September 2, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 2, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Entrance: At that first Eucharist (GC 840)
Psalm: 68—God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor (PRM C92)
Presentation: The Cry of the Poor (GC 33)
Communion: Blest are They (GC 636)
Closing: We are Called (GC 710)


We used to have a joke in college (admittedly not a hysterically funny one), where we’d say that most of our prayers seemed to amount to “Oh God, you are so very big. And I am so very small.” That’s ultimately what this Sunday’s readings seem to call us to—they take us deeper into that place of abject humility and trust in God—the place we’ll venture ever more deeply between now and late November when the liturgical year ends. The first reading, from Sirach (incidentally, one of the books of the “Apocrypha,” not found in the biblical tradition of most other Christian denominations) calls us to “humble ourselves the more the greater we are, and we will find favor with God.”

I love verse 5 of the psalm: “Sing to God, praise the divine name; exalt the rider of the clouds.” We have so many beautiful names for God, but “rider of the clouds” isn’t one we see all that often. It reminds me of the praises in psalm 98 which we proclaim at Christmas, when we are told that “the seas clap their hands” to the glory of God: the image of the waves crashing and colliding with each other—all as part of God’s praise—is so powerful…

The second reading is just as full of metaphor and praise—it reminds us that the God we approach is not one of terror and distance, but is approachable and festive, calling us to praise and prayer and closeness. And then the gospel gives us the upside-down kingdom again, calling us to invite the poor, the lame, the lonely, those who could never repay your hospitality—forget what the world tells you about how to celebrate, it says, step outside of your comfort zone and be like Jesus, let your expectations be turned inside-out, free yourself of the expectations of your external life. Remember last Sunday’s “narrow door”? In this Sunday’s readings, we’ve approached it, and Jesus is beckoning to us from the other side. Let go of what you think you know, he says, and recognize that you must love what the world despises, honor what the world ignores, rejoice at what the world mourns.

That, ultimately, is why “Blest are they” is the perfect song for this particular Sunday. (That and the fact that the alternate Communion Antiphon for this Sunday is taken from the Beatitudes as well; despite the single-cycle selection of Antiphons, often they fit beautifully with the readings and other prayers.) The other songs fit the pattern as well: In “At that first Eucharist,” we are reminded that we are called to “one bread, one body be, in this blest Sacrament of unity.” (My hope is that using the hymn as an opening rather than a Communion Hymn might subtly remind us that the “sacrament” it refers to is not necessarily just the reception of Holy Communion but the entire liturgical gathering…) “Cry of the Poor” is a psalm of praise which likewise praises God’s mercy and kindness especially to the lowly and unremarkable, and “We are Called” sends us out with Micah’s call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”

I have a feeling that if I can remember the focuses of this particular Sunday’s readings and songs, the much harsher-seeming readings of October and November might be easier to take, as this autumn progresses…

peace,
Jennifer