September 24, 2004 - Friday, 25th Week in Ordinary Time

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Readings:
Ecl 3:1-11; Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3–4; Lk 9:18-22

Opening Prayer

God, in your wisdom
you order the course of time
and you lead the world and people
to their destiny in you.
You do all things well.
Make us see with eyes of faith
the opportunities you give us every moment.
Help us to use our time and life
and all your good gifts
to build up your kingdom stone by stone,
until you complete it in your own good time
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction:
       In the light of Christ, the famous passage from Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything becomes much more positive than in the thought of the author. He is puzzled, for God does everything at the right time yet the endless cycle of change bewilders people and he doesn't know how to see the right moment, for God has put timelessness in his heart. But the Christian knows that he goes forward to a future in God; to him change means the riches of variety and the opportunity to see the right time and to use it well in the service of the Kingdom.

First Reading: Eccl 3:1–11

There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil? I have considered
the task that God has appointed for the sons of men to
be busied about. He has made everything appropriate to its
time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s
ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God
has done.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3–4

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

LORD, what is man, that you notice him;
the son of man, that you take thought of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days, like a passing shadow.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Gospel Introduction:

Gospel Reading: Lk 9:18-22

One day when Jesus was praying alone, not far from his disciples, he asked them, "What do people say about me?" And they answered, "Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say that you are Elijah, and still others that you are one of the former prophets risen from the dead." Again Jesus asked them, "Who then do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God." Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.

And he added, "The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life."

Commentary

AT one end of the scale, people in numbers can be a community; at the other end they can be a mob. In both cases there's a certain unity of purpose, even if in the latter case it's a destructive one. But the whole space between these extremes is the space of the crowd. There's no telling what they think.

"What do people say about me?" Jesus asked. People say everything! It was scarcely necessary to ask. They gave the usual list of false identities-the same as in yesterday's reading. They had met him, they had been miraculously fed by him (as recounted in the verses just before today's reading); yet they had no idea who he was. Nor did that worry them. No doubt they appreciated the food. But one day, not far in the future, they would turn into a vicious mob shouting, "Crucify him!"

He seemed to have a presentiment of this. "The Son of Man must suffer many things." Jesus would never be popular. He lost to Barabbas. I always feel uncomfortable when I hear people reciting Church statistics-percentages and numbers. What's a statistic? Does it exist in the singular? When you figure in statistics are you one of a community, or of a crowd, or a mob? Any calculation that fails to distinguish between these can't be very useful for anything.

Intentions

- Lord, there is a time to pray and a time to act, Make us find the time for both, we pray.
- Lord, there is a time to think of our neighbor. Make us serve our brothers and sisters, we pray:
- Lord, there is a time to work for your kingdom. Whatever we do, make us serve that kingdom, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

This is the time, Lord our God,
to give you praise and thanks
for your gifts of life and love
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
With this bread and this wine
we offer you through him the present day,
the joys and failures of the past
and the future we can but see
in visions and dreams of hope.
We are certain of you
on account of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Birth and dying,
laughter and tears,
sickness and healing -
God, these are precious gifts
which come from your hands.
Fill all these with the life and love
and the lasting presence of him
who is our bread of life, Jesus our brother,
that every day may become
a blessed day of the Lord.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Blessing

There is a time for everything. There is a time for our job and our family life, for meeting friends, for resting and recreation. Yet, whatever we do, we do in the name of the Lord. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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