5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Isaiah 58: 7-10
2. Psalms 112: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5
4. Matthew 5: 13-16

• Finding your glory
• Each of us has our own destiny, our own path to manifest God's presence to those around us.  Burnout is not so much a consequence of working too hard, as it is working at the wrong thing.
• What are some things in your life that give you deep, abiding joy?
• Do they ever leave you exhausted/empty from putting in too much work? 
• How did you originally get involved in that work?
• How do you see that work of yours making the world a better place? 

• Lavishly giving to the poor
• Giving to the poor happens at many different levels in many different ways.
• What are some needs of the poor that you see that still need to be addressed?
• Who (either individuals or organizations) would be the best ones to address those needs?
• How do you think new folks could/should be recruited to take up that work so that there is always a steady stream of "new blood" coming into those ministries?

• Strength in weakness
• In our culture, leaders want to show themselves to be strong, capable, resolute, maybe even wise.  But hardly ever humble.
• Who are some real leaders that you respect and try to emulate?
• What is it about them that you admire?
• What is it about them that inspires you?
• Do you feel as though you are at all inspiring? 

• Taking a stand, making a difference
• Ours is not a defensive faith, one that builds walls and barriers to ward off corrupting influences.  Rather, we are called to be bold, to speak prophetically to the communities, culture, and world around us, to be heard, to be remembered, to make a critical difference.
• In our world today, hope seems in short supply.  What do you hope for?
• How do you see bringing that hoped-for reality about?
• Is it fair to say that this hope filled reality is the Kingdom of God?
• How do you think that we can convey that hope to those around us?
• How can we begin to lead, rather than just hold on? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I trust God to give me true joy?
• Where is God calling me to be His Presence?
• Where is God calling me to deeper humility?
• Where is God calling me to lead?

  Heal my Fear

I'm not good at being generous.

I always worry where an act of reckless giving will end.

I don't want to start something that I cannot finish.

I don't want to start something that I'll not be able to follow through on.

 

There's so much I don't know about my future.

How long I'll live, how much care I'll need, how much it will cost.

I long for security and safety, always knowing -

That there really is no such thing in this world.

 

Only trust.

Only an open hand.

Only eyes to see the need with my name on it.

Only ears to hear those whose hunger God has sent me to fill.

 

Help me to learn that my greatest joy

Lies in letting go.

Getting out of Your way.

Letting the miracle into my life and others.

 

Shalom!

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Zephaniah 2: 3; 3: 12-13
2. Psalms 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10
3. 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31
4. Matthew 5: 1-12a

• Recovery plan
• What does true victory over sin really look like?
• Is it possible to recover from a sin pattern in your life without humility?
• How do we ever achieve true honesty with ourselves regarding our failings and shortcomings?
• How do we ever know if we're being real with ourselves? 

• Rock bottom
• Have you ever hit rock bottom in your life?
• How did you get there?
• What did you find in that set of circumstances, that season in your life?
• Was God at all present for you in that time?
• How did you come to recognize Him?
• How did He change you in that experience? 

• Strength in weakness
• We all want to be strong, or do we?  Strength means responsibility, discernment on when/where/how to use that strength.  Strength is easily corrupted if we don't use it properly. 
• What is your greatest strength?
• How did you acquire that strength?
• How do you continue to build that strength, like a muscle?
• How has God found ways to use that strength of yours? 

• Finding peace by making peace
• Peace comes to us as we find and follow God's will in our lives.  That can take a long time to find that perfect peace.  Once found, we cannot become careless, but seek God's will for us each day so that we don't drift.  A part of that mission of our lives is to help others find God has been and is in their lives.
• Who are some folks that you know who help others find Jesus in their lives?
• How is it that they manage that?
• How have they inspired you?
• Do you know whether you have been at all successful in leading others to Jesus?
• Do you have to know that in order to carry on? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I trust God to give me true victory in my life?
• Where is God calling me to trust Him more?
• Where is God developing new strength in me?
• How can I help others know Jesus better/deeper?

  Where do I Begin

To listen you into hearing God's voice in your life?

Where do I begin

To help you see that creation is going on right here, right now, in your heart of hearts?

Where do I begin

To tell you how deeply God loves you, in spite of, because of, through the scars on your heart?

Where do I begin

To ease you into the arms of Jesus, despite your fear and anger?

 

Lord

Help me to embrace the freedom to give You my all,

To trust you with the five loaves and two fish I clutch,

In the face of need with no visible bottom.

Knowing that my poor offering is never enough,

Until I'm willing to give it away without strings,

Letting you have it all. 

 

Shalom!

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Isaiah 8: 23 - 9:3
2. Psalms 27: 1, 4, 13-14
3. 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17
4. Matthew 4: 12-23

• The light of life
• It's not too early to start thinking about the light and darkness that we will celebrate this coming Lent and Easter.
• Light and darkness are both symbols.  What are some areas of darkness in your life?
• What are some areas of light in your life?
• How has God changed your attitude towards those shadows (areas of darkness) in your life over the years?
• Do you think that you will ever resolve/remove all of those areas of darkness?
• Why? 

• Finding trust
• What makes someone trustworthy to you?
• What is the benefit of giving someone your trust?
• If they abuse/betray that trust, how can it be repaired?
• Does the same apply to your trust in God?
• Why would you want to trust God more? 

• Servant leadership
• Perhaps the greatest challenge to a leader within Christianity is to always be sure that the ones that they lead are, ultimately, following Jesus, and no one else.
• Who are some leaders who really inspired you?
• What was it about them that first caught your attention?
• Did they ever disappoint you?
• Do you feel that you have emulated them in any significant way?
• Do you think that they would be proud of you? 

• Fishers of men
• Jesus calls us to be His disciples, and to make disciples of others.  What does that really mean?
• In the Catholic Church, we have the OCIA process for inducting new Catholics.  Those who are involved in that ministry are no doubt discipling others.  But not all of us can be directly involved in that ministry.  Are we also called to disciple others?
• Depending on how you define a disciple, how are some ways that we can disciple others?
• Should that discipling relationship endure, or not?
• How could we do a better job of teaching our members to disciple others?
• If we got really good at discipling, what changes do you think that we would see?
• Where do we start? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God calling me to face a shadow in my life?
• Where is God calling me to greater trust today?
• Where is God calling me to form the next generation of His leaders?
• How can I help others to help others to know Jesus better?

  What a Difference a Day Makes

Yesterday, the master called me and my brother Andrew to be His disciples.

We both dropped everything to follow him.

This morning, I came back here to the shore the Galilee to find myself.

 

This lake has been everything to me for so long now.

My siblings and I played on its beaches when we were young.

My father taught me this lake's whims and moods as I grew older.

 

I learned respect, and awe for the tempests that could rage across her face.

I learned how to reach deep within myself when needed -

When the storm threatened to send us all to the sandy bottom.

 

This body of water has buoyed my whole family on its bosom.

Providing us with a living from its bounty.

Giving me my identity as a fisherman and husband.

 

Its the same gentle waves slapping the beach before me as ever before.

Its the same gentle sunrise in the east, signaling the end of another night's work.

But I am changed.

 

Somehow, the life that I have led has led me here on this strange shore.

No longer familiar to me as I gaze on it with new eyes.

I am no longer a fisherman, I'm told that I'm a fisher of men.

 

I am no longer someone just trying to make a living.

No longer just another generation in a long line within my family.

I'm here to bring about the Kingdom.  A kingdom no one can see - yet.

 

The mud between my toes still feels the same.

The smell of moisture all around is achingly familiar.

But I will never feel the same about what I am feeling now.

 

In a way, whenever I come here again, I will just be passing through.

A visitor come back from a distance.

Home will be wherever Jesus leads me.

 

In one sense, this new sense of mission feels lonely.

But at the same time, I know that I'm more connected than ever before.

This work before me, whatever its form, will change the world around me.

 

Each of us standing on our own unknown shore

Looking out across the waters of our destiny

Toward a New Jerusalem that only God can see clearly.

 

Shalom!

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6
2. Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
3. 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3
4. Matthew 3: 13-17

• Formed from the womb
• Some of you may remember Kelly Smith in the choir.  Years back I remember her relating an experience when she was teaching her kindergartners and it suddenly came to her that she was doing, right at that moment, what she had been born to do.
• How would you know if you are doing what you were born to do?
• What might that feel like?
• Would you necessarily be the world's best at it?
• Would you necessarily enjoy that?
• Do you think that you might have different "destinies" as you go through life? 

• Open my ears Lord
• We follow God, draw closer to God, become holy and wholly in God one decision at a time.  I don't think that means that every decision must be perfect.  Rather holiness comes to us as we humbly seek God's will and follow that to the best of our abilities.
• What are some things that make it hard for you to tell the will of God in your life?
• Is it always the case that your close friends and family help you make the right choice?
• How do you tell when you have made the right choice? 

• Is there an apostle in the house?
• How would you define apostle?
• Can you name any?
• What do you think all of them have in common?
• Are all of us called to be apostles?
• Is it possible to be apostolic by yourself? 

• I remember when
• Some of you may remember Andy ("Dad") Anderson.  Every year on the anniversary of his baptism, he would pull out his baptism candle and light it again and reflect on his baptism.
• How did you first come to know the Lord?
• In what ways is that experience still with you today?
• How have you come to know Him more deeply in the months/years/decades since?
• How would you describe God in one word today? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How can I become more attentive to God's will in my life?
• Where is God calling me today?
• How am I living out my apostleship?
• How am I celebrating my conversion today?

  Right Place, Right Time, Right Now

I have had many dreams through the years.

When I was young, I dreamed of being a great runner.

All it would take is enormous discipline, and perseverance.

 

Failing that, I dreamed of deep understanding -

Of how the universe works,

And why thermodynamics makes everything run down.

 

Then I dreamed of understanding my wife.

That I could ever be just the husband that she needed.

Always having her needs, our needs, in proper context and sharp focus.

 

Failing that, I dreamed of  somehow becoming wise.

Having counsel, encouragement, just the right word -

For anyone needing consolation along their way.

 

Now, I just ask that I be where I'm supposed to be,

When I'm supposed to be there,

With my heart open to whatever will come.

 

That will have to be enough. 

 

Shalom!

Baptism of the Lord

Our readings for the Baptism of the Lord:

1. Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7
2. Psalms 29: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10
3. Acts 10: 34-38
4. Matthew 3: 13-17

• Finding God in whispers
• Jesus never overwhelms us, never forces, but rather nudges us in His will.  He never gives up on us, but if we wait too long, an opportunity to grow in grace, draw closer to God, become that better version of ourselves could pass us by if we are not attentive.
• How has God "nudged" you into taking on a new ministry, a new relationship, a new calling?
• Have you ever mistaken something for God's voice in your life, thinking it was God calling, but you were wrong?
• How did you recover from that?
• How did that event in your life make you feel?
• How do you think that it made God feel? 

• Peace give I to thee
• There seems to be no end to the things that we can worry about these days.  That mysterious noise that the car makes when you start it on a cold morning, the growing silence that seems to hover between you and your teenage son, that gnawing dissatisfaction with the job that you once dreamed of, and the list goes on and on.  Sometimes, the prospect of true peace seems delusional.
• What is peace in God?
• Does such peace ignore the very real issues in our day to day lives?
• How have you found peace during troubled times in your life?
• What benefit(s) are there to finding peace? 

• Baptized with power
• If you read a little further in Acts 10, the Holy Spirit falls upon those gathered at Cornelius' house right in the middle of Peter's speech.  Talk about being upstaged.
• Until that time, it was the custom for a new convert to be baptized in water, then request the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  But in this notable case, the Holy Spirit fell upon these believers "ahead of time".  What does that say about Confirmation, and the sacraments in general?
• God sent Peter to Cornelius, and sent Cornelius to Peter.  Where are some places/people that you have been sent to?
• Were you at all surprised by that encounter?
• How did that ministry change you? 

• Baptized in the Spirit
• In the sacrament of Confirmation we call upon God to anoint the confirmandi with the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It's that same Spirit who animated Jesus, directed His actions, gave Him the power to be the Father's Presence among us.
• How can we make this rite more meaningful for our young people?
• How can we make it more meaningful for their parents?
• How can we make it more meaningful to the rest of the parish?
• What difference has your confirmation made in your life? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How can I become more attentive to God's will in my life?
• What are the things that rob me of peace in my life?
• Am I truly serving where I am sent?
• How am I celebrating my baptism in the Spirit today?

  Vision Quest

I'm not sure how often someone needs to go on a vision quest.

But I am sure that each of us should do so at least once in life.

Before we can truly call ourselves an adult.

 

Each of us are called to live a life of service.

Just what that service means differs for each of us.

And will often differ from one time in our lives to the next.

 

Just good intentions are not enough to follow God's call.

Those intentions need guidance, purpose, goals.

And finding guidance, purpose, and goals does not happen by accident.

 

The vision quest starts with purification.

Identifying that which binds us,

And setting it aside in favor of greater good, greater fulfillment.

 

Followed by a time of isolation from friends and family.

Not to be independent of them, but to ponder their influence,

Meditate on the lessons that they have already imparted.

 

Fasting sharpens the senses,

Reminding us that we are sustained by a vast web of life.

Calling us to honor all persons and things that contribute to our life.

 

Prayer during the vision quest starts with the world in which I live.

With all of its glory and sadness, beauty and brokenness, love and indifference.

In that, I search my heart for what I am here to heal, to restore, to redeem.

 

And then ask how my life poured out can make a difference.

How my life poured out can bring about peace in the world around me.

How I can be joyfully fruitful, resonating with God's holy purpose.

 

The images, visions, dreams, revelations that come on vision quest,

They are not for me alone.  They are for me to share with the village elders.

That what I bring back from my vision quest finds its proper home.

 

And that my village finds its place in God's revealed vision for me.

That meditation on the graces from my vision quest continues throughout my years.

Deepening my understanding of my identity, my dignity, my holiness.

 

My vision quest is my village's gift to me

It is my gift to my village.

God's gift to all of us. 

 

Shalom!

Epiphany Sunday

Our readings for the Feast of the Epiphany:

1. Isaiah 60: 1-6
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
3. Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6
4. Matthew 2: 1-12

• Finding God in family
• Various members of our families become estranged for one reason or another.  A bitter argument long ago caused wounds that don't seem to heal with time, one leaves the faith and they no longer feel welcome at family gatherings, tragedy strikes a member of the family and they are overwhelmed with isolation, or any number of causes.
• Do you think that God wants to heal such wounds (and doubtless many others) within our families?
• What do you think God needs to do to start a healing trend in your family?
• What do you think that you need to do to foster that trend?
• Do you think that such healing is even possible?
• Do you think that such healing is worth the effort?
• Is it worth trying, even if the attempt fails to bring healing?                   

• Walking by your shining radiance
• "Go in peace, glorifying God by your life" is one form of the Mass dismissal.  It forms the link between our worship and our works in the larger community, calling us to bring that larger community into our worship by means of prayer and service, and convey the blessings and graces that we are given in our worship to those around us.  Sounds easy.
• Who are some folks who are close to you who glorify God by their life?
• What inspires you about them? 
• How have they inspired you to do the same?
• Do you think that you could inspire others as well?
• Does someone have to be Christian to be effective at the ministry that you're thinking about? 

• Revelation for anyone with an ear to listen
• Revelation seems like something that has come and gone.  And even when God was revealing Himself, He pretty much kept that to a very special few.  God didn't just go around revealing willy nilly.  Or did He?
• Have you ever had something come to you in prayer?  Maybe it was a deep understanding of something about you that had puzzled you for years.  Maybe the revelation was insight into why it is that your sibling drives you so crazy sometimes.  Or maybe the revelation was a deepened sense of something that you've known forever, just not in this way.
• How has that revelation changed you, changed your perspective, changed your view of the world?
• How are you making yourself ready for God's next revelation to you? 

• Discernment
•  Ignatian spirituality teaches us now to make decisions in our lives, how to set aside or leave behind that which does not draw us closer to God, to our ultimate destiny, in favor of what will make us truly happy.  A good introduction to that spirituality can be found here.
• Who is someone that you know who is generous towards God?
• How did that person get to be that way?
• What have you learned from them regarding your own generosity?
• How has that generosity on your part changed you?
• How do you think that your generosity has changed others? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God offering me Himself in my family?
• How might I offer myself, my life more deeply to God?
• Am I humble enough to accept God's revelation in my life?
• How can I better serve with, in, through my community?

 

Shalom!

Feast of the Holy Family

Our readings for the Feast of the Holy Family:

1. Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. Colossians 3: 12-21
4. Matthew 2: 13-15

• Finding God in family
• Family.  You can't live with them sometimes and you can't live without them.  Yet in spite of all of the messiness that we find in typical families, that's where we find God as well.
• In what ways does God show His Presence in your family?
• How do you remind each other of your family history and heritage?
• What do you do/say with each other to bring out the best in each other?
• Do you ever thank each other for that influence in your lives? 

• The fruit of your handiwork
• We like to think that hard work will always be rewarded with peace and prosperity and security.
• Have everything that you have put a lot of time and work into turned out the way that you had hoped (career, your marriage, your children, ...)?
• Why do you think that is?
• Did it work out for the best in the end?
• What if it does not work out for the best in the end, what then? 

• Admonishing one another
• I've been firmly admonished a couple of times in life.  I really deserved it at the time, but that didn't make it feel any better.  I could wish that I received such gentle correction with better grace though.
• What prevents you from admonishing someone else?  Do you feel that you have to somehow "deserve" the privilege, or that maybe no one really cares about the problem that you see, or ...
• Have you ever admonished someone else?
• How did that turn out?
• Did it do anyone any good?
• What did you learn? 

• Discernment
• Making big, life-changing decisions can be agonizing.  They are particularly hard when there seems to be no time to consider, no time to "sleep on it".  At that point, most of us will turn to others looking for advice, some alternative perspective so that we can find some clarity.  Joseph appears to had only his dreams.
• If God is so almighty, would it kill Him to just send an e-mail with directions?
• How has God communicated His will to you over the years?
• Do you feel as though you're getting any more sensitive to that "still, small, voice in your life?
• How might you practice better listening to God? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God offering me Himself in my family?
• How might I offer myself, my life more deeply to God?
• Am I humble enough to accept God's correction in my life?
• How can I better serve with, in, through my community?

I Have a Dream

My world has become hostile and full of fear.
Where once I anticipated an ordinary life,
Surrounded by friends and family.
Making a quiet living building for others.

Suddenly, I'm nowhere I recognize.
Fleeing from despots who never knew me.
My anonymity shredded.
All hope of quite security gone.

And yet, when I look into Mary's eyes,
When I behold our child.
I find peace that tells me that we are right where we belong.
No matter where that happens to be.

Home is where God calls us.
Community is those we meet on the way.
Family are His children serving with us.
And tomorrow is what happens when you get there.

Lord, give me the courage to let go.
The humility to receive what You offer me.
The courage to stand for you with my family.
And the joy in You that passes all understanding.
 

Shalom!