August 19, 2021

Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 422

Reading I

Jgs 11:29-39a

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh,
and through Mizpah-Gilead as well,
and from there he went on to the Ammonites.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
“If you deliver the Ammonites into my power,” he said,
“whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
shall belong to the LORD.
I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.”

Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them,
and the LORD delivered them into his power,
so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them,
from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all)
and as far as Abel-keramim.
Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection
by the children of Israel.
When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah,
it was his daughter who came forth,
playing the tambourines and dancing.
She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he rent his garments and said,
“Alas, daughter, you have struck me down
and brought calamity upon me.
For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract.”
She replied, “Father, you have made a vow to the LORD.
Do with me as you have vowed,
because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you
on your enemies the Ammonites.”
Then she said to her father, “Let me have this favor.
Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains
to mourn my virginity with my companions.”
“Go,” he replied, and sent her away for two months.
So she departed with her companions
and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
At the end of the two months she returned to her father,
who did to her as he had vowed.

Responsorial Psalm

40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10

1.  (8a and 9a)  Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
   Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
       who turns not to idolatry
       or to those who stray after falsehood.
   R.   Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
   Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
       but ears open to obedience you gave me.
   Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
       then said I, “Behold I come.”
   R.    Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
   “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me. 
   To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
       and your law is within my heart!”
   R.    Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
   I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
       I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
   R.    Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Alleluia

Ps 95:8

1. Alleluia, alleluia.
   If today you hear his voice,
   harden not your hearts.
   R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint John Eudes, priest

Reflection: PARTICIPATION IN THE BANQUET OF JOY

According to Jewish customs, the invitation to a feast would be sent out without mentioning the exact time. And when everything was ready, the servants would be sent out with the final summons to tell the guests to come. And so the people knew about the wedding and should have been preparing for it. The Jews were invited to be the 'chosen people of God'. But they did not pay heed to God's call. The Lord's invitation was not exclusive. All are invited regardless of their state or position in the community. As the Jews refused this invitation, it has been redirected to those on the highway and byways - the sinners and Gentiles. The Pharisees of Jesus' day despised the tax collectors and sinners. But these despised people were the ones who accepted Jesus before the Pharisees. We see this happening even in today's society. The rich and the educated do not easily accept the gospel, while the poor and needy embrace it more readily. God's invitation makes the guests to share in the joy of the Lord. If we do not accept his invitation, we do not enter his joy. While there were people who refused his invitation, they had reasons for doing so. One went to his farm and the other to his business. When get busy with things of time, they forget the things of eternity. At times we too may be anxious about our petty concerns and get immersed in earthly cares and worries. We should hold on to God's word and his invitation to us. It is an invitation to grace that we do not deserve.