Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 9/15/24

First Reading (Isaiah 50:5-9a)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;

and I have not rebelled,

have not turned back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;

my face I did not shield

from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,

therefore I am not disgraced;

I have set my face like flint,

knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

He is near who upholds my right;

if anyone wishes to oppose me,

let us appear together.

Who disputes my right?

Let that man confront me.

See, the Lord GOD is my help;

who will prove me wrong?

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 God help us in the face of persecution?

Second Reading (James 2:14-18)

A reading from the Letter of St. James. 

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if someone says he has faith but does not have works? 

Can that faith save him? 

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear

and has no food for the day,

and one of you says to them,

"Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, "

but you do not give them the necessities of the body,

what good is it? 

So also faith of itself,

if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say,

"You have faith and I have works." 

Demonstrate your faith to me without works,

and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

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 the works were supposed to do?

Gospel (Mark 8:27-35)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

Jesus and his disciples set out

for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. 

Along the way he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say that I am?" 

They said in reply,

"John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others one of the prophets." 

And he asked them,

"But who do you say that I am?" 

Peter said to him in reply,

"You are the Christ." 

Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them

that the Son of Man must suffer greatly

and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed, and rise after three days. 

He spoke this openly. 

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 

At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,

rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. 

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me. 

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake

and that of the gospel will save it."

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 would you tell someone about Jesus? What does carrying our cross look like?

Word Wide Open: The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) - 9/8/24

First Reading (Isaiah 35:4-7a)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

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.

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 causes fear in our hearts?

Second Reading (James 2:1-5)

A reading from the Letter of St. James. 

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?

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 divisions can we accidentally create?

Gospel (Mark 7:31-37)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

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.”

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 the things we should ask Jesus to heal us of? Why did Jesus tell them to not tell anyone?