Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle B)
Readings:
Isaiah 50:5-9a
Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The words LORD or GOD rendered in capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Church's Universal Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Obedience in Taking Up the
Cross of Christ
The Christian's mission is to pattern their life after the
life, death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today's readings focus
on being willing to take up the cross of suffering and following in the
footsteps of our Savior.
The First Reading is from the third song of the "Servant of Yahweh" in the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah's four Servant Songs describe God's ideal Servant-Son. Christians applied the Servant hymns to Jesus from the Church's earliest years. He fulfills the four songs in His atoning and self-sacrificial death that liberated humanity from bondage to sin and death. In today's reading, the third song introduces the Gospel theme of the necessity of taking up the burden of suffering and following Jesus, the Redeemer-Messiah, who suffered and died for us.
In the Responsorial Psalm's communal response, we profess our willingness to keep to the path of obedience God set before us as the way to eternal life. The psalmist proclaims his gratitude and commitment to remain faithful to the Lord and expresses his confidence that one day he will be with the Lord in the "land of the living," God's heavenly Kingdom. We can declare the same confidence in the Lord only if we are willing to submit to Christ in what Saint Paul called "the obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5; 16:26).
In the Second Reading, St. James teaches that faith without demonstrating deeds of righteousness is an empty and unproductive faith, like a body without a soul. We must express genuine Christian love by trying to help others, even if it requires personal sacrifice. Our obedience on the path to salvation begins with the Sacrament of Baptism. However, our journey is a process that only ends when we reach our final destination, the throne room of God on the Day of Judgment where Christ will evaluate the sincerity of our faith in light of our works of mercy and love (Mt 25:31-46).
In the Gospel Reading, St. Peter rebukes Jesus when he cannot reconcile Jesus's announcement of suffering with the acceptance of His Messiahship when Jesus reveals His destiny to suffer, die, and then rise from the dead on the third day in the first prediction of His Passion. Jesus rebukes Peter and teaches His Jewish disciples and all generations of believers about the necessity of taking up our crosses and following in His footsteps. In the obedience of faith, we should be willing to die to our egotistic selves to live in His image so we can be resurrected to live with Him forever. When we suffer as we struggle to carry our crosses, we must remember to pray the words from today's Responsorial Psalm: "I fell into distress and sorrow, and I called upon the name of the LORD [Yahweh], 'O LORD [Yahweh], save my life'" (Ps 113:3b-4). The "life" with the greatest value is not the temporal earthly life but eternal life.
The First Reading Isaiah 50:5-9a ~ Trusting the Lord in
the Midst of Suffering
5 The Lord GOD [YHWH] opens my ear that I may hear, and I
have not rebelled, have not turned back. 6 I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets
and spitting. 7 The Lord GOD [YHWH] is my help; therefore, I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He
is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear
together. Who disputes my right? Let that man confront me. 9a See, the Lord GOD
[YHWH] is my help; who will prove me wrong?
Our reading is from the third of Isaiah's four "Songs of the Servant of Yahweh." Isaiah presents the Servant's testimony in the first person, allowing him to speak for himself. In our passage, the Servant emphasizes his strength and suffering and challenges those who oppose him. Notice that God's Divine Name is repeated three times in our reading (YHWH is repeated seven times in Isaiah 50).
First, the Servant describes his strength in the Lord God, and he has the ear/hearing of a faithful servant who listens to the Lord. Thus, he testifies to his obedience to his divine Master and his mission (verse 5). Second, the Servant describes his suffering (verses 6-7). He willingly endures and does not resist suffering and humiliation, for God's sake, as he is beaten, mocked, and people spit on him. However, God's Servant is not disgraced and has remained steadfast ("set my face like flint") to fulfill his mission because he knows the Lord will sustain him and ultimately vindicate him. Third, in verses 8-9a, God's Servant challenges his enemies. As he reflects on God's protection and the promise of his vindication, he has found himself able to stand firm. He asks two questions: "Who disputes my right? Let that man confront me," and "Who will prove me wrong?" In other words, who can dispute his right to speak the word of the Lord, accuse him of not being faithful to his mission, bring charges against him, or condemn him? The answer is no one who matters because God is on his side.
The Church has always seen the events described in this Servant's Song fulfilled in Jesus Christ's Passion and Resurrection:
As for the challenge for those who dispute God's Servant (Jesus the Messiah), they will appear together with Him before the throne of God for condemnation on the Day of Judgment, just as He will appear with those who believe in Him as their Advocate, and they will not face condemnation. In Romans 8:31-39, St. Paul refers to God's Servant's challenge in verses 8-9a, describing the firm standing of all who place their faith and trust in Jesus. Paul wrote: Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Rom 8:33-34).
Responsorial Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9 ~ Salvation is in the Lord
Response: I will walk before the Lord in the land of the
living. Or: Alleluia.
1 I love the LORD because he has heard my voice in
supplication, 2 because he has inclined his ear to me the day I called.
Response:
3 The cords of death encompassed me; the snares of the
netherworld [Sheol] seized upon me; I fell into distress and sorrow, 4 and I
called upon the name of the LORD, "O LORD, save my life!"
Response:
5 Gracious is the LORD and just; yes, our God is
merciful. 6 The LORD keeps the little ones; I was brought low, and he saved me.
Response:
8 For he has freed my soul from death, my eyes from
tears, my feet from stumbling. 9 I shall walk before the LORD in the land of
the living.
Response:
LORD in capital letters is the Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
Sheol is the Hebrew for the abode of the dead (Hades in Greek), which Jesus
described in Luke 16:19-31, in the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man.
Today's psalm is a hymn of thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds in gratitude to God's divine intervention in rescuing the psalmist from mortal danger (verses 3-4). Next, in verse 5, he acknowledges God's mercy for the "little ones," literally "the simple," meaning the humble and lowly, including himself in that category since he could not defend himself against his enemy. Finally, in verses 8-9, he proclaims his gratitude and commitment to remain faithful to the Lord. He also announces his confidence that he will be with the Lord God in the "land of the living," in the Lord's heavenly kingdom. It is the hope and desire of all Jesus's faithful believers.
The Second Reading James 2:14-18 ~ Faith and Works
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone
says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a
brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one
of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat
well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is
it? 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 Indeed,
someone might say, "You have faith, and I have works." Demonstrate your faith
to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
In his letter, St. James addresses the Christian obligation to imitate Jesus's non-partiality in daily interactions with others. He wrote that Christians must value each person as a child of God, no matter their social standing. Christians have a covenant obligation to keep all of Jesus's New Covenant Law of salvation, exercising mercy toward others in the same way God is merciful in forgiving our trespasses. The examples of love in action, as expressed in Jesus's command to "love your neighbor" (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:33; Lk 10:27), prepare the reader of James's letter for his definition of faith as "love in action."
The ascent to the entire doctrine of the obedience of faith requires action. To dismiss the needs of the disadvantaged by saying it is not our responsibility to feed and clothe those who are in need shows contempt for the poor and a disregard for Jesus's teachings. To say, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," is useless without the actions necessary to bring about those good intentions. The sentiment is as valueless as faith without the effort of good deeds. James calls this kind of inaction "dead faith" (verse 17) instead of living, active faith that is a sign of the quality of our love.
18 Indeed, someone might say, "You have faith, and I have
works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my
faith to you from my works.
The "someone" is an imaginary person with whom James is
having this debate and to whom James presents the challenge: Demonstrate
your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my
works. His point is that faith is our first response to God's grace and the
first step on the road to salvation. The Church defines this first step of faith
as "initial justification" in our first response to God's grace. The next step
is to act upon that faith, making the first "work" of faith that should be
conversion: the repentance and confession that leads to Baptism or a turning
back to God for those already baptized (CCC 1989). Thus, repentance and
conversion are works of faith.
However, the works of faith do not stop with the Sacrament of Baptism. If you say you only have faith and nothing else, James asked what proof is there that you have any faith. James declared that he demonstrated his faith through his deeds. We are justified by faith as our response to God's grace and sanctified by works of mercy and love, which enrich our lives as we continue to grow in grace and faith. Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift that perfects the soul to live in fellowship with God and act out living faith in His call to love our neighbor as Christ loves us. The process of living and active faith does not end until we reach our final destination: the throne room of God on the Day of Judgment.
The Gospel of Mark 8:27-35 ~ A Partner in Christ's Cross of Glory
27 Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of
Caesarea Philippi. Along the way, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say
that I am?" 28 They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still
others one of the prophets." 29 And he asked them, "But who do you say that I
am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Christ (Messiah)." 30 Then he
warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He began to teach them that the
Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests,
and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke this
openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 At this, he
turned around and, looking at the disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get
behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." 34
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to
come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For
whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake and that of the Gospel will save it."
Verses 27-29 mark an event that is the turning point in Mark's account of Jesus's public ministry as Peter gives his profession of faith that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah promised by the prophets (verse 29). Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a collection of four villages that Herod Philip (another of Herod the Great's sons) rebuilt into a large Hellenistic city, naming it after the Roman emperor and adding his name. His gathering with the disciples probably occurred on the outskirts of the town. In the age of the United Monarchy, under Kings Saul, David, and Solomon, and later in the period of the nation of the Northern Kingdom, this region was within the lands allotted to the tribe of Dan. It was the northernmost territory of the Promised Land. Jesus came there to reclaim what belonged to Israel but was lost. He did this in the same way He reclaimed Galilee by beginning His ministry there. Galilee was the first region of the Promised Land conquered by the pagan Assyrians in the 8th century BC (2 Kng 15:27-29).
Peter's declaration in verse 29 is not as profound in Mark's Gospel as in Matthew's Gospel, where Peter proclaimed: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." For this confession of faith, he received the "keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" on earth (Mt 16:16-19). Nevertheless, Peter's profession of faith is the climax of Mark's "Bread Narrative" that began in Mark 6:34 and marked the beginning of unveiling the "mystery" of Jesus's divine identity.
Mark 8:31-33 ~ The First Prediction of the Passion and Peter's Rebuke
31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer
greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and
be killed and rise after three days. 32 He spoke this openly. Then Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 At this, he turned around and, looking at
the disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking
not as God does, but as human beings do."
Now that the disciples understand from Peter's declaration
that He is the Messiah, Jesus reveals His coming suffering, rejection, death, and
resurrection. One can only imagine the shock they must have felt at His words.
They could not comprehend with His divine power that He would let such a thing
happen to Him. The prediction in verse 31 is the first of three prophesies
Jesus gave concerning His Passion (also see Mk 9:30-32 and 10:32-34). In
sharing this secret with the disciples, Jesus corrected the common
misperception that the Messiah would come in triumph and glory to conquer
Israel's enemies and re-establish the Davidic kingdom on earth just as it was
in the past glory days of kings David and Solomon. Jesus's revelation of His
suffering and death in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies of the Suffering
Servant (Is 42:1-7; 49:1-7; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12) marks a new phase in His
ministry, as Mark introduces the revelation of Christ's Passion with the phrase
"He began to teach them ..." (verse 31).
The reference to the "three days" in verse 31 may intend to recall Hosea's prophecy: In their affliction, they shall look for me: "Come, let us return to the LORD, for it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day, he will raise us up, to live in his presence" (Hos 6:1-2). In the prediction of His suffering and death, Jesus identifies Himself not as a victorious David but as the Suffering Servant of the prophecies in the Servant Songs of the prophet Isaiah (Is 53-54).
Peter resisted what Jesus told the disciples about His suffering and death and received a harsh rebuke before the others. Peter understood that Jesus was the divine Messiah. Peter knew that Jesus is God, who came to gather His scattered people and fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 34 that "God Himself" would come to rescue and restore His people. Peter also knew the Temple hierarchy had no power over God's Anointed Messiah (Christ). Therefore, he could not comprehend why Jesus would allow Himself to be killed by those in authority over the Church of the Sinai Covenant when He could consume them in Holy Fire like the rebellious priestly sons of Aaron (Lev 10:1-2). Jesus rebuked Peter publicly as an object lesson to the others because Peter had voiced his opposition to God's plan when he should have humbly accepted that plan and committed himself to assist Jesus in His mission.
33 At this, he turned around and, looking at the
disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not
as God does, but as human beings do."
Jesus gave Peter the same rebuke He gave Satan in Matthew 4:10
at His temptation ordeal. The Hebrew word satan means adversary. Thus,
whenever one stands as an adversary to God's plan for humanity's salvation,
that person is indeed acting as Satan in human form.
Mark 8:34-35 ~ The Conditions of Discipleship
34 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to
them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.
Verse 34 is the first mention of the cross of crucifixion in
Mark's Gospel. Jesus used the image of a cross, a Roman instrument of death in
the execution of criminals, as a shocking metaphor for the uncompromising obedience
of discipleship. In His instruction, Jesus used three verbs in three commands
on the conditions of genuine discipleship in Mark 8:34. He told them to deny, take,
and follow. He instructed them that He bases true discipleship upon the
following:
Jesus's condition for true discipleship means completely identifying with His message by disowning one's self-interest and being willing to die for Jesus. The irony is Jesus's promise that whoever loses his mortal life for His sake will live, meaning their lives will be eternally secure in God's heavenly Kingdom. According to Jesus's statement, one who defines "life" as merely a self-centered earthly existence and lives in denial of Christ ends his life in destruction. However, when one lives in loyalty and obedience to Christ, that person arrives at the authentic fullness of life despite earthly death! Do you have the courage, no matter the cost of personal suffering, to take up the Cross of Jesus Christ and follow Him into eternity? That is the work of faith that leads to glory.
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Isaiah 50:5-9a (CCC 713*)
James 2:14-18 (CCC 162*); 2:15-16 (CCC 2447)
Mark 8:27 (CCC 472*); 8:31-33 (CCC 557*); 8:31 (CCC 474*, 572*, 649*); 8:34 (CCC 459*, 1615*); 8:35 (CCC 2544*)
God takes the initiative in redemption (CCC 604*, 605*, 1846*, 1847*, 1848*)
the Prodigal Son as an example of conversion (CCC 1439, 1700, 2839*)
the Prodigal Son and the Sacrament of Penance (CCC 1465, 1481)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.