Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 152

Reading I

Dt 6:2-6

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"Fear the LORD, your God,
and keep, throughout the days of your lives,
all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,
and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,
that you may grow and prosper the more,
in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,
to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! 
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength. 
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R. (2)    I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
    O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
    my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
    and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives!  And blessed be my rock!
    Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
    and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

Reading II

Heb 7:23-28

Brothers and sisters:
The levitical priests were many
because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,
but Jesus, because he remains forever,
has a priesthood that does not pass away.
Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, 
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself. 
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son,
who has been made perfect forever.

Alleluia

Jn 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 12:28b-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?" 
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, 
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these." 
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God." 
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

The Scripture Readings today were very powerful and offer a blueprint to proper living. Today in society, there are many problems as there were in the past. There seems to be a pattern to this: Whenever a society falls away from God and ignores His precepts, it goes into decline. We can see that today where about 56% of  the population seldom or never attend religious services. This mean 56% of the people do not have a belief system guided by a Higher Power, which is God. So where does leave us in this country? It appears that its moral compass is broken. The Virtues brought to us by Plato, (Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance), are no longer followed. Instead, there is encouragement that behaviors and actions that were once abhorred should now be accepted. No examples need to be given. Those who are reading or hearing this should have their own lists running through their heads. When guided by God and by one’s own conscious, the lists should be very similar. The solution is obvious, as brought forth by Moses:

 

“Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength”

 

When we focus our entire existence on God, who is the perfect good, we are then guided by the perfect good and are less inclined to do bad things. For those who do this, there will be no disagreement regarding what is right and what is wrong. When individuals start to insert their own opinions and self-justifications, the implementation of the Word of God is slowly watered down until there comes a time when it becomes ineffective. Jesus made this point very clear when He reemphasized what Moses said while adding a Second Commandment:

 

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

 

What He said formed the foundation of the entire Law and made it the chief cornerstone of how we all should conduct ourselves. The word love being used, which is the greatest of the Theological Virtues, (faith, hope, and love), reminds us all these things should be done out of love and not obligation. It further denotes that the mere presence of love will bring us to a closer contact with God.

How can there be any conflict when we are supposed to love our neighbor? How can there be any violence, pain, or hurt inflicted? It is impossible. As Jesus said, when we understand these things, we are not far from the Kingdom of God.

 

Unfortunately, this is not enough for some. The pursuit of material things and self-gratification removes love from the equation, causing much suffering. Suffering is not the result of love, but an absence of love. As it is written in the Vatican II documents,

 

“Peace on earth, born of love for one’s neighbor, is the sign and the effect of the peace of Christ that flows from God the Father.”

 

Love is the key to peace in our lives and repairs God’s creation which, through our own action, has been disrupted. We who understand this are the only ones who can fix it. Starting with a renewed commitment to Jesus Christ and constant renewal of ourselves, things in our lives will get better as a result. These changes will then flow from the individual outward into society. Of course, there will be resistance from those who refuse to recognize the authority of God, but these actions will be futile against the One who is above all others. There will be conflict, but the ones starting the conflict are the ones on the wrong side. We, as Christian, can be confident we are on the right side when we are following the commandments that have been given to us. This is hard work, but isn’t hard work the key to success?

 

Deacon Tom

 

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. Also, they also can be Sociopaths which can be described as: "the rules don't apply to me but they apply to you." The combination of a Narcissistic Personality and Sociopath is very dangerous and toxic. Borderline psychopath.

Just saying to help out one of my friends.

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 146

Reading I

Is 53:10-11

The LORD was pleased
    to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
    he shall see his descendants in a long life,
    and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
    he shall see the light in fullness
        of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
    and their guilt he shall bear.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R. (22)    Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
    and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
    of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
    upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
    and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
    who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
    who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Reading II

Heb 4:14-16

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, 
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin. 
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Alleluia

Mk 10:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 10:35-45 or 10:42-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" 
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. 
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 
They said to him, "We can." 
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared." 
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

As Christians, we may be possessors of a greater truth that puts us at a higher advantage than others in this world when it comes to a better way of living and enjoying life, but that does not necessarily mean that we are better than anyone else. In fact, we are encouraged to lower ourselves to be raised up by God at the appropriate time. We should not worry about our stature among those in society who pursue earthly things. We should not find ourselves in competition with our brothers and sisters who are on the same faith journey that we find ourselves on. As Paul wrote in his Letter to the Corinthians,

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God".

That means that God should be first in our lives and we should be last. We then become an instrument of His peace, and it is through us that the Kingdom of God is realized. Jesus explained this when He said to His disciples,

“The Kingdom of God is within you.”

To be first, one needs to be last. To be recognized, one must remain hidden and do his work in the dark. The left hand must no know what the right hand is doing.

 

Jesus Christ gave us the perfect model regarding how we should conduct ourselves in this life. It is a model of suffering instead of avoiding suffering, which society encourages us to do. Society wants us to strive to be comfortable instead of comforting, to gather instead of spreading, and to consume before we are consumed. This is the exact opposite of what a Christian is supposed to do. We are called to a higher purpose, and because of that, we have a greater responsibility. It is through self-sacrifice that we become closer to God and can experience His presence. Today in the Book of Isaiah it says,

“The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.”

 

This brings us to the vision of the Crucified Christ, where God willingly gave up His only Son to suffer and die for us so that we may obtain eternal life. So too must we give ourselves up in service to Jesus Christ, willingly suffering at the expense of others so their suffering can be relieved, and Jesus Christ can be realized through us. This expectation is further emphasized in the Semon on the Mount,

 

“"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."

 

As we can see, for every weakness, longing, and suffering, there is a heavenly reward. There is a spiritual awakening of sorts. Furthermore, for every act of charity there is joy and revelation.

 

There should not be any regret when there is suffering, as well no self-gratification when something is done that is good. There should be a sort of neutrality, knowing that what we do is in the name of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we are merely His instruments and are able to achieve what we achieve only through Him. So, we are able to endure because of Him and triumph only because of Him. The Letter to the Hebrews explains that we are invited to approach Jesus for both for mercy and for grace. It is through mercy that we are healed of our brokenness and through His grace that we receive all we need to both endure and experience a wonderful life with Him. When each are utilized when given, then regret and ambition vanish. All that remains is thankfulness.

 

In the Gospel Reading today, James and John forgot these tenets. Even though their loyalty and commitment to Jesus’ ministry could not be questioned, their focus on reward was something that needed to be corrected. We cannot do things or act a particular way with an expectation of receiving something or to avoid punishment. We must do things as a reaction to our relationship with and our love of God. A removal of one’s pride and the humbling of ourselves make us slaves to Jesus and a slave to all. This is key to being Christlike in everything that we do. Using Christ as our model keeps us going in the right direction and gives us the opportunity to make the adjustments necessary when we stray off the path that Jesus has laid out for us.

 

Serving is always better than being served. It gives us purpose and an opportunity to live a life with Jesus. With that, every moment becomes a moment with God within His creation.

 

Deacon Tom