Liturgy Alive, Models of Celebrations

Am 9:11–15; Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11–12, 13 –14; Mt 9:14 –17

Daily Gospel

First Reading: Am 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: Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11–12, 13 –14

R./ 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.

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.

Gospel Reading Introduction
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.

Gospel Reading: Mt 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 unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets
worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Other-
wise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are
preserved.”

Commentary

Just as fresh wine requires new wineskins, so does the Good News of Jesus require the right kind of vessels. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are remade. We are, in fact, reborn so as to be made capable of containing the fullness of grace that God intends for us.

May we always be conscious of the great gift that God gives to us through baptism, the sacrament that remits original sin and configures us to the Lord Jesus, thus giving us access to the "new wine" of the Kingdom of God.

General 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.