Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(recorded during mass)

Do you remember the first time, you held a baby in your arms? Maybe it was your baby. Maybe it was your grandchild or a niece or your nephew or the baby of a close friend. You know, a lot of work came before that baby arrived. I mean there was baby furniture to build, baby clothes to wash and organize. Maybe there was a room to paint to decorate. It can be overwhelming!

When we were expecting our first child, we were in the middle of a move from San Antonio to Birmingham, Alabama. So, I would spend four days in Birmingham, then commute back to San Antonio and spend three days there only start the cycle over again. I’ve got to be honest with you, that got old really fast!

But then on the day that my baby arrived, and I held him in my arms for the first time, all stress and anxiety of the move melted away. It’s not that all of that that came before wasn’t important. But the birth of my son put all of that work into perspective. Being a parent and a husband helps me understand today’s readings.

For example, James talks about faith and works. It’s the very issue that caused Martin Luther to raise his hand and say, “I think I’m going about my salvation all wrong.” You see, Luther described himself as the most monkish of monks. What did does that mean? Luther was busy working as a monk. He was convinced that everything he did would earn his way into heaven.

But then he came to realize that without faith, none of that work matters. The Council of Trent, the Catholic Church’s official response to the Reformation, actually agrees with Luther on this point. The bishops teach us that faith comes first. How can it not? Faith is such a precious, hard-won gift that this crucifix testifies to. That’s what Jesus tells us in the Gospel today. The Son of Man must suffer and die so that he could rise again on the third day and save us from sin and death (Mark 8:31). <1>

Of course, faith comes first. But faith reaches its fullness in love. I understand that as a father and a husband because all the work that I do becomes a response to the gift of my family.

That’s why James will tell us can say faith without works is dead (James 2:17).

Our readings challenge our very understanding of the gift of the Eucharist. If you believe – and I mean if you really believe that what we receive is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus, then it should change you! It should change me! And that change should manifest in works of love.

Do I see Jesus in the eyes of my wife and my children? Do we see Jesus the suffering servant described in today’s first reading in the eyes of the homeless? Or do I just write them off as a nuisance? Do I see Jesus in the eyes of everyone with whom I don’t agree, especially about politics, the pandemic o anything? Or do we just write them out of my life?

James says to us it’s not enough to say, “I believe,” and not respond with works of love. For example, as a husband and a father, all the chores that I do, the work I do outside the home are works of love. As a Christian, prayer, coming to Mass, participating in the sacraments – the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist – participating in ministries, helping the Church in whatever way I am physically and financially able to carry out its mission to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, and draw people back to Jesus Christ.

As a parent and a husband, all of that makes sense. How can I look into the eyes of my wife and my children and not be changed?

Homework! Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions.
First, if someone were to ask you, “why bother being a Christian?” who would you say Jesus is?
Second, does the way I live my life in the privacy of my home, at work, on social media, reflect my faith in Christ Jesus?

I think doing our homework will help us be the intentional disciples we are called to be! Do you got it? Do you get it? Are you going to do it? Good! In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Image: Faith & Works. Artist Unknown. JPG.

Notes:
<1> Robert Barron, “Faith Perfected By Love,” Word on Fire, podcast audio, Sept. 16, 2018, https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/homily/faith-perfected-by-love/21458/.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Anderson, Kelly and Daniel Keating. James, First, Second, and Third John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017. Kindle.
2. Barron, Robert. “Faith Perfected By Love.” Word on Fire. Podcast audio. Sept. 16, 2018. https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/homily/faith-perfected-by-love/21458/.
3. Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008. Kindle.
4. Montague, George T. SM. Mark: A Popular Commentary on the Earliest Gospel. Steubenville, Ohio: Franciscan University Press, 1992.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Faith: 150-65
2. Jesus the Messiah: 436-40
3. Jesus suffered and died for our salvation: 440, 571-72, 601
4. Christ’s knowledge: 471-74
5. The paschal mystery: 571-73
6. Taking up the cross: 618, 1435, 1642, 1816, 2427
7. The path of the Messiah traced out in the “Servant Songs:” 713-16
8. Spiritual progress: 2012-16
9. Good works manifest faith: 2044-46
10. Works of mercy: 2447
11. Almsgiving: 2462

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091221.cfm
Lectionary: 131

Reading 1
Isaiah 50:5-9a
The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let that man confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?

Responsorial
Psalm 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
R. (9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I love the LORD because he has heard
my voice in supplication,
Because he has inclined his ear to me
the day I called.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
And I called upon the name of the LORD,
“O LORD, save my life!”
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For he has freed my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2
James 2:14-18
What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, ”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say,
“You have faith and I have works.”
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

Alleluia
Galatians 6:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord
through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mark 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.”

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