THE SELF-EMPTYING OF CHRIST

Tuesday November 3

Tuesday of 31st Week of Ordinary Time

THE SELF-EMPTYING OF CHRIST

Introduction

We hear today in the first reading two stanzas from a beautiful hymn to Christ. It may be of Syrian origin and was probably used in the liturgy. It sums up Christ and his work in a few concise terms: divine, yet in the humble condition of a servant, a human being; crucified but risen and glorified above all. He emptied himself, that is, gave up the glory that was rightfully his. And this Christ is the model for people, the image of what a person must become. Are we that image?
Today’s gospel has partly the same theme as that of yesterday: that in the kingdom of God we have to open our homes and hearts to the poor, the neglected, the people without name or fame. This is why we take the messages of the first reading of years I and II.

Opening Prayer

Lord, mighty God,
people – that is we –
often want to be their own gods;
we want to decide for ourselves
what we want to be and what is right and wrong.
Thank you for sending us your Son
who is God and wanted to be a human being,
to serve people, to suffer for people,
to save people from their pride and self-sufficiency.
Thank you for upsetting our values
and holding out the promise to us
that you will raise us up with Jesus,
and that we may acclaim him as our Lord
to give you glory for ever and ever.

Reading 1 PHIL 2:5-11

Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Responsorial Psalm PS 22:26B-27, 28-30AB, 30E, 31-32

R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts be ever merry!"
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
All the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
For dominion is the LORD's,
and he rules the nations.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
To him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

Alleluia MT 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 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.'"

Commentary

The reading from Philippians today is the celebrated hymn, which in view of its highly structured form seems to have been a hymn of the early church, taken over and slightly adapted by Paul in his letter. The hymn begins on the highest level of the Godhead, as it exhorts Christians to mirror the humility of Jesus in their own lives. Christ was from time eternal equal to God, but he did not embrace the trappings of divinity, even the tide “Lord.” Instead he moved in an opposite direction, coming among us in human form as a slave of the Lord. In his humility he embraced full humanity, obedient to death, and (in the only phrase probably added to the hymn by Paul himself) even to death on a cross. Because of this spirit of submission, God has now lifted him on high, with all of creation (heaven, earth, and “under the earth”) now bending the knee and confessing him as Lord to the glory of God.
The hymn is one of Christianity’s finest and is rich in early church theology. Its recognizes the preexistent Christ, with the acclaiming of his Lordship coming only after his death and resurrection. The salvific character of his death is implied, as well as the universal effects of redemption.
The Gospel today sees all of us as gathered together for the Messianic feast. What this means is understood when we read the Philippians’ hymn. We have been bought at a great price!

Points to Ponder

The eternity of Christ
Redemption and the humility of God
The Lordship of Christ

Intercessions

– That the People of God and its leaders may not seek to impress the world with outward splendor and power but go to all as humble servants, we pray:
– That from Christ we may learn to go out of our way to serve others, we pray:
– That we may help the poor not to boast of the good we do but to better their lot without humiliating them, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus appears among us here
in the humble, everyday signs
of a piece of bread and a bit of wine.
As we are full of ourselves,
let him give us the insight and courage
to empty ourselves of our pretenses.
Teach us to become with him
unassuming servants of one another
and of you, our God and Father for ever.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
in this Eucharist you have let us enjoy
the presence of him
who was fully human among people like us,
your Son Jesus Christ.
May we learn from him
that to be fully human means
to say yes to life with its joys and also its crosses,
to live for others
and even to accept death
as the gate to the lasting joy
which you have prepared for us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ. He emptied himself and humbled himself, accepting even death on the cross. Therefore, God exalted him. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.