13TH SATURDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mt 9:14-17) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridgeroom is with them?” (Mt 9:15)

FIRST READING - 27:1-5, 15-29

A reading from the Book of Genesis

When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him,

he called his older son Esau and said to him, "Son!"

"Yes father!" he replied.

Isaac then said, "As you can see, I am so old

that I may now die at any time.

Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–

and go out into the country to hunt some game for me.

With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like,

and bring it to me to eat,

so that I may give you my special blessing before I die."

Rebekah had been listening

while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau.

So, when Esau went out into the country

to hunt some game for his father,

Rebekah [then] took the best clothes of her older son Esau

that she had in the house,

and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear;

and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands

and the hairless parts of his neck.

Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish

and the bread she had prepared.

Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, "Father!"

"Yes?" replied Isaac. "Which of my sons are you?"

Jacob answered his father: "I am Esau, your first-born.

I did as you told me.

Please sit up and eat some of my game,

so that you may give me your special blessing."

But Isaac asked, "How did you succeed so quickly, son?"

He answered,

"The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me."

Isaac then said to Jacob,

"Come closer, son, that I may feel you,

to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not."

So Jacob moved up closer to his father.

When Isaac felt him, he said,

"Although the voice is Jacob's, the hands are Esau's."

(He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,

like those of his brother Esau;

so in the end he gave him his blessing.)

Again he asked Jacob, "Are you really my son Esau?"

"Certainly," Jacob replied.

Then Isaac said, "Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it

and then give you my blessing."

Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate;

he brought him wine, and he drank.

Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,

"Come closer, son, and kiss me."

As Jacob went up and kissed him,

Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.

With that, he blessed him saying,

"Ah, the fragrance of my son

is like the fragrance of a field

that the LORD has blessed!

"May God give to you

of the dew of the heavens

And of the fertility of the earth

abundance of grain and wine.

"Let peoples serve you,

and nations pay you homage;

Be master of your brothers,

and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be those who curse you,

and blessed be those who bless you."

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 9 :14-17

From the Gospel according to Matthew

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,

"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,

but your disciples do not fast?"

Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn

as long as the bridegroom is with them?

The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,

and then they will fast.

No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,

for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.

People do not put new wine into old wineskins.

Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.

Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

13TH SATURDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mt 9:14-17)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God announces to everyone that Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom, the Light, and the God who has come into the world. His presence reveals that the Kingdom of Heaven is already in our midst.

The Word of God also speaks of the power and strength of the God of Love—Jesus Christ—who is always living and present among His people. Wherever Jesus Christ is, the Kingdom of Heaven is there also. There is joy, happiness, peace, no death, no mourning, and no suffering. And wherever there is joy, there is a wedding feast. When there is a wedding feast, there is a bridegroom-and the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ. During His earthly ministry, wherever Jesus Christ and His disciples went, the Kingdom of Heaven was present; and when the Kingdom of Heaven was present, there was no need to fast.

That message was proclaimed to people in the past and continues to be shared today: let us joyfully welcome God, who is present in the world. It refers to the period of the Holy Spirit’s activity in this era. The Holy Spirit is love—always active and adaptable according to different circumstances and times. Therefore, God's plan of salvation is being carried out in the House of God the Father, which is characterized by the presence of God, the earthly Heaven, and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s activity through three elements-the Word of God the Father written by the hand of Chu Thien Thuong, exorcism, and healing.

Today, under the movement of the Holy Spirit in the House of God the Father, these three works are united to continue the public mission of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is Chu Thien Thuong writing the Word of God the Father, combined with the people of the Army of Light going out to preach the Gospel, heal and cast out demons.

Today, God the Father tells everyone: Those who know how to open their hearts to receive the Holy Spirit will be guided by the Holy Spirit to understand and accept the work of salvation that God is carrying out in the House of God the Father. God also sends this important message to all: this is the time of the Holy Spirit’s activity, following the period of Jesus Christ’s public ministry. Now is the time to proclaim the Gospel, calling everyone to repentance, for the Kingdom of Heaven is present right here on earth.

Moreover, the New Testament tells us that during Jesus Christ’s ministry, some people criticized His disciples, asking: “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

Today, in the work of the House of God the Father, there are also those who persecute Chu Thien Thuong and members of the Army of Light, questioning: “Why do they oppose the Church? Why don’t they follow the Church’s path? Why have they separated from the Church?”

But in reality and in truth, the Father’s House is faithfully walking in the path of God’s Truth, not deviating from the way and teachings of Jesus Christ that were passed on to the apostles. Today’s apostles continue to obey Jesus Christ’s command: to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, calling people to repentance and to return to God the Father.

Thanks be to God. Amen.