September 26, 2021
26th Sunday Ordinary Time B
A week ago the Ladies Sodality was having a Retreat Day in Selbert Hall. A man knocked on the glass door asking for a handout, for money. Instead the Ladies offered/provided lunch. These encounters are not always easy to handle especially when we have safety concerns. Yet there is in us an inclination, an imperative, to help in some way. We may even describe it as a calling. We hear the words of Jesus in the Gospel according to Mark, “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.†The benefit or blessing of giving is bestowed on the recipient of the “cup of water†and to the person or community who provides it. They are both dear to Jesus!
John, the apostle, brings a concern to Jesus of someone “driving out demons†who is not one of the inner group of disciples, someone who is using the name of Jesus to heal a person in distress. John wants Jesus to stop him. Jesus refuses. Jesus understands the mission of announcing the Kingdom of God will be entrusted to a wider circle. The mission has been entrusted to us.
Giving a cup of water†is something we all can do. This act of kindness, when it is done in the name of Jesus, inaugurates the Kingdom of God. I am not suggesting that we publicly broadcast that we are doing it in the name of Jesus but something changes when we quietly say the name “Jesus†to ourselves, a name that means, “God saves.â€
If we are honest, we must admit how difficult charity can be in our homes, at church, in our society and in the world. Trying to lend a hand, to help another person, can be demanding and exhausting. We discover “doing it together†can lighten the load and enhance our effectiveness. Consider our support of FISH in East Aurora and Response to Love Center and Saint Luke Mission of Mercy in East Buffalo. We learn how best to provide assistance that can make a real difference.
We are aware of multiple humanitarian crises – the evacuation of Afghans, refugees at our southern border, devastation in Haiti because of the earthquake, and the destructive path of Hurricane Ida through the Gulf and East coasts. The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops has requested that we take up a 2nd Collection in October to support Catholic Charities U.S.A. and Catholic Relief Services as these agencies provide local emergency relief and long-term recovery assistance. On your behalf, I am sending a check of $1,000.00 from parish funds to contribute to this effort. You can add to it by designating your donation to Annunciation for the Earthquake and Hurricane Appeal and then dropping it in the offertory basket by the tabernacle, in the parish office drop box or in the mail.
Jesus makes it clear, “What you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do unto to me.â€
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25th Sunday Ordinary B
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27th Sunday Ordinary B
