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32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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As members of the church we are taught to give of our time, our talents, and our treasure in service to the Gospel.  But how much is enough?  Scripture is quite clear on this subject – this is an “all in” proposition, as our readings this week tell us: The Word for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time 1 Kings 17:10-16 Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 Our first reading comes from the 1st Book of Kings.  In our passage Israel is suffering a great drought, and the great prophet Elijah is on the run from King Ahab.  He comes to the gates of Zarephath, a city North of Israel between the cities of Tyre and Sidon.  There he meets a widow and her son.  Tired and thirsty from his journey, he asks the widow for some water and some bread, whereupon we learn that they too are suffering, having only enough flour and oil to last one more day.  Elijah asks her again to make him some bread with the promise that the Lord will make sure that her jars of flour and oil will not run dry unt
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31st Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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As a society we have an obsession with rules.  “We must do this,” or “we can’t do that.”  While rules provide a necessary structure to our society which allows it to function, they can also be used to abuse or oppress members of society, particularly minority members of a society.  There are also those who feel they are above the law, able to use their position and wealth in society to circumvent the rules or distort them to their will.  But we who profess to be Christian believe there is no law above God’s Law, which is perfect, as we learn from this week’s readings: The Word for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Deuteronomy 6:2-6 Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 12:28b-34 Our first reading is from the book of Deuteronomy.  Scholars believe it is this text that King Josiah found in the temple and read aloud to the people, causing them to weep and wale.  In this passage Moses is presenting God’s commandments to the people reminding them that by following these commandment
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30th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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One of my favorite readings is from the great prophet Isaiah where he says, “The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.”   (Isaiah 50:4).  Similarly, our readings today are meant to rouse us!  They speak of God’s greatness, his love for his people, and how our faith will lead to salvation.  This week’s readings remind us that God is there for us.  Always.  All we need to do is call out, have faith, and follow him. The Word for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Hebrews 5:1-6 Mark 10:46-52 Our first reading comes from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah.  As you may remember, Jeremiah came to his calling as a prophet under King Josiah, the great reformer of the later Southern Kingdom of Judah.  Jeremiah saw the eventual downfall of the kingdom and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, but even though he foresaw the fall of Judah, this week’s passage gives us a
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29th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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For some time now Jesus has been trying to explain to his disciples that he is going to be put to death, but the Apostles either can’t see this or they refuse to see it.  Jesus, however, a student of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” understands this all too well, that speaking the word of God will often lead to personal suffering: The Word for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45 Our first reading comes from the book of the Prophet Isaiah.  In a passage from late Second Isaiah, he tells us that God’s servant will suffer.  This is the fourth of Isaiah’s “servant songs” which foretells of a redeemer sent by God to save humanity, but that redemption comes at a cost – the death of his servant.  While the opening hook is troubling for us to hear ( The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity ), as if God takes delight in his servant’s suffering, we need to continue with the passage to see that God’s being pleased comes not f
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28th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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What is truly valuable?  As a species humanity seems constantly preoccupied with this question, starting from our individual perspective and building up to our families, our parish, our community, all the way up to the entire world view.  Whole industries have grown around this idea of value, from the advertising industry that tries to convince you of the value of what they’re selling, to insurance companies that can set a monetary value on everything, including your own life.  Our faith tradition also has some thoughts on this question, as addressed by our readings this week: The Word for the 28tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Wisdom 7:7-11 Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 Hebrews 4:12-13 Mark 10:17-30 Our first reading is from the Book of Wisdom.  You may recall that we had a passage from this book three weeks ago, but by way of reminder, the Book of Wisdom comes to us from the Jewish community in Alexandria some 50 years before Christ.  Typical of wisdom literature in the Bible, it’s meant t
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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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Our readings for this week focus on the topic of marriage.  These passages will likely sound very familiar because they are often quoted, but unfortunately, never truly understood and almost never viewed in their full context.  Yet these ideas do form the Catholic understanding of marriage and help establish the Church’s position on divorce and annulment, so some careful examination is needed: The Word for the 27tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 Hebrews 2:9-11 Mark 10:2-16 Our first reading is from the second creation story in the Book of Genesis.  Wait, second creation story?  Most Catholics are aware that Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and most are aware that it begins with the story of creation, but unless they’ve engaged in any critical Bible reading or study, any details beyond that tend to get a little fuzzy.  So let me explain: The first chapter of Genesis does in fact give us the story of creation, starting with “In the beginning,” an
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26th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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Who speaks for the Lord?  Do you have to be a prophet?  A priest?  A bishop?  The Pope?  What about you?  The answer, according to our readings this week, is “whomever God calls,” and that could be you. The Word for the 26tth Sunday of Ordinary Time Numbers 11:25-29 Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14 James 5:1-6 Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 Our first reading comes from the Book of Numbers.  This book is a continuation of the Exodus story, from the point where they leave the Sinai (after receiving the Law) to the point where they are ready to enter the Promised Land.  The book gives us some history of these years interspersed with sections of legal codes.  This Sunday’s passage deals with the commissioning the elders, those 70 individuals chosen by Moses to receive some of the Spirit so that they may prophesy (preach) among the people.  But during this time there were two men, Eldad and Medad, who were not with the group at the tent, but who also received the Spirit.  Joshua heard of this and out of
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