Entrance Antiphon
Turn your ear, O Lord, and answer me;
save the servant who trusts in you, my God.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long.
First Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21. A reading from the prophet Isaiah
They will gather all of your people from all nations.
The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
- O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples! (R.)
- Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever. (R.)
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13. A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
The Lord disciplines those he loves.
Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30. A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
From East and West they will come to take their place in the kingdom of God.
Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
REFLECTION
by Dianne Bergant CSA
The vision of a disciple must be the vision of God. Disciples must see with wide angled lenses that enable them to recognise that God offers the grace of salvation to all. The passages from both Isaiah and Luke are astounding in their inclusivity. They show that God’s saving grace is unbounded. It reaches out to those whom the people of God may not only distrust but sometimes even despise. There is something very dangerous about being smugly convinced of one’s own salvation. When we are so sure of ourselves, we can easily fall into the error of being as sure of the moral failure of others as well. The gospel warns us against such judgment.
Women and men are gathered into the community of the saved, primarily because others have been sent out to get them. The psalm refrain is the command to go out to the whole world. The first reading describes God sending fugitives back home to get their relatives. People come from all over because someone is sent to get them. Today that command is directed to us. We are the ones who are being sent out to bring others to God. Unfortunately there are many people who do not believe that they are fit to be evangelisers. They may think that the work that they do or the lives that they live do not lend themselves to the task of spreading the good news of the gospel. They do not realise that all Christians are called and sent. This is not an option; it is a responsibility.