Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B - Sunday, 15 September 2024 (EPISODE:496)

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B -  Sunday, 15 September 2024 (EPISODE:496)

Image - Shutterstock licensed - ID:47848003 - Saint Peter - By Zvonimir Atletic

Readings for Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.- Year B
FIRST READING: Isa 50:4-9a
Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9. "I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living."
SECOND READING: Jas 2:14-18
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Gal 6:14). Alleluia, alleluia! My only glory is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which crucifies the world to me and me to the world.
GOSPEL: Mark 8:27-35
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 15 September 2024 - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-24th-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-496/s-Z6k7b9x2WS8
(EPISODE:496)
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Prologue: "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." (Mark 8:33)

This weekend in the readings, we are reminded that our faith must show itself in ACTION, and flow into good works.  And in the gospel, Our Lord reminds us that following him is not about self-interest, but about denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following him, in HIS ways of service, sacrifice and compassion.   No wonder the three theological virtues are so important and go together...  Faith leads to hope, and hope leads to love that shows itself in practical action. (FHL)
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A dramatic series of events in today's gospel has Jesus firmly saying to Peter, you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. Jesus wants to make it clear to all who are following him, his disciples back then and us today, I am not the one who's making false promises of success. It's the liars and the false prophets who are promising worldly success and trophies like that of wealth, money, gold, earthly kingship, success, health and happiness in this life.

 

I'm not offering this to you. I'm offering you the way of the cross, the path of suffering, the path of self-forgetting love and service, even to the point of giving one's own life. He's saying to us, be under no misapprehension about what following Christ means.

 

But it's also about trust that this path will lead to victory and the stamp of approval from God the Father, and it's truly the way of everlasting life. Peter had rightly worked out who Jesus is. When Jesus asks, it's Peter, inspired by God, who says, you are the Christ, the Messiah, God's chosen King.

 

But the reason Jesus then silences him as soon as he says this truth, and then shortly goes further when Jesus even rebukes Peter, when he misunderstands what the next steps in Christ's mission need to be. Jesus now has set about carefully teaching them, actually even un-teaching them, re-educating them into the right understanding of what God's Messiah actually means. It's not an earthly king, as they expected.

 

It's not a revolutionary who will bring war and retribution upon the Romans. It's not one who's offering earthly success, in the eyes of this world anyway. And this goes against the common expectations and understandings of the time, and even of the apostles.

 

It's going to be a hard road to get those mistaken concepts out of their heads. And our Lord is wise and understanding. He knows that many will ask, well who would want to follow someone who only promises the cross, suffering, failure, death? But it is only those who believe and trust in him, who can trust that this path is the path of truth.

 

This is the path of fullness of life. Only those people who trust and have faith in him are capable of making that giant but necessary leap of faith. Jesus calls all of us to follow him, and not to try and lead him as Saint Peter tried to.

 

Jesus quickly sets him straight when Peter tries to tell Jesus what the Messiah should be doing. He very quickly says, get behind me, not in front of me, follow me, don't try to lead me. And just as importantly, Jesus shows us the priorities and values of God's anointed one.

 

He healed the sick, he forgave sinners, he welcomed outcasts, he looked for the lost, he invited all people to be part of God's kingdom. This was truly a reordering of values and priorities according to God's ways. And it was bound to cause a lot of anger and hatred and opposition from those who were very comfortable with the way things were, because those people were benefiting from the present status quo, at the expense of a lot of others who were trapped in terrible situations and unable to get out of them.

 

And the ones who were doing just fine, thanks, didn't really care if others weren't doing very well at all. Jesus knew that those who were benefiting from the present way things were would oppose him and would try to kill him and would succeed. And then only then would God's victory over the whole world and all evil be revealed in its fullness.

 

Because you can't bury God's plans and priorities, you cannot silence God's anointed one. No matter what one does, it will not work. Jesus had to crucify all the opposing powers by taking the poisonous fruits of their values and actions and defeating them on the cross, showing them to be hollow.

 

The messiahship of Jesus is one of service, of suffering love, of self-giving love. There will be no triumph apart from the cross. To be a disciple is to walk the same path of service, suffering and self-giving love.

 

Jesus wasn't desiring to suffer. He wasn't demanding the cross for its own sake. There's nothing in itself good about suffering.

 

He wasn't welcoming difficulty in this life any more than he would wish us to suffer. And in fact, he went about healing people, assisting them. But he was always faithful to the truth of the gospel's values.

 

And that meant burdens and suffering. Jesus knew that each person has their own cross to bear. For each of us, there are some things that cannot be avoided.

 

And if we tried to avoid them, we'd lose the things that mattered most. So we're invited to live with these crosses in ways that are loving, giving, hope-filled, and which show grace and gentleness throughout. Allowing God to transform the crosses into means of life and love.

 

To try and evade every cross in our life is to live dishonestly. I know that's a hard concept to pin down, and we're constantly reflecting on the meaning of it. But naturally, we're meant to do everything we can to heal, to help reduce others' suffering and burdens.

 

That truth continues to be absolutely true. But there are some burdens that if we tried to avoid them completely, it would mean selling out on the very values that matter most. Or it would mean not really living fully.

 

Not being prepared to pay a price for standing up for justice. For being determined to forgive, no matter what the cost. By being able to support people with practical care.

 

Even in the face of opposition from people who didn't want that practical care because it was taking away from their benefits. And for all of us, eventually, there'll be one or two definitive crosses that each of us cannot escape, no matter how hard we try. At different times and in different ways, not of our choosing.

 

Christ wants to be there with us and show us the way through them to lasting victory and eternal life. Ultimately, the teaching of Jesus about the cross is actually a lesson in hope. Jesus gives us the best message we could hope to know, no matter what happens in this life.

 

Whether it's good things or whether terrible things happen. And there can be both at times. Even if everything goes pear-shaped and doesn't seem to be ending well, our Lord is asking us to put our trust in him.

 

That the difficult journeys that we're called to take through life will eventually be greeted with resurrection and eternal life in Christ. Who is faithful to us through everything and will be there with us right through to the end and beyond. And that gives us all the strength we need to endure whatever comes.

 

Following the example of Jesus, who goes ahead of us through it all.

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References:

Homily  Fr Paul W. Kelly

 

2009 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE;

 

SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ;

 

THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF MARK. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY;

 

St Paul Sunday Missal. 2009. Paper edition;

 

Celebrating the Gospels. Gaynell Cronin; The Summit. Archdiocese of Melbourne. Vol 39. Number 3, Aug 2012).

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. - ID:47848003 - Saint Peter - By Zvonimir Atletic

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Year B  -(Sunday, 15 September 2024)  (EPISODE: 496 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{How are you today}} welcome everyone, we gather -  To offer or praise, prayers and intercessions to our loving God On this Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery, let us admit our failings and ask the Lord for pardon and strength.
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick: Lord, have mercy Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners: Christ, have mercy Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy .
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9. "I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Gal 6:14). ). Alleluia, alleluia! My only glory is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which crucifies the world to me and me to the world.
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PREFACE: Ordinary 4
Eucharistic Prayer 3
(theme variation: theme 2 )

 

(post version: v2-long)

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{12. May God's love, strength, mercy and kindness guide you all this week.}

2. Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by visting here:

https://surfersparadiseparish.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=85b9ddd594b242276d423bfe9&id=002282d9e0 

Details relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

"Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 + AI-1 Sound Mixer.

Editing equipment:    -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.)

Text transcription as per recorded podcast version is transcribed by TurboScribe.ai

{excellent and accurate transcription from voice to text}

[Production -  KER -  2024]
May God bless and keep you.
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Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B - Sunday, 8 September 2024 (EPISODE:495)

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B -  Sunday, 8 September 2024 (EPISODE:495)

Readings for Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.- Year B
FIRST READING: Isa 35:4-7a
Ps 146:6c-7, 8-9a, 9b-10. "Praise the Lord, my soul!"
SECOND READING: Jas 2:1-5
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 4:23). Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom. And healed all who were sick.
GOSPEL: Mark 7:31-37
 

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock AI-generated image ID: 2422767643 - Outdoor photo of Jesus heals the blind man, Important information: This content was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. AI-generated image Contributor: Shutterstock AI Generator.

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 8 September 2024 - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-23rd-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-495/s-HCS6APx3x7L  
(EPISODE:495)
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PROLOGUE:

In the early years of the church, it would have been a real change of mindset for Christians when they gathered as one group. The rich and the very poor, master and the slave, would have to sit down as equals in God's house. The name we use is Christian, and being followers of Christ requires that long, slow journey of changed attitudes and actions and a forming of new mind with God's grace. (FHL).

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Thank goodness for the letter of Saint James. It's a wonderful practical instruction that remains very relevant today, as it did back in the time of its original writing. Faith and discipleship have very practical implications.

 

Following Jesus means a radical transformation of attitude, behaviour and vision. We're called to be people who can see beyond appearances. People who don't settle on worldly standards of value but are trained by our loving God to see the world as God sees it, and to see the true value of people and of things around us with the standards of Christ's gospel.

 

The gospel investigates the heart of the person, not the outward appearances, and that goes to the true spirit of the law and not just the letter, which values the "doing" more than the mere "saying." This is why Jesus calls us to constantly pray, to spend our time meditating on the scriptures and pondering their meaning. This is why we're called to gather in community and not try and go it alone, to be supported and challenged by the teachings of the faith community as it journeys towards the fullness of Jesus' kingdom.

 

Our Lord, while healing the man in today's gospel, says to him, "be opened," and he says to each one of us too, "be opened." Be opened to my new way of seeing things in the world. Be opened to listening and hearing God's ways in your lives.

 

We could spend a long time reflecting on the implications of the message in today's letter from St. James. With its resounding clarity, do not make distinctions, do not judge by outward appearances. The ordinary worldly standard of judging by wealth or status is not applicable in God's kingdom.

 

In fact, if any preference is to be given, it's to the poor, the needy, the outcast, the widow, the orphan, the sinner, the one who's most struggling. In the gospel, the description of the physical journey taken by Jesus is very interesting. It's a long, long journey.

 

Geographically, it's a bit odd. It's a bit like saying, comparative to local geography here, that Jesus travelled by foot from the equivalent of surface paradise in southeast Queensland, heading for Brisbane, but via Canungra and Tamborine Mountain. That was not in any sense a shortcut, quite the opposite.

 

It's the long way around, the long, long way around. This journey in Jesus' own homeland was purposeful, slow, and isolated in many areas. It's fairly clear that Jesus was taking the slow, steady journey to go out of his way to meet people who were often forgotten on the edges of the geography of the area.

 

And also, it was a slow journey to take lots of quality time to be alone with his disciples at some length, to slowly but surely teach them and to reveal to them his radical and true vision of the kingdom of God, which was very different from what they expected from previous experiences and values. In the early years of the church, it would have been a real change of mindset for Christians when they gathered together as one group, because they met in church, the rich and the very poor. Even more interesting, the master and the slave would have to sit down as equals in God's house.

 

We too can fall into the trap of making distinctions, being partial or biased, or having favouritism. The name we use is Christian, and being followers of Christ requires that long, slow journey of changed attitudes and actions, and a forming of new mind with God's grace, where Christ's thinking and values replace our old earthly values. In many ways, it's a lifelong journey, and along the way we might stumble, or we may occasionally fall back into attitudes and behaviours that are not the ways of Jesus, and are really nothing more than the ways of the world around us.

 

So we have to be vigilant, we have to be on our guard against these traps, these contradictions, these hypocrisies, that can arise even in the most well-meaning of disciple of Christ. Any contradictions of our own behaviour as Christians are things which non-Christians, even though they may not share our beliefs, are very quick to notice and point out. Non-Christians often claim that any perceived inconsistency in our behaviour, as compared with the message of the Gospel, is a real barrier to our credibility.

 

St James in the second reading would agree with that. There are so many ways, big and small, where we can often unwittingly, without realising, contradict the radical message of Jesus. St James says that partiality, favouritism and self-interest have nothing to do with the Gospel.

 

It's also a slow and subtle start of a form of cronyism and favouritism and corruption that, in secular societies as well as in religious communities, is absolutely poisonous. Any sense of entitlement or partiality can derail a community. It would certainly move it further away from the Gospel of Christ.

 

We must be on our guard against it, and it's an easy mistake to fall into. We can all be tempted to trade in the message and vision of Jesus, and swap it for a pale, watered-down, self-serving imitation of Christianity. Jesus invites us, be opened, be open to my ways, be opened to my values and vision.

 

Our Lord offers to heal us of any spiritual barriers that prevent us from seeing and hearing the truth of our own values and motives, and the truth of how close we are to Jesus' values; or how far we are from Christ's values. So, our Lord gives the man back his hearing. God still achieves that today in ways that go beyond that particular example of healing.

 

God invites and allows people to be open and truly hear him, to truly perceive. But God knows that the more faithfully one listens to God's unique voice within our hearts, where the Spirit of God lives, the better one hears what's happening outside us. We too add to the chorus of voices saying, "he does all things well."

 

As always, Our Lord manages to transform the most trying of situations, passing through the bitter valley and in its wake, making it a place of springs.
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References:

Homily – & Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly

 

William Barclay – the Daily Study Bible, on James 2, and Mark's Gospel. THE WESTMINSTER PRESS, Philadelphia. Revised Edition. 1976

 

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock AI-generated image ID: 2422767643 - Outdoor photo of Jesus heals the blind man, Important information: This content was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. AI-generated image Contributor: Shutterstock AI Generator.

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Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Year B  -(Sunday, 8 September 2024)  (EPISODE: 495 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{Shalom (peace)}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Reflect upon the Holy Scriptures and the values of the Lord. On this Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Coming together as brothers and sisters in Christ, let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries by recalling our sins and remembering Christ's greater mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of peace. Lord have mercy You are Son of God and the Son of Mary. Christ have mercy You are Word made flesh, the splendour of the Father. Lord have mercy .
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Ps 146:6c-7, 8-9a, 9b-10. "Praise the Lord, my soul!"

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 4:23). ). Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom. And healed all who were sick.
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PREFACE: ordinary 3
Eucharistic Prayer 2
(theme variation: theme 1 )

 

(post version: v1-short)

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{11. I pray that you have a wonderful and grace-filled week.}

1. Go forth; the Mass is ended.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by visting here:

https://surfersparadiseparish.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=85b9ddd594b242276d423bfe9&id=002282d9e0 

Details relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

"Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 + AI-1 Sound Mixer.

Editing equipment:    -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.)

Voice to text transcription by TurboScribe.ai  (edited by P.Kelly)

[Production -  KER -  2024]

May God bless and keep you.
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Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 1 September 2024

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B -  Sunday, 1 September 2024 (EPISODE:494)

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Vector ID: 2246270587 - Saint Joseph is working as a carpenter with the boy Jesus helping. Vector Contributor -rudall30

GOSPEL THIS WEEKEND

Homily: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 1 September 2024

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-22nd-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-494/s-L0XRbVSaqAf

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Readings for Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B

FIRST READING: Deut 4: 1-2, 6-8

Ps 15: 2-3a, 3b-4a, 4b-5. "The just will live in the presence of the Lord."

SECOND READING: Jas 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (James 1: 18). Alleluia, alleluia! The Father gave us birth by his message of truth. That we might be as the first fruits of his creation.

GOSPEL: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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HAPPY FATHERS DAY

This weekend, the first Sunday of September, we give thanks to all Fathers for their love, care and generosity. We pray that God grants them joy in their family and friends, as well as health and strength.   

Also, for all fathers who have passed into eternal life, may God give them a permanent place at the heavenly feast, the reward for all their goodness and kindness. 

Happy Father's Day to all our Dads in the community. May God bless you and grant you peace and joy. 

 

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
This weekend's readings take a very practical angle on the meaning of discipleship. We are called to take special care to be just, honest, and charitable toward everyone. What a different tone the world would take if everyone took that angle.
 
As Christians, properly applying our religious beliefs leads to significant practical consequences for our lives and actions. The readings this weekend send a powerful message: What is the point of calling ourselves "Disciples of Christ and servants of God" (in other words: "Christians"), unless our practical actions REFLECT justice, SHOW charity, really put forgiveness into action and REVEAL loving/practical acts of kindness (that God asks us to show to one-another).
 
'True and untarnished religion is this: acting justly, helping the poor, the widow and the orphan.' - In fact, helping all those who are most in need. Jesus warns his critics that if their religion goes no further than blind observation of symbolic rituals, whilst at the same time not living the message of practical love, kindness, and fairness, it will do no good whatsoever. The sacraments SHOW, AND POINT TO, AND STRENGTHEN God's compassion and love abiding within us – This is the nature and purpose of Christ's sacraments - They convey to us, in a real, touchable way, Christ, who is love, mercy, justice and compassion.
 
"The value of a person's good works is not based on their number and excellence," says Saint John of the Cross, "but on the love of God within them, which prompts the person to do these things in the first place." [Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)]
 
 "Love, justice, and charity are the more key indicators of authentic discipleship than mere outward observances of one's rituals. Ideally, the two go together and reinforce and nurture each other."
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It's clear from the Gospel that by the time of Jesus, people had indeed started adding to God's law and loading people down with unnecessary burdens and difficult observances that for most people were impossible to achieve. So, living in God's favour became something that most people couldn't do, and it was only reserved for the lucky minority. Most people were too busy just keeping alive and dealing with the everyday practicalities of living and surviving to observe all these rules and rituals.

 

Holiness and peace had become rare commodities which were now well beyond the reach of most people. That was never God's plan. The whole point of God's law was that it was given to people for their welfare and growth, so that people could deeply live and reflect the love, the values and priorities of God in their actions and attitudes.

 

I particularly like the scripture passages that expressly name the virtues and qualities of Christian life. As you name them, it feels as if it stirs up the desire to deepen those virtues in our hearts. It's as if those values and virtues start to take deeper hold in our souls as we think about them, as we reflect on them.

 

The just will live in the presence of the Lord by means of this, walking in the ways of blamelessness, acting with justice, speaking honestly, avoiding wrongdoing, not gossiping or slandering others, honouring the Lord, keeping our promises, not ripping off people, not allowing oneself to be bought off from their principles, not selling out.

 

The second reading from James confirms this practical advice, that we should always aim to do what the word tells us, and not just listen to it and deceive ourselves. That's a very powerful reminder that we can easily deceive ourselves about our true motives and intentions, but we should be on guard against such self-justifications.

 

Not merely us saying, I'm doing this for the good of others, I have no self-serving motives in my actions, but rather the test of pure unspoiled religion is coming to the help of people who are in need, distancing oneself from the values of the world that are not consistent with the Gospel. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus warns us about people who honour God with only lip service, and all the while their hearts are actually very far from God. Our Lord asks us to look deep inside our hearts and see the things that distort our faithfulness.

 

These are the inner movements of the heart, and they can be, and need to be, crowded out by the positive values, the graces and virtues that God gives us to counteract them, namely faithfulness, purity, reverence, respect, detachment from material things, love, honesty, appreciation, affirmation, self-sacrifice, and so on. The virtues of the Gospel build us up, and they crowd out anything that is inconsistent with the Gospel. There's simply no room for those negative qualities because God has filled us with all the good values.

 

Christianity is not primarily a set of doctrines and laws. Christianity is, first and foremost, a person, Jesus, and a relationship with that person, Christ, who is the revelation of God and the perfection of the law. Christianity is a relationship, not a concept or philosophy, and certainly not just a set of rules.

 

Whenever Christianity is turned into mere concepts or a set of rules and philosophies alone, it gets disconnected from the person and values of Jesus, which should be at the very core, a living core, a living heart of love. Naturally, there are rules and doctrines and dogmas in Christianity. There certainly are, but all of them serve to point us to Christ, who is the one rule, the one Word.

 

In the Gospel today, Jesus was struggling valiantly against legalism. The lawmakers and the law keepers seemed to be more interested in what people could not do, rather than focusing on what they could be doing and should be doing in response to life's real issues and problems. Our Christian faith is about positive acts as well as refraining from negative ones.

 

The lawmakers in Jesus' time focused too much on appearances and outward actions, ignoring the inner realities of their terrible attitudes, their lack of love, their hypocrisy. They were focusing more on what one should refrain from doing, rather than encouraging and promoting the inner growth of the heart, nurturing those attitudes and loving responses towards others. There's a certain safety in refraining from doing things and avoiding things.

 

One hardly risks getting hurt if one does not do anything. But when one loves, we open ourselves to being hurt. Not that we want to be hurt, but it's what happens. It is the risk of love. We reach out, and that can make us vulnerable.

 

Jesus corrected the errors of these legal people. Jesus is shown positively living his message by his actions.

 

I love this saying, "Christianity is a verb, not a noun." It is about doing, as well as being. As we see our Lord going through life, loving, sharing, forgiving, healing, including, uplifting, unburdening, feeding, encouraging, and risking everything and giving everything out of love, giving absolutely everything in his desire to address every genuine human need.
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References:

Homily - Fr Paul W. Kelly

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.

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Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Year B  -(Sunday, 1 September 2024)  (EPISODE: 494 )
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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welcome everyone, we gather -  Listen to God's Word and contemplate the sacraments. On this Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As we begin the Holy Eucharist, let us acknowledge our sinfulness, so as to worthily celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God's kingdom: Lord, have mercy You come in word and in sacrament to strengthen us and make us holy: Christ, have mercy You will come again in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have mercy .
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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Ps 15:2-3a, 3b-4a, 4b-5. "The just will live in the presence of the Lord."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (James 1:18). Alleluia, alleluia! The Father gave us birth by his message of truth. That we might be as the first fruits of his creation.
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PREFACE: Ordinary 2
Eucharistic Prayer 1
(theme variation: theme 4 )

 

(post version: v2-short)

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{10. thanks everyone. And may God sustain you with his grace and love.}

4. Go in peace.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

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Details relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

"Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 + AI-1 Sound Mixer.

Editing equipment:    -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.)
[Production - KER - 2024]
May God bless and keep you.

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