Year C
Third Ordinary Sunday
Concepts
Listening enthusiastically at mass
Points
to note
This reading is the first
of a two-part reading. Again as in last
Sunday, it is an apt commencement to a year (the ordinary Sunday series, not
the liturgical year itself). A little
like a movie within a movie, ala French
Lieutenant Woman style: there is a reading within a reading. Jesus reads about proclaiming a new beginning:
the beginning of his ministry.
While we can discuss about
the content of Jesus’ reading, I have chosen to discuss the way that Jesus did
the reading and the way that the people responded to him. This can be further discussed in reading of
Mary and Martha in Sunday 16. In today’s
session, I am focussing a bit more on the Liturgy of the Word itself.
With older children, you
may want to take a bit more time explaining the Liturgy of the Word, which may
be a little too technical for younger children.
If so, you may spend a bit more time on discussing listening at mass,
using parts of the Sunday 16 reading if necessary.
Liturgy
Acclamation before the
Gospel
Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to
bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to
captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Explain that Jesus
has just emerged from the temptation in the desert. Strengthened, he is about to launch his public
ministry. (Note: I have omitted the first part of the reading (Lk1:1-4) for the
children as they are the introduction to Luke needed to kick off the Luke
series of Gospel readings but may confuse the children)
The Lord be with you.
All: And
also with you.
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St
John
(Lk
1:1-4; 4:14-21)
Jesus, with the power of
the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout
the countryside. He taught in their
synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did.
He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet
Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found
the place where it is written:
The spirit of
the Lord has been given to me,
for he has
anointed me.
He has sent me
to bring the good news to the poor.
to proclaim
liberty to captives and sight to the blind,
to set the
downtrodden free
to proclaim the
Lord’s year of favour.
He then rolled up the
scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on
him, then he began to speak to them, “This text is being fulfilled today even
as you listen.”
This is the Gospel of the
Lord
Discussion
Discuss
the reading and draw parallels with our mass:
where was Jesus? In a synagogue. Explain that a synagogue is like a church for
Jewish people. Jews only worship in two
places: the Temple and in
synagogues. There is only one Temple,
though, where Jewish priests may make sacrifices but there are many synagogues
where people listen to readings, sermons and prayers led by rabbis. There is no longer a Temple, and so, Jews
today worship only in synagogues all over the world. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 ad, leaving only a wall behind. To this day, we see Jews on TV praying along
a wall in Jerusalem. It is called the
Wailing Wall because Jews lament the destruction of the Temple.
What was Jesus doing? Reading
a reading in the synagogue and then giving the sermon. Isn’t that what happens at mass? Who does it at mass? The
lectors read the first two readings while priest reads the Gospel reading and
gives the sermon.
What are the two parts of
mass? The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist? Which is the one that happens first and
is the one with the reading? The Liturgy of the Word.
Explain
about the Liturgy of the Word. The next
page is an extract from the leaflet on the Mass. You may want to refer to the
full leaflet for the context.
If
there is time after explaining, discuss the importance of listening at mass,
referring to the leaflet of Sunday 16 if necessary.
I love this
story. The priest went up to the mike
for the Gospel reading and said, “The Lord be with you.” But, nothing came out because the mike wasn’t
working. So, he said in a louder voice,
“There is something wrong with the mike!”
The people heard him say something but wasn’t sure what, so they
responded ............... The importance of listening at mass!!
A little
elaboration on the following Liturgy of the Word notes: Children like to hear this explanation about
the sign of the cross before the Gospel.
It is a prayer made with our hands: Glory (we touch our foreheads = When
we hear your word, God help we think good thoughts) to you (we touch our lips =
God, help us proclaim good news) O Lord (we touch our hearts = God, help us
love)
The form
of this liturgy follows very much that of the Jewish synagogue service, from
which it descends. The readings are read
by one or more readers, or lectors,
from the reading desk, or ambo. The response to the first two readings should
be a period of silence to reflect on the readings, but is rarely achieved.
First
reading and the Responsorial psalm
This is
normally from the Old Testament, or from the Acts of the Apostles during the
season of Easter. The readings are
chosen to relate to the Gospel reading.
The
psalms, as a response to the reading, follow a verse-and-response format and
are chosen to fit the readings.
Second
reading
The
epistles have a sequence independent of the Gospel reading and therefore do not
relate to the other readings, except during the great feasts and the seasons of
Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas.
Acclamations
The Gospel
is greeted by an acclamation. Alleluias
are sung except during Lent, when the Glory
and Praise is sung instead.
Gospel
As a mark
of respect for the Gospel, which represents Christ, we receive the Gospel
standing up. In the Greek Church, they
even have a little procession to emphasise that.
The
introductory dialogue between the priest and the community has much
significance. To the priest’s greeting,
the community responds: “And also with
you”. Then, the priest introduces
the Gospel and the community responds: “Glory
to you Lord Jesus Christ”. Note that
the ‘you’ in the two responses are directed at different persons. In the first, it refers to the priest, while
in the second, it refers to Jesus. This
underlines the presence of Jesus when the Gospel is read. It is no longer the priest we hear, but Jesus.
The sign
of the cross we make during the second response is the older form of the more
conventional sign normally used. Being
less overt, it was a more discreet way of identifying oneself during times of
persecution as a Christian to others who know what the sign means.
Homily
The sermon
that follows will explain the readings.
No comments:
Post a Comment