A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 38)
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – August 17, 2008
“A House of Prayer for All Peoples”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 56:1, 6-7 // Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 // Mt 15:21-28
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Is 56:1, 6-7) from the third section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 56-66) gives us an expansive and refreshing concept of salvation: the house of God is “a house of prayer for all peoples” (Is 56:7). According to this prophetic vision, salvation depends first and foremost on the person’s loving and humble attitude toward the Lord God and not per se on membership in the Jewish people. Those who are faithful to God’s covenant and keep the Sabbath will be brought to his holy mountain and experience the joy of participating in his “house of prayer”. Probably written after the Babylonian exile, about six centuries before Christ, salvation is presented as universal and the divine benevolence extended to all peoples. Indeed, God’s acceptance of “foreigners” expands the boundaries of the worshipping community of Israel and foreshadows the future “catholic” – universal- mission of the Church.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 4, comment: “History creates situations that are always new and unexpected. It raises questions that did not exist before. This was the case for Israel, exiled to Babylon and then returning to its country. Exile had immersed the people in pagan nations. Deprived of the Temple, this people had sought to preserve its national identity by remaining grouped around its priests and scribes, but without closing in upon itself. Of course, all were dreaming of returning to their land and restoring the old order. But the most lucid among them felt that nothing would be totally as before; generations in contact with a world unknown to their ancestors would have to ask new questions. Moreover, having returned to their country, they found foreigners who had been deported to Israel and had been settled there for years. What should the returning exiles’ attitude be toward these foreigners? An oracle from the Book of Isaiah answers this question: “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, loving the name of the Lord, and becoming his servants – all who keep the Sabbath from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Is 56:6-7).”
In the divine saving plan, this house of prayer includes peoples from all nations – people who are just and worship God with a reverent and humble heart. The universal and inclusive attitude of God described here in Third Isaiah does not mean that the chosen people Israel should abdicate their religious identity, but that they should embrace the “catholic” vision of a people without frontiers.
By his word and deed, Jesus Christ instilled in his disciples the universal character of the Father’s saving plan and radically fulfilled it by the paschal mystery of his passion, death and resurrection. The story of the Canaanite woman depicted in this Sunday’s Gospel (Mt 15:21-28), who is an object of Jesus’ favor and praise, gives us a glimpse of the ever-growing expanse of the community of faith – of those who turn to Jesus Christ with unwavering trust. No one is excluded from the community of salvation that continually expands and enfolds all peoples, nations and cultures. The Church of Christ is universal and its liturgy is a beautiful expression of its all-embracing experience of salvation.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 4, assert: “Like the Church at large, every Christian community, even a small one, even a very homogenous and particularized one, is catholic, that is open to universal values, especially when it is assembled for the liturgy, and particularly the Eucharist … Beyond all differences, it is the same faith that from one end of the earth to the other, leads believers to Christ, before whom they bow while calling him Lord. The liturgy is thus the sacrament of the gathering of that great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue which the Seer of Revelation contemplated, which the Christians and the Church must keep before their eyes.”
In this Year of St. Paul, we contemplate his vital role as “the apostle to the Gentiles” in bringing people without frontiers into God’s “house of prayer”. St. Paul affirms that the divine mercy is for all and that the gifts and call of God for Israel are irrevocable. Paul envisions the reintegration of the Jews into the new people of God and is heartened by the thought that those who formerly did not believe would turn to God and would relish the gift of new life and the joy of being together in worship.
It was in the early 1980’s when I had a chance to attend for the first time the Easter Sunday Mass with the Pope at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City. I was with a visiting Italian PDDM sister who had worked in Latin America for many years. We were there with myriads of people from different nations and cultures - all patiently waiting for the Mass to begin. I was shivering from the dampness and chill of a steady spring shower, but I was awed by the reality that I was in a “house of prayer” without frontiers. I was looking at the immense sky, feeling the gentle raindrops on my face and beholding the various faces of the peoples of the earth aglow with Easter joy. When Pope John Paul II greeted us and began the Mass, I forgot how cold I was and simply focused on the beauty and glory of being an Easter people – of the great privilege and dignity of worshipping in the house of God. After the Mass and with the spring sunshine finally enveloping us, the Holy Father extended his Easter greetings to the entire world in about a hundred languages. That was a “catholic” experience I would never forget!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
How does the prophetic proclamation of the Third Isaiah concerning foreigners being led to the holy mountain and joyfully worshipping in God’s house of prayer affect you? What are your insights and personal experiences about the universal character of the plan of salvation?
How do the merciful presence of Jesus and the unwavering faith of the Canaanite woman in his saving power inspire you? Do you believe that the mercy of Jesus is universal and has no bounds? Do you replicate in your life the indomitable trust of the Canaanite woman in what Jesus could do on our behalf?
Why is Paul called the “apostle to the Gentiles”? In this Year of St. Paul, do you look to him as a model of how to incarnate in your life and proclaim the universal saving plan of God?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: O loving God, the Father of us all,
it is your will that Jews and non-Jews alike
should climb your holy mountain
and worship together in your house of prayer that has no frontiers.
We thank you and adore you for your immense love
that embraces all peoples, nations and cultures.
In Jesus Christ, your beloved Servant-Son,
your saving plan for all nations and the entire creation
was accomplished.
Let our faith in the saving power of Jesus
be as strong and trusting as that of the Canaanite woman.
Fill us with the apostolic zeal of St. Paul
that together with this great apostle,
we may proclaim your merciful love to all nations.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Is 56:7)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the Church may truly be “catholic” in every way and that the ecumenical movement may flourish. Pray that Christian missionaries, in the spirit of St. Paul, may be strengthened in their endeavor to proclaim the saving love of God for all and to all. By your attitude of caring and welcoming for the poor and the marginalized, endeavor to incarnate the universal saving plan of God. By the way you celebrate the Christian mystery, manifest that God’s house is a “house of prayer for all people”.
ACTION PLAN: That we may appreciate and experience more deeply the saving love of God for all, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, # 38).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
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