Scriptual Commentary

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Being the Presence of Jesus in the World

| Fr. William Smith

Photo by Joshua Lanzarini on Unsplash

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied,
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
(Luke 17:5–6)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Timothy 1:6–8, 13–14
October 2, 2022

We begin today our readings from the second letter to Timothy. There is much that we do not know about this letter. As with the other pastoral epistles we are not certain if it was written by St. Paul, nor do we know if it was written before or after what we have come to call the 1st letter to Timothy. They share some of the same details but do not refer to each other. They also are different in tone. This letter is much more personal. The author is not principally concerned about the structure of the churches after the death of the first generation of Apostles. Rather, he expresses his pleasure in the spiritual development of Timothy. Whether or not this was written by St. Paul, the virtues it expresses are clear and as valuable today as in the first century. We will also suggest below that the form in which they are expressed is particularly effective.

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Homilies

Homily – 26th Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)

| Fr. William Smith

It is hard to keep track of the crises around us. The war in Ukraine continues with an added threat of tactical nuclear weapons. Our economy is sending such confusing signals that experts cannot even agree on what the problems are. And blue and red rarely make purple. All of these are of national or even international concern, but today’s Gospel tells us that to get at the root of them we should look at Lazarus or more particularly the crisis of the rich man. 

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – 26th Sunday Ordinary Time

| St. Charles Borromeo

On Sunday, September 25, 2022, join us in person or online for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our current Sunday Mass times are:

The readings will be from Cycle C.

Entrance: Blest Be the Lord – 686

Readings/Psalm – 1169

Offertory: Ubi Caritas – 696

Communion: Behold the Lamb – 939

Closing: We Are Called – 807

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 .

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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