Sep-12 Liturgical Study Twenty-fourth Sunday

 

Sep-12 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary time


Isaiah 50:4c-9a

This is the third of four passages in Isaiah that make up the “Songs of the Servant” (42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-9, 52:13-53:12). The identity of this servant is greatly debated. Was it an individual or the nation of Israel?

Here the term Lord God is used 4 times

verse 4: The Lord GOD gave me a tongue

verses 5-6: The Lord GOD opened to me ears

verses 7-8: But the Lord GOD helps me

verse 9: The Lord GOD helps me

First two times in past tense where Lord God teaches the prophet/servant, last two in present tense where Lord God is there to help the prophet/servant


Psalm 116

Psalm 116 is a prayer of thanksgiving that begins by saying that God has rescued the psalmist from trouble (verses 1-2). Then the psalm describes the distressing circumstance now past (verse 3), recalls a prayer for help (verse 4) along with the Lord’s saving response (verses 5-11)


James 2:14-18

James, the action disciple, calls on all Christians to live the word of God. Any action that secures individual comfort and pleasure at the expense of another is wrong. The poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the sick are precisely whom the gathering must support as they struggle to flourish in James’ time. The welfare of the needy leads to the welfare of the entire community. 


Mark 8:27-35

First-century Jewish messianic hopes variously dreamt of an idealised Messiah who would judge the wicked and restore Israel’s righteous place on Earth but none of them expected a Messiah to be crucified. Crucifixion was the worst of the worst Roman punishments.

Jesus’ disciples were undergoing a very intense apprenticeship with Jesus, and it is about to get far more intense as he begins his journey to Jerusalem. Before embarking on this journey south, Jesus pauses to check in with his disciples near the northern city of Caesarea Philippi. Who do you say I am? When Peter declares he is the Messiah, Jesus tells his disciples to tell no one about him, because he knows that they are still so very far from understanding what he is all about - rejection, suffering, and death. Peter stops him and tries to sell Jesus his version of a Jewish Messiah, the conqueror of Romans oppressors. 

It was the Holy Spirit who inspired Peter to correctly identify Jesus; and it was Satan who got Peter to discourage Jesus from his true mission.

But Jesus shuts Peter down. He also clearly articulates what his disciples need to do to follow him on this path of suffering and death. Taking up our cross means being willing to suffer the consequences of following Jesus faithfully, whatever those consequences might be. It means putting Jesus’ priorities and purposes ahead of our own comfort or security. It means being willing to lose our lives by spending them for others — using our time, resources, gifts, and energy so that others might experience God’s love made known in Jesus Christ.


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