Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 9/1/24

First Reading (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8)

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy.

Moses said to the people:

"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees

which I am teaching you to observe,

that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land

which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 

In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,

which I enjoin upon you,

you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. 

Observe them carefully,

for thus will you give evidence

of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,

who will hear of all these statutes and say,

'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'

For what great nation is there

that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us

whenever we call upon him? 

Or what great nation has statutes and decrees

that are as just as this whole law

which I am setting before you today?"

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 does following the commandments keep us close to God?

Second Reading (James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 28)

A reading from the Letter of St. James. 

Brothers and sisters:

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

Dearest brothers and sisters:

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 

He willed to give us birth by the word of truth

that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you

and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:

to care for orphans and widows in their affliction

and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

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 does it mean to be doers of the word?

Gospel (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem

gathered around Jesus,

they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals

with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 

—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,

do not eat without carefully washing their hands,

keeping the tradition of the elders.

And on coming from the marketplace 

they do not eat without purifying themselves. 

And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,

the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,

"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders

but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" 

He responded,

"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."

He summoned the crowd again and said to them,

"Hear me, all of you, and understand. 

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;

but the things that come out from within are what defile.

"From within people, from their hearts,

come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,

adultery, greed, malice, deceit,

licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.

All these evils come from within and they defile."

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 are sins that make us unclean internally? How can we make our faith more than actions?