Weekly Mass Discussion Thread #53

!catholics !christians happy 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time!

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First Reading

Thus says the LORD:

Say to those whose hearts are frightened:

Be strong, fear not!

Here is your God,

he comes with vindication;

with divine recompense

he comes to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,

the ears of the deaf be cleared;

then will the lame leap like a stag,

then the tongue of the mute will sing.

Streams will burst forth in the desert,

and rivers in the steppe.

The burning sands will become pools,

and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

-Isaiah 35:4-7a

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Responsorial Psalm

R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!

or:

R. Alleluia.

The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,

secures justice for the oppressed,

gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets captives free.

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

or:

R. Alleluia.

The LORD gives sight to the blind;

the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.

The LORD loves the just;

the LORD protects strangers.

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

or:

R. Alleluia.

The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,

but the way of the wicked he thwarts.

The LORD shall reign forever;

your God, O Zion, through all generations.

Alleluia.

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

or:

R. Alleluia.

-Psalms 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

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Second Reading

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality

as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes

comes into your assembly,

and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,

and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes

and say, "Sit here, please, "

while you say to the poor one, "Stand there, " or "Sit at my feet, "

have you not made distinctions among yourselves

and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Did not God choose those who are poor in the world

to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom

that he promised to those who love him?

-James 1:2-5

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Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom

and cured every disease among the people.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

-Matthew 4:23

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Gospel

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre

and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,

into the district of the Decapolis.

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment

and begged him to lay his hand on him.

He took him off by himself away from the crowd.

He put his finger into the man's ears

and, spitting, touched his tongue;

then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,

"Ephphatha!"— that is, "Be opened!" —

And immediately the man's ears were opened,

his speech impediment was removed,

and he spoke plainly.

He ordered them not to tell anyone.

But the more he ordered them not to,

the more they proclaimed it.

They were exceedingly astonished and they said,

"He has done all things well.

He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

-Mark 7:31-37

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The Old and New Testaments are pretty neat, Jesus performs a miracle promised by the Old Testament, but I'm intrigued by the Epistle today. I've been reading Acts of the Apostles on my own recently because I've been curious about the early Church and who could be Christian was actually a controversial topic. Paul even had his travelling companion Timothy get circumcized so that he'd be trusted by the Jews they initially preached to. Peter declared pretty early that Christ's salvation was for everyone, even Gentiles, but it took time to get the message out. Don't be picky with who you share the Gospel with.