Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Entrance Antiphon

Your merciful love, O God,

we have received in the midst of your temple.

Your praise, O God, like your name,

reaches the ends of the earth;

your right hand is filled with saving justice.

First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14. A reading from the prophet Isaiah

I will send toward Jerusalem peace like a river.

Rejoice, Jerusalem,

be glad for her, all you who love her!

Rejoice, rejoice for her,

all you who mourned her!

That you may be suckled, filled,

from her consoling breast,

that you may savour with delight

her glorious breasts.

For thus says the Lord:

Now towards her I send flowing

peace, like a river,

and like a stream in spate

the glory of the nations.

At her breast will her nurslings be carried

and fondled in her lap.

Like a son comforted by his mother

will I comfort you.

And by Jerusalem you will be comforted.

At the sight your heart will rejoice,

and your bones flourish like the grass.

To his servants the Lord will reveal his hand.

Responsorial Psalm: Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

1. Cry out with joy to God all the earth,

O sing to the glory of his name.

O render him glorious praise.

Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds! (R.)

2. ‘Before you all the earth shall bow;

shall sing to you, sing to your name!’

Come and see the works of God,

tremendous his deeds among men. (R.)

3. He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the river dry-shod.

Let our joy then be in him;

he rules for ever by his might. (R.)

4. Come and hear, all who fear God.

I will tell what he did for my soul.

Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer

nor withhold his love from me. (R.)

Second Reading: Galatians 6:14-18. A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Galatians

The marks I carry on my body are those of Jesus Christ.

The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. It does not matter if a person is circumcised or not; what matters is for him to become an altogether new creature. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, who form the Israel of God.

I want no more trouble from anybody after this; the marks on my body are those of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, my brothers. Amen.

Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! May the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, and the fullness of his message live within you. Alleluia!

Gospel: Luke 10:1-12. 17-20. A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Your peace will rest upon him.

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, “We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.” I tell you, that on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.’

The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said, ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’

Homily Notes

Fr Darryl Mackie (Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle), Proud Wiradjuri Man, Former ACM Chaplain Sydney in celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday falls within the National celebration of NAIDOC Week. A week where we celebrate history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Throughout this week, it is common to hold cultural ceremonies such as Smoking ceremonies and a Welcome to Country. Welcome to Country holds significant cultural importance where visitors are not just welcomed on to Country but in doing so, are offered safe passage, protection both physically and spiritually and asked to respect the Country that is walked on. At the heart of the Welcome to Country is the natural desire for all of us, to always feel welcomed, valued and safe.

In this Sunday’s Gospel from Luke, the disciples are sent forth ahead of Jesus being told to not be weighed down by possessions; to rely upon hospitality; to have no roadside chats but most importantly be prepared for the hostility and rejection ahead. In other words, leaving behind the guarantee of shelter and support, being prepared to walk into places where we may feel neither welcomed nor valued nor safe. All of this is for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

The Gospel is full of imagery and numbers. We are told that Jesus sends out the seventy-two disciples in pairs. Why are these numbers so significant? Travelling in pairs is a reminder that spreading the gospel is relational, it happens between people. To live out discipleship, we need to depend on each other for support, hospitality and kindness. As for the number seventy-two, it is often understood to refer to the nations of the earth.

(Gen 10:2-31) For the Kingdom of God is open to everyone, as St Paul writes, “it does not matter if a person is circumcised or not; what matters is for him (and her) to become an altogether new creature.” (Gal 6:15) A new creation built on encounter and relationship with each other and with Jesus Christ. A newness that brings strength, understanding, hope and builds community. Imagine telling a group of followers (mainly Jewish) that you must lead a radical life of facing homelessness and travelling into a foreign territory where “you must eat and drink what is set before you”. Therefore, a disciple must be open to being vulnerable.

Vulnerability that opens to all of us greater possibilities to encounter the hospitality of God which is at the heart of Luke’s Gospel. Hospitality where God enters our lives and the lives of those around us providing for our needs. Vulnerability is experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities that has both strengthened culture and faith.

Peace be with you…Jesus sends the disciples in peace, a sign of the kingdom. Reflecting Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading when he speaks of peace, like a son comforted by his mother will I comfort you. For Isaiah, peace is not an absence of hostility or suffering but a place where love consoles, nurtures and protects us forever. It is God’s peace. Words of comfort to a people returning from exile to a ruined Jerusalem, words of comfort to our world that sometimes feels troubled and uncertain.

Jesus continues to invite us as disciples into the hospitality of God, into being bearers of peace sending us forth in strength and hope. What is it that Jesus asks of us today? He asks us not to be too comfortable but rather to be ready to carry what the late Pope Francis wrote – the Joy of the Gospel to everyone we meet. “We should carry it in our minds, carry it in our hearts, carry it on our faces, making sure that it is peace we bring into people’s lives rather than turmoil and division.” Or put simply as William J Thoms once wrote, “Be careful how you live; you will be the only Bible some people ever read.” In this Jubilee Year of hope who are the people around us who most need peace and hope in their lives. Are they in our families, workplaces,

our schools, our communities, our parishes?

Hope encourages us “to look outside ourselves, to embrace authentic beauty, change attitudes that exclude others, overcome life’s challenges with courage, and trust that joy and hope are still possible, even in challenging times.” (Pope Francis, A Gift of Joy and Hope) Hope challenges us to see every day and every person we encounter with Easter eyes and calls us all, to make places where all will feel the hospitality of God, places where we are all made welcome, valued and safe. Lord send us forth in strength and hope.