Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal July-August 2023

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
1st week, psalter

FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 66:18b-21)
Thus says the Lord: “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Ros, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, on litters, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring their offering in clean vessels to the temple of the Lord. Some of them I will also take as priests and Levites,” says the Lord.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the first reading

Isaiah announces the great gathering of all peoples around Mount Zion, which has become a sign of salvation for all humanity. The Lord gathers all nations and tongues and promises them as well that they will see his glory, that is, that they too will have access to salvation. He uses the Jews scattered among the nations to make himself known even to the pagans. Thus all nations fully enter the people of God, participate in worship and in the offering in the temple, which now truly becomes a house of prayer for all peoples. But the wonder becomes even greater when God promises that he will choose priests even from among the pagans. This conclusion is revolutionary because it indicates the overcoming of a priesthood belonging exclusively to the people of Israel and reserved solely for the tribe of Levi. This opens the way to a universal priesthood in which every person may have a place. All this will be fully realized in the person of Jesus: he will make the new people of believers a priestly race, offering the Father sacrifices of praise and adoration.

SECOND READING

From the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 )
Brothers and sisters, you have already forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons and daughters: “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges everyone he acknowledges as his child.” It is for your discipline that you suffer! God treats you as sons and daughters; and what child is there whom the father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems not to be a cause of joy but of sadness; later, however, it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather healed. - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the second reading

When we find ourselves in situations of suffering, it is difficult to find a meaning in them that is not negative. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews invites us to look beyond the immediate situation and recognize in it a visitation from God. He interprets the sufferings and difficulties that touch our lives as corrections coming from God. We need to be corrected, in fact, because we are often tempted to take paths that follow the sweet and fascinating seductions of the Evil One, traps that eventually lead to ruin. Within us, selfishness and pride are so deeply rooted that we do not even know how to recognize them. In suffering, God educates each person; the most fitting comparison is that of paternal correction: no father can want harm for a child. God can do so even less, for he is love that surpasses every earthly love. Therefore, cultivate in your heart an attitude of trust in the Father's mercy. At the proper time, what is obscure to you now will be illuminated and will reveal a greater and more lasting good.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:22-30)
At that time, Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he made his way toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has risen and locked the door, then you will stand outside knocking at the door and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, while you yourselves are cast out. And people will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

The stranger's question implies the conviction that salvation is an exclusive privilege of the chosen people, to the detriment of others. The Lord wants us to understand that salvation is a gift from God and is for everyone. Moreover, precisely because this gift is so important, it must be welcomed with complete openness and total commitment, allowing the word that the Lord has sown in us with such patience to bear fruit and allowing the heart to be shaped by the grace that transforms. Salvation, therefore, is attained through perseverance, commitment, and effort. There is no other path, then, than conversion, which begins with Baptism and lasts throughout life. Jesus' words therefore call us not to feel saved simply because we are in the Church or because we attend Mass and pray every day. It is not enough to participate in the Eucharist: we must have a life consistent with the will of the Lord Jesus. It is not enough to pray: there must be consistency between what we think, say, and live each day. But that is not enough either. Personal communion with the Lord, if authentic, requires us to translate it into a concrete commitment to devote our lives to the good and service of our brothers and sisters.