Liturgy of the Sunday

Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Pope Saint Callixtus (+222). He was a friend to the poor and founded the house of prayer on which later would be built the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

First Reading

Wisdom 7,7-11

And so I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones; compared with her, I held riches as nothing. I reckoned no precious stone to be her equal, for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand, and beside her, silver ranks as mud. I loved her more than health or beauty, preferred her to the light, since her radiance never sleeps. In her company all good things came to me, and at her hands incalculable wealth.

Psalmody

Psalm 89

Antiphon

May the favour of the Lord rest upon us.

O Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.

Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end.

You turn men back into dust
and say: 'Go back, sons of men'

To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.

You sweep men away like a dream
like grass which springs up in the morning.

In the morning it springs up and flowers;
by evening it withers and fades.

So we are destroyed in your anger
struck with terror in your fury.

Our guilt lies open before you;
our secrets in the light of your face.

All our days pass away in your anger.
Our life is over like a sigh.

Our span is seventy years
or eighty for those who are strong.

And most of these are emptiness and pain.
They pass swiftly and we are gone.

Who understands the power of your anger
and fears the strength of your fury?

Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.

In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.

Give us joy to balance our affliction
for the years when we knew misfortune.

Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children.

Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands.

Second Reading

Hebrews 4,12-13

The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts more incisively than any two-edged sword: it can seek out the place where soul is divided from spirit, or joints from marrow; it can pass judgement on secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing is hidden from him; everything is uncovered and stretched fully open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Mark 10,17-30

He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.' And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.' Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!' The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.' They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?' Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.' Peter took this up. 'Look,' he said to him, 'we have left everything and followed you.' Jesus said, 'In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land -- and persecutions too -- now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

The Gospel shows Jesus walking again towards Jerusalem. It invites us to get involved with Jesus on the path of spiritual growth. The one whom Mark's Gospel writes about is "running" towards Jesus. He is hurrying to meet him. He is quite a model compared to our usual laziness when we follow Jesus. Mark describes him as an adult (Matthew as a young man). In fact, we can, or rather we must, run towards the Lord at any age. As soon as he reaches Jesus, the man falls on his knees and asks him a fundamental question, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He calls him "good" not because he wants to flatter him but because he does think Jesus to be so. However, Jesus soon corrects him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." For us so used to having a high regard for ourselves, Jesus' words are a lesson. "No one is good but God alone." Even less are we ourselves good. Being aware of this is not humility, but truth. Understanding our own weakness and sins means taking a first step along the race towards the Lord. The man runs to Jesus and opens a dialogue. Jesus asks him if he knows the commandments. He replies he has respected them since he was young. He is not a "lukewarm" believer. How many among us could reply the same to Jesus?
The Evangelist remarks "Jesus, looking at him, loved him." Jesus' word always sees, fixes his gaze with love on the lives of men and women. Today, Jesus addresses us with the same deep love and tells us, "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." The Gospel always requires commitment, a decision, and a reply. When the rich man heard these words, he lowered his head, his face darkened, and he went away with a sad heart. The Evangelist ends the passage explaining: "For he had many possessions." Jesus also became sad, very sad. He had lost a friend, a disciple. Even those to whom he could have preached the joy of the Gospel had lost him.
"How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" Jesus says and concludes saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." We should be frightened when we hear these words. As children of a rich world, we are inclined to hoard, to own goods, rather than giving, offering, and sharing. Jesus asks us to put God before everything, even before our possessions, and consider the poor as our brothers and sisters who are in debt of love and help. It may seem that the Lord is asking us to give something up, and he is, partly. But what the Lord is asking is, in fact, a great wisdom of life. Jesus' answer to the question Peter asks in the name of the disciples explains the consequences of this evangelical wisdom. Those who leave everything to follow Jesus receive one hundred times as much during their life and will receive eternal life after their death. Sometimes we think the evangelical life is only deprivation. The rich man thought like this. Actually, following Jesus is extremely "convenient," not just for the future salvation of our souls, but also to enjoy a hundred times as much life on this earth. Those who place God first in their lives become members of his family and there they find brothers and sisters to love, fathers and mothers to revere, houses and fields to till.