Twenty-sixth Sunday Homily of the Ordinary Time – Year B
Mass readings for 26th Sunday Homily of the Ordinary Time Year B
Readings: Num 11:25-29,Jas 5:1-6,Mk 9:38-43, 45. 47-48
1st Reading – Numbers 11:25-29
25 The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.
26 Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp.
27 So, when a young man quickly told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, “
28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “Moses, my lord, stop them.”
29 But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!”
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
8 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
10 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
12 Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
13 yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
14 From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
2nd Reading – James 5:1-6
1 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
3 your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days.
4 Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.
Alleluia – CF. John 17:17B, 17A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
17B Your word, O Lord, is truth;
17A consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
38 At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.
40 For whoever is not against us is for us.
41 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
48 where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”
Moral Story For 26th Sunday Homily of the Ordinary Time Year B – The Tale of Two Farmers Moral Story.
Once in a peaceful village, there were two farmers—Jacob and Noah—who had neighboring fields. Every year, they faced similar challenges, such as drought, pests, and unpredictable weather. Despite this, their attitudes toward farming were very different. Continue to Read . . .
Homily For the 26th Sunday Homily of the Ordinary Time Year B
Sharing Spirit, Scaring Spirits
“No one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me.
Anyone who is not against us is for us.” (Mk).
Spirit(s) can either strengthen us or scare us. We hear about good spirits, evil spirits, ancestral spirits and the Holy Spirit. One must be cautious in dabbling with the spirit world and continuously pray for the power of God’s Spirit – large measure at Pentecost and ever present till today.
On September 10, 2006, in an article entitled “Loreto’s’ Date with ‘Jesus’,” the Times of India reported that St Monica, Principal of the Loreto Convent, Lucknow, organized an occult session where a rickshaw puller, Nobo Kumar Mandal, went about inducing Ishu (Jesus) to take possession of him so that he could heal and bless the students. Nobo Kumar’s grunting and growling caused many girls to cry and collapse. Sr Monica explained, “It’s not unusual to be terrified when the Lord comes before you. Even I was frightened.” The incident drew flak from several quarters and Sangh Parivar stooges stormed the school the next day.
Today’s first reading and gospel speak of supposed, ‘prophets’ who carry out spiritual service. Moses appoints 70 elders to assist him. Scripture adds, “The Lord took some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders.” This results in temporary charismatic prophesying by these elders. After this ceases, two men, Eldad and Medad, receive strength from the Spirit and begin prophesying. Seeing this, Joshua complains to Moses to stop them from exercising an “unauthorized ministry’, so to say. Moses expresses his deep wish that elf the people might receive the Spirit and become prophets.
In the gospel we see a similar situation where Jesus’ disciples inform him, “Master, we saw a man casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.” Jesus tells the disciples not to stop people from working miracles in his name, for, “anyone who is not against us is for us.” Can we stop people from doing works that are Spirit-inspired?
I believe that the most basic fact of Christian life is that the Holy Spirit has been given to us at Baptism, and more fully, at Confirmation This Spirit gives us strength so that we might love and serve just as Jesus did. if any action allegedly associated with the Spirit, in particular, or ‘spirits’, in general, does not give strength and does not lead to Christ-like love and service, then, it is not God’s Spirit; we must resist it.
There are innumerable preachers like the charismatic and controversial Benny Hinn who draw millions of people through live prayer services and TV networks. I wish to judge neither Benny Hinn nor Loreto’s Sr Monica for their approach. But, we must constantly ask: Do such services make believers more service-minded? Do people who get extremely excited at such spiritual shows get equally enthused in preparing for, and celebrating, the Lord’s Eucharist? Do these services lead to a blossoming of the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and so on? (see Gal 5:22).
The Church is in need of women and men of the Spirit – creative, courageous, charismatic and committed to Life, Life in the Spirit does not mean waiting for mediums like Nobo Kumar to bring Jesus down to bless us, but it means ‘sharing spirit’ with Jesus who wants us to carry out his Kingdom-ministry in the power of The Spirit.
Many” believers are very verbal about their ‘spiritual experiences’ but fail to translate such talk into action. In the -second reading, James hits them hard: “Start crying, you rich! Realize that the cries of the reapers (whom you cheated) have reached the ears of the Lord … you killed the innocent… and you went on eating to your heart’s content!” is this applicable to me, today?
As individuals and Church, let us become deeply aware of the ‘sharing spirit’ and drive out all the ‘scaring spirits’ that cripple us.