1ST READING
There
is no place for freeloaders in the Kingdom of God and, thus, there is
no place for them in our Christian communities. No one should expect to
enjoy the
benefits of membership in any society without contributing to it. Paul
is addressing this issue in the Thessalonian community and he is quite
clear that if a person does not work, then he has no right to eat.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 We
do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who
have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have
no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 Indeed,
we tell you this, on the word of the Lord , that we who are alive, who
are left until the coming of the Lord , will surely not precede those
who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then
we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with
the Lord. 18 Therefore, console one another with these words.
P S A L M
Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13
R: The Lord comes to judge the earth.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all you lands. 3 Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. (R) 4 For great is the Lord and highly to be praised; awesome is he, beyond all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations
are things of naught, but the Lord made the heavens. (R) 11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound; 12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then shall all the trees of the forest exult. (R) 13 Before the Lord, for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus
announces His ministry of the Gospel at the synagogue in Capernaum. He
takes a text from Isaiah that has been traditionally understood as
referring to the Messiah and claims that He is its fulfillment. As we
read through Luke’s Gospel, let’s remember the description and be aware
of how many times Jesus acts in fulfillment of the prophecy. The people
may have their doubts as to His identity at the start of His ministry,
but there can be little doubt from the evidence of the next three years.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
Luke 4:16-30
16 Jesus
came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his
custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: 18 “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad
tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 20 Rolling
up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the
eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And
all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came
from his mouth. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” 23 He
said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure
yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we
heard were done in Capernaum.’” 24 And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. 25 Indeed,
I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when
the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine
spread over the entire land. 26 It was to none of
these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. 29 They
rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down
headlong. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
think: There is no place for freeloaders in the Kingdom of God.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Jeremiah 4-6
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