DAILY- HOMILY

September 27, 2015 - 26th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 

Cycle B, Green   

Nm 11:25 – 29 / Jas 5: 1 – 6 / Mk 9: 38 - 43, 45, 47 - 48 

First Reading: Nm 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!" 

Second 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 thus fattening yourselves for the day of slaughter. 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.  For 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 foot makes you fall into sin, cut it off!  It is better for you to enter life without a foot than with both feet to be thrown into hell. 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."

Reflection:

     What is the cost of discipleship? Discipleship needs the willingness to undergo any sacrifice in the following of the master and for the sake of the master. It is to be ready to lose or give up one's life for the master.

     Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John had been a Christian for 88 years. When the pro-consul ordered him to deny his Christian faith, he replied, "Eighty-eight years I have served him, and he has done me no harm. Why should I forsake him now?"

     The pro-consul then threatened to burn him at the stake. Even that failed to move him. Polycarp responded, "You threaten me with fire which burns only for a moment, but you are ignorant of the fire of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. . . you take a life from me that I cannot keep, but you bestow a life upon me that I cannot lose."

     Polycarp's story illustrates Jesus' words, "If your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off! . .  If your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off! . . . If you eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one eye that to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell."

     Jesus' point is clear: if you wish to be his follower, you should be willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to keep you from sinning and from separating yourself from Jesus.  You should be willing to sacrifice and give up even what is most precious to you to enter the kingdom of God. This may mean sacrificing one's life.

     Today's Gospel reading invites us to ask ourselves: how vigilant are we in avoiding sin for love of God?

     We know for certain that no sin can enter our lives except with our deliberate consent. The essence of sin is our refusal to recognize that we are accountable to God in all things. And like ripples on a peaceful pond which reach the farthest shores, our sins affect those close to us, and many others.

     How vigilant are we in guarding ourselves against anything which may cause us to sin and lose God?

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     ROSARIO B. NAÑAGAS

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     MENILO UY (JUL 22, 1929 – SEP 27, 1991)

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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