Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 129
Reading 1 Wis 9:13-18b
Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been
our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Reading 2 Phmn 9-10, 12-17
I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
Alleluia Ps 119:135
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
and teach me your laws.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
and teach me your laws.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
My Brothers and Sisters,
The Scripture Reading from the Book of Wisdom
today reminds us that the corruption of our body seeps into our soul so that
what we think and how we conduct ourselves is ultimately formulated on a cracked
foundation. Our thoughts and contemplations cannot be trusted. It is through a
relationship with Jesus Christ that these defects can be repaired and it is
through constant maintenance of our condition that we can then remain
recovered. Trusting in Jesus and living a life with Him at the forefront of our
thoughts will bring us into a new way of thinking. This thought process will be
in line with what Jesus wants for us instead of our wants which are grounded in
selfishness and the desires of the flesh. The path of Jesus leads to perfection
because He is perfect and is the perfect good. From perfection comes
perfection. From the perfect good comes good.
There are times when we might find
ourselves struggling with the daily challenges presented to us in this life. It
is very easy to be overcome with what we experience and can be disheartened as
a result. When we make the effort to prioritize our thinking and include
spirituality, grounded in the Christ Experience, into our lives there is a
fundamental change that occurs. Subconscious barriers that we ourselves have
erected are eliminated and the presence of God’s love can be felt. This love
promises to heal all things and make everything better. Ultimately we have that
choice to experience all things with God or all things without Him. The
difference is obvious and it is only us preventing ourselves from making the
proper choice. Our pride oftentimes blurs our thinking into believing that God
is not necessary or that a relationship with Him produces no benefits. This, again,
is a result of our corrupted thinking influenced by the belief that we have the
ability to control and change all things. Admitting that we are not in control
and need God’s help provide us a pathway to freedom from these thoughts. We are
not God and should not think we are.
Jesus challenges all of us by reminding
us that in order to follow Him He must be first and foremost in our lives.
There can be no other way than by prioritizing him first above all other
things. When Jesus is placed first above all things then all of our thoughts
and actions will be automatically influenced by Him. Even the way we love one
another will be done with the influence
of Jesus who is the greatest source of love. That is why all of our
relationships, thoughts, and actions need to be influenced by Him. It is
through Jesus that everything is made better. No other person or thing has the
capability of accomplishing this. This takes a genuine commitment with a
realization that what we will be doing is going to lead to a transformative
experience. It is for the betterment of ourselves and the world around us. All
those whom we will interact with will be affected by our relationship with
Jesus even if they might not know it or believe it at the time, for Jesus will
be working through us. When we become followers of Jesus we become His
instruments and our lives are no longer our own.
In Paul’s Letter to Philemon we are
witness to this new way of thinking and a way of approaching things through
Jesus Christ. Philemon is a Christian who is an owner of a Christian slave who
ran away and stole from him in the process. Paul is writing on behalf of the
slave who Paul is sending back to Philemon. The slave returns out of Christian
obedience while Paul asks Philemon to forgive the slave out of Christian
obedience and mercy. Paul further asks that the slave be welcomed as a brother
instead of just a slave. It is through
the presence of Jesus Christ that there is forgiveness and mercy from all sides
pertaining to this matter. More than that there is also the overwhelming
presence of love. This love shatters all expectations and perceived outcomes of
what should have happened. A bad situation was made better and all involved
became sharers in the love of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ presence in our own lives offers
us the opportunity to have our expectations and perceptions shattered in favor
of greater ones. There is no limit to what we can do and experience through
Jesus Christ. What was thought to be impossible becomes possible. Through our
experiences without Jesus we have been taught to have limited expectations
dictated to us by a broken society and a broken way of thinking. Jesus repairs
this brokenness and lifts us up to the highest of heights. Just as He is
eternal we too become eternal in our thoughts, our spirituality, and our state
of being, for we become merged with Him forever.
Deacon Tom
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