Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,

keep before us the wisdom and love

You have revealed in Your Son.

Help us to be like Him

in word and deed,

for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

3) Reflection

• The Gospel of two days ago indicated the advice of Jesus concerning the relationship of the adults with little ones and with the excluded (Mk 9:41-50). Yesterday’s Gospel indicated the advice on the relationship between man and woman, husband and wife (Mk 10:1-12). Today’s Gospel indicates the advice on the relationship between parents and sons. Jesus asked for the greatest acceptance for the little ones and the excluded. In the relationship man-woman, He asked for the greatest equality. Now, with the sons and their mother, He asks for the greatest tenderness.

• Mark 10:13-16: Receive the Kingdom like a child. People brought little children to Him, for Him to touch them. The disciples wanted to prevent this. Why? The text does not say it. Perhaps because according to the ritual norms of the time, the small children with their mothers lived almost constantly the legal impurity. To touch them meant to become impure! If they touched Jesus, He would become impure! But Jesus does not feel uncomfortable with this ritual norm of legal purity. He corrects the disciples and welcomes the mothers with the children. He touches them, embraces them saying: “Let the little children come to me, do not stop them: for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs”. And He comments: “In truth I tell you, anyone who does not accept the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”. And then Jesus embraces the children and blesses them, and laid His hands on them. What does this phrase mean? (a) The children receive everything from their parents. They cannot merit what they receive, but live from gratuitous love. (b) The parents receive the children as a gift from God and take care of them with the greatest possible love. The concern of the parents is not to dominate the children, but to love them, educate them in a way in which they can grow and be fulfilled! This is the relationship we have with our Father in Heaven! We must be just like these children.

• A sign of the Kingdom: To welcome the little ones and the excluded. There are many signs of the acting presence of the Kingdom in the life and the activity of Jesus. One of these is the way of welcoming, of accepting the little ones and the children:

a) To welcome them and not scandalize them. One of the hardest words of Jesus was against those who cause scandal to the little ones, that is, who are the reason so that the little ones no longer believe in God. For them it is better to have a millstone hung round their neck and be thrown into the sea (Mk 9:42; Lk 17:2; Mt 18:6).

b) To identify oneself with the little ones. Jesus embraces the little ones and identifies Himself with them. Anyone who receives a child, “receives Me” (Mk 9:37). “And as long as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to Me”. (Mt 25:40).

c) To become like children. Jesus asks the disciples to become like children and to accept the Kingdom as they do. Otherwise it is not possible to enter into the Kingdom (Mk 10:15; Mt 18:3; Lk 9:46-48). He makes the children teachers of adults! And that is not normal. Generally, we do the contrary.

d) To defend the right that children have to shout and yell. When Jesus, entering into the Temple, turned over the tables of the money changers, the children were those who shouted the most: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Mt 21:15). Criticized by the high priests and by the Scribes, Jesus defends them and in defending them He recalls the Scriptures (Mt 21:16).

e) To be pleasing for the Kingdom present in little children. Jesus’ joy is great, when He perceives that the children, the little ones, understand the things of the Kingdom which He announced to the people“. “I bless you, Father!” (Mt 11:25-26). Jesus recognizes that the little ones understand the things of the Kingdom better than the doctors!

f) To welcome, accept and take care. Many are the little children and the young whom Jesus accepts, takes care of and raises from the death: the daughter of Jairus who was 12 years old (Mk 5:41-42), the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Mk 7:29-30), the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:14-15), the epileptic boy (Mk 9:25-26), the son of the Centurion (Lk 7:9-10), the son of the public officer (Jn 4:50), the boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish (Jn 6:9).

4) Personal questions

• In our society and in our community, who are the little ones and the excluded? How do we welcome and accept them?

• What have I learned in my life from children concerning the Kingdom of God?

• There are so many ways modern adults are not like children. What can I do to become more child-like for the Father and in relation to my peers; imitative, obedient, humble, grateful, innocent? Do I even want to?

• I place myself as innocent, obedient, humble, and grateful into my world of friends, my business, recreation and my responsibilities. What happens? How am I perceived by the world around me? If I continue to be this way, how would this make a better world?

5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh, I am calling, hurry to Me,

listen to my voice when I call to You.

May my prayer be like incense in Your presence,

my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141:1-2)

The one who wants to do the Will of the Father
should listen to the words of Jesus and put them into practice.
Matthew 7,21-27

Opening prayer

Father,
your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
on God, for ever and ever. Amen.

1. LECTIO

Reading:

Jesus said to his disciples: 'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers! 'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'

2. MEDITATIO

a) Key for the reading:

The text proposed to us in today’s Liturgy, closes the evangelical discourse of Jesus, which was opened with the Beatitudes (Mt 5, 1-12). Jesus “seeing the crowds, went onto the mountain and, when he was seated… he taught them” (Mt 5, 1-2). After having announced and inaugurated the new time of conversion in view of the Kingdom of Heaven which is close at hand (Mt 4, 17), Jesus presents a complete program of a new style of life founded on his Person: He is the “Good News of the Kingdom” (Mt 4, 23) on which are founded the new times. In this particular text of the seventh chapter, Jesus affirms that one enters the Kingdom of Heaven consciously choosing the values of that Kingdom with decision and responsibility. This is a decision which is translated in works which can be known: the works of the “children of God” (Mt 5, 9). Here Jesus refers, not so much to external works or extraordinary manifestations, but he refers particularly, to the foundation of every life of discipleship: to “do the will of my Father who is in Heaven” (Mt 7, 21). There are, in fact, so many who prophesize in the name of Jesus, drive out the demons and work prodigies in the commitment of evangelization (Mt 7, 22). But Jesus does not recognize them since they are “workers of iniquity” (Mt 7, 23). The indignant words addressed to these are hard and terrible in so far as Jesus openly declares: “I have never known you, away from me all evil doers” (Mt 7, 23). These are phrases which remind us the of words of the Good Shepherd, in the Gospel of John: “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me” (Jn 10,14). Here we see clearly how Jesus does not allow himself to be made fun of, he the Just Judge knows who belong to him and who do not! In John’s Gospel, we find the same theme, for example in reference to Judas Iscariot and of the choice of the Twelve: Jesus answered: “Did I not choose the Twelve of you? Yet, one of you is a devil!” He meant Judas, son of Simon Iscariot: since this was the man, one of the Twelve, who was to betray him. (Jn 6, 70); “I am not speaking about all of you; I know the ones I have chosen; but what Scripture says must be fulfilled: “He who shares my table takes advantage of me.” (Jn 13,18); “No, you did not choose me, I have chosen you and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name” (Jn 15, 16). This is a theme which is also common in the Old Testament. For example we find it in Hosea in relationship to the People of God who in spite of having “rejected the good”, cries out: “My God, we Israel know you!” (Ho 8,2-3). The parable of the ten virgins (Mt 12, 11-12; Lc 13, 25), of the two houses (Lk 6, 46) speak to us about this. But also other passages of the Acts and of the Letters of Paul make us notice this reality (Acts 8, 9-13; 2 Tm 3, 8-9; 1 Co 4, 20; Ph 3, 7-9) which already existed in the primitive Church: that is the presence of those who carry out their ministry in the name of Jesus, but, in fact, they are workers of iniquity, disobedient to the will of God (Hb 4, 6) and, therefore, they are foreign to the Kingdom of Heaven. From here follows Paul’s exhortation to the disciples to live: “Work willingly for the sake of the Lord and not for the sake of human beings. And wholeheartedly do the will of God” (Eph 6, 6).

Jesus recognizes as his own only those who do the will of the Father (Mt 12, 50; 21, 29-31; Mk 3, 35), because he is also recognized by them (Jn 7, 17). He warns his disciples about false prophets “who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves” (Mt 7, 15) In this text (Mt 7,22) the term “prophesized” refers to the ministry of teaching with authority, done in the name of Jesus, within the Christian community. Paul also refers to this in 1 Co 12,28 and Eph 4,11. This is one of the gifts together with exorcism and the manifestation of other wonders, which contribute to the edification of the Church facilitating the proclamation of the Good News. This is why this is a gift like all the other gifts which bears within itself great responsibility. The “workers of iniquity”, even if gifted with these gifts, cause harm to and ruin the Church (the house of God) by their hypocrisy. Perhaps this is also the sense of the parable of Jesus about the two houses being built, one on sand and the other one on rock. This is why, it is not so important to work so much but rather to build on the Word of God, putting it into practise with docility and charity, because without charity which unites us to God and to his will we are nothing and nothing which is useful (1Cor 13,1-13). “The prophecies will disappear; the gift of tongues will cease and the science will vanish” (1 Co 13,8). Only “charity will remain, will have no end” (1 Cor 13,8).

b) A few questions:

i) Read attentively the Gospel text and the key to the reading. Find in the Bible all the quotations of parallel texts. You can also find others which will help you to understand and deepen Matthew’s text.
ii) Underline that which struck you in the texts and the key for the reading.
iii) Which do you think is the principal message of Jesus in this discourse?
iv)The Gospel tells us that “when Jesus had finished these discourses, the crowds were amazed with his teaching” (Mt 7, 28). Is this also your reaction? Why?
v) The crowds noticed that Jesus “taught them as one who has authority and not like their Scribes” (Mt 7, 29). Which do you think was the intuition that the crowd had? Does this have something to do with the coherence of the life style of Jesus with his message?
vi) How can I contribute to the edification of the church?

3. ORATIO

In silence accept the words of Jesus in your heart. By practicing these words, you will end by being transformed into him.

Conclude your prayer by reciting Psalm 31 (1-3, 22, 24)

In you, Yahweh, I have taken refuge,
let me never be put to shame,
in your saving justice deliver me, rescue me,
turn your ear to me, make haste.

Be for me a rock-fastness,
a fortified citadel to save me.
You are my rock, my rampart;
true to your name, lead me and guide me!

In a state of terror I cried,
'I have been cut off from your sight!'
Yet you heard my plea for help when I cried out to you.
Be brave, take heart,
all who put your hope in Yahweh.

4. CONTEMPLATIO

“Since, as we see it, a person is justified by faith and not by doing what the Law tells him to do.” (Rm 3,28).