Word Wide Open: The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/31/21

First Reading (Deuteronomy 6:2-6)

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy.

Moses spoke to the people, saying:

"Fear the LORD, your God,

and keep, throughout the days of your lives,

all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,

and thus have long life.

Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,

that you may grow and prosper the more,

in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,

to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! 

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

and with all your strength. 

Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How do God's commandments give us a long life? How do we love God totally?


Second Reading (Hebrews 7:23-28)

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews.

Brothers and sisters:

The levitical priests were many

because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,

but Jesus, because he remains forever,

has a priesthood that does not pass away.

Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, 

since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:

holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,

higher than the heavens.

He has no need, as did the high priests,

to offer sacrifice day after day,

first for his own sins and then for those of the people;

he did that once for all when he offered himself. 

For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,

but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,

appoints a son,

who has been made perfect forever.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How does Jesus' priesthood continue? What are sacrifices we can make in our everyday lives?

Gospel (Mark 12:28b-34)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

"Which is the first of all the commandments?" 

Jesus replied, "The first is this:

Hear, O Israel!

The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, 

with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these." 

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

'He is One and there is no other than he.'

And 'to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding,

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself'

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him,

"You are not far from the kingdom of God." 

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? How do we live out the two commandments Jesus mentioned? Why is treating others well so important to our faith?

Word Wide Open: The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/24/21

First Reading (Jeremiah 31:7-9)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah.

Thus says the LORD:

    Shout with joy for Jacob,

        exult at the head of the nations;

        proclaim your praise and say:

    The LORD has delivered his people,

        the remnant of Israel.

    Behold, I will bring them back

        from the land of the north;

    I will gather them from the ends of the world,

        with the blind and the lame in their midst,

    the mothers and those with child;

        they shall return as an immense throng.

    They departed in tears,

        but I will console them and guide them;

    I will lead them to brooks of water,

        on a level road, so that none shall stumble.

    For I am a father to Israel,

        Ephraim is my first-born.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How does God always guide us back to Himself? How can we come back to God when we are far away?


Second Reading (Hebrews 5:1-6)

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews.

Brothers and sisters:

Every high priest is taken from among men

and made their representative before God,

to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,

for he himself is beset by weakness

and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself

as well as for the people.

No one takes this honor upon himself

but only when called by God,

just as Aaron was.

In the same way,

it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,

but rather the one who said to him:

    You are my son:

        this day I have begotten you;

just as he says in another place:

    You are a priest forever

        according to the order of Melchizedek.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How are we all called to be priests? How do priests do the things in this reading?

Gospel (Mark 10:46-52)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,

Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,

sat by the roadside begging.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,

he began to cry out and say,

"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. 

But he kept calling out all the more,

"Son of David, have pity on me."

Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."

So they called the blind man, saying to him,

"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."

He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" 

The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." 

Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." 

Immediately he received his sight

and followed him on the way.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? How does having faith save us? How should we ask Jesus for things?

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/17/21

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: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? Why must a sacrifice be made in order to pay for sins?


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: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How did Jesus experience the weakness of humanity without sinning? 

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: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? What is the cup they all will drink? How are true leaders servants to others? 

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 10/10/21

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: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? What is the gift of wisdom? Why should we want it over all earthly things?


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: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How is the word of God living and effective? What does the last part of this reading mean?

Gospel (Mark 10:17-30)

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: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? In what ways are we like the first man in this reading? Why does having earthly things make it difficult to get into heaven? How does God reward our sacrifices?