Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/20/24

First Reading (Isaiah 53:10-11)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

  The LORD was pleased

    to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,

    he shall see his descendants in a long life,

    and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction

    he shall see the light in fullness

        of days;

through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,

    and their guilt he shall bear.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How did Jesus’ suffering cure our sin?

Second Reading (Hebrews 4:14-16)

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. 

Brothers and sisters:

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, 

Jesus, the Son of God,

let us hold fast to our confession.

For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but one who has similarly been tested in every way,

yet without sin. 

So let us confidently approach the throne of grace

to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How can Jesus sympathize with us?

Gospel (Mark 10:35-45)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 

He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" 

They answered him, "Grant that in your glory

we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. 

Can you drink the cup that I drink

or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 

They said to him, "We can." 

Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,

and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;

but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give

but is for those for whom it has been prepared." 

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 

Jesus summoned them and said to them,

"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

lord it over them,

and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 

For the Son of Man did not come to be served

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? Why is it so tempting to seek recognition? How do we become servants of all?

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/13/24

First Reading (Wisdom 7:7-11)

A reading from the Book of Wisdom.

    I prayed, and prudence was given me;

        I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

    I preferred her to scepter and throne,

    and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,

        nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;

    because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,

        and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

    Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,

    and I chose to have her rather than the light,

        because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

    Yet all good things together came to me in her company,

        and countless riches at her hands.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? What are gifts we should ask God for?

Second Reading (Hebrews 4:12-13)

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. 

Brothers and sisters:

Indeed the word of God is living and effective,

sharper than any two-edged sword,

penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,

and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

No creature is concealed from him,

but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him

to whom we must render an account.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How is the word of God alive?

Gospel (Mark 4:17-30)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,

knelt down before him, and asked him,

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? 

No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: You shall not kill;

you shall not commit adultery;

you shall not steal;

you shall not bear false witness;

you shall not defraud;

honor your father and your mother." 

He replied and said to him,

"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,

"You are lacking in one thing.

Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor

and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 

At that statement his face fell,

and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,

"How hard it is for those who have wealth

to enter the kingdom of God!" 

The disciples were amazed at his words.

So Jesus again said to them in reply,

"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 

They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,

"Then who can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said,

"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. 

All things are possible for God." 

Peter began to say to him,

"We have given up everything and followed you." 

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,

there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters

or mother or father or children or lands

for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:

houses and brothers and sisters

and mothers and children and lands,

with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? Why does having material possessions make it hard to get into heaven? What are the things we have to give up to follow the Lord?

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/6/24

First Reading (Genesis 2:18-24)

A reading from the Book of Genesis.

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a suitable partner for him."

So the LORD God formed out of the ground

various wild animals and various birds of the air,

and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;

whatever the man called each of them would be its name. 

The man gave names to all the cattle,

all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;

but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,

and while he was asleep,

he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib

that he had taken from the man.

When he brought her to the man, the man said:

    "This one, at last, is bone of my bones

        and flesh of my flesh;

    this one shall be called 'woman, '

        for out of 'her man’ this one has been taken."

That is why a man leaves his father and mother

and clings to his wife,

and the two of them become one flesh.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? Why is it bad for man to be alone?

Second Reading (Hebrews 2:9-11)

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. 

Brothers and sisters:

He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "

that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he,

for whom and through whom all things exist,

in bringing many children to glory,

should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.

He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated

all have one origin.

Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How does suffering make us perfect?

Gospel (Mark 2:10-16)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,

"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" 

They were testing him.

He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" 

They replied,

"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce

and dismiss her."

But Jesus told them,

"Because of the hardness of your hearts

he wrote you this commandment. 

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two but one flesh. 

Therefore what God has joined together,

no human being must separate." 

In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 

He said to them,

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another

commits adultery against her;

and if she divorces her husband and marries another,

she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,

but the disciples rebuked them.

When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,

"Let the children come to me;

do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to

such as these. 

Amen, I say to you,

whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child

will not enter it."

Then he embraced them and blessed them,

placing his hands on them.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? What does it mean to have your heart hardened? Why does the kingdom belong to children?

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 9/29/24

First Reading (Numbers 11:25-29)

A reading from the Book of Numbers.

The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.

Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,

the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;

and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.

Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,

were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.

They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;

yet the spirit came to rest on them also,

and they prophesied in the camp.

So, when a young man quickly told Moses,

"Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, "

Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said,

"Moses, my lord, stop them."

But Moses answered him,

"Are you jealous for my sake?

Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!

Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? What do encounters with God look like?

Second Reading (James 5:1-6)

A reading from the Letter of St. James. 

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.

Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,

your gold and silver have corroded,

and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;

it will devour your flesh like a fire.

You have stored up treasure for the last days.

Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers

who harvested your fields are crying aloud;

and the cries of the harvesters

have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;

you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.

You have condemned;

you have murdered the righteous one;

he offers you no resistance.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? When do our material possessions begin to distract us from God?

Gospel (Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

At that time, John said to Jesus,

"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,

and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."

Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink

because you belong to Christ, 

amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,

it would be better for him if a great millstone

were put around his neck

and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed

than with two hands to go into Gehenna,

into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.

It is better for you to enter into life crippled

than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye

than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? According to Jesus how should we respond to sin? What does being with Jesus look like?

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 9/22/24

First Reading (Wisdom 2:12, 17-20)

A reading from the Book of Wisdom.

The wicked say:

Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;

he sets himself against our doings,

reproaches us for transgressions of the law

and charges us with violations of our training.

Let us see whether his words be true;

let us find out what will happen to him.

For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him

and deliver him from the hand of his foes.

With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test

that we may have proof of his gentleness

and try his patience.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death;

for according to his own words, God will take care of him.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? Why are people often resentful to the CHurch?

Second Reading (James 3:16-4:3)

A reading from the Letter of St. James. 

Beloved:

Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,

there is disorder and every foul practice. 

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,

then peaceable, gentle, compliant,

full of mercy and good fruits,

without inconstancy or insincerity. 

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace

for those who cultivate peace.

Where do the wars

and where do the conflicts among you come from? 

Is it not from your passions

that make war within your members? 

You covet but do not possess. 

You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;

you fight and wage war. 

You do not possess because you do not ask. 

You ask but do not receive,

because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? When does ambition become bad?

Gospel (Mark 9:30-37)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,

but he did not wish anyone to know about it. 

He was teaching his disciples and telling them,

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men

and they will kill him,

and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” 

But they did not understand the saying,

and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,

he began to ask them,

“What were you arguing about on the way?” 

But they remained silent.

They had been discussing among themselves on the way

who was the greatest. 

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,

“If anyone wishes to be first,

he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 

Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,

and putting his arms around it, he said to them,

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;

and whoever receives me,

receives not me but the One who sent me.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Do you have any questions about this reading? Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? How do children show us what true faith looks like? How do we receive God by receiving others?