Deacon Tom Anthony

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 125

Reading 1 Dt 4:1-2, 6-8

Moses said to the people:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin upon you,
you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?"

Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5

R. (1a) The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Reading 2 Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Alleluia Jas 1:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."

He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 The Letter of James brings to us today a wonderful instruction:

“Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.”

To be “Doers of the word” we must let what we read from Sacred Scripture and what we hear from our brothers and sisters, influenced by God, affects us spiritually. There will be a reaction from it that will then prompt us to act out what we feel inside. All that we receive as instruction and wisdom from God is an expression of His love for us. That love is meant to be shared and celebrated. When it is acted upon good things will be the result. The only thing preventing us from receiving the full benefit from this is us resisting a relationship with Him or we defining the terms of that relationship. He is constantly calling to us to receive him completely and to surrender to Him. It is entirely up to us if we are going to be complete benefactors to the gifts He is ready to bequeath on us. The moment this occurs, our lives can be changed forever. It can mark the beginning of a new journey and a new life.

This new life brings us into balance with the world around us. Henceforth, all that we experience will be influenced by the presence of God. We become vehicles of change because our actions are those of the Holy Spirit and ourselves in communion together. The Spirit becomes a unifying force with everyone and everything around us. There is no more conflict or discord. The only time this occurs is when we struggle to take our will back from Him and make decisions without keeping Him involved in the process which then leads us to sin. This will definitely happen at times as Jesus reminds us that evilness comes from within but it can be easily rectified by a realization that what we are doing is wrong and a commitment to reestablish our relationship with Him. These are adjustments that should be expected and even welcomed if our faith is to grow stronger.  

We are constantly called to put our faith into action. What we do on the outside in this physical world is an expression of our inward spirituality. Good works should flow naturally in celebration of the Love of God which is present within us. This is not a requirement but instead is a natural occurrence which will happen oftentimes without us knowing it. Our conscious led by the Holy Spirit will slowly influence then ultimately change our decision-making process. God’s will and our will are merged together. When there is harmony between the two, we are then in harmony with God’s entire creation. From there, only good things can result.

Saint James tells us that,

 “All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights.”

God is perfect and what He is offering is perfection through Him. It is us who take what is uncorrupted and make it corrupted. Staying focused on the ultimate good, which is God, enables us to reduce our imperfections while we journey towards a perfect life with God through Jesus Christ. During this process of change, we become workers in the field building up the Kingdom of God here on this earth. As Jesus told his disciples,

“The Kingdom of God is within you.”

What we do outwardly is a reflection of where we are spiritually with God. Working in conjunction with all those who share the same path of goodness brings about more good. The bad is forced out and rejected in favor of what is good bringing about a joyous result. We become receptors of God’s Love and producers of it simultaneously. Enshrouded in goodness brings about more goodness while what is bad is forced out until all that remains is God’s Love as a guiding force in our lives.

Deacon Tom