St. Vincent de paul, priest

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Zechariah 8:1-8

The word of Yahweh,

The God of hosts was directed to me in this way, “I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred by a burning anger for her sake. Yahweh says: I will return to Zion and live in her midst. Jerusalem shall be called City of faithfulness and the Mountain of Yah­­weh of hosts, the Mountain of holiness.”

 Yahweh, God of hosts speaks, “Old men and women will again sit in the squares, each with a stick in hand on account of their great age. The squares of the city will be filled with girls and boys playing.”

 Yahweh, God of hosts declares, “If that seems impossible in the eyes of those who have returned from exile, will it be impossible for me as well?” – word of Yahweh.

Yahweh, God of hosts says, “See, I am going to save my people, bringing them from the east and from the west and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I shall be their God in truth and in justice.”

 

Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 & 22-23

The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊     

Luke 9:46-50

 One day the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most impor­tant.   But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he took a little child and stood him by his side.   Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.

And listen: the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest.” Then John spoke up, “Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon your name, and we tried to forbid him because he doesn’t follow you with us.”  But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him. He who is not against you is for you.”

 

 Gospel Reflection：

One day for lack of better things to do, the disciples begin to pick on each other to let off some steam. This happens when too many are cooped in one place for too long. Idleness after all is the breeding ground of mischief.

And so, the natural competitive spirit of the male specie takes over and they are now in disarray. With each of their ego at stake, they vigorously advance their own self-evaluation. They would have come to blows had not Jesus stepped in.

Instead of referring to another fully grown male, He used the little child as a reference. This would neutralize their natural aversion to another male at that time.

And John, the ever sensitive among the lot deflected the arguments among the disciples by reporting somebody using Jesus’ name to cast out demons. Jesus asks them not to forbid such man for he is an ally if he could effectively invoke the name of the Lord.