Today we hear vital Scripture messages about faith and living out each day as a true follower of Christ
Reflections on the readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 12, 2021): IS 50:5-9; PS 116:1-2,3-4,5-6,8-9; JAS 2:14-18; MK 8:27-35
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
Our Lord expects us to venerate and spread His mercy, not in making miracles happen, but in simply sharing that same mercy with others.
The liturgical readings for this Sunday encourage us to think with the mind of God rather than in our ordinary human way. It is of no use to believe the doctrines of the Church and spend time in prayer if we do not pay attention to the necessity of our reaching out in service and our willingness to suffer. The Letter of James gives one of the best known summaries of demonstrating real belief in Christ by caring for others. “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” (James 2:14-17). Jesus spoke many times about the need to help those in trouble. More than that, He showed His concern for the welfare of people who were suffering. When He healed the sick it was not simply to show His divine power. It was to help those who were blind, or deaf, or lame, sick, or possessed.
Our Lord expects us to venerate and spread His mercy, not in making miracles happen, but in simply sharing that same mercy with others. We can offer whatever material help we can to those who are poor. We can perform one or more of the Works of Mercy every day by assisting those who are hungry, who need clean water, or decent clothing. We can visit those who are sick or in prison. We can comfort those who have lost loved ones, even aiding them in burying their dead. There are so many ways to tend to the corporal and spiritual needs of those who are wounded in body or soul. This is turning our faith into an expression of practical action. These works are an essential key to Christian life, as individuals, as a parish, as a Church. As members of the Body of Christ, we already know what to do. We need to love others as our Savior loves us.
