A Homily - The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Jeremiah 20:10-13 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 ©

Second Reading – Romans 5:12-15 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 1:14, 12

Alternative Acclamation – John 15:26, 27

The Gospel According to Matthew 10:26 - 33 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 

Do not ask God to administer the justice you desire. God, the creator of the universe, God will not intervene on your behalf, and such petitions are an exercise in vanity.

Rather, have faith in God and know divine providence will move all things toward a just end, knowing that God’s justice is patient, it is loving and it is kind; it will come to its fullness in eternity.

This is the faith we are called to as Christians.

Do not look to God for help in this world. God will not help you. You must help yourself, rely on you family, help them in turn, and your friends and your neighbors…even the stranger.

We are meant to help each other.

God has given you the strength to persevere any hardship. God has given you hope to lead you through whatever darkness lies ahead. God has given you the freedom to participate in the furtherance of justice, or to impede it, or to do nothing at all.

Consider the wisdom of the psalmist.

God desires praise and worship more than animal sacrifices, each of these ranks next to nothing compared to God’s desire for justice and compassion, for love and mercy.

Be mindful!

The scope of the creature’s actions and the consequences that flow from sin, cannot exceed the scope of divine intention and the power of grace to heal.

Listen!

Do not repeat the errors of John, correct them.

Each and every person is born a child of God. We are not made into God’s children by any power that comes from within us, neither are we transformed by a power external to us. We come into being as children of God, in the Word, by the Word and through the Word.

The Word we are speaking of is also called the Logos, in Greek. It is the manifestation of divine reason, the rational principle that is at the root of God’s creative purpose in the world. It is the cause of our being, and our final cause.  

God made us, and our status as children of God is as unconditional as God’s love for us.

Remember this and know that there is no deception in God, no falsehood, no fabrication, no prevarication. The divine parent does not lie. Those who claim to speak for the divine must not lie or mislead, cover-up or hide anything in the pursuit of their mission.

Do not repeat the errors of John, but know this:

All human beings are prone to error, when those who have ascended to positions of leadership in Christian communities lie to you, you must reject them. Some will commit errors because they are honestly confused; this is understandable because we are all prone to error.

Many others commit errors that are willful. They know they are lying to you and they do it anyway; they do it for wealth, they do it for power, they do it to hide from their shame…for whatever misdeeds they are planning, have committed already or are in the midst of doing.

Such leaders, have abandoned the way, which calls us to conform to the spirit of truth.

Know this, though we have all forsaken God at one time or another, and though we have all done wrong to our sisters and brothers, our fathers and mothers, God has never forsaken us. God never will.

Consider the gospel reading for today:

The Gospel authors should has left this passage where Jesus left it, with the exhortation to not be afraid.

This is wisdom.

Allow me to repeat this exhortation and take it to heart…Do not be afraid.

The Gospel is not a weapon, it is an open-secretive, it is not cryptic, it is not a demarcation point delineating for the church and its members those who belong to the flock and those wo do not, the insiders from the outsiders or the living from the dead.

It is meant to induce hope, not fear, it is a vehicle for inclusion, not exclusion

The good news is delivered with a spirit of love .

Jesus called everyone to the table; he did not ask for membership cards when he did, or dues at the door, he did not ask anyone to punch their ticket, to present a letter of introduction or a written invitation…he just said come.

Therefore, do not be afraid; come without fear or reservation, come as you are without shame.

The body passes and the spirit lives on.

Know this:

We were not given a vision of eternity, only to be denied it. The purpose of our being here is to prepare for it. God did not create us for the purpose of destroying us. God brought us into life so that we may live.

God’s love flows equally to all people, not one of God’s children is outside of God’s plan for salvation.

This is the gospel.

Declarations and oaths…creeds and decretals, these are the inventions of human beings, take none, make none, either for against Jesus, rather follow the way.

Serve God, through the service you provide to one another, love goodness, seek justice, and exercise mercy in all things.

Walk humbly all the days of your life, express your faith through right action, practice mindful in all things.

Remember this always.

First Reading – Jeremiah 20:10-13 ©

He Has Delivered the Soul of the Needy from the Hands of Evil Men

Jeremiah said:

I hear so many disparaging me, ‘“Terror from every side!”

Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’

All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.

Then we will master him and take our revenge!’

But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.

But you, O Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you.

Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 ©

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

It is for you that I suffer taunts,

  that shame covers my face,

that I have become a stranger to my brothers,

  an alien to my own mother’s sons.

I burn with zeal for your house

  and taunts against you fall on me.

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

This is my prayer to you,

  my prayer for your favour.

In your great love, answer me, O God,

  with your help that never fails:

Lord, answer, for your love is kind;

  in your compassion, turn towards me.

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

The poor when they see it will be glad

  and God-seeking hearts will revive;

for the Lord listens to the needy

  and does not spurn his servants in their chains.

Let the heavens and the earth give him praise,

  the sea and all its living creatures.

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

 

Second Reading – Romans 5:12-15 ©

The Gift Considerably Outweighed the Fall

Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. Sin existed in the world long before the Law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’, yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law.

Adam prefigured the One to come, but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 1:14, 12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us: to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – John 15:26, 27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of truth will be my witness; and you too will be my witnesses.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 10:26 - 33 ©

Do Not be Afraid of those Who Kill the Body

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.

‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

 

The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 

A Homily - The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Exodus 19:2-6 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 99(100):2-3, 5 ©

Second Reading – Romans 5:6-11 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 10:27

Alternative Acclamation Mark – 1:15

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:36-10:8 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 Be diligent when reading scripture and participating in the rituals in the church, expose the false theology that lingers in our fables and myths.

 If we took these stories seriously we would have to uphold the traditional view that human beings need an intermediary, like Moses, to pass messages back and forth between humanity and God.

 We would have to accept as necessary the institution of a priesthood.

 We would have to acquiesce to the notion that God, who created the universe, has chosen one tribe out of the whole world to represent God’s will to the people.

 We are lying to ourselves and the world when we give lip service to this false doctrine.

 Consider the wisdom of the psalmist:

 God is with us wherever we are; wherever God is, there is God’s temple. In the holy of holies there is hope and joy.

 Follow the way; serve God by serving your sisters and brothers, look into the face of your neighbor and see the face of God shining back at you.

 Be humble, just and merciful all the days of your life…this is the way, follow it to the world without end, where we belong to God, and God’s mercy is unbounded.

 When the scriptures tell us that we are God’s people; those words are not directed to the audience who first heard and read them, nor to us as we are reading them now, they are directed toward every living being that ever was, ever has been, and ever will be.

 The scope of God’s work is infinite.

 Know this!

 Jesus was not a sacrificial victim; his blood did not have magic powers. God does not love holocausts and burnt offerings.

 God loves mercy, the humble spirit, the contrite heart and justice.

 Jesus acted mercifully and with full regard for his followers when he allowed himself to be taken to the cross. Many would have died if he had not. Jesus gave his life to save them in their own time and place, he did not die as a cosmic sacrifice for the sins of the world.

 Know this!

 The Apostle is wrong when he describes our relationship with God as one of enmity. We were never enemies with God. In our ignorance we may from time to time reject the divine, but God, the sustainer of all being, God has not rejected us.

 Listen!

 The sheep do not choose the shepherd, but rather, the shepherd chooses the sheep. God is our shepherd: one shepherd, one sheepfold; we are all in this together.

 Listen for the voice of the shepherd, and do not trouble yourself with how the shepherd speaks to you, in what language, in what text. Do not be jealous of how the shepherd speaks to your sister or your brother, to your neighbors or the stranger.

 The shepherd speaks to everyone; listen.

 Everyone is beloved by God, each and every one of us are in the way that leads to God, whether we know it or not, there is no other way.

 Do not trouble yourself if you do not understand the journey that other person is on, God is guiding them, as God is guiding you. Have faith in this; believe it.

 God is patient with those who resist the way, God waits with a loving heart, guiding them with kindness.

 Have faith!

 God will not lose a single one of us. Neither will any one of us lose God.

 God is with us!

 Repent, which means turn, turn and believe. Believe not so that you can be saved but believe that you are saved already; this will make you well

 God is as near to you as your beating heart, turn toward the divine and you are there.

 Do not look back; keep to the way. Give without asking, share the God’s grace

 This is the way, and that is the gospel.

  

First Reading – Exodus 19:2-6 ©

I Will Count You a Kingdom of Priests, a Consecrated Nation

From Rephidim the sons of Israel set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.

Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel, “You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 99(100):2-3, 5 ©

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.

  Serve the Lord with gladness.

  Come before him, singing for joy.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Know that he, the Lord, is God.

  He made us, we belong to him,

  we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,

  eternal his merciful love.

  He is faithful from age to age.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

 

Second Reading – Romans 5:6-11 ©

Now We Have Been Reconciled by the Death of His Son, Surely We May Count on Being Saved by the Life of His Son

We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord, I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation Mark – 1:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

The kingdom of God is close at hand: repent, and believe the Good News.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:36-10:8 ©

The Harvest is Rich but the Labourers are Few

When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’

He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:

‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’

 

The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

A Homily - The Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading - Hosea 6:3-6 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 49(50):1,8,12-15

Second Reading – Romans 4:18-25 ©

Gospel Acclamation  - Acts 16:14

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 4:18

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:9-13 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

You will find the way in faithfulness, you will find it in direct proportion to the trust you place in the providence of the divine. The way is not found through burnt offerings and animal sacrifices.

God, the creator of the universe, God is not blood thirsty, and our relationship with God is not transactional. When we speak of the divine economy we are not speaking of debits and credits, God’s love is not reflected on a balance sheet.

When we speak of the divine economy we are talking about the distribution of God’s promise throughout God’s household, from: oikos, oikonomia. When we are speaking of the God’s household, we are speaking of something that is coextensive with the created order, in God’s house there is no place where God is not, and in everyplace where God is, God is present fully.

Be mindful.

God desires that we be merciful and loving to one another.

God does not intervene in our lives, either to punish or to praise. We live with our crimes and their consequences, they cannot be absolved because what is done cannot be undone, but they can be resolved by the spirits of compassion and mercy, and in their resolution the consequences of our crimes bend toward the good, and what is good in us lives forever.

Know this!

God has no desire for animal sacrifice. God does not eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats, God does not savor the smell of their smoking entrails; God never did and God never would.

Honor God with acts of humility, kindness and compassion, sing God’s praises if you are moved to do so, but honor God with love.

Understand that Jesus was not put to death “for” our sins, he was put to death because of them. He did not suffer and die for our justification, but to show us that even a convicted criminal such as he, who died such an ignominious death, who was hung on a tree, to show us that as he is justified so are we. This is not so that we can argue the legal grounds for a theory of atonement, but so that we can such matters aside.

Remember.

God is with you, God hears you.

Consider the Gospel reading for today.

The purpose of the good news is to give comfort to the poor, and to free those in bondage.

If you are a teacher of the faith and your ministry is not pointed to this end, then you are failing in your duty. If you use the words of Jesus to shame the poor or to justify ignoring them, to mistreat the prisoner or the captive, then you have abandoned the way and you are not a follower of Christ.

The reading for today is pure distillation of mythological tropes common among the Hebrew people. It carries forward some a set of theological themes that were very important in the first century. It clearly situates the early Jesus Movement within the context of Rabbinical Judaism, which is otherwise known as Pharisaical Judaism.

In the reading for today Jesus is presented as a Pharisee, he is a Jew of the Synagogue, his followers address him as Rabbi, and the central concern among the actors in the text: Jesus, Peter, James and John, concerns the expectation that Jesus will rise from the dead.

In ancient Judaism, only the Pharisees taught the resurrection of the dead.

Beyond these immediate concerns the writers of Mark’s Gospel were interested in conveying the message that their teachings were in alignment with the traditions of their people. They depict Jesus as another Abraham, who, like Jesus was visited by divine messengers, they show him changed-exalted, as Moses was changed on the mountain; furthermore, they show him being given the endorsement of Moses and also of the prophet Elijah.

This trope is a concrete expression of the faith, that the teaching of the Jesus movement was in alignment with the Patriarchs, the Law Giver and the Prophets.

They demonstrated how Jesus” life reflects the history of the people, and that him the story of the covenant is complete.

Be mindful.

This is the message that today’s pericope intends to convey, and it is a fiction, these events never happened, they are a literary invention. It does not transmit a historical truth about the Life of Jesus, but rather a historical truth about what people believed concerning Jesus roughly fifty years after his death.

First Reading - Hosea 6:3-6 ©

What I Want is Love, Not Sacrifice

Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that he will come is as certain as the dawn his judgement will rise like the light, he will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.

What am I to do with you, Ephraim?

What am I to do with you, Judah?

This love of yours is like a morning cloud, like the dew that quickly disappears.

This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets, why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth, since what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 49(50):1,8,12-15

True reverence for the Lord

Our God comes openly, he keeps silence no longer.

 Alleluia.

The Lord, the God of gods has spoken:

  he has summoned the whole earth, from east to west.

God has shone forth from Zion in her great beauty.

  Our God will come, and he will not be silent.

Before him, a devouring fire;

  around him, a tempest rages.

He will call upon the heavens above, and on the earth, to judge his people.

“Bring together before me my chosen ones, who have sealed my covenant with sacrifice.”

The heavens will proclaim his justice; for God is the true judge.

Listen, my people, and I will speak;

  Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

I will not reproach you with your sacrifices,

  for your burnt offerings are always before me.

But I will not accept calves from your houses,

  nor goats from your flocks.

For all the beasts of the forests are mine,

  and in the hills, a thousand animals.

All the birds of the air – I know them.

  Whatever moves in the fields – it is mine.

If I am hungry, I will not tell you;

  for the whole world is mine, and all that is in it.

Am I to eat the flesh of bulls,

  or drink the blood of goats?

Offer a sacrifice to God – a sacrifice of praise;

  to the Most High, fulfil your vows.

Then you may call upon me in the time of trouble:

  I will rescue you, and you will honour me.

To the sinner, God has said this:

Why do you recite my statutes?

  Why do you dare to speak my covenant?

For you hate what I teach you,

  and reject what I tell you.

The moment you saw a thief, you joined him;

  you threw in your lot with adulterers.

You spoke evil with your mouth,

  and your tongue made plans to deceive.

Solemnly seated, you denounced your own brother;

  you poured forth hatred against your own mother’s son.

All this you did, and I was silent;

  so you thought that I was just like you.

But I will reprove you –

  I will confront you with all you have done.

Understand this, you who forget God;

  lest I tear you apart, with no-one there to save you.

Whoever offers up a sacrifice of praise gives me true honour;

  whoever follows a sinless path in life will be shown the salvation of God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

 

Second Reading – Romans 4:18-25 ©

Nothing Shook Abraham's Hope or Belief

Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars. Even the thought that his body was past fatherhood – he was about a hundred years old – and Sarah too old to become a mother, did not shake his belief. Since God had promised it, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had power to do what he had promised. This is the faith that was ‘considered as justifying him.’ Scripture however does not refer only to him but to us as well when it says that his faith was thus ‘considered’; our faith too will be ‘considered’ if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Jesus who was put to death for our sins and raised to life to justify us.

 

Gospel Acclamation  - Acts 16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 4:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:9-13 ©

It is Not the Healthy who Need the Doctor, but the Sick

As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

  While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

 

The Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)