Commentary
Sunday, 10/21/2018, Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
It Is Also About Us
First Reading Commentary: Isaiah 53:10-11
Isaiah’s prophecy is about the coming of Christ but is today’s reading all about Christ? It sounds like it is but in reality, it is as much about us as it is the Son. The key is in verse eleven which reads, “Because of his affliction…my servant shall justify many…” and the key word is “servant.”
We are all called to serve God and we serve God by being faithful to Him. This means that we live according to His Will by following His commandments and there are only two that we need to worry about—Love God and love neighbor. That can be translated to: Serve God and serve neighbor and that, is what today’s message is all about.
Simple enough but we all know that it is easier said than done. We cannot obey the two Greatest Commandments without suffering so it is fair to ask, “Why should we obey God’s commandments if He is pleased to crush us in infirmity?”
The answer is because of the reward which is also in verse eleven: “…he shall see the light in fullness of days…” Heaven is the reward! We have to stay focused on that reward but in order to do that, we have to accept one of the most dominant messages contained in the New Testament: This life and everything in it is only temporary and unimportant. It is the eternal life which follows that is important. Therefore, we should not live for the physical but for the spiritual.
That does not mean that God does not want us to enjoy the physical pleasures of this life. If that were true, He would not have given them to us. God wants us to enjoy all of the pleasures of life that come to us to the fullest but God does not want those pleasures to run our lives by being most important in our lives because when that happens, those pleasures become idols.
We may not realize it, but when we live our lives in faith according to God’s Will, when we leave this life, we offer it to God for sin. We actually give this physical life to God for our sins and the sins of those for whom we have prayed—most especially, those in purgatory—in payment for eternal life in heaven. This is why today’s reading from Isaiah is not only about the coming of Christ and the offering that He would make; it is also about us and the offering that we are called to make.
God Knows
Second Reading Commentary: Hebrews 4:14-16
God not only knows that we will be tempted by the evil one but God, through the person of the Son, in His humanity, knows what it is like to be tempted by the evil one. So, God is always ready, willing and able to give us mercy and forgive us of all our sins. All we have to do is repent and ask.
Called to Serve
Gospel Reading Commentary: Mark 10:35-45
Jesus said to James and John, “You do not know what you are asking.” Can you remember, when growing up, asking for something not knowing what the consequences would be if you received what you were asking for?
We all have and we all continue to ask without knowing the consequences of our request when we pray. We never know what the consequences will be. Only God knows. And, just as our parents, in an effort to protect us, did not always give us what we asked for; so too, God does not always give us what we ask for.
Only God always knows what is best for us and God will always give us what we need. Just as our parents give us what we need and then, out of pure love, also give us much more; so too, God always gives us what we need and sometimes much more. Correction: God always gives us more than we need or even deserve.
But God will never give us anything that might hurt us or harm us. If we are hurt by something that God gave us, it is because of our own fault. It is the result of our misusing God’s gift by way of sin. Sex is a perfect example of a gift from God that is so often misused by way of sin.
Now consider the question that James and John asked Jesus. They wanted Jesus to do whatever they wished—they wanted to be seated next to Jesus when Jesus was in His glory. At the root of the question was the deadly sin of pride.
Then consider the reaction of the other Ten. Theirs was the deadly sin of envy and the deadly sin of jealousy. Today’s Gospel is all about Jesus teaching the Twelve and us that the three deadly sins of pride, envy and jealousy make it impossible to have humility. Without humility, it impossible to serve each other. If we cannot serve each other, it impossible to obey the Greatest Commandment which means that we cannot serve God.
