Readings for Aug. 24-25, Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Edward Looney | For On Mission
If you wander down the home décor aisle at Hobby Lobby or any equivalent, you are bound to find a few signs with Bible verses that you could purchase and proudly display in your home. One of those verses you will find is found in our first reading today from Joshua: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Placing a sign with that verse in your home reminds those who live there to live that verse in their daily life. To those who may visit, it communicates to them that your household is a Bible-believing Christian household. As a household member comes and goes throughout the day, the verse reinforces their decision making, encouraging them to make decisions that please and serve the Lord.
There are other great one-liners from our readings this weekend, too.
The second reading from Ephesians speaks to husbands and wives, telling them to “live in love” and “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.” If these verses become familiar to married couples, then one chooses to intentionally live them. The exhortation to live in love reminds a couple to show love by their words and actions and to seek reconciliation and healing when love has not been shown.
In the Gospel, St. Peter responds to Jesus’ question with this answer: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
I am reminded that this verse serves as the episcopal motto of Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. For him, it is a familiar verse and one that he has reflected on at length, even authoring a book with that title.
As St. Peter poses the question to Jesus, “to whom shall we go?,” it is a question that echoes in our life as believers still today. If we know and believe what we profess as Catholics, “to whom shall we go?,” in Jesus we have all our questions answered, our longings satisfied and promises fulfilled. Make it a familiar verse, so that when doubts arise, you will immediately respond “to whom shall I go?”
Do you have a Bible verse that guides your life? Do you display the verse so that you see it often — reading, repeating and living it?
Don’t allow the verse to become too familiar as to become numb to it or ignore it. Make sure to reflect on that verse often, spending a few moments conversing with God in prayer about it. Let the verses of Scripture guide your life, forming and molding you into the believer God calls you to be.
Fr. Looney serves as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawano, and priest celebrant at St. Martin of Tours Parish, Cecil. He is the author of the new book “Places of Grace,” available now on Amazon.
The readings for Sunday, Aug. 25, can be found at Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.
