Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 3rd November, 2023
Friday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Memorial of St Malachy, bishop
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 9; 1-5
I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel.
What I want to say now is no pretence; I say it in union with Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the Holy Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood.
They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147
Response : O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
1 O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the children within-you. Response
2 He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command. Response
3 He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees. Response
Gospel Acclamation 1Thess 2: 13
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message it for what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
or 2Jn 10: 27
Alleluia alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the lord, I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 14:1-6 Glory to you, O Lord.
Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?
Now on a sabbath day he had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees.
‘Is it against the law‘ he asked ‘to cure a man on the sabbath, or not?‘
But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away.
Then he said to them,
‘Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?‘
And to this they could find no answer.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Friday, Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 14:1-6
There are different ways of seeing. In today’s gospel reading, it is said that those present at a meal at which Jesus was guest were watching Jesus closely. We can watch someone closely for various reasons. Parents watch their children closely so that they don’t come to harm. If someone we love is ill we watch them closely so as to respond to their needs. However, it seems that at this meal in the house of a leading Pharisees, the guests were all watching Jesus closely with a view to catching him out. It is strange that a man with a serious skin condition is suddenly in front of Jesus. Such a person would not usually get invited to a meal hosted by a leading Pharisee. It seems as if he was a kind of a plant to catch Jesus out.
The meal took place on the Sabbath and everyone was waiting to see if Jesus would heal the man, thereby engaging in a form of work, and breaking the Sabbath rest. This way of seeing, with a view to causing problems for someone, was in contrast to Jesus’ way of seeing. He saw others with compassionate, merciful, eyes, which is how he saw the man with dropsy who suddenly appeared before him. His way of seeing the man expressed itself in a way of behaving. He healed the man of his ailment, even though he knew it would strengthen the hostility towards him. Jesus was reclaiming the Sabbath as an occasion for healing and fullness of life. We are all called to see others as Jesus sees them, with compassionate and merciful eyes, and to act accordingly. The Lord wants his own way of seeing and behaving to become en-fleshed in our own daily lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.
