INVITE THOSE IN DISTRESS
Introduction
As there were divisions also in Philippi, Paul asked his Christians to work toward unity, a unity based on unselfishness, humility and concern for the good of others.
We are inclined to love and invite those who love and invite us. Is this genuine love according to God’s standards? True love is gratuitous and opens itself to the poor and to outcasts. This is beautiful to say but hard to do. What is our practice?
Opening Prayer
Lord our God and Father,
we come together here as a people
to share in the feast of Jesus, our Savior.
Let this celebration be the sign of the feast without end
which you have prepared for us.
Make us rejoice with you
and welcome all with open arms,
people from everywhere, all nations,
the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong.
May all accept your invitation,
that we may rejoice with all
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – PHILIPPIANS 2:1-4
Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others.
Responsorial PSALM 131:1BCDE, 2, 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me. R.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me. R.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever. R.
Alleluia – JOHN 8:31B-32
Alleluia, alleluia.
If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – LUKE 14:12-14
On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbours, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Commentary
Break the Chain
Much of what unfolds in human commerce is self-interest couched in mutuality. “You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours” is the principle that generally guides interactions, be it at personal level or national or international levels. It is said that the 1994 Rwandan genocide did not move powerful nations to intervene precisely because they had nothing to gain out of an intervention there – no minerals, no oil fields! On smaller and subtle scales we do the same in our little worlds as well, which Jesus points out today. He invites us to be more redemptive and unconditional; to share our blessings and tables with those who may not return the favour. In other words, give without counting the cost and with no expectations; and very specially, to invite those on the margins to the center of our lives. And he promises to remember our good deeds on the day that counts most!
Intentions
– That those we encounter at the crossroads of life may hear and accept too, the invitation to the table of the Lord, we pray:
– That the Lord who destroys death may give consolation and strength to all who mourn the death of a loved one, we pray:
– That also the communities without priests, isolated as they often are, may receive the Lord as their food, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
we are preparing your table.
Like your Son,
may we open life’s happiness and share it
first of all with the most deprived.
Make us set your and our table
for those who have no access
to most of life’s goods and resources.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord, our hospitable God,
we have shared the table of Jesus, your Son.
Let this mean for us that we have also to share our table
with the humble and the dispossessed,
even people who are difficult and not very lovable.
Inspire us to help them back on their feet
and to restore to them that which no one can dispense with:
self-esteem, self-confidence
and the indestructible courage
to be human persons.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
An impossible task? Something which only the naïve would try? Jesus has asked us today to care about the unlovable – or so we think – for no one is unlovable to God. Jesus cared and loved outcasts and sinners. Dare we follow him? May Almighty God give you wisdom and courage and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!