TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Cycle B, October 11, 2009</ti= tle> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"country-region" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceName" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceType" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"place" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=3DSection1> TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Cycle B, October 11, 2009<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </= o:p> <o:p> </= o:p> &= nbsp; The first and third readings today speak of riches and other hindrances to salvation. Since few of us co= nsider ourselves rich, we might be tempted to think that these readings don't real= ly apply to us, but rather just to old So-and-so. But I think that the readings spea= k of personal attachments and riches other than material goods, and so perhaps t= hey have a message for all of us.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The gospel reading (Mark 10:17-27) begins with a story about a man coming up to Jesus, kneeling down before him, and addressing him as "Good Teacher." Jesus immediat= ely objects to being called "good" on the grounds that God alone dese= rves that title. Then, addressing = the man’s question, Jesus mentions five of the Ten Commandments (plus ano= ther one) that deal with relations with others.= The man replies that he has kept all these from his youth on. So Jesus is pictured as looking at= him with love and inviting him to something higher. This is to indicate that there is = more to one's relationship with God than negative blamelessness. Religion is not a system of do's a= nd don'ts. It’s a personal relationship with God and a commitment to do good to others. And in Christianity we are also ca= lled to become disciples of Jesus and to follow his teachings and the example of= his life, believing that this will lead us to salvation and eternal life with God. In the story, Jesus is pictured inviting the man to sell what he has and give to the poor and he w= ill have treasure in heaven. But = the man doesn’t want to do so and goes away sad. How happier he could have been!<o:= p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; Then follows a saying of Jesus, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">kingdom</st1:Pl= aceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>!" His disciples, who are portrayed i= n this first and most primitive gospel as completely misunderstanding the nature of the role and mission of Jesus, are astonished at this, because the common belief was that wealth and material goods were a sign of God's favor. So the author pictures Jesus sayin= g, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">= kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>." This statement is obviously an anc= ient Near Eastern hyperbole meant to be memorable, but it’s a wrong translation—it’s not meant to be grotesque. There’s another word in Gree= k, spelled differently but pronounced the same as the word for camel, that mea= ns "rope," so what the verse really says is, "It is easier to thread a rope through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter t= he <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:Plac= eName w:st=3D"on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>." The impossibility still remains bu= t is less illogical.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The message of this passage is a call to detachment. The writer is saying that to take = Jesus and his teaching seriously and to follow him requires complete inner detach= ment from material things, a willingness at any moment to sacrifice one's liveli= hood or anything else that may be required for the sake of the gospel values.<sp= an style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And riches are not the only thing = from which it is hard to detach ourselves; even the poor have personal ties and other resources hard to renounce. For all—rich and poor alike—a relationship with God that= is totally open and sincere involves a radical reorientation of values. Instead of relying on status, secu= rity, interest, and enjoyment in life, we are called to follow the radical teachi= ngs of Jesus and to rely on God as the source of our security and well-being. <= o:p></o:p> &= nbsp; <o:p></o:p> &= nbsp; We may well ask why Jesus (or the early church) advocated this radical approach. Sociologically, mos= t of the early Christians were poor, from the lower classes of society; they may have seen in wealth and luxury temptations to self-indulgence, and in pover= ty a claim to God's special protection. Even in <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Israe= l</st1:country-region></st1:place> there were many psalms that practically equated the poor with the good and pious, and the rich with sinners. Religiously, since wealth, power, and merit generate false security, Jesus may well have rejected them as a claim to enter the <st1:place w:st= =3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">God</st1= :PlaceName></st1:place>. Achievement of salvation is beyond= human capability and depends entirely on the goodness of God who offers it as a gift. <o:p></o:p></span= > <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The kingdom is a gift that cannot be earned—an unmerited gift—and y= et, paradoxically, the most strenuous effort is required on the part of a follo= wer of Jesus. I've mentioned this= in a homily before, but I think it is apropos here. In our religious order, the Societ= y of Jesus, we have a saying attributed to our founder St. Ignatius Loyola that = we learned 60 years ago as "Work as if everything depended on you; pray a= s if everything depended on God." But the original of the saying, which makes much more sense and fits= in well with the message of today's gospel, is: "Work as if everything depended on God; pray as if everything depended on you."= In other words, Christian disciple= ship, and consequent entrance into the kingdom of a right relationship with God, = is not something that we can merit, that can be achieved on our own. It is a gift of God. Yet—and this is the paradox—we are required to work at it, but God will bring it about.<o= :p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &n= bsp; The other readings today confirm, as it were, the gospel passage. Briefly, the first reading, from t= he book of Wisdom (7:7-11), composed about the middle of the first century B.C= .E. and addressed to the Jewish community in Alexandria to counter the seculari= sm of Hellenistic society, contains part of a prayer for wisdom that the author attributes (after the manner of the time) to King Solomon of old. In it the author expresses how muc= h more valuable true wisdom is than power, riches, beauty, even health. Wisdom alone is the source of true joy. <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The second reading, from the anonymous Letter to the Hebrews (4:12-13), a group= of early Christians who were apparently thinking of abandoning Christianity and returning to the practice of Judaism, contains this passage describing the = word of God as sharper than any two-edged sword. It is a warning to the Jewish Chri= stians to persevere in their faith in Christ, for the word of God judges and judges rightly. Besides, the word ha= s the power to produce life. It is a saving word, as well as one that judges.&n= bsp; For us, who personify the word of God as Jesus Christ, we can= see in his call to follow him, not only an invitation, but also a promise of un= failing assistance.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; So as we continue to celebrate our Eucharistic meal here today, let us reexami= ne the openness and sincerity of our commitment to God in Christ Jesus. Let us ask ourselves if it is as single-minded as the willingness to sacrifice everything implies, without f= ear, realizing that it is God's work and not our own, that it is God who gives b= oth the will and the way.<o:p></o:p> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820 Content-Location: file:///C:/E5538E39/28ordb09_files/header.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii"> <meta name=3DProgId content=3DWord.Document> <meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 11"> <meta name=3DOriginator content=3D"Microsoft Word 11"> <link id=3DMain-File rel=3DMain-File href=3D"../28ordb09.htm"> <![if IE]> <base href=3D"file:///C:\E5538E39\28ordb09_files\header.htm" id=3D"webarch_temp_base_tag"> <![endif]><o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"countr= y-region" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceName" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceType" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"place" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> </head> <body lang=3DEN-US> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote-separator' id=3Dfs> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1 width=3D"33%"> <![endif]> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote-continuation-separator' id=3Dfcs> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1> <![endif]> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:endnote-separator' id=3Des> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1 width=3D"33%"> <![endif]> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:endnote-continuation-separator' id=3Decs> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1> <![endif]> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820 Content-Location: file:///C:/E5538E39/28ordb09_files/filelist.xml Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/xml; charset="utf-8" <xml xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"> <o:MainFile HRef=3D"../28ordb09.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"header.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"filelist.xml"/> </xml> ------=_NextPart

MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820" This document is a Single File Web Page, also known as a Web Archive file. If you are seeing this message, your browser or editor doesn't support Web Archive files. Please download a browser that supports Web Archive, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. ------=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820 Content-Location: file:///C:/E5538E39/28ordb09.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Cycle B, October 11, 2009</ti= tle> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"country-region" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceName" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceType" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"place" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=3DSection1> TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Cycle B, October 11, 2009<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </= o:p> <o:p> </= o:p> &= nbsp; The first and third readings today speak of riches and other hindrances to salvation. Since few of us co= nsider ourselves rich, we might be tempted to think that these readings don't real= ly apply to us, but rather just to old So-and-so. But I think that the readings spea= k of personal attachments and riches other than material goods, and so perhaps t= hey have a message for all of us.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The gospel reading (Mark 10:17-27) begins with a story about a man coming up to Jesus, kneeling down before him, and addressing him as "Good Teacher." Jesus immediat= ely objects to being called "good" on the grounds that God alone dese= rves that title. Then, addressing = the man’s question, Jesus mentions five of the Ten Commandments (plus ano= ther one) that deal with relations with others.= The man replies that he has kept all these from his youth on. So Jesus is pictured as looking at= him with love and inviting him to something higher. This is to indicate that there is = more to one's relationship with God than negative blamelessness. Religion is not a system of do's a= nd don'ts. It’s a personal relationship with God and a commitment to do good to others. And in Christianity we are also ca= lled to become disciples of Jesus and to follow his teachings and the example of= his life, believing that this will lead us to salvation and eternal life with God. In the story, Jesus is pictured inviting the man to sell what he has and give to the poor and he w= ill have treasure in heaven. But = the man doesn’t want to do so and goes away sad. How happier he could have been!<o:= p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; Then follows a saying of Jesus, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">kingdom</st1:Pl= aceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>!" His disciples, who are portrayed i= n this first and most primitive gospel as completely misunderstanding the nature of the role and mission of Jesus, are astonished at this, because the common belief was that wealth and material goods were a sign of God's favor. So the author pictures Jesus sayin= g, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">= kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>." This statement is obviously an anc= ient Near Eastern hyperbole meant to be memorable, but it’s a wrong translation—it’s not meant to be grotesque. There’s another word in Gree= k, spelled differently but pronounced the same as the word for camel, that mea= ns "rope," so what the verse really says is, "It is easier to thread a rope through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter t= he <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:Plac= eName w:st=3D"on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>." The impossibility still remains bu= t is less illogical.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The message of this passage is a call to detachment. The writer is saying that to take = Jesus and his teaching seriously and to follow him requires complete inner detach= ment from material things, a willingness at any moment to sacrifice one's liveli= hood or anything else that may be required for the sake of the gospel values.<sp= an style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And riches are not the only thing = from which it is hard to detach ourselves; even the poor have personal ties and other resources hard to renounce. For all—rich and poor alike—a relationship with God that= is totally open and sincere involves a radical reorientation of values. Instead of relying on status, secu= rity, interest, and enjoyment in life, we are called to follow the radical teachi= ngs of Jesus and to rely on God as the source of our security and well-being. <= o:p></o:p> &= nbsp; <o:p></o:p> &= nbsp; We may well ask why Jesus (or the early church) advocated this radical approach. Sociologically, mos= t of the early Christians were poor, from the lower classes of society; they may have seen in wealth and luxury temptations to self-indulgence, and in pover= ty a claim to God's special protection. Even in <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Israe= l</st1:country-region></st1:place> there were many psalms that practically equated the poor with the good and pious, and the rich with sinners. Religiously, since wealth, power, and merit generate false security, Jesus may well have rejected them as a claim to enter the <st1:place w:st= =3D"on"><st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">God</st1= :PlaceName></st1:place>. Achievement of salvation is beyond= human capability and depends entirely on the goodness of God who offers it as a gift. <o:p></o:p></span= > <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The kingdom is a gift that cannot be earned—an unmerited gift—and y= et, paradoxically, the most strenuous effort is required on the part of a follo= wer of Jesus. I've mentioned this= in a homily before, but I think it is apropos here. In our religious order, the Societ= y of Jesus, we have a saying attributed to our founder St. Ignatius Loyola that = we learned 60 years ago as "Work as if everything depended on you; pray a= s if everything depended on God." But the original of the saying, which makes much more sense and fits= in well with the message of today's gospel, is: "Work as if everything depended on God; pray as if everything depended on you."= In other words, Christian disciple= ship, and consequent entrance into the kingdom of a right relationship with God, = is not something that we can merit, that can be achieved on our own. It is a gift of God. Yet—and this is the paradox—we are required to work at it, but God will bring it about.<o= :p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &n= bsp; The other readings today confirm, as it were, the gospel passage. Briefly, the first reading, from t= he book of Wisdom (7:7-11), composed about the middle of the first century B.C= .E. and addressed to the Jewish community in Alexandria to counter the seculari= sm of Hellenistic society, contains part of a prayer for wisdom that the author attributes (after the manner of the time) to King Solomon of old. In it the author expresses how muc= h more valuable true wisdom is than power, riches, beauty, even health. Wisdom alone is the source of true joy. <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; The second reading, from the anonymous Letter to the Hebrews (4:12-13), a group= of early Christians who were apparently thinking of abandoning Christianity and returning to the practice of Judaism, contains this passage describing the = word of God as sharper than any two-edged sword. It is a warning to the Jewish Chri= stians to persevere in their faith in Christ, for the word of God judges and judges rightly. Besides, the word ha= s the power to produce life. It is a saving word, as well as one that judges.&n= bsp; For us, who personify the word of God as Jesus Christ, we can= see in his call to follow him, not only an invitation, but also a promise of un= failing assistance.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> &= nbsp; So as we continue to celebrate our Eucharistic meal here today, let us reexami= ne the openness and sincerity of our commitment to God in Christ Jesus. Let us ask ourselves if it is as single-minded as the willingness to sacrifice everything implies, without f= ear, realizing that it is God's work and not our own, that it is God who gives b= oth the will and the way.<o:p></o:p> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820 Content-Location: file:///C:/E5538E39/28ordb09_files/header.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii"> <meta name=3DProgId content=3DWord.Document> <meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 11"> <meta name=3DOriginator content=3D"Microsoft Word 11"> <link id=3DMain-File rel=3DMain-File href=3D"../28ordb09.htm"> <![if IE]> <base href=3D"file:///C:\E5538E39\28ordb09_files\header.htm" id=3D"webarch_temp_base_tag"> <![endif]><o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"countr= y-region" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceName" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"PlaceType" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name=3D"place" downloadurl=3D"http://www.5iantlavalamp.com/"/> </head> <body lang=3DEN-US> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote-separator' id=3Dfs> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1 width=3D"33%"> <![endif]> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote-continuation-separator' id=3Dfcs> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1> <![endif]> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:endnote-separator' id=3Des> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1 width=3D"33%"> <![endif]> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:endnote-continuation-separator' id=3Decs> <![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1> <![endif]> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820 Content-Location: file:///C:/E5538E39/28ordb09_files/filelist.xml Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/xml; charset="utf-8" <xml xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"> <o:MainFile HRef=3D"../28ordb09.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"header.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"filelist.xml"/> </xml> ------=_NextPart_01CA4876.1A858820--