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?