Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: September 1, 2024

Date: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture Text:  James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Dearest brothers and sisters:

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The second reading for today is drawn from the first chapter of the Letter of James to the faithful followers of Christ. James reminds the readers that the LORD, our Almighty Father is the source of all goodness including our lives. He invokes the readers to welcome the word of the LORD that is woven within us and calls us to loving goodness. Then he defines the Christian path: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” What we have been given we are called to live, to express through word and deed, through loving kindness and faithfulness.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Would one watching me suspect that I am a Christian? What signs are there in my life to point to my recognition of reliance on the LORD for my life and my salvation?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, You are the source of all goodness. All creation flows from your love. All creation is a herald to You and to your Truth. Send your Spirit to open my mind to your truth and my heart to your love. Grant that I may live as your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, taught, loving You with all my being and loving my sisters and brothers. Keep within me the sacred love of self that reserves myself for loving kindness and rejects those things that would lead me astray. Above all, Father, grant that I may live as a doer of the word, not just a hearer. I ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.