Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
October 8, 2021
Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 465
Reading I
Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!
Alas, the day!
for near is the day of the LORD,
and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;
Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains,
a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old,
nor will it be after them,
even to the years of distant generations.
Responsorial Psalm
- (9) The Lord will judge the world with justice.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
The prince of this world will now be cast out,
and when I am lifted up from the earth
I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:
“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”
Reflection: NO PLACE FOR COMPLACENCY
Joel means 'Yahweh is God'. Joel is the prophet of Pentecost. Peter quotes him in his sermon on Pentecost Sunday. Joel was a learned prophet. He foresaw a strong future. He warned the Jews of 'The Day of Yahweh' that it was close at hand. A swarm of locusts devastated the land and the enemy armies, like locusts, press hard on Israel from every side. In the face of this catastrophe he makes them remember the mercy of God and do penance. The Gospel is on the discussion around the expulsion of a mute demon which Jesus had performed before the people. We can see diverse reactions in the face of that expulsion. People were surprised, astonished and applauded on one hand while others were angry and upset. The first power that the Apostles received when they were sent out on mission was the power to drive out demons. The first sign that will be associated with believers: “in my name they will cast out devils!" This reached the centre of the Good News of the Kingdom. Jesus restored people, their judgment and conscience. Everyone who is baptized is freed from the evil one. However, those who are not living their Baptismal commitment have been re-possessed by demons again. These are the most dangerous people to the Church, to other people, and to themselves. Hence Prayer and penance is of utmost importance. God can transform even such lukewarm Christians into “salt and light” to “renew the face of the earth".