Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Sent In Poverty
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. In poignant terms, Hosea describes how much God loves his child Israel. Even when he has to reprimand his people, God will be merciful, for he still loves his people, however wayward. He is God, not a mere human being.
Gospel. Jesus sends his twelve apostles to announce the kingdom of heaven. They have to be detached from possessions, even from people. They are also to be poor, in the sense that they must accept the insecurity of not being received well. Perhaps we could retain these words of Jesus today: you received without charge, give without charge: your love, your service, your commitment.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
You send us all on the mission
of making your kingdom known
By the way we live the gospel
of Jesus Christ, your Son.
Give us a sense of mission, we pray you,
and do not let the cares of the day
or the weight of possessions
keep us from bearing witness
that you are our God
and that Jesus is the Lord
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit forever.
First Reading
The Childhood of Israel
I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more I have called, the further they have gone from me,sacrificing to the Baals, burning incense to the idols.
Yet, I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk, guiding them by the arms; yet, they little realized that it was I who cared for them.
I led them with cords of kindness, with gentle leads of love, and I became for them as one who eases the yoke from their necks and stoops down to feed them.
How can I give you up, Ephraim? Can I abandon you like Admah or make you like Zeboiim? My heart is troubled inside me,and I am moved with compassion.
I will not vent my great anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not human. I am the Holy One in your midst, and I do not want to come to you in anger.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (4b) Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken.
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see:
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted,
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand:
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Go and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Do not carry any gold, silver, or money in your purses.
Do not bring a travel bag, an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick: workers deserve compensation.
When you arrive in a town or village, seek out a worthy person, and remain there until you leave.
When you enter the house, wish it peace.
If the people are worthy, your peace will rest on them; if they are not, your blessing will come back to you.
And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet.
I assure you, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will have an easier time on the day of judgment than the people of that town.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That pastors and lay people in the Church may untiringly announce the good news as the source of happiness and peace for all, we pray:
– That we may find peace within ourselves, learn to accept ourselves, and set aside pride and hunger for power to seek genuine and lasting peace, we pray:
– That missionaries everywhere may make the Gospel credible by their evangelical lifestyle, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
Jesus, your Son, comes among us
in the poverty of a piece of bread
and a few drops of wine.
As he gives himself to us free of charge,
may we too learn to share free of charge
what we have and are.
Let this be our offering to you
through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our generous God,
This has been a eucharist,
a real thanksgiving to your merciful love.
Out of gratitude,
May we do the work your Son gave to his disciples:
to fight the forces of evil in and around us,
to heal and to care
and thus to proclaim in our deeds and lives
that you are a loving God
and that your Son Jesus Christ
is our saving Lord forever.
Blessing
We have received without charge all God’s forgiveness and life. Let us also give them without charge and generously pass them on to one another, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Mt 10:7-15
Jesus, the Master, trains his disciples in the art of evangelisation. His instructions are few, but they are fundamental to accomplishing the mission. The Lord wants his disciples to be grateful and generous. The value of generosity is becoming rare and costly today because nobody gives anything for free. There are hidden interests in everyone.
"Without cost, you have received; without cost, you are to give." How often do we take time to think about what we have received? I don't know if it is our consumer society or if it is human nature that makes it so hard to see the goodness we have been given in our lives. Why is it so much easier to see what we don't have in our lives?
How often have I felt small or unworthy by comparing myself to others or our culture's standard of success? And in wasting time and energy being preoccupied with my inability to measure up, how many opportunities to "give without cost" have I been oblivious to?
The Kingdom of God is meant to be shared, communicated, and spread...to all. In particular, to the people who are unable to pay with anything, including their merits. The message of the Gospel is, without a doubt, a gift. It is worth a lot, but it costs nothing. It must be given freely, without fear that it will run out. It is received as a token of God's "mad love." This passage reminds us that evangelisation, or the spreading of the Good News, is not reserved for theologians and ordained ministers alone.
How can we share the joy of the Gospel in our daily lives? We received it without cost and gave it without counting the cost. To spread the joy of the Gospel is to bring peace, to welcome, and to be welcomed. Greeting one another in the morning with a sincere "good morning" and facing life with a smile are ways of witnessing to the joy of the Gospel. Witnessing to the Gospel also means being interested in others' concerns and inquiring about the well-being of those connected to us. To evangelise is to look up from the keyboard or the computer screen when someone addresses you and look them in the face.
To evangelise is to yield the way, the seat, or the preference out of gentleness or affection. To evangelise is to listen with patience, to speak without being heavy-handed, and to put "my" things at the centre of the conversation. To evangelise is to drive with prudence, to be attentive to others (vehicles or pedestrians), to make life easier for them. To evangelise is to be helpful, to do small favours with joy and ease. To evangelise...