Scriptual Commentary

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – How We Live Each Day

| Fr. William Smith

Rich Man and the Poor Lazarus, Hendrik Terbrugghen,
1625, Centraal Museum (Utrecht)
(About this Image)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Tim 6:11–16
September 25, 2022

We have been reading from the first letter of Paul to Timothy for the past two weeks. We will conclude our examination this week with Paul’s final remarks and encouragement to his disciple and protégé. Again, we are unsure if Paul wrote the letter himself or if it was written by the leadership of the Pauline community. This is an interesting question but not the essential one and indeed can obscure the reality of the situation. The first generation of Christians was dying off and they had to examine not only who will replace them but also what kind of structure will be needed and most importantly what skills and virtues will be required.

Paul has seen and taught clearly that doctrine and living go together. If a Christian is taught a gospel that is not true, which meant for Paul getting who Jesus is wrong, it will be seen in his or her actions. We have seen this many times before in Paul writings and indeed in 1 Timothy. As he is concluding, he reviews this again in the passage immediately before today’s reading”

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Homilies

Homily – 25th Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)

| Fr. William Smith

Jesus preached in a socially stratified society. Carpenters begat carpenters, fishermen begat fishermen, kings begat kings and priests begat priests. It was unlikely that people would have lives different from their parents, but it was not impossible. For Jewish men advancement could be found through religion. To keep its power the temple priesthood had sided with the Romans and had little practical connection with the people. So that the profound teachings of Judaism be passed down, the laity developed the synagogues. Literally, a synagogue is a place of meeting where they could learn the law and the other traditions of their people. There were readings from the Bible and then a literate person would give a commentary.  A learned Rabbi was rarely available, so someone would read the writings of an established teacher. Not exciting, but effective and it was the best way for a Jew who wished to remain faithful to his religion and people to advance. Thus, any role in the synagogue was highly coveted. 

Those who were to become the Apostles knew this and although we should not doubt the sincerity of their belief in and profound attraction to Jesus following him was a way to be acknowledged as a rabbi and attain social and perhaps financial advancement. They envisioned themselves as leading synagogues in the tradition of Jesus throughout Judea and Galilee. 

This is of course not a bad thing. Today Paul instructs his protégé Timothy on how to be a good local leader. Keeping the individual churches functioning is very important and requires the virtues of prudence and moderation. But it is not enough or more precisely it must be balanced with boldness and sometimes impetuousness to prevent the Church from being too focused on herself. 

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – 25th Sunday Ordinary Time

| St. Charles Borromeo

On Sunday, September 18, 2022, join us in person or online for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our current Sunday Mass times are:

The readings will be from Cycle C.

Opening: 837

Readings/Psalm: 1166

Presentation of Gifts: 578

Communion: 792

Closing: 610

The Gather 3rd Edition Hymnal/Missals are available for use in the church – pick one up as you enter and return it after Mass. Instructions on how to use the hymnal missal are available here: https://www.stcharlesbklyn.org/hymnal-missal/ .

Today’s readings are also available to read online at the USCCB website https://bible.usccb.org .

Bulletin

Parish Cookout on Sunday

| St. Charles Borromeo

Our fall parish cookout is on Sunday starting at 12:30 PM. Eat, drink, and enjoy fellowship with your fellow parishioners and our Brooklyn Heights community!

Activities for children will include bracelet making, magnets, and more. We will also have a children’s book exchange table: you can donate any new or gently-used children’s books at the cookout or drop them off beforehand in the labeled box in the back of the church.

Scriptual Commentary

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Asking God for What We Need

| Fr. William Smith

Parable of the Unjust Servant, Andrey Mironov, 2021
Used with Permission: CC BY-SA 4.0

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Timothy 2:1–8
September 18, 2022

Last week, we began to read the first letter of St Paul to Timothy. The letter presumes that this is the same Timothy that Paul met in Lystra (Ac. 16:1-2) and is now his legate in Ephesus. It was a major city in the empire and was a fertile place for the gospel to grow. It was also a place where other religious concepts had taken root. Paul is instructing, perhaps better mentoring, Timothy on how to approach this wonderful opportunity but one fraught with danger as well.

We saw last week that there were false teachers who were leading some of the Christians away from what Paul had taught. They were most likely born Jews who were baptized Christian but now used Greek techniques of Bible interpretation and had many Greco-Roman assumptions. We will see some of these reflected in today’s reading but mostly Paul will concentrate on how the Christians should interact with the wider society.

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