Sunday Homily 9-6-09, 23rd Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 35, 4-7; Psalm 146, Praise the Lord, my Soul; James 2, 1-5; Mark 7, 31-37. Today's celebrant: Tony O'Donovan
Isaiah: The book of Isaiah is one of those very long 66 chapters and interesting books of the Old Testament. The book is really two books, written by very different people and at very different times. Isaiah himself is most likely thought to be the author of the first section, to chapter 39. It was written at a troubling time for Judah, the southern kingdom.
The Assyrians had over-run the northern kingdom of Israel and were making noises about invasion of the southern kingdom of Judah. The four different kings who ruled at the time of writing the first part of Isaiah had all made deals with the Assyrians in an attempt to placate them into leaving Jerusalem alone. The people were living with an interesting kind of philosophy. God will forgive whatever we do, so lets do whatever!! The theme of the whole book is one of ‘Judgment and Promise’. Judgment of the people because they are not following God’s Law, and Promise, such as we hear in today’s reading, of better times.
Letter of James.
As I mentioned last week, for five Sundays, starting last week, we are going to be reading the Letter of James as our second reading. The author, James was probably the head of the church in
The letter was probably written before 62CE when James was stoned to death. It is addressed to the “twelve tribes of the Diaspora”, which refers back to the Diaspora when the tribes were scattered following the Babylonian and Assyrian invasions. In this case it is addressed to those churches outside of
The contents are a collection of moral observations and instructions and today’s reading is clearly that. Don’t judge others by what they wear. James is stressing something which Jesus practiced in his public life, taking special care of the poor, the ignored in society.
The Gospel today focuses on Jesus healing. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest and earliest written of the four Gospels in the New Testament. It is only 16 Chapters and has nothing about the birth of Jesus. Mark begins his gospel with the statement “The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. A very clear purpose statement, and for the rest of the gospel he carefully builds up supporting evidence to back that statement. The first half of the gospel is primarily a series of parables and miracles, designed to have us asking, “who could this be?” And exactly half way through the gospel, Jesus turns to Peter and does ask that very question “and who do you say I am?”. And of course we have Peter’s famous response “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. The whole tone of the Gospel immediately shifts towards
Of course if we jump to today, we find that the two are still closely associated, “you are as sick as the secrets you keep”. With the demise of the confessional, the question comes up of how do we get forgiveness.
A couple of points to keep in mind: God is always ready to forgive. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son. There was the father not just willing to forgive the wayward son, he was actually waiting, looking to see if he would come home again. Running out to greet the kid. Something which we can easily overlook, the son’s “sin” was not just that he blew all the money, but remember what he had originally asked for – his share of the estate, something he would normally only get when his father died. What he is saying is “dad, you are dead”. This too was what the father was forgiving him. The point, God is always ready to forgive us, everything. The question for today, are we able to forgive ourselves.
Remember, at mass we have several times when we acknowledge our sins, and ask forgiveness. At the Rite of Penance as we begin mass. At the “Lamb of God”, and most especially right before communion when say, “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but say but the word and I will be healed.”
As we continue with our liturgy, lets pause and reflect: What have I not asked forgiveness for, and what have I not forgiven myself for? Life is too short to be carrying around our mistakes from the past. Lets leave them here at the altar for God to take care of.
Picture 1: Tony O'Donovan celebrating our Mass in the patio of Wilson Middle School. Vines was closed for the weekend while renovations took place.
Picture 2: Tony & the choir, Wendy, Shonda, Ray, & Celeste
Picture 3: Tree shaded patio of Wilson Middle School.
Picture 4: Tony & Kevin