Today, 26th of December, we celebrate
Saint Stephen
1 Cor 6:1–11
Brothers and sisters:
How can any one of you with a case against another
dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment
instead of to the holy ones?
Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?
If the world is to be judged by you,
are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?
Do you not know that we will judge angels?
Then why not everyday matters?
If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters,
do you seat as judges people of no standing in the Church?
I say this to shame you.
Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough
to be able to settle a case between brothers?
But rather brother goes to court against brother,
and that before unbelievers?
Now indeed then it is, in any case,
a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another.
Why not rather put up with injustice?
Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?
Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers.
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves
nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers
will inherit the Kingdom of God.
That is what some of you used to be;
but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God.
Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.
Sing to the Lord a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.
Lk 6:12-19
Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom he called apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.
Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood on a level place. Many of his disciples were there and a large crowd of people who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear him and be healed of their diseases; likewise people troubled by evil spirits were healed. The entire crowd tried to touch him because of the power that went out from him and healed them all.
Dear friend,
It’s perfectly human for there to be conflicts and problems among us; they also existed in the early Christian communities, as we read in the first reading today. What shouldn’t be normal is that we aren’t able to resolve them among ourselves. This is what angers St. Paul in his letter, that the Corinthians go to the courts before trying to practice fraternal correction: «Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?»
Believers, just like those who aren’t, aren’t distinguished by the absence of problems or conflicts among us, but by the way we resolve them. Or at least we should be, since faith gives us very effective tools that we shouldn’t discard: fraternal correction, discernment, forgiveness, prayer, the strength of faith… St. Paul is angry with his community because they act like Gentiles, not to say like brutes, in the face of the conflicts that arise among them.
Let’s not be brutes. We will always have problems with relationships, understanding, living together, communication, even with the most beloved and closest people. Let’s be spiritually intelligent and use the valuable tools of faith that we’ve mentioned.
Precisely in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls twelve apostles who are very different from each other, with very different personalities. He didn’t call twelve people of the same social rank, same profession, same age… they were very different. That’s why they had problems and arguments among themselves, as we see in the Gospels. But at the same time, we see how the Lord was teaching them to solve those problems not in the way the world does, but in the way God wants things to be solved in that new way of life that Jesus calls the Kingdom of God, and that we have to build together here and now. That’s why Jesus called the Twelve, and that’s why He has also called us, let’s not forget it.
Your brother in faith,
Juan Lozano, cmf.Lord our God,
your Son, Jesus Christ could build
firm foundations for your Church
on weak and fallible people.
Only he could do it; we would not dare.
We pray with your Son,
that our faith may remain unshaken
in your Church and those who lead it.
As they struggle and grope,
let your Holy Spirit fill them
with his wisdom and fire.
And lead us all forward in hope.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction
If there are difficulties and dissensions in the community, these should be settled in the community itself rather than bringing them before a civil court, St. Paul tells the Corinthians. Shouldn't communities not be "one heart and one soul?"
Gospel Introduction
As in other very important occasions in his life, Jesus prays before selecting twelve apostles from among his disciples. For this is a very important moment. He will train them and then will take the risk of entrusting his own work to fallible people. He knows they will not always do the best they can, as they will have moments of fear, discouragement, cowardice and compromises. Still, he trusts them enough and will help them to bring his work to a good end in God's own good time. In this eucharist we express our trust in the Church of Jesus Christ.
– For the pope, that he may lead the Church in faith, wisdom, and mercy, we pray:
– For our bishops united with the pope, that they may see and attend to the great needs of the Church in our day, we pray:
– For those who are afraid to answer the call of God to follow Christ and to serve the people of God, we pray:
Lord our God,
in the name of Jesus, your Son,
your ministers and people offer to you
the memorial of his death and resurrection.
Let us, sinful as we are, be your holy people,
that we may bear witness to your name
and be a believable sign to all,
that your Son lives
and that you are our mighty God and Father,
now and for ever.
Holy God and Father,
to us, your people on the way,
you have let your Son speak
his uplifting word
and give to us his food of strength.
Renew your Church in its leaders and members,
that we may live as we believe
and raise in our world a prophetic voice
that speaks with credibility
of justice, truth, and unity.
May thus the world believe in your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Jesus entrusts his own mission to weak and fallible human hands. "Entrusts," for he trusts them enough. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do God's work. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
