Reading 1 Is 56:1-3a, 6-8
Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
the son of man who holds to it;
Who keeps the sabbath free from profanation,
and his hand from any evildoing.
Let not the foreigner say,
when he would join himself to the LORD,
"The LORD will surely exclude me from his people."
The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
Loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants?
All who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
Them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
For my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
Others will I gather to him
besides those already gathered.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
The earth has yielded its fruits;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
Gospel Jn 5:33-36
Jesus said to the Jews:
"You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept testimony from a human being,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me."
Meditation: Isaiah 56:1-3,6-8
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7)
The children of Israel knew who belonged to God’s chosen people and who did not. That was one of the reasons they preserved their genealogies so carefully. They knew God had revealed himself to them in a unique way.
And yet God kept trying to expand their vision. He reminded them that because they had been “strangers” in Egypt, they should show special care for the “aliens” among them. He urged them also to pray for the well-being of the pagans in whose land they were exiled. Even their Temple had a “court of the Gentiles,” where people of every race and religious tradition were welcome to come and seek the Lord. In fact, one of the reasons Jesus got so upset with the money changers was that they were setting up a raucous marketplace in what God intended as a place of prayer for these outsiders.
Since few of us were born Jews, we should be very grateful that God hasn’t excluded us. Perhaps we can remember a time when we felt ill at ease, on the fringes. Perhaps we embraced the Catholic faith later in life.
Perhaps we moved to a new place, and it took a while for us to feel at home in an unfamiliar parish. Perhaps we had trouble getting used to the new music after Vatican II. Perhaps we are having a hard time adjusting to the liturgical changes that happened just a couple of weeks ago. At times like these, how fortunate we are if someone reaches out and helps draw us in!
From time to time, it’s a good idea to seek out the “strangers” God may be trying to draw to himself. It may be a visitor to your church who doesn’t know where to find the responses. It may be a neighbor who is struggling financially and is looking for a respectful greeting or a helping hand. It may be someone trying to find his way after spending time in prison or a rehab facility. Your kindness can provide that person’s pathway to a deeper worship—and it can help make your church into a house of prayer for “all peoples.”
“Jesus, thank you for seeking me when I was a stranger. Help me to see the ones you long to draw closer to your heart through me.”
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