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Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
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Heart for the Lost
Today, we’re looking once again at the Gospel of Matthew. The religious leaders see the disruption Jesus causes and the attention he gets from the crowd, so they question him. Jesus answers with a parable, which he ends by saying something that would have been incredibly offensive to the chief priests and elders.
‘I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. (Matthew 21:31)
What’s this about? Well, John the Baptist went ahead of Jesus preaching a message of repentance. It turns out the “church people” didn’t pay any attention to him, just as they would subsequently ignore the message of Jesus. But, some very unlikely people did pay attention, people who were not at all church people, people who weren’t even believers. Jesus called them “lost” people, because they were lost when it came to knowing God in their lives and following organised religion. In one way or another, lost people try to find a life outside a relationship with God, they go it alone and on their own. They miss out on God and, in the process, they miss out on a lot of other blessings.
Jesus made lost people a priority. And he went out of his way (way, way out of his way) to do it. He spent time where they spent time. He knew how to talk to them and what was important to them. He recognized their worries, fears, hopes and joys, sorrows and sins. He understood their hearts, and he loved them and invested time and love in them. Jesus found lost people and made them into his followers. Here he is suggesting they’ll be entering the kingdom of God ahead of the religious leaders.
How did that happen? Well, they changed their minds when they heard John the Baptist’s preaching. When Jesus came they began changing their ways. This was his basic mission and message. Elsewhere he says it plainly enough: The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19.10) All his preaching and teaching, his miracles, his gathering and sending of the disciples, even his cross and resurrection, are part of this basic ministry that is called evangelization. For Jesus, evangelization was his commitment to bring the good news of God’s kingdom to everyone, starting with lost people.
And he asked us to do the same. People who were nothing like Jesus liked him. They should like us too. We want to be a church that people who don’t like church, like.
Catholicism of the Catholic Church References:
CCC 1807: just person distinguished by habitual rectitude toward others
CCC 2842: only Holy Spirit can give us the mind of Christ
CCC 1928-1930, 2425-2426: the obligation of social justice
CCC 446-461: the Lordship of Christ
CCC 2822-2827: "Thy will be done"
The Responsorial Psalm assigned to today appears on a number of other occasions in the Lectionary, including during Advent and Lent, so it is quite possible that parish musicians will be aware of suitable settings, for example Remember, remember your mercy, Lord. Also in the area of music, today’s 2nd Reading provides a rich field, with the Philippians canticle appearing in settings as widely diverse as the hymn “At the name of Jesus” or motets on the text Christus factus est.
The 1st Reading emphasises the sinner who renounces his sin, echoed in the line of the Responsorial Psalm “Do not remember the sins of my youth” and picked up again in the Gospel where the son thought better of his actions and instead did the father’s will. We are all sinners who are called upon to think better and repent, and can reflect this in the introduction to the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass, perhaps also recalling in the general intercessions the words of Jesus: “Go and be reconciled first, and then bring your gift to the altar.” St Paul’s strong reminder that death was not the end, and that God has the power to raise up what seems to be dead, can encourage us to hope that the God who, as the Collect says, “manifests almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy” will raise us up from our sinfulness.
St Paul also speaks about being of a common mind and purpose and altruistically thinking of other people’s interests instead of our own, which might inspire us to affirm the role of ushers in our community. “After you” might be a watchword for today, particularly in parishes where people can sometimes show impatience to join the Communion procession.
These hymns have been picked and chosen from different sources.
At the name of Jesus (CFE59, L762, LHON147, TCH207)
Amazing Grace (CFE40, L846, LHON131, TCH203)
See ye first the kingdom of God (CFE633, L820, LHON604)
The Kingdom of God (CFE701, L821)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
