First Reading

A reading from the Book of Wisdom (7:7-11)

I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17)

(R) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! (R)

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us, for the years when we saw evil. (R)

Let your work be seen by your servants and your glory by their children; and may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands! (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (4:12-13)

Brothers and sisters: Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (10:17-30)

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

A little boy asked his mother, "How did the human race come about?" The mother answered, "My son, God made Adam and Eve and they had children, and so this is how all mankind started." Two days later the boy asked his father the same question. The father answered, "My son, long ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved." The confused boy returned to his mother and said, "Mom! How is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?" The mother answered, "Well, dear, it is very simple: I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his."

Similarly different people describe God's Word in very different ways. Psalm 119, the longest Psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible speaks of the greatness and glory of God's Word. Almost in every verse, the psalmist refers to Scriptures, and describes it basically in eight different words - Law (torah) which means "teach" or "direct", Word (dabar) which means God's spoken word, Judgments (mispatim) which means determine or discern right from wrong and judge accordingly, Testimonies (edut) which means witness or loyalty to the covenant, Commandments (miswah) which means orders with authority, Statutes (huqqim) which means the engraved or written word, Precepts (piqqudim) which means instruction from an overseer and Word (imrah) another word for dabar.

Generally speaking Word of God first of all refers to the words which God has decreed or spoken to human beings and is written down on behalf of God. Secondly it also refers to Jesus Christ who was the Word, who preached the Word and who personified the Word. In today's second reading we read how the unknown writer of the letter to the Hebrews understood the word of God. Whatever was the understanding of the writer upon the word of God, he shares with us his experience of the power of the Word.

He makes six observations about the word of God:

The Word of God is living. In other words, there is life in the words that we read, hear and proclaim. The word of God is not dead but alive. It gives life. Let us remember the time when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness after fasting and praying for forty days. At the end of each temptation Jesus responded to Satan quoting the scriptures which became alive to Him and, gave Him strength to persevere. For instance, Jesus said, "It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God", Matthew (4:4). All prophets, saints and millions of true believers over the centuries have lived on the word of God. God was, is and will be taking care of all believers according to His word. I believe the writer wants us to understand that the word of God is alive even today among us and has the power to bring life to our hopeless situations.
The Word of God is effective. Whenever and wherever the word of God is read and proclaimed and heard, it is effective; it is alive and, it will always accomplish the will of God. It means when God speaks, whatever He says happens. It will never return to God empty; it never fails to accomplish its eternal purpose. We may not perceive with our natural eye and comprehend with our human mind the word of God's workings. But regardless of our perceptions and understanding we can be certain that it's very much alive and actively accomplishing God's eternal plan in all our lives. However, it will not happen automatically. Just hearing and reading the word of God regularly would not have any effect in us. We need to trust and obey the word which we hear or read or we become like the people of Israel who wandered around in a spiritual desert of their own making.
The Word of God is sharp. The word of God is compared with a two-edged sword. It means it is sharp on both sides. It is not blunt. It reminds us of strength, power and fear. Metaphorically therefore the word of God is a powerful and offensive weapon that conquers enemies. It helps us to fight worldly powers and temptations.
The Word of God penetrates. God's Word penetrates even through soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is so precise, so sharp, that it is able to divide those things that appear almost indivisible. It is even able to divide soul and spirit. Soul and spirit may seem to be the same but there is a clear distinction between soul and spirit. We are made up of three basic parts - they are the physical body, the soul (mind/conscience/will) and the spirit (life). So the writer says that the word of God is so sharp, so precise that it can distinguish between soul and spirit. Joints and marrow are deeply embedded in our body. The writer believes the word of God is also able to penetrate them. In other words, God's word searches us deep within. It penetrates deep into each of our hearts and convicts us of sin, and shows us our need of the Savior. It is the means through which we come to know God. It's the means with which we grow in our knowledge of Him.
The Word of God is able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. The writer wants us to know that the word of God is able to discern what is in the deepest part of our being and to distinguish all our thoughts and motives and intentions. It knows our weaknesses, struggles and the evil in us better than we know them.
The Word of God exposes. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. In the presence of the word of God we are naked and exposed. It exposes all that is in our hearts and we stand before God without any excuse or anything to hide behind. It reveals everything, which means that nothing can be hidden.

If this is the power of God's word, what do we do with it? The real question is not what the Word says, what you read or hear proclaimed because different texts would speak to different people in different ways in different situations, the question is how we respond to the word of God? Do you really believe and live in the power of this word? We may have heard God's word almost daily for so very many years but does it do any good? Has it little or no effect? Has the word of the God addressed your situation? Has the word brought you comfort, wisdom, challenge, encouragement, insight? In today's society there are so many things people want and need, but one of the things that they seem to think they don't need or want is the word of God.

How important is the word of God to you? How much do you value it? You have a choice to make. When do you want the word of God to be applied to yourself, here and now, as the word speaks to you or later, after you have fallen into sin?

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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