Gospel for September 27, 2009, Sunday

Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. | 09/27/2009 12:00 AM

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Alphonsus Liguori

1st Reading: Num 11:25–29
Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it on the seventy elders. Now when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this they did not do again.
Two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad, the name of the other Medad. However, the spirit came on them for they were among those who were registered though they had not gone out to the Tent. As they prophesied inside the camp, a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua, the son of Nun, who ministered to Moses from his youth said, “My lord Moses, stop them!”
But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous on my behalf? Would that all Yahweh’s people were prophets and that Yahweh would send his spirit upon them!”

2nd Reading: Jas 5:1–6
So, now for what concerns the rich! Cry and weep for the misfortunes that are coming upon you. Your riches are rotting and your clothes eaten up by the moths. Your silver and gold have rusted and their rust grows into a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire, for having piled up riches in these the last days.
You deceived the workers who harvested your fields but now their wages cry out to the heavens. The reapers’ complaints have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in luxury and pleasure in this world and felt happy while others were murdered. You have easily condemned and killed the innocent since they offered no resistance.

Gospel: Mk 9:38–43, 45, 47–48
John said to him, “Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon your name, and we tried to forbid him because he does not belong to our group.” Jesus answered, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in my name can soon after speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.
If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and bear his name, truly, I say to you, he will not go without reward.
If anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a great millstone around his neck.
If your hand makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes out.
And if your eye makes you fall into sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than, keeping both eyes, to be thrown into hell where the worms that eat them never die, and the fire never goes out.

Commentary
Jesus makes it clear that we are either for Him or against Him. There can be no middle ground. Either the life, teaching, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus compel us to follow Him or they don’t.
Discipleship is an option. Stewardship is not. We have a choice in the matter of whether to follow Jesus. But once we have made that decision we are committed to follow Him wholeheartedly. We are committed to living our lives as good and faithful stewards of the many gifts God has so generously lavished upon us, especially the great gift of our faith. We are committed to living upright and holy lives, learning every day to prefer nothing to the love of Jesus Christ. Our discipleship commits us to make radical decisions to live out our faith clearly and without ambiguity.
One day we will be asked to render an account of our stewardship. We will be asked by the Lord, “What did you do with your life?” Please God may we be able to tell the Lord that we lived so as to love and serve Him with all of our heart, mind, strength and soul. Following Jesus is a full-time endeavor!

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