Lectionary Homily for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost [2021]

Corey J. Mahler – Confident.Faith · Sep 10, 2021

Isaiah 35:4–7a Psalm 146 James 2:1–10, 14–18 Mark 7:24–37 For God shows no προσωποληψία — a word that appears only four times in Scripture: in the verse in Romans just quoted, in our reading from James, in Ephesians 6:9, and in Colossians 3:25. A curious word in Greek — if we take the ‘literal’ meaning, then it would be something like ‘face taking’, which sounds quite odd until we actually think about it. To commit the transgression of προσωποληψία is to regard that which is not relevant, or, as our study Bible puts it: ‘to judge unfairly on the basis of worldly…