January 6,
2005 -
Thursday after
Epiphany
God’s Word Fulfilled Today
Introduction
Speaking in the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus says that God’s word is fulfilled
today, that he proclaims and is the good news of joy to everyone.
Similarly, Jesus proclaims to us today in our
eucharistic assemblies the good news of God’s liberating love,
and he is himself that good news, for he is present among us.
This eucharist is for us here today the moment of grace. The
Spirit of Jesus rests on us now and gives us the capacity to
speak and to be his message of hope, joy and love to our neighbor.
Opening
Prayer
Lord
God, loving Father,
here in this eucharistic assembly
you let your Son speak to us today
his stirring word of hope and joy.
Pour out on us the Spirit of Jesus,
let him open us to the word of your Son
and to his living presence,
that we too may go out to our brothers and sisters
to speak to them his liberating word,
to be his healing presence,
and to be grace to all whom we encounter,
on account of your Son in our midst,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.
Liturgy
of the Word
First
Reading: 1
Jn 4:19-5:4
So
let us love one another, since he loved us first.
If
you say, "I love God," while you hate your brother
or sister, you are a liar. How can you love God whom you do
not see, if you do not love your brother whom you see?
We
received from him this commandment: let those who love God also
love their brothers.
All
those who believe that Jesus is the Anointed, are born of God;
whoever loves the Father, loves the Son. How may we know that
we love the children of God? If we love God and fulfill his
commands, for
God's love requires us to keep his commands.
In
fact, his commandments are not a burden because all those born
of God overcome the world. And the victory which overcomes the
world is our faith.
Responsorial
Psalm: Ps 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
R
(see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king(s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
From fraud and violence he shall redeem them,
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
May they be prayed for continually;
day by day shall they bless him.
R (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Gospel
Reading: Lk
4:14-22
Jesus
acted with the power of the Spirit, and on his return to Galilee
the news about him spread throughout all that territory. He
began teaching in the synagogues of the Jews and everyone praised
him.
When
Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, he entered
the synagogue on the sabbath as he usually did. He stood up
to read and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus
then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives
and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and announce
the Lord's year of mercy."
Jesus
then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat
down, while the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Then he said to them, "Today these prophetic words come
true even as you listen." All agreed with him and were
lost in wonder, while he kept on speaking of the grace of God.
Nevertheless they asked, "Who is this but Joseph's son?"
Commentary
THIS
is the work of Epiphany-showing forth in preaching the power
of the Spirit of God. The words and the works are one. Jesus
announces good news to the poor and his presence with them
begins to make it reality. He proclaims liberty to captives
and touches those outcast, drawing them in from being cast
out. He proclaims sight to the blind and seeks to open their
eyes and ears with words and the company he keeps. He frees
the oppressed beginning with the sick, bent, broken bodies
of so many, feeding them and lifting them up with the conviction
that God has always cared about them from the beginning in
Exodus, when He led them forth from the bondage of Egypt.
And now
comes the stunning grace of a year of mercy. This year, every
year is now the year of mercy-a sheer gift of God. And for
all those who believe we are summoned with the power of the
Spirit to live as a sanctuary for all in desperate need of
God's freedom and mercy.
General
Intercessions
–
Lord, give courage and eloquence to all teachers in the
Church, that they may help us understand your word and proclaim
it as good news to all, we pray:
– Lord, open our eyes to the miseries of people; make us concerned
about those imprisoned in their fears and in the grip of injustice.
Help us to bring them liberation, we pray:
–
Lord, make us receptive to your word. Free us from banality
and fear, from our self-security and certainties. Let your word
of freedom be fulfilled in us today, we pray:
Prayer
over the Gifts
Invisible
God of people,
you let your Son ask of us today
to make your gratuitous love visible
in a world filled with fear.
Give us Jesus to eat and to drink,
that we may overcome
the forces of evil in and around us.
Let his self-sacrificing love,
his gentleness and loyalty
become flesh and blood in us
and brighten this world,
because you loved us first
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer
after Communion
Lord
God, loving Father,
this eucharistic celebration has been for us
a moment of grace.
We thank you for opening our eyes and ears
that we, in our turn,
may be to the deaf and the blind your message of joy.
We thank you for liberating us
to bring your freedom to those captive
of their fears and our own inhumanity.
All this you have made possible
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We
will make the message of our Lord Jesus Christ good news of
hope and joy only if the Sprit of truth and love speaks in our
words and if then we commit ourselves to what we say, with the
blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit.
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