13th Week in Ordinary Time
OLD AND NEW
Introduction
We hear in the first reading an appendix to Amos written probably at a later date, but in the style and perspectives of Amos; it promises a new future to those who are faithful.
Can we be people of compromise? To settle disagreement and make peace, to solve disputed matters and to become at least tolerant of one another, yes. But not with the gospel. Not when it comes to the renewal of life, whether personal or communal, that is constantly asked of us. Jesus tells his disciples and us, who are living in messianic times, that we are new, liberated people: we cannot compromise with salvation, with our faith, with the gospel. Young wine belongs in new wineskins. New times require new attitudes.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we are your people on the march,
moving forward to you with your Son
who came to make everything new.
Dispose us, Lord, to accept the pain
of leaving the familiar behind us.
Uproot us from our established ways
and guide our faltering steps
toward your new future in Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Reading 1: Amos 9:11-15
Thus says the LORD:
On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the LORD, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the LORD,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the LORD, your God.
Responsorial Psalm 85:9AB AND 10, 11-12, 13-14
(see 9b) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Alleluia JN 10:27
Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of un-shrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Intercessions
– For the Church, that the People of God and its leaders may follow the promptings of the creative Spirit to speak to the people of today the ever-new language of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we pray:
– For husbands and wives, parents and children, that they may not take one another for granted but renew each other with a love that is inventive and attentive, we pray:
– For artists, poets and inventors, that they may reveal to us the splendor of creation and the riches of life beyond the apparent drabness of our existence, we pray:
– For this community, that we may not be afraid of authentic change, and draw from Christ the courage to start the reform of our world and our Church with the renewal of ourselves, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
this bread and this wine
are the signs of the new covenant
that you have made with us
in the blood of Jesus Christ.
May we indeed be your new people
of the new and everlasting covenant.
Renew our hearts,
make us your new wine of joy and hope,
that we may build a new earth today
and march forward with your Son
toward your new heaven
where you will be our God for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God of our future,
you have given us Jesus, your Son,
as our companion on the road
for renewing ourselves and the world.
Let him prod us on
when we try to compromise
by merely patching up the old here and there;
let him curb our impatience
when we try to rush people and things
beyond their capacity for growth.
Lead us forward on the new road of the gospel
through our trusted guide, Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
We are God’s new people, the people of the new covenant. So we must live the new life of Jesus and do all we can to make our world new in justice and love and compassion. May God give you this insight and the strength to carry it out: The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Fasting as Relative
Were the Pharisees and the disciples of the Baptist wrong in their fast? Not at all. Theirs was a preparatory fast, a fast meant to level the mountains and fill the valleys. It is a fast that speaks of a longing. It is a fast that is relative to a higher goal; a means to an end. But now that the end is here —that the Master has arrived—it is no good to keep fasting; for, what is needed now is a feast, a celebration. That’s why all references by Jesus to the coming of the Kingdom are in terms of a banquet. What Prophet Amos describes in today’s first reading is such a scene of celebration: on that day, the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the people shall eat fruits and drink wine to their heart’s content. If we can adapt the words from Ecclesiastes, there is a time to fast and a time to feast (cf. Eccl. 3:1-8)
Coffee With God: Remove your old shirt and put on the new one!