Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 153

Reading 1

Wis 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
 or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
 But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
 and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
 For you love all things that are
 and loathe nothing that you have made;
 for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
 And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
 or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
 But you spare all things, because they are yours,
 O LORD and lover of souls,
 for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
 Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
 warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
 that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

R. (cf. 1)  I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Reading 2

2 Thes 1:11-2:2

Brothers and sisters:
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed
either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

 

Alleluia

Jn 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Who do we belong to? Who do we ultimately answer to? Society, especially in this country, tells us that each of us are individuals afforded certain inalienable rights that guarantee us freedoms as long as we obey the law and don’t encroach on the rights and freedoms of other individuals. In other words, we are our own masters and can create a life for ourselves uninhibited by the dictates of other people. At first, this may sound very alluring. Being offered an opportunity to live a life free from the control and dictates of other people, in other words being answerable to only ourselves, sounds like a perfect life where we are able to create an experience based on our own vision, needs, and wants. How enticing indeed, but the furthest thing from the truth for those of us who profess to be Christian. Instead, we recognize a higher power, which is God. There is an acknowledgement that it He is above all things and that we are completely submissive to His law. We are encouraged to disern what He wants, regardless of what we want. This can be very comforting if we reflect on this for a moment. Our thoughts and capabilities are limited while those of God are limitless. When we let God into our lives and factor Him into all of our decisions, we are allowing Him to take control of us, thus we become a vehicle for His needs, wants, and desires. Because of this, we become limitless regarding our potential and capabilities. What was once limited, broken, and full of faults becomes a new creation as a result.

 

It is natural to set goals for ourselves and create a vision of what kind of life we want to have. Unfortunately, because of our limited abilities and faulted nature, nothing is ever going to be perfect. There will always be something lacking that will lead us to falling short. It doesn’t matter what it is, things are always going to have some sort of defect which will cause us to settle for less. There are also the desires of the flesh to factor in. Regardless of our successes, it will never be enough. When we become submissive to God, a realization is made that it is okay to fall short because, in the end, it really doesn’t matter. The goals and plans that we might have are just temporary things which bring about temporary results. What is not temporary is that which comes from God, including ourselves. Understanding this and reacting to this is essential for a joyous life walking in the sunlight of the spirit. We are constantly presented with a choice: To focus on things that are eternal or things that are temporary.

 

Our temporary state includes brokenness and sinfulness. Living by society’s rules, we can find ourselves in a destitute, unfulfilled status. We tend to be our worst critics and create barriers to overcoming these feelings of disappointment. This is a byproduct of running on self-will and focusing on pre-conceived expectations set forth by other people and institutions created by those who wish to control us and control God. God wants to free us from this moroseness and lift us up high above the worldliness of a world that demotes the influence of God while promoting Godlessness. It is no wonder as the influence of God in the world today wanes, there is a rise in concupiscence which is filling the void. All the world’s problems have their roots in the turning away from God and a rise in self-reliance and self-pursuits.

 

There is no race to win when it comes to developing a relationship with God. There are no winners and losers. The Book of Wisdom says,

 

“But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;

 and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.

 For you love all things that are

 and loathe nothing that you have made;

 for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.”

 

He loves us. He has already forgiven us for our wrongdoings and short-comings. He is patiently waiting for us to receive that forgiveness and experience His Divine Mercy. He has no hatred. How can He have any hatred for that which He created? When it comes to us, there is only love and mercy. And, as we know, love conquers all things. Furthermore, what greater love is there than the love of God?

 

The conversion of Zacchaeus gives us an example of how the love of God triumphs over all things. What material possessions was Zacchaeus lacking? What earthly desires was he prevented from having. Yet, he was unfulfilled. Called by Jesus, he immediately responded and was filled with the Holy Spirit. The emptiness he felt was gone and was replaced with God’s love. In reaction to that, he put everything in its proper place with the love of God in front of everything else. When we do this in our lives, we too will be guaranteed a conversion experience much like that of Zacchaeus. We will experience a conversion of our spirit which can occur daily when we let God lead us and we follow.

 

Deacon Tom

 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 150

Reading 1

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18

The LORD is a God of justice,
 who knows no favorites.
 Though not unduly partial toward the weak,
 yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.
 The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan,
 nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint.
 The one who serves God willingly is heard;
 his petition reaches the heavens.
 The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
 it does not rest till it reaches its goal,
 nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
 judges justly and affirms the right,
 and the Lord will not delay.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

R. (7a)  The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

Reading 2

2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18

Beloved:
I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia

2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

“The LORD is a God of justice,

 who knows no favorites.”

 

In many ways this is good news to us. In the eyes of this world, put on the scales of importance and prestige, would any of us be anyone’s favorite? Judging by society’s standards, I would say no. Yet, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. Keeping this in mind, we can be comforted with the knowledge that we do indeed have a special place with God. The more broken we are, the more oppressed we are, and the more desperate we become, the more we get God’s attention. He wants all His children to be lifted up and made whole through a relationship with Him. To some, this may come very easily while to others it just might be a little more difficult. God likes a challenge, though, and that is where His infinite love comes in. We are reminded of this in the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The shepherd leaves the 99 to go out and find the one who is lost. Not only that, but he then brings it back by carrying it on his back. The heavy lifting is not done by us but by God.

 

Those of us who are suffering are more apt to find God because we have nothing left that can get in the way of His love. The allures of this world have no more effect on us. The fascination and lies have been stripped away. There still may be an attraction to that which has wreaked havoc on us, but in those circumstances, we are at least aware of the end result and the darkness that dwells just beyond the pretty lights.  What is left is us, a sinner in need of redemption. Where we see hopelessness, God sees an opportunity of healing and love. Bearing our burdens with us, He walks along beside us, turning often to ask, “Are you ready yet? Have you had enough? Can you stop a moment and ask for my help? He is always ready to step in and show us a better way.

 

Those of us who are parents or have nieces and nephews know where our hearts are drawn to: Who is the one that gets the most attention? Is it the one who is doing good or is it the one who is hurting? When two children are before us, one crying and one not, who is the one that our hearts are immediately drawn to? It is the same way with God. It is not that the other is loved any less, but there is one who needs special care at that very moment, and we are drawn to that. It is the same way with God. The Parable of the Lost Son comes to mind. The elder son complains to his father how a feast is being held for the younger while he, the one who has done everything right, gets nothing in return. The father responds, “My son. You are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice. Because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” This is what it means by God having no favorites, but He does hear the cry of the oppressed.

 

 

What a beautiful prayer said by the tax collector: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” This is one that we all should be reciting repeatedly. Sinning, which we all do, levels the playing field. Realizing that one is a sinner is the first step towards healing and a transformative experience. It is through this realization that the sinner is raised up above those who presume to be righteous. Stepping forward and asking for forgiveness permits The Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ to rain down and bring about perfection. Paul mentions that the crown of glory will be given to all those who long for His appearance. Longing for His appearance can also mean longing for His presence. This becomes fruitful ground for healing and a life forever with Jesus. What a guarantee we have from our God!

 

The Lord does indeed hear the cry of the poor: poor in spirit, poor in faith, poor in sin, and poor in monetary wealth. The list goes on and on. Whatever we are lacking, God will provide. To do this, we must surrender our will to Him and cry out: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner!”

He will then do the rest.

 

Deacon Tom