01 May 2024 – Wednesday of Week 5 of Easter
01 May 2024 – Wednesday of Week 5 of Easter
Optional Memorial: St Joseph the Worker (optional readings Lect 11: 1013 – see commentary and readings below)
1st Reading: Acts 15:1-6
The Council of Jerusalem, on what is needed for salvation
Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.
When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.” So the apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.
Responsorial: Psalm 121: 1-5
R./: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced when I heard them say:
‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R./)
Jerusalem is built as a city
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord. (R./)
For Israel’s law it is,
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David. (R./)
Gospel: John 15:1-8
The Vine and the branches
Jesus said to his disciples; “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Why circumcision was dropped
Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth (Luke 2). So indeed were boys in all Jewish families, as a sign of submission to God’s law. Then Paul proposed his new idea that circumcision was no longer needed. Inner, spiritual circumcision, he maintained, is a matter of the heart, when love and loyalty bind people to God. Jesus is at the heart of this relationship. He is the vine, we are the branches, so to be joined to Jesus is a spiritual circumcision uniting us with God.
Paul’s view won out, on the basis that Jesus had brought the Old Law to completion by his death and resurrection. So people no longer needed circumcision in order to be saved. The impact of this on early Christianity has continued resonance for our church today. Things long held to be immutable can and must change.
We and our leaders really need to make some necessary changes, to open up the Gospel to today’s world. Just as the early church decided to set aside circumcision, so our church needs to leave behind some ideas that now separate us from modern insights, and make brave decisions for social justice and for the future of our planet.
Surely this is the right way forward for the pilgrim people of God. If our leaders openly discuss such matters with the faithful laity, the resultant decisions can be as fruitful as the abandoning of circumcision. If we hold deeply to Jesus, we will have the guidance that we need.
Pruning the vine
Those who grow roses know how they need to be pruned in order to blossom at their best. What is true of roses is true of most plants; pruning brings on new life. In today’s gospel Jesus mentions pruning. He suggests that in various ways God prunes our lives to make them even more fruitful than they presently are. There are some things we may need to shed if we are to become all that God is calling us to be.
Experiences of letting go, though painful at the time, can help us to grow, spiritually. They lead us to a new relationship with God and with others. As Jesus says, as branches of his vine he remains in us, and we with him. We don’t have to face that experience of being pruned on our own, or in the strength of our own resources alone. The Lord who makes his home in us will sustain us in those times, and will lead us through the painful experience of pruning into a new and more fruitful life. However, for that to happen we need to remain in him as he remains in us; we need to keep in communion with him, as he is in communion with us.
May 01. Saint Joseph the Worker |
This commemoration, instituted by pope Pius XII in 1955, proposes the example and intercession of Joseph as worker and provider. On this date many countries celebrate the dignity of human labour.
1st Reading: Genesis 1:26–2:3
God the Creator, source of all creative labour
God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:”See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it
to be your food; and to all the animals of the land,
all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made,
and he found it very good. Evening came,
and morning followed-the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
God rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
Or: Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24
Charity, the bond of perfection
Brothers and sisters:
Over all these things put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Whatever you do, do from the heart,
as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that you will receive from the Lord
the due payment of the inheritance;
be slaves of the Lord Christ.
Responsorial: Psalm 89: 2-4, 12-14, 16
R./: Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end. (R./)
You turn men back into dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. (R./)
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants. (R./)
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honour except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
A man of strong and constant faith
(from Pope Francis’ general audience on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, 2013)
Today,on the 1st of May, we commemorate St. Joseph the Worker and begin the month traditionally committed to the Virgin Mary. I would like to share with you two little reflections on these two vital persons in the life of Jesus, and of our own lives: the first, about work, the second about the contemplation of Jesus.
1. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, one of the times when Jesus returns to his native region, to Nazareth, and speaks in the synagogue, the Gospel underlines his fellow villagers’ astonishment at his wisdom, and the question they ask one another: is not this the Carpenter’s son?” (13:55). Jesus takes part in our history, he comes into our midst, being born of Mary by the work of God, but with the presence of St. Joseph, the legal father who defends him and even teaches him his trade. Jesus was born and resided in a family, in the Holy Family, picking up from St. Joseph the carpenter’s trade, in the workshop of Nazareth, sharing with him his dedication, hard work and fulfillment, in addition to each day’s troubles.
This brings to mind for us the dignity and relevance of work. The Book of Genesis tells how God gave a creative role to the first man and woman by handing over to them the task of populating the earth and subduing it, which does not mean to exploit it, but to develope and protect it, to cultivate it with their own labour (cf. Gen 1:28; 2:15). All human work is part of the strategy of God’s love; we are called to plant and safeguard all that earth produces and in this way we take part in the work of creation! Work is essential to the dignity of an individual; it “anoints” us with dignity, so to speak. It makes us resemble God, who has worked and works still, for He is always at work (cf. Jn 5:17). By our work one can maintain oneself and one’s family, and contribute to the development of one’s nation. On this point I am thinking of the problems faced by the world of work and enterprise in various countries. I think of the number of people, and not just young people, who are jobless, mainly because of an economic model of society, based on the selfish quest of gain, ignoring the needs of social justice.
I want to mention another particular work scenario that bothers me: what we could call “slave labour”, work that enslaves. How many people, worldwide, are victims of this kind of slavery, where the person is at the service of work, rather than work serving individuals so that they may have dignity. I would ask my brothers and sisters in faith and all men and women of goodwill to make a definitely reject the trafficking of individuals, which falls within the category of “servile labour.”.
My second thought for today is about about the contemplation of Jesus. Amid the silence of his everyday activity, St. Joseph shared with Mary a unique and constant focus of attention on Jesus. With loving commitment, they accompanied his developments, reflecting on everything that happened in his life. In the Gospels, Luke mentions twice the mindset of Mary, which is also that of St. Joseph: “She treasured all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (2:19.51). To listen to the Lord, we have to discover, to ponder His consistent presence in our lives; we have to stop and talk to Him, give Him space in our lives through prayer. Every one of us, even you adolescent boys and girls, and young people, so numerous right here this early morning, should ask yourselves: what amount of space do I offer the Lord? Do I stop to discussion with Him? Ever since we were bit, our parents have actually accustomed us to begin and end the day with a prayer, to teach us to feel that the friendship and the love of God accompany us. Let us remember the Lord more often in our days!
Let us ask St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary to instruct us to be faithful to our everyday commitments, to live our faith in daily actions and to give even more space to the Lord in our lives, to stop to contemplate his face.