A Commentary and Reflection on the Readings for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B. The Liturgical Sense of the Scriptures Podcast, by Catholic Author and Theologian David L. Gray. READINGS: Numbers 11:25-29, James 5:1-6, and Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48.
The Liturgical Life Breaks Through the Confines of the Church Building
A liturgy that is confined within the walls of the church is but a dormant ritual, a faith without vivacity. However, when we embrace the transformative power of living a liturgical life, we become living embodiments of the light of the Catholic Mass in the world. As these living extensions, we are dismissed from the liturgy, sent forth to reach out to those spiritually and physically distant, bringing them the essence of Christ received in the Mass so that through us, they might behold Christ Jesus. In this manner, the liturgical life is truly catholic—universal and all-encompassing. It knows no boundaries in sharing God’s love because the joint mission of Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit is divinely inclusive.
Today’s Second Reading for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – year B from James 5:1-6 presents a vivid dichotomy between lives adorned by divine love and those marred by the pursuit of earthly riches. James admonishes the wealthy, urging them to weep for the tribulations that their greed has secured, declaring, “Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire.” These words illustrate the fate of treasures hoarded rather than shared, akin to a faith or liturgy that languishes without the breath of life. What value lies in faith confined and unexpressed? Just as garments left untouched succumb to the moth’s hunger, so does a dormant faith wither. James calls us to animate our faith, to become luminous beacons of the divine light we receive through the liturgy, and to allow our lives to reflect the boundless generosity of God’s grace.
Our Lord underscores this attribute in today’s First and Gospel Readings. In Numbers 11:25-29, we encounter two elders, Eldad and Medad, who received a share of the spirit that rested on Moses, despite not being present in the gathering where the other seventy elders received theirs. The text states, “They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp. So, when a young man quickly told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,’ Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them.’ But Moses answered him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!’” Similarly, in Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48, the text reads, “At that time, John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.’ Jesus replied, ‘Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.’”
In both instances, there were individuals inclined towards exclusivity rather than inclusivity. Rather than rejoicing in the boundless reach of God’s work, the natural human inclination is to contain God, reducing His vastness and magnanimity to the limited confines of our understanding. Like the Prophet Jonah, we are tempted to micromanage God’s grace, preferring to ration it out in teaspoon measures to a select few of the elite rather than generously distributing it in abundance to all who are willing to receive it.
Indeed, this Sunday’s readings beckon us to transcend the confines of the church building, urging us to live a faith that breathes God’s life into the world. James admonishes the wealthy for their hoarded riches, reminding us that a dormant faith, like untouched garments, withers away. Meanwhile, both Numbers and Mark celebrate the boundless and universal nature of God’s grace, prompting us to be luminous vessels of His love. The message is clear: embrace the true meaning of divine inclusivity by sharing the light of Christ, and by allowing your life to reflect the infinite generosity of God.
This is just one way the readings at Mass this Sunday connect to the liturgy and how the liturgy is forming us on how to live our lives in the world. Be in the world what you have received through the liturgy.
