Deacon Tom Anthony

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 137

Reading 1 Nm 11:25-29

The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.
Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,
the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;
and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.

Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,
were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.
They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;
yet the spirit came to rest on them also,
and they prophesied in the camp.
So, when a young man quickly told Moses,
"Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, "
Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said,
"Moses, my lord, stop them."
But Moses answered him,
"Are you jealous for my sake?
Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!
Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14

R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Reading 2 Jas 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

Alleluia Cf. Jn 17:17b, 17a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

At that time, John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 The Spirit of the Lord is upon us! This is indeed a bold statement but it is very true. God is with everyone because He created us out of love. In fact, it can be argued that it would be impossible for God not to be with us unless we chose to reject and turn away from Him. As Paul wrote in his Second Letter to Timothy,

“ If we deny Him He will deny us. If we are unfaithful He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

This defines our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He is already with us, patiently waiting for a response from us to His presence. We, as His children, are encouraged to pursue a relationship with Him. The closer we get the God, the more we will be able to benefit from our relationship with Him. Our lives are all about relationships. Naturally, we view some relationships as more important than others. There are those who we interact with casually and know little about while there are others who are of more importance to us. There are some people we are close to while others we are not. When we start to know more about someone, a bond is formed that goes beyond a physical and mental unity. There becomes a spiritual aspect to the relationship, flooded with emotion and love. The same can be said with our relationship with God.

To be loved by God and to return that love draws us closer to Him. At one time, our relationship with God was perfect. Faced with that perfection, we ran away from it, exercising our free will to be like God instead of enjoying God, trying to mimic His actions by focusing on what we wanted instead of what He wanted for us. What is described is Original Sin: The turning away from God in favor of exercising our free will instead of His. When our relationship with God deepens, then that relationship starts to be repaired and our will is slowly replaced by His. Being guided by God through His creation then allows us to experience our lives in the way that He intended.

When we have this spiritual awakening by becoming closer to God, we then become prophets of sorts. The message that we have must then be spread to others through our words, deeds, and conduct. This shouldn’t be perceived as a requirement but more a condition and promise that the Holy Spirit will move us to do exactly that. At the same time, we will still retain our free will which will struggle against what the Spirit is calling us to do. This struggle comes in the form of temptation and the presence Satan. As Jesus described,

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a person and roams through arid regions searching for rest but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings back with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they move in and dwell there; and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”

We need to be on constant watch for this. Satan is ready to counterattack with as much force and fury that he can muster when we feel healthy and healed; dwelling in the loving embrace of our God. The better the feel, the more we profess and live the Words of God, the more we will be confronted with the possibility of failure. The difference in this failure is that we now will be responsible for others who just might be listening to us and watching what we do in our relationship with God. More than ever before there will be accountability in our conduct because it will either strengthen others or tempt others to sin. Any type of sin is dangerous. One is not greater than another because all of it leads back to a rift in our relationship with God.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. It is through Him that we can be healed, feel the presence of God’s love, and live a joyous life. Focusing on these things brings us into a right relationship with God. God does not disappoint. We will be satisfied with who and what we are as long as we live our lives with Him. Recognizing His presence sets force a series of wonderful events and opens doors for us everywhere. When we walk through these doors, what we witness are things that pale in comparison to anything this world can offer.

Deacon Tom