Let’s take a look at some of the main themes in the readings for the 26th Sunday of the Year.
1st Reading – Numbers 11:25-29
Some of the spirit of Moses is bestowed upon seventy elders who now prophesy.
Eldad and Medad were not on the list of Moses, but the spirit still came upon them; when Joshua attempted to have Moses stop them, Moses prayed that the Lord would make everyone a prophet!
Psalm – 19:8,10,12-14
“The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.”
The Psalmist praises the law of the Lord and exhorts others to follow God’s commands.
2nd Reading – James 5:1-6
James calls on the rich to weep over their impending miseries as their wealth will be destroyed.
Included is a list of the evils they have done for their own benefit at the expense of others.
Gospel – Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48
Jesus stops the Apostle John from preventing someone who is casting out a demon in the Lord’s name.
The Lord then teaches that anything that keeps us from the kingdom of God should be “plucked out” lest it lead us to destruction in Gehenna.
The Scripture readings reveal how often our lives are disrupted by evil from the inside and the outside of our hearts. How do we proceed? How do we find our way? The Lord teaches that the disciple’s path is marked with service, putting the needs of others ahead of one’s own.
The parable of the sower is one of the few that Jesus explains. As we listen today, may we cultivate good soil in our hearts to receive the Lord’s words and tend a fruitful harvest.
This short passage from the Gospel of Luke names some of the women who accompanied Jesus along with the Twelve Apostles, inspiring us to ask if we are ready to travel with the Lord today.
The sorrow of Mary as she stood faithfully before the Cross of Christ helps us to engage our grief. When we acknowledge our sorrows, we call upon the saving strength of Jesus to pass through our pain into healing joy.
2019 Pilgrimage to Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
This feast concentrates our attention on the instrument of our salvation, as we thank the Lord who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice that restores us to right relationship with God. May we gaze upon the Cross of Christ with grateful hearts each and every day!
Jesus makes it clear that to follow him means that we will carry a cross. As we confront whatever is hard and difficult in our lives today, may we open our hearts to God’s grace at work within us…trusting that the one who was victorious over his cross will transform our own as well.
Three Great Things 