DOA HARIAN

Twenty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, disciples of the Lord who were waiting for the Kingdom of God. Remembrance of Carlo Maria Martini, archbishop of Milan, a man of the listening to the Word of God, linked to the Community of Sant'Egidio by long friendship.

First Reading

Sirach 3,17-20.28-29

My child, be gentle in carrying out your business, and you will be better loved than a lavish giver. The greater you are, the more humbly you should behave, and then you will find favour with the Lord; for great though the power of the Lord is, he accepts the homage of the humble. For the disease of the proud there is no cure, since an evil growth has taken root there. The heart of the sensible will reflect on parables, an attentive ear is the sage's dream.

Psalmody

Psalm 67

Antiphon

Blessed is the Lord who frees his people.

Let God arise, let his foes be scattered.
Let those who hate him flee before him.

As smoke is blown away so will they be blown away;
like wax that melts before the fire,
so the wicked shall perish at the presence of God.

But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God,
they shall exult and dance for joy.

O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;
make a highway for him who rides on the clouds.
Rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.

Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
such is God in his holy place.

God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom :
but rebels must dwell in a parched land.

When you went forth, O God, at the head of your people
when you marched across the desert, the earth trembled :

the heavens melted at the presence of God,
at the presence of God, Israel's God.

You poured down, O God, a generous rain :
when your people were starved you gave them new life.

It was there that your people found a home,
prepared in your goodness, O God for the poor.

The Lord gives the word to the bearers of good tidings :
'The Almighty has defeated a numberless army

and kings and armies are in flight, in flight
while you were at rest among the sheepfolds.'

At home the women already share the spoil.
They are covered with silver as the wings of a dove,

its feathers brilliant with shining gold
and jewels flashing like snow on Mount Zalmon.

The mountains of Bashan are mighty mountains;
high-ridged mountains are the mountains of Bashan.

Why look with envy, you high-ridged mountains,
at the mountain where God has chosen to dwell?
It is there that the Lord shall dwell for ever.

The chariots of God are thousands upon thousands.
The Lord has come from Sinai to the holy place.

You are gone up on high; you have taken captives,
receiving men in tribute, O God,
even those who rebel, into your dwelling, O Lord.

May the Lord be blessed day after day.
He bears our burdens, God our saviour.

This God of ours is a God who saves.
The Lord our God holds the keys of death.

And God will smite the head of his foes,
the crown of those who persist in their sins.

The Lord said : 'I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depth of the sea.

Then your feet will tread in their blood
and the tongues of your dogs take their share of the foe.'

They see your solemn procession, O God,
the procession of my God, of my king, to the sanctuary;

the singers in the forefront, the musicians coming last,
between them, maidens sounding their timbrels.

'In festive gatherings, bless the Lord;
bless God, O you who are Israel's sons.'

There is Benjamin, least of the tribes, at the head,
Judah's princes, a mighty throng,
Zebulun's princes, Naphtali's princes.

Show forth, O God, show forth your might,
your might O God, which you have shown for us

for the sake of your temple high in Jerusalem
may kings come to you bringing their tribute.

Threaten the wild beast that dwells in the reeds,
the bands of the mighty and lords of the peoples.

Let them bow down offering silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.

Princes will make their way from Egypt:
Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord
who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.

He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
Come, acknowledge the power of God.

His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies.
God is to be feared in his holy place.

He is the Lord, Israel's God.
He gives strength and power to his people.
Blessed be God!

Second Reading

Hebrews 12,18-19.22-24

What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or gloom or total darkness, or a storm; or trumpet-blast or the sound of a voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church of first-born sons, enrolled as citizens of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and to the spirits of the upright who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to purifying blood which pleads more insistently than Abel's.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 14,1.7-14

Now it happened that on a Sabbath day he had gone to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, 'When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, "Give up your place to this man." And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, "My friend, move up higher." Then, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up.' Then he said to his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

The Gospel we heard brings us in the house of a Pharisee who had invited Jesus for the meal on a Saturday. It is the third time that it happens. In the first Christianity this tradition continues with the celebration of teh agape that included the "fractio panis" (breaking bread). Jesus observes the guests rushing for the best seats and Jesus takes the occasion to tell a parable which is in fact a lesson of life regarding the behaviour in his Kingdom. We are therefore well beyond a rule of etiquette or simple common sense. The choice of first place is about the heart, not about chairs. One can seek the first place even by putting oneself in the last one, perhaps to be quiet, without having troubles, continuing to do one's own interests or to do what is more advantageous for oneself. Choosing first places - Jesus says - means wanting to put oneself before everyone else; to bend others to ourselves; to impose our feelings, our points of view on others. In short, to demand to be served rather than to serve, to be honoured and considered rather than available for service. It is in this perspective that Jesus told the Pharisees a little earlier: "Woe to you! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues" (Lk 11:43). We recall the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in the temple and the ease with which the former despises the latter who stays at the back. Jesus invites us to consider the humiliation to which one goes when the invitation from the master of the house arrives: "Give this person your place" (v. 9). The Gospel proposes a total reversal: it is not a matter of making the right choice not to be humiliated, but of choosing the true priorities, those of the Kingdom, where those who humble themselves will be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humiliated. And the Apostle Peter - exhorts Christians to "clothe [themselves] with humility in your dealings with one another, for
'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (5:5). The people Jesus gathers is made of humble men and women. With them he walks through towns and villages, not seeking first places or claiming attention and privileges for himself but being moved by the weary and exhausted crowds: he gathers them up and leads them to grassy pastures. To the Pharisee who had invited him, Jesus presented a new vision: "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you" (Lk 14:12-13). It is a new perspective that puts love and welcome at the centre and does not demand anything in exchange.