Season of Creation – Week 5

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Introduction 

Sermon Notes

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

This passage from the book of Esther clearly expresses the desire for the people to reclaim their lives in fullness. To do so, it would be necessary to denounce the injustices of the oppressive system, which sold, excluded and killed the people. Esther had a bold attitude and also risked her life to save her people and this people she puts herself at the service of them.

Psalm 124

Psalm 124 is one of the many texts attributed to David. It is a song of gratitude and acknowledgement of God’s help and protection.

This passage prompts us to reflect on what would have happened if God had not been on the side of David and the people of Israel.

We can also interpret that David wrote this psalm out of gratitude for God’s faithfulness and saving power, recognizing that without divine protection they would have faced far worse consequences in their adversity. Thus, Psalm 124 is a song of thanksgiving and acknowledgement of God’s help and protection.

James 5:13- 20

We must remember that the letter of James was written around the year 50 A.D. bringing up practical issues and problems often faced by many Christian people in the communities. It also emphasizes that God’s Law must be practiced in everyday life and not only in temple rituals. For James, the Christian person sanctifies God through obedience to God’s will.

This epistle offers wise counsel for life and day-to-day problems. Therefore, our thoughts and attitudes must demonstrate that we serve the God of Life, the God of Jesus Christ, whose will says that the only power people should have over one another is the power to serve.

For James, a person is truly religious when he practices what the religion professes. And the high point of this perception of James, in this part of the text presented, is the prayer for the sick and the communal confession of sins. “If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the church to pray and put oil on the person’s head in the name of the Lord. Such prayer in faith will save the sick person. The Lord will give you health and forgive the sins you have committed. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a person obedient to God has much power” (James 5:14-16).

Mark 9: 38-50

”Whoever is not against us is for us!”

The Gospel indicated for this Sunday places us, once again, in the context of Jesus’ teaching to his disciples. It presents important elements that need to Bishop Magda at Lambeth be continually remembered by every follower of Christ. The text reminds us that God is no one’s property. No church, institution, or hierarchy has a monopoly on the Spirit, nor can it hire him, much less chain or hide him. The Spirit, however, is in all those who, through the practice of the values taught by Jesus, are open and willing to take up the path that leads to the true building of the Kingdom of God, which is not food or drink, but love, peace, justice, solidarity, sharing.

Our faith communities are challenged to be able to promote dialogue and to know how to value the good deeds of other religious groups. We should do good because we are Christians and faith in Christ leads us to such an attitude, not because a certain person belongs to our group. In this sense, the disciples are somewhat limited in their understanding of the Kingdom. Last Sunday, they were interested in knowing who would be the greatest, today, they show weakness by wanting to silence someone who also does good, but does not officially participate in the “elected group”.

These are difficulties that are part of our life and the daily life of our parish communities, but we need to learn to recognize and rejoice in the attitudes of life that take place around us, even when these attitudes result from the action of non-believers or people who do not belong to some Church institution.

We must be clear that God acts through other people and strives every day to bear witness to the values of the Kingdom, and we must rejoice in the signs of God’s presence in so many other people who struggle to build a more just and fraternal world.

Another prominent part of today’s Gospel confronts us with the problem of the scandal of the “little ones in the community”. We need to understand that “the little ones” are not just children, but the excluded, the poor, the sick, the orphans, the widows, and the strangers. And, the meaning of the word “scandal” means “stumbling block.” So, we must be aware that it (stumbling block) can even be certain attitudes that do not allow the growth of the community. This is a special warning to the leaders who are primarily responsible for the community.

The radicality demanded by Jesus is not to be considered in the physical realm. Using typically Semitic imagery and language, Jesus orders everything that could cause problems, whether in a personal or community context, to be cut off and thrown away, even if it requires a drastic attitude, so as not to be a cause for anyone to fall.

The journey to Jerusalem in the Gospel of Mark is a great teaching of Jesus for those who want to follow him as a disciple. Step by step, he changes their thinking and sows the seeds of the Kingdom. And today, we are challenged to practice true ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, acceptance of what is different, and to review our way of acting and thinking, so that the Christian experience in our Churches may be a real example of the values of the Kingdom of God.

Let us not allow ourselves to be conditioned by norms or personal or group interests that want to take advantage, but let us follow Christ and let ourselves be moved by the Spirit of God who blows where he wills, for whom he wills and on whom he wills. Amen