Readings for Sept. 28-29, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission
As I read the Scriptures for this Sunday, I had the feeling that, prior to delivering their teaching, both St. Paul and Jesus must have gotten up out of the proverbial wrong side of the bed. Their words are harsh, and some images Jesus used were worthy of a Stephen King novel.
I have reread the passages many times, hoping to find just one bit of “good news.” Eventually I did: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink … will surely not lose his reward” (Mk 9:41).
What delights me about that verse is that Jesus says, “Anyone.”
Those of us who attended Catholic school in the 1940s or 1950s learned that we were Catholics (the good people) and everyone else was “another and how unfortunate for them.” With Vatican II in the late 1960s, an ecumenical spirit began to grow in our church as we began to accept those affiliated with Protestant religions as our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In more recent years, our popes have tried to move us to a deeper understanding that being of God and acting in Godly ways is not exclusive to only Catholics.
In paragraph 72 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism, and grounded in the conviction that all people have only one God and Father.”
God calls all people to a good and righteous life. I prefer saying, “God wants us to glimmer.”
People of the Jewish religion, people of tribal religions, those who are nondenominational, those who have stepped away from the Catholic Church, even atheists — any person who lives their life in an ethical, compassionate, generous manner — has the capacity to glimmer for God. They may not recognize or want to acknowledge God in their life, but they are aware of “something” inside of them that drives them to living a good life.
It’s a blessing to belong to the glimmering family of God. However, here is one thing that will always set Catholics apart from the “anyone” in today’s Gospel: We will always have the Holy Eucharist, the real and true presence of Jesus Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity.
We, as Catholics, have access to this great gift of the Eucharist and so we have the eucharistic mission to be Christ’s body in our world. We do not minister from some unknown or unnamed force or feeling as other people may; we minister from our intimate relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.
May we be intentional about our place in the world and strive for a spiritual glimmer that causes people to say, “Whatever that person has, I want that, too.”
Let us continue to pray that “anyone” in today’s world lives a Godly life. In addition, may we who are Catholic also live a Gospel life, attracting people to seek out Jesus and come to know him in the Holy Eucharist of the Catholic Church.
Zahorik is director for spiritual engagement at St. Mary Parish, Omro, and St. Mary Parish, Winneconne.
The readings for Sunday, Sept. 29, can be found at Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.
