FIRST READING
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 33:2-3, 4-5, 12 and 22
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; with the ten‑stringed lyre chant his praises. Sing to him a new song; pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
For upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
ALLELUIA
See John 6:63c, 68c
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life, you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Luke 7:31-35
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
REFLECTIONS:
What do childrens' games have to do with the kingdom
of God? Games are the favorite pastime of children who play until their
energy is spent. The more interaction the merrier the game. The children
in Jesus' parable react with disappointment because they cannot convince
others to join in their musical play. They complain that when they make
merry music such as played at weddings, no one dances or sings along; and
when they play mournful tunes for sad occassions such as funerals,
it is the same dead response. This refrain echoes the words of Ecclesiastes
3:4, there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and
a time to dance. Both joyful and sad occassions such as the birth
of a child and the homecoming of a hero or the loss of a loved one and
the destruction of a community or nation demand a response. To show indifference,
lack of interest or support , or disdain, is unfitting and unkind.
Jesus' message of the kingdom of God is a proclamation of good news
that produces great joy and hope for those who will listen; but it is also
a warning of disaster for those who refuse to accept God's gracious offer.
Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with
resistance and deaf ears? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness
that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's austerities
to the devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship as evidence for
messianic pretense. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their
lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of John
the Baptist and now they close their ears to Jesus.
What can make us spiritually dull and slow to hear God's voice? Like
the generation of Jesus' time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt,
especially in regards to the things of God's kingdom. Indifference dulls
our ears to God's voice and to the good news of the gospel. Only the humble
of heart who are hungry for God can find true joy and happiness. Do you
listen to God's word with expectant faith and the willingness to trust
and obey?
"Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear the good news of your kingdom and
set my heart free to love and serve you joyfully. May nothing keep me from
following you wholeheartedly."
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