Introit

 

 Kyrie

Gloria

Collect

O God, who in the abasement of your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill your faithful with holy joy,
for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin
you bestow eternal gladness.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Catena Nova

When the Lord told his disciples that the harvest was indeed abundant but laborers were scarce and urged them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers out to harvest his crop, which crop did he have in mind? .... Evidently not a crop of Gentiles, from whom there was nothing to be reaped because there had as yet been no sowing among them.... The Jewish people were the harvest to which the Lord of the harvest came, and to which he dispatched his reapers. To the Gentiles he could send no reapers at that time, only sowers. We may understand, then, that harvest time among the Jews coincided with sowing time among the Gentiles, for out of the Jewish crop, sown by the prophets and now ripe for harvesting, the apostles were chosen. Here we have the joy of observing the divine husbandry. How good it is to see God’s gifts and watch the laborers in his field! Consider his twofold harvest, the one already reaped, the other still to come.... This harvest is the people to whom the prophets preached, sowing the seed so that the apostles might gather in the sheaves. For the seed to sprout it was sufficient for the prophets to sow, but the ripe grain had to wait for the apostles’ sickle.... Those others were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets. Because they worked hard at sowing, at the Lord’s coming the grain was found to be ripe. Then the reapers were sent out, wielding the Gospel as their sickle. They were to greet no one on the road, which meant they were to have no aim or activity apart from proclaiming the Good News in a spirit of brotherly love. When they arrived at a house they were to say: “Peace be to this house.” This greeting was no mere formula; being filled with peace themselves, the apostles spread it abroad, proclaiming peace and at the same time possessing it. Consequently when one of them, fully at peace with himself, pronounced the blessing: “Peace be to this house,” then if a lover of peace were in that house, the apostle’s peace would rest upon him. (St. Augustine of Hippo)

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire for all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thomas Merton)

When Paul talks about the Law of Moses, he’s saying, “Yes, the law is perfectly fine, it’s perfectly reasonable. It’s a frame, a good thing in itself, not a bad thing. Children do occasionally have carts which they can stand up with and push at the same time as they learn to walk, and these are temporary things, educational toys. But we would all be worried if their grasp of their cart was so great that they never learned to walk. The problem is not with the cart, it’s with the grasping of it. Instead they must be nourished into learning how to walk.” And this is the point of the gift of faith. It is the disposition produced in us by someone who really, really, wants us to be free, not bowed down or crippled. Someone who is prepared to go to great lengths to induct us into a habit, a disposition of being able to walk freely, not to be trapped by gods or frightened of death. (James Alison)

“The Lord appointed another 72 and sent them out, ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he planned to visit. He told them: The harvest is rich but the laborers are few....” Those sent to bring the Good News to others first bring it to themselves. You can’t bring to others anything but what you have received. You benefit first, proclaiming to yourself first what you then proclaim to others.... How does the Kingdom of God come? It is through work like that of those hired by a vineyard owner. He started in the early morning with a few but needed
more. That’s why Jesus added 72 others to the 12.... God is calling people into the vineyard until the end of time. Our greatest joy is to be God’s hired hands. Many are unhappy because they don’t seem to have a task in life and search ceaselessly to find out what they are good at. They are terrified of being mediocre or useless. But not us!... Our task is to work for the Kingdom as though no one had ever done anything before us.... Don’t stop for anything. He tells us not to stop to engage in elaborate greetings to those we meet along the way. Don’t listen to voices that
would slow you down or fill you with doubts of the sort that weaken enthusiasm. Are you worried that you haven’t fully accepted God’s grace, or have abused it? Are you concerned that you aren’t worthy of your call? Do you hesitate because you aren’t sure you’ll have the courage needed? Have you made lots of resolutions, and failed to carry through on them? Well, there is always time to begin again! Perhaps for half or more of a lifetime we haven’t been faithful to the
call. Maybe we only have five minutes of life left! Then it is for those five minutes that God chose you, for that one last moment. Rejoice! You name is written in Heaven! Proclaim the Lord’s grace and love. (Lucien Cerfaux)

We are the wire, God is the current. Our only power is to let the current pass through us. (Carlo Carretto)

In the Gospel of Luke Christ sees Satan “fall like lightning from heaven” (10:18). Evidently he falls to earth, and he will not remain inactive. Jesus does not announce the immediate end of Satan, not yet at least. It is rather the end of his false transcendence, his power to restore order through his false accusations, the end of scapegoating. The New Testament has quite a repertory of metaphors to signify the consequence of the Christian revelation. We can say about Satan, as I’ve stated, that he can no longer expel himself. We can say likewise that he can no longer “bind himself,” which amounts basically to the same thing. As the days of Satan are numbered, he tries to gain the most from them, and quite literally, he unleashes himself. Christianity expands the range of freedom, which individuals and communities make use of as they please, sometimes in a good way but often in a bad way. A bad use of freedom contradicts, of course, what Jesus intends for humanity. But if God did not respect the freedom of human beings, if he imposed his will on them by force or even by his prestige, which would mean by mimetic contagion, then he would not be different from Satan. Jesus is not the one who rejects the kingdom of God; it’s human beings who do so, including a number of those who believe they are nonviolent simply because they benefit to the utmost from the protection of the principalities and powers, and so they never have to use force themselves. Jesus distinguishes two types of peace. The first is the peace that he offers to humanity. No matter how simple its rules, it “surpasses human understanding” because the only peace human beings know is the truce based on scapegoats. This is “the peace such as the world gives.” It is the peace that the Gospel revelation takes away from us more and more. Christ cannot bring us a peace truly divine without depriving us first of the only peace at our disposal. His peace entails this troubling historical process through which we are living. (Rene’ Girard)

Jesus’ disciples were not to rejoice or despair over success or lack of it. Success is not part of the assignment, for true success remains with the Lord who hands out assignments, the One who by his Cross has thrown Satan out of heaven. Only the Lamb of God “has triumphed,” the “lion of the tribe of Judah.” The great hymns of praise in heaven are sung to him (Rev 5:5, 9ff.). Those he commissions will find in him – not in themselves – the “authority” to “overcome all the power of the enemy.” This will have to suffice to console those he sends out. (Hans Urs von Balthasar)

Homily

      Which is not to say that even political freedom is not within the purview of God’s kingdom.  As Rene’ Girard, who titled one of his books from a passage in today’s gospel — I See Satan Fall Like Lightning — mentions:

Christianity expands the range of freedom, which individuals and communities make use of as they please, sometimes in a good way but often in a bad way.  A bad use of freedom contradicts, of course, what Jesus intends for humanity.  But if God did not respect the freedom of human beings, if he imposed his will on them by force or even by his prestige…then he would not be different from Satan.

 

      But we shouldn’t confuse this “range of freedom” with the Gospel’s own version  which is, after all, of another sort — the freedom the Spirit.  So after Paul exhorts the Galatians about stumbling over dictates of the Law, he finally says, neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does circumcision, but only a new creation (II).  Argue all you want over human precepts — so often confused with those of God — what matters ultimately is what God has done on the Cross: the only reason Paul could find in which to boast through which the world was crucified to him, and he to the world  (cf. II).  Or what the Collect of today’s Mass calls the abasement of [God’s] Son [by which he] has raised up a fallen world. 

      Fallen into what?  Fallen into all the abuses of power — political, economic, religious — to which humans are subject, and cancelled, so to speak, by the powerlessness of God.  This is what other early disciples of Jesus were also in danger of missing. When they returned from their first successful missionary journey, and were all too taken with the power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, he warned them about the danger of power placed in human hands, even the power to do good.  So he turns their attention to another realm altogether: Nevertheless, he says, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven (G). 

      So as we celebrate political freedom this week, the Word of God confronts us with a far greater freedom which no human court can augment or restrict; no chain bind, no tyrant destroy, and no force oppose -- save the human will set against God.  But that would not be true freedom, but the desire of the flesh.  Let us, instead, live by the Spirit who with the Father and the Son, are one God, forever and ever.  Amen  (cf. II).

Intercessions (cf. Joe Milner; Sunday Website)

For the Church: that we may freely share the gifts that God has given us, be open to receive the gifts that others have, and trust that God will sustain us each day.

For our nation: that God will guide us in living the values which we proclaim so that all may experience life, liberty, and justice.

For each of us: that we may hear God’s call and share in the mission of the church by bringing hope, relieving burdens, and offering compassionate understanding to all who touch our lives.

For all cities burdened by violence and destruction: that God's compassionate care will inspire people to work for the restoration of neighborhoods and communities and restore hope to all who are struggling against crime and poverty.

For all who long for freedom: that God will open a way for those with addictions, held unjustly, fleeing violence, or entrapped by poverty or illiteracy and help them to begin a new life.

For all who are suffering: that God will open new paths for dialogue between conflicting parties, speed food to those who face famine, guide and strengthen those who experience an unexpected pregnancy, and give peace to those who are grieving.

For missionaries and relief workers: that God will renew their spirits, give them courage, and enable them to travel forward in the service of others

Boundless, O God, is your saving power; your harvest reaches to the ends of the earth.  Fill our hearts with zeal for your kingdom and place on our lips the tidings of peace. Grant us perseverance as heralds of the gospel and joy as disciples of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.Amen. (ICEL; 1998)

Offertory Antiphon

 

Offertory Motet (Palestrina)

 

But as for us, it behooves us to glory, in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom is our salvation, our life and resurrection: by Whom we were saved, and obtained our freedom.

Nos autem gloriari oportet in Cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi: in quo est salus, vita, et resurrectio nostra: per quem salvati et liberati sumus.

Communion Antiphon

 

Closing Hymn (John Michael Talbot)

 

May I never boast of anything Save the cross of the Lord. The cross of Jesus Christâ

Through it the world has been crucified to me And I to the life of the world. Through the cross of Jesus Christ

Refrain: All that matters now is one created anew.  Peace and mercy on all, Who follow this rule of life, The Israel of God.

Henceforth let no man trouble me For I bear the marks of the Lord. The marks of Jesus Christ.  (Refrain)

May I never boat of anything Save the cross of the Lord.