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| “Proclaiming the Word of God” artist and date are unknown |
Note: In the
United States, the civil holiday of Labor Day is celebrated. A Mass for
the sanctification of human labor may be celebrated using texts from: For the Blessing of Human
Labor, #907-911.
Reading 1: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We do not want you to be
unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen
asleep,
so that you may not grieve
like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose,
so too will God, through
Jesus,
bring with him those who have
fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on
the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive, who
are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those
who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a
word of command,
with the voice of an
archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will
rise first.
Then we who are alive, who
are left,
will be caught up together
with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with
the Lord.
Therefore, console one
another with these words.
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Commentary on 1 Thes 4:13-18
This passage from St. Paul’s First
Letter to the Thessalonians reassures the church at Thessalonica that those who
have already passed from this life to the next will not be forgotten in the
resurrection that will take place at the second coming of Christ. Rather they
will be raised with him – first. Then those faithful followers still alive will
be taken up to heaven (see also Wisdom 3:1-9).
It is important to understand when
reading this passage, that St. Paul clearly expected the Parousia, the second
coming, to occur during his own lifetime. This passage would emphasize the need
for preparedness and vigilance, a common theme in the gospels published later.
CCC: 1 Thes 4:13-14 1012; 1 Thes
4:14 649,
989; 1 Thes 4:16 1001; 1 Thes
4:17 1025; 1 Thes
4:18 1687
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13
R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you
lands.
Tell his glory among the
nations;
among all peoples, his
wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord comes to judge
the earth.
For great is the LORD and
highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all
gods.
For all the gods of the
nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the
heavens.
R. The Lord comes to judge
the earth.
Let the heavens be glad and
the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it
resound;
let the plains be joyful and
all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of
the forest exult.
R. The Lord comes to judge
the earth.
Before the LORD, for he
comes;
for he comes to rule the
earth.
He shall rule the world with
justice
and the peoples with his
constancy.
R. The Lord comes to judge
the earth.
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Commentary on Ps 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13
This song of
praise exhorts the people to praise the Lord for his wondrous works of
creation. The reason for this
exhortation is that God will come to rule the earth with his justice. In this passage, we see the forerunner of the
understanding of the New Jerusalem – the Heavenly Kingdom.
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Gospel: Luke 4:16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth
and went according to his
custom
into the synagogue on the
sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was
handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and
found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the
poor.
He has sent me to proclaim
liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the
blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year
acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the
attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the
synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage
is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the
gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not
the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you
will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’
and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were
done in Capernaum
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no
prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel
when the sky was closed for
three and a half years
and a severe famine spread
over the entire land.
It was to none of these that
Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in
Zarephath in the land
of Sidon
Again, there were many lepers
in Israel
during the time of Elisha the
prophet;
yet not one of them was
cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the
synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with
fury.
They rose up, drove him out
of the town,
and led him to the brow of
the hill
on which their town had been
built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the
midst of them and went away.
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Commentary on Lk 4:16-30
In this passage from St. Luke’s
Gospel we find the Lord back in his home town of Nazareth. He reads from the
Book of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2) and then
tells those present that he has come to fulfill the oracle he proclaimed (“he
has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind”). These were clear
references to the miraculous works he had already performed in other parts of
the country. The Lord saw that they were expecting that he would perform signs
there as well but the lack of faith would prevent him. Those congregated knew
him from boyhood and did not believe he was the Messiah or even a prophet.
In response to this unbelief, Jesus
brought out two examples from the stories about the prophets that demonstrated
that those unworthy of God’s grace were ignored in favor of more worthy
subjects. This caused the wholesale uprising against him, and he left them. In
the eyes of those former friends and neighbors, Jesus had committed blasphemy,
punishable by death. But, because they were uncertain, given the power and
authority they had witnessed, none dared lay a hand on him. “He passed
though the midst of them and went away.”
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Reflection:
The episode in Jesus’
ministry we see depicted in St. Luke’s Gospel when Jesus goes to the place
where he grew up is a foretaste of where his mission will lead him. He comes home, not to a hero’s welcome, but
to anger and near tragedy. The story is
analogous to a common business cliché that defines an “expert” as someone who
comes from out of town and carries a brief case. The implication is that a person who is in
your midst cannot be an “expert”; that level of knowledge must reside outside
the local area.
The situation in Nazareth Nazareth
When he is invited to speak
at the synagogue he tells them that the boy they watched grow up and the young
man who had learned the carpenter trade at the elbow of Joseph was a great
prophet – even quoting from Isaiah at them – like he was something
special. They were sorry for Joseph and
Mary but he had to be stopped so they took him out of town with the idea of
killing him for his blasphemy. It was
permitted, in fact it was their obligation, probably condoned and encouraged by
the local rabbi.
But there was something else
at work. The words he spoke and the way
he said them – this was different. Never
mind that they had heard the book of Isaiah before. Others had always used future tense –looking
forward to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus
taught with authority, as if the prophet had come back to life in him, making
the words real and present. It stirred
them inside. It frightened them. While their rational minds said “We know this
young man,” in the backs of their minds
the truth was screaming at them – here is something new, the likes of which
have never been seen before. And they
stopped what they were doing, staring at him in fear and hesitation. Seeing this reaction, Jesus pushed through
them without resistance and left the area.
No doubt he was saddened by the reaction but probably not surprised.
For us, we see this reaction
of those who knew Jesus as the greatest lost opportunity of all time. Yet don’t we find in ourselves that same
incredulous rejection of Christ’s presence in those around us? Don’t we often fail to see the Lord present
in those we encounter, especially members of our own families?
The lesson we receive today
from St. Luke’s Gospel is that we must be constantly vigilant, looking for the
Lord not just in prayer, not just in the sacraments, but in the people we
meet. We must listen for the Word of God
at all times and in all peoples because we do not know the hour or the day of
his coming.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Proclaiming the Word of God” artist and date are unknown.
[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.
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