Pray incessantly for more Laborers of Jesus’ abundant harvests

December 5, 2015

Saturday of the First Week of Advent

Saint of the Day: Saint Sabas, Abbot (439-532)

Reading 1

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26

19Thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as He hears He will answer you.

20The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide Himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, 21While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left.

23He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, and the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant. On that day your flock will be given pasture and the lamb will graze in spacious meadows; 24The oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat silage tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork.

25Upon every high mountain and lofty hill there will be streams of running water.  

On the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall, 26The light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater like the light of seven days. On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of His people, He will heal the bruises left by His blows.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (see Isaiah 20:18d) Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

1Praise the LORD, for He is good; sing praise to our God, for He is gracious;

it is fitting to praise Him. 2The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; the dispersed of Israel He gathers.

R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 4He tells the number of the stars; He calls each by name.

R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

5Great is our LORD and mighty in power: to His wisdom there is no limit. 6The LORD sustains the lowly; the wicked He casts to the ground.

R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

Alleluia Isaiah 33:22

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The LORD is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King; He it is who will save us.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8

35Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.[1]

36At the sight of the crowds, His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.

37Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; 38so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest.”

10:1Then He summoned His Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.

5aJesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,[2] 6“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”[3]

---

Notes on Readings:


[1] Matthew 9:35 - See the footnotes on Matthew 4:23-25 ; Matthew 8:1 - 9:38.

[2] Matthew 9:36 - See Mark 6:34; Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17.

[3]  Matthew 9:37-38 - This Q saying (see Luke 10:2) is only imperfectly related to this context. It presupposes that only God (the master of the harvest) can take the initiative in sending out preachers of the gospel, whereas in Matthew's setting it leads into Matthew 10 where Jesus does so.

[4]  Matthew 10:1-11:1 - After an introductory narrative (Matthew 10:1-4), the second of the discourses of the gospel. It deals with the mission now to be undertaken by the disciples (Matthew 10:5-15), but the perspective broadens and includes the missionary activity of the church between the time of the resurrection and the parousia.

[5] Matthew 10:5-6] L-ike Jesus (Matthew 15:24), the Twelve are sent only to Israel. This saying may reflect an original Jewish Christian refusal of the mission to the Gentiles, but for Matthew it expresses rather the limitation that Jesus Himself observed during His ministry.

[3] Matthew 10:8-11 - The Twelve have received their own call and mission through God's gift, and the benefits they confer are likewise to be given freely. They are not to take with them money, provisions, or unnecessary clothing; their lodging and food will be provided by those who receive them.