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)