Reading 1 Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 In those days, the princes said to the king: "Jeremiah ought to be put to death; he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such things to them; he is not interested in the welfare of our people, but in their ruin." King Zedekiah answered: "He is in your power"; for the king could do nothing with them. And so they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah, which was in the quarters of the guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.
Ebed-melech, a court official, went there from the palace and said to him: "My lord king, these men have been at fault in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, casting him into the cistern. He will die of famine on the spot, for there is no more food in the city." Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite to take three men along with him, and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die. Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18 R. (14b) Lord, come to my aid! I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped toward me. R. Lord, come to my aid! The LORD heard my cry. He drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp; he set my feet upon a crag; he made firm my steps. R. Lord, come to my aid! And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. Many shall look on in awe and trust in the LORD. R. Lord, come to my aid! Though I am afflicted and poor, yet the LORD thinks of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, hold not back! R. Lord, come to my aid! Reading 2 Heb 12:1-4 Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Alleluia Jn 10:27 R. Alleluia, alleluia. My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 12:49-53 Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
The words of the Popes "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" (Lk 12: 49). The Apostles, together with diverse communities of the faithful, carried this divine flame to the far corners of the earth. In this way they opened a path for humanity, a luminous path, and they collaborated with God, who wants to renew the face of the earth with his fire. How different is this fire from that of war and bombing! How different is the fire of Christ, spread by the Church, compared with those lit by the dictators of every epoch of the last century too who leave scorched earth behind them. The fire of God, the fire of the Holy Spirit, is that of the bush that burned but was not consumed (cf. Ex 3: 2). It is a flame that blazes but does not destroy, on the contrary, that, in burning, brings out the better and truer part of man, as in a fusion it elicits his interior form, his vocation to truth and to love.
A Father of the Church, Origen, in one of his Homilies on Jeremiah, cites a saying attributed to Jesus, not contained in the sacred Scriptures but perhaps authentic, which reads: "Whoever is near to me, is near to the fire" (Homily on Jeremiah, L. I [III]). In Christ, in fact, there is the fullness of God, who in the Bible is compared to fire. We just observed that the flame of the Holy Spirit blazes but does not burn. And nevertheless it enacts a transformation, and thus must also consume something in man, the waste that corrupts him and hinders his relations with God and neighbour. (Pope Benedict XVI, 23 May 2010)
FAUSTI - The disciple lives in the light of God's judgment, the antidote to all hypocrisy. It is revealed in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, who baptizes us in the fire of the Spirit after He Himself has passed through the waters of death. This is His eschatological coming, already realized on the cross, which judges the world to save it. In reality, God's definitive judgment on the world is the gift of His Spirit. It marks the beginning of the last times when men are called to conversion and new life in baptism... This fire, which Jesus ascended to heaven and sent to earth, is very different from that invoked by James and John on the Samaritans. It is the final fruit of His mission, the fulfilment of the whole plan of God. In the Eucharist the disciple receives the Spirit. It is a fire that not even the waters of hell can extinguish, it is God's love for man, which springs from the death of the Son himself. The piece is characterized by urgency. In fact, His love for us is a fire that necessarily wants to light the one who loves. There is no love that does not desire to be loved. Jesus came to bring a fire, which has to pass through the water. What He wants, He forces Him to go through what He does not want. The resurrection comes after death. He himself is divided between a desire and an anguish, to the point of drawing blood. It is the struggle, in which love wins the extreme test. He himself, the Son, came to visit us from the Father in all our anguish, so that we might be free of them. The Messiah came to bring peace and unity among men. But this peace of His comes through division. It is not cheap, but at a high price, at the price of life. But he makes all things new (Rev 21:3-5...). This division is the decision that requires the following of the Lord.
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
RispondiEliminaLectionary: 120
Reading 1
Jer 38:4-6, 8-10
In those days, the princes said to the king:
"Jeremiah ought to be put to death;
he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city,
and all the people, by speaking such things to them;
he is not interested in the welfare of our people,
but in their ruin."
King Zedekiah answered: "He is in your power";
for the king could do nothing with them.
And so they took Jeremiah
and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah,
which was in the quarters of the guard,
letting him down with ropes.
There was no water in the cistern, only mud,
and Jeremiah sank into the mud.
Ebed-melech, a court official,
went there from the palace and said to him:
"My lord king,
these men have been at fault
in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah,
casting him into the cistern.
He will die of famine on the spot,
for there is no more food in the city."
Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite
to take three men along with him,
and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before
he should die.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18
R. (14b) Lord, come to my aid!
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
The LORD heard my cry.
He drew me out of the pit of destruction,
out of the mud of the swamp;
he set my feet upon a crag;
he made firm my steps.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
Many shall look on in awe
and trust in the LORD.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
Though I am afflicted and poor,
yet the LORD thinks of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, hold not back!
R. Lord, come to my aid!
Reading 2
Heb 12:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
he endured the cross, despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
Alleluia
Jn 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Lk 12:49-53
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
The words of the Popes
RispondiElimina"I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" (Lk 12: 49). The Apostles, together with diverse communities of the faithful, carried this divine flame to the far corners of the earth. In this way they opened a path for humanity, a luminous path, and they collaborated with God, who wants to renew the face of the earth with his fire. How different is this fire from that of war and bombing! How different is the fire of Christ, spread by the Church, compared with those lit by the dictators of every epoch of the last century too who leave scorched earth behind them. The fire of God, the fire of the Holy Spirit, is that of the bush that burned but was not consumed (cf. Ex 3: 2). It is a flame that blazes but does not destroy, on the contrary, that, in burning, brings out the better and truer part of man, as in a fusion it elicits his interior form, his vocation to truth and to love.
A Father of the Church, Origen, in one of his Homilies on Jeremiah, cites a saying attributed to Jesus, not contained in the sacred Scriptures but perhaps authentic, which reads: "Whoever is near to me, is near to the fire" (Homily on Jeremiah, L. I [III]). In Christ, in fact, there is the fullness of God, who in the Bible is compared to fire. We just observed that the flame of the Holy Spirit blazes but does not burn. And nevertheless it enacts a transformation, and thus must also consume something in man, the waste that corrupts him and hinders his relations with God and neighbour. (Pope Benedict XVI, 23 May 2010)
FAUSTI - The disciple lives in the light of God's judgment, the antidote to all hypocrisy.
RispondiEliminaIt is revealed in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, who baptizes us in the fire of the Spirit after He Himself has passed through the waters of death. This is His eschatological coming, already realized on the cross, which judges the world to save it.
In reality, God's definitive judgment on the world is the gift of His Spirit.
It marks the beginning of the last times when men are called to conversion and new life in baptism... This fire, which Jesus ascended to heaven and sent to earth, is very different from that invoked by James and John on the Samaritans.
It is the final fruit of His mission, the fulfilment of the whole plan of God.
In the Eucharist the disciple receives the Spirit. It is a fire that not even the waters of hell can extinguish, it is God's love for man, which springs from the death of the Son himself.
The piece is characterized by urgency.
In fact, His love for us is a fire that necessarily wants to light the one who loves.
There is no love that does not desire to be loved.
Jesus came to bring a fire, which has to pass through the water.
What He wants, He forces Him to go through what He does not want.
The resurrection comes after death. He himself is divided between a desire and an anguish, to the point of drawing blood. It is the struggle, in which love wins the extreme test.
He himself, the Son, came to visit us from the Father in all our anguish, so that we might be free of them.
The Messiah came to bring peace and unity among men.
But this peace of His comes through division.
It is not cheap, but at a high price, at the price of life.
But he makes all things new (Rev 21:3-5...).
This division is the decision that requires the following of the Lord.