The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to consider the role of Penance, to reflect on our shortcomings, and how we are called to rely on Providence in our mission to live as an example of Jesus' Way of peace.
The Reading from the Book of Ezra proclaims a Penitential Prayer.
* [9:6–15] The prayer attributed to Ezra is a communal confession of sin, of a kind characteristic of the Second Temple period (cf. Neh 9:6–37; Dn 9:4–19; 1QS 1:4–2:1), but adapted to the present situation. (Ezra, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
The response from the Book of Tobit is a hymn of praise.
* [13:1–18] Tobit’s hymn of praise is divided into two parts. The first part (vv. 1–8) is a song of praise that echoes themes from the psalms; (Tobit, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus declares The Mission of the Twelve
* [9:1–6] Armed with the power and authority that Jesus himself has been displaying in the previous episodes, the Twelve are now sent out to continue the work that Jesus has been performing throughout his Galilean ministry: (1) proclaiming the kingdom (Lk 4:43; 8:1); (2) exorcising demons (Lk 4:33–37, 41; 8:26–39) and (3) healing the sick (Lk 4:38–40; 5:12–16, 17–26; 6:6–10; 7:1–10, 17, 22; Lk 8:40–56).
* [9:3] Take nothing for the journey: the absolute detachment required of the disciple (Lk 14:33) leads to complete reliance on God (Lk 12:22–31).
* [9:5] Shake the dust from your feet: see note on Mt 10:14. (Luke, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Kimberly Grassmeyer comments that Jesus proclaimed His message as widely as one human could in only a few short years, with limited geographic mobility, and prior to the advent of the printing press, or social media. One Holy man.
That one man then blessed the twelve, giving them the ‘power and authority’ to proclaim and to heal. (NB, He also instructed them to simply walk away from those whose hearts were not open. NOT to hate or vilify them, not to “throw shade”, and certainly not to do harm. Rather, quite simply: “when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them”.) (Grassmeyer, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus gave power and authority to his apostles,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"The grace bestowed upon the holy apostles is worthy of all admiration. But the bountifulness of the Giver surpasses all praise and admiration. He gives them, as I said, his own glory. They receive authority over the evil spirits. They reduce to nothing the pride of the devil that was so highly exalted and arrogant. They render ineffectual the demon's wickedness. By the might and efficacy of the Holy Spirit, burning them as if they were on fire, they make the devil come forth with groans and weeping from those whom he had possessed... He glorified his disciples, therefore, by giving them authority and power over the evil spirits and over sicknesses. Did he honor them without reason and make them famous without any logical cause? How can this be true? It was necessary, most necessary, that they should be able to work miracles, having been publicly appointed ministers of sacred proclamations. By means of their works, they then could convince men that they were the ministers of God and mediators of all beneath the heaven. The apostles then could invite them all to reconciliation and justification by faith and point out the way of salvation and of life that is this justification." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 47) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that Ezra calls for penitential practice because the people have turned against God even though they have been returned from exile in Babylon for several generations. Ezra initiates a reform of the practice of religion. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sends out missionaries and to cast out demons and cure disease. Friar Jude reminds us of their dependence on the Providence of God for hospitality and generosity but to leave the area if they are rejected.
Fr. Mike Schmitz introduces the books of Ezra and Haggai, explaining the Israelites' return to the promised land. He also warns us against apathy and indifference in our relationship with God, as we see Israel display towards the temple. The action of Darius (in Isaiah 45) has been compared to the action of the 45th US President (Donald Trump), by some who see a non-believer acting to free and support believers.
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Minister Elle Dowd, an anti-racist white activist, who challenges the notion that being a peacemaker means being “nice”. Dowd reflects on the desire to reduce tension instead of learning what it might have to teach.
Direct action intentionally interrupts our daily flow and rhythm in an attempt to raise tension. This tension isn’t new. It isn’t being created out of thin air. It has always existed for our siblings of color.
For people of color and other oppressed people, the tension caused by marginalization is ever present with very real consequences…. Racism is like being force-fed a poison. Direct action is what happens when people refuse to drink that poison and instead bring a bottle of it to the doorstep of those force-feeding them and demand that they gaze upon the reality of it.
Direct action doesn’t create new tension. It redistributes the tension that is already there and puts it back where it belongs—at the source.
Many people—white people, in particular—have little tolerance for tension. We have been taught to avoid tension. Our conditioning has trained us to recoil from discomfort, to think of it as an inherently bad thing, something to sidestep and evade at all costs. Instead of leaning into tension to see what we can learn from it, we often avoid it. But when we do this, when we turn away from tension, we fail to see the gift that this tension can be in revealing the truth. We miss out on the clarity it brings with it, the opportunity to move forward. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the guidance of the Spirit to navigate the tension between responding to our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader and the social prejudice against action supported by Providence.
References
Ezra, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezra/9?5
Grassmeyer, K. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-september-24-2025
Luke, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Peacemaking Is Not Niceness. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/peacemaking-is-not-niceness/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Gave Them Authority over All Demons and Diseases. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=sep24
Tobit, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/tobit/13?2
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