Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 23rd November, 2023
Thursday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Memorial of St Columban, abbot and missionary
FIRST READING
A reading from the first book of Maccabees 2:15-29
We will still follow the covenant of our ancestors.
The commissioners of King Antiochus who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them sacrifice. Many Israelites gathered round them, but Mattathias and his sons drew apart. The king’s commissioners then addressed Mattathias as follows,
‘You are a respected leader, a great man in this town; you have sons and brothers to support you. Be the first to step forward and conform to the king’s decree, as all the nations have done, and the leaders of Judah and the survivors in Jerusalem; you and your sons shall be reckoned among the Friends of the King, you and your sons shall be honoured with gold and silver and many presents.’
Raising his voice, Mattathias retorted,
‘Even if every nation living in the king’s dominions obeys him, each forsaking its ancestral religion to conform to his decrees, I, my sons, and my brothers will still follow the covenant of our ancestors. Heaven preserve us from forsaking the Law and its observances. As for the king’s orders, we will not follow them: we will not swerve from our own religion either to right or to left.’
As he finished speaking, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein as the royal edict required. When Mattathias saw this, he was fired with zeal; stirred to the depth of his being, he gave vent to his legitimate anger, threw himself on the man and slaughtered him on the altar. At the same time he killed the king’s commissioner who was there to enforce the sacrifice, and tore down the altar. In his zeal for the Law he acted as Phinehas did against Zimri son of Salu.
Then Mattathias went through the town, shouting at the top of his voice,
‘Let everyone who has a fervour for the Law and takes his stand on the covenant come out and follow me.’
Then he fled with his sons into the hills, leaving all their possessions behind in the town.
At this many who were concerned for virtue and justice went down to the desert and stayed there.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 49
Response I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
1. The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion’s perfect beauty he shines. Response
2. ‘Summon before me my people who made covenant with me by sacrifice:
The heavens proclaim his justice, for he, God, is the judge. Response
3. ‘Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God and render him your vote offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress. I will free you and you shall honour me.’ Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 118: 135
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
or Ps 94: 8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 19:41-44 Glory to you, O Lord.
If you had only understood the message of peace!
As Jesus drew near and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said,
‘If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you-and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
*****************************
Gospel Reflection Thursday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time Luke 19:41-44
There are two places in the four gospels where Jesus is portrayed as weeping, at the tomb of his friend Lazarus in the gospel of John and just before the enters the city of Jerusalem for the last time in the gospel of Luke, today’s gospel reading. His tears at the tomb of Lazarus express his sorrow at the death of a beloved friend and the devastating impact of Lazarus’ death on his sisters, Martha and Mary, who were also friends of Jesus.
The tears of Jesus in today’s gospel reading express his sadness over the failure of a city to welcome him as the bringer of God’s peace. Both set of tears spring from love. We weep over those we love and care about. Jesus had a deep love for the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. Earlier in Luke’s gospel he had exclaimed, ‘How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!’ It is a very maternal, motherly, image that Jesus uses of himself. The tears of Jesus in today’s gospel reading are like the tears of a mother who has been rejected by her children. Jesus’ statement, ‘you were not willing’, reminds us that the Lord’s tremendous love for us needs some response from us. At some level, our will needs to be brought into line with his will, our desire needs to correspond in some way to his desire for us. The good news is that, even the smallest of openings, faith the size of a mustard seed, as Jesus once said, is all he needs for his loving purpose for our lives to come to pass.
________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
