A reading from the Book of Exodus

(These readings from Cycle A may be used on this Sunday)

(Chapter 17:3-7)

When the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they entered a desert land that was hardly habitable. There was little food, so God provided manna and quail for the people to eat. In this passage, they are angry because there is no water, a complaint that seems reasonable in a climate that is 100 degrees with the sun beating down. Would you complain? I would.

So, the people test God (that is what Massah means) and quarrel with God (that is what Meriba means) and God comes through. Moses strikes a rock and water pours forth. Remember, this is a story filled with symbolism, so the staff with which Moses strikes the rock is the same staff that he used to part the water so the Israelites could cross the sea dry-shod and escape Pharoah’s army and slavery in Egypt. The question that the people were asking—“Is the Lord in our midst?”—was answered with a powerful “Yes!”

Sometimes, in our darkest, most challenging moments we may ask the same question. Where are you, God, to help me out in this tragedy, depression, betrayal, loss, illness, or worse? The answer is always the same. It is the promise that appears most often in the Hebrew scriptures and in the words and actions of Jesus, “I am with you.”

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 95)

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” This is not about hearing voices in your head. How do we really hear God’s voice? It is in prayer, listening to and reading the scriptures, and in our relationships with the people in our lives. We never know when God will speak to us through events and people. The key is listening with the heart as well as the ears.

A reading from the Book of Genesis

(Chapter 15:5-12, 17-18)

This passage describes is a strange ceremony that is very foreign to us today: a series of animals, split in two, offered to God as a sacrifice. It is a sign of a covenant, a promise God made to Abraham. God is giving Abraham and his people a vast land to be their own and Abraham is to be their leader and father figure. Abraham had faith in God and moved forward in his old age as a partner with God.

Each of us is a partner with God. Have you ever thought about your relationship with God in that way, as a partner? What is God’s role in your partnership? What is yours?

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 27)

“The Lord is my light and salvation.” Where is there darkness in your life? Is it in your family, your work, or in some dark corner of your life that keeps you from happiness? Ask the Lord for light to come into that darkness.

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy

(Chapter 26:4-10)

This reading celebrates the deliverance of Israel from the slavery of Egypt and the 40 years wandering in the desert. Moses reminds the people that it was God who brought them out of Egypt “with his strong hand and outstretched arm” and gave them “this land flowing with milk and honey.” Moses tells them that their ancestral father, Abraham, “was a wandering Aramean” but now the people will have to wander no longer, all because God is with them. So worshipers, in thanksgiving, are to bring to the altar, as sacrifice, “the first fruits of the products of the soil.”

Now, thousands of years later, our Jewish brethren celebrate the feast of Sukkot (pronounced sue-coat), the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Booths, to recall the tents the people lived in while in the dessert.

Today, let us pray for our sisters and brothers in Ukraine that the Lord may deliver them from their oppressors.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 91)

“Be with me O Lord, when I am in trouble.” God is always with us, but too often we are not aware of his presence, except when we are in trouble.

A reading from the Book of Sirach

(Chapter 27:4-7)

This is one of the “wisdom books” in the Hebrew scriptures. Here we have observations that were true thousands of years ago and are true today.

“In tribulation is the test of the just.” Yes! The hard times often test us and reveal who we really are.

“The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had…. So too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind…. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are trusted.”

It is true. Our words say a great deal about who we really are, even though we also believe that “Actions speak louder than words.”

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 92)

“Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.” How often do you give thanks to the Lord? Sometimes? Often? Every day? How about right now?

A reading from the prophecy of Jeremiah

(Chapter 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23)

Samuel, who lived more than a thousand years before the birth of Jesus, was an important person in the history of Israel. He has been called the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He had secretly anointed Saul as king of Israel, but Saul turned out to be wrong for the role. When the incident we read about today occurred, Israel was at war with the Philistines, but Saul was obsessed with hunting down his son-in-law David, whom he feared as a rival for the throne. While Saul was asleep, David snuck into his camp and could have killed him. Instead, he took Saul’s spear back to his own camp and showed it to his men. He told them that he did not kill Saul who was trying to kill him: “Today, though the Lord delivered you into my grasp, I would not harm the Lord’s anointed.” Later, of course, David became the greatest of all the kings of Israel with the blessings of God.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 103)

“The Lord is kind and merciful.” This was an important concept for the Jewish people, because the gods worshiped by their contemporaries were anything but “kind and merciful.” It’s an important concept for us, too, because many of our contemporaries worship false gods—power, prestige, money—that also are neither kind nor merciful.

A reading from the prophecy of Jeremiah

(Chapter 17:5-8)

Many of the people the prophet Jeremiah encountered were farmers who lived from harvest to harvest and depended on the land for their survival. In the passage read at Mass today, Jeremiah taps into that background as he invokes a metaphor for trust.

Jeremiah says, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.” Then he tells the people why they should have that trust. “He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream. It fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.” The key word is trust. The farmers who are his audience will understand the meaning of trust from this farming story.

What does it mean for you to trust in God? Has anything caused your trust to waver? Did that wavering become a crisis of faith? Has it been resolved?

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 1)

“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” Amid the pandemic and so many other threatening issues, are you still a hopeful person? Who or what continues to give you hope?

A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah

(Chapter 6:1-2a, 3-8)

Last week, we read about the call to Jeremiah to be a prophet and his reluctance because he thought he was too young. Today, we read about God’s call to Isaiah who said he was unworthy. Isaiah’s first response was, “Woe is me, I am doomed.” That is not exactly the kind of response we might have expected but, that is what it was. Why?

Being a prophet is an awesome responsibility but, in both cases, God assured the would-be prophets that he was with them: “Whom shall I send? Who will go with me?” Then, with that assurance, Isaiah did not hesitate: “Here I am, send me.”

Most of us are not called to be prophets in that total life-giving sense, but we are often called to say or do something that is challenging, and sometimes we may feel threatened in such situations. “If I say these words, will people reject me?” “If I do not follow the crowd, will they cut me off or put me down?” It is hard to know when to speak up and when to let something go, at least for the moment. The key is to do what Saint Paul wrote in the letter we read from last week: Speak the truth with love, meaning not with criticism or rejection. Imagine if the leaders of our society talked that way. Imagine if everyone in our families talked that way. Then we could speak the more difficult truths to one another without fear of rejections or reprisals.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 138)

“In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.” We can even sing his praises out of sight of the angels. When was the last time you actually praised God? When can the next time be?

A reading from the prophecy of Jeremiah

(Chapter 1:4-5, 17-19)

Jesus once remarked that a prophet is not honored in his own country (Mark 6:4). That was certainly true of Jeremiah. He was treated terribly by his own people and was almost killed. In the passage read in today’s Mass, God is preparing Jeremiah for his “terrible task” and assuring him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you a prophet to the nations I appointed you…. Stand up and tell them all that I command you. Be not crushed on my account.”

Jeremiah suffered greatly and was almost crushed. Still, he was faithful to God despite his many fears and depression. Somehow, God’s strength was with him in the most painful and desperate times.

We all have times of fear, depression, and the concern that we are not up to the task before us. It seems to be just too much. At those very times, God will be present to us in numerous ways, if we can listen to his saving message and accept the support that might be near at hand.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 71)

“I will sing of your salvation.” This beautiful psalm is an affirmation that God is on our side always, “a stronghold to give me safety. “

A reading from the Book of Nehemiah

(Chapter 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10)

The events in this book took place in the fifth century before the birth of Jesus, when the Jewish people had been freed from exile in Babylon. People are returning to their own land, rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, and learning anew the law that God handed down through Moses. They weep as Nehemiah reads it to them, not out of sadness but in joy, that this essential part of their faith has been restored to them. But Nehemiah tells them, “Go, and eat rich food and sweet drink…. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.”

If the Israelites were told to rejoice in a law that took half a day to read, how much more should we rejoice in the law of Jesus which is a law of Love not of fear?

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 19)

“Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.” We Christians should say ,“Your Word, O Lord, is Jesus who gave his life to save us, and your Spirit is the Holy Spirit who lives within us.”

A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah

(Chapter 62:1-5)

The Babylonian Exile took place from 597 B.C. to 538 B.C. and was a horrific experience for the Jewish people. This reading is from the last part of the Book of Isaiah and was written as the Jewish people returned from captivity.

The author wants to celebrate the return and let it be known that it happened by the power of God. “No more shall people call you ‘Forsaken,’ or your land ‘Desolate,’ but you shall be called ‘My Delight,’ and your land ‘Espoused.’ For the Lord delights in you and makes your land his spouse.”

That may be strange language for us, but it was a powerful, joyful truth for the Jewish people after so many years of suffering in a foreign land.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 96)

“Proclaim the marvelous deeds to all the nations.” Our God continues to give us “marvelous deeds.” Are you aware of any in your life?