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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

18 Oct 2015

SUNDAY SUMMARY Isaiah 53:10-11 The self-offering of the faithful servant remits the sin of the world. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 The mercy and kindness of our God fills the failing and sinful world. Hebrews 4:14-16 Our high priest is merciful because he knows the weakness of our flesh. Mark 10:35-45 The spirit of competition grips the disciples even as Jesus repeats his passion prediction.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

21 Oct 2012

SUNDAY SUMMARY Isaiah 53:10-11 The prophet in exile explores the salvific potential of suffering. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 We wait for the mercy and kindness of God to deliver us from all harm. Hebrews 4:14-16 The ancient high priest withdrew from human suffering, while Jesus knows it personally. Mark 10:35-45 Two disciples seek honors from Jesus and are told to be servants instead.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

18 Oct 2009

SUNDAY SUMMARY Isaiah 53:10-11 Through sharing in the world's affliction, God's servant sees the divine will accomplished. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 The world is full of God's kindness, for God loves justice and right. Hebrews 4:14-16 At the throne of grace, we discover what we need: mercy, favor, and help. Mark 10:35-45 The sons of Zebedee seek greatness. Jesus invites them to seek the role of the servant.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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On a mission

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: World Mission Sunday Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 We hear a lot about sacrifice in today’s readings. Isaiah speaks of a servant who gives his life as an offering for sin. The Letter to the Hebrews talks about Jesus the high priest who sacrificed himself for human sins but who also knows our humanity. This sacrifice does not happen only at some hidden heavenly altar; it has a human face, Hebrews says. Jesus gave himself for us by becoming one of us, and so we can go to him for mercy and help, not in fear but in confidence and hope. But Jesus’ invitation to come to him, the gospel tells us, involves something else besides mercy and grace: a challenge. He asks us to embrace his path, to follow him, to imitate him. Jesus opens up for us the fact that the love of God goes out to all and that all are called to share in that love, and share it with others. On a Sunday the church devotes to calling to mind the mission of the church, it’s good to hear these readings. They remind us of that call—that mission—and where it comes from. Notice how after all the posturing and misunderstanding of the apostles in the gospel story, Jesus “summoned” them—called them—to tell them something very important: “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.” Those words describe very well what mission means. Mission Sunday is a time to realize that mission is at the heart of the church—that the church, as theologians say, is missionary by nature, that it reaches out. We can say that because we believe God, in whom the church is rooted, reaches out. God wants to share divine life and divine love with us. That’s why God created the world and gave us Jesus. Through Jesus, who proclaimed, revealed, and called others to the reign of God, God reaches out and calls people to communion with God and one another. What are we members of the church to do in response to that call, we who believe in this God and follow Jesus? A missionary church has to have a missionary people, a people who engage with their whole beings in mission, which is most simply bringing to others the Good News. That means seeing the face of Christ in everyone, especially the poor and outcast. Mission means showing compassion, spreading goodness, transforming, forgiving, healing, loving, serving, preaching, teaching, and healing. It means repenting and encouraging repentance, turning oneself and others to God. It also involves being agents of redemption in a world that has its life from the Creator and is therefore basically good and redeemable, even though sin and evil, both personal and social, sometimes seem to dominate. A missionary church has to have a missionary people, a people who engage with their whole beings in mission, which is most simply bringing to others the Good News. And mission is a call for all of us because of our Baptism. As Pope John Paul II put it, “Life according to the Spirit, whose fruit is holiness, stirs up every baptized person and requires each to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, in embracing the Beatitudes, in listening and meditating on the word of God, in conscious and active participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the church, in personal prayer, in family or in community, in the hunger and thirst for justice, in the practice of the commandment of love in all circumstances of life and service to the brethren, especially the least, the poor, and the suffering." All members of the church, whatever their roles, have a common responsibility to evangelize. We exercise this vocation through different roles to be sure, but being apostolic is a mark of the whole church, as we profess in the Creed, and a task of every member of church. Laypeople—and that’s the vast majority of us—call all of us to find God in all the tasks and relationships of life. Priests call all of us to exercise our common priesthood of believers, to lead us to lives of self-offering. Those in consecrated life call all of us to live the values of poverty and the generous use of resources, of chastity and right relationships, and of obedience, responsibility, and community, and to open ourselves to the influences of particular charisms like prayer, teaching, and so on. Missionaries call all of us to see the importance for Christian witness of encounters across cultures and boundaries. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” To go to others we have to go to God first. To learn that we are called to serve—and to learn how to serve—we have to go to the servant, Jesus, the one who shows us what it means to give one’s life for many. Such is our faith and our church, and such is our mission.

Authors Joel Schorn

Special occasion world mission sunday Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45 Isaiah 53:10-11

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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

21 Oct 2018

SUNDAY SUMMARY Isaiah 53:10-11 Many are justified through the suffering servant. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 The Earth is full of God’s mercy and kindness. Hebrews 4:14-16 The suffering of Jesus gives us confidence in God’s help and mercy. Mark 10:35-45 The disciples learn lessons about sharing in the cup of Jesus.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

17 Oct 2021

SUNDAY SUMMARY Isaiah 53:10-11 Inexplicably, the suffering of the just reconciles the wrongdoing of the guilty. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 The Lord fills the Earth with kindness and rescues us from death. Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus, who knows our weakness, presides at the throne of grace. Mark 10:35-45 James and John seek worldly glory and are promised a share in the Passion of Jesus.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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Love your mission for the love of Christ

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: World Mission Sunday Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 HAVE YOU EVER ASKED FOR SOMETHING that you realized later that you didn’t know what you were asking for? I know I have. When I was a child, I approached my mom, asking if I could eat cake. She agreed, with one condition. I had to make the cake myself. “Sure, why not?” I thought. However, baking that cake for the first time turned out to be far more demanding than I had imagined. Mixing the ingredients, followed by washing dishes, made me wonder if the effort would truly pay off. After nearly two hours, I impatiently waited for the cake to cool down, eager to apply the icing. Finally, as I covered it with frosting, my siblings appeared, each eyeing a slice. After dividing it among them, I was left with a small portion of the cake I had toiled for. It was delicious. But amidst the labor, I found myself questioning: Was it worth it? Reflecting on the gospel passage, where James and John posed a request they didn’t entirely comprehend, we find profound meaning behind both the inquiry and its implications for our lives. “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left," they say to Jesus. In a way, James and John were thinking the right concept. They had previously left their lives to follow Jesus, recognizing him as their hope and salvation. We too can be like this. World Mission Sunday gives us pause to see if we also think like James and John. We all have given up something to follow Christ. It may be as simple as giving up our Sunday morning or as grand as giving our life in a ministerial vocation. But amid these sacrifices it is crucial to ask ourselves: What are our true desires behind these actions? Are we seeking glory or recognition akin to James and John? Do we seek the fulfillment of the blessings of being followers of Christ rather than the actual relationship with him? Are we more enamored in the act of living out the mission than fully embracing its purpose? As baptized Catholics, we are equipped to evangelize the world. Mission Sunday serves as a reminder of this. Christ is quick to remind James, John, and us that being his follower and being his missionary is a challenging feat. We will undergo similar suffering that Christ underwent. The prophet Isaiah talks of the suffering servant—the servant who gives his life as an offering for sin. Jesus challenges us to partake in that servanthood with him. Yet, engaging in this mission requires us to embrace humility. In return, Jesus doesn’t promise us particular seats of glory. It is not his to give. Nor should we be motivated by these special placements. Humility in conjunction with service can be attained if we ground our motivation in the love we have for God and others. As baptized Catholics, we are equipped to evangelize the world. Mission Sunday serves as a reminder of this. We must partake in Christ’s cup and Baptism. As the second reading from Hebrews reminds us, “Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” For Jesus is there to support us. We may undergo much, but nothing compares to what he underwent for us. James and John had yet to receive the Holy Spirit when they requested thrones from Jesus. Similarly, our clarity and understanding may not be where it should be if we are not attuned to the Holy Spirit, the aid often overlooked in ministry. We don’t entirely comprehend what we're asking when we become followers of Christ. But with great joy and fortitude, we go where he calls us. Some of us to the ends of the Earth and others to our schools or offices. Today, let's rejuvenate the love of mission in our lives, not for glory or fleeting fulfillment, but because of our profound love for Christ. Let’s re-invite the Holy Spirit into our lives to better give us zeal and clarity in our mission. Everyone needs a slice of God’s love—the most delicious treat of all—even if it means we have to labor to taste and share it.

Authors Joseph Peach

Special occasion world mission sunday Isaiah 53:10-11 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

20 Oct 2024

SUNDAY SUMMARY Isaiah 53:10-11 Through sharing in the world's affliction, God's servant sees the divine will accomplished. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 The world is full of God's kindness, for God loves justice and right. Hebrews 4:14-16 At the throne of grace, we discover what we need: mercy, favor, and help. Mark 10:35-45 The sons of Zebedee seek greatness. Jesus invites them to seek the role of the servant. More resources for the month available in Seasonal notes.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45

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