A Homily – The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-19 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33(34):2-3, 17-19, 23 ©

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 5:19

The Gospel According to Luke 18:9 - 14 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

Be joyful when you hear the wisdom of the sage who says that God, the creator of the universe, that God is not respecter of persons, neither of the rich nor of the poor. There is no differentiation in God’s love; God loves all of God’s children equally. God listens to all prayers, ignoring none of them, but God will not come to your aid, not while you live on Earth; do not wait in the expectation of it. God’s deliverance comes after the body perishes, when you are delivered to the new world, when you enter a place beyond time and space.

Be humble, serve your brothers and sisters as you wish that God would serve you; come to their aid, be the hand of God in this world, showing love and mercy in the spirit of humility and kindness.

Be mindful!

If you intend to seek God; look no farther than your hear; you will find God in loving, and in loving you will be blessed…praise God through works of love.

Look for no other glory than that of a servant, knowing that true greatness is measured by the extent of the caring that you exhibit in the world…God is great because God cares.

Know this.

God has no name, therefore do not praise the name of God, rather you should exalt the loving work of God that is found in creation.

Listen to your neighbors, rescue them from fear; it is then that God’s light shines through you, spreading like fire by the hope you kindle and the love you share.

Remember.

With God there is no shame; God is no respecter of station, class or wealth. God distributes the same portion of love to everyone, it is infinite and enduring.

As you pass through the troubles of the world, recall the life of Job and do not look for God to save you from what pains you; we are all Job, in a way, we are all beset with woes. Therefore, have faith in the way and testify to how transient our troubles are…look to your family and friends, to your neighbor or the stranger among you if you are in need of rescue, that is how the divine will reach you, through them.

Know this.

All pain is temporary, but love lasts forever.

Do not fear, speak the truth, avoid evil and do good…this is the wisdom of the psalmist, God sees all, hears all, knows all, because God is with all of us, indwelling all of us, God knows our innermost thoughts, our deepest secrets, desires and hidden motivations. God understands our experience as we understand it ourselves…ours and everyone’s.

Keep your mind in the present; do good world for the sake of doing good, not as a means of increasing your share of providence. God’s love endures forever, but we only feel it in the immediate-present of our lives.

Receive the gospel with a heart full of hope, you will find peace; ignore the fear-mongers who have lost sight of the way.

Whether you are pure and without flaw, or dirty and soiled with corruption, God only comes for you when you at the point of departure, when you are done with this world. God comes for the saint and the sinner alike, not because you deserve it, but simply because God loves you.

God is always at your side and will deliver you, place a halo, like fire, upon your head, not for any righteousness you have accumulated, but because God has claimed you for God’s own, a feast for the prodigal child to celebrate the return.

Do not shun the gift because everyone receives the same, do not devalue it because it is free. Do not think less of God’s love when you see those who persecuted you and those who abandoned you receive the same blessing as you from the same loving God.

Do not turn your wrath on God when you that those who would not listen to you, when those who ignored you, when those who actively opposed you are present with you on the same pilgrimage to the divine.

Consider this:

The apostle tells us in the simplest of terms that the singular mission of the church is to proclaim our reconciliation with God, as fulfilled in Jesus according to the providence of God and the divine plan.

Everyone is reconciled in the loving embrace of God and the church is meant to announce it, to be the ambassadors of this good news. The church is not, nor should it ever be a recruiting agency, organized around the purpose of signing up members, for whom reconciliation with the divine is presented as perk of joining, or some kind of payout like a reward.  

Know this!

Our reconciliation with God has already occurred, it occurred at the beginning of time, for in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, through and in whom all things have their being…it is the mission of the church to proclaim it.

Consider the Gospel reading for the Day:

Do not be mistaken; both of the people in the narrative are beloved by God, without qualification, loves all people without preference.

In the person of the Pharisee and in the person of the tax collector; there is both good and there is evil; this is true of everyone. It is true of you, and it is true of me, but God loves us despite our faults and failings.

The Pharisee was born into the life of a Pharisee, he was given the means to live the life he lived. He had some say in how he would handle his inheritance; just as we all do, whatever that inheritance might be, even if our inheritance is nothing more than wind and sand.

This is not to excuse the Pharisee’s miserly behavior, it is simply to state our understanding of human nature…do not be surprised by it. Each of us is free to be prideful or humble, regardless of what we do or do not have; all of us are in different ways both.

A person who manifests an ugly sense of pride in relation to one aspect of their life, may be loving and humble in another. Do not believe that because you see one side of a person, you have seen everything about them.

The tax collector also inherited his circumstances; perhaps making choices along the way to establish himself in the role he occupied, nevertheless, like all people, his role in his community was partly determined by free will and partly determined by the exigencies of his community.

A person may have an occupation which they know causes harm to others, but nevertheless they cannot walk away from it, for any number of reasons: because of unseen obligations such as a responsibility to family, to friends to community. The fact that they are engaged in a sinful occupation does not tell us the whole story of who they are. They may be fierce and aggressive in the pursuit of their duties and yet come to their prayers with humility and contrition…only God knows what is in their hearts.

Therefore be welcoming to all who come to you; do not judge them based on the outward expression of their piety, their occupation or their place in society…we are all of us a mix of good and bad intentions.

First Reading – Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-19 ©

The Humble Man's Prayer Pierces the Clouds

The Lord is a judge who is no respecter of personages.

He shows no respect of personages to the detriment of a poor man, he listens to the plea of the injured party.

He does not ignore the orphan’s supplication, nor the widow’s as she pours out her story.

The man who with his whole heart serves God will be accepted, his petitions will carry to the clouds.

The humble man’s prayer pierces the clouds, until it arrives he is inconsolable, and the Lord will not be slow, nor will he be dilatory on their behalf.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33(34):2-3, 17-19, 23 ©

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

I will bless the Lord at all times,

  his praise always on my lips;

in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.

  The humble shall hear and be glad.

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

  to destroy their remembrance from the earth.

The just call and the Lord hears

  and rescues them in all their distress.

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;

  those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.

  Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.

The poor man called; the Lord has heard him.

 

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 ©

All there is to Come Now is the Crown of Righteousness Reserved for Me

My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.

The first time I had to present my defence, there was not a single witness to support me. Every one of them deserted me – may they not be held accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 5:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 18:9 - 14 ©

The Tax Collector, Not the Pharisee, Went Home Justified.

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’

 

A Homily – The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

A Homily – The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Exodus 17:8-13 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 120(121) ©

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alternative Acclamation – Hebrews 4:12

The Gospel According to Luke 18:1 - 8 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen! All you people of the way.

God, the creator of the universe, God is not a miracle worker; God does not intervene in human events. God did not speak to Moses (Moses did not even exist), God did not cause water to flow from a rock in Horeb. God did not lead the people in the desert.

God is not a warrior, God does not grant victory in battle. God does not favor one nation over another, or one tribe or one man over his brother, and there is no such thing as magic. Moses had no special powers, there were no powers imbued in the object he called the staff of the Lord. God did not give Joshua the victory over Amalek., whoever he might have been, earned that victory for himself.

God had nothing to do with any of these events; none of these events even happened…they are allegories, they are myths and they do a disservice to the teaching of Jesus; they undermine Jesus of Nazareth who taught us to pray for those who persecute you, to love your enemy and to care for the stranger…he showed us the way.

Understand this.

You must pay close attention to what is written in the sacred text; the psalmist here is wrong, but is instructive even in error.

God will not intervene in this world, either to help you or to hurt you. God will not do this because God has made us free; our life in this world is radically free from divine coercion.

God will not guard you, neither will God give you away; God will not help you or hinder you in any way. God has made us all subject to chance, of random events and the intentions of people who or may not wish us well, who may or may not wish us harm, who may or may not know us at all or ever considered us in the choices they make, whose consequences we encounter.

Know this.

If you follow the will of God, giving your ear to the voice of God that is speaking in your heart, you will find peace; when you know that the story of our lives here on earth is not the end of our story. Our salvation is in the deliverance of ourselves, the fullness of our person, from this world to the next, where we are healed from the wounds we endured in our sojourn through time and space…there is refuge waiting beyond this world; God has promised it, and we express our faith in it by following Jesus in the way.

Consider the world at the time the epistle for today was written; the basic premise of its teaching may be true. It  may be true that the person who is dedicated to God is fully equipped and ready for any good work…it may also be true that their dedication is soft, and they are not ready at all.

Nevertheless, the apostle begs the question; What God? Who’s God are you dedicated to?

Be mindful.

We are all sinners, we all live in error, even those closest to Jesus failed to understand his mission, betrayed him to the Sanhedrin who turned him over to the Roman’s; his best friends sold him out, rejected and denied him…it would be unwise for us to suppose that any among us can do better.

Dedication is not enough; a fervent love for God, for the Church, for the sacred text is not enough. It can never be enough if your understanding of those things, and if your understanding of God is in error…all of us live in error.

Therefore we must take great care with the things we say and do in the name of God, seeking wisdom in the spirit of truth, prudence in the spirit of love, and humility in all things. This is the way Jesus showed us; remember the life of Jesus and what he taught us about God; whom he called abba.

Ask yourself this: Is God glorious?

Understand this.

God is the creator of the universe, and the creator perceives the most exalted state as being as being in relationship to us, caring for us as a parent would. God desires that all of us come to this knowledge and through its acceptance to live in its light. There is hope in the knowledge of God, hope for ourselves and hope we have for those we love, hopes which are meant to be extended to everyone; even those we do not love…this is the way.

If you think that God has promised riches and glories as a reward for the saints; remember that the first will be last and the last will be first, and that riches are not counted in gold and silver and precious things. Divine riches are counted as love and friendship and the opportunity for service.

Be mindful!

The real presence of God is with you. God knows you, even as you know yourself. You dwell with God and God dwells with you, as God dwells in everyone…there is no distance between us.

In faith, and hope and love we endeavor to persevere, to endure the tribulations of life on earth; do not lose heart, or hope; trust in the goodness of your actions, even if you do not see them bear fruit; your good intentions may lay, like seeds in the soil, for uncounted seasons before they finally germinate, spread roots and raise shoots…what is good is never wasted.

Justice may come from people who have no interest in it. Nevertheless, a just result is a just result. Do not wait for justice but strive for it; persistence is its own reward.

Do not wait for God to deliver you from your troubles here on earth; be patient and keep to the way, seek justice through mercy, through love and kindness. This may not change your circumstances, but it will change you…you will find salvation there.

First Reading – Exodus 17:8-13 ©

As Long as Moses Kept His Arm Raised, Israel had the Advantage

The Amalekites came and attacked Israel at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Pick out men for yourself, and tomorrow morning march out to engage Amalek. I, meanwhile, will stand on the hilltop, the staff of God in my hand.’ Joshua did as Moses told him and marched out to engage Amalek, while Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. As long as Moses kept his arms raised, Israel had the advantage; when he let his arms fall, the advantage went to Amalek. But Moses’ arms grew heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him and on this he sat, Aaron and Hur supporting his arms, one on one side, one on the other; and his arms remained firm till sunset. With the edge of the sword Joshua cut down Amalek and his people.

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 120(121) ©

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains;

  from where shall come my help?

My help shall come from the Lord

  who made heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble!

  Let him sleep not, your guard.

No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,

  Israel’s guard.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord is your guard and your shade;

  at your right side he stands.

By day the sun shall not smite you

  nor the moon in the night.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord will guard you from evil,

  he will guard your soul.

The Lord will guard your going and coming

  both now and for ever.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

 

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 ©

The Man who is Dedicated to God Becomes Fully Equipped and Ready for Any Good Work

You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were, and how, ever since you were a child, you have known the holy scriptures – from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy. This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work.

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Hebrews 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

It can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 18:1 - 8 ©

The Parable of the Unjust Judge

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. ‘There was a judge in a certain town’ he said ‘who had neither fear of God nor respect for man. In the same town there was a widow who kept on coming to him and saying, “I want justice from you against my enemy!” For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, “Maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worry me to death.”’

And the Lord said ‘You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?’

 

A Homily – The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

A Homily – The Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – 2 Kings 5:14-17 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 2:8-13 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 6:63, 68

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Gospel According to Luke 17:11 - 19 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

Take care as to how you read the sacred text. It is easy to misconstrue the gospel, and the way may be easily lost in the miasma of jingoistic mythology. The story of Naaman the Leper is one of these tales that threatens to blind us to the purpose of the gospel; the good news is meant to furnish hope, like a lantern in the dark; it is meant to foster love and promote justice.

This is a story of healing, in this way it is in alignment with God’s promise to cleanse each of us and to heal us of our wounds, all of that which hurts and harms us, and from the disease of sin.

We must not be confused into believing that this is a story of miraculous faith or the magical powers of the prophet Elisha, or of God reaching into the world to cause a radical transformation in the life of a single individual.

God does not intervene in our affairs, not even to help us, because God has made us free and the whole of creation with it; the reality of our freedom precludes the notion of divine intervention.

Be mindful.

It is God’s intention to make us well…to save us, but the realization of that plan is not of this world.

Know this.

The authors and editors of the Book of Kings fail to understand where the real presence of God resides, which is everywhere, for God is not-not present in any place. The one and true God does not dwell in Israel in a special way, but in all places, at all times, with everyone.

God dwells in the human heart and speaks there to all of us, and to all of us God speaks the same thing, telling us of God’s desire that we love one another, that we be good to one other, just with one another, showing mercy in all things and walking humbly wherever we go.

Understand this.

It is right and good to praise God, the creator of the universe; it is right and good because creation is miraculous, and beyond the scope of human comprehension; but know this, God is not a giver of victories, God has no enemies, and in God, within whom all things exist and have their being…in God there is no conflict.

It is not God’s justice that is shown in the work of human beings and human institutions, it is human justice; when human justice approximates the divine, we will know it for the goodness that comes from it, we will recognize it in it’s quality of mercy.

Have faith in this…trust in the kindness of God who loves all people equally.

God’s power is everywhere, God’s spirit animates the voices that give God praise. If you are an instrument of justice, judge fairly, judge kindly, judge with mercy all-the-while remembering the love of God.

Consider this:

The gospel…the good news is the promise of resurrection and of life after death, but it is more than that. The good news concerns the life we live on earth. The resurrection is meant to ground our trust in the hope that we are all included in God’s plan for the salvation of all people, a plan which God will carry out even in regard to those who do not know of God’s plan, or who knowing of it, do not participate in God’s plan while they are living among us. God will save even those who view God as the enemy, those who suborn the truth and harm their brothers and sisters...God will save them to because God loves you.

Christian faith is grounded in our belief in the reality of the resurrection and the hope that it applies to us as well. The kindling of this hope is meant to free us from the bondage of the world and allow us to live a life of service right now; it is meant to set us on fire with the love of God.

Let us live with this passage for a moment…God is calling us to be holy, to be holy at all times, God is calling to us, inviting us into the compassionate life, into a life of wellbeing. This was God’s plan from the beginning of time, and there is not one of us, not one child of God, not one being in the whole of creation who is outside of this plan.

It is not that God has abolished death, as if they were engaged in a struggle from which God emerges as the victor; rather it is revealed that the death of the body is merely a transition, one we all pass through on our journey toward the creator…there is no death beyond the flesh.

The gospel is this:

God loves you and you are saved; you are not saved for anything that you have done, you did not earn it…you are saved simply because God loves you.

The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you; God has already forgiven you, you are already saved.

God has prepared you, and everyone for eternal life…believe it!

Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living this life as if it were true.

We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God or anything else, we are called to act on the principles of his faith, to live lives of charity and service to each other.

Know this.

It is wise to be thankful, to share your thanks with the world, and in your thankfulness to give from your bounty to those in need…this is the way.

God loves all people. God loves the clean and the unclean, the leper and the person in full health; God loves them both alike. God’s mercy is the inheritance of everyone who has ever lived, is living or will yet come into life.

Consider the Gospel reading for today, all of the lepers were healed of their disease but only one of them was grateful, returned and gave thanks. You may say that the one who returned and was healed, was healed in accordance with his faith and trust in God, but others were healed nonetheless in accordance of God’s grace and mercy. The important thing to understand is that they were all healed; God did not hold back any portion of divine mercy.

God saved them all, out of the superabundance of God’s love..

First Reading – 2 Kings 5:14-17 ©

Naaman the Leper Returned to Elisha and Acknowledged the Lord

Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.

Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your servant.’

But Elisha replied, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing.’ Naaman pressed him to accept, but he refused.

Then Naaman said, ‘Since your answer is “No,” allow your servant to be given as much earth as two mules may carry, because your servant will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Sing a new song to the Lord

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

  have brought salvation.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

The Lord has made known his salvation;

  has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

  for the house of Israel.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen

  the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

  ring out your joy.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

 

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 2:8-13 ©

If We Hold Firm then We Shall Reign with Christ

Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.

Here is a saying that you can rely on:

If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.

If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.

If we disown him, then he will disown us.

We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful, for he cannot disown his own self.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 6:63, 68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

For all things give thanks, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 17:11 - 19 ©

No-one Has Come Back to Praise God, Only this Foreigner

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’

 

A Homily – The Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Observation - October 10th, 2025, Friday

in the dark morning

looking east toward the sun

     rising over the rooftops

 

the maples and the elms

shaking off their leaves

     like a garment of red and gold

 

smoking in the garden

with a dog at my feet

A Homily - The Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 94(95):1-2, 6-9

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ©

Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Peter 1:25

The Gospel According to Luke 17:5 - 10 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

There are no guarantees in this life, neither justice nor injustice, though we may reasonably expect a share of each. We can be certain of nothing; therefor be just toward all those you meet and seek to do no harm.

 God is not a mover of people, save by the eternal pull of grace and the infinite draw of divine love; forces like gravity that touch everyone and everything that is, forces by which God calls every one of God’s children. The spirit calls to us, though we are free to ignore it; even when we recognize it, most of us do.

 Know this!

 God is the creator of the universe, the cause of all that is; each of us and the entire creation is was created by God in a state of radical freedom. In our capacity as free agents we must work toward the justice we wish to manifest in our own lives, and in the lives of the people we encounter.

 Be mindful, we only have the power to be just to one other, we cannot seize justice for ourselves; you will not be the cause of your salvation. It is God who makes us well, who creates in us the possibility of wellbeing, which we find in turn, in God who is our wellbeing, and its final realization is not of this world.

 Do not look for salvation in this world, it will not come from kings and princes, from popes or presidents. God is not a king, and there are no other gods beside God.

 All of creation belongs to the creator, all that is beautiful and everything that frightens or disturbs us, all of it comes from God, and everything redounds to the good.

 Be mindful.

 God has prepared each of us to receive the divine blessing, and God will not rest until each of us has accepted it for themselves.

 Consider the faith of Timothy:

 His words are the words of political prisoner, exhorting us to faith and reminding us of our heritage; that we belong to a tradition that places service to others over individual liberty.

 Not everyone can follow the way to the same end that Timothy did, or Jesus before him. They were leaders of the faith, pointing the way to the blessed life, one that is just and merciful and good.

 Be like Timothy if you can, follow the way of Jesus as well as you are able, but do not despair if you fail; you will fail, and God will continue to love you.

 When leaders rise among us; we must acknowledge them. When leadership is pure and we see that their work is holy, we must acknowledge that. In acknowledging these things it is important to not embellish them…cling to the truth at all times, in all things.

 God does not appear in visions.

 Remember.

 God speaks to all people; God speaks in the human heart. God is present for anyone who will listen, never favoring some over others. God leads us in silence, communicating through the rhythm of the heart, through the tug and pull of our conscience as it resonates with the good.

 This is the Gospel; God loves you, and you are saved.

 You are not saved for anything that you have done, you did not earn salvation, you are saved because God loves you and for no other reason. The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you; there is no hell and God has already forgiven you…share the word!

 God loves you and you are saved already.

 If you feel unworthy…stop; God has a plan for you. God has prepared you and everyone for eternal life.

 Believe it!

 Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living this life as if it were true. Do not be concerned with creeds and confessions, with decrees and decretals, or the doctrine of the church…those do not save; right belief does not save.

 We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God, we are called to act on the principles of his faith, we are called to live lives of charity and service to each other.

 Share the Gospel, share the good news and be mindful!

 Pay close attention to the Gospel, especially on those occasions when the message is cryptic, or the meaning of the parable is unclear. Interpret these passages when you are centered in the way; interpret them through the lens of love, with hope and justice.

 Understand this.

 Faith means trust, it is not magic. Our faith is not circumscribed by the content of our beliefs, neither can it be measured for quality, quantity, or intensity…faith is trust, which a person either exercises or does not.

 If we trust in the promise of the Gospel, if we trust in the good news that Jesus preached, then we may be able to free ourselves from greed and corruption, and the class-consciousness that foments injustice around the world.

 In the Gospel for today we see Jesus rebuke the disciples, the men who some years later became the apostles of the church. He rebuked them because he saw into their hearts were and bore witness to the spiritual poverty that beset them; he knew that they are using their position in the community of believers to place themselves in positions of authority and influence over the rest of his followers. He rebuked them because they had abandoned the way, and he encouraged them to return to it in the mode of a servant.

 Jesus responded to their error with love, he did not reject them, he gave them further instruction, and he comforted them.

First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ©

The Upright Man Will Live by His Faithfulness

How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear

and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said, ‘Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.

See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

 

Psalm - Psalm 94(95):1-2, 6-9

LORD, avenging God, avenging God, shine forth!

Rise up, O judge of the earth; give the proud what they deserve!

They kill the widow and alien; the orphan they murder.

They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

Understand, you stupid people! You fools, when will you be wise?

Does the one who shaped the ear not hear? The one who formed the eye not see?

 

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ©

Never Be Ashamed of Witnessing to Our Lord

I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

 

Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Peter 1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever.

What is this word?

It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 17:5 - 10 ©

Say, 'We Are Merely Servants'

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

  ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

 

A Homily - The Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)