delight in clemency

Intercessions

– That the people of God may always pray that they may seek your will rather than try to force you to do their will, we pray:
– That the Lord may give us the insight to discern his will in the events of life, we pray:
– That we may be true sons and daughters of God by seeking and doing his will in everyday life, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God, our Father,
this bread and this wine
are signs that with Jesus, your Son,
we are ready to seek your will.
Allow us to share in his table
as his brothers and sisters
and to follow him on his loyal way
to you, our God for ever.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
you have given us a world
to master and to develop
according to your wise plans
and to build up the body of Christ
in solidarity.
May we do so by the strength
of Jesus himself
and make this Church and this world
a communion of faith and hope,
of love and peace,
as a sign and a way
to your joy that lasts for ever.

Blessing

Brothers and sisters of Jesus… How much are we? We pray very often the Our Father and ask him that his will be done on earth as in heaven. That’s what we pray for, so that’s what we are committed to. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.