Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 13th November, 2024
Wednesday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to Titus 3:1-7
We were misled, but because of his compassion God saved us.
Remind them that it is their duty to be obedient to the officials and representatives of the government; to be ready to do good at every opportunity; not to go slandering other people or picking quarrels, but to be courteous and always polite to all kinds of people. Remember, there was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and luxuries; we lived then in wickedness and ill-will, hating each other and hateful ourselves.
But when the kindness and love of God our saviour for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour. He did this so that we should be justified by his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 22
Response The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. Response
2. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort. Response
3. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Response
4 Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever. Response
Gospel Acclamation 2 Thess 2: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia !
Or 1 Thess 5: 18
Alleluia, alleluia!
For all things give thanks,
because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia !
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 17:11-19
No one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him.
They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’
When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests’.
Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say,
‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they?
It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’
And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.‘
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time Luke 17:11-19
Normally Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other; they lived apart from one another. However, leprosy was a great leveller. Jewish and Samaritan lepers occupied the same space, ostracized by the community for fear of contagion. If a leper approached a healthy Jewish man, he had no interest in whether the leper was Jewish or Samaritan. Both were equally to be shunned.
In today’s gospel reading, a group of lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan, ‘stood some way off and called on’ Jesus, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us’. The Jews and Samaritan were united in their desperate plea to one whom they believed could heal them. It is only after their healing, while on their way to the priests, that the distinction between Jew and Samaritan shows itself. However, contrary to the expectation of the time, it is the Samaritan who emerges as one closer to God.
In the words of today’s first reading, ‘the kindness and love of God our saviour for humankind were revealed’ to all ten lepers, through the ministry of Jesus. However, whereas nine no doubt rejoiced in the gift of new health they had received from Jesus, it was only the Samaritan who looked beyond the gift to the ultimate giver, God. The Samaritan alone ‘turned back praising God at the top of his voice’. In praising God, he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him, because he recognized that it was through Jesus that God had worked in such a life-giving way. In the language of the first reading, God has renewed us ‘with the Holy Spirit which he so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour’.
Like ‘the other nine’ we can be so absorbed by the gifts that God has given us that we fail to go beyond the gifts to the giver and to the one through whom God has given us these gifts, Jesus our Lord. The Samaritan prompts us to keep ‘turning back’ to the Lord, recognizing that ‘every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights’ (James 1:17).
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
