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Today’s Word: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – September 14, 2025

Numbers 21:4-9

Psalms 78:1-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

Philippians 2:6-11

John 3:13-17

Today begins the 24th week in Ordinary Time within the Catholic Church. Today happens to be a feast day, which are other days celebrated in the Church. Feast days are days recognized to reflect on the life of Jesus and the saints. Today’s feast day is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Today highlights the Cross as, not only Jesus’ death but his victory over death and sin on the Cross as he rose on Easter Sunday. 

Every Sunday, as Catholics, are encouraged to remember the resurrection and Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. So today’s Feast day to recognize the Cross is seen to symbolize God’s great love and as a source of salvation and new life through Christ’s sacrifice. And I believe the readings emphasize that idea. 

So in the first reading today from the Book of Numbers takes us back to the time in the wilderness while Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt on their way to the Promised Land. We see the effects of complaining against God, but we also see the mercy and love God has for his people. The people were tired and hungry and began grumbling against God. He then sent forth “fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people,” (Numbers 21: 6, The Great Adventure Bible, Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition). Many died because of that and the people then repented and asked Moses to speak to the Lord God to ask for forgiveness. He told Moses to put up a bronze staff with a serpent head as a sign for anyone who was bitten may live.

This shows God’s mercy he had for his people, and the mercy he has for us today. If you believe, repent for your sins and come back to him, he forgives and welcomes you. He brings you into his arms again. Therefore, just as Moses lifted up the serpent to help save his people, Jesus was “lifted up” to bring eternal life to all who believe in him.

This Feast day also serves as a reminder that God’s glory is found in humility, with the Cross representing Christ’s willingness to suffer for humanity, ultimately leading to his resurrection and triumph over sin and death. The readings connect with each other on this Sunday beautifully. It all goes back to the Cross, as we see in St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians as Paul talks about Jesus’ sacrifice and says Jesus “humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8, The Great Adventure Bible, Revised Standard Version – 2nd Catholic Edition). This again reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice and the everlasting life we can obtain by believing and following him to the heavenly Father.

The Gospel today is from John, and from it is the verse where he says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, The Great Adventure Bible, Revised Standard Version – 2nd Catholic Edition). When Jesus was lifted up on the Cross, he was just not lifted up for his disciples, but for the whole world. Jesus is the source of eternal healing and life just as the bronze serpent was for the Israelites in the Old Testament.

As an instrument of suffering, the Cross, is the promise of eternal life, and that is the central message today in the readings. We must humble ourselves, as Christ did during his Passion and ultimate resurrection, to find the promise of eternal life.

kellym40 General

Today’s Word: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 17, 2025

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Psalms 40:2, 3, 4, 18

Hebrews 12:1-4

Luke 12:49-53

I believe today’s readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time offer a powerful message about the inclusive nature of God’s love and the demanding call to follow Jesus, even when it leads to division. I think the readings show the themes of fatih, perseverance and the universal reach of God’s salvation.

In the first reading from Jeremiah, it tells of Jeremiah’s persecution for speaking about God’s unpopular truth, which is a warning about Jerusalem’s impending doom. They do not believe him and do not like what he has said about the king of Babylon coming to take Jerusalem. The people end up putting him into a cistern to die. This highlights the tension between speaking the truth and what is in the national interest.

However, Jeremiah is rescued by Ebed-Melech. He did not see justice in delivering Jeremiah to die in a cistern, and King Zedekiah told him to take some men and go get the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern. I believe this is an example of how God can work through unexpected individuals, even those that might be considered outsiders.

I feel this reading encourages people to speak the truth and do what is right, even when facing resistance and persecution. Additionally, it reminds us that God’s salvation can extend to strangers.

The Psalm today, I believe, is an extension of the meaning from the first reading. It is a simple song of praise and reflects Jeremiah’s story as it says, “He drew me from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, he set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” (Psalm 40:2, Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition). Again, another song of praise.  

The second reading from Hebrews uses a metaphor of a race to, I believe, describe the Christian life, while emphasizing the need for perseverance and endurance. Hebrews is considered one of St. Paul’s letters. In it he tells the people to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1, Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition). He encourages us to look to Jesus as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition).

So in all, Paul tells us through his letter to remain focused on Jesus throughout life’s challenges. We can also call on the strength of others, including the saints who are the “cloud of witnesses,” (Hebrews 12:1, Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition), and strive for the ultimate prize of heaven.

The gospel reading for this Sunday continues from last week’s gospel as Jesus spoke about the faithful and unfaithful servant. In today’s passage, Jesus speaks of setting the earth on fire, which demonstrates the spreading of God’s love through the world and purging it of sin. When he says he has a “baptism to be baptized with,” (Luke 12:30, Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition), I believe he is referring to his Passion and death on the cross, where he will be immersed in the sins of the world for salvation. 

Jesus also says something in this passage where it might be considered contradictory. He says, “Do you think I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you , but rather division;” (Luke 12:51, Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition). The peace Jesus is offering is not a worldly peace free from conflict, but it is an interior peace found in following him. This can lead to the division he spoke of, which refers to those who reject Jesus and his teachings. In following Christ, choosing God over oneself and others, can create division between families and social circles.

Living the Christian life is a difficult task, as I’m sure everyone knows. Choosing right, among fear of persecution and resentment is hard. But, as it is noted in today’s readings, we must stand strong and do what is right in what we believe to be true and good. The path we choose as Christians is a difficult one. It is one filled with trials and tribulations. We must make choices, often strenuous choices, in order to remain steadfast and achieve that ultimate goal – Heaven – and have eternal rest with God the father and God the son, Jesus.