Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 102
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
exult, exult with her,
all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
that you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.
As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms,
and fondled in her lap;
as a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.
When you see this, your heart shall rejoice
and your bodies flourish like the grass;
the LORD's power shall be known to his servants.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Let all the earth
cry out to God with joy.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.
From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers and sisters. Amen.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."
The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
This is not a perfect world, and this is not a perfect life. All of us are a testament to that fact. We have suffered and have caused suffering. We have disappointed and have experienced disappointment. We have experienced pain and have caused pain. Even though this is the case, we are reminded today that we do not have to experience all these things alone. Jesus Christ can be our comforter and the one who can make all thing new. Where there is darkness, He can bring forth light and joy. With calamity, there can be an acceptance and an understanding that, in the end, we will okay, and things will get better. Our brokenness is only a temporary condition that can be overcome by being open to Jesus’ love and divine mercy.
God is perfect. He is the perfect goodness and everything that flows from Him is good. That means there is good in all of us, a spark of divinity that has its origin from God. Unfortunately, this ultimate good can be overshadowed by what we say and do. In other words, we are our worst enemy. The good is often not realized, being overshadowed by our own choices and our bad behavior. Instead of embracing that good, we rebel against it by sinning, turning away from God. With that comes consequences from our actions which are never good when it goes against the will of God. What is God’s will? It is to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and body. There is hope though, for God is waiting for us as our comforter, nurturer, and healer.
This conflict and state of rebellion never ends. Sin is ever-present in our lives. It is a constant condition that we need to be healed from. There is no complete transition from bad to good. Instead, there a state of constant maintenance and healing. As we become closer to God, the wounds that we inflict on ourselves will hopefully become less as we are we correct ourselves with the help of God and learn from our mistakes. God knows everything and He wishes to pass much of this wisdom onto us. It is up to us to be open to receiving this wisdom, along with the love He has for us that He wishes us to experience. Realizing this love and accepting what He has to offer will always bring us to a better state of being than we were before.
Saint Augustine wrote,
“But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticize, not to correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others.”
This is what occurs when we do not focus on the betterment of ourselves through a relationship with God. Sin becomes a central aspect of our lives instead of something we are battling against. Self-justification and pointing out the fault of others is a weapon we use that has been given to us by Satan. Disordered desires and the constant judgement of other people invite us into a world of sin. Focusing on the transgressions of others takes the focus off ourselves and the things that we have to do to recover from a seemingly hopeless situation. We all are in a state of recovery. We ask for forgiveness from God, should we not be ready to forgive others and accept them as they are: sinners unworthy of redemption just as we are?
The Apostle Paul writes today how, “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” This is a model which we are asked to follow. Jesus Christ must come before all else in our lives. The spiritual needs to come before the physical, guiding our thoughts and actions. It is through Jesus, with an understanding of what He did for us, that we encounter The Father through the guidance of The Holy Spirit. Too often we place too much importance on our material well-being instead of what is truly important which is a relationship with God. This has, for the most part, led us back to our previous condition. Crucifying things of this world and focusing on the spirit brings us closer to God. This brings us closer to His love and allows Him to do the necessary work within us to become new creations.
When we are working on ourselves, we are working on others as well. Free from judgement and from judging other people, we are then able to do the good works that we are encouraged to do as a reaction to our relationship with God. As Jesus commissioned His disciples to go out to heal the sick and proclaim that the Kingdom of God, we too are commissioned to do the same, following the example of the first disciples. The healing we bring is a spiritual type that is a reaction to the presence of The Holy Spirit at work within us. We are prompted by what God has done for us and we will naturally want to share freely what we have received freely. It is through these actions that The Kingdom of God is built up upon this earth.
It all begins with us and what we do. All of us are a central aspect of The Beatific Vision of God. When we enter relationship with God, allowing Him to comfort, heal, and guide us, we then become instruments of His peace. We can then learn to become builders instead of those who bring about destruction in our lives as well as the lives of others. Receive God, embrace Jesus, and experience The Love of God, just as God implores us to do. This is the path to fulfillment of Joy. What other path would we ever want to follow?
Deacon Tom
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