01 Oct 2024 – Tuesday of Week 26

01 Oct 2024 – Tuesday of Week 26

Memorial: St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, patron of missions, florists, aviators and France.

1st Reading: Job 3:1-3

Job’s anguished lament at the misfortunes heaped upon him

Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said:

“May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’
“Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?
Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?
For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest
with kings and rulers of the earth,
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.

Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?
There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
“Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,
to those who long for death that does not come,
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,
who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?
Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?

Responsorial: from Psalm 88

R./: Let my prayer come into your presence, Lord

I call to you, Lord, all the day long;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work your wonders for the dead?
Will the shades stand and praise you? (R./)

Will your love be told in the grave
or your faithfulness among the dead?
Will your wonders be known in the dark
or your justice in the land of oblivion? (R./)

As for me, Lord, I call to you for help:
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide your face? (R./)

Gospel: Luke 9:51-56

The long journey narrative begins as Jesus proceeds towards Jerusalem

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

The winding road of life

We are invited to consider the life of Jesus as a journey to Jerusalem, a special kind of pilgrimage, following the will of God. The way may be at times winding or thorny, like the tragic tale of poor Job, but it leads in the end to eternal life.

This theme of life as a purposeful journey Luke’s way of telling the story of Jesus. He gathers in this journey various actions and sayings of Jesus which Matthew and Mark put in altogether different sequence. The journey is more theological than geographical, and its lesson is that our lives are a pilgrimage too, linked to Jesus in many ways.

The journey begins with Jesus being unwelcome in Samaria. The Samaritans were despised by conservative Jews and in turn they were fiercely hostile to Jerusalem. The disciples were furious at this rejection, but Jesus took it calmly and simply moved to another place.

Later it turned out that many Samaritans were converted to the faith soon after Pentecost. While the church was being persecuted, the deacon Philip went down to Samaria bringing the Gospel and healing for many. The joy of the Samaritans is recorded (Acts 8:8), a very far cry from today’s rejection story. The Bible reflects different stages in life and enables us to see each of them as a way of following in the footsteps of Jesus.

A pair of hotheads

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, began with a very different mindset from that of Jesus. On one occasion they asked him for the two best seats in his kingdom, one on his right and one on his left. He brought them down to earth by asking them if they were willing to drink the cup he must drink, the cup of suffering.

In today’s episode, they were furious when Samaritan villagers refused hospitality to Jesus. Like a pair of hotheads they wanted Jesus to use his power to punish the village. Rather than reacting like them he rebuked them and quietly left the village.

St Luke highlights the mercy of Jesus towards all, even for those who rejected him. He puts into practice his own teaching about loving the enemy and doing good to those who hate us.

A few verses after the gospel we have just heard, he has the story of the good Samaritan, a Christlike figure who helps his traditional enemy in his hour of need. The hero of that parable is one of the same group who refused hospitality to Jesus. There is a largeness of spirit here, a real generosity that all are called to share, guided by the Holy Spirit.