Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 26, 2022
First Reading
1 Kings 19:16b,19-21
Elijah anoints Elisha as his successor.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-11
I set the Lord ever before me.
Second Reading
Galatians 5:1,13-18
Christ has set us free.
Gospel Reading
Luke 9:51-62
Jesus resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Today's Gospel reading begins a long section unique to Luke's Gospel. Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem, which will end with his ministry in Jerusalem. We read that Jesus' days for being “taken up” were fulfilled. The Greek word that Luke uses for “taken up” is the same word he uses to describe the Ascension. We also read that Jesus is determined to journey to Jerusalem.
For Luke, Jesus ministry begins in Galilee and then is one long journey to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem he will meet his death but also enter into his glory. Only in Luke does Jesus then spend 40 days in Jerusalem instructing his disciples.
It is in Jerusalem that his disciples wait after his Ascension to be sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. And it is from Jerusalem, in Luke's second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, that the Good News is spread to Rome and the ends of the earth.
Immediately Jesus is met with rejection, as a Samaritan village will not receive him because he is going to Jerusalem. There was animosity between Samaritans who worshiped on Mount Gerazim and Jews who worshiped in Jerusalem.