September 9th 2018

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
128

FIRST READING
IS 35:4-7A

Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

PSALM
PS 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

Response: Praise the Lord, my soul!

The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.

The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.

The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
Alleluia.

SECOND READING
JAS 2:1-5

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please, ”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?

GOSPEL
MK 7:31-37

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Daily Reflection

9th September 2018

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The word ‘God’ means different things to different people. That Jesus is God was a foregone conclusion of the Early Christians; the evangelists merely try to show us what kind of God Jesus is!

The Gospel doesn’t just tell us that Jesus is good but shows in what his goodness consists. The healing of a deaf-mute is reminiscent of what we hear in the first reading, “Here is your God!... then the ears of the deaf will be opened ...the tongue of the mute will sing”.

But the Early Church wasn’t just content at knowing who Jesus was; it was imperative that they become Christ-like. Becoming like Jesus meant that we become aware and sensitive to people and situations around us. Thus, James will insist, “Show no partiality” and remind the Christians to “adhere to the faith in our Lord Jesus”. Jesus sees neither the “rich clothes” nor the “shabby dress”. He sees only the person whom “God has chosen to be rich in faith and an heir to the kingdom”.

What about us? Perhaps we need to pray that Jesus removes our blindness, enabling us to see as He does!