Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 5, 2021
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 128
Reading I
Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
Responsorial Psalm
- (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading II
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please, ”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Reflection: JESUS MADE US ALL EQUALS
The prophet Isaiah talks of the glorious days of the Messiah. Saint Mark speaks of the days of Jesus when the deaf hear, tongues are loosed and the lame walk. Jesus did not go about telling everyone 'look I am the Messiah'. Instead, he tells them that the Messiah will undergo his passion, his crucifixion and death. We should not sit on that. We should move on to the resurrection! We are not to shout 'look what a marvelous God we have in Jesus... so many wonders he worked...hallelujah...praise the Lord' and be happy that these things happened. If you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, that he died and rose again, then we must live the way that he taught us. St James showed us a very simple example... Look at the way we seat people in church! Those who come in fine clothes, who come in big expensive cars, the famous people, people who give big donations... if we consider such externals when we decide where they should be seated... then we do not believe that Jesus has risen... that he has made us all one... that we are all equal. This is not easy. No one is 'more equal' before God. If we live as if we believe that, life will not be easy. However things may fall into place sometime.