September 27, 2009
Twenty-sixth Sunday Ordinary Time
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!" Numbers 11:29
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. Mark 9:39-41
Piety
The victory of Christ is the Resurrection. Christ in dying for us brings us to heaven with himself. Christ is our foothold on heaven. We are his hands and feet here on earth with our piety and all the good we do for others. The good that we do in the name of Jesus is our claim on heaven. The Spirit of the Lord dwells in our hearts and is the source of the miracles of life that we are part of. We can never be jealous of the good people do in the name of Christ because anyone who does the work of Christ is on our side and has a claim on heaven just as we do. All our efforts need to b ring unity with Jesus Christ. We need to respect the work Christ does in all his people and realize that when one works in the name of Christ they are with us even if they do not belong to us. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the hearts of all good people. The anonymous Christians of our lives are with us even if they do not know it. We need to look at what we do in the name of Christ and hope that we are not leaving out of our lives the goodness we see in those who do not know Christ as we do. Our piety needs to be there for all to see and to imitate. The precepts of the Lord that we live by and give joy to the heart need to be visible in our lives to all who see us. We need to preach always by our lives and occasionally use words.
Study
Wealth rots away. Clothes corrode. Naked we came into the world and naked we go out. The good we do is not interred with our bones but lives on in our hearts. What we have failed to do, will be a testimony against us. The treasures we have stored up in heaven are the good we do. What we do for one who belongs to Christ will not be lost to us. Our good example will live on in the hearts of those we touch with our love of Christ. For whoever listens to us when we speak in the name of Christ hears Christ. How our lives effect people we need to improve so that we will not be responsible for those who have lost their way. Our actions make a difference to people. We would not want to be responsible for someone losing the way because they were following us.
Action
The word of the Lord is truth. We need to ask the Lord to consecrate us in the truth. What we do for the poor and the needy of our lives open up heaven to us. We Need to commit ourselves to look beyond appearances and to see the good others do. We need to acknowledge the good people of our lives to empower them to do even more good. We need to commit ourselves to do what we need to do to stop bothering people by our false piety and to help people get closer to Christ. We need to be a genuine Christ for each other. A good action is a compliment that helps another to be a better person. One good action each day can keep the devil away.
