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HOMILIES ARCHIVE
HOMILIES
Dear Audience,For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)
2592
9
0First Reading
A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (4:1-2, 6-8)
Moses said to the people: "Now, Israel, hear the statues and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, "This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people." For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?"
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms of David (15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5)
(R) The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice; we think the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. (R)
Who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; by whom the reprobate is despised, while he honors those who fear the Lord. (R)
Who lends not his money at usury and accepts no bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things shall never be disturbed. (R)
Second Reading
A reading from the Letter of Saint James (1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)
Dearest brothers and sisters: All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Gospel
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they are traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."
"From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."
(P) The Gospel of the Lord.(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
From today, for four weeks, we shall be reading and reflecting on some important passages taken from the Letter of Saint James. This Letter is a short piece of writing in the New Testament, and it is said to have been written to the Jewish Christians of the first century A.D. living in gentile communities outside Palestine. There is some disagreement among scholars about the author of the letter for the writer calls himself simply, "James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", James (1:1). What do we know about the author of the letter?
In the New Testament the name "James" refers to various men. Jesus had two apostles named James. One was the son of Zebedee and brother of John, the Evangelist, whom Jesus called to follow Him when they were in a boat preparing their nets, Matthew (4:21) and Mark (1:19), and he was known as James, the Greater. The other was James, the son of Alphaeus, Matthew (10:3) and Luke (6:15). He was called James the Lesser or Younger. Some scripture passages mention another James as the "brother" of Jesus and Bishop of Jerusalem, Mark (3:21), Galatians (1:19), and a long standing tradition attributes the authorship of the letter to this James. For our reflection and faith's sake, let us put the dispute of authorship aside, and turn instead to the content of the letter.
The major theme of the letter is "genuine faith" or "living faith". As Christians we all have faith to some degree; otherwise, you and I would not be here today in the church. As Saint Paul points out in his letter to the Romans, (12:3), "Each of us is given a measure of faith". So the problem is not that we don't have faith. It's just a question of knowing how to use our faith and applying our faith to life's challenges. That's why James wrote this letter to help all Christians understand and mature in faith. James argues throughout his letter that Christian faith should express itself through good works.
In today's text James begins with emphasis on the great truth that every gift is from God and it is good. He writes, "All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of all lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change", (v.17). That's to say nothing which comes from God, the creator of all lights such as the sun, the moon and the stars, is not good. He stresses all lights and all created things might change but God the Creator of all things will never change. James further draws our attention to the graciousness of God. He says, "God willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of His creatures", (v.18). "The word of truth" is the gospel of Jesus. James believes that through the gospel of Jesus we are given a new life so that we know that we belong to God.
Then James urges all believers, "Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only deluding yourselves", (v.21-22). What James means is that our responsibility before God is not just recognizing that God wants to give us new life through His word, nor it is just humbly welcoming and hearing God's word but also living by every word of God which can save our souls. Moreover, he warns us that if we do not act on what we hear then we in fact deceive ourselves.
And then James identifies the kind of activities or deeds that the hearers of the word should engage in. He says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world", (v.27). James reminds us that the real outward manifestation of a genuine faith lies not in rituals and liturgical practices, but in practical life. True and pure religion or worship will best express itself by action. James means that as believers and hearers of the word, we must pursue holiness and purity of faith through acts of charity and mercy, especially by reaching out to those who are helpless and disadvantaged. The chief reason why James is so insistent on good and charitable works is that he believes that since we belong to Christ, we ought to live life according to his teaching.
What is the message for us?
- The letter is a practical guide to Christian living. Let us therefore, first and foremost, gratefully recognize that all gifts are from God and they are good, especially the word of truth or the gospel of Jesus. Let us then gratefully, humbly and truly welcome the gospel of Jesus into our lives for that is the Wisdom of God. Let us avoid building barriers around us. That is to say, let us not undermine or belittle the authority and power of God's Word saying, "It may be right for others but not for me; it is outdated and irrelevant to our times; I know all the stories and teachings; there is nothing new and so on."
- Let us help one another build a life of faith and live as people who honor God day by day through our thoughts, words and deeds. Let us not just stop with treasuring the Word in our hearts but also practice it in our lives. Let us strive to carry out whatever God dictates, especially let us be always mindful of others' sufferings and needs. Both through our faith and works, let us inherit peace for our body, mind and soul.
God Bless You!
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