Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 150

Reading 1

Sirach 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

Psalm 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 Timothy 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 Corinthians 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

Luke 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,

 

God is the perfect good. It is from Him that all good things came and nothing evil was ever brought into creation. Evil is the responsibility of us and the misuse of our free will coupled with our perpetual wanting to be gods. Being the perfect good also means that, with God, there is an expectation of justice, a proper way to be treated and a proper accounting of things good and bad. We are told today through Sacred Scripture that this is indeed true, that God hears the cry of the poor, rights the wrongs of the world, and is true to those who serve Him. We can take comfort from these words. We may not be favored by God, for He knows no favorites because we are all His children, but it is guaranteed that we will be listened to. When we are in dire straits, it is good to turn to God and cry out to Him, for He will listen and respond to our cry.

 

It is easy to forget that we have such a great advocate in the Holy Spirit where we can experience the love of God. It is through this love that we can be shaped and molded into a new creation. There is no escaping being transformed by a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, and by the prompting of the Spirit. We just need to be open to Him and respond to the call of the Father. He is constantly listening to us and is always willing to respond. This response may come in many forms: an immediate reaction, a presence of His grace, or through a variety of spiritual gifts that will alleviate our suffering, replacing it with solace and understanding.

 

We are the only ones standing in the way of a rich and fruitful relationship with God. Pride and ego are the biggest culprits. We as corruptible beings tend to have a particular vision of ourselves that has been carefully developed through our pride and ego. Our self-importance demands that we ultimately are only answerable to ourselves for our actions, which leads to self-justification and a glamorization of our unique set of circumstances. What is lost in this self-created image is the fact that we are all equal in the eyes of God. We are all His children, and He doesn’t have any favorites. This we learned from the First Reading today. We are all loved completely and unconditionally. This immediately puts all of us on a level playing field concerning God. The only thing that remains to be resolved then is justice, which coming from the perfect good, can be guaranteed to be meted out. We should have no doubts, regardless of the circumstances. Our God will manifest Himself and provide us what we are asking for, if it is actually the most beneficial thing for us to receive at that time. For God is also the source of all wisdom, which can then lead to a different result than what we were expecting.

 

The key to understanding what is being given to us is to put ourselves in a position to realize what He is actually doing for us. This takes humbling oneself and realizing that, in His eyes, we are all one thing and are asking for one thing: We are sinners and are looking for mercy. Being in that position, it can then be understood that we cannot dictate the terms of mercy and How God is going to present the justice that we seek, especially when justice must hold us to account also. In the end, the most effective way to approach this dilemma is to be on our knees as was the tax collector, pleading from the bottom of our hearts, “ 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” He will hear you and He will react.

 

The Beatitudes, as written in the Gospel of Matthew provides the many ways that we can be blessed by God, just by realizing our circumstances and our condition:

 

“ 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 in 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.

 

Most of these show that it is through suffering that we encounter God. It is through mercy that mercy is given, while it is being remorseful for one’s sins, forgiving others, and reacting to the Love of God that we enter into a relationship with Him. It is in that relationship that we can then be ready to receive what He is offering with open arms.

 

Deacon Tom

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 147

Reading 1

Exodus 17:8-13

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said to Joshua,
"Pick out certain men,
and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.
I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand."
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses'hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R.(cf. 2)  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Reading 2

2 Timothy 3:14-4:2

Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed,
because you know from whom you learned it,
and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

Alleluia

Hebrews 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

 

 

 

 

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MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Being persistent in our faith and consistent are two very important things. If we are to truly benefit from a close relationship with God, then we must know God and trust God. This takes practice and a familiarity that can only come through repetition and dedication to Him. When we learn something new, (physical, mental or spiritual), whatever it is feels like it takes a long time to implement. This can be anything from taking a new road to a place where we are going to a new process at work. There is a challenge that comes with learning the process and, because our mind is not familiar with it, the time to complete these things appears to be longer. Something new usually feels like it is difficult to do. Once we become familiar with it, then the time that elapses feels shorter. The situation is the same with our relationship with God. Through constant contact with Him and a consistent prayer life, we will become more familiar with Him and our relationship will deepen. It will also be strengthened through a commitment to consistent worship and a consistent pursuit of wisdom through the understanding of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church. To become good at something, there always has to be an amount of practice and repetition. This goes the same with our faith. Repetition brings about familiarity; familiarity leads to comfortability. And finally, comfortability leads to a deeper understanding and readiness to apply our faith to all aspects of our lives.

 

Without consistency, we are in danger of being unable to be persistent. If we know that something we do will bear positive results if we continue to pursue it, we must be comfortable in doing so or we will naturally turn away from it the first time we receive either resistance or an unfulfillment of our expectations. What if Moses let his arms relax because he was tired? What if he gave up the first time he faced some sort of physical barrier. He knew that, if he kept his hands raised, the battle with Amalek would be won. This did not make it any easier, yet he persisted in keeping his arms raised above his head, recruiting the help of Aaron and Hur to do so. Because of his relationship with God, through a consistent engagement with Him, he had an expectation of what things would happen if he persisted in his prayers and his actions. His faith never wavered, and he did everything he could to keep his hands raised.

 

The Apostle Paul tells Timothy in his letter to remain faithful in what he has learned and what he believes. He also reminds him of the source of everything he has learned and is currently teaching: God. With that understanding, there should be a certain level of confidence in what he is teaching and, because of that, there should be no lack of persistence in what he is sharing and evangelizing. We should be more ready to approach our faith-life with the same confidence and belief that the Apostle Paul challenged Timothy to have. Just as things become easier through practice, so will our reliance on our faith and the way we implement it. If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord and that we furthermore believe in the presence of God in our lives, then the practice required should be easily forthcoming.

 

 

Jesus said:

 

"Pay attention to what the unjust judge says.

Will God not protect the rights of his chosen ones

who cry out to him day and night?

Will he be slow to answer them?"

 

There are those who do what is right to avoid being bothered or because it is convenient for them, as happened to the judge in today's parable. However, God always answers those who call upon him out of his love. We have that guarantee. It is up to us to ask and have the faith to know that, no matter what happens, we will be better off because God is with us and hears us. So, how do we become his chosen ones so that he hears us? This comes down to listening to God and being persistent and constant in our faith. The definition of faith is "believing in what is unseen." If we truly believe in God, we should not doubt that when we ask for something, it will be granted. If we don't have that full trust, the fault for not being heard is ours, not God's, for it is we who hinder the process of a relationship with God, His listening, and our persistence and constancy in what we do and in our daily lives. Our behavior and our lack of faith become the defining characteristics of our relationship with God. This must be avoided if we wish to live a joyful and fruitful life, surrounded by our Creator. The focus must always be on God first, which will make our lives much easier, because He will be there to help us bear the burden when things go wrong. He will also be there when things go well, to celebrate with us when there is cause for joy.

 

Deacon Tom