Mass Reading & Meditation for December 16, 2011

Meditation: Isaiah 56:1-3,6-8

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7)

The children of Israel knew who belonged to God’s chosen people and who did not. That was one of the reasons they preserved their ge nealogies so carefully. They knew God had revealed himself to them in a unique way.

And yet God kept trying to ex pand their vision. He reminded them that because they had been “strangers” in Egypt, they should show special care for the “aliens” among them. He urged them also to pray for the well-being of the pagans in whose land they were ex iled. Even their Temple had a “court of the Gentiles,” where people of every race and religious tradition were welcome to come and seek the Lord. In fact, one of the reasons Jesus got so upset with the money changers was that they were set ting up a raucous marketplace in what God intended as a place of prayer for these outsiders.

Since few of us were born Jews, we should be very grateful that God hasn’t excluded us. Perhaps we can remember a time when we felt ill at ease, on the fringes. Perhaps we em braced the Catholic faith later in life.

Perhaps we moved to a new place, and it took a while for us to feel at home in an unfamiliar parish. Per haps we had trouble getting used to the new music after Vatican II. Per haps we are having a hard time adjusting to the liturgical changes that happened just a couple of weeks ago. At times like these, how fortu nate we are if someone reaches out and helps draw us in!

From time to time, it’s a good idea to seek out the “strangers” God may be trying to draw to himself. It may be a visitor to your church who doesn’t know where to find the re sponses. It may be a neighbor who is struggling financially and is looking for a respectful greeting or a help­ing hand. It may be someone trying to find his way after spending time in prison or a rehab facility. Your kindness can provide that person’s pathway to a deeper worship—and it can help make your church into a house of prayer for “all peoples.”

“Jesus, thank you for seeking me when I was a stranger. Help me to see the ones you long to draw closer to your heart through me.”

Psalm 67:2-3,5,7-8; John 5:33-36