Homily OT (B) 26th Sunday - Because You Belong to Christ

Because You Belong to Christ

Core Message:

FOR THE MIND: What do I want them to KNOW?

· Insert what you want them to KNOW here.

FOR THE HEART: What do I want them to FEEL?

· Insert what you want them to FEEL here.

Homily

My homily goes here.

Readings

Sunday, September 30, 2018 | Ordinary Time

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B | Roman Missal | Lectionary

First Reading Numbers 11:25–29

Response Psalm 19:9ab

Psalm Psalm 19:8, 10, 12–14

Second Reading James 5:1–6

Gospel Acclamation John 17:17ab

Gospel Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48

Index of Readings

First Reading

Numbers 11:25–29

25 The Lord then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied but did not continue.

26 Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp, yet the spirit came to rest on them also. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 So, when a young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” 28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the Lord were prophets! If only the Lord would bestow his spirit on them!”

Response

Psalm 19:9ab

9 The precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart.

The command of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eye.

Psalm

Psalm 19:8, 10, 12–14

8 The law of the Lord is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

10 The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever.

The statutes of the Lord are true,

all of them just;

12 By them your servant is warned;

obeying them brings much reward.

13 Who can detect trespasses?

Cleanse me from my inadvertent sins.

14 Also from arrogant ones restrain your servant;

let them never control me.

Then shall I be blameless,

innocent of grave sin.

Second Reading

James 5:1–6

1 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, 3 your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. 4 Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.

Gospel Acclamation

John 17:17ab

17 Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.

Gospel

Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.

40 For whoever is not against us is for us.

41 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

48 where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Roman Missal

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Entrance Antiphon [Dn 3:31, 29, 30, 43, 42]

All that you have done to us, O Lord,

you have done with true judgment,

for we have sinned against you

and not obeyed your commandments.

But give glory to your name

and deal with us according to the bounty of your mercy.

Collect

O God, who manifest your almighty power

above all by pardoning and showing mercy,

bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us

and make those hastening to attain your promises

heirs to the treasures of heaven.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Offerings

Grant us, O merciful God,

that this our offering may find acceptance with you

and that through it the wellspring of all blessing

may be laid open before us.

Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon [Cf. Ps 119 (118):49–50]

Remember your word to your servant, O Lord,

by which you have given me hope.

This is my comfort when I am brought low.

Or: [1 Jn 3:16]

By this we came to know the love of God:

that Christ laid down his life for us;

so we ought to lay down our lives for one another.

Prayer after Communion

May this heavenly mystery, O Lord,

restore us in mind and body,

that we may be coheirs in glory with Christ,

to whose suffering we are united

whenever we proclaim his Death.

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

CCC

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 821, 1126, 1636: ecumenical dialogue CCC 2445-2446, 2536, 2544-2547: the danger of immoderate riches CCC 1852: jealousy

1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

901 “Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvellously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit—indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives.”

Notes

To Belong to Christ: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-sixth Sunday Ordinary Time

Today’s Gospel begins with a scene that recalls a similar moment in the history of Israel, the episode recalled in today’s First Reading. The seventy elders who receive God’s Spirit through Moses prefigure the ministry of the apostles.

Like Joshua in the First Reading, John makes the mistake of presuming that only a select few are inspired and entrusted to carry out God’s plans. The Spirit blows where it wills (see John 3:8), and God desires to bestow His Spirit on all the people of God, in every nation under heaven (see Acts 2:5, 38).

God can and will work mighty deeds through the most unexpected and unlikely people. All of us are called to perform even our most humble tasks, such as giving a cup of water, for the sake of His name and the cause of His kingdom.

John believes he is protecting the purity of the Lord’s name. But, really, he’s only guarding his own privilege and status. It’s telling that the Apostles want to shut down the ministry of an exorcist. Authority to drive out demons and unclean spirits was one of the specific powers entrusted to the Twelve (see Mark 3:14–15; 6:7, 13).

Cleanse me from my unknown faults, we pray in today’s Psalm. Often, like Joshua and John, perhaps without noticing it, we cloak our failings and fears under the guise of our desire to defend Christ or the Church.

But as Jesus says today, instead of worrying about who is a real Christian and who is not, we should make sure that we ourselves are leading lives worthy of our calling as disciples (see Ephesians 1:4).

Does the advice we give, or the example of our actions, give scandal—causing others to doubt or lose faith? Do we do what we do with mixed motives instead of seeking only the Father’s will? Are we living, as this Sunday’s Epistle warns, for our own luxury and pleasure, and neglecting our neighbors?

We need to keep meditating on His Law, as we sing in today’s Psalm. We need to pray for the grace to detect our failings and to overcome them.