Thursday, August 23rd 2018

Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
422

FIRST READING
EZ 36:23-28

Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

PSALM
PS 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19

Response: I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.

For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

GOSPEL
MT 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying,
"The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, 'My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen."

Daily Reflection

23rd August 2018

The folly of the chosen people was their belief that Jerusalem, the city of God, would never fall, and that the Temple, the house of God, would never be destroyed. They seemed convinced that God would not allow this, and this belief led them to continue in their evil ways. They were eventually invaded and dragged into exile. Despite the actions of the Israelites which defiled His holy name, God spoke through His prophet Ezekiel promising to cleanse, restore and renew His chosen people and return them to their homeland. In this way, the name of God that had been profaned by the chosen people would once again be held holy!

Through the Gospel parable, Jesus reveals that even though we may have stony hearts and many impurities, God constantly invites us to share in a covenantal relationship. All we need is a willing heart and an acceptance of his invitation to be among his ‘chosen ones’. However, our salvation is not a one-time pronouncement, but a constant acceptance of His invitation.