Mass Readings for : Thursday, 25th July, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 25th July, 2024

25/7 St James, Apostle

FIRST READING

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 4: 7-15
We carry with us in our body the death of Jesus.

We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.
We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered;
we see no answer to our problems, but never despair;
we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed;
always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body.

Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

But as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture –I believed, and therefore I spoke
– we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 125
Response Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

1. When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs. Response

2. The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad. Response

3. Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap. Response

4. They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves. Response

Gospel Acclamation Jn 15: 16
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I chose you from the world to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last says the Lord.
Alleluia!

Gospel

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 20:20-28 Glory to you, O Lord
You shall drink my cup.

The mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her,
‘What is it you want?’
She said to him,
‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.‘
‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’
They replied, ‘We can.’
‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’

When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers.
But Jesus called them to him and said,
‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you.
No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection 25^th July, Saint James, Apostle Matthew 20:20-28

It may seem strange that the gospel reading chosen for the feast of Saint James, brother of John and son of Zebedee, is one that doesn’t reflect too well on him. Himself and John approach Jesus through their mother (in Mark’s gospel, they approach him directly) asking Jesus for the most honourable seats in Jesus’ kingdom, one on his right and the other on his left. The request reveals a failure to understand that the kingdom of God which Jesus came to proclaim bears no relationship to any earthly kingdom. As Jesus goes on to say to the other ten disciples, in earthly pagan kingdoms their rulers lord it over their subjects, making their authority felt. This is not how it is to be in the kingdom of God, nor in the community of Jesus’ disciples, the church, which is to be a beachhead for the kingdom.

In God’s kingdom and its earthly revelation, greatness consists not in honourable status expressing itself in oppressive rule but in self-giving service of God and God’s people, after the example of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve. Such self-giving service will often entail drinking the cup of suffering that Jesus had to drink. At this point in the gospel, Jesus is still struggling to convey his vision of leadership to the twelve, including James and John. Yet, perhaps the reason this gospel reading is chosen for the feast of Saint James is because he did go on to drink the cup that Jesus drank, in the service of God and God’s people. According to the Acts of the Apostles, ‘King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword’ (12:1-2). The story of James shows us that our past failings do not define our relationship with the Lord. With his help we can grow in our relationship with him. We can keep moving from living towards ourselves to living towards him, so that, eventually, in the words of today’s first reading, ‘the life of Jesus may always be seen in our body’.