The Word today, W21B
- Admin
- Aug 21, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 27, 2024
August 26 - August 31, 2024
2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12 A word of appreciation is always welcome! 2 Thessalonians begins with a warm prayer of thanksgiving for the church in Thessalonica and concludes with a prayer for all the believers there.
Matthew 23:13-22 The Jesus of this story is stern, but be careful not to leave it in the past. His teaching is for us today as well.
St Monica, wife and mother
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17 The context for this reading is excited, perhaps excitable, expectation of the end of time and the second coming of Jesus. The writers dampens these expectations down and closes with a prayer for the Thessalonian Christians.
Matthew 23:23-26 Religions can lose sight of the essentials and focus on the trivial—today, as well as in the past.
St Augustine, bishop and doctor
2 Thessalonians 3:6-10,16-18 It might seem strange to us, but one of the things the Thessalonians resented about Paul was his refusal to take money from them! In a way, he had insulted them, but he defends his motives with great energy.
Matthew 23:27-32 The attack on “show” religion continues fiercely. It is important to try to hear this both in the present and personally. It is much easer to leave it in the past and think of others. The last line is unexpectedly robust!
Beheading of John the Baptist
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Today we start reading from 1 Corinthians, one of Paul’s great letters to his most difficult community. He begins as usual with a word of appreciation in the form of a thanksgiving prayer. As we listen, we may wonder for what would Paul give thanksgiving today?
Mark 6:17-29 The gospel—special for the feast—tells the story of the death of John the Baptist. It is a grisly end for a great prophet, facing death at the whim of his enemy.
(There are some inaccuracies and improbabilities in the Gospel account as well as echoes of the Books of Esther and Judith. The version by Josephus seems closer to the Realpolitik of Herod Antipas, who was not a king. See Jewish Antiquities 18:116–119.)
St Fiacre, monk
1 Corinthians 1:17-25 It seems the Corinthians overestimated the value of eloquence and even logic, while neglecting the crucifixion, a paradox at the heart of Christian faith. Paul describes this paradox is very arresting language.
Matthew 25:1-13 Today’s parable is a reminder that there are some things which only we can do for ourselves.
St Aidan, bishop and missionary and the Saints of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Paul illustrate the paradox of the cross in the lives of the Corinthians. The “foolishness” of the cross confirmed by the “foolishness” of the Corinthians—a rather high risk strategy of persuasion!
Matthew 25:14-30 Today’s parable is undoubtedly severe, especially towards the end. The overall message, however, stands: we have all receive graces and gifts—but how do we use them?
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bn, August 25). Twenty-first Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082524.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/
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